New ‘Puzzling’ Virus of Unknown Origin Discovered in Brazil

Strange Sounds – February 12, 2020

The new unknown virus has been discovered in Lake Pampulha, an artificial lake in the city of Belo Horizonte, Brazil in January.

Named after the mythological mermaid Yara, the Yaravirus has left scientists baffled because it doesn’t appear to be related to any other viruses in the world.

The new virus contains 74 genes in total, from which only six had already been recorded in literature. In other words, 90 per cent of Yaravirus genes have never been seen before, making it wholly unique.

The discovery comes amid the outbreak of a new killer virus across the world which started in China.

Yaravirus was taken from a single-celled creature called amoeba and scientists already speculate it represents the first isolated case of an unknown group of amoebal virus, describing the Yayavirus as a ‘new lineage of amoebal virus with a puzzling origin and phylogeny.’ in a published paper on the server bioRxiv.

For now, Yaravirus doesn’t appear to pose any threat to humans. It can only transfer between amoeba.

https://strangesounds.org

World edges toward zero-tolerance for Christians

Michael F. Haverluck – February 17, 2020

Whether they reside in Iran, China, Nigeria, or North Korea, the world is quickly becoming less tolerant of Christians.

According to findings from Open Doors‘ latest World Watch List (WWL) featuring the 50 least-safe nations to practice Christianity, the world has become a much more dangerous place for hundreds of millions of Christians.

“In the top 50 countries alone, 260 million Christians face a level of persecution measured as extreme, very high, or high,” Open Doors announced over the weekend. “In total, one in eight Christians worldwide face persecution measured as extreme, very high, or high – a 6% increase from 2019.”

Under Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un, the Hermit Kingdom’s communist dictatorship only allows citizens to honor and bow down to the state.

“North Korea remains the most dangerous place for Christians, having been number one since the inception of the list in 2002,” the global outreach serving the persecuted Church reported. “Something as simple as owning a Bible can mean a person is arrested and taken to one of the country’s infamous labor camps – never to return.”

In other communist, Islamic and Hindu nations, things aren’t much better for those living out their faith in Jesus Christ.

For example, China is 23rd on the World Watch List. As the country with the world’s largest population of 1.3 billion, it is leading the way in the proliferation of “digital persecution”; with the second-most populous nation, India – with 1.2 billion residents – having a Hindu-led government that is also using this high-tech ability to weed out Christians.

“China has begun to utilize AI and biometric measurement to increase their surveillance and control of religious believers – as seen with their surveillance of Uighur Muslims, [and] at least one major church now has facial recognition cameras to record worshippers’ presence,” Open Doors revealed. “India (10) is also set to make use of these technologies.”

In sub-Saharan Africa, terrorism at the hands of Islamic fundamentalists is on the rise.

https://onenewsnow.com

Featured Utah’s state Senate votes unanimously to decriminalize polygamy

– February 21, 2020

Utah’s state Senate voted unanimously to decriminalize polygamy, hoping to make it an infraction on par with a parking ticket.

The bill swiftly cleared the Republican-controlled Senate in the predominantly Mormon state with a vote of 29-0 with little discussion on Tuesday. It now moves to the Utah House of Representatives, where it is likely to face greater resistance.

Polygamy is currently classified as a third-degree felony, punishable by up to five years in prison. If the Senate bill becomes law, punishments would be limited to fines of up to $750 and community service.

However, fraudulent bigamy — in which an individual obtains licenses to marry more than one spouse without their knowledge, or seeks to wed someone underage without her consent — would remain a felony.

Utah still has a strong presence of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which had an early history of polygamy.

While mainstream members abandoned the practice in 1890, an estimated 30,000 people living in polygamous communities follow teachings that taking multiple wives brings exaltation in heaven.

Critics of the bill argued that it wouldn’t do enough to protect victims in underage marriages, according to The Associated Press.

https://www.thedailysheeple.com

Spanish Parliament Approves Bill to Legalize Euthanasia

Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D. – February 12, 2020

The Spanish parliament has approved a proposed law by the new Socialist-led government to legalize euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide.

On Tuesday, the controversial measure passed in parliament by 201 votes to 140, meaning the bill must now go to a parliamentary health committee for debate and then will head to the Senate before returning to the lower house for a final vote.

In Tuesday’s vote, parliament was predictably split, with generally leftist or libertarian parties such as PSOE, United We Can (UP), Citizens, ERC, JxCat, EH Bildu, New Canary Islands, Compromís and Más País all favoring the measure and the conservative PP, Vox and UPN opposing.

While there is no fixed calendar for this process, Health Minister Salvador Illa said he hoped to see the euthanasia law enacted by June.

The new bill, which has been hotly contested by the Catholic Church and other pro-life groups, requires the informed consent of the patient as well as the favorable judgment of two independent doctors and an evaluation commission.

According to the proposal, only those with a serious, chronic, and disabling illness or an incurable disease with a limited life expectancy can apply to be euthanized, whether in a hospital or at home.

Church leaders have denounced the “ideological and semantic euphemisms” behind the measure, while decrying the labeling of the bill’s opponents as “retrograde, intransigent, and contrary to individual freedom and progress.”

https://www.breitbart.com

Syria and Turkey Edge Toward All-Out War While Putin Smiles

Rick Moran – February 12, 2020

There have been several clashes between Syrian and Turkish military forces in the last two weeks, as Syria attempts to retake Idlib province from rebel forces. Turkey has carved out a demilitarized zone in Idlib, which is supposed to be a safe zone for Syrian civilians. Their goal is to prevent a flood of refugees from crossing the Syrian border.

But Syria is ignoring the Moscow-negotiated cease-fire and driving hundreds of thousands of refugees toward Turkey, most of them in desperate straits.

The UN is warning of a humanitarian catastrophe as 700,000 Syrians are on the move with nowhere to go. But there are likely to be more refugees as Syria and Turkey have now come to blows, with President Erdogan promising to “punish” Syria for attacking Turkish positions in Idlib.

Washington Times:

Analysts say the reignited Syrian crisis threatens to engulf  Turkey and force Ankara to greatly expand its military mission inside the country. The winner, they say, could ultimately be Russia, as President Vladimir Putin may emerge as the only player powerful enough to prevent a full-blown war.

“Erdogan went into Syria for entirely selfish and cynical reasons, and now finds that it was a lot easier to go in than get out,” said former Defense Department official Michael Rubin, now a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute who tracks the region extensively.

https://pjmedia.com

With UK out, Macron unveils ‘nuclear weapons doctrine’ with France leading an EU army

– February 14, 2020

The Duran’s Alex Christoforou and Editor-in-Chief Alexander Mercouris discuss Emmanuel Macron’s speech where the French President unveiled his nuclear doctrine advocating for a more coordinated European Union defence strategy in which France, the EU’s only post-Brexit nuclear power, and its arsenal holding a central role.

Macron warned all those in attendance that the European Union ‘cannot remain spectators’ in the nuclear arms race.

In a much anticipated speech to military officers graduating in Paris, Macron called on EU member states to play a more direct role in halting a new nuclear arms race, saying they “cannot remain spectators” against a threat to the continent’s collective security.

“In the absence of a legal framework, they could rapidly face a new race for conventional weapons, even nuclear weapons, on their own soil,” said Macron.

Setting out his country’s nuclear strategy in a bid to show leadership a week after nuclear-armed Britain officially exited the EU, Macron highlighted how France sees its nuclear weapons as a deterrent against attacks from belligerent foes.

Macron’s speech comes at a time when long-standing accords on limiting the growth of nuclear arsenals appear increasingly at risk.

https://theduran.com

Storm Dennis Is Exploding Into a Furious Bombogenesis as it Roars Toward UK and Northern Europe

Strange Sounds – February 13, 2020

After Storm Ciara, less than a week ago, Bomb Cyclone Storm Dennis will lead to another dose of power cuts and major travel disruptions in the UK and northern Europe.

Dennis is now the fourth named windstorm of the season in Europe.

Dennis is also a Bomb Cyclone after its central pressure dropped 1.38 inches of mercury (46 mb) in 24 hours – from 29.4 to 28.1 inches of mercury (996 mb to 950 mb).

This incredible drop in pressure is almost two times greater than what is needed to be considered a‘bombogenesis.’

And the explosive cyclogenesis seems to continue as the air pressure at the center of the storm is now around 935 mbar. That’s equivalent to a strong Category 3 Hurricane!

Further strengthening may put Dennis in the running for being one of the most intense North Atlantic storms on record. The top-five most intense storms all recorded a pressure of 27 inches of mercury (925.5 mb) or lower.

And again such air pressures could wreak havoc air traffic!

https://strangesounds.org

No peak in sight as China reports 5,000 new coronavirus cases

Reuters – February 14, 2020

BEIJING/SIHANOUKVILLE, Cambodia, Feb 14 (Reuters) – China’s coronavirus outbreak showed no sign of peaking with health authorities on Friday reporting more than 5,000 new cases, while passengers on a cruise ship blocked from five countries due to virus fears finally disembarked in Cambodia.

Policymakers pledged to do more to stimulate Asian economies hit hard by the virus, helping Asia stock markets edge higher, with Chinese shares headed for their first weekly gain in four.

In its latest update, China’s National Health Commission said it had recorded 121 new deaths and 5,090 new coronavirus cases on the mainland on Feb. 13, taking the accumulated total infected to 63,851 people.

Some 55,748 people are currently undergoing treatment, while 1,380 people have died of the flu-like virus that emerged in Hubei province’s capital, Wuhan, in December. The latest toll takes account of some deaths that had been double counted in Hubei, the health commission said.

The new figures give no indication the outbreak is nearing a peak, said Adam Kamradt-Scott, an infectious diseases expert at the Centre for International Security Studies at the University of Sydney.

“Based on the current trend in confirmed cases, this appears to be a clear indication that while the Chinese authorities are doing their best to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, the fairly drastic measures they have implemented to date would appear to have been too little, too late,” he said.

https://news.trust.org/item

Christians are being captured and killed across the globe: ‘World Watch List’ takes you inside the crisis

Billy Hallowell – February 10, 2020

Millions of Christians across the globe live in perpetual fear that they will be punished, harmed — or even killed — for merely practicing their faith.

Worldwide persecution continues to be at a fevered pitch, with varying degrees of affliction for those who openly embrace the Bible.

This tragic reality is more than evident in Open Doors USA’s latest “World Watch List,” an annual report that offers “an unparalleled glimpse into the 50 places around the world where it costs the most to be a Christian.”

According to the stunning 2020 report, more than 260 million Christians live in places where there is a high level of persecution, amounting to one-in-eight Christians worldwide.

https://www.theblaze.com

McConnell Tees Up 2 Abortion Bills in Election Year Push

Newsmax – February 13, 2020

Two abortion bills are being teed up post-recess by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., which might not have the votes to pass but would force vulnerable senators to go on record on the issue, according to The Hill.

The bills are, per the report:

  1. Proposed by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.: Banning abortions after 20 weeks with exceptions for the mother’s life, rape, or incest – and doctors violating the law would face up to five years in prison.
  2. Proposed by Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb.: Penalizing doctors who do not  “exercise the proper degree of care in the case of a child who survives an abortion or attempted abortion.”

Senate passage would require 60 votes and Republicans hold just a 53-47 in the chamber. That would make them unlikely to be passed, but it would pin vulnerable pro choice Democrats down on the issue in an election year, The Hill reported.

Republicans will be holding the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) later this month, too, potentially making abortion a boilerplate voting issue in GOP efforts to hold the Senate, if not retake the House.

“Unfortunately abortion extremism has grown to such an extent in the Democrat Party that leading Democrats – including a Democrat presidential candidate – have not only ruled out banning late-term abortions, they’ve actually refused to rule out infanticide,” Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., said on the Senate floor Thursday, per the report.

https://www.newsmax.com