Embedding Their Hopes In RFID
The Washington Post reports, "The technology has been around for a decade --including use in the E-ZPass system that helps speed drivers through toll booths on many East Coast highways - but RFID is now robust enough, and getting cheap enough, that it is beginning to transform numerous sectors of the economy by allowing unparalleled tracking of products and people." :: Mark of the Beast (Rev 13:16-18) :: Is RFID the "mark" or just the latest trend?

China, Syria Seek To Expand Defense Ties
MENL reports, "China and Syria have launched an effort to conclude what could be a series of defense and military deals." :: Rumors of War (Matthew 24:6); Doomed Damascus (Isaiah 17:1); King of the East (Rev 16:12); and, the Battle for Jerusalem (Ezekiel 38:8; Zechariah 12; Luke 21:20).

WHO: Africa on Brink of Polio Outbreak
AP reports, "Africa is on the brink of the biggest polio epidemic in years, with the crippling disease hitting Nigeria hard and re-emerging in Sudan's war-ravaged Darfur region, the World Health Organization said Tuesday. The number of polio cases globally has reached 333 so far this year, almost double the number for the same period last year." :: Pestilence (Luke 21:11).

Congo Sends 5,000 Troops to Rwanda Border
AP reports, "Congo on Monday denied claims by rival and neighbor Rwanda that it was massing troops for attack, and international diplomatic pressure built to avert what one African leader called a 'potentially catastrophic war' in central Africa." :: Rumors of War (Matthew 24:6).

Iran Confiscates Three British Vessels
AP reports, "Iran seized three British military patrol boats Monday in the Shatt-al-Arab waterway, Iraq's main link with the Persian Gulf, and eight armed crewmen were detained for entering Iranian territorial waters." :: Rumors of War (Matthew 24:6); Persia (Ezekiel 38:5).

WorldNetDaily: Israel creating 'remote control' border. A roving robotic bomb squad, and an equally robotic border patrol with shoot-to-kill rules of engagement, added to the already existing plans to dig a moat across the border to make tunnelling more difficult, if not impossible. Another Maginot Line? Sadly, yes. Not because Arab terrorists might find a physical way around it--but because the Jews ignore the Beast from the Sea [Revelation 13].

WorldNetDaily: Time for Jews to leave France? A top Nazi hunter says so for the first time, and just as the Jewish Agency for Israel prepares a new campaign to persuade French Jews to make aliyah (literally, "going up"), i.e., to leave their country of birth and take up residence in Israel. Most Jews in France are well-to-do, however, and that might tempt them to remain--a situation with which Christians might become overly familiar as the Tribulation [Daniel 12:2; Revelation 13-14; Zechariah 12, 14] continues its approach.

European Union Adopts First Constitution
AP reports, "European Union leaders agreed Friday on the first constitution for the reunited continent, spelling out the voting system and nations' rights for the bloc's 25 members but keeping out any reference to God, officials said." :: Revived Rome/Final World Empire (Revelation 17).

Spring Was 3rd Warmest on Record in U.S.
AP reports, "The March through May period was the third warmest spring on record for the United States, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Friday." :: Fear for the Future/Climate Change (Luke 21:26).

IAEA Rebukes Iran Over Nuclear Cover-Ups
AP reports, "The International Atomic Energy Agency rebuked Iran Friday for past cover-ups in its nuclear program and warned the Islamic republic it has little time left to disprove it has a nuclear weapons program." :: Wars and Rumors of War (Matthew 24:6); Persia (Ezekiel 38:5).

Pilgrims Flock to See Statue in Italy
AP reports, "Thousands of people flocked to see a bronze statue of Christ in Genoa after a woman claimed she saw the face of Italian saint Padre Pio on the statue's chest." :: False Christs (Matthew 24:4).

al-Qaida Group Beheads American Hostage
AP reports, "An al-Qaida group beheaded American engineer Paul M. Johnson Jr., posting grisly photographs Friday of the hostage's severed head. Hours later, Arab TV reported the death of the chief suspect." :: War and Rumors of War (Matthew 24:6).

Benefits of Globalization Not Shared By Developing Countries
OneWorld and Oxfam International report, "As negotiations continue at the 2004 UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) this week, a recent report from Oxfam shows that many developing countries are poorer now than they were twenty years ago when globalization started." :: Nations in Distress (Luke 21:25).

Russia, China, C. Asia in Security Pact
The presidents of China, Russia and four Central Asian nations met Thursday to breathe life into a security alliance and open an anti-terrorism center, part of efforts by Beijing and Moscow to counter the U.S. military presence in the region. :: King of the East (Rev 16:12); Wars and Rumors of War (Matthew 24:6).

EU Leaders Push for Deal on Constitution
AP reports, "Six months after their first bid to establish a new constitution failed, European Union leaders faced a new round of difficult talks to create a guiding document for 25 disparate nations and win over a skeptical public. Politicians opened a two-day summit Thursday still divided over everything from making a reference to God in the preamble to sharing power in the union, which swelled to 25 members with 10 additions last month. A deal needs the green-light from all 25 EU nations." :: Revived Rome/Last World Empire (Revelation 17).

Australians Report Meteorite Explosion
AP reports, "People claiming they saw a "house-sized" meteorite slam into Earth and explode with a flash may actually have seen a small space rock streaking through the atmosphere as it burned up, an astronomer said Thursday." :: Signs and Wonders in the Heaves (Luke 21:11).

Diplomat: Info May Show Iran Nuke Cover-Up
AP reports, "The U.N. nuclear watchdog agency has information Iran may be engaging in a new nuclear cover-up near a military facility outside Tehran, diplomats said Thursday as the agency's board prepared to rebuke Iran for hindering an international probe." :: Wars and Rumors of War (Matthew 24:6).

Britain to Get Airport Iris Scanners
AP reports, "A test run of an iris-scanning system will begin at Britain's five busiest airports next year in a bid to increase security and speed immigration controls, the government said Tuesday." :: Mark of the Beast/ID tech news (Rev 13:16-18).

Conference on Internet Hate, Racism Opens
AP reports, "European neo-Nazis post online pictures of paint-smeared mosques. Web sites of Islamic radicals call for holy war on the West. Aliases like 'Jew Killer' pop up on Internet game sites. International experts met Wednesday in Paris to tackle the tricky task of fighting anti-Semitic, racist and xenophobic propaganda on the Internet - seen as a chief factor in a rise in hate crime." :: Wickedness Increases (Matthew 24:12).

U.S. AIDS Patients Donate Drugs to World
AP reports, "From Mexico to Mauritania, India to Iran, patients in poor countries have to piece together drug cocktails helping to prolong their lives using HIV and AIDS pills donated in the United States." :: Pestilence (Luke 21:11).