Over 20,000 flee intense wildfire in Canada as emergency declared

Over 20,000 flee intense wildfire in Canada as emergency declared

REUTERS

British Columbia declares a state of emergency after thousands of people in the western Canadian province are ordered to flee a fast-moving wildfire that nearly doubled in size overnight.

The Bald Range wildfire is burning out of control and has grown rapidly to about 9,500 hectares (23,500 acres), prompting evacuation orders in Summerland, Peachland and other districts west of Okanagan Lake in the province’s southern interior. The region produces most of BC’s wine and is Canada’s second-largest wine-producing area.

Premier David Eby tells a news conference that one fire official had likened the fire to “a bomb going off.”

“He described flames on 100-foot tree, flames going 200 feet above that, and the fire creating its own weather system, which creates lightning, which then feeds on itself,” Eby says.

“Homes have been lost, and properties have been destroyed. Some people became trapped as conditions changed very quickly, and needed to be rescued,” the premier says, adding it remained a very dynamic and threatening situation.

Summerland has a population of about 12,000 people, according to the 2021 census, and Peachland is home to about 6,500 residents.

A state of emergency grants the provincial government immediate access to special powers, including travel restrictions and supply protections to prevent price gouging, and specific tools to coordinate rescue work.

Officials say the Bald Range wildfire triggered the largest evacuation event so far this summer, and more than 20,000 people across BC have been forced to evacuate their homes.

“A lot of farms have been affected. We don’t know how many structures have been lost. They’re still busy fighting the fire,” Summerland Mayor Doug Holmes says in a phone interview from Penticton. “We have to brace ourselves for the worst.”

Iran's Economy Is In Shambles As War Takes Its Toll

Iran's Economy Is In Shambles As War Takes Its Toll

 TYLER DURDEN

Despite the bluster from Iranian officials on social media, it should come as no surprise that the country is not doing well economically. From the beginning of the conflict to current day, Iran has been dealt an estimated $270 billion to $300 billion in total damage due to a steady barrage of strikes, including numerous infrastructure targets from bridges, highways, railways, airports, etc. 

The three-month-long US blockade on Iran's oil exports have also taken a toll, with national oil output dropping from 2.2 million bpd to less than 300,000 bpd.  It is likely that there has been some long term damage to the regime's oil wells and they have lost approximately $6 billion in oil revenues so far.   

With a general information blackout in place, getting a proper estimation of the damages can be difficult.  However, in recent months many Iranian leaders and media sources have indicated a dangerous shift in the stability of the country.  The situation has become so volatile that citizens are reportedly turning to theft in order to get their hands on basic necessities including food.  

Iranian newspaper Jahan-e Sanat has reported increased theft of basic groceries over recent months, with store workers linking the trend to rising poverty. Related reports say meat is in short supply, there is reduced consumption of staples, subsidy shortfalls, and broader poverty pressures.

Analysts note that while full state collapse or famine has not yet occurred, the combination of high food inflation, currency weakness and job losses is placing severe strain on households.  Iran's President, Masoud Pezeshkian, seemed to confirm the decline last week when he noted that the country was facing economic “difficulties and problems,” while claiming the enemy was trying to provoke protests.

At Iran’s 33rd Conference on Monetary and Banking Policies (around June 2026), he questioned why people wake up to find their purchasing power has fallen and stated there are “hundreds of ways to overcome the economic impasse.” He noted that policymakers take people’s money and "return it with reduced value."

Central Bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati presented a recovery roadmap and acknowledged an ongoing GDP contraction. He stated that “the combination of war and cruel sanctions has posed serious challenges to the country’s economy. Most importantly, people’s livelihoods have been severely affected because various sectors of the economy have been impacted by sanctions.”

He also cited inflation at around 53%, which appears to be a underestimation of the real currency destruction taking place.

Government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani has discussed infrastructure damage (e.g., bridges, tunnels, gas and electricity capacity losses), adjustments to gasoline rations, and challenges with subsidy payments disrupted by banking issues or cyberattacks.  

These admissions are often wrapped in claims of resiliency despite the crisis, but the biggest danger (inflation) has yet to fully play out.  SCI data for the Persian month of Khordad (ending ~June 21, 2026) showed overall year-on-year inflation of 88.6% (up from pre-escalation levels around 50%). Food inflation reached 134%, with oils/fats  at 278%, red meat/poultry at 178%, and bread/cereals at nearly 139%.

The rial hit record lows of around 1.5–1.9 million per USD at various points during the war. This has amplified import costs and eroded purchasing power.   

Crippling infrastructure damage and currency devaluation might help to explain Iran's desperate insistence on charging tolls in the Strait of Hormuz.  If their oil industry is facing a multi-year setback and damage to infrastructure is extensive, tolls on shipping through the strait may be their only source of economic recovery. 

Iranian citizens turning to theft to make ends meet is a far more profound issue than a similar trend would be in the US or Europe.  In Iran, punishment for a first offense for theft of food is three months to one year of incarceration and up to 74 lashes.  Multiple thefts can result in the amputation of fingers, life in prison or execution.  The point is, stealing is no small matter in Iran and for people to turn to theft suggests extreme economic derailment. 

Even if the war ends this week as negotiations reportedly carry forward, Iran faces a long and arduous road to recovery.  It is likely that a collapse of the existing system is inevitable.  Whether or not this actually leads to civil unrest as the regime fears is anyone's guess.  

Pentagon said to ask US arms firms to speed up output as Iran war exhausts supply

Pentagon said to ask US arms firms to speed up output as Iran war exhausts supply

Times of Israel is liveblogging Sunday

The US Defense Department has requested that American defense companies quickly boost their production and delivery of weapons amid an acute shortage of arms due to the Iran war, according to a memo cited by The Washington Post.

Industry chiefs were told Wednesday by Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg that they had a maximum of 21 days to present plans to “drive significantly faster, more aggressive delivery schedules and/or increased production for critical capabilities,” the memo cited by the Post reads.

Feinberg said that “Years-long development cycles are not acceptable,” and demanded that firms “dramatically accelerate” their schedules and production capacity.

On Thursday, Trump denied reports that he is unhappy with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the depleted stockpile of American missile interceptors.

The shortage of interceptors was reportedly one of the main concerns discussed between Trump and his top advisers before the administration decided to hold off on escalating its campaign against Iran towards the end of last month.

More...

Tehran issues drastic new demands for deal to reopen Hormuz, says US must ‘correct its behavior’

Tehran issues drastic new demands for deal to reopen Hormuz, says US must ‘correct its behavior’

TOI STAFF

Iran’s politburo-like body known as the Supreme National Security Council on Saturday declared the Strait of Hormuz will not open until the United States “corrects its behavior,” issuing new demands that could shake up talks on a deal to manage the waterway and traffic on it.

Iran’s state broadcaster published the statement by the council’s secretary, Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, who is also a commander in the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The United States must never threaten Iran again, the statement said, and must permanently end the war with Iran and its armed allies in the region. The US must lift the naval blockade of Iranian ports and withdraw its military from the area. It also must “completely compensate” Iran for war damage, lift sanctions and “unconditionally” release frozen assets.

The new list of demands reflected the demands Iran was previously making as a condition for a permanent accord with the US. That envisaged accord was intended by the US as also resolving the threat posed by Iran’s rogue nuclear program and its stockpile of 60%-enriched uranium. Instead, the demands were being issued as conditions for an accord under which Iran would merely consent to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Barak Ravid, Washington correspondent of Israel’s Channel 12 news, told the network that “clearly the US cannot accept” those demands and that they could potentially push US President Donald Trump back toward the military option that he shelved only days ago.

There was no immediate comment from the US, which has wanted an acceptable deal first on the strait before ending the blockade. According to the interim deal signed in June, a schedule to end sanctions and plan for compensation would be part of the final deal, and negotiations would address frozen assets.

Iran has said it was close to reaching a separate deal with Oman to manage the strait, which runs between the two countries.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi earlier Saturday said they were close to reaching an agreement on navigation, “specifically the determination of a transit route.” But the waterway’s reopening was contingent on other conditions, he said in remarks shared on social media, and blamed the situation on what he called the US violation of the interim deal.

The IRGC also said earlier Saturday that reopening Hormuz was unrelated to the negotiations with Oman and would depend on Washington accepting Tehran’s conditions.

“The enemy is forced to accept Iran’s conditions for the opening of the strait and to refrain from the interference that it is currently making in the negotiations — which have almost reached their end — between Iran, Oman and other countries,” the IRGC said.

Oman, a mediator Gulf Arab country which has said relatively little on the talks, said in a statement that the discussions were ongoing “in a positive and constructive atmosphere,” and condemned attacks on ships on the strait, where the United Arab Emirates reported that one of its vessels was targeted Saturday by an Iranian missile.

The strait, crucial to global supplies of oil and natural gas, had been considered an international waterway before the war. Ship transits remain low.

As the Islamic Republic issued its new demands, US Vice President JD Vance said to Fox News that Tehran told Washington it had “no plans” to impose tolls on the Strait of Hormuz.

“Some people within the Iranian system” have talked about tolling the waterway, he said, adding that “the Iranians have told us they have no plans to toll the Strait of Hormuz.”

“But again, we’re going to see what actions actually happen,” Vance said.

According to Vance, the expectation of the Trump administration was that “we see the same amount of oil and gas come out of the Gulf that you saw before the conflict.”

“The one problem of course is that the Iranians laid a large number of mines at the beginning of the war and so what we’re really working through is how you can actually set up a traffic scheme so ships that pass can pass through safely,” Vance continued. “That of course includes de-mining, it also includes a commitment from the Iranians that they are not going to fire at commercial vessels.”

A diplomat from one of the mediating countries told The Times of Israel that Vance was correct in stating that the temporary deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz will bar either side from charging tolls.

Iran, however, has not ruled out the imposition of tolls once that deal expires, with state-owned news outlet Press TV reporting Friday that a parliamentary committee was reviewing a preliminary bill that would introduce fees for transiting the waterway, while barring US, Israeli and other “hostile” vessels from passing through.

Serious Misjudgment For The Modern Church To Disregard What God Has To Say About The Future

It Is A Serious Misjudgment For The Modern Church To Disregard What God Has To Say About The Future

Dan Price 

The study of “last things” (eschatology) seems to have fallen out of favor in many corners of the modern church. With a dismissive reference to no one knowing the day or hour of Christ’s return, many Christians assume that studying eschatology is not something most churches, or even individual Christians, really need to take seriously. I repeatedly hear students in my classes claim that Scripture is too unclear on the details or timing of the Rapture, or whether Christians will go through the Tribulation, or the nature of the Millennial Kingdom, to make studying these things worth their time. Is studying eschatology largely irrelevant to our walk with God?

I’ve also had many conversations with pastors and elders who argue that preaching in detail on eschatology is way too divisive for the pulpit. Usually one of the reasons given for avoiding preaching on eschatology is that people hold too tightly to their opinions on the topic and won’t listen or change. Of course, the answer to that concern is to teach us how to disagree and still love one another. But the other prominent reason many churches avoid eschatology is because studying prophecy can make Christians appear a little nuts to unbelievers—it’s too divisive in that it can make us unpalatable to unbelievers who visit our services, and they’ll reject us and the gospel. I mean, I understand not wanting our ministries to be lumped in with the crazy excesses of preachers who’ve abused the doctrine of eschatology, but is that really what makes us unpalatable to unbelievers? We appear crazy to the world first and foremost because of the gospel of Jesus (John 15:18–21). Believing that there are prophecies still to be fulfilled is not really the central divisive issue, and it should in no way motivate choices in relation to our preaching calendars. Is it really true that modern churches can’t grow spiritually or numerically if they take the teaching of eschatology seriously?

Scripture’s answer to these questions is a resounding “no!” The study of eschatology and what God has revealed about future events leading up to Christ’s return (and beyond) was not a tertiary issue to Paul, any of the Old Testament prophets, or Jesus. In fact, I would argue that we need the regular, serious study of eschatology in our lives and churches even more than ever. As the world hurtles toward increasingly uncertain days, Christians can be convinced that God is not silent on our concern about the future or how it impacts our walk with Him today. 

Here are the top three reasons I believe we need the study of eschatology more today than ever.

1. Eschatology helps us know God better

When the texts of the Bible were written, over a quarter of them were prophetic according to some scholars.1 Stop and consider that for a second. More than one fourth of what God wanted to communicate to humans was a message about their future. More than that, God held prophecy and prophets in extremely high regard, with rules for recognizing who really speaks for Him and how to treat prophecy in general. This is true in both the Hebrew Scriptures as well as the New Testament. 

Pick up a Bible and you’re holding repeated messages from God to you about the future. True, there is more than just prophecy in the Bible, but the whole storyline of Scripture is the unfolding of God’s plans for how He’s going to use His redemption of the whole universe, humans included, to one day bring Himself the glory He deserves. God talks about His future plans a lot

What are we to make of this? Why does God speak of the future so much? I would argue that the study of His prophetic messages helps us to glimpse hints of the true magnitude of our God. He is doing more and better things than we often imagine. His plan is more multifaceted than we are capable of understanding, and knowing that He’s working to redeem much more than just us self-centered humans is truly instructive. All the threads of history, past, present, and future (including you and me!), are just one small corner of the magnificent tapestry of the self-revelation which God is weaving. And it should drive us to worship Him better. God doesn’t only talk about the future because of how badly we need to know the future. He also talks about it because of how badly we need to know Him!

2. Eschatology motivates spiritual growth

To every generation that God has revealed something about their future, prophecy has been given alongside warnings, exhortation, and encouragement for spiritual growth. Frequently in the OT, prophecies about the future would include a call for reformation, or a return to God. Throughout the NT we see authors point to future events as motivation for holy living today. 

First Thessalonians 5 is an excellent example of this when Paul tells the Christians in Thessalonica that they don’t really need a lot more instruction about the future coming “Day of the Lord.” Rather, he says their knowledge of the future should motivate them to live as “sons of light,” sober and alert, marked by their growing faith, expanding love, and steadfast hope of avoiding God’s judgment. Knowing what is to come should motivate our walk with God now!

Those who seriously study eschatology can testify to this. For example, many students in my classes which study the pretribulational Rapture and the Tribulation period are struck by the knowledge that they don’t need to live in fear of experiencing the horrific events of Revelation 6—19. It’s liberating to know that the grace which covers our sin also ensures that we will not be “collateral damage” when God rises up in judgment on the nations in the Tribulation period! But on the flip side, recognizing that the window of opportunity to testify to the grace of Jesus and accomplish anything for Him will one day close, leads to a sober, focused Christian life as we work “while it is still day.” Every study of God’s revelation of the future should inspire us to reflect on how we can, with the work of the Spirit, better live in light of what we now know. The modern church would do well to heed the Bible’s call to holy living today because of what’s to come tomorrow.

3. Eschatology reinforces our hope

When we study eschatology we get into the nitty gritty of how God is going to bring light out of the darkness we see and experience. The twists and turns of our lives, the evil and brokenness of the world around us (and as it increases in the future), the injustices that surround us daily are all part of what is going to make God’s future redemption of all things that much more incredible. And our experiences of that brokenness here and now are tinted by that future hope!

I love how 1 Peter 1 describes the day when Jesus comes back. Peter tells us that our living hope, Jesus, will one day be revealed, justifying all our trust in Him for the whole world. Peter says that we can rejoice knowing that this day, this justification of our hope, is really coming. Even though our days are dark now, and we’re grieved by “various trials,” in comparison to what is coming, our experience of the pain in this life is short, a “little while.” In other words, knowing more about our ultimate hope, the glorious return of Messiah Jesus, the day He will be marveled at by all who believe (2 Thessalonians 1:10), reshapes our perspective of our difficult lives now. It gives hope! Not just hope that we will spend eternity with Him, but hope that He really is going to return and reorder all elements of the cosmic order to align with His good and perfect purposes. He will one day satisfy the groanings of all creation awaiting the day of God’s redemption (Romans 8). King Jesus really will set right all injustice, pain, and darkness. And the brokenness that the universe has experienced will only give us more reason to marvel at Him.

]

Conclusion

Only the study of what God has told us about that coming day, and the events around and contributing to it, can reinforce our hope in such a powerful way. We need to study what He’s told us is to come. It’s heartbreaking to think that God gave us these beautiful depictions of our hope revealed and we might simply ignore them, for fear that they might make us unpopular, or because they seem too divisive. Eschatology has the potential to infuse a powerful dose of hope and strength into your walk with God here and now. So dig into the prophets with me. And rejoice in the culmination of the gospel message. It can only help you, Christian. Let’s not miss out on the benefits of what He’s revealed to us.