Links from my friends Jijo and Kevin. Bakeries in Dubai and the Northern Emirates have announced plans to increase the price of bread by around 20%, as global wheat prices continue to rise. Many countries around the world have been forced to raise the price of basic commodities such as bread, following crop failures in Europe, Australia and other regions. Prolonged drought caused the Australian government to slash their wheat harvest forecast for 2007 by around thirty percent, while extensive flooding in parts of Europe has decimated crops, causing wheat prices to rise to a ten year high. The Israeli government also announced plans to end the price supervision of bread earlier this year, due to a global increase in the price of wheat. Many Israeli bakeries were on the verge of going out of business because they were facing increased production costs while being unable to reap those costs back from the consumer.

Quote: "Supermarket sources in Dubai said prominent industrial bakeries which claim major market share of bread products have given notices to raise the prices by 20 per cent from November 21. Bakery sources confirmed the new move, but claimed that they are compelled to increase prices because of steep rise in flour prices. Residents in Fujairah have been left without bread after a number of bakeries stopped supply to grocery shops over a price dispute with the Fujairah Municipality. Small bread makers from the East Coast took the drastic measure after the municipality ordered them to rollback bread prices. Recently, bakeries raised the price of a Lebanese bread to Dh3, a 50 fils increase.

And as wheat prices continue to rise due to adverse weather conditions, a new report to be published by the United Nations is warning that the situation will deteriorate unless greenhouse gas emissions are cut within the next ten years. The Synthesis Report, the fourth such report published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change this year, has been published to help the formulation of a new treaty on global warming in Bali next month. The IPCC was recently awarded the Nobel Peace Price along with former US Vice President Al Gore, for their work in bringing the issue of global warming to the attention of the mainstream media.

Quote: "Almost a third of the world's species will face extinction if greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, a United Nations report will say this week. A draft copy of the report by the UN's Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) also warns that if temperatures rise by more than 2C now expected before 2050 20 per cent of the world's population will face a great risk of drought. With that level of temperature rise, other parts of the world will face increased flood risk from rainfall and there will be a decrease in cereal harvest in some regions. There will also be a rise of flooding, particularly around deltas in China and Bangladesh and low Pacific islands.

And of course this situation was prophesied to occur in the book of Revelation, the price of wheat eventually rising to around the equivalent of a day's wages. The Scriptures also seem to predict that commodities such as oil and alcohol will become scarce, or at least unaffordable for the average person.

Revelation 6:6 
And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and [see] thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

Britain has the highest fuel prices in Europe due to a high tax rate on the price of petrol. A few years ago, trade unions staged mass protests as the price of petrol broke the 80 pence barrier. Trucks blockaded UK oil refineries, bringing the entire country to a grinding halt within a matter of days. Supermarkets could no longer keep their shelves stocked because their delivery lorries could no longer obtain petrol. Eventually the government caved in and reduced the price at the pumps. Today the price of oil is over $100 per barrel and is still rising. The price of petrol in this country is now over £1 per litre and shows no signs of decreasing. With two major oil spills in California and Russia this month, prolonged drought in the southern United States, wildfires and floods across the globe, along with wars and rumours of wars in the oil-producing Middle East, it is easy to see how this prophecy will soon come to pass. 

Source Gulf News, Prophetic News

Thousands of people in the east of England have been told to evacuate their homes and move treasured possessions to higher ground before tomorrow morning in advance of a devastating storm surge.

Some 10,000 homes and businesses will be affected, according to the Environment Agency, which has issued seven severe flood warnings for people living on the Norfolk and Suffolk coast near Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft.

Environment Secretary Hilary Benn warned the Commons of a potential serious flooding risk on the east coast in the next 48 hours.

Sea levels will surge to three metres above usual tidal levels as a result of north-westerly winds and a pocket of low pressure.The wind, which the Met Office predicts will blow up to 60mph, will funnel water from the wider part of the North Sea in the north to the narrower part in the south, causing a build-up that will arrive on the Norfolk coast between 7am and 9am tomorrow. The winds will be compounded by low pressure, which causes sea levels to rise. If pressure decreases by one millibar, the sea level rises by one centimetre.

David Britton, of the Met Office, said that there would be a "significant tidal surge" that will cause some areas to see the highest tides since 1983. "It will run down the east coast of the UK, around the Dover Strait and back up around Belgium," he said. "It will be comparable to the floods of 1953, which were caused by a storm surge."

The 1953 floods, which were more severe than the ones forecast for tomorrow, claimed the lives of 300 people in Britain and thousands in the Netherlands. Damage to British property ran to £5 billion in today's money.

Mr Britton added: "We're expecting significant winds of up to 60mph running down parts of the North Sea. The storm surge will reach three metres at Sheerness in the Thames estuary - that is three metres above what would normally be caused [by tides caused by the moon]."

The floods would be worse if the surge arrived at high tide, he said. "The peak is happening just after low water. In 1953 the peak happened a couple of hours before high tide, so it was much worse. The low tide will mitigate the effects of the surge."

The Environment Agency said that residents in areas with a severe risk of flooding should evacuate and take measures to protect their property. The agency's worst case scenario predicts that 8,000 properties will be affected in the area around Great Yarmouth and 1,800 properties around Lowestoft.

Luke 21:25-28
And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.

Source Times Online

Food prices increase around the world due to increasing demand and natural disasters such as floods and droughts. What is significant is that the trend is global and affects not only poor countries, though they are hit the most, but also economical powers such as Russia and China.

Countries around the world are battling this effect by reducing border taxes hoping to ease rallying prices. China and Russia went even further and have frozen some prices. This is especially significant in case of Russia as it clearly resembles old communist times where there was poverty and food rationing. Today it is not due to desperate situation (yet?) but due to coming elections to Duma, russian parliament. President Putin does not want to loose votes because of soaring food prices. 

"Jacques Diouf, director-general of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation, said surging prices for basic food imports such as wheat, corn and milk had the “potential for social tension, leading to social reactions and eventually even political problems”.

Mr Diouf said food prices would continue to increase because of a mix of strong demand from developing countries; a rising global population, more frequent floods and droughts caused by climate change; and the biofuel industry’s appetite for grains."

If problem exists already, when world economy is generally doing well, then what happens in the future when last days come and amounts of food are drastically cut due to disasters?

So far around half a million people have been given mandatory evacuation orders, but it is believed that the wildfires in California have caused around one million people to flee their homes. It has become the biggest mass evacuation in the US since August 2005, in which hundreds of thousands of people were forced to flee their homes after Hurricane Katrina flooded New Orleans. Six hundred square miles of land has been burned up and thousands of properties have been destroyed. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has asked President Bush to upgrade the event to a "major disaster" to allow more federal aid to reach the state.

Quote: "The fires also forced the evacuation of more than 350,000 houses, most of them in San Diego County. With the area's average household size of 2.6 people, that means the evacuation could encompass nearly 910,000 people. "It's basically a mass migration here in San Diego County. The numbers we’re seeing are staggering," said Luis Monteagudo, a spokesman for the county's emergency effort. President Bush, who plans to visit the region Thursday, declared a federal emergency for seven counties, a move that will speed disaster-relief efforts, White House press secretary Dana Perino said.

Knowing the Scriptures that whoever touches Israel touches the apple of God's eye (Zechariah 2:8), and whoever curses Israel is cursed of God (Genesis 12:3), I can't help wondering about the United States and its present involvement in the Middle East peace process in relation to this latest disaster. I believe that the Hurricane Katrina disaster was allowed by God following US involvement in the disengagement from Gaza. These fires in California began Sunday, the same day US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in Israel to discuss the upcoming peace conference to be held in Annapolis, Maryland. On Monday Condoleezza told journalists, "it is time for the establishment of a Palestinian state". Is it possible these fires are a warning to the US from God not to be involved in the dividing of His land?

Zechariah 12:9
And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

Source MSNBC, Haaretz

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has declared a state of emergency as dozens of wildfires sweep across seven counties of California. The ground has been left tinder-dry following a record-breaking heat wave in July, and the flames are being fanned by strong winds. At least one person has died and dozens have been injured as a result of the fires, and thousands more are being evacuated from their homes. The fires have destroyed around 35,000 acres of land, and 1500 fire-fighters have been called in to tackle the blaze.

Quote: "All 36,000 residents of Ramona, north-east of San Diego, were ordered to leave their homes as another blaze razed more than 5,000 acres (2,000 hectares), said San Diego sheriff's office spokesman Phillip Brust. "I can't ever remember doing this," Mr Brust said. "This fire is crazy." In seaside Malibu, several buildings were destroyed and thousands of local residents evacuated as flames swept across the hills overlooking the ocean.

My dear friend in California had a close brush with wildfires near her home not so long ago. Praise God that she was preserved, although this recent news concerns me. Only a few months ago Greece declared a national emergency as wildfires spread across the country. Help had to be brought in from Europe and further afield. The cause of many of the Greek fires might have been arson, but the drought conditions resulted in the situation getting out of hand. Revelation 8:7 states that during the tribulation period, around one third of the earth's vegetation will be burned up, and the cause will be hail and fire mingled with blood cast upon the earth. The record heatwaves across Europe and the US in the earlier part of this year have proven that this apocalyptic scenario is entirely possible.

Exodus 9:23-25
And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt. So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. And the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt all that [was] in the field, both man and beast; and the hail smote every herb of the field, and brake every tree of the field. 

This from my friend Kathie...

Source BBC