Japan seeks smarter ideas for smart cards
Way too busy to waste any time, on-the-go commuters stream through Tokyo train stations, chatting on mobile phones, listening with disc-player earphones, and flicking "smart cards" instead of stopping to pull out tickets. Although the technology is generally a novelty elsewhere, gadget-loving Japanese commuters have embraced the cards -- plastic embedded with a tiny computer chip, permitting payments without the hassle of coins or making change. :: This CNN report is submitted for your mark of the beast (Rev 13:16-18) files on smart cards and mobile commerce.

Weapons That Disable Circuitry May Get First Use in Iraq
As the United States readies for a possible conflict in Iraq, many of the star weapons from the Persian Gulf war of 1991 are back and deadlier than ever. The smart bombs are smarter. The stealth planes are sneakier. Even the ground troops are better equipped than they were a dozen years ago. Yet according to military experts, the biggest technical revelation of another war in the region may not be improvements to old systems but rather a new category of firepower known as directed-energy weapons. :: This New York Times report is submitted for your rumor of war (Matthew 24:6) files. :: Good idea, let's blind them with science and hit them with technology.

North Korean Fighter Jet Crosses Border
A North Korean fighter jet briefly crossed the western sea border with South Korea on Thursday, and a South anti-aircraft missile unit went into battle position, a South Korean military official said. :: This AP report is submitted for your rumor of war (Matthew 24:6) files.

Liberian Refugees Face Hunger Problem
Famished children show empty hands, old women stew forest leaves and a father frets over his newborn daughter and exhausted, breast-feeding wife. Food is scarce for thousands of Liberians sheltering here from new fighting in this war-riven West African nation. :: This AP report is submitted for your famine (Matthew 24:7) files.

Ebola Suspected in Republic of Congo
Citing a suspected Ebola outbreak, officials Thursday quarantined a central region of the Republic of Congo and appealed for international help. At least 50 people have died from hemorrhagic fever. :: This AP report is submitted for your pestilence (Luke 21:11) files.

N. Korea Threatens to Abandon Armistice
North Korea threatened on Tuesday to abandon the 1953 armistice that ended the Korean War, accusing the United States of plotting a naval blockade as a prelude to an attack over the communist state's nuclear program. :: This AP report is submitted for your war/rumor of war (Matthew 24:6) files.

U.S. Backs New System for Net, Phone Numbering
The U.S. government is supporting a move to a new standard designed to create a single point of contact for telephone and Internet communications. The new electronic numbering system, also known as ENUM, would give consumers a single number for all their telephone numbers, e-mail and instant messaging addresses, fax numbers and mobile phone numbers. :: This Internet News report is submitted for your mark of the beast (Rev 13:16-18) files.

Bin Laden Tape Urges Iraqi Suicide Bombs
An audio tape purported to carry the voice of Osama bin Laden called on Iraqis to carry out suicide attacks against Americans and defend themselves against a U.S. attack. :: This AP report is submitted for your war (Matthew 24:6) files.

Unidentified Illness Kills 5 in China
Anxious residents of southern China stocked up on medicine and wore surgical masks on the streets Tuesday after an unidentified illness killed at least five people, left hundreds hospitalized and sent health officials scrambling to find its source. :: This AP report is submitted for your pestilence (Luke 21:11) files.

Aircraft Bomb Afghan Rebel Positions
U.S. and coalition jets pounded rebel positions on a central Afghanistan mountainside with bombs and bullets after U.S. ground soldiers came under attack, a U.S. military spokesman said Tuesday. No U.S. injuries were reported. :: This AP report is submitted for your war (Matthew 24:6) files.

Progress Seen in Border Tests of ID System
Immigration officials say they are moving rapidly to meet a congressionally mandated deadline for a sophisticated new identification system to be in use at its 100 most porous entry points over the next year. The system will use ID cards encrypted with digital photos, signatures, biographical information and fingerprints that have been issued by the State Department and the Immigration and Naturalization Service by the millions over the last five years. :: This New York Times report is submitted for your mark of the beast (Rev 13:16-18) files on identification technology.

Plea For Help As Children Start To Die
Two thirds of the population of Eritrea are facing food shortages and 10,000 children are severely malnourished, the UN said on Friday. :: This IRIN report is submitted for your famine (Matthew 24:7) files.

Hamas Urges Muslims to Hit Back if U.S. Attacks Iraq
The founder of the militant Palestinian group Hamas urged Muslims on Friday to attack Western interests around the world if the United States launches a war on Iraq. :: This Reuters report is submitted for your rumor of war (Matthew 24:6) files.

Promising New Comet Called NEAT Graces Evening Sky
During the next few weeks skywatchers can look for a recently discovered comet that may become plainly visible in the evening sky, and could possibly shine very brightly, just before a close encounter with the Sun. :: This Space report is submitted for your signs in the heavens and stars (Luke 21:25; Joel 2:30) files.

Cleric charged in case of Muslim soldier killing Christian colleague in Lebanon
A soldier who opened fire in a barracks last year, killing a colleague and wounding four others, was influenced by a Muslim cleric who told him that killing Christians was a Muslim's duty, judicial officials said Wednesday. :: This AP report is submitted for your persecution (Matthew 24:8) files.

Bush Tells Saddam 'The Game Is Over'
Edging closer to war, President Bush declared Thursday "the game is over" for Saddam Hussein and urged skeptical allies to join in disarming Iraq. :: This AP report is submitted for your rumor of war (Matthew 24:6) and Iraq destroyed (Jeremiah 51:29&37) files.

N. Korea Warns U.S. on Pre-Emptive Moves
Pre-emptive attacks on North Korea's nuclear facilities would trigger a "total war," the communist state warned Thursday after Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld labeled the North's government a "terrorist regime." :: This AP report is submitted for your rumor of war (Matthew 24:6) files.

Hamas: Ready to Take Over for Arafat
Hamas is prepared to assume leadership of the Palestinian people, a senior Hamas official said Thursday in a rare expression of the goal of the violent Islamic movement. :: This AP report is submitted for your battle for Jerusalem (Ezekiel 38:8; Zechariah 12; Luke 21:20) files.

Powell Presents Evidence Against Iraq
Secretary of State Colin Powell, relying on a stream of U.S. intelligence, urged the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday to move against Saddam Hussein because Iraq has failed to disarm, harbors terrorists and hides behind a "web of lies." :: This AP report is submitted for your rumor of war (Matthew 24:6) files.

Shuttle Columbia Breaks Apart in Flames

Space shuttle Columbia broke apart in flames as it streaked over Texas toward its landing strip Saturday, killing all seven astronauts. "It's gone," said a senior U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity. :: This AP report is submitted for your fearsome events (Luke 21:11) files.