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There are now over 2,000 Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Africa and over 1,300 deaths in this current outbreak. “The daily number of new Ebola cases has tripled in recent months, according to aid organizations.” There are 15–20 new cases of the disease each day (Deutsche Welle, June 4, 2019).
At a meeting in Tajikistan last weekend, Russian President Vladimir Putin presented Chinese president Xi Jinping with a large box of ice cream and a couple of other items, in celebration of Xi Jinping’s 66th birthday (AFP, June 15, 2019). The nations have developed a close trading relationship in recent years, and the two leaders have developed a close personal...
Pakistan is experiencing another outbreak of HIV among children whose parents do not have the disease! (BBC, May 21, 2019). Yet, this is not the first HIV outbreak among children in Pakistan as of late.
Every year, dozens of people still die from the bubonic plague, the “black death” that killed tens of millions in Eurasia in the 1300s. This bacterial plague is associated with unsanitary conditions and is transmitted by rodents and their fleas.
The Taiwan Strait and other waters off China are becoming areas of increasing confrontation. United States naval vessels have patrolled these waters in the name of keeping them open to international shipping. A recent “near miss” between a U.S. guided missile cruiser and a Russian destroyer has added to already heightened tensions in the region (Deutsche Welle,...
According to the Jerusalem Post, archaeologists from the University of Jerusalem recently unearthed a seal from the City of David bearing the inscription “(belonging) to Nathan-Melech, Servant of the King” (April 1, 2019). The seal is estimated to be about 2,600 years old and dates back to the time of King Josiah of Judah.
Recent European elections saw centrist parties lose 70 seats in the EU parliament, while far-right populist parties and liberal pro-European Union parties on the extremes gained ground. As NPR reported on May 27, “In France, the far-right National Rally party of Marine Le Pen narrowly beat French President Emmanuel Macron’s party coalition,” winning by less than...
In the Chinese lunar calendar, 2019 is the year of the pig. For many Chinese, pigs are a symbol of good fortune and wealth. China produces (and consumes) more pork than the United States and Europe combined—it is one of their staple proteins. Late in 2018, African swine fever began running rampant on Chinese pig farms. Since then, millions of animals have...
Spring of 2019 brought a “bomb cyclone” in March that flooded a significant portion of the American Midwest (AccuWeather.com, April 11, 2019). Since that devastating event, storms have continued to inundate the region with rains and flooding. While many farmers stored record amounts of corn and soy beans in an effort to wait out low prices, the recent flooding...
Tensions have been steadily rising between the United States and Iran, especially with the recent U.S. decision to try, through sanctions, to reduce Iranian oil exports to zero (Reuters, May 14, 2019). In recent weeks, four oil tankers—including two from Saudi Arabia—were attacked near the United Arab Emirates, and two Saudi oil pumping stations were attacked...