...

...

...

The botched raid comes amid concerns over the regime’s ability to cope with COVID-19, given its run-down economy and health systems.

OFFSHORE gaming operators and their service providers must settle all their tax liabilities before resuming operations, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez 3rd reiterated on Friday. “In order for POGO (Philippine offshore gaming operators) service providers to be allowed to operate, they must pay their 2019 income tax liabilities, or in the case of POGO franchisees, the […]

FORMER Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Ricky Vargas believes that 2016 Rio Olympics weightlifting silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz and 2015 Southeast Asian Games boxing welterweight gold medalist Eumir Felix Marcial have the strongest chances of winning the country’s first ever gold at the Olympics next year. Vargas, currently the president of the Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (ABAP) and formerly the Philippine Basketball Association chairman, […]

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has created an unprecedented human and economic crisis. Governments are taking strong actions, enforcing quarantines to reduce contagion, testing populations, building emergency intensive care units. Governments have also launched large fiscal stimulus plans to protect jobs and the economy, as well as temporary social protection programs such as income/food support, subsidies […]

The post Citizen Action is Central to the Global Response to COVID-19 appeared first on Inter Press Service.

“I have never planted a tree in my life,” laughs Jairos Saunyama, a tobacco farmer, revelling at the absurdity of the question of whether he is involved in the country’s afforestation efforts. Sawunyama is one of thousands of farmers who are blamed by local conservationists for turning the country’s forests into deserts and dust bowls. […]

The post Zimbabwe’s Afforestation Challenge appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Sixteen are from Unguja while 13 are from Pemba, all Tanzanians.

The govt says it is facilitating those whose travel plans were disrupted by pandemic.

SGR allocated almost half of the development budget of the Ministry of Works.

Ninjala is sure to deliver Splatoon fans a new mess of fun and the rest of the world gets a peek at the buzz behind ...

International journalist and professor Ilgin Yorulmaz on how to pitch to an editor, the story that’s left the biggest impact on her and what makes ...

The Athletic's David Aldridge told The Japan Times that Hachimura is "a very diligent, hard worker" who should "play for many years on good teams."

Anyone with four days of mild cold symptoms is now being encouraged to consult a public health center about getting tested.

Lockdown: Before the lockdown, Kiteetikka Mbuzi Market, commonly referred to as Kumbuzi, was a beehive of activities. Elizabeth Kamurungi visited the area and spoke to some of the few vendors still operating.

[The Herald] Zimbabweans have heeded preventative and precautionary measures put in place by President Mnangagwa to contain the spread of Covid-19 and Government is hopeful the number of recorded cases will not continue to rise.

[The Herald] Johannesburg -Khama Billiat is heading for arguably his worst season in the South African Absa Premiership football and apart from injuries hampering his form, there have been questions about the player's mentality.

[New Zimbabwe] THE ravaging COVID-19 pandemic has blocked police investigators from travelling to South Africa to hunt for evidence linking Marry Mubaiwa to charges of attempting to murder her now estranged husband Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, a Harare court heard Friday.

[The Herald] Registrar-General Clement Masango yesterday denied any wrongdoing during his bail application before Harare regional magistrate Mrs Bianca Makwande.

A couple of weeks ago, Brian Fenton received a text from his father instructing him to switch on his television.

Fraud squad detectives have seized a number of electronic devices and documentation as part of a massive international probe into a €1m invoice redirect fraud.

IIBR, Yeroham to collaborate on vaccine production facility

The attack was the fifth case of vandalism or intimidation in 2 ½ years.

"This is a daunting challenge," New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said at a daily briefing last week. "The entire public transport system in downstate New York will be disinfected every 24 hours."

The diplomatic visit will be the first since Israel closed its borders to foreigners in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

Lands Authority confirms that the FKNK has no title to Miżieb and l-Aħrax tal-Mellieha, independent candidate Arnold Cassola says 

BirdLife video of illegal hunting in Malta sent to European Commission

Murder suspect Alfred Degiorgio does not want to appear in court after COVID-19 lockdown prevented him from seeing family 

A huge 28,000 square metre retail centre is being earmarked for the Barbros construction plant next to the Lidl supermarket in Zejtun

The IRGC aerospace command takes credit for the achievement and says that it builds on legacies dating back to 1988.

The drawdown would come as Egypt battles an Islamist insurgency in the desert peninsula

Bank branches attacked with gunfire, petrol bombs.

Iran's parliament has voted to slash four zeros from the national currency, the rial, to fight hyperinflation caused by crippling U.S. sanctions and the coronavirus pandemic. Lawmakers also decided on May 4 that the rial, which has been Iran's national currency since 1925, will be replaced by the toman, which will be equal to 10,000 rials, according to the IRNA and ISNA news agencies.

In the lead-up to the Truth Matters conference in October, we will be focusing our attention on the sufficiency, authority, and clarity of Scripture. Of our previous blog series, none better embodies that emphasis than Frequently Abused Verses. The following entry from that series originally appeared on April 10, 2017. -ed.

False teaching thrives in environments where it is unlikely to be questioned. Charlatans and heretics prey on uncritical minds, and work tirelessly to protect and preserve that gullibility. Their success depends on dismantling every challenge to their authority and accuracy.

John MacArthur describes why that problem is rampant in the modern church:

In a time like this of tolerance, listen, false teaching will always cry intolerance; it will always say you’re being divisive, you’re being unloving, you’re being ungracious, because it can only survive when it doesn’t get scrutinized. And so it cries against any intolerance. It cries against any examination, any scrutiny.

In recent decades, some of the most notorious charismatic church leaders have been doing just that. They continually warn their critics to back off or face the imminent danger of divine judgment. Claiming God’s stamp of approval, they wield Psalm 105:15 like a loaded gun: “Touch not [the Lord’s] anointed” (KJV).

And lest you think such a description to be hyperbole, the following clip from Benny Hinn is a spectacular example. 

Hinn’s handling of Psalm 105:15, as well as the story of Saul and David, is hopelessly wrong on too many levels to address in one blog post.

For example we could discuss how Hinn utterly fails to understand Judas’s role in God’s sovereign plan for the crucifixion, while woefully underestimating the deity of Christ. We could invalidate Hinn’s warnings against criticism by pointing out the time Paul rebuked Peter—or when Hinn has publicly rebuked Joel Osteen, among others. Then there’s the problem of Hinn basing his threats upon the extra-biblical revelation of another false teacher (Kenneth Copeland).

 What does it mean to “touch”?

But there is one simple, glaring error that explains all the other problems and exposes Hinn as the incompetent and unqualified Bible teacher that he is. When David says, “I will not stretch out my hand against [Saul], for he is the Lord’s anointed” (1 Samuel 24:10), he is explaining why he didn’t kill Saul, not why he didn’t criticize Saul. In fact, David was openly critical of Saul on numerous occasions. Moreover, 1 Samuel 24:10 is part of a larger discourse where David rebukes Saul face-to-face over his murderous scheming: “I have not sinned against you, though you are lying in wait for my life to take it. May the Lord judge between you and me, and may the Lord avenge me on you; but my hand shall not be against you” (1 Samuel 24:11–13). Even if Benny Hinn was “the Lord’s anointed”—he’s not—none of his critics are attempting to “touch” him in the sense described in 1 Samuel 24:10 (or Psalm 105:15; or 1 Chronicles 16:22).

Who are the anointed?

There is another fatal flaw in Hinn’s interpretation. He—and all those who follow this teaching—assume that only certain persons are “anointed.” They claim that pastors and self-appointed prophets and apostles have a unique anointing from God that immunizes them from criticism. But such a concept is foreign to Scripture. In short, the Bible teaches that all believers have an anointing from God.

In his first epistle, the apostle John explained what it means to be anointed as a New Testament believer. After warning his readers about antichrists who were coming to deceive them, John reminded them of their security because of Christ’s anointing:

These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you. As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him. (1 John 2:26–27)

The anointing John refers to is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit—a reality for all true Christians. John MacArthur explains the context and meaning of “anointing” as it appears in 1 John:

The false teachers who threatened John’s readers employed the terms for knowledge and anointing to describe their religious experience. They arrogantly saw themselves as possessing an elevated and esoteric form of divine knowledge, and as the recipients of a special, secret, transcendent anointing. That led them to believe they were privy to truth that the uninitiated lacked. John’s response, which was both a rebuttal to the antichrists and a reassurance to the believers, was to assert that, in reality, all true Christians have an anointing from the Holy One.

Because believers have received that anointing, they have the true understanding of God that comes exclusively through Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6), “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3). They do not need any secret, special, or transcendent understanding or esoteric insight. Anointing (chrisma) literally means “ointment” or “oil” (cf. Hebrews 1:9). In this text it refers figuratively to the Holy Spirit (cf. 2 Corinthians 1:21–22), who has taken up residency in believers at the behest of Jesus Christ, the Holy One (cf. Luke 4:34; Acts 3:14), and reveals through Scripture all they need to know (John 14:26; 16:13; 1 Corinthians 2:9–10). ^[1] John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: 1–3 John (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 2007), 102.

The anointing we have as believers reveals the truth and therefore exposes the lies of false teachers. How ironic that the “anointing” Benny Hinn evokes to extort and manipulate churchgoers is actually our warning system to expose the self-serving deception of wolves like him.   

Modern evangelistic strategies often stumble by emphasizing the method over the message. We hear a lot about contextualization, felt needs, and relevance. On the other hand, we steadily seem to hear less and less about the power of God’s Word to transform the sinner’s soul. As the church becomes increasingly enamored of such pragmatic strategies, it proves decreasingly convinced of the sufficiency of Scripture.

We recently asked Mike Riccardi—the local outreach pastor at Grace Community Church and one of the keynote speakers at Truth Matters—what impact, if any, the sufficiency of Scripture makes in evangelism. Here’s what he had to say:

Registration for Truth Matters is now closed. However, we will be streaming every session of the conference live on the Internet. Wherever you are, we hope you will join us for this special time of Bible teaching, worship, and fellowship.

Ankara’s haste to reopen shopping malls may be an effort to revive sagging consumption, but it also has to do with a tight nexus between politicians and businesses in the country.

PESHAWAR: CM Mahmood Khan has directed the officials concerned to finalise all arrangements for a formal groundbreaking of Rashakai Economic Zone.He was chairing a meeting held here on Friday to review progress on Rashakai and Hattar Economic Zones projects, said an official handout. Besides...

A US regulator on Thursday pulled approval for dozens of companies making industry-standard masks in China, citing substandard performance, and warned health care providers to reconsider using any of the now-blacklisted products.After the US Food and Drug Administration’s determination that many of the made-in-China N95-style masks filter out less than 95 per cent of particulate matter – the filtration level that gives the N95 mask its name – the approved number of manufacturers dropped to 14…

Zoom Video Communications pushed forward on Thursday in its effort to revamp its security, striking a deal with the New York attorney general’s office to protect users’ privacy and purchasing secure messaging start-up Keybase.The company, which has faced backlash for failing to disclose that its service was not fully end-to-end encrypted said it planned to develop tools that will give more controls to meeting hosts and allow users to securely join a meeting and submit them to external review…

It has not got much attention with the world focused on coronavirus, but deforestation has surged in the Amazon rainforest this year, raising fears of a repeat of last year’s record-breaking devastation – or worse.Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon hit a new high in the first four months of the year, according to data released Friday by Brazil’s National Space Research Institute (INPE), which uses satellite images to track the destruction.A total of 1,202 square kilometres of forest – an…

The Philippines’ largest broadcaster ABS-CBN was forced off the air on Tuesday, the same day Conchita Lopez Taylor turned 90.“We’re used to it,” she said in a phone interview from her home in California.“We” referred to the large Lopez clan who owns the company, which had been forced to shut once before.Taylor was a 42-year-old mother of seven when ABS-CBN’s facilities were seized in 1972 by the clan’s former political ally, then-President Ferdinand Marcos. Her husband, former ABS-CBN chairman…

Calls for Australian businesses to diversify away from China as their main trading partner are nothing more than a “zombie economic idea” that is being used as a political tool to expedite the decoupling of the two countries, according to a report by the Australia-China Relations Institute at the University of Technology Sydney.The debate about Australia’s over-dependence on China for its livelihood has ramped up recently, triggered by the interruption of supply chains during China’s…

by Lachlan Hyatt | Prague Daily Monitor

More than 30 years after the Fall of Communism in the Czech Republic, many of the stories of those targeted during the worst era of the regime are being forgotten as dissidents forced to work in labor camps are dying off.

read more

Prague Daily Monitor

According to data released by the Ministry of Interior, the number of British citizens living in the Czech Republic has increased about 35% since the Brexit referendum, and Brits with their permanent residence in the Czech Republic have risen almost 55% since 2016.

read more

Prague Daily Monitor

Although the suspicious cases of coronavirus at Prague's Na Bulovce were not confirmed as such, there are several other pending cases across the country. At the Prague Airport certain measures have already come together to start more intensive screening of incoming flights, for now those from China.

read more

Prague Daily Monitor

After the weekend hack-a-thon proved that a CZK 401 million contract for a web based vignette system can be made in a few hours time, with 60 programmers, Prague's politicians are on a witch hunt. Next is the CZK 15 billion Prague metro maintenance contract which was signed without a public tender.

read more

Prague Daily Monitor

So far the coronavirus, in the Czech Republic as well as most of the world, has remained relatively contained. Several suspicious cases in the country have proved negative as just normal flu or cold symptoms. People are advised to clean hands often, especially after visiting busy public places.

read more

Prague Daily Monitor

The Prague Transport Authority (DPP) is funding a project to extend the tram track from Sídliště Modřany to Nové Dvory. The extension will be 1.8 kilometers long and cost about CZK 350 million. The target completion date would be 2027.

read more

Prague Daily Monitor

There are about 90 Czech students studying in China from all over the country. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said that due to the coronavirus, they will assist students in getting back to the Czech Republic if the students are interested. Students should follow updates from the ministry.

read more