News

“In the April 12 edition of the Jordanian daily Al-Dustour, columnist Maher Abu Tair sheds light on what he calls the ‘sad’ contemporary situation in which the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan finds itself. He accuses Arab countries of turning their backs on Jordan and abandoning it, pushing Jordan totally into Israel’s economic and political lap” (Israel National News, April 27, 2015).

After what proved a nail-biting crescendo and unexpected conclusion to the General Elections in the United Kingdom, the occupant of 10 Downing Street remains unchanged. Many are wondering what’s next for the United Kingdom following this years’ election? What does the Bible have to say about the election’s outcome and the resultant reshuffling of power?

Modern research indicates, “About 60% of giant herbivores—plant-eaters—including rhinos, elephants and gorillas, are at risk of extinction” (BBC, May 2, 2105).  Professor David Macdonald of Oxford University noted “The big carnivores, like the charismatic big cats or wolves, face horrendous problems from direct persecution, over-hunting and habitat loss, but our new study adds another nail to their coffin—the empty larder… It’s no use having habitat if there’s nothing left to eat in it… With rhinoce

“Disputed territorial claims have turned the tensions between China and Japan into a favourite subject for a whole genre of futuristic fiction with writers seeing this as the spark that might set off a third world war in Asia” (BBC, May 2, 2015). According to some sources “Japan will abandon its pacifist constitution within four years under plans being pushed forward by the party of Shinzo Abe, the nationalist prime minister.

Recently, “Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi paid a brief visit to Saudi Arabia on Saturday to discuss the Yemen war and the wider regional landscape with Saudi leaders” (Jerusalem Post, May 3, 2015). The visit, which lasted less than two hours, focused on difficult issues in the region—especially in Yemen, Syria and Iraq. This was President al-Sisi’s third visit to the Saudi kingdom since January.