A Blogging Break
TUESDAY, 26 JUNE TO SUNDAY, 1 JULY 2018 We will be in Malaysia for a Retreat with a Missions Group & Conducting a Session on Introduction to Trauma on the Mission Field
Continue readingMonth: June 2018
Old Huts To Chic Chalets In The Swiss Alps
After a long ascent via hairpins through smaller and smaller villages in the Swiss Alps, the bumpy track around the mountainside eventually petered out into a stony path, indicating we had reached the end of our journey. I had a sinking feeling that we were in the wrong place. There
Continue readingWhat Is A Fatty Liver Disease?
Your liver is the largest organ inside your body. It helps your body digest food, store energy, and remove poisons. The fatty liver disease is a condition in which fat builds up in your liver. There are two main types: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) The alcoholic fatty liver disease also called
Continue readingLondon, The World’s Most Popular City For Work
London has been crowned the most popular city in the world for work in the biggest ever study of workforce migration trends, but the popularity of the UK as a whole has dropped. In the giant survey of 366,000 overseas workers from nearly 200 countries, the capital beats New York,
Continue readingPhotographs June 2018 4
Credits: National Geographic Society, Travel Photographers of the Year Competition 2018.
Continue readingGlobal Religious Freedom Takes Its Biggest Hit In Over A Decade
Christians around the world face mounting political and social pressure over their beliefs, as government restrictions, nationalist parties, and harassment aimed at minority faiths continues on a global upswing. Religious antagonism saw its biggest surge in over a decade in 2016, with the world’s two biggest faith groups—Christians and Muslims—ranking
Continue readingIn Western Europe Christians Are Less Religiously Committed Than American ‘Nones’
The Story: A new survey finds that while most people in Western Europe consider themselves to be Christians, they are less religious than ‘nones’ (i.e., atheists, agnostics, and religiously unaffiliated) are in America. The Background: Pew Research finds that most adults surveyed in Western Europe still consider themselves to be Christians—even if they seldom
Continue readingMystery Massive Explosion 200 Million Light Years Away
A massive explosion spotted 200 million light years from Earth has baffled astronomers. The strange spot, nicknamed ‘the cow’, is up to 100 times brighter than a supernova and is growing at an incredible rate. Scientists say the flash is a 9,000°C (16,000°F) cloud of high-energy particles bursting outwards at
Continue readingGod Gives Most
2 Corinthians 9:6 – 15. Our attitude towards money is indicative of how functional our faith is in God and by implication the growth in the effectiveness of our Christian testimony. This was Paul’s exegetical direction as he commended the Corinthian church in his Second Epistle for their generosity in
Continue readingICC Pushes To Investigate Myanmar Rohingya Atrocities
Harrowing accounts of Rohingya women tied to trees and raped for days by Myanmar’s military and men being pushed into mass graves, doused with petrol and set alight have been sent to the international criminal court. The evidence has been sent by a coalition of Bangladesh organisations to International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutors who
Continue readingPreparing For The Asteroid Apocalypse
Among Earth’s natural disasters—hurricanes, floods, earthquakes—the one humans probably ponder least is asteroids, huge objects zipping through our solar system at ludicrous speeds. Federal officials call an asteroid or comet collision “low probability, but high consequence,” NASA-speak for it will probably never happen, but if it does we’re toast. With that in mind, the U.S. and
Continue readingLyme Disease, A Bigger Threat Than You Think
This time of year, the U.S. is crawling with ticks. It’s a concern because the rapacious bloodsuckers spread disease when they bite. The most common tick-borne ailment is Lyme disease, but the official case count—which helps public-health authorities formulate prevention strategies and allocate resources—doesn’t come close to the actual number. Around
Continue readingThousands Of Children Imprisoned Across Africa
The legendary editor of the Guardian newspaper CP Scott famously declared in 1921 that “Comment is free, but facts are sacred.” Unfortunately, when it comes to hard evidence on how many children are locked up in prisons, detention centres, migrant and refugee camps, rehabilitation units or other institutions across the
Continue readingScientists Scramble To Save The Banana
A British company has joined the race to develop a banana variety resistant to diseases and climatic changes that threaten to disrupt the availability of the country’s favourite fruit – or even kill it off altogether. The UK alone consumes more than 5bn bananas a year, while the fruit is
Continue readingChatham House: 2018 Risks And Opportunities In International Affairs
There is a sense that the established order in global affairs is shifting. The rules, norms and institutions that have governed state-to-state relations and international policymaking for decades are being challenged by phenomena that include diminished US leadership, a more assertive China, political populism and technological change. The ‘destination’ remains
Continue readingWhat Does Running Do To Your Brain?
It may seem obvious – as you push on through a long run, veering wildly between sensations of agony and elation – that running can have a huge effect on your state of mind. It is an intuitive idea that a growing number of neuroscientists have begun to take seriously,
Continue readingThe Grus Constellation
Grus is a constellation in the southern sky. Its name is Latin for the crane. It is one of twelve constellations conceived by Petrus Plancius from the observations of Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman. Grus first appeared on a 35-cm diameter celestial globe published in 1598 in Amsterdam by Plancius and Jodocus Hondius and was depicted in Johann Bayer’s star atlas Uranometria of 1603. French
Continue readingThe Beauty Of Bettas By Visarute Angkatavanich
A few years ago, Bangkok-based photographer Visarute Angkatavanich started selling his work through microstock sites, and so he went in search of some interesting subjects to populate his gallery and generate some sales. Interestingly, he found what he was looking for in his own house: his pet fish. Ever since he was
Continue readingConnection Between Stress And Autoimmune Disease
A massive study spanning 30 years of data and examining a cohort of over one million people has found a strong association between persons suffering from stress disorders, including PTSD, and an increased risk of developing autoimmune diseases such as arthritis and Crohn’s disease. The link between certain traumatic life
Continue readingThe Safest Places Around The World
Gallup’s 2018 Global Law and Order report offer leaders an update on the progress countries are making toward achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of “promoting just, peaceful and inclusive societies” and highlights those countries that are in need of dire change. This report reveals the answers to the following questions
Continue reading19 Places To Visit In Outer London
Time Out is a British travel magazine published by Time Out Group. Time Out started its publication in 1968 and had expanded its editorial recommendations to 108 cities worldwide. It was first published as a London listings magazine by Tony Elliott, who used birthday money to produce a one-sheet pamphlet, with Bob Harris as co-editor. The London edition of Time
Continue readingCan China Kick Its Animal Antibiotic Habit?
High in the hills of Fuzhou, surrounded by acres of rustling bamboo, is a small farm that is pioneering something genuinely unusual in China. Here in the Fujian province, they have turned their backs on industrial farming in favour of natural methods. After years of working in the industrial farming sector
Continue readingUrgent Need To Prepare For Manmade Virus Attacks
The rapid rise of synthetic biology, a futuristic field of science that seeks to master the machinery of life, has raised the risk of a new generation of bioweapons, according to a major US report into state of the art. Advances in the area mean that scientists now have the
Continue readingChina-Based Campaign Breached Satellite, Defense Companies
A sophisticated hacking campaign launched from computers in China burrowed deeply into satellite operators, defence contractors and telecommunications companies in the United States and southeast Asia, security researchers at Symantec Corp said on Tuesday. Symantec said the effort appeared to be driven by national espionage goals, such as the interception
Continue readingForced Displacement Above 68.5 Million In 2017
Wars, other violence and persecution drove worldwide forced displacement to a new high in 2017 for the fifth year in a row, led by the crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan’s war, and the flight into Bangladesh from Myanmar of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees.
Continue readingAcute Stress Disorder
In the weeks after a traumatic event, you may develop an anxiety disorder called acute stress disorder (ASD). ASD typically occurs within one month of a traumatic event. It lasts at least three days and can persist for up to one month. People with ASD have symptoms similar to those seen in post-traumatic
Continue readingCivilians Own 85% Of World’s Firearms
Latest statistics show the proliferation of privately owned guns is on the rise, with wealthy countries outstripping developing and war-torn countries. In a detailed report, weapons watchdog the Small Arms Survey has researched the numbers of guns across 230 countries. Examining the ownership of revolvers and self-loading pistols, rifles, carbines, assault rifles
Continue readingInside A Gaming Addiction Treatment Centre
Ian was in his 20s when he started gaming in the mid-1990s. A long-time interest in building PCs had developed into an initially healthy interest in first-person shooters like Counter-Strike and Team Fortress, which he’d play at weekends and when he came home from work. It was the online element
Continue readingIncredibly Difficult To Predict A Suicide
Who is going to die by suicide? This terrible mystery of human behaviour takes on particular poignancy in the wake of suicides by high-profile and much-beloved celebrities Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain. It is only natural that people want to know why such tragedies occur. Those closest to those who take their lives
Continue readingAce Ventura: Oysters, Craft Beer And Wildlife In California’s Most Laid-Back Town
The San Buenaventura state beach is all but empty of sunbathers. The only bodies on display are the ones at Surfers Point, where a constant churn of frothy white peaks keeps them bobbing aloft on their distant boards. From there, the sands sweep south to infinity, or at least to
Continue readingThe Force Behind Europe’s Populist Tide
A youth revolt is upending Italian politics, and it could be a harbinger of things to come. Western Europe’s largest anti-establishment government came to power earlier this month, driven largely by young Italian voters. Struggling with a persistent lack of job prospects over the past decade, they voted in droves
Continue readingSex Offenders Groom Churches Too
A man who had long sexually abused children sat in front of his pastor, wanting to confess his crimes. He began cautiously, mentioning that there had been accusations against him. He got no further, as his minister broke in, “Well, that’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard of,” the minister
Continue readingPhotographs June 2018 3
Credits: National Geographic Society, Travel Photographers of the Year 2018.
Continue readingBrain Matures Faster Due To Childhood Stress
Stress in early childhood leads to faster maturation of certain brain regions during adolescence. In contrast, stress experienced later in life leads to slower maturation of the adolescent brain. This is the outcome of a long-term study conducted by researchers of Radboud University in which 37 subjects have been monitored
Continue readingDelhi’s Air Pollution Off The Chart
Smog more toxic than can be measured by monitoring devices has blanketed the Indian capital this week, months before the start of Delhi’s traditional “pollution season.” A thick haze was visible across the city from Tuesday, and some government pollution monitors have recorded concentrations of 999 – the highest they
Continue readingSocial Mobility In Richest Countries Stalled Since The 1990s
Income inequality has increased and social mobility stalled across the world’s richest countries since the 1990s, trapping families on low incomes at the bottom of the earnings ladder, according to an in-depth report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The Paris-based body, which counts 34 countries as members,
Continue readingMaintaining Faith In A Hostile Environment
Daniel 2. The Book of Daniel is one of the exilic Biblical literature, including Esther, Ezekiel, and segments in both Jeremiah and the Minor Prophets. Together, they explored the Israelites’ challenging predicament during their exile, after King Nebuchadnezzar’s initial conquest of the Holy Land in 577 BC, when the King
Continue readingRise Of The Machines: Has Technology Evolved Beyond Our Control?
The fear is that as computer power increases, and the artificial intelligence becomes too smart, we could lose control. It’s not too much of a leap to envisage a situation where insurance companies will use AI just to ensure those who are healthy. Artificial intelligence will also revolutionise industries and
Continue readingHalesia Tetraptera
Halesia tetraptera, commonly known as the common silverbell or mountain silverbell is a species in the family Styracaceae, native to the southeastern United States. It is cultivated as an ornamental tree. It is a small deciduous tree growing to 10 m tall. The leaves are ovate to lanceolate, 5–16 cm long and 4–7 cm broad. The flowers are 1–2.5 cm long, with a four-lobed white corolla. The fruit is
Continue readingHuawei’s History In Britain May Explain Australia’s Nervousness
To understand the deep institutional anxiety about Huawei among Australia’s closest security partners, you have to understand the British experience with the Chinese telecommunications giant. It’s not an episode that’s much advertised, deliberately so. But it’s an episode that is held against Huawei when it comes to why it should
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