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The News In Review newsletter is a service
provided
by Understand The Times that
is a compilation of the news articles
previously posted
on our site .
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June 18 - Analysts: NKorea's chemical arms as grave as nukes
Article: Wars and Rumors Of Wars
SEOUL, South Korea -
North Korea's massive stockpile of
chemical weapons is as threatening as its
nuclear program,
analysts said Thursday, highlighting an
aspect of the secretive
regime's pursuit of
weapons of mass destruction that is
rarely talked about.
Adding to already high tensions in the
region, a Japanese report
said North Korea may
fire its most advanced
ballistic missile toward Hawaii around
Independence Day - the day
when the regime test-fired a long-range
missile three years ago,
though it failed seconds after
liftoff.
But
the impoverished nation, which has put most of
its scarce resources into boosting its
military capabilities
under its "army-first" policy,
also has a large chemical arsenal, as
well as capabilities to produce biological
weapons.
The independent International Crisis Group
said the North is
believed to have
between 2,500 and 5,000 tons
of chemical weapons, including
mustard gas,
phosgene, blood agents
and sarin. These weapons can be delivered with
ballistic missiles and long-range
artillery and are
"sufficient to inflict massive
civilian casualties on
South
Korea."
On Tuesday, President Barack Obama and
South Korean
President Lee Myung-bak met in
Washington and
agreed to build a
regional and global
"strategic alliance" to persuade
North Korea to dismantle all its
nuclear weapons.
Read More ....
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June 20 - Building an interfaith community
Article: Ecumenical Movement - Christianity Uniting With Other Religions
"How can we
affirm our identity as Muslims, Jews
and Christians not in separation or against
each other but in relation
to one another?" This is the
question some 25 young adults from
around the world are to explore during a
July summer seminar at the
World Council of Churches' (WCC) Ecumenical
Institute in Bossey.
Activities include spiritual and academic
exercises as well as sports,
recreation and everyday
tasks.
At a time when the
monolithic society created on the old
pattern "one nation, one culture
and one religion" is rapidly
becoming a relic of the past, the
one-month programme "Building an Interfaith
Community" prepares the future
generation of leaders in churches, other
faith communities and society at large for
the challenges of living
peacefully in a world of religious
plurality.
Each day starts
with a moment of
prayer and spirituality, prepared
alternately by the Christian, the Jewish
and the Muslim participants.
The experience of living under the same
roof, eating and worshiping
together, is enriched by lectures offered
by specialists from Christian,
Jewish and Muslim communities as well as
through participation in the
religious activities in Geneva.
Read More ....
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June 20 - Church blesses fathers with beer
Artilce: Emerging Church
Concerns over the lack of men
attending services year-round has led
clergy to offer a range of
incentives today, including free beer,
bacon rolls and chocolate
bars.
The
plan to
distribute ale has upset groups working to
tackle alchohol abuse, but
the Rt Rev John Inge, the Bishop of
Worcester, said that it could help
churches to attract more men. He
argued that the
free beer was
intended to be symbolic of "the
generosity of
God".
Men at St Stephen's church in
Barbourne, Worcester, will be handed
bottles of beer by children during
the service. A
prayer will be said for the fathers before
the gifts are distributed.
The Ven Roger Morris,
archdeacon of Worcester, who will be
leading the service at St Stephen's
today, said that it
was a practical way of sending
a message to fathers.
Bishop Inge said that it was
wrong to claim that the move would
encourage alcholism, and
encouraged churches
to use it as a way to reach
out to men. "Jesus created a
lot more wine at a point in the
party when some thought that there had
already been enough drinking.
He was all in
favour of partying,"
the bishop said.
Read More ....
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June 24 - North Korea Threatens to 'Wipe Out' U.S.inter-religious dialogue
Article: Wars and Rumors Of Wars
SEOUL, South Korea -
North Korea threatened
Wednesday to
wipe the United States off the map as
Washington and its allies
watched for signs the regime will launch
a series of missiles in
the coming days.
Off China's coast, a U.S.
destroyer was tailing a North Korean ship
suspected of transporting illicit weapons
to Burma in
what could be the first test of U.N.
sanctions passed to punish
the nation for an
underground nuclear test last
month.
The new
U.N.
Security Council resolution
requires member states to
seek permission to inspect suspicious
cargo. North Korea has
said it would
consider interception a
declaration of war and on
Wednesday accused the U.S. of
seeking to provoke another
Korean War.
"If
the U.S. imperialists start another war,
the army and people of
Korea will ... wipe out the aggressors on
the globe once and for
all," the official
Korean Central News Agency
said.
South Korea has proposed
high-level
"consultations" to discuss
North Korea with the U.S., Russia, China
and Japan
Read More ....
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We hope the Weekly News In Review has been a
blessing to you.
Sincerely,
Ron Pierotti
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