Thursday, July 12, 2007

Antiguans travel to Israel

Antigua stated that the New World celebration is truly a time of extreme joy
by Afeefah Beharry
Antigua Sun News
A group of six Antiguans went to Israel in May to participate in the 40th Anniversary of the New World Passover, 2007.

New World Passover is an annual celebration since the exodus began out of the Americas (modern day Egypt), for the descendants of those brought to Antigua as slaves, due to disobedience to the laws of God.

A press release from the Ministry of Information African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem, Antigua stated that the celebration is truly a time of extreme joy and festivities where people from all corners of the world journey up to Israel to celebrate obedience to his laws and true freedom. The event was held from the 16 to 17 May.
The group spent one month in Dimona, a small town located in the Negev Desert of Israel which is also known as the “Village of Peace”. The group was comprised of Ammi, Yasheer, Beniah, Shahma, Rumiah and Koliah.

Other countries who were present at the celebration included St.Vincent, Bermuda, Atlanta, USA, South Africa and Guyana.

Euro Hits New High Against U.S. Dollar

Euro Soars to New High Above $1.37 Amid Worries About U.S. Economy
By Jackie Farwell
AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) -- The euro shot to an all-time high against the U.S. dollar Tuesday on concerns about the American economy that were fueled by discouraging growth forecasts from key U.S. retailers and homebuilders.

The euro hit a new record of $1.3738 Tuesday, its highest level against the dollar since the 13-nation currency started trading in 1999, before retreating to $1.3729. That was still above the euro's previous high of $1.3682 reached on April 27 and the $1.3623 it bought late Monday in New York.

"The dollar is a basket case," said Peter Schiff, president of Euro Pacific Capital Inc. "We are going to pay the piper for years of having the underlying fundamentals of our economy disintegrate beneath our feet."

Given the state of the U.S. economy, he said, the dollar could continue to fall in the coming years against the euro, to $2.50 or even $3.

Some black Americans returning to Africa

Connection with heritage sought
By Bryan Mealer
Associated Press

A growing number of black Americans trading potentially lucrative careers and relative comfort back home for a new life in Africa, where the former slave-trading hub of Ghana is wooing Americans with some of the easiest immigration rules on the continent. That includes a "right of abode" for qualifying American members of the African diaspora, echoing Israel's offer of automatic citizenship for Jews.

Centuries ago, the Gold Coast — Ghana's name under British rule — was a major slave-embarkation point; every year thousands of Africans left here to become human chattel in the New World.

Centuries ago, the Gold Coast — Ghana's name under British rule — was a major slave-embarkation point; every year thousands of Africans left here to become human chattel in the New World. Untold numbers died in slave raids or making the "middle passage" in cramped, pestilential ships. Some parts of Africa were left virtually unpeopled.

The tide was reversed in 1957, when Ghana became one of the first countries in sub-Saharan Africa to gain independence from colonial rule. Many black Americans began turning up here.
Ghana's first president, Kwame Nkrumah, a graduate of Lincoln University in Chester County, Pa., was a leading voice for repatriation, enlisting Americans like the authors W.E.B. DuBois and Maya Angelou to help spread the movement.

Post-independence euphoria was quickly shattered, however, as Ghana fell into decades of military rule before embracing constitutional democracy in 1992.

These days, the country's expanding economy, stable government and laid-back, English-speaking population make it an easy holiday choice for tourists, who flock to the chain of slave forts that still line Ghana's coastline.

For some, Ghana offers incentives to stay: It is the only African country to offer black Americans "right of abode," allowing those who qualify to work and own property, said Janet Butler, president of the African American Association, a support group for expatriates. Applicants must live in Ghana seven years before fully qualifying.

As many as 1,000 black Americans are living in Ghana, Butler said. They are a varied lot: aid workers, pan-African nationalists here since the 1960s, entrepreneurs, retirees, Rastafarian's. A few live in mud huts, embracing the agrarian life of their ancestors.

KNN-This article was originally written in Jan. 2005

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Pope: Other denominations not true churches

Benedict issues statement asserting that Jesus established ‘only one church’
MSNBC News Service

LORENZAGO DI CADORE, Italy - Pope Benedict XVI has reasserted the universal primacy of the Roman Catholic Church, approving a document released Tuesday that says Orthodox churches were defective and that other Christian denominations were not true churches.

Benedict approved a document from his old offices at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith that restates church teaching on relations with other Christians. It was the second time in a week the pope has corrected what he says are erroneous interpretations of the Second Vatican Council, the 1962-65 meetings that modernized the church.

On Saturday, Benedict revisited another key aspect of Vatican II by reviving the old Latin Mass. Traditional Catholics cheered the move, but more liberal ones called it a step back from Vatican II.

See Article: Pope: Other denominations not true churches

Also See: revisited another key aspect of Vatican II by reviving the old Latin Mass.

Monday, July 09, 2007

Wildfire Spreads Across Western U.S. States

Property and vegetation in almost 300,000 acres (120,000 hectares) of land has been destroyed
RTT News Service

7/9/2007 10:51:08 AM Wildfires are sweeping dangerously across South Dakota and several western U.S. states, threatening homes and closing main roads. South Dakota is the worst affected state, where one person has died and 27 homes have been destroyed, local officials said. The fire, sparked by lightning on Saturday, has burned across nine square miles. Residents of at least 50 properties have fled the fire.

Extremely hot temperatures and high winds are acting catalysts to flare up the fire. Temperatures have gone up as high as 100° Fahrenheit, following a drier-than-normal winter. creating ideal conditions for fires. South Dakota state wild land fire co-coordinator Joe Lowe attributes these two factors as creating ideal conditions for fires. Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, California, Colorado, Arizona, Washington D C, and Oregon are the other states affected by fires, forcing many people to evacuate their homes.

Property and vegetation in almost 300,000 acres (120,000 hectares) of land has been destroyed in the largest ever wildfire in the state of Utah.

Several road accidents have occurred on a stretch of highway near Richfield, Utah, killing one person. Around 34,000 acres of woods have been scorched in California's Inyo National Forest.

Nancy Upham, a spokeswoman for the Inyo National Forest, said that even seasoned fire fighters are finding it very difficult to tackle the fire, which behaves in a way they have never seen before. 11 firefighters were injured in the Los Padres National Forest in southern California while trying to save 22 homes. See: Wildfire Spreads Across Western U.S. States []