News and Prophecy Staff

The coronavirus pandemic has again drawn attention to the benefits of spending time in contact with the natural world. A recent survey in the UK found that nearly two-thirds of adults reported that spending time in God’s creation provided relief from stress related to the COVID-19 crisis: “Nearly half the respondents… felt that spending time in green spaces has helped them cope with rising pandemic-related anxiety” (EuroNews, December 30, 2020).

“Volcanoes that have been quiet for decades are rumbling to life in the eastern Caribbean, prompting officials to issue alerts in Martinique and St Vincent and the Grenadines as scientists rush in to study activity they say has not been observed in years” (The Guardian, December 31, 2020). The most recent alert has been issued for the La Soufriere volcano on St. Vincent, where the government has warned that an eruption could occur with less than 24 hours’ notice.

According to September reports by the UN’s nuclear watchdog, Iran had over ten times the amount of enriched uranium allowed by the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers (Times of Israel, September 4, 2020).

Over 70 years ago, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) was created as an agency to feed hungry children around the globe, especially in developing nations.

A trade war is underway between China and Australia, due in part to Australia’s inquiries into the origins of the coronavirus (AlJazeera, November 27, 2020). In November, China slapped a 200 percent tariff on Australian wine imports.