News and Prophecy Staff

Many are aware that reading to young children helps their brains develop. A host of recent research studies have further highlighted the positive impact that conversation with young children has on their learning and brain development (BBC, October 1, 2019). It is not enough for children just to hear conversation occurring around them, and it is not the number of words they hear that matters most.

In September, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited Luxembourg to discuss Brexit strategy with his European counterparts. While there, he cancelled a press conference in order to avoid the jeers of an angry crowd. Luxembourg’s prime minister carried on the press conference anyway, with Johnson’s chair left empty, in a clear attempt to discredit Johnson (The Guardian, September 17, 2019). In response to the fiasco, U.S.

With the United States signaling it will not be around to provide military support for Europe, and Russia increasing its military presence on Europe’s borders, many European nations are taking greater action to rearm (The Guardian, September 30, 2019).

Towns in northern New South Wales and southern Queensland are in the midst of one of Australia’s most devastating droughts (Reuters, September 27, 2019). Many towns are now counting down to “day zero”—the day each town will completely run out of water. For most, this terminal date will fall in mid- to late-2020.

The Guardian reported dire news from Brazil, noting that beekeepers have lost over half a billion honeybees in only three months (August 29, 2019). For many, the die-off brings to mind colony collapse. However, the standard symptoms of colony collapse are not evident with the Brazilian die-off. Normally with colony collapse, bees just disappear from their hives.