World News

Religious

There is a fundamental shift in the way U.S. Christians think about church. Skip the sermons, costly church buildings and large, faceless crowds, they say. House church is about relationships forged in small faith communities. In general, house churches consist of 12 to 15 people who share what’s going on in their lives, often turning to Scriptures for guidance. They rely on the Holy Spirit or spontaneity to lead the direction of their weekly gatherings. House church proponents claim their small groups are sort of a throwback to the early Christian church in that they have no clergy and everyone is expected to contribute to the teaching, singing and praying.

—Associated Press, 7/21/2010

A Palestinian protestant bishop was elected head of the Lutheran World Federation, representing some 66 million Lutheran Christians globally, the body announced. Bishop Munib A. Younan, of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Jordan and the Holy Land, was elected President of the Federation by 300 votes to 23.

—Earth Times, 7/24/2010

Pastor Terry Jones of the Dove World Outreach Center, a church in Florida that pledges to “stand up for righteousness,” is organizing an “International Burn a Koran Day” for the upcoming anniversary of Sept. 11. In the past, the nondenominational church, which has “Islam is of the devil” signs displayed in its front lawn, has organized protests against Islam. He hopes that the protests he organizes will offer Muslims a reason to convert.

—Religion News Service, 7/26/2010

Mormons—they’re just like you! That’s the message of an odd new advertising campaign from Mormon.org. Commercials featuring active, attractive young Mormons are airing in mid-sized, non-coastal American cities. The spots, in which Mormons surf and ride motorcycles and generally enjoy themselves, are not explicitly ads for the Church of Latter-day Saints, they are just ads for Mormons, themselves. Some believe the ads might be a ploy to make Mormon presidential aspirant Mitt Romney more palatable in 2012

—Salon, 8/10/2010

California’s renowned Claremont School of Theology ... will commence a first on U.S. soil: a “theological university” that will train future pastors, imams and rabbis under one roof. ... [It will be] the first accredited imam-training institution in the U.S. Two other theological schools have followed Claremont’s lead and announced plans to form similar interfaith consortiums.

—TIME, 9/6/2010

Hamas sponsored a mass wedding in Gaza for four hundred and fifty couples. Most of the grooms were in their mid- to late-twenties; most of brides were under ten. Each male received $500 from Hamas. The International Centre for Research on Women now estimates that there are 51 million child brides now living on planet earth and almost all in Muslim countries.

—Thelastcrusade.org, 8/26/2010

Floods and landslides across Asia have killed at least 127 people in northwestern China sparked by torrential rainstorms. Around 50,000 people have allegedly been evacuated from China’s Gansu province. An estimated 2,000 people are still missing in the latest chapter of what has turned out to be China’s worst flooding in a decade, killing more than 1,100 people this year. In Indian-controlled Kashmir, flash floods have already killed 132 people and rescuers are rushing to find 500 people who are still missing. Meanwhile, flooding has also been reported in North Korea, where, according to official media, thousands of homes have been destroyed.

—Associated Press, 8/8/2010

In Pakistan, floods killed about 1,600 people. More than 17 million have been affected, and nearly 5 million of those lack shelter, officials said. Economic analysts predict that Pakistan’s economic growth could plummet from about 4 percent last year. One finance ministry official told the Reuters news agency that inflation could hit 25 percent, up from about 13 percent before the flood. In Mohib Banda, residents said milk prices have already shot up 50 percent.

—Washington Post, 8/30/2010

There has never been heat like this in Russia. Forest fires have erupted. Drought has ruined millions of acres of wheat. More than 2,000 people have died from drowning in rivers, reservoirs and elsewhere in July and June, often after seeking relief from the heat while intoxicated. On Thursday, temperatures reached a new high for Moscow. July has been the hottest month since the city began taking such measurements under the czars, 130 years ago.

—New York Times, 7/29/2010

More than 1,000 young people in India have been done to death every year owing to “Honor Killings” linked to forced marriages. Women can be murdered for rejecting a forced marriage and marrying a partner of their own choice who is not acceptable for the family of the girl. Honor killings happen with regularity in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh among Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus. According to the India Democratic Women’s Association, Punjab and U P account for about 900 honor killings and another 100 to 300 in the rest of the country.

—Press Trust of India, 7/4/2010

The population of the world will climb above 7 billion sometime in 2011, says the Population Reference Bureau, a research group. With 267 people being born every minute and only 108 dying, developing countries are adding more than 80 million people to the world’s population every year.

—New York Times, 7/30/2010

The FCC’s indecency policy, which bars fleeting profanities and other indecency from the nation’s airwaves, has been overturned by a federal court. In a surprise ruling, a three-judge panel in New York struck down the rule, calling it “unconstitutionally vague, creating a chilling effect that goes far beyond the fleeting expletives at issue here.” The ban has been on the books since 2003, when Bono used a profanity during a live broadcast of the Golden Globes awards.

—Los Angeles Times, 7/13/2010

Efforts to tackle illegal destruction of the world’s rainforests have been a success, according to a new report that details a significant fall in unauthorized logging. The Chatham House study says that illegal logging has dropped by between 50 and 75% across Cameroon, Indonesia and the Brazilian Amazon over the last decade; globally it has dropped by one-fifth since 2002. The study credits actions taken by governments and pressure groups for the improvement, as well as greater responsibility across the private sector.

—The Guardian, 7/15/2010

The U.S. birth rate has dropped for the second year in a row. The 2009 birth rate also set a record: lowest in a century. The situation is a striking turnabout from 2007, when more babies were born in the United States than in any other year in the nation’s history.

—Los Angeles Times, 8/28/2010

All 34,000 employees—investment bankers, traders, etc.—of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. have been banned from using profane language in electronic messages. Enforced by screening software, Goldman’s new communications policy won’t even allow swear words spelled with asterisks. Goldman Sachs is not alone: Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co also have policies in place that ban the use of swear words in company e-mail.

—Wall Street Journal, 7/29/2010

The last decade is the hottest on record, according to the latest “State of the Climate” report released by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and published in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. Global-climate record-keeping began in earnest in the 1880s. Three-hundred scientists analyzed data from 37 different climate indicators, including humidity, glacier cover, sea-surface temperature, sea level, and temperature over land, and, for the first time, put all of that data together in one place.

—National Geographic, 7/29/2010

While the United States is busy scaling back efforts in Iraq, al-Qaida is also hard at work luring back former Sunni soldiers by offering to pay them more than the government’s $300 monthly salary. Mohammed Hussein al-Jumaili said that he was in a cafe when he was approached by two al-Qaida members who offered him a good salary and “extra money for anything that you do that hits the Americans, or the Iraqi forces.”

—The Guardian, 8/11/2010

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad inaugurated the country’s first locally built unmanned bomber. Ahmadinejad said the bomber could serve “as a messenger of death for enemies of mankind,” but its “key message is friendship.” The drone is the latest in a series of new pieces of military hardware unveiled by Iran at a time when Tehran is facing increased international pressure over its nuclear ambitions. The unveiling came a day after Iran began to fuel its first nuclear reactor. The drone has a range of 620 miles.

—BBC, 8/22/2010

Iran’s nuclear power plans are set to advance soon, as Russia’s atomic energy agency announced they intend to begin on August 21 the multi-month-long process of starting up the Bushehr nuclear power plant in Iran. The start-up to the new Bushehr reactor allows Iran to have something never truly achieved before by an enemy state in the Middle East: a functioning nuclear reactor. In light of the risk of releasing harmful radiation in an attack, Middle East envoy John Bolton warned that if Israel feels they need to target the reactor in a strike on Iran, they need to destroy the reactor before the fuel is loaded into it.

—New York Times, 8/18/2010

It’s perfectly acceptable for agents of the federal government to sneak onto your property at night, stick a GPS tracking device to the bottom of your car, and then proceed to track your every move—all without a warrant. The federal court has ruled that Drug Enforcement Administration agents who did just that to an Oregon man in 2007 didn’t violate his rights, because he has no expectation of privacy in his driveway and no expectation that the government won’t track his movements. Some combination of GPS-related privacy cases will probably be heard by the Supreme Court in the next year. For those who don’t want to wait around for the Supreme Court to decide, Gizmodo offers a list of the best GPS jammers for your money.

—TIME, 8/26/2010

Justice Department lawyers have filed a lawsuit seeking to strike down Arizona’s controversial immigration rules, which require law enforcement officials to question anyone they suspect of being in the country illegally. The challenge is grounded in the doctrine of “preemption,” with lawyers essentially arguing that immigration is a federal issue and that Arizona should quit meddling, but also includes a strong civil-rights component. Arizona estimates that almost a half-million immigrants have entered the state through its border with Mexico, and that the federal government has refused to consider a comprehensive immigration law to address the issue.

—Washington Post, 7/6/2010

New data show that nearly 270,000 homes across the United States were repossessed by banks in the second quarter alone. A 38 percent jump from the second quarter of 2009, the data put the United States on track to reach more than 1 million foreclosures this year.

—Los Angeles Times, 7/15/2010

Greece passed a controversial bill overhauling the country’s pension system, reducing benefits and raising the retirement age in an attempt to slash the cost of the country’s welfare state. The move was seen as a key step in stabilizing the country’s finances and putting the broader Eurozone back on an even keel. Still, the deep welfare cuts sparked huge protests that brought much of Greece to a standstill and forced the government to offer 70 euros a day in compensation to thousands of tourists left stranded by widespread strikes and shutdowns.

—Financial Times, 7/8/2010

U.S. airlines’ windfall from baggage fees shot up 33% in the first three months of this year compared with last. Revenue from fees to check bags climbed to $769 million. The airlines also collected $554 million in fees to change reservations and $534 million from other “ancillary” services, including sales of frequent-flier miles and fees to fly pets. The fees helped the industry eke out a $12 million operating profit in the first quarter. Southwest, which doesn’t charge to check up to two bags, made the biggest operating profit among discount carriers: $54 million.

—USA Today, 6/29/2010

As part of its strategy to support Haiti in the country’s efforts to rebuild after an earthquake killed more than 230,000 people and left more than 1 million homeless six months ago, the International Monetary Fund agreed to cancel the island nation’s debt of $286 million. The IMF loan of $60 million, financed by the organization’s Post-Catastrophe Relief Trust Fund, will be interest-free through the end of 2011.

—BBC, 7/22/2010

The New York Times is warning Americans against thinking of their homes as investments. While many Americans seem to believe “it’s a law of nature” that houses appreciate in value, that law was broken a long time ago—and it won’t change any time soon. After World War II, Americans came to expect housing prices to climb continually, but the postwar decades were an aberration that may never be repeated. “People shouldn’t look at a home as a way to make money, because it won’t,” one economist said. Instead, “housing values will only keep up with inflation.”

—New York Times, 8/23/2010

In June, Bill Gates and fellow gazillionaire Warren Buffett challenged the other members of the country’s billionaire club to give away at least half their money. At a press conference Wednesday, Gates and Buffett announced that 40 of them have done so, including Oracle Corp. Chairman Larry Ellison, movie director George Lucas, hotelier Barron Hilton, energy tycoon T. Boone Pickens, and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Some of these men have been making their eye-popping charitable contributions public for years; others are just now announcing their plans to give away as much as 95 percent of their wealth.

—Wall Street Journal, 8/4/2010

After three decades of rapid growth, China has officially moved ahead of Japan to become the world’s second-largest economy. Depending on how fast its exchange rate rises, China is on course to overtake the United States and vault into the No. 1 spot sometime around 2025, according to projections by the World Bank, Goldman Sachs and others.

—Reuters, 7/30/2010

Israel is ranked in a tie for the eighth happiest country in the world, according to a Gallup World Poll cited in a report by Forbes. The poll asked respondents in 155 countries, between 2005 and 2009, about their overall life satisfaction and feelings to get scores for issues such as rest, respect, intellectual engagement and more. Those with high scores were labeled “thriving.” Israel was tied for eighth happiest with Canada, Australia and Switzerland at 62% thriving. Israel was also the highest ranked nation in their region by far.

—BFP Radio, 8/5/2010

Could the State of Israel be sitting on an oil reserve that can provide energy, cash flow, and international political influence? This is the question that everyone is waiting to be answered in the engineering report ordered by Givot Olam Oil, overseeing the drilling at the Megged 5 site, next to Rosh Ha’Ayin [northeast of Tel Aviv]. The final report will be submitted on September 5.

—Ynetnews, 8/18/2010

This Hebrew year, which began on the holiday of Rosh Hashanah (Feast of Trumpets) in September of 2009 and is coming to a close in roughly three weeks, is the best ever for tourism for Israel. According to a press release from the Tourism Ministry, about 3.1 million tourists visited Israel during this Hebrew year, roughly half a million more tourists than the last Hebrew year, an 18% increase.

—BFP Israel Mosaic Radio, 8/18/2010

“For reasons of public health as well as religious integrity, baptism should be banned from taking place in the [Jordan] river,” said Gidon Bromberg, the Israeli director of EcoPeace Friends of the Earth Middle East. While Israeli authorities said that tests done on the water at Qasr el Yahud on the West Bank showed that the area meets health ministry standards, Bromberg argued that ceremonies should be put on hold until pollutants can be removed from the site. Bromberg’s group says the river suffers from “severe mismanagement,” including … the discharge of untreated sewage and agricultural run-off.

—Religion News Service, 7/29/2010

Israeli exports eastwards have increased more than 100% at the expense of European markets, according to a new report. The United States is still Israel’s main export destination, but India has now overtaken Europe as the second largest market, jumping from eighth place, while China climbed from 11th to fifth place, according to the Israeli Export Institute. Full diplomatic relations between Israel and these two countries were only established in 1992.

—The Media Line, 8/4/2010

A new plan approved by Israel to deport the families of migrant workers will affect some 400 children and their parents, a government spokesman admitted. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the move was made because the country faced increasing illegal migration, which was a threat to its Jewish character. For years, the country encouraged foreign workers to cross its borders and take the low-paying jobs that Israelis wouldn’t do. Now the government is looking to reduce its dependence on foreign labor.

—Jerusalem Post, 8/2/2010

Who is a Jew? The full answer has always had somewhat blurred edges. Birthright, ethnicity, conversion to Judaism and religious practice have all contributed, but doubt and confusion have persisted for generations. In Israel uncertainty has excluded more than a quarter of million people, who think they are Jewish, from full membership. These are Jews from the former Soviet Union who flooded to Israel in the last century. They arrived thinking they were Jews but found, when they came to get married, or buried in consecrated Jewish soil, that senior rabbis in Israel said they were not.