Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

PA Factions Say No to Peace Talks
Apr 26th, 2010
Daily NewsArutz Sheva - Maayana Miskin
Categories: Today's Headlines;Peace Process

Eight Palestinian Authority factions meeting in Syria have rejected peace talks with Israel based on the “two-state solution,” according to Kuwaiti media. Among the factions were Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

The groups called on the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), the umbrella group that created the PA, to immediately stop talks with Israel. The PA has agreed to indirect talks with Israel, via United States mediators.

The eight factions slammed US negotiators, and accused special U.S. Mideast envoy George Mitchell of seeking to buy time for Israel to implement its own plans.

While the PA is currently run by Fatah, which supports negotiations, Hamas swept the PA parliamentary elections in 2006 and continues to enjoy significant support in Judea and Samaria as well as Gaza. Fatah won only 45 out of 132 seats in the 2006 elections.

Islamic Jihad has a policy of boycotting elections in the Palestinian Authority.

Hamas has called to postpone new PA elections due to the Hamas-Fatah split, which has left Hamas in charge of Gaza and Fatah in control of Judea and Samaria. However, Fatah officials have announced that elections will be held in the course of 2010 with or without Hamas approval.

Orlev: Arab Mks Who Visited Libya Can't Serve in Next Term
Apr 26th, 2010
Daily NewsArutz Sheva - Gil Ronen
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

MK Zevulun Orlev (Jewish Home) said Sunday that six Arab MKs who visited Libya have disqualified themselves from running for the Knesset again.

Libyan strongman Muammar Qaddafi hosted six Arab members of the Israeli Knesset and forty other Arab public figures from Israel Sunday. He spoke before them for more than an hour inside a giant Bedouin tent in the city of Sirat.

MK Orlev noted that a law which he had initiated, and that was passed in the previous Knesset, determines that a candidate for Knesset who illegally visited an enemy state in the seven years preceding the election will be seen as having supported armed struggle against Israel and disqualified from running.

Libya an enemy?

Orlev said that he checked with the Defense Ministry and Ministry of Interior and confirmed that Libya is on the list of enemy states, and that the MKs did not receive permission to travel to Libya. The MKs who traveled to Libya include Ahmed Tibi and Taleb A-Sana of Raam-Taal and Muhammad Barakeh of Hadash..

Orlev sent a letter to Judge Ayala Procaccia, the Chairwoman of the Central Elections Committee for elections to the 19th Knesset, and asked that the committee meet soon to decide that the participating MKs and the parties that they represent are disqualified from running for another term.

MK David Rotem (Israel Our Home), Chairman of the Knesset's Constitution Law and Justice Committee, said in a discussion of the MKs' trip earlier in the day that Libya is not formally considered an enemy state

Obama Hosts Muslim Entrepreneurs
Apr 26th, 2010
Daily NewsArutz Sheva - Maayana Miskin
Categories: Today's Headlines

U.S. President Barack Obama began a two-day summit Monday bringing together entrepreneurs from dozens of countries, most of them primarily Muslim. The summit is seen as a continuation of Obama's Cairo address, in which he said he would strive for closer ties with the Muslim world.

The meeting aims to develop economic ties with, and boost development in, the Muslim world. A top Obama aide said the conference was “part of establishing a more multifaceted set of relationships.”

In a similar move, the Obama administration is set to have the U.S. Global Technology and Innovation Fund award contracts to Muslims, in an effort to increase investment in the Muslim world.

Obama's focus on economic and social issues is intended to enhance, not replace, America's involvement in political and defense issues in the Middle East, aides said. The president remains committed to a variety of goals in the Middle East, they explained, among them Israeli-Arab negotiations.

Some of Obama's Middle East policies have proven controversial, particularly his efforts to talk to Iran and his condemnation of Israeli construction in Jerusalem. The latter policy sparked a rally in New York yesterday against Obama's Israel policy.

Martyred: 176,000 Christians in 1 Year
Apr 26th, 2010
Daily NewsWND
Categories: Today's Headlines;Persecution;The Church

A new ministry partnership has launched a campaign to raise awareness of the fact that an estimated 176,000 Christians around the world were martyred – killed for their faith – in a one-year period from the middle of 2008 to the middle of 2009. 

That's 482 deaths per day, one every three minutes.

Martyrdom didn't go away with the Middle Ages, according to reports from Open Doors USA, which now has combined efforts with actor Kirk Cameron of "The Way of the Master" ministry as well as evangelist Ray Comfort of Living Waters ministry to focus on those who are being persecuted for their faith. 

Emeal Zwayne, executive vice president of Living Waters, said that few Christians in the U.S. are even aware "that an estimated 176,000 Christians were martyred from mid-2008 to mid-2009. 

"It's so hard to believe that in this day and age so many Christians are losing their life for their faith. It's as though we in the U.S. live in a different world from the rest of the Body of Christ," he said. "We want to ask the question that is on a few people's lips – will persecution ever come to America? And if so, what can we do about it?" he said. 

Zwayne said the ministries have been working together "to try and draw attention to the plight of the Persecuted Church, because Scripture tells us to remember those who are persecuted for the sake of Christ." 

"Open Doors is a wonderful organization, and together we want to do all we can to highlight this often forgotten cause," he said. 

WND reported earlier this year when Open Doors USA released its 2010 World Watch List. 

The report cited North Korea, which reportedly uses Christians as guinea pigs to test chemical and biological weapons, as the world's worst persecutor of Christians. 

The report said Iran, which may be using Christians as scapegoats for internal opposition to its president, is No. 2 on the Open Doors 2010 World Watch List. 

The report said Iran is among eight nations in the top 10 of the group's ranking of the 50 worst persecutors of Christians in which Shariah, the Islamic religious law, is dominant. A total of 35 nations on the list are under some form of Shariah. 

"We can classify that as a growing trend," Jerry Dykstra, a spokesman for the ministry that works to serve persecuted Christians around the globe, told WND. "We've seen more countries (on the list) from the Muslim world." 

The World Watch List, which is detailed on the Open Doors website, was started by the Open Doors Research Department in 1991. It seeks to understand the unique persecution fingerprint of each country. 

The ranking is derived from a questionnaire of 53 questions sent to Open Doors workers, church leaders and experts in 70 nations. 

It examines every aspect of persecution, including the degree of legal restrictions, state attitudes, how free the church is to organize itself, church burnings, anti-Christian riots and the murders of Christians that make headlines. 

Open Doors is positioned uniquely to provide the research as it is the world's largest mission agency working on behalf of the persecuted, operating in more than 45 countries worldwide. 

Iran, at No. 2, is the highest-ranking nation in the top 10 in which Islam is the dominant religion. Following are No. 3 Saudi Arabia, No. 4 Somalia, No. 5 Maldives, No. 6 Afghanistan, No. 7 Yemen, No. 8 Mauritania and Uzbekistan, which ranked at No. 10. Laos, another communist nation like North Korea, is ranked No. 9. 

Open Doors estimates there are 100 million Christians worldwide who suffer interrogation, arrest and even death for their faith, with millions more facing discrimination and alienation.

Israelis Defiant As U.S. Envoy Visits Jerusalem
Apr 26th, 2010
Daily NewsIsrael Today
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

Hundreds of right-wing Israeli activists marched through a mixed Jewish-Arab neighborhood on the eastern side of Jerusalem on Sunday, as US Middle East envoy George Mitchell arrived in the capital to further press Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to meet American and Arab demands to stop letting Jews build in areas of the city claimed by the Palestinians.

The march was led by outspoken and controversial activists Baruch Marzel and Itamar Ben-Gvir, who told local media that "we have made it clear today who has sovereignty over Jerusalem."

Marzel and Ben-Gvir also demanded that the government stop bowing to US pressure by making it next to impossible for Jews to obtain building permits in eastern Jerusalem, while the Arabs living there routinely build without proper authorization.

The main part of the march took place in the neighborhood of Silwan, known to Jews as "the City of David," the oldest part of Jerusalem where King David made his capital.

Masked Arabs from Silwan and other neighborhoods attacked police officers protecting the march with firebombs, stones and glass bottles. Two Israeli officers were wounded.

Compromise At Liberty: Glenn Beck, a Mormon, to Give Commencement Address
Apr 26th, 2010
Daily NewsChristian News Wire
Categories: Today's Headlines;Commentary

MADISON, Wisc., April 24  -- In today's confusing times, we need clear Biblical messages. By allowing Glenn Beck, a Mormon, to speak at Liberty University's Commencement, Liberty's message becomes off-focus.

According to the Liberty University's website, Glenn Beck will address Liberty University's Class of 2010 Commencement on Saturday, May 15. He will be joined by popular Baptist preacher Dr. Paige Patterson.

Beck, a popular FOX NEWS announcer, is a well-known Mormon. In 1999, Beck and his wife became members of the Mormon Church after his daughter recommended Mormonism. Before this, he took a Yale University theology class called "Early Christology," but dropped out.

While Beck presents many factual presentations on his popular FOX NEWS show, he should not be allowed to speak at a university that demands its students to believe that Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation.

A commencement program should feature strong Christians who have weathered the storms of life to become leaders in their respective fields. This is what the school should be demanding of its students. A commencement speaker should be what the school desires their students to eventually become.

Christians should have active political stands, especially during these uncertain times where politicians seem to lack direction. However, we need to put Jesus Christ first and our political stands will follow.

ChristianInvestigator.com's Steve McConkey says, "We are not to put politics first and the Lord second. If this country is to have another revival, we need to get back to the basics, just like an athlete who has to go back to the basics to learn proper skills. We join Glenn Beck in many of his viewpoints, however, we do not endorse his Mormon beliefs."

Citigroup Says Only a United States of Europe will Save Euro
Apr 26th, 2010
Daily NewsIsraelNN
Categories: Today's Headlines;Revived Roman Empire;Prophecy

A Citigroup note to clients has warned that the eurozone is likely to fall apart unless the European Union's member states fuse both on the fiscal and political level.

"Europe needs to stand up and decide if it is going to be a ‘United States of Europe' or a ‘patchwork quilt' of independent states," reads a note by Tom Fitzpatrick, chief technical analyst at Citigroup in New York, first seen by Bloomberg.

The financial services firm, the largest in the world and one of America's big four banks, says that if such integration is not on the cards, the euro area is "doomed" even if the current Greek crisis is resolved.

"Without a preparedness amongst the major nations - Germany in particular - to head in this direction, we fear that the euro as a common and expanding single currency will inevitably be doomed," the analysis continued.

In February this year, hedge fund wizard George Soros also warned the eurozone was bound to break up without fiscal union.

"A makeshift assistance should be enough for Greece, but that leaves Spain, Italy, Portugal and Ireland. Together they constitute too large of a portion of the Euroland to he helped in this way…The survival of Greece would still leave the future of the Euro in question," he told the Financial Times.

"The construction is patently flawed. A fully fledged currency requires both a central bank and a treasury. The treasury need not be used to tax citizens on an everyday basis, but it needs to be available in times of crisis," he said. "When the financial system is in danger of collapsing, the central bank can provide liquidity, but only a treasury can deal with problems of solvency."

"This is a well-known fact that should have been clear to everyone involved in the creation of the euro."

The euro has slid 6.1 percent against the US dollar this year.

Art's Commentary.... The Revived Roman Empire is in view here, the stage is being set for it's arrival. The interesting thing is that the Revived Roman Empire will not actually appear until after the rapture, what does that tell you about the nearness of the rapture?

Buzz Kill! is This 'Bee Armageddon'?
Apr 26th, 2010
Daily NewsWND - Chelsea Schilling
Categories: Today's Headlines;Warning

Nature's most valuable workers mysteriously vanishing out of thin air

What is devastating the world's honeybees?

In what appears to be a honeybee mystery of Armageddon proportions that has baffled scientists and beekeepers, more than one-third of the nation's commercial honeybee population is mysteriously disappearing – and researchers warn the unexplained phenomenon threatens one-third of the American diet.

Entire colonies of honeybees are abandoning hives and food stores, including honey and pollen. In collapsed colonies, adult bees mysteriously disappear, and there is no accumulation of dead bees. Even hive pests such as wax moths and hive beetles are nowhere to be found around affected colonies. Likewise, other honeybees are reluctant or unwilling to rob the abandoned hives of honey.

Only days before a honeybee colony collapses, according to Bee Culture Magazine, the colony appears to be strong and fully functional.

Then, it explains, the affliction travels like a wave through a beeyard.

6.5 - Magnitude Earthquake in Taiwan Makes Buildings Sway
Apr 26th, 2010
Daily NewsSky Channel
Categories: Today's Headlines;Warning

Ever since all these earthquakes have been showing their faces all around the world (Haiti, Chile, Japan, SoCal, Samoa, New Guinea, Spain...) we've gotten a lot of comments from our readers about them, and a lot of emails asking us to keep you informed when more tremors strike.

Well, yet another quake has hit this morning, this time 195 miles off the coast of Taiwan's city of Taitung. It had a magnitude of 6.5 and was so strong that buildings in the capital of Taipei were swaying with the force. It hit at 10:59 local time and had a depth of 6.2 miles.

The good news is that there is no threat of tsunami, and no injuries, deaths or damages have been reported.

'No Temporary Palestinian State'
Apr 26th, 2010
Daily NewsJpost - AP
Categories: Today's Headlines;Peace Process

Abbas reportedly turns down Netanyahu's offer of 60% of W. Bank.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has officially rejected an offer by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to demarcate temporary borders for a sovereign Palestinian state on more than 60 percent of the West Bank, Al-Hayat reported on Saturday, citing Palestinian sources.

According to the report, Abbas said Netanyahu's overture was aimed at jump-starting negotiations by agreeing to the creation of a Palestinian while blurring the specifications of the future state's borders. The offer, the sources told the UK-based Arab paper, was a “trap” which would “drag” Abbas into negotiations that delved deep into controversial regional issues without compromising Netanyahu's insistence on continuing Jewish construction in east Jerusalem. For that reason, the sources reportedly said, Abbas would not accept this latest Israeli offer.

The paper further reported that President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Ehud Barak had phoned Abbas to try and convince him to accept the proposal.
 
Abbas, however, told leaders of the Fatah movement on Saturday that he rejects the establishment of a Palestinian state in temporary borders, in an apparent response to media reports that Israel was trying to revive the proposal.

Instead, Abbas suggested that Israel and the Palestinians resume serious negotiations on the terms of full Palestinian statehood, adding that such talks should wrap up within two years.

'Earth Day' Wrongly Emphasizes Idolatry
Apr 26th, 2010
Daily NewsAllie Martin - OneNewsNow
Categories: Today's Headlines;Warning

A Christian astrophysicist says the move to "go green" may be going too far.

Last week, the 40th anniversary of Earth Day was celebrated. Environmentalists held a series of rallies around America designed to increase awareness about a number of issues related to the environment and alleged "global warming."

But Dr. Jason Lisle, an astrophysicist with Answers in Genesis (AIG), says many Earth Day celebrations have an evolutionary basis and are a doorway to paganism and New Age mysticism.

"What I'm really concerned about is that people are doing what Romans 1 warns us against -- that people are worshipping the creation rather than the Creator," says Lisle. "And I think even the title 'Earth Day' sort of makes me feel a little bit like we're giving too much emphasis to the wrong thing."
 
The earth, says the AIG spokesman, should not be worshipped. "It's God, the Creator of the earth, that we should be worshipping -- and we should certainly be grateful to the Lord that he's given us this world and we should be good stewards of it," he urges. "But it's to God that we're to be grateful."
 
Lisle says a true reason to protect the environment is out of God's command from Genesis to care for the planet.