Monday 30 December 2013
Sunday 29 December 2013
What does the Bible say about parallel universes?
What does the Bible say about parallel universes and different heavens.
The Bible never mentions other universes. It only describes God creating "the heavens and the earth" (Gen 1:1) and interacting with people on earth.
However, it does describe different heavens. In fact, the word "heaven" is used in several different ways: to start with, it can mean the atmosphere, outer space and where God dwells.
The "heavens" are also used figuratively to mean the political leaders (those who are above everyone else) as distinct from "earth" (the people they rule). For example, this is how it is used in Haggai 2:21-22.
Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I am about to shake the heavens and the earth, and to overthrow the throne of kingdoms. I am about to destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations, and overthrow the chariots and their riders. And the horses and their riders shall go down, every one by the sword of his brother.
Here, "heavens and earth" refers to the governments and people of the day. The same symbolism is found in Isaiah's description of the overthrow of Babylon in Isaiah 13:13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger. 15 Every one that is found shall be thrust through; and every one that is joined unto them shall fall by the sword.
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Because the Bible uses the word "heaven" in several different ways, we need to decide by context what the word means when it occurs.
"A new heaven and a new earth" is also used symbolically to mean a new order of things (God's Kingdom) where the rulers and the people change. This is how it is used in Isaiah 65:17-19; 66:22; 2 Peter 3:13 and Revelation 21:1.
Have you seen the Matrix films?
They chart the attempts of one man, Neo, to overcome the present worldly system and find the Truth. In doing so, he gets into a position to be able to help others and guide them towards the city of Zion, where they can be truly free.
The film is full of imagery and symbolism, but where does it come from? And what does it point to? Could the films actually be pointing to a real situation?
Now for a Greek lesson. Neo means "new" and is also an anagram of "One". "Ander" means "Man". Therefore, Neo's surname "Anderson", means "Son of Man". This is a title of Jesus. Nebuchadnezzar, the name of Neo's ship was also the name of a Biblical king who had dreams concerning the "Last Days". So the imagery of the film borrows strongly from the Bible. Neo's girlfriend is called Trinity, which although not a Biblical term or concept, is nevertheless central to the beliefs of Christendom.
Jesus overcame his human nature to become the Saviour or Chosen One. Following his baptism (which symbolises the putting off of the old man and the putting on of the new) he was given extensive powers. Just as Neo dies and is brought back to life, Jesus died and was raised up by his Father, God.
The Bible teaches that this world is but a "shadow of things to come". The Bible also talks of the New Jerusalem (Zion) coming to the earth as the capital of the Kingdom of God.
"Yahweh has established Zion, and in her his afflicted people will find refuge." (Isaiah 14:32)
Once Jesus has finished restoring the world, Yahweh God himself will dwell with Man.
Zechariah 8:3
Thus saith Yahweh; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the LORD of hosts the holy mountain.."
We all have a choice - to continue living in this shadow world or to find the Truth. Jesus taught:
"Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 8:32)
Star Wars - Good Versus Evil
Star Wars, Episode One has been a great commercial success. What is the secret of this success? What is the formula? Well obviously the special effects played their part, and also the Characters. Yet the prime factor is likely to be that the film tells the age-old story of Good versus Evil. Evil is defeated and the world can breathe a sigh of relief.
This battle is one that every one can relate to, whatever culture they belong to; north, south, east, west, white, black, brown, yellow, rich or poor; we all understand this battle. When we watch the News or read the papers, the battle is there for us to see, yet identifying Good and Evil is not always clear-cut. In Westerns, the Baddies wore black hats and Goodies wore white. The difference was plain.
Of course, life is not that simple and in many ways, Star Wars reflects that. Han Solo, although a "Goodie", is not without his flaws (a little smuggling, for example). Darth Vader, came good at the end of his life, by saving his son, Luke from the evil emperor. We learn also that Anakin (as he once was) was essentially good, yet had a capacity to go either way (the Force Light Side or the Dark Side). Luke, being only good, was a much less believable character as a result.
There are no Good people or Bad people. All of us are a mixture or both. Some are more good than others, that is all.
Those of us who wish to be better people then have a battle on our hands, the battle between Good and Evil going on in our hearts. This battle is described by someone called Paul (a real-life Obi Wan Kenobi, perhaps?):
Romans 7:19-25 19 For the good that I wish I do not do, but the bad that I do not wish is what I practice. 20 If, now, what I do not wish is what I do, the one working it out is no longer I, but the sin dwelling in me.
21 I find, then, this law in my case: that when I wish to do what is right, what is bad is present with me. 22 I really delight in the law of God according to the man I am within, 23 but I behold in my members another law warring against the law of my mind and leading me captive to sin’s law that is in my members. 24 Miserable man that I am! Who will rescue me from the body undergoing this death? 25 Thanks to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So, then, with [my] mind I myself am a slave to God’s law, but with [my] flesh to sin’s law.
There is a real-life battle between Good and Evil, not only going on inside us, but also in the World around us.
We cannot totally defeat evil within us, let alone in the World at large, but ultimately, Good will prevail. The only truly good man the world has ever seen will return to establish a state of peace that will last forever.
Friday 27 December 2013
Monday 23 December 2013
Sunday 22 December 2013
“Unpredicted Outcomes” of the Arab Spring
This week, the BBC ran a feature entitled “Arab Spring: 10 unpredicted outcomes”, by its Middle East correspondent Kevin Connolly. However, as Bible students are aware, some of these, “unpredicted outcomes” are not as “unpredicted” as Connolly imagines.
Hello, this is Nick Barnes, with the December 20th Bible in the News.The first of his “unpredicted outcomes” is that “The royal families of the Middle East have had a pretty good Arab Spring so far – rather better than some of them might have feared”, he says. And so while the governments of Tunisia, Libya and Egypt have been toppled and that of Syria teeters in bloody civil war, the monarchies of Jordan, Morocco, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and, of course, Saudi Arabia have largely escaped unscathed.
His second “unpredicted outcome” is that the “US no longer calls the shots”. And he states “America is still a superpower of course but it doesn’t dictate events in the Middle East anymore”. And indeed there has been a catastrophic loss of influence for America in this vital region.The United States has enjoyed dominance in this crossroad of the World, at the expense of Russia, for 40 years. Before the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Russia was the arsenal of most Arab countries; Israel was surrounded by Migs, T55 & T62 tanks, Sagger anti-tank missiles and SA-2s, SA-3s and SA-6 surface to air missiles, all provide by the USSR. And in exchange, these client states bent their wills to the foreign policy aims of the Soviets.
However from the time of that war, Russia rapidly lost traction; so that by the end of the war, Russia was forced to back down from its declared intention of unilaterally intervening on the behalf of Egypt. And in 1974, Russia was actually expelled from Egypt, by President Anwar Sadat. Instead Sadat realigned Egypt as a client of the USA, and soon became the recipient of billions of dollars of US aid – both economic and military.
Likewise Saudi Arabia and the various small Gulf states have, in recent decades, relied on the US for their security umbrella, and even Libya, under Colonel Gaddafi, eventually came into the western camp; and, of course, Israel has been a firm strategic ally, with the United States, since about 1970.
But in Obama’s presidency, all of these countries have been alienated; largely because of a loss of trust. He has demonstrated a willingness to abandon, and even support the enemies of, long-time, strategic allies (in particular Hosni Mubarak, but also Colonel Gaddafi). He has then allowed the democratically elected replacement, Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood, to be ousted, with scarcely a whimper, because the US did not like his policies, and yet Obama has subsequently failed to support the new government also.
The US government has left, the Middle Eastern monarchies, in little doubt that the US would betray their trust too, if they needed help, despite all the support they gave the Western Allies against Saddam Hussein and in the War on Terror.
Which brings us to the fourth “unpredicted outcome” which is “Iran a Winner”. Kevin Connolly writes“No-one would have predicted at the beginning of the Arab Spring that Iran would gain from it. At the beginning of the process, it was marginalised and crippled by sanctions imposed because of its nuclear ambitions. Now it's impossible to imagine a solution in Syria without Iranian agreement, and with its presidency under new management its (sic) even talking to the world powers about that nuclear programme.
Saudi Arabia and Israel are both alarmed by America's readiness to talk to Tehran - anything that puts those two countries on the same side of an argument has to be pretty historic.”
And the US has further embittered its Middle Eastern allies – namely Israel, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states – through this deal with Iran. The Saudi government is reported as saying that it endangers the “stability and security of the Middle East”, and its ambassador to London said that his country "will not stand idly by in the face of the danger posed by the Iranian nuclear program if the US, the UK and the other major powers fail to stop this program". In Israel, premier Netanyahu said “What was reached in Geneva is not a historic agreement, it is a historic mistake”.
Weakness, in this group of allies, is predicted in the prophet Ezekiel and chapter 38. We read in v13
Eze 38:13 Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?
The Sheba and Dedan are the ancient inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsula. Today’s equivalents are Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states. These we see are allied with “the Merchants of Tarshish” and all its “young lions”. The latter-day Tarshish is Britain as shown briefly in the Bible in the News of 18th Jan 2013, and more fully in a Bible Class series on “Britain in Bible Prophecy” available at
http://www.the-gospel-truth.info/resources/for-christadelphians/bible-classes/
The “young lions” are the nations which grew from Britain’s colonies, in the days of its empire; countries such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India and, of course, the United States of America.
But these allies are to have become so weak, it appears from Eze 38v13, that they will have become unable or unwilling to stand against the invasion, by Gog, of the Middle East, and in particular of the land of Israel. This passage indicates that the US will no longer have the reach to impose its will in the Levantine theatre, and will be powerless to prevent those who have “gathered thy company to take a prey” “ to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil”.
In contrast, Iran and Russia will be in that great confederacy, inflicting their will, by force of arms, on Israel and Egypt, as their allies stand by helpless. We read in Ezekiel 38:2-4 in the NKJV:
"Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, and say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I [am] against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. I will turn you around, put hooks into your jaws, and lead you out, with all your army, horses, and horsemen, all splendidly clothed, a great company [with] bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords.
These names Rosh, Meshech and Tubal are echoed in the lands in which these people settled. The land of the Rosh is Russia, the land of Meshech is Muscovy and that of Tubal is Tubolsk (the historic capital of Siberia). Together these names indicate the Russia of today. And in v5 we find that Iran (Persia) is one of those who will join Russia in this venture. We read
"Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya are with them, all of them [with] shield and helmet;"
And this confederacy will come into being, in the latter days, in a period when the people of Israel have been brought back to their land, and in particular to the mountains of Israel (the West Bank), after a long period of dispersion.
"…In the latter years you will come into the land of those brought back from the sword and gathered from many people on the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate; they were brought out of the nations, and now all of them dwell safely. You will ascend, coming like a storm, covering the land like a cloud, you and all your troops and many peoples with you.”
The Israelites have only returned to this area of the land, in the time since the 1967, Six Day War; and only in very recent months and years have we seen the sharp decline in the power of the USA, that would explain why “Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish” would be unable to prevent such an outrageous and destructive incursion through the Levant into Egypt.
However, the desperate state to which Israel is reduced, will induce them to turn, in truth, to the one power who can save them. And we read in Ezekeil 38v18
“And it will come to pass at the same time, when Gog comes against the land of Israel,” says the Lord GOD, “that My fury will show in My face. For in My jealousy and in the fire of My wrath I have spoken: ‘Surely in that day there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel, so that the fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the beasts of the field, all creeping things that creep on the earth, and all men who are on the face of the earth shall shake at My presence. The mountains shall be thrown down, the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.’ I will call for a sword against Gog throughout all My mountains,” says the Lord GOD. “Every man’s sword will be against his brother. And I will bring him to judgment with pestilence and bloodshed; I will rain down on him, on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, flooding rain, great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. Thus I will magnify Myself and sanctify Myself, and I will be known in the eyes of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the LORD.”
So as we see the continuing decline in the influence of the United States, we can be sure that the “outcomes” are not “unpredicted”, but are revealed to us in God’s Word.
Saturday 21 December 2013
One Voice
The limitation of roles for women in the Christadelphian community is a growing area of controversy today. Some believe that the questioning is a result of changes in the roles of women in society today and “women’s lib,” others such as this site contend that the limitation of roles is not scriptural itself. A difficulty for traditionalists is that this area is not covered by existing statements of faith.
http://www.onevoice.info
http://www.tosots.info
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSlV_bjAq_yrF3QfO9IhoQbByfIfY1Qso
http://www.onevoice.info
http://www.tosots.info
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSlV_bjAq_yrF3QfO9IhoQbByfIfY1Qso
Friday 20 December 2013
Women & Prophecy
- Women & Prophecy
This brief study reviews the women who prophesied in Old and New Testament times and considers the comment in 1 Cor 14:34-35 'silencing' women, in light of Paul's encouragement that all should earnestly desire to prophesy.
Who is the Head?
Part3 - Who is the Head?
We will consider New Testament references to husbands and wives, men and women, clarifying Bible teaching on who is the head in marriage and in the ecclesia. The unity of the body/bride may only be found when believers are not divided by gender, race or class.
We will consider New Testament references to husbands and wives, men and women, clarifying Bible teaching on who is the head in marriage and in the ecclesia. The unity of the body/bride may only be found when believers are not divided by gender, race or class.
- The Foundations
- The Foundations
1 Tim 2:12-14 and 1 Cor 11:7-9 refer to Adam and Eve; the former in regard to teaching and authority, the latter in regard to head coverings. As an introduction to the above passages, this short study will consider the Genesis creation account in light of the foundation laid in Christ.
The Greater Context
Part1 - The Greater Context
The issue of brothers’ and sisters’ service in the ecclesia cannot be severed from the fundamentals of the Gospel. How we know and experience Christ will greatly affect the mindset we bring to the topic and hence what we make of the biblical evidence.
The issue of brothers’ and sisters’ service in the ecclesia cannot be severed from the fundamentals of the Gospel. How we know and experience Christ will greatly affect the mindset we bring to the topic and hence what we make of the biblical evidence.
Thursday 19 December 2013
Sunday 15 December 2013
Wednesday 11 December 2013
“Set your hope fully on
“Set your hope fully on …”
Is our world in a hopeless condition? The indications that it is are multiplying. The nations are too self-centred to take any effective action over global warming and the weather is getting more extreme. The United Nations are more disunited than ever over many issues, especially over Israel. The money woes of the nations increase and move from crisis to crisis; efforts to achieve disarmament are useless, the economies of some nations depend on making and selling weapons! And above all, efforts at moral reform no longer exist, instead laws are relaxed to allow many unnatural kinds of behaviour, ways of living God deplores.
We saw a lesson related to that last point as we completed reading the prophecy of Nahum against Nineveh today. It had repented at the preaching of Jonah, but the following generations had gone back to their old ways; doom is now pronounced by God, Nahum’s concluding words to them are – “upon whom has not come your unceasing evil”. Through his prophet Zephaniah God said, “I will make Nineveh a desolation, a dry waste like the desert” (2:13). And it happened.
As we start reading Peter’s letters we see how appropriate they are for us. His urgent message is for believers to have a strong faith, to remain steadfast as trials increase. He writes of “the tested genuineness of your faith – more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire – may be found to result inpraise and glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1:7).
The whole chapter is a powerful message, but we took special note of verse 13, “Therefore,preparing your minds for action, and being sober minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ”. No half measures will be adequate; as the world becomes even more hopeless,
Peter tells them, “you have been born again” (verse 23) and then tells them how! “Born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God.” The seed of God’s message must “abide” in our hearts if we really want to prepare “our minds for action”. Jonah’s message to Nineveh had proved to be perishable, the children did not learn the lesson as their parents had. If we are to succeed where the Ninevites failed how vital it is for us to feed on and digest God’s word every day.
Tuesday 10 December 2013
treasure in the last days
“… treasure in the last days”
What sort of treasure in the last days; any different from other days? As we complete reading the letter of James we find it is full of interesting and challenging thoughts, the reference to “treasure” is one of them. James is the leader of the believers in Jerusalem that we read about in Acts 15:13, when the Apostles met to make a decision about the Gentile converts and whether they in any way had to also keep the Law of Moses.
The years have now moved on from that occasion; James is now writing as the chief elder for the believers in Jerusalem, it is now only a few years before the city would be encircled and then destroyed by the Roman armies in AD 67-70. James’s comments in his final chapter are initially directed at the situation that was then developing there and the awesome future the city faced, and which our world now faces. He is inspired to write – because these events would be replicated in human history climaxing in our last days.
So James is writing to warn them of their approaching last days and he says, “weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you, your riches have rotted … You have laid uptreasure in the last days … you have lived on the earth in luxury and self-indulgence” (5:1-3,5). This is so true today in many parts of the world.
Remember how we saw in 2 Timothy 3 the reference to conditions in the last days (verse 1) and primarily this was about the condition among believers; that they would have only “a form of godliness”. But James continues, “Be patient (steadfast) therefore brothers until the coming of the Lord … establish your hearts … the judge is standing at the door” (verses 7,8). These words apply so much to believers today in their failure to cope with this world.
The end of the times of the Gentiles (i.e., non-Jews) appears to be increasingly close. The total godlessness around us is as much a sign to us of the nearing “end” as is the mounting crisis in the Middle East surrounding God’s Holy Land. James then states, “Behold, we consider those blessed who remain steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job” (verse 11).
So as we read Job for the rest of this month we should remember how James sees him as an example of enduring despite much perplexity of mind about his situation. He is an example of the perplexities believers are already facing in some parts of the world today – and this may spread everywhere very soon. Our thought should be to ensure we have the right kind of treasure – that which is described in the parable of Jesus that we read in Luke 12:13-21. Read and reflect on the points our Lord makes and become “rich toward God”.
Bible Prophecy: Resurrection and Judgement Must Precede Salvation
- Before Christ and the Saints can go forth to establish the Kingdom of God, and to restore the Kingdom of Israel in the earth, it is necessary that the faithful of all generations be resurrected and judged worthy of places in that Kingdom. The first action of Christ at his return, then, will be to raise the dead to life again, for the purpose of judgment.
- 1TH 4:16-17 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
- The purpose of the judgment is to save the righteous and condemn the wicked. Those judged righteous will go forth with Christ to establish his kingdom. Those judged wicked will be returned to the world and die.
- 2CO 5:10 For we must all appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
- Not all men will come forth to judgment. Countless billions of the world's population never knew the plan and purpose of God, and have no responsibility toward it. Of these men God said:
- PRO 21:16 The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the dead.
- ISA 26:13-14 O LORD our God, other lords beside thee have had dominion over us: but by thee only will we make mention of thy name. They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise: therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish.
- Those who do appear at the Judgment are those who have been called to a knowledge of God's plan, whether they have been obedient to it or not. Jesus said through John:
- JOH 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
XXIV.--That at the appearing of Christ prior to the establishment of the Kingdom, the responsible (namely, those who know the revealed will of God, and have been called upon to submit to it), dead and living--obedient and disobedient--will be summoned before his judgment seat "to be judged according to their works," and "receive in body according to what they have done, whether it be good or bad."
XXV.--That the unfaithful will be consigned to shame and "the second death," and the faithful, invested with immortality, and exalted to reign with Jesus as joint heirs of the kingdom, co-possessors of the earth, and joint administrators of God's authority among men in everything."
Pope crosses Rome to honor Mary on feast of the Immaculate Conception
Pope crosses Rome to honor Mary on feast of the Immaculate Conception
Catholic World News 09-Dec-13
Pope Francis cross the city of Rome on December 8, honoring a papal tradition by laying a floral wreath at the foot of a statue dedicated to the Immaculate Conception, near the Spanish Steps.
Celebrating the feast of the Immaculate Conception, the Pope walked down the Via dei Condotti, through the glittering Christmas decorations of the city’s shopping district, and mingled with members of the crowd gathered on the Spanish Steps.
After laying the floral wreath, and reciting a prayer he had composed asking for Mary’s intercession, the Pope returned to the Vatican by way of the basilica of St. Mary Major, where he stopped to pray before the image of the Virgin, Salus Populi Romani--the same Marian image that he had visited on the day after his papal election.
During his Angelus audience on the same day, the Pope told a crowd in St. Peter’s Square: “The Immaculate Conception is inscribed in God’s design.” He explained that the “fracture in the communion” between man and god “was healed in advance” in the case of the Mother of God. The Virgin Mary, he said, shows the faithful “our truest destiny, our deepest vocation: to be loved, to be transformed by love, to be transformed by the beauty of God.”
The Pope urged the faithful to learn from Mary especially in preparation for the celebration of Christ’s birth, “because she teaches us how to experience the time of Advent, awaiting the Lord.”
Record Trade: German Exports Reach All-Time High
Record Trade: German Exports Reach All-Time High
Spiegel 09-Dec-13
German exports have hit a new record, reaching €99.1 billion in October. There is little reason for renewed criticism of German economic policy, however, because imports grew at an even greater pace.
Total German exports in October rose to €99.1 billion ($136 billion), a new all-time high. The previous record of €98.7 billion was set back in March 2012, according to the Federal Statistical Office on Monday. The latest figure also represents an increase on the same month last year of 0.6 percent.
A repeat of the recent international criticism over Germany's massive trade surplus, however, is unlikely, as imports rose at an even greater rate than exports -- at a surprising 2.9 percent. Thus the trade balance, the difference between exports and imports, shrunk to €17.9 billion from the record high of €20.4 billion reached in September.
Analysts have welcomed the figures. "The start of the fourth quarter was a success," said Christian Schulz from the Berenberg Bank. Imports rose because German companies invested more and German households consumed more, he added. "This is good news for the euro zone," Schulz said, adding that Germany is the driving force of the single-currency area economy.
HSBC economist Stefan Schilbe also focused on how the latest figures will affect other countries. "Trading partners will profit from the pickup in Germany," he said. The numbers support the theory that Germany's growth will be less dependent on exports in the future, he added.
The growth in exports in October was mainly due to strong demand from European Union countries that don't belong to the euro zone, with exports to Poland increasing by around 6.2 percent, for example. By contrast, exports to the euro zone declined by 0.1 percent and those to countries outside Europe fell by 1.3 percent compared to the previous year.
Despite the new record, German exports have still shrunk since the beginning of the year compared to 2012. From January to October, they amounted to a total of €917 billion, a drop of 0.7 percent. The best that can be expected for 2013 as a whole, according to the Federation of German Wholesale, Foreign Trade and Services (BGA), is an increase of almost 1 percent.
UK exports to India increase 20pc on back of trade push Daily Telegraph 09-Dec-13
:UK exports to India increase 20pc on back of trade push
Daily Telegraph 09-Dec-13
British companies have responded to the government’s drive to double exports to India with a 20pc jump in shipments so far this year.
Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, will highlight the performance on Monday, at the start of a four-day trade visit with 25 British companies to look at business opportunities in fast-growing regional cites across India. The mission is the fourth headed by Mr Cable since he was effectively given responsibility by David Cameron to double Britain’s trade with India by 2015.
“We have always had a special relationship between our countries and I am keen to push business collaboration much further,” said Mr Cable.
The Prime Minister is understood to feel that the presence of senior government ministers at the head of trade delegations will carry more weight and encourage more UK companies to give a higher priority to expanding business with emerging countries.
Last week, Mr Cameron headed Britain’s biggest ever business delegation to China and came back with trade and investment deals estimated to be worth close to £6bn. He feels India is one of the countries neglected by UK companies despite deep historical ties. Britain remains the biggest European investor in India. But – with 1,000 companies in Britain, led by Tata, the Jaguar Land Rover parent – Indian investment here is more than in the rest of Europe combined.
Mr Cable will announce a number of small-scale agreements during his visit and wants to see the UK India Business Council do more to help small to medium-sized enterprises make faster trade progress.
He will announce a $1m (£612,000) investment in Scotland by Zomato, an online and mobile search business, and congratulate Dynamatics Technologies on winning orders worth $250m for its British plant over the last five years.
Mr Cable will discuss plans with his Indian counterparts for developing existing partnerships to advance engineering skills and sign a new £180m deal underwritten by UK Export Finance to help Reliance Industries place up to 30 service and equipment contracts with UK companies for its oil refineries.
Þ Small firms should benefit most from the cut in red tape promised in the global trade deal announced by the World Trade Organisation in Bali.
The British government hopes the pact will substantially reduce the 40 or so export documents demanded by port authorities, and help expand trade with emerging countries. Mr Cameron believes the deal could be worth more than £1bn to UK businesses and £70bn globally. He said that, if 100,000 small firms started or increased exports, the economy could benefit by £30bn and 100,000 new jobs over five years.
Report in Iran: Saudi Intelligence Head Met Mossad Chief Arutz Sheva 09-Dec-13
Report in Iran: Saudi Intelligence Head Met Mossad Chief
Arutz Sheva 09-Dec-13
The Iranian Fars news agency claimed in a report on Sunday that the head of the Saudi intelligence service recently met with several senior Israeli security officials, including the head of the Israeli Mossad.
According to the report, the meeting took place in Geneva on November 27. Fars based its claims on a whistleblower with access to Saudi classified information, who was named by the news agency as Mujtahid. According to Fars, he "is well connected with the inner circles of the Saudi secret service" and revealed the details of the meeting on his Twitter account.
Mujtahid’s Tweet reportedly said that Prince Bandar and Israeli officials agreed on a number of crucial issues, including “containing Iran by any possible means, exercising stronger control over Syria’s Jihadist forces, sidelining Muslim Brotherhood and stopping the waves of the Arab Spring.”
The latest claim by Fars comes just several days after the same news agency reported that Israel and Saudi Arabia had teamed up to launch another virus, similar to the Stuxnet virus, against Iran's nuclear program.
In that report, the news agency cited an "informed source" who said that representatives sent by Prince Bandar and Mossad head Tamir Pardo met to agree on ways to “sabotage Iran’s nuclear program.”
That report also claimed that a meeting had taken place between the sides in Europe, but that time Fars claimed that the meeting had taken place in Vienna on November 24 - three days before the meeting which was described in Sunday’s report.
Both of these reports are unconfirmed, but come on the heels of a report in the British Sunday Times, which recently claimed that Israel and Saudi Arabia may team up to fight Iran if talks between Iran and the West fail to curb Iran’s nuclear program.
Israel would carry out the actual airstrike, with Saudi Arabia providing technical support, the Sunday Times claimed.
Saudi Arabia later denied the report, clarifying it "has no relations or contacts with Israel of any kind or at any level.”
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