Far-Right Victor Orban Wins in Hungary

JTA wrote on April 9:

“[Hungary’s] Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s ruling Fidesz party won in a landslide, riding a wave of rhetoric and policies that have set Hungary apart from the rest of the European Union for its veneration of pro-Nazi collaborators, anti-Semitic politicians and propaganda campaigns that critics say amount to racist incitement against Jews and other minorities…

“Leaders of far-right movements in Europe – part of a rising force that since last year alone have made unprecedented gains in elections in France, Austria, Holland and Italy — celebrated Orban’s clinching of more than 49 percent as a victory for their cause.”

Der Spiegel wrote on April 9:

“It’s an historic victory for Orbán, but also for Hungary and the rest of Central and Southeastern Europe. Never before in Hungarian history and never since the end of the communist dictatorships has a party in the region scored such a commanding victory in three elections in a row.

“In an extremely divisive campaign, Orbán essentially focused on one single issue, warning against Hungary’s ‘downfall’ at the hands of ‘immigrants.’ It appears that a majority of Hungarian voters view him as the only guarantee against such a scenario.”

Skillful propagandists have always persuaded people to vote for them.

Far-Right Views All Over Europe

The Daily Mail wrote on April 4:

“Polish officials recently blamed Jewish people for their ‘own destruction’ while the Hungarian Prime Minster [Orban] declared Europeans should not ‘mix’ with Africans.

“The Croatian president on a trip to Argentina came under fire from a Holocaust survivors charity for thanking the country for taking in ‘notorious’ pro-Nazi criminals…

“Ever since WWII, such views were taboo in Europe, confined to the far-right fringes. Today they are openly expressed by mainstream political leaders in parts of Central and Eastern Europe…

“Casting himself as the savior of a white Christian Europe being overrun by Muslims and Africans, Orban has insisted that Hungarians don’t want their ‘own color, traditions and national culture to be mixed by others.’…

“Poland’s government has also been embroiled in a bitter dispute with Israel and Jewish organizations over a national law that would criminalize blaming Poland for Germany’s Holocaust crimes… The Balkans, bloodied by ethnic warfare in the 1990s, are also seeing a rise of nationalism, particularly in Serbia and Croatia…

“Meanwhile in Bulgaria, which holds the EU’s rotating presidency, the government includes a far-right alliance, the United Patriots, whose members have given Nazi salutes and slurred minorities. Deputy Prime Minister Valeri Simeonov has called the country’s Roma minority ‘ferocious humanoids’ whose women ‘have the instincts of street dogs.’…”

German Persecution of Jews Not a Thing of the Past

Deutsche Welle wrote on April 2:

“Jews were driven from their homes by Christians for almost two thousand years. In 1492 the Alhambra Edict decreed that they should be expelled from what is now Spain, after living there under Muslim rule for centuries. Many of these Jews found refuge in the Ottoman Empire… Jewish life blossomed in Ottoman cities like Thessaloniki and Sarajevo for centuries, and lasted until the Nazis arrived. Those are historical facts one should perhaps be conscious of when speaking, on the one hand, of a ‘Judeo-Christian’ tradition, and at the same time of Muslims who ‘import’ anti-Semitism…

“Anti-Semitism in Germany is not imported. Anti-Semitism is Germany’s most successful export… The Germans are a people who manage to make the security of Israel and the fight against anti-Semitism a reason of state, while at the same time devoting an entire year to celebrating the reformer Martin Luther, who called for synagogues to be burned down and rabbis banned from their work, on pain of death…

“Anti-Semitism belongs to Germany, and to Europe. It is found on the political right, the political left, and in the so-called center of society…

“Yes, we must talk about anti-Semitic attitudes among Muslims in Europe and Germany… there is the Islamic Republic of Iran, which repeatedly threatens to annihilate Israel. And there is a minority of Muslims in Europe and in Germany who approve of this… And there are prominent German politicians who… share a podium with those who seek to justify attacks on Jews…

“When Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in December, and Fatah, the supposedly moderate Palestinian party, called for ‘three days of rage,’ I didn’t need to read about it in the paper. I could see it in my neighborhood. On Sonnenallee, probably the most Arab street in Germany… you can’t venture down Sonnenallee at night in a kippah. In Germany, 2018…”

The abominable evil of anti-Semitism is not dead, but very much alive.

Doubting the Holocaust

Newsweek wrote on April 12:

“One-third of Americans think ‘substantially less’ than 6 million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust, according to a new survey that highlights a worrying lack of basic knowledge about the World War II-era genocide…

“The survey shows that 70 percent of Americans believe people care less about the Holocaust than they used to. A majority, 58 percent, said they believe something like the Holocaust could happen again…

“Around two-thirds (68 percent) of Americans believe there is anti-Semitism in the U.S. today, and a majority (51 percent) think there is either a great deal of (17 percent) or many (34 percent) neo-Nazis in the country today.”

Turkey vs. Israel… Who are the Terrorists?

The Jewish Press wrote on April 1:

“Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of being a ‘terrorist’ on Sunday, and Israel of being a ‘terrorist state’ after 16 Gazans – including 10 convicted terrorists – were killed Friday in the Hamas-driven ‘Great March of Terror’ along the Gaza border…

“In response to the epithets, Prime Minister Netanyahu blasted the Turkish leader, saying, ‘The most moral army in the world will not be preached to by someone who for years has indiscriminately bombed civilian populations. Apparently this is the way they mark April Fool’s Day in Ankara.’…

“Erdogan has long championed the rights of Gaza’s ruling Hamas terrorist organization, which was spawned by the Muslim Brotherhood, to which Turkey’s Islamist leader has for decades maintained a close affiliation.

“Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also pointed out that the so-called ‘peaceful demonstration’ was nothing of the sort, using women and children as decoys and human shields while terrorists carried out violence against Israel.”

The Bible shows that Turkey will turn completely against Israel.

Preparations for the Third Temple Worship

Breaking Israel News reported on April 2:

“On the second night of Passover, this past Saturday night, dozens of men, women and children went out to the fields to harvest barley, not so much as a reenactment but a real Temple-related Passover ceremony. The following day, the harvest was brought to Jerusalem where it was turned into flour and Kohanim (Jewish men descended from Aaron the Priest) performed a full-dress rehearsal for the Wave Offering, which will take place once again in the Third Temple.

“As are most Temple related activities, the harvesting was done with musical accompaniment…

“The Kohanim wore authentic priestly garments that conformed to the Biblical requirements. Rabbi Baruch Kahane served in the role of the Kohen Gadol (High Priest). In the Temple, a male sheep was brought as a burnt offering, but this was not done at the reenactment…”

Daily Mail added on April 2:

“Ultra-Orthodox Jews congregated at the Western Wall in Jerusalem on Thursday for a mass priestly blessing on Passover – a tradition of recent decades echoing a pilgrimage from antiquity. Jewish priests wearing Talit prayer shawls took part in the Cohanim prayer in the Old City of Jerusalem…

“The Western Wall is a remnant of a supporting wall of the Second Temple complex, which was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. It is accessible to non-Muslims via a ramp. Jews are allowed to visit but not pray at the compound to avoid provoking tensions…”

We know from Scripture that a third temple will be built prior to Christ’s return, and that temple worship services and animal sacrifices will resume, leading to violent confrontations in the Holy Land.

Francis: There Is No Hell!

The Guardian wrote on March 30:

“The Vatican has scrambled to clarify comments made by Pope Francis to a well-known Italian journalist that appeared to deny the existence of hell.

“The Holy See issued a terse statement saying a lengthy article published in La Repubblica on Wednesday by Eugenio Scalfari, 93, the newspaper’s founder, was ‘the fruit of his reconstruction’ and not ‘a faithful transcription of the Holy Father’s words’.

“While the Vatican conceded that Scalfari, an atheist who struck up a friendship with Francis in 2013, had held a private meeting with the pontiff before the Easter weekend, it said an interview had not been granted.

“During the meeting Scalfari asked the pope where ‘bad souls’ go, to which he was quoted as responding: ‘They are not punished. Those who repent obtain God’s forgiveness and take their place among the ranks of those who contemplate him, but those who do not repent and cannot be forgiven disappear. A hell doesn’t exist, the disappearance of sinning souls exists.’…

“Pope Benedict XVI said in 2007 that hell ‘really exists and is eternal, even if nobody talks about it much anymore’, while in 1999 Pope John Paul II announced that hell was ‘the ultimate consequence of sin itself … rather than a place, hell indicates the state of those who freely and definitively separate themselves from God, the source of all life and joy’…”

However, it was reported by the English press subsequent to 2007 that Pope Benedict had stated in a sermon that there was no hell. At that time, the Vatican chose to remain silent on the issue. In addition, Pope Francis had already declared in November 2016 that hell–or eternal damnation–was not a torture chamber, and he went on to say that the lake of fire in Revelation 20 describes the second death. But at that time, he went on to give an unbiblical explanation of the “second death” and of “the fire,” which was more in line with the official Catholic position.

CNS added on March 29:

“The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: ‘The teaching of the Church affirms the existence of hell and its eternity. Immediately after death the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin descend into hell, where they suffer the punishments of hell, ‘eternal fire’…

“As for the human soul,the Catholic Church teaches that it is eternal, immortal in countless places throughout the Catechism…”

The official teaching of the Catholic Church is clearly unbiblical.

Mainstream Media in Furor Over Francis’ Remarks

Life Site News wrote on April 4:

“Mainstream media was in a furor last week over the news of Pope Francis purportedly saying that ‘hell does not exist’ and that unrepentant souls in mortal sin simply ‘disappear.’…

“The story was highlighted in the United States by the Drudge Report… It linked to a March 29 article by Michael W. Chapman of CNS News, who called Francis’s alleged remarks ‘a denial of the 2,000-year-old teaching of the Catholic Church about the reality of Hell and the eternal existence of the soul.’…

“The New York Times led with the news that the Vatican had responded to the Repubblica piece with an assertion that Pope Francis does indeed believe in hell…

“Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh said that ‘it was easy to see, with this pope, that the left is even corrupting the Catholic Church’…

“The Wall Street Journal intimated that with his remarks, which the Vatican did not deny, Pope Francis had yet again astonished. ‘It was an extreme yet telling example of how Pope Francis has shaken up perceptions of Catholic doctrine,’ wrote Francis X. Rocca, ‘drawing widespread attention from the non-Catholic world and causing turmoil within the church… Part of Pope Francis’ strategy has been generally to play down the importance of formal teaching’…”

This could be his way of trying to unite traditional Christianity under the umbrella of the Catholic Church.

Preparing for War?

Der Spiegel wrote on April 2 (our translation):

“War, war, war… People don’t want peace. Something is lacking for them when there is no war. That is why they are preparing for it… Who demonstrates today for peace?…

“At the end of the Cold War, there was a short-lived hope that a time of peace had begun. But that was an illusion. There is no peace… People say that they hate war. But this is not true… Quite to the contrary, a person is viewed with suspicion when he speaks of peace. Because he supposedly supports “our enemies”: Russia, the Palestinians, Iran, China, North Korea…

“We still destroy cities and countries in order to liberate them. We have learned nothing since Vietnam… until now, everybody who wants to rearm has said, ‘When you want peace, prepare for war.’”

The Bible says that mankind does not know the way to peace. Satan the devil rules this world, and he is the “god” of war. Mankind, being cut off from God, follows their leader and ruler, having adopted his evil desires.

New US Tax Law a Mess!

Yahoo News, Reuters, April 2:

“The largest association of accounting professionals on Monday asked the U.S. Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to clarify whether the new Republican tax law allows continued deduction of business meals and other work expenses.

“Treasury and the IRS are the two agencies crafting rules to implement the tax overhaul passed in December. It will take effect for the 2018 tax year. The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) said taxpayers need ‘immediate guidance’ on deducting business meals and other work-related expenses, such as entertainment and membership dues, all of which are affected by the new tax legislation…

“The AICPA represents more than 418,000 accounting professionals. It asked the agencies for more information on the deductibility of client-related business meals, employer-provided business meals and other food, employer-hosted recreational events, advertising, charitable contributions, transportation expenses and membership dues. While the new law says ‘entertainment expenses’ are no longer deductible, it has caused confusion about the deductibility of business meals, the AICPA said.

“Previously, taxpayers could deduct half the cost of most business meals. The AICPA asked the agencies to affirm the deductibility of such meals, and also for business meals paid for separately that occur before or after an entertainment event.

“There is also confusionon whether costs of employer-hosted events, such as employee appreciation days or holiday parties, are still deductible, the AICPA said. The IRS said it had received the AICPA’s letter and was in the process of reviewing it.

“Tax writers in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate have acknowledged they will pursue multiple fixes to provisions of the sweeping tax bill with unintended consequences… But passing a separate bill to address other ‘technical corrections’ could be difficult, as the midterm congressional elections near in November 2018, aides have said.

“The U.S. Chamber of Commerce last month identified more than 35 portions of the tax law that need additional clarification,either in additional legislation or by agency rulemaking.”

Of course, when laws are pushed through for the purpose of political gain, without reading and analyzing them, then this is the inevitable consequence.

Pax Trumpia Threat to Germany

On March 26, former German Vice-Chancellor and Foreign Minister, Joschka Fischer, wrote in Project Syndicate:

“After a year in which US President Donald Trump did not follow through on his promised protectionism, he has finally done so. It is quickly becoming clear that Trump’s attacks on free tradeare not just about global commerce, but about the entire rules-based international system…

“His decision to impose $50 billion in punitive import tariffs on many Chinese goods could severely disrupt global trade. And while he made a last-minute decision to exempt EU goods from such tariffs, Europe may yet end up in the line of fire…

“Trump’s protectionist policies thus challenge the entire German economic modelas it has existed since the 1950s. The fact that Trump has repeatedly singled out Germany, one of America’s closest allies in Europe, is no small matter…

“In Germany, there should be no illusions about what a transatlantic trade war would mean… now is hardly the time for disunity. The United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU is already causing political dissonance among member states, and anti-European populists have just won a combined parliamentary majority in Italy…

“Europeans are on their own. One hopes that Europeans can act quickly to preserve their unity and salvage the international system that has provided them with peace and prosperity for generations.”

Most European nations are aware of the danger they face from the outside and from within. They will move quickly to bring about total unity, under the leadership of a charismatic ruthless and deceiving individual.

Stocks Worst Since the Great Depression

Bloomberg wrote on April 2:

“U.S. stocks had their worst April start since 1929, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The S&P 500 index slumped 2.2 percent, a rout exceeded only by its 2.5 percent decline 89 years ago, a prelude to the devastating crash later that year that brought on the Great Depression. (Back then, the index only comprised 90 stocks.)…

“The stock slide also looked pretty bad when compared to the beginning of other quarters. Equities lost more than on any other quarterly first day since October 2011, when stocks plummeted 2.8 percent, Bloomberg data show.”

These are the signs of the time, and they don’t look pretty.

USA Condemns Syria and Russia for Chemical Weapons Attack

Newsmax wrote on April 10:

“U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley on Monday condemned theRussia-backed regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad — as well as Moscow and Iran — for a chemical weapons attack that killed dozens of mostly women and children in strife-torn Douma.

“In an impassioned speech at the U.N., Haley declared, ‘Only a monster does this.’ She then called the ‘Russian regime whose hands are all covered in the blood of Syrian children.’ ‘We must not overlook Russian and Iran’s roles in the murderous destruction,’ she said. ‘Russia and Iran have military advisers at Assad’s air field and operations centers. Russian officials are on the ground helping direct the regimes starve and surrender campaign. And Iranian allied forces do much of the dirty work.’”

Previously, President Trump named Vladimir Putin as one of those responsible for the Syrian atrocities. The pressure is on President Trump to decide whether or not to launch a military attack on Syria. According the news reports, Israel already launched several strikes on Syria.

Russia Warns USA and Vetoes UN Resolution

The Associated Press reported on April 10:

“A retired Russian general says any clash between the U.S. and Russia in Syria would quickly escalate beyond the region… He said in televised remarks Tuesday that Russian advisers are deployed across Syria and could be hurt by a U.S. strike.

“Russia has vetoed a U.S.-drafted U.N. resolution that would have condemned last weekend’s suspected gas attack near Damascus… The vote Tuesday afternoon in the 15-member Security Council was 12 in favor, Bolivia joining Russia in voting ‘no,’ and China abstaining.”

Why anyone would have thought that Russia would approve the UN resolution is beyond comprehension. The UN is a meaningless paper tiger and incapable of bringing about any substantive change or progress.

Situation in Syria Escalates

Deutsche Welle wrote on April 11:

“A spokesman for the Russian president has dismissed Trump’s ‘Twitter-diplomacy’ in a call for caution. The US president had earlier warned Russia to ‘get ready’ for American missiles that ‘will be coming’ to Syria… Trump… wrote in a Twitter post: ‘Russia vows to shoot down any and all missiles fired at Syria. Get ready Russia, because they will be coming, nice and new and “smart!” You shouldn’t be partners with a Gas Killing Animal who kills his people and enjoys it!’…

“A top official in Iran, which also backs Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, said his country would defend its ally against ‘foreign aggression.’…

“The US has been consulting with France and Britain over a military responseto Saturday’s alleged chemical weapons attack…”

The Sun wrote on April 12:

“Trump has back-pedaled on his threat to bomb Assad… Today, he

posted: ‘Never said when an attack on Syria would take place. Could be very soon or not so soon at all! In any event, the United States, under my Administration, has done a great job of ridding the region of ISIS. Where is our ‘Thank you America?'”

President Trump also stated that the current relationship between the USA and Russia is worse than it was during the Cold War.

Fears of World War 3

Express wrote on April 12:

“World War 3: Theresa May calls EMERGENCY ‘war’ cabinet meeting as strike on Syria looms. THERESA May has called an emergency ‘war’ Cabinet meeting to discuss the crisis in Syria and the potential for imminent British military strikes against the Assad regime after US President Donald Trump signalled the US was ready to take action…

“Israel latest to back MILITARY ACTION in Syria as Netanyahu signals he is ready for WW3. ISRAELI Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on Wednesday for action to be taken against Syria, as the UK, the US and numerous allies signalled they are gearing up for a military strike against the Assad regime following a chemical attack in Douma.”

“Australia’s Malcolm Turnbull SLAMS Russia and Syria for chemical attack as WW3 fears grow. AUSTRALIA’s Prime Minister appears to have given his backing to military action in Syria in response to the alleged chemical attack on civilians last weekend.”

Deutsche Welle wrote on April 12:

“Macron said… French and US officials were ‘working very closely, and we will have decisions to take, at the time we choose, when we consider it most useful and most effective.’…

“In Berlin, Chancellor Angela Merkel said Germany would not participate in any military strike on Syria.”

Justin Trudeau announced that Canada would not participate in a military strike either.

US Presidency Under Siege

The Daily Mail wrote on April 10:

“Donald Trumplashed out at his own Justice Department on Tuesday morning, following FBI raids on his longtime personal lawyer’s offices, home and hotel. ‘Attorney–client privilege is dead!’ Trump tweeted.

“The White House has yet to formulate a strategy for dealing with the fallout of an apparent criminal investigation of Michael Cohen by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Trump… is most angry about what he thought was an impenetrable barrier: the decades-old secrecy between Cohen and himself.

“Trump called Monday’s raid ordered by federal prosecutors on his personal attorney Michael Cohen’s hotel  room and offices ‘an attack on our country and what we all stand for’…

“Famed Harvard lawyer Alan Dershowitz…, a liberal who voted for Hillary Clinton, said Monday night that ‘this is a very dangerous day today for lawyer-client relations’. ‘This may be an attempt to squeeze Cohen… to get him to turn against his client,’ Dershowitz said in the clip… If this were Hillary Clinton [having her lawyer’s office raided], the ACLU would be on every TV station in America jumping up and down,’ Dershowitz protested. ‘The deafening silence of the ACLU and civil libertarians about the intrusion into the lawyer-client confidentiality is really appalling.‘

“When FBI agents swooped in on Cohen’s office Monday they seized a trove of documents related to the Stormy Daniels case and communications between the attorney and the president, in a dramatic escalation of Robert Mueller’s special counsel probe. They took his phone, personal computer and bank records – and Cohen is now under a microscope for both possible bank fraud and campaign finance violations.

“This indicates that Cohen is being investigated for using a home equity line of credit to borrow the $130,000 he paid Daniels, a porn star whose real name is Stephanie Clifford. If Cohen did in fact lie to obtain credit from a ‘federally insured financial institution,’ he could be charged with a felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison. And if the payment is found to be an ‘in-kind contribution’ to Trump’s campaign, as it came just days before the election, Cohen could be facing a second felony. Violating campaign contribution limits is punishable by up to five years in prison…

“The president on Monday also called Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigators ‘the most conflicted group of people I have ever seen.’ ‘This is the most biased group of people. These people have the biggest conflicts of interest I’ve ever seen. Democrats all, just about all,’ Trump said, although Mueller himself is a Republican…”

It was also reported that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein (a Republican) personally approved Monday’s FBI raid on President Donald Trump’s personal attorney Michael Cohen.

Boehner Promotes Medical Marijuana

The Hill wrote on April 11:

“Former House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has joined the board of a top cannabis corporation to promote the use of medical marijuana, a shift in his once-adamant opposition to legalization of the substance. Boehner released a statement Wednesday on Twitter saying that his ‘thinking on cannabis has evolved… I’m convinced de-scheduling the drug is needed so we can do research, help our veterans, and reverse the opioid epidemic ravaging our communities,’ Boehner said.

“Acreage Holdings is one of the nation’s largest cannabis corporations. Boehner will also be joined on the Board of Advisors by former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld, who won the Libertarian nomination for vice president in 2016. In a joint statement, the pair said they are hoping to de-schedule cannabis from a Class 1 drug at the federal level so it can be used for medical purposes…

“While dozens of states have moved to legalize marijuana in some form — either recreationally or for medicinal purposes — the substance is still prohibited at the federal level and is classified in the same category as heroin and LSD… Current Republican lawmakers said in February that they were optimistic about passing cannabis legislation in 2018.”

It’s about time. The Federal’s Class 1 drug designation of medical marijuana is totally ridiculous.

Brexit… a Managed Surrender for Britain

Politico wrote on March 23:

“Forget red lines, bellicose declarations and rhetoric about the United Kingdom taking back control — Brexit so far has been a process of managed surrender. British officials acknowledge that Prime Minister Theresa May has mostly had to accept the European Union’s terms for the divorce…

“However, the Brits insist, the real negotiation starts now and much is still to play for… Dream on! The withdrawal talks are likely to become even more lopsided as an unofficial October deadline for agreement on the framework of the future U.K.-EU relationship draws near. Any resemblance with a negotiation among equals is purely cosmetic…

“And that means the rest of the Brexit process is likely to look very much like it has thus far: a thunderous standoff masking a gradual retreat.”

Prince Charles Plans to Make Australia a Republic

Express wrote on April 2:

“Prince Charles, who is next-in-line to the throne wants Australia to become a republic… to be independent of the British Monarchy [it has been reported].

“The Prince will be in Australia this month for the start of the Commonwealth Games. The Games will kick-off with the Royal reading the Queen’s ‘secret message in a bottle.’ Prince Charles will have to remove the message from a baton that has made its way around the former British Empire nations that make up the Commonwealth.

“Commonwealth Games Federation CEO David Grevemberg said: “It all goes back to her speech to the Commonwealth on her 21st birthday in Cape Town in 1947 and dedicating her life to the Commonwealth.”

However, those former days of glory are long gone for “Great” Britain and the “British” Commonwealth.

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer

These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing at worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.

“Vladimir Putin’s Great Deceit”

Deutsche Welle wrote on March 18:

“It’s no surprise that Vladimir Putin was re-elected as Russian president. The outcome of this bogus election was preordained…

“The Kremlin controls every aspect of the political process in Russia and it didn’t leave anything to chance during this electoral spectacle… Many Russians undoubtedly voted for him; he is clearly popular with the public. But he is popular because the Kremlin has for years blocked other politicians from developing their own public profiles in the centrally controlled media… The president’s power rests not only on state repression, but also to the media’s portrayal of him as Russia’s only conceivable leader…

“Where will Putin lead Russia in the next few years? Many in the West fear Russia’s unpredictable and aggressive stance on the international stage, as NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg most recently put it. The poisoning of the former Russian agent Sergei Skripal in the UK with a military-grade nerve agent made it clear that Putin is prepared to further escalate confrontation with the West…

“Russia has fallen behind economically and technologically, particularly compared to China, but also compared to the US, Japan and the EU. Russians sense their incomes are falling. But the Kremlin-controlled propaganda machine drowned out the homemade causes for the economic and social stagnation with anti-Western rhetoric and messages of bogus military strength…

“Putin will not change his course during his next term. Real reforms to the Russian economy and state would inevitably undermine the foundations of his power…”

Congratulating Putin?

The Week wrote on March 21:

“President Trump defended his decision to congratulate Russian President Vladimir Putin on his re-election earlier this week, tweeting Wednesday ‘in past, Obama called him also,’ ‘getting along with Russia (and others) is a good thing, not a bad thing,’ and ‘PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH!’

“The Washington Post had reported that Trump was warned in all caps by national security advisers not to congratulate Putin, and aides told the president he needed to condemn the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in England earlier this month, widely blamed on Moscow. Trump didn’t bring this up, the Post reports…”

Bild Online commented that some of the few leaders who did NOT congratulate Putin were Theresa May from England and Justin Trudeau from Canada, congratulating them for their backbone and strength of character.

Italian Election… Putin the Real Winner

The Hill wrote on March 8:

“Within Italy, the big winners in the March 4 elections were the two populist parties, who between them pulled in roughly 50 percent of the vote.

“The 5 Star Movement, which emphasizes the ‘drain the swamp’ part of the populist message, was the leading party, with 32 percent of the vote for both chambers of the Italian parliament. The League, more akin to the anti-immigrant policies [of] Marine Le Pen’s National Front in France, pulled about 17 percent, easily topping the center-right Let’s Go Italy (Forza Italia) of Silvio Berlusconi, disappointed in his hopes of returning to the forefront of Italian politics.

“Outside Italy, though, the undisputed winner was Vladimir Putin. But the strong and public Russian connections of Italy’s populist parties could have very concrete impacts on Italian policy going forward.

“The League, for example, has regularly protested European Union sanctions against Russia. In March 2017, League chief Matteo Salvini even signed a cooperation agreement with United Russia, Putin’s political party, which holds the lion’s share of votes in the Duma. Much of the agreement reportedly deals with exchanges of information and meetings between party and parliamentary representatives, but promotion of Italy-Russia trade and economic cooperation evidently also figured… Evidence of the 5 Star Movement’s friendly ties with Russia is also abundant…

“Putin doesn’t need, and presumably does not expect, an overtly pro-Russian shift in Italy. It’s already a help to Russia that one of the largest West European countries, the fourth largest European economy (in the top ten worldwide), an active contributor to NATO, and historically close to the United States, will be effectively paralyzed.”

Sooner than expected by many, Italy will become anti-Russian, as will be all of the countries within the EU. In fact, war will break out between Europe and Far Eastern nations, including Russia and China (note our article on China below). For more information, please read our free booklet, “Biblical Prophecy… From Now until Forever.”  Also note the next article on Germany and Russia.

“Is Germany Turning on Russia?”

Handelsblatt Global wrote on March 21:

“Germany’s new foreign minister, Heiko Maas, has indicated a tougher line against the Russian bear since taking up his post a week ago. While former foreign minister and now German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier was busying congratulating President Vladimir Putin on his recent election win, Mr. Maas had far harsher words. ‘There certainly can be no claim to fair political competition in all respects,’ he said.

“… he was working on a joint statement with his EU colleagues condemning Russia for its alleged involvement in the poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal in Britain. For the Europeans, who view Russia as a threat since its invasion of Ukraine in 2014, there is only one plausible explanation: an assassination attempt ordered by the state.

“‘The first statements suggest that Maas is counting on clear opposition to Russia’s aggressive course, which violates international law,’ Norbert Röttgen, head of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the German parliament, the Bundestag, told Handelsblatt. He is calling for a continuation of the ‘firm, consistent policy of non-acceptance of Russian aggression’ that Chancellor Angela Merkel has pursued alongside other European and NATO partners…

“Other members of the Bundestag take a different view, with a cross-party alliance of friends of Russia taking shape. Most recently, Bundestag Vice President Wolfgang Kubicki, from the pro-business FDP party, spoke out in favor of ending sanctions imposed against Russia following its annexation of Crimea ‘step by step.’ The policy largely reflects business interests. There are 5,000 German companies with operations in Russia, and they believe business will pick up significantly if the sanctions are lifted.

“Ms. Merkel is unlikely to shift her line. Those who set the tone in her government do not trust Mr. Putin and see his expansive foreign policy as a threat to the European security architecture…

“Beyond economic cooperation, the overlap of common interests is shrinking. Russia intervenes in neighboring countries, launching cyberattacks in Europe and the US. And in Syria it is waging a merciless bombing war against the opponents of dictator Bashar al-Assad…”

Russian Cyber Operatives Attacking the USA

The website of thenextweb wrote on March 16:

“Russian cyber operatives are attacking critical American infrastructure such as energy grids, nuclear facilities, aviation systems, and water processing plants, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

“The report details numerous attempts, since at least March of 2016, where Russian cyber operatives targeted government entities and multiple US critical infrastructure sectors.”

Russia stands also accused of having meddled through cyber-attacks in European nations.

The Threat of Cyber Attacks and Solar Storms

The Telegraph wrote on March 17:

“British cities would be uninhabitable within days and the country is only a few meals from anarchy if the National Grid was taken down in a cyber attack or solar storm, disaster and security experts have warned. Modern life is so reliant on electricity that a prolonged blackout would quickly lead to a loss of water, fuel, banking, transport and communications that would leave the country ‘in the Stone Age’.

“The warning comes weeks after the Defence Secretary, Gavin Williamson, said Russia had been spying on the UK’s energy infrastructure and could cause ‘thousands and thousands and thousands’ of deaths if it crippled the power supply…

“As well as a cyber attack, other black sky risks include extreme weather, an electromagnetic pulse caused by a nuclear detonation in the atmosphere and terrorist attacks on key substations or transformers. One of the most destructive risks would be a powerful solar storm. A previous storm in 1859, now known as the Carrington Event, caused so much geomagnetic disruption that telegraph operators reported sparks bursting out of their machines. Such a storm today could cause havoc to electrical systems.

“One of the biggest problems would be that water supplies and sewage services rely on electrical pumps… Fuel would also quickly run out because it requires electrical pumps, meaning transport and deliveries to shops, hospitals and institutions would quickly cease. As communications like the internet and phones failed, the Government would struggle to tell people what was going on…”

These predictions are by no means far-fetched, but they are of real concerns.

“Britain Has Taken Leave of its Senses”

The Daily Mail wrote on March 19:

“Not a day goes by without lunacy hitting the headlines… Take the story over the weekend about the two women who gatecrashed a men-only swimming session in South London, after telling staff they ‘self-identified’ as male… The women were feminists, making a legitimate protest against new gender equality laws that would allow people to pick their own sex, regardless of biology…

“The real problem arises when men who identify as women demand the right to use exclusively female facilities… Yet the Government is considering letting people self-certify their gender without any medical diagnosis…

“Hospitals have stopped calling mothers ‘mothers’ because it might upset the trans-fascists. A couple of weeks ago, retailers were knocking out gender-free Mother’s Day cards…

“This is the crazy world we live in, one in which a private girls’ school is thinking of installing ‘gender-neutral’ toilets, even though it has no transgender pupils… is this a serious country, or a joke …

“For instance, would any serious country give houseroom to an alleged ‘asylum-seeker’, who claims to have trained with Izal in Syria, boasts about hating the West and, after being lavished with money and kindness, attempts to blow up hundreds of people on the London Underground? No serious country would run down its Armed Forces, as successive governments in Britain have done, at a time of heightened tensions in the world… Nor would a serious country commission two expensive aircraft carriers, without bothering to provide the aircraft to use them. A serious country wouldn’t shut three-quarters of its police stations, withdraw foot patrols and expect victims to report crimes over the internet.

“In a serious country, the Old Bill wouldn’t fritter away millions pursuing ‘historic’ sex crimes allegations against former prime ministers and other public figures who are dead. A serious country wouldn’t turn a blind eye to the systematic rape of thousands of young girls by men of mostly Pakistani and Bangladeshi origin because coppers and so-called child protection officers were scared of being called ‘racist’…

“In a serious, mature democracy, MPs wouldn’t grant the people a binding referendum on national sovereignty and then move heaven and earth trying to undermine and overturn the result.

“…forgive me if I ignore the confected fury over Facebook data being used to target potential Donald Trump voters. The Guardian, in particular, is getting terribly excited. If Hillary Clinton had won, we’d never have heard any more about it. In fact, when Obama was elected in 2008, he was hailed as a genius for the way in which his campaign used social media.

“And in 2012, one publication carried this glowing report: ‘Barack Obama’s re-election team are building a vast digital data operation that for the first time combines a unified database on millions of Americans with the power of Facebook to target individual voters to a degree never achieved before. ‘Facebook is also being seen as a source of invaluable data on voters . . . thus allowing the campaign to access their personal data and add it to the central data store — the largest, most detailed and potentially most powerful in the history of political campaigns.’ That publication?… The Guardian.”

So it seems indeed that Britain has taken leave of its senses… but so have most countries around the world, especially in Western Europe and the USA.

Germany: “US Will Fail if It Tries to Split Europe”

AFP wrote on March 18:

“US President Donald Trump ‘will not succeed’ in dividing European nations against one another over trade, German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier warned… In the European Union ‘we are a customs union and act collectively…’

“The US leader says the shock measures are in response to ‘unfair’ trade practices, but the EU has vowed to retaliate…”

The relationship between the USA and Europe (and Germany in particular) is bound to deteriorate drastically. For more information, please read our free booklets, The Fall and Rise of Britain and America and Europe in Prophecy. 

EU Needs to Take the Lead in Maintaining Global Trade System

Euractiv wrote on March 20:

“As America retreats after Trump’s plans to impose tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, the world is moving on. Now is the time for the EU to take the lead in maintaining the global trade system…

“The EU is right to prepare for a fight… The EU and national European governments must continue to press Washington on the folly of the tariffs…

“Across the world, countries are taking trade initiatives which sidestep the US… The EU-Japan free trade agreement is almost done… The US may not want to play ball but many other countries are ready to do so.”

In the not-too-distant future, the EU will take a leading role in economic AND military matters, while the USA will become more and more irrelevant.

EU Exempted from US Tariffs; China Being Hit Hard

CNN wrote on March 22, 2018:

“President Trump is granting more exemptions to his steel and aluminum tariffs — and dodging a trade war with key US allies. The European Union, Argentina, Brazil, South Korea and Australia will not be subject to the trade penalties when they take effect Friday… Exemptions for Canada and Mexico were previously announced…”

Newsmax wrote on March 22, 2018:

“The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 700 points on trade fears, tumbling back into correction territory as U.S. stocks plunged the most in six weeks amid the threat of an escalating trade war with China that has the potential to disrupt global growth… President Donald Trump ordered tariffs on about $50 billion in Chinese goods.”

Deutsche Welle wrote on March 22:

“US companies from Walmart to Amazon have warned that sweeping sanctions against China could raise consumer prices and hit the stock market… IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde warn[ed] of a global trade conflict that could undermine the broadest world recovery in years… According to a Bloomberg Economics estimate, a global trade conflagration could wipe $470 billion off the world economy by 2020.”

Terrible and Rotten US Budget Deal

Newsmax reported on March 22:

“Sen. Rand Paul has denounced the $1.3 trillion federal budget bill as ‘rotten, terrible’… lawmakers put together the massive spending bill [Wednesday night], which passed in the House Thursday. The Senate now needs to approve it and send it to the White House for President Donald Trump to sign [which he grudgingly declared he would do]. If it’s not approved by midnight Friday night, a government shutdown will occur.

“‘You have to know what’s in it. Really, should we be looking at 1,000-page bills with 24 hours to decide what’s in them? It’s really not a good way to run your government,’ Paul [said]. Government spending, Paul said, is out of control… ‘I’m upset that we’re spending like every Democrat that we criticized,’ Paul said… The national debt eclipsed the $21 trillion dollar mark last week.”

New National Security Adviser for Trump

The Daily Mail wrote on March 22:

“President Donald Trump will replace National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster with John Bolton on April 9, the White House announced late Thursday. Bolton, a former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, is a hawkish conservativewith a pugnacious streak – and a frequent guest on the Fox News Channel. He is also a fierce opponent of the Obama-era Iran nuclear deal… Bolton will be the third person to be Trump’s chief national security aide in his 14-month presidency.

“Trump has clashed with McMaster repeatedly in recent months, telling confidants that he considers the general a long-winded bore.  His departure comes barely a week after the president dramatically ousted former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in a tweet…

“[Bolton] remains a firm believer in the wisdom of President George W. Bush’s Iraq war, which Trump has routinely cast as a colossal mistake and a waste of money that could have been spent domestically…

“McMaster was originally hired as a quick-fix replacement for Gen. Michael Flynn, who was fired after mere weeks as National Security Advisor because he hid from Vice President Mike Pence and other officials the nature and extent of his contacts with Russia’s U.S. ambassador.”

Bolton has also repeatedly advocated nuclear war with North Korea.

China’s Dangerous Dictatorship

CNN wrote on March 20:

“China is ready to fight the ‘bloody battle’ against its enemies in its determination to take its place in the world, declared President Xi Jinping in a nationalist speech Tuesday that underlined his strongman rule over the world’s most populous country… His words were a rallying cry for his second term as President, a role he looks set to hold for life after China changed its constitution to remove presidential term limits. That move ensures Xi’s place as the country’s unquestioned political supremo in a world where China’s reach is extending further than ever before and rival superpower the United States is taking a back seat.

“At many points in his televised speech he harkened back to the country’s imperial past which critics have accused him of seeking to emulate as an emperor-like figure.  Xi listed China’s historic achievements — such as the invention of paper, Confucianism, and building the Great Wall — and the country’s experience of invasion from outside and ‘defending the national independence and freedom.’ He had strong language for supporters of formal independence for Taiwan or Hong Kong, saying that ‘not a single inch of our land’ could be ceded from China…  Beijing regards the island as a breakaway province to be retaken by force if necessary…

“Xi has been accused of pursuing a cult of personality similar to Mao’s… Xi’s power is even more concentrated than Mao’s…  Xi has now assumed absolute control of the party, army and state… In his speech, Xi stressed the importance of reforming China’s military and the absolute power of the Communist Party over the country…

“Xi’s installation as China’s absolute leader comes as his ally Vladimir Putin scored a record third term as Russian President with a landslide win in an election in which no real opposition was permitted to run. While Putin is more constrained by needing to keep to at least the appearance of representative democracy, he and Xi are the most prominent of a host of world leaders rolling back voting rights and shoring up their own authority.  Putin is cleared to rule Russia for six more years, and some analysts predicted he may follow Xi’s lead and remove term limits in order to serve indefinitely, pointing to the lack of a likely successor to the presidency.”

Israel Did Destroy Nuclear Reactor in Syria!

The Times of Israel wrote on March 21:

“After more than a decade of stubborn silence, Israel has finally acknowledged that its Air Force destroyed the Syrian nuclear reactor, on the night between September 5 and 6, 2007. Built by North Korea, the reactor was designed to produce plutonium as fissile material for nuclear bombs… When Israel struck, the Syrians were only weeks away from beginning to produce highly radioactive materials…

“Plainly, the decision by [Ehud] Olmert [Prime Minister at that time] to blow up the complex — after he had unsuccessfully asked then-president George W. Bush to do so — prevented Assad from attaining nuclear weapons. Potentially, it also prevented the world’s most bloodthirsty terrorists from acquiring the world’s most lethal weapons.”

Warning for Iran

JTA added on March 21:

“It is the second time that Israel has acknowledged destroying the nuclear reactor of an enemy country. In 1981 the IDF bombed the Osirak nuclear reactor in Iraq, for which it immediately claimed credit. ‘The message of the attack on the reactor in 2007 is that Israel will not accept the construction of a capability that threatens the existence of the State of Israel. That was the message in ’81. That was the message in 2007. And that is the message to our enemies for the future,’ IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot said…

“Yisrael Katz, the intelligence minister, was more explicit in saying that the acknowledgment was a signal to Iran. ‘The courageous decision of the Israeli government almost 11 years ago to destroy the nuclear reactor in Syria and the successful operation following it sends a clear message: Israel will never allow nuclear weapons to countries like Iran who threaten its existence,’ he said.”

Third Temple a Growing Worldwide Phenomenon

Breaking Israel News wrote on March 5:

“A newly minted coin featuring President Trump, King Cyrus, and the Third Temple has been featured in media around the world, graphically illustrating that support for the Jewish Temple on the Temple Mount is now a global phenomenon that is transcending political and religious boundaries.

“Three weeks ago, the nascent Sanhedrin and the Mikdash (Temple) Educational Center, a non-profit organization for education about the Temple, partnered in a risky venture to mint a commemorative medallion with an image of President Donald Trump and the Persian King Cyrus. The flip side features a stylized image of the Third Temple. Both signed a contract to mint 1,000 coins in the hope that the message on the coin that calls out to the US president to support the Jewish claim to the Temple Mount, would resonate with enough people to cover the total expense of the coins. They offered the coins to the public for a minimum donation of $50, and the response has exceeded all their expectations…

“Rabbi Hillel Weiss, the spokesman for the Sanhedrin, was surprised by the overwhelming response, but the message was clear to him: Support for the Third Temple is growing…

“The source for the concept behind the coin is the Biblical silver half-shekel that was collected in Temple Times from every Jewish man. The Trump medallion does not adhere to the requirements of this Biblically mandated coin but proceeds from sales of the coin will go towards projects educating the public about the Jewish Temple…

“The next project that the two organizations will cooperate on is a reenactment of the Paschal Sacrifice on March 26. At that time, Kohanim (Jewish men of priestly descent) will recreate the Temple service in a manner resembling the Temple service as much as possible. They will be dressed in the priestly garments and using silver vessels intended for use in the Third Temple. A lamb will be sacrificed and roasted in a Biblically authentic manner.”

The Bible predicts that a third temple will be built. For more information, please read our free booklet, “The Fall and Rise of the Jewish People.” 

Pope Francis: Don’t Wear Crosses as Ornaments

Fox News wrote on March 20:

“The Pope hit out at the ‘abuse’ of the crucifix by people who wear them as fashion accessories… Pope Francis said that the crucifix is a religious sign to be ‘contemplated and understood’, rather than merchandised [and] not to be ‘abused’ by being treated as an ornament or clothing accessory.”

This won’t make many Catholics happy. In addition, the t-cross is a pagan symbol and not to be placed in Christian churches or homes. Further, it is not to be worn, worshipped or idolized by Christians at all. Note our Q&A on the cross. Also read our two Q&As on the sign of the cross. https://www.eternalgod.org/what-is-the-origin-of-the-sign-of-the-cross-should-christians-make-the-sign-of-the-cross-part-1/ and https://www.eternalgod.org/what-is-the-origin-of-the-sign-of-the-cross-should-christians-make-the-sign-of-the-cross-part-2/

Pope: “Nothing Wrong With Tattoos”

Breitbart wrote on March 20:

“There is nothing wrong with tattoos, Pope Francis told a group of young people Monday, urging them to be open to cultural expressions of ‘belonging’… the pope said that the problem is that some people exaggerate by covering their body with tattoos, but ‘the problem is the exaggeration, not the tattoos.’ …

“‘Don’t be afraid of tattoos,’ the pope [said], noting that for many years Eritrean Christians and others have gotten tattoos of the cross on their foreheads…”

The pope is dead wrong on this issue as well. Please read our Q&A on tattoos.

Polish Catholic Priest Wishes the Pope’s Death

The Associated Press reported on March 17:

“Poland’s leading archbishop deplored on Sunday comments by a senior conservative priest who had wished Pope Francis a quick death if he does not open to ‘wisdom.’ Krakow Archbishop Marek Jedraszewski said he heard about the comments with ‘great pain and regret’ and has discussed them face-to-face with Msgr. Edward Staniek, who made them in a Feb. 25 church speech in Krakow.

“Krakow was the seat of Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, the late Pope St. John Paul II. Poland’s church remains attached to John Paul’s conservative stance, which largely differs from Francis’ inclusive message. A majority of Poland’s bishops see their mission as preserving the traditional Catholic values from the pressure of secularization. In his speech, Staniek, who is a prominent theologian… said that Francis has departed from the teaching of Jesus and was wrongly interpreting mercy as opening up to Muslims and allowing communion for divorced Catholics, who, according to the church, live in mortal sin and are not allowed communion… Staniek suggested Francis was an ‘alien body’ in the Catholic Church.”

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer

These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing at worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.

Trump Fires Tillerson!

The Washington Post reported on March 13:

“President Trump said Tuesday he has ousted Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and plans to nominate CIA Director Mike Pompeo to replace him as the nation’s top diplomat, orchestrating a major change to his national security team amid delicate outreach that includes possible talks with North Korea.

“Trump and Tillerson have had a fraught relationship for many months. Trump told reporters Tuesday that he ultimately decided to fire the secretary because they disagreed over strategy in key areas of foreign policy, such as the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, the approach to North Korea and the overall tone of U.S. diplomacy…

“Trump selected CIA Deputy Director Gina Haspel to succeed Pompeo as the agency’s director. She would become the first woman to run the spy agency. Both Haspel and Pompeo would need to be confirmed by the Senate at a time when the closely divided chamber has stalled on confirming dozens of Trump nominees.

“Haspel, in particular, could come under added scrutiny over her past role running one of the CIA ‘black site’ prisons where detainees were subjected to waterboarding and other interrogation methods widely denounced as torture.

“The announcement of Tillerson’s departure sent shock waves across the globe. Many U.S. diplomats and foreign leaders reacted with disbelief because they assumed Tillerson had finally begun to settle into his job after rumors of his ouster had swirled for months — even taking on a nickname, Rexit.”

Arrest Warrant for Trump’s New CIA Director?

MSN wrote on March 13:

“Federal prosecutors in Munich are currently reviewing a request to issue an arrest warrant for Gina Haspel, President Donald Trump‘s recently named director of the Central Intelligence Agency (‘CIA’).

“Haspel currently serves as the deputy director for the CIA and her nomination to head the agency must be approved by the U.S. Senate. Prior to her appointment as CIA deputy director, Haspel controversially ran a secret CIA prison in Thailand used to house, question, and allegedly torture detainees during the second Bush administration’s War on Terror.

“Haspel’s tenure as ‘Chief of Base’ at the prison–and what she did while serving in that role–is the subject of the arrest warrant request.”

Russia Denies Role in Poisoning

The Los Angeles Times wrote on March 13:

“Russia on Tuesday dismissed accusations of any involvement in the poisoning of an ex-spy and his daughter as ‘nonsense,’ saying it will only cooperate with a British investigation if it receives samples of the nerve agent believed to have been used.

“Police, meanwhile, said the investigation of who poisoned Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, will last many weeks and that they are not ready to identify any people of interest in the inquiry. The father and daughter remain in critical condition in a Salisbury hospital.

“British Prime Minister Theresa May said Russia’s involvement is ‘highly likely,’ and she gave the country a deadline of midnight Tuesday to explain its actions in the case. She is reviewing a range of economic and diplomatic measures in retaliation for the assault with what she identified as the military-grade nerve agent Novichok.

“U.S. and European officials were quick to offer words of support for Britain, which will need the backing of its allies if any new sanctions are to have any impact.”

Russia Refuses to Respond

yahoo reported on March 13:

“Britain braced for a showdown with Russia on Wednesday after a midnight deadline set by Prime Minister Theresa May expired without an explanation from Moscow about how a Soviet-era nerve toxin was used to strike down a former Russian double agent.

“The United States, European Union and NATO supported Britain after May said it was ‘highly likely’ that Russia was behind the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter with Novichok, a nerve agent developed by the Soviet military.

“Russia, which denied any involvement, said it was not responding to May’s ultimatum until it received samples of the nerve agent, effectively challenging Britain to show what sanctions it would impose against Russian interests.

“‘Moscow will not respond to London’s ultimatum until it receives samples of the chemical substance,’ Russia’s embassy in London said. ‘Any threat to take punitive measures against Russia will meet with a response.’

“Britain could call on Western allies for a coordinated response, freeze the assets of Russian business leaders and officials, limit their access to London’s financial center, expel diplomats and even launch targeted cyber attacks.”

Vladimir Putin continues to push at the West, and up to this point—with impunity!

Britain’s Response…

The Washington Post reported on March 14:

“British Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday ordered the immediate expulsion of 23 Russian diplomats believed to be involved in espionage, in the first reprisals against Moscow for a chemical attack on a former double agent.

“May, speaking to Parliament, said the response would include a halt to high-level meetings between British and Russian officials and the cancellation of a planned visit to Britain by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

“She also said the royal family and government ministers would boycott this summer’s World Cup soccer tournament in Russia. More countermeasures — some clandestine — are under consideration.

“The prime minister repeated the conclusion of British investigators that Russia had either deployed or lost control of a dangerous nerve agent used in the attack targeting former spy Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter, Yulia, 33.

“May said Russia’s dismissive response to her demand for an explanation has ‘demonstrated complete disdain for the gravity of these events.’

“‘Instead, they have treated the use of a military-grade nerve agent in Europe with sarcasm, contempt and defiance,’ she told lawmakers.

“The British leader gave no further details on the Russian diplomats ordered out of the country but said they were deemed ‘undeclared intelligence officers.’ She called it the largest expulsion of Russian diplomats from Britain since Cold War-era retributions in the 1980s.”

Britain has been pre-occupied with Brexit, and it seems that Europe is only offering tepid support for any strong response to Russia. After all, Russia’s oil and gas supplies are crucial for the EU. Britain may have to look very hard for meaningful help in penalizing Russia.

Four More Years for Angela Merkel!

dw wrote on March 14:

“Merkel’s election by Germany’s lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, ends 171 days of waiting after Germany’s national popular election on September 24, 2017. Merkel was elected by deputies from her own conservative CDU-CSU and her junior coalition partners, the Social Democratic Party (SPD)…

“Merkel’s first attempt to form a coalition, with the center-right Free Democrats and the Greens, failed. But she succeeded in doing a deal with the Social Democrats after weeks of late-night negotiation and over the opposition of many regional SPD leaders and one-third of the party rank and file.

“The 63-year-old Merkel will now begin her fourth term as German chancellor and her third as the leader of a grand coalition.”

Mrs. Merkel’s challenge remains—to bring unity to a Germany that grows increasingly polarized.

Putin Suggests that Jews and Minorities be Blamed…

UPI wrote on March 12:

“Russian President Vladimir Putin is facing criticism over comments suggesting Jews and other minorities may have been responsible for meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

“During an interview with Megyn Kelly on U.S. television, Putin said he “couldn’t care less” about accusations of Russian interference in the election and 13 Russian nationals who were charged by U.S. special counsel Robert Mueller last month.

“‘I couldn’t care less because they do not represent the government, I could not care less. They do not represent the interests of the Russian state,’ Putin said.

“‘Maybe they’re not even Russians, but Ukrainians, Tatars, Jews, just with Russian citizenship. Even that needs to be checked,” Putin said when questioned about who meddled in the election. “Maybe they have dual citizenship. Or maybe a green card. Maybe it was the Americans who paid them for this work. How do you know? I don’t know.’”

France Won’t Recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s Capital

breakingisraelnews  reported on March 9:

“French President Emmanuel Macron told an audience on Wednesday that he would fight anti-Semitism online and in the streets of France in order to protect the country’s Jews.

“‘There are hatreds that are rising again; there are the worst kinds of crimes,’ Macron said at the annual dinner of the extensive Conseil Représentatif des Institutions Juives de France, or CRIF, Jewish umbrella organization.

“‘We have understood, with horror, that anti-Semitism is still alive. And on this issue our response must be unforgiving,’ said Macron. ‘France would not be itself if Jewish citizens had to leave because they were afraid.’

“Official figures show that anti-Semitic crimes increased 26 percent last year in France, with a 22 percent increase in vandalism to Jewish synagogues and cemeteries.

“Though CRIF leader Francis Kalifat encouraged Macron to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, as has U.S. President Donald Trump and Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales, Macron called the move an ‘error.’

“France, he said, ‘would lose this status of honest broker, which is the only useful one for the region,’ if it were to recognize the Jewish claim on the city.”

President Trump has indicated that the U.S. Embassy would move to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv in March of this year. This would mark the seventieth anniversary of the Jews’ declaration of the State of Israel (March 14, 1948). Along with France, most of the rest of the world is refusing to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Many of Israel’s neighbors constantly threaten a war of total annihilation, and the Bible clearly reveals that war is coming!

Pope Francis—Too Liberal?

CNN wrote on March 3:

“In the beginning, there were signs and wonder.

“Signs that Jorge Bergoglio would be different, which led 1.2 billion Catholics to wonder: What kind of Pope would this obscure archbishop from Argentina turn out to be?…

“… Five years later, Pope Francis is firmly among the most liberal, global and politically relevant Holy Fathers in modern history.

“And for some Catholics, that’s become a problem…

“’I now understand how liberals in the church felt under the pontificates of John Paul II and Benedict,’ says Benjamin Harnwell, director of the Institute for Human Dignity, a religious right-wing think tank. ‘I never got it before. I thought they were just dissenters, but they really didn’t feel as if they were truly part of the church, and that the Vatican didn’t involve or want them. Well, the pendulum has swung the other way.’

“As Harnwell strolls his new headquarters — an ancient monastery in the hills outside Rome that holds magnificent paintings of Christian persecution and the bones of St. Boniface — he explains his belief that The Vatican is a house divided.

“There are those like Pope Francis, who believe the church should be more like a field hospital, attending to the wounded — regardless of faith or denomination — while creating a more Christ-like society on earth.

“And then there is his camp, which sees the Catholic Church as a supernatural organization, here to enforce the strict rules of heavenly entry.”

Cardinal Marx—A Power Broker to the EU

Politico reported on March 12:

“With allies in Brussels and the Vatican, Cardinal Reinhard Marx has shaped the European debate.

“The German cardinal is the archbishop of one of the Continent’s richest dioceses, and he has spent the last six years serving as the head of the Roman Catholic Church’s most important presence in Brussels. Like Cardinal Richelieu, the 17th-century cleric who served as chief minister to King Louis XIII, Marx has close relations with the highest secular powers in Europe: German Chancellor Angela Merkel and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker…

“As head of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community, an advocacy organization consisting of representatives of the Catholic Church from the 28 members of the European Union, Marx has waded into the European debate, in public and behind closed doors…

“Marx belongs to the Catholic Church’s more liberal wing (he was made cardinal by the conservative Pope Benedict in 2010, but his views are clearly closer to those of Pope Francis). As president of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences (known in Brussels as COMECE, an abbreviation of its French name), he has often found himself facing off on issues of theology or public policy against colleagues from more conservative Eastern European countries.

“COMECE includes members representing each of the EU28 (a single bishop represents Denmark, Sweden and Finland, while the U.K. has two: one for England and Wales, and one from Scotland). They meet regularly in Brussels to discuss EU policies that might affect them or their parishioners — making the organization a sort of religious parallel to the European Council. And it reflects many of its secular counterpart’s regional divides — especially when it comes to traditionally sensitive issues like abortion and homosexuality…

“Part of Marx’s power lies in his closeness to the Vatican, and in particular to Francis, who in 2013 asked him to serve as a counselor in a new structure outside the Roman Curia.

“Last fall, Marx helped organize a conference in Rome on ‘Re-Thinking Europe,’ which was attended by former Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta and Sylvie Goulard, a confidant of French President Emmanuel Macron who is now deputy governor of the Bank of France…

“The diocese he oversees is one of the richest in the world. Thanks to the Kirchensteuer, a tax that registered Catholics have to pay every year in Germany, “it collects more than €5 billion a year, more than five times, for example, what is collected by the Italian Church,” according to the Vaticanista Sandro Magister.

“‘It has a budget higher than many small member states,’ said a Vatican official.”

Court Vindicates Couple for Refusing to Lie About the “Easter Bunny”

nationalpost reported on March 7:

“An Ontario child welfare agency placed promoting belief in the Easter Bunny above preventing possible trauma when it removed two girls from a foster home because the Christian couple refused to lie about the bunny’s existence, an Ontario judge ruled.

“In a stinging indictment of the actions of the Children’s Aid Society of Hamilton, a court judgment declared the CAS violated the foster parent’s right to freedom of religion and freedom of expression when the children were taken from their home and their fostering agreement terminated over the Easter Bunny dilemma.

“Derek and Frances Baars, who lived in Hamilton at the time but have since moved to Edmonton, sued the Children’s Aid Society last year, saying a CAS worker insisted they proactively tell two girls in their care, aged three and four, the Easter Bunny was genuine, despite the couple’s belief that all lying is wrong…

“The Baars are Christians and members of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America…

“Evidence was clear the Baars sincerely believe it is wrong to lie, including lying to promote belief in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny…”

These Current Events are compiled and commented on. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing at worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.