In Brief... India and PakistanTrade Punches
Land disputes lead India and Pakistan to the verge of nuclear warfare as turmoil rises.
The CIA describes the India-Pakistan border as the most dangerous in the world. Last month that area erupted again as troops from both nations traded fire. Since 1947 three major wars have been fought between the two countries over this disputed region. It has been especially critical since last year's testing of nuclear devices by both countries.
In a May 30, 1999 column Toronto Sun journalist Eric Margolis has this to say about the clash: "The 52-year old struggle over divided Kashmir went critical last year when India and Pakistan revealed their nuclear arsenals. Both sides have air-delivered nuclear weapons and are deploying medium-ranged ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads: India, its "Prithvi" and "Agni" systems; Pakistan the new "Ghauri" and "Shaheen" missiles. All of Pakistan, and much of northern and central India, are now under threat of nuclear attack.
These missiles, and nuclear-armed strike aircraft, are at hair-trigger readiness. Both sides have at best a 3-minute warning of enemy attack. A false alarm, or a major upsurge in fighting over Kashmir, could trigger a "use-them-or-lose them" nuclear exchange which, RAND Corp estimates, would kill 2 million people immediately, cause 100 million casualties, and send clouds of radioactive dust around the globe.
An Article from:
World News and Prophecy: June 1999
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Darris McNeely
Darris McNeely works at the United Church of God home office in Cincinnati, Ohio. He and his wife, Debbie, have served in the ministry for more than 43 years. They have two sons, who are both married, and four grandchildren. Darris is the Associate Media Producer for the Church. He also is a resident faculty member at the Ambassador Bible Center teaching Acts, Fundamentals of Belief and World News and Prophecy. He enjoys hunting, travel and reading and spending time with his grandchildren.
John Ross Schroeder
John died on March 8, 2014, in Oxford, England, four days after suffering cardiac arrest while returning home from a press event in London. John was 77 and still going strong.
Some of John's work for The Good News appeared under his byline, but much didn't. He wrote more than a thousand articles over the years, but also wrote the Questions and Answers section of the magazine, compiled our Letters From Our Readers, and wrote many of the items in the Current Events and Trends section. He also contributed greatly to a number of our study guides and Bible Study Course lessons. His writing has touched the lives of literally millions of people over the years.
John traveled widely over the years as an accredited journalist, especially in Europe. His knowledge of European and Middle East history added a great deal to his articles on history and Bible prophecy.
In his later years he also pastored congregations in Northern Ireland and East Sussex, and that experience added another dimension to his writing. He and his wife Jan were an effective team in our British Isles office near their home.
John was a humble servant who dedicated his life to sharing the gospel—the good news—of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God to all the world, and his work was known to readers in nearly every country of the world.
