This Week in the News

No UK Alignment with EU

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 18:

“British Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid dismissed calls from British businesses to align with European Union rules once the UK has left the bloc… ‘we will not be in the single market and we will not be in the customs union — and we will do this by the end of the year,’ Javid told the Financial Times

“Javid fired back that businesses should ‘adjust’ to the reality of Brexit and that they’ve had three years to prepare for new trade arrangements… The sectors that are most likely to be impacted are the pharmaceutical, automobile, aerospace and food and drink industries….”

 The relationship between the UK and the EU is bound to deteriorate.

Growing Rift between US and Europe

Business Insider wrote on January 18:

“President Donald Trump’s decision to assassinate Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani has exposed a growing rift between the US and its historically closest allies in Europe. The attack was met with a remarkable level of criticism by European leaders.

“The UK threatened to cut back on its long-standing defense alliance with Trump, and Germany suggested openly that the importance of its relationship with the US was declining. Trump responded by threatening European leaders with a new trade war if they remained committed to the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal.

“Yet rather than bring US allies into line, Trump’s threats merely highlighted the declining importance that many European leaders now place in the transatlantic alliance…

“The attack, which damaged Germany’s policy of engagement with Tehran, has triggered open debate about the value of Europe’s alliance with the US. In recent days German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke openly about the declining importance of Europe’s alliance with the US… In response, she said, ‘We in Europe, and especially in Germany, need to take on more responsibility.’… the French government quickly called on the Trump administration to step back from any further conflict.”

The relationship between the USA and the EU is bound to deteriorate even more. Note the next article.

“EU Doesn’t Take Orders from US on Iran”

Politico wrote on January 17:

“European Union Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan on Thursday defended the EU’s handling of relations with Iran, following a report that the Trump administration threatened to hit EU autos with a 25 percent tariff…

“‘We’re not an extension of the United States of America in the European Union,’ Hogan said… ‘We actually are the European Union and we will make our own decisions in member states about what our policies are going to be, whether that’s in trade or security or what other areas.’”

The leader of German Green Party, Robert Habeck, condemned Trump on January 21 for Trump’s speech in Davos, saying that Trump is the enemy.

European Naval Mission in Strait of Hormuz

Euractiv wrote on January 20:

“The creation of a future European Maritime Surveillance Mission in the Strait of Hormuz (EMASOH) has now gained the ‘political support’ of Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, and France…The Strait of Hormuz is one of the key routes for global oil transit.

“… the eight European countries aim to contribute to the protection of oil tankers and cargo ships…[In 2018:] Tehran… threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz to international shipping… [In 2019:] Two oil tankers were attacked near the Strait of Hormuz while they transited the Gulf of Oman, followed by Iran shooting down an American surveillance drone in the Gulf of Oman.”

Europe is determined to play a much more active role in military matters.

Many Kings Appear in Jerusalem

Breaking Israel News wrote on January 20:

“On Thursday, Jerusalem’s role as a gathering place for kings will appear… The event marks the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp and International Holocaust Remembrance Day…. At least 47 world leaders, including 26 presidents, four kings (from Spain, Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg), and four prime ministers will represent their countries that include the U.S., Russia, England, Romania, Italy, Austria, Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Croatia, Georgia, Bulgaria, Sweden, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Finland, Bosnia, Iceland, Armenia, Australia, Canada, and several others…

“The U.S. will be represented by Vice President Mike Pence and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The gathering will be addressed by Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, French President Emmanuel Macron, Prince of Wales HRH Prince Charles, Russian President Vladimir Putin, a senior leader from the US, and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier… Spain’s King Felipe VI will deliver an address on behalf of the world leaders. The Foreign Ministry called the event the third-largest gathering of international leaders in Israel’s history, after the funerals of Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres…

“Rabbi Hillel Weiss, spokesman for the Sanhedrin, noted:… ‘Many of the nations that will be here in Jerusalem are the very nations that took part in the Holocaust. They are also the nations that want to take Jerusalem out of the world, take it away from the Jewish people. Many of these nations support the enemies of Israel who openly proclaim their intention to continue what the Nazis began.’”

Everyone wants to play a role in or pertaining to Jerusalem. The Bible says that ultimately, all nations will fight against Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:2).

The Coming Fight for the Al Aqsa Mosque

The Jerusalem Post wrote on January 20:

“Jerusalem will soon become the capital of a global caliphate, a Palestinian preacher has told a crowd of Muslim worshipers at the Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City, before calling on them to seek martyrdom. Speaking at an event held by Hizb ut-Tahrir to mark the anniversary of the 1453 AD capture of Constantinople by the Ottoman Empire, Nidhal ‘Abu Ibrahim’ Siam said the date brought tidings that Rome will soon be conquered in the name of Islam.

“In a video recording of the event uploaded to the Internet on January 17… Siam can be seen telling the enthusiastic crowd that three prophecies would soon be fulfilled: that a rightly-guided caliphate will be established, that Jerusalem will be liberated and established as its capital, and that Islam ‘will throw its neighbors to the ground’ and achieve world domination.

“The real task of the Muslim faithful is to wage Jihad for the sake of Allah and make the word of the infidels inferior to the word of Allah, he said, before calling upon them to become martyrs for Allah. ‘Do not obey the followers of Satan [and] those who collaborate with America, Russia, and the West,’ he urged. In response, the crowd chanted: ‘This Al-Aqsa [Mosque] will be liberated… The caliphate was promised by Allah…”

The Al-Aqsa Mosque will become more and more the object of attention and controversy. The Bible shows that Arab nations will collaborate with Germany against Israel.

Italy’s Salvini to Recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s Capital

The Times of Israel wrote on January 19:

“Italian prime ministerial frontrunner Matteo Salvini has told an Israeli newspaper [the right-wing Israeli daily Israel Hayom] he would recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital if he were elected… [The next general election in Italy is scheduled for May 28, 2023.]

“Salvini’s interview was published Saturday, a day after Honduras’s President Juan Orlando Hernandez said his government would transfer its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem once Israel opens an embassy in the Honduran capital Tegucigalpa. So far, only the United States and Guatemala have moved their embassies to the capital…”

Breaking Israel News reported on January 21:

“On Monday, an Italian senate committee voted to remove Salvini’s immunity in a case in which he stands accused of allegedly illegally detaining migrants at sea last year. The committee decision follows a Sicilian court recommendation to try Salvini for blocking migrants on a coast guard boat last July. Salvini refused to allow 131 rescued migrants off the Gregoretti coast guard boat until a deal was reached with other European states to host them. The immigrants remained on board for almost a week. This was the second time Salvini detained illegal immigrants in this manner. If convicted, Salvini could be sentenced to up to 15 years in jail.”

It is very unlikely that he will be convicted. His party, Lega Nord, is currently polling in the lead with over 30% of the electorate. On the other hand, Hitler was sentenced to jail too, only to emerge much more powerful after his release.

World War II Caused by Anti-Semitism

Times of Israel wrote on January 20:

“World War II and the enormous catastrophe it brought upon mankind occurred ‘probably mainly’ because of anti-Semitism, according to Israel’s preeminent Holocaust scholar. Indeed, Adolf Hitler launched the war to a large extent to prevent ‘world Jewry’ from physically annihilating the German nation, Yehuda Bauer said. ‘Anti-Semitism is a cancer that eats the world, and World War II is proof of that,’ he told The Times of Israel during an hour-long interview in Jerusalem last week.

“Bauer, 93…. [mentioned] a secret memorandum Hitler wrote to Hermann Goering in August 1936, in which he spoke about the need for Germany to be ready for war within four years. Otherwise, Hitler argued, Jewish Bolshevism will ‘replace’ the German nation…”

One must not forget that both Hitler and Stalin were anti-Semitic. They both were preparing for war against each other.

Deutsche Welle added on January 21:

“Naftali Fürst (88) survived Auschwitz and Buchenwald… ‘I think it can happen again,’ he said… He says the situation is currently deteriorating again, and that’s why he speaks as a witness. ‘I have a duty to tell […my story].’ Because people shouldn’t believe ‘that it didn’t happen.’”

The Holocaust DID happen, and as horrible as it was, something similar, but much more devastating, will happen again… and this time, it will be directed against physical and spiritual Jews, as well as the modern descendants of the ancient House of Israel in the USA, the UK, and other English-speaking nations.

Turkey’s Plans for Libya and Israel

Breaking Israel News wrote on January 21:

“A new military incursion into Libya is part of a long-awaited dream by Turkish President Erdogan to return the Ottoman Caliphate, a global Islamic rule that subjugated Jews and Christians for six centuries… Turkish-backed Syrian mercenaries have begun arriving in Libya. Approximately 2,400 troops are already in Tripoli while another 1,700 are currently undergoing training in Turkey… Turkey intends to send a total of 6,000 troops to Libya… The Turkish government will pay each soldier a monthly stipend of $2,000, far more than the $50 they earned to fight back home in Syria. The Syrian troops are also fighting against the Kurds in Libya.

“Turkish intervention is a manifestation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s aspiration to establish himself as the leader of a global Islamic nation… Erdogan’s Caliphate aspirations extend beyond the borders of Turkey and target Israel and, most specifically, Jerusalem. At a summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul last year, Erdogan called on all of the 57 Muslim member nations to join together against Israel to avenge the deaths of Palestinians killed while charging the southern border with Gaza.

“In 2015, Erdogan gave a speech commemorating 562 years since the Turks captured Constantinople (now known as Istanbul) from European Christians in which he called for the Muslim conquest of Jerusalem… Erdogan has also been suspected of aiding Hamas, allowing the terrorist organization to operate out of Turkey. The terrorist group is also reportedly in contact with the Turkish intelligence agency.

“The key to the Turkish incursion into Libya and the hidden motivation is actually quite straightforward. Two months ago, Turkey signed a maritime borders deal that gave Turkey a claim to parts of the eastern Mediterranean. In addition to its strategic military importance, the eastern Mediterranean has huge natural gas deposits. Turkey’s entrance into the eastern Mediterranean puts it into close proximity with Israel and its offshore natural gas facilities.”

A gathering of world leaders and their representatives in Germany to determine the fate of Libya was only of limited success, as nobody knows how to implement their peace “proposals.” While uncertainty remains, Turkey is stepping in. Ultimately, Turkey will be collaborating with Europe against Israel.

Human-to-Human Transmission of New Deadly Virus

The Associated Press wrote on January 20:

“The head of a Chinese government expert team said Monday that human-to-human transmission has been confirmed in an outbreak of a new coronavirus, a development that raises the possibility that it could spread more quickly and widely… The spread of the viral pneumonia comes as the country enters its busiest travel period, when millions board trains and planes for the Lunar New Year holidays. The outbreak is believed to have started late last month among people connected to a seafood market in Wuhan, a city in central China… The outbreak has put other countries on alert as millions of Chinese travel for Lunar New Year. Authorities in Thailand and in Japan have identified three cases, all involving recent travel from China [One case has now been identified in the USA as well.]

“Coronaviruses cause diseases ranging from the common cold to SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome. SARS first infected people in southern China in late 2002 and spread to more than two dozen countries, killing nearly 800. The Chinese government initially tried to conceal the severity of the SARS epidemic, but its cover-up was exposed by a high-ranking physician… Initial symptoms of the novel coronavirus include fever, cough, tightness of the chest and shortness of breath, and those seriously ill developed pneumonia.”

The Telegraph added on January 22:

“As many as 4,000 people in the city at the epicentre of an outbreak of a mystery new coronavirus could be infected with the disease, experts have warned. So far, Chinese authorities and state media say close to 500 people have fallen ill and 17 people have died from the disease, which was first identified in China at the end of last year and has now spread to five other countries…

“Experts say it is also ‘possible’ that a case could reach the UK. But disease modelling experts from Imperial College, London say the true figure in the city of Wuhan alone – the source of the outbreak – could be… as high as 9,700…”

Breaking Israel News wrote on January 23:

 “The deadly coronavirus disease… appears to have been caused by the consumption of a Chinese delicacy – bat soup… The Bible forbids the consumption of birds of prey and specifically mentions bats as one of those species as stated in Leviticus 11.”

Another source claims that the disease has been spread by the consumption of snakes purchased at a wholesale market. Snakes are of course unclean animals too.

The problem is that the symptoms are at first very similar to an ordinary flu, and don’t even show up until five or six days after infection. So, many can pass on the virus to others without even knowing that they are sick.

Hundreds of Thousands of Fish Dead in Australia

The Guardian wrote on January 17:

“Hundreds of thousands of fish are dead in northern New South Wales as bushfire ash washed into in the Macleay River…

“Rains have washed ‘tonnes and tonnes’ of debris into the Macleay River…  Species seen dead and reported… were Australian bass, eels, bullhead mullet, yellow-eye mullet, herring, gudgeons and catfish.”

Also, rain and dust have made a bad situation even worse.

The Guardian added on January 22:

“Temperatures have soared in New South Wales bringing renewed emergency bushfire warnings, while Melbourne has brown rain from dust in the air, causing pools to close and the Yarra River to turn brown. Despite heavy rain in parts of NSW over the past week, residents were warned the ‘bad old days’ of bushfires could return… The fire danger was classified as extreme in the southern ranges on Thursday, and severe in much of the rest of the state, including the fire-ravaged far south coast…

“Temperatures in parts of the south coast, Hunter, mid-north coast and Sydney were expected to pass 40C on Thursday, with 65 fires burning and 19 uncontained… There were still 12 fires burning in Victoria on Thursday morning…  The rain brought little relief to bushfire-affected regions; there was barely any east of Bairnsdale. The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, has said that the rains could bring new dangers for firefighters, including landslides.”

Breaking Israel News wrote on January 22:

“In the midst of raging wildfires, hailstones the size of baseballs pounded Australia in a mix of elemental opposites echoing the Egyptian plague. As if that reminder of the Exodus were not enough, a massive dust storm turned day into night… This year, a stark drought brought on devastating wildfires that have, so far, burned an estimated 46 million acres of land. The fires destroyed over 5,900 buildings including approximately 2,683 homes, and killed at least 30 people. An estimated one billion animals were also killed and some endangered species may be driven to extinction.”

Humans Responsible for US Wildfires

The Daily Mail wrote on January 22:

“The number of human-caused wildfires has increased in recent decades… The new study of wildfires in America between 1984 and 2016 has found that the leading cause is ‘shifting away from lightning and towards human activity’. In the past, the strongest fires were caused by natural ignition types, like lightning strikes or El Niño winds, which also tended to be seasonal and easier to predict. Human-caused, or anthropogenic, fires can be caused intentionally, by arson, or accidentally, for example by dropped cigarettes, fireworks or other negligence…

“Looking to the future, researchers say that regular fires caused by humans are likely to become even more frequent. Some of the most high-profile fires in recent years have been caused by humans. Last year, the Kincade Fire that swept across 78,000 acres of Sonoma County in California started when a faulty PG&E power line ignited the unusually dry landscape surrounding it and quickly spread. A report from the Wall Street Journal found that faulty PG&E equipment was responsible for starting more than 1.500 wildfires between 2014 and 2017 alone. In Oregon, a teenager started a wildfire in the forest around Eagle Creek when he set off some fireworks. The resulting fire burned over 48,000 acres and was actively smoldering for nine months, between September 2017 and May 2018.

“85% of wildfires in the US are caused by humans. Lightning is the next most common cause of wildfires… California has more than 2 million homes exposed to wildfire risk, almost three times more than any other state. Texas has the highest number of wildfires per year, with 10,541 in 2018…”

German Cardinal Reinhard Marx: Don’t Spread Fear of Hell

Life Site News wrote on January 10:

“Cardinal Reinhard Marx – the archbishop of Munich-Freising and the head of the German Bishops’ Conference – just made a statement, in which he argued against spreading fear, saying: ‘wherever someone spreads fear – of hell or whatever else – the Gospel cannot have an effect.’… His Protestant counterpart, the head of the Evangelical Church of Germany (EKD), Bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strohm,… added that, while in former times, the church had blessed weapons, but she is now, instead, known for her work for the protection of the environment. ‘I prefer the latter,’ he added…”

It is unclear whether Marx denies the existence of hell, or whether he is just saying that no fear should be spread… The German magazine Focus reported on January 21 about allegations that Bishop Marx and Bishop Ackermann prevented a meaningful investigation of thousands of cases where the clergy sexually abused children, in order to protect Marx and Pope Benedict. The fact is that several years after the revelation of the abuse cases in Germany, still no charges have been filed against any accused priest, according to the magazine.

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.

This Week in the News

USA and Iraq at a Crossroads, while Iran Keeps Threatening USA and Israel

Reuters wrote on January 11:

“Washington on Friday rebuffed an Iraqi request to prepare to pull out its troops, amid heightened US-Iranian tensions after the US killing of an Iranian commander in Baghdad. Seeking to tighten pressure on its arch foe, the US meanwhile imposed more sanctions on Iran, responding to an attack on American troops in Iraq launched by Tehran in retaliation for the death of General Qassem Soleimani… Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi made his request in a phone call with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo late on Thursday in line with a vote by the Iraqi Parliament last week…

“Abdul Mahdi asked Pompeo to ‘send delegates to put in place the tools to carry out the Parliament’s decision’… The US State Department said any US delegation would not discuss the withdrawal of American troops as their presence in Iraq was ‘appropriate.’ ‘There does, however, need to be a conversation between the US and Iraqi governments not just regarding security, but about our financial, economic, and diplomatic partnership’…

“Iraq’s top Shi’ite Muslim cleric [Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani] said… no foreign powers should be allowed to decide Iraq’s fate… Sistani… wields huge influence over Iraqi public opinion. ‘Iraq must govern itself and there must be no role for outsiders in its decision-making,’ Sistani said…”

The Times of Israel added on January 12:

“Hassan Nasrallah, leader of the Hezbollah terror organization, on Sunday threatened violence against the United States if it did not withdraw its troops from the Middle East, and said any future American attack on Iran would draw a retaliation against Israel.

“‘If in the coming days or weeks the US doesn’t withdraw its forces from the Middle East, the American soldiers will return to the US in coffins,’ Nasrallah declared… Nasrallah called last week for Shiite militias to attack US military assets throughout the Middle East — including with suicide bombings…”

Threats were also made against European troops in the Middle East. President Trump said in an interview with Fox News that he would be fine with withdrawing US troops from Iraq, but Iraq would have to pay them a lot of money for US services so far.

Iran “Admits” Downing the Ukrainian Airliner after Days of Continuing Lies

The Associated Press wrote on January 11:

“Iran’s acknowledgement that it shot down a Ukrainian airliner, killing 176 people, raises new challenges for the Islamic Republic both externally amid tensions with the U.S. and internally as it deals with growing discontent from its people. The country did itself no favors by having its air-crash investigators, government officials and diplomats deny for days that a missile downed the flight…

“‘There has been no missile launched in that area at that time,’ said Hamid Baeidinejad, Iranian ambassador to the United Kingdom, in an interview Friday with Sky News, calling further questions on the allegation ‘absolutely unacceptable.’

“Then the story changed early Saturday morning… Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei… acknowledged the missile strike, citing the report by Iran’s conventional armed forces. Yet even the army statement itself raises questions, as it said the flight moved ‘very close to a sensitive military spot… The altitude and the direction of the flight’s movement were like an enemy target, so the aircraft was targeted unintentionally due to human error,’ the statement read.

“That’s despite flight data for every Ukrainian International Airlines flight out of Tehran since early November show Wednesday’s flight followed a similar altitude and flight path, according to flight-tracking website FlightRadar24. Planes leaving Imam Khomeini airport routinely take off going west as the Ukrainian flight did. Nine other flights flew out of the airport early Wednesday morning before the Ukrainian airliner as well without encountering trouble…

“Analysts have questioned the decision not to close Tehran’s airspace in the days after the shootdown… Iranian officials… sought to try to blame ‘U.S. adventurism’ for Iran shooting down the airplane. That may not fly with the Iranian public, already battered by economic sanctions and openly protesting in recent protests. Saturday night, hundreds gathered at universities in Tehran to… [demand] officials involved in the missile attack be removed from their positions and tried. Police broke up the demonstrations…”

If fact, it has been confirmed now what had already been reported earlier—that Iran shot down the Ukrainian airline with TWO missiles, not just one.

Just ONE German Government Politician Calls for Sanctions against Iran

The Jerusalem Post wrote on January 11:

“German politician Paul Ziemiak calls Iran’s leadership a ‘terrorist regime’… The No. 2 member of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union Party on Friday urged sanctions targeting Iran’s regime for launching at least one missile at an Ukrainian passenger jet, resulting in the death of all 176 people aboard… Three German citizens were aboard the downed plane…

“Ziemiak’s call to sanction Iran’s clerical regime stands in sharp contrast to Merkel and her coalition government with the Social Democratic Party. Both Merkel and the Social Democrats have worked to circumvent US sanctions targeting Iran. A German official oversees INSTEX (the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges) to promote trade among European countries with Iran.

“In 2018, the chairman of Germany’s Jewish community, Dr. Josef Schuster, called for ‘an immediate halt to any economic relations with Iran… Schuster added that ‘It seems paradoxical that Germany – as a country that is said to have learned from its horrendous past and which has a strong commitment to fight antisemitism – is one of the strongest economic partners of a regime [Tehran] that is blatantly denying the Holocaust and abusing human rights on a daily basis.

“‘Besides, Germany has included Israel’s security as a part of its raison d’être,’ he said. ‘As a matter of course, this should exclude doing business with a fanatic dictatorship that is calling for Israel’s destruction, pursuing nuclear weapons and financing terror organizations around the world.’ Merkel ignored Schuster’s appeal at the time.”

Bild Online wrote on January 10: “No, it was not a mistake, but a murderous deed. CDU-General Secretary Paul Ziemiak is the only German politician who speaks clearly in connection with Iran. He is right when he demands new EU sanctions against Iran.”

Iran’s Leadership in Big Trouble

Reuters wrote on January 14:

“Iran said on Tuesday it had arrested people accused of a role in shooting down a Ukrainian airliner and had also detained 30 people involved in protests that have swept the nation for four days since the military belatedly admitted its error. Wednesday’s shooting down of Ukraine International Airlines flight 752, killing all 176 people aboard, has led to one of the biggest public challenges to the Islamic Republic’s clerical rulers since they took power four decades ago.

“In a step that will increase diplomatic pressure, Britain, France and Germany launched a dispute mechanism [to bring Tehran back to compliance, allegedly not to impose sanctions] for breaching limits on its nuclear programme under an agreement which Washington abandoned in 2018. Since the United States killed Iran’s most powerful military commander in a drone strike on Jan. 3, Tehran has faced escalating confrontation with the West and unrest at home, both reaching levels with little precedent in its modern history…

“Protesters, many of them students, have held daily demonstrations since then, chanting ‘Clerics get lost!’ and calling for the removal of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in power for more than 30 years. Police have responded to some protests with a violent crackdown, video posts on social media showed. Footage showed police beating protesters with batons, wounded people being carried, pools of blood on the streets and the sound of gunfire…

“The extent of the unrest is difficult to assess because of limits on independent reporting…

“Most of those on board the flight were Iranians or dual nationals… The disaster and subsequent unrest comes amid one of the biggest escalations between Tehran and Washington since 1979…

“Iran’s leaders have been facing a powerful combination of pressure both at home and abroad. Just two months ago, Iran’s authorities put down anti-government protests, killing hundreds of demonstrators in what is believed to be the most violent crackdown on unrest since the 1979 revolution. Elsewhere in the Middle East, where Iran has wielded influence through a network of allied movements and proxies, governments that include powerful Iran-sponsored armed factions have faced months of hostile demonstrations in Lebanon and Iraq.”

Regarding the future of Iran, please read our free booklet, Middle Eastern and African Nations in Bible Prophecy.”

Merkel Far Too Cozy with Putin

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 11:

“Germany and Russia have traditionally had deep economic ties and, among NATO and European leaders, Merkel has been a welcome guest in Moscow…

“The Russian Foreign Ministry condemned US actions against Soleimani as ‘reckless,’ while German Foreign Ministry spokesperson Rainer Breul said Berlin has not been privy to ‘information that would allow us to see that the US attack was based on international law.’…

“… the Kremlin has been consistently trying to coax Germany, and Europe, towards closer ties by portraying the US as an unreliable partner…”

In addition to the pitiful comments by the German Foreign Ministry, Merkel’s visit with Putin and the subsequent press conference in Moscow on January 12, the German conservative paper, Die Welt, wrote that Merkel’s positions were surprisingly similar to Putin’s and they were in opposition to America’s. The paper stated that what Merkel said about the support of the Russian-German pipeline could not have been stated better by Putin. And the paper warned that her charm offensive is very risky, especially in the energy sector, and that Germany is becoming more and more dependent on Russia and subject to Russia’s blackmail.

Conservative mass tabloid Bild Online published additional strong words of criticism for Merkel. They stated that Putin only received praise from Merkel… including for his visit with Syria’s mass murderer al-Assad. The paper said: “A corpse in Berlin’s Tiergarten would have only been disruptive: Not one word was uttered regarding the murder of a Gregorian former agent in Berlin last August, for which Moscow is being blamed by the USA, Great Britain and Merkel’s own security services.”

In another editorial, Bild Online wrote about the “weak Chancellor”: “Where is the Chancellor whom we once knew?… She… accepts every cynical provocation [from Putin]… Europe is in desperate need of an adversary equal to Putin. Angela Merkel has not been that for a long time.”

Please see our new StandingWatch program, titled, “Does Germany Have Nuclear Weapons?”

After Putin’s Power Grab — Russia’s PM and Entire Government Resign

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 15:

“Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev announced on Wednesday that he and the rest of the Russian government were resigning… The announcement came on the heels of President Vladimir Putin’s annual speech to lawmakers where he proposed a series of constitutional reforms that would grant more powers to parliament — including the ability to select the prime minister…

“Putin has asked the outgoing government to continue to carry out their duties until a new government is formed… Russian political analyst Alexey Kurtov interpreted the prime minister’s resignation as a show of ‘disagreement’ with sweeping changes suggested by Putin…

“The maneuver could prove crucial for Putin’s future. [He] took power in 2000 and since served as both president and prime minister. He is currently in his consecutive term as president and is prohibited by law to stay on as president. ‘I wouldn’t exclude that Putin sees himself taking on the speaker’s chair in the parliament in the future,’ political analyst Abbas Gallyamov told DW. ‘Since Putin’s main task now is to secure his own political future, we can assume he is paving the way for himself there.’”

The Guardian wrote on January 15:

“… observers saw an attempt by Putin to lay the groundwork for a transition of power in 2024, when he should, under the constitution, step down from the presidency after serving two terms back-to-back as Russia’s head of state. ‘The main result of Putin’s speech: what idiots (and/or crooks) are all those who said that Putin would leave in 2024,’ wrote Alexei Navalny, a vocal leader of Russia’s opposition.

“Putin, 67, has in effect ruled Russia since 2000, making him the longest-serving leader since Stalin, and the question of what he plans to do in 2024 remains the most important political question in the country… Few expect Putin will want to retire from public life…”

Putin will try everything he possibly can to stay in power—“by hook or by crook.”

CNN wrote on January 15:

 “By taking steps to tighten his grip on power, Putin is also sending a message to the wider world. More Putin in Russia means more Putin on the international stage. And if the last few years have taught us anything, that means a Russia willing to go to extraordinary lengths to act as a direct rival for influence to the US-led world order — and create more headaches for America and its allies.”

Putin, the “Humble” Dictator

 The Week wrote on January 16:

 “Nothing suggests that Putin’s already more or less unilateral authority is about to diminish. In fact, that’s exactly what the proposed constitutional changes are meant to shore up. By investing more power in the legislature, of which the prime minister is the head, and the council, which Putin controls, he is simply preparing himself for the end of what may be his last term as the president of the Russian Federation… this time he may not bother returning to the presidency. Instead he will be able to rule effectively as a head of government rather than a head of state, not directly subject to term limits and immune from impeachment, backed by a newly empowered legislature and a council of state capable of sweeping actions that are inconceivable at present…

 “It should be clear to all observers that Putin intends to remain in power for as long as possible — perhaps even for the remainder of his life — and that he is willing to do so by any means necessary… In the words of an old protest classic, ‘This is what democracy looks like,’ at least in Russia.”

 Sadly, this is true all over this evil world. Daily Mail wrote that “like Stalin, [Putin will] rule to death” and described his move as “an audaciously disguised power grab.” As a former KGB spy, Putin knows how to get ahead in this corrupt world.

Russia’s New Prime Minister

 The Guardian wrote on January 16:

“…the Russian president’s allies have rushed to support Mikhail Mishustin, the former head of Russia’s tax service… after Putin named him as the replacement for… Medvedev… Mishustin was confirmed in the post by Russia’s parliament on Thursday and is the country’s first new prime minister since 2012… Analysts said Mishustin may play a role as a ‘caretaker’ figure but was unlikely to be Putin’s long-term successor… “

Bild Online referred to Mishustin as Putin’s new puppet. 

Where Was Ursula von der Leyen?

Politico wrote on January 6:

“With the Middle East in meltdown and fears of ‘World War III’ trending on social media, the leader of the EU’s new ‘geopolitical Commission’ was nowhere to be geo-located. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who aims to make the bloc a bigger player on the world stage, made her first public comments about the escalating hostilities between Iran and the United States on Monday evening — more than three days after an airstrike ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani…

“But for some observers, it was far too late. ‘Stop your holidays and start saying something!’ one EU diplomat said earlier in the day, expressing bewilderment at the absence of any comments from the Commission president on Iran, as well as an announcement a week earlier by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan that he would send military forces to Libya…

“‘We don’t really know what to do,’ said the diplomat who had wondered why von der Leyen did not speak out over the holidays… The diplomat complained that von der Leyen is talking about tackling climate change while the EU lets its neighborhood fall ‘into the hands of Turkey and Russia and we risk an escalation in the Middle East.’”

Von der Leyen is, and always has been, weak and highly controversial.

“Europe Hates Trump More Than Iran”

Politico wrote on January 8:

When it comes to finding adjectives to describe U.S. President Donald Trump’s assassination of Iranian military guru Qassem Soleimani… European officials have displayed rare unity. At least in private… While Trump has been reviled by Europe’s establishment from the day he took office… Europe’s shock over the Iranian general’s killing morphed into anger at Trump…

“Just how bad is it? Even as Iran’s supreme leader promised ‘severe’ retaliation for the killing over the weekend, EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, invited Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif for a sitdown in Brussels. The U.S., which recently placed sanctions on Zarif, won’t even grant him a visa to visit the United Nations. Angela Merkel… responded to the crisis by arranging a ‘working meeting’ later this week — in Moscow. Berlin appears to have concluded that sitting down with Vladimir Putin (who met with Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad this week to celebrate their success in crushing Syria’s civil war) would be more productive than a trip to Washington, on paper still Germany’s most important ally.

“Former German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel described the Soleimani attack as a ‘1914 moment.’ The new leadership of Germany’s Social Democrats, Merkel’s coalition partner, called on the U.S. to remove its nuclear arsenal from the country. Though other senior SPD officials, including former European Parliament President Martin Schulz, have endorsed such a move in the past, the timing of the latest demand underscored the degree of German unease over Trump’s course…

“This is how Borrell, who was Spain’s foreign minister before taking on the EU’s foreign policy portfolio, described Europe’s relationship with the U.S. in an interview with POLITICO last year: ‘Wherever you look there’s complete disagreement between the States and Europe,’ he said… the European response has focused on trying to placate Iran instead of displaying solidarity with the U.S…. Europe’s refusal to stand by America’s side on Iran hasn’t gone unnoticed in Washington.”

 Europe will turn totally against Trump… with catastrophic consequences.

What Could Europe Do?

Politico wrote on January 8:

“Since the assassination by the United States of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, Europeans have been busy talking… But Europeans have a bad habit of talking too much and acting too little — only to cry over spilled milk when events tip beyond the point of no return. As the Middle East descends into chaos, the consequences of which would be devastating not just for the region but for Europeans too, what, if anything, can Europe do?

“… [one] opportunity for action concerns Iraq… Europeans are currently present in Iraq through a civilian mission advising Iraqi security sector reform. Given Baghdad’s dire need for support to prevent the rebirth of the Islamic State, this could open a space for a European military mission as well… given its commitment… to the fight against the Islamic State, it would be in a privileged position to fill what otherwise risks becoming a dangerous void.”

That is exactly what Europe, in due time, will do.

Germany to Deliver US Nuclear Bombs

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 10:

In the case of a nuclear strike, German Tornado fighter jets and their crews would deliver the American bombs… Their location is a state secret. The German government has never officially confirmed the existence of the nuclear bombs in Büchel. The precise number of bombs stored in the underground vaults in the air base is thus unclear; estimates range between 10 to 20.

“On the record, the German government only admits to being part of the sharing agreement, which dates back to the Cold War and NATO’s nuclear deterrence strategy aimed at keeping Soviet influence at bay. In essence, it provides for member states of the military alliance without nuclear weapons to partake in planning and training for the use of nuclear weapons… Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy are all part of the sharing agreement…

“But as Germany’s Tornado fleet is swiftly nearing the end of its shelf life, the cost of maintaining a fleet for the nuclear mission is skyrocketing… Many within the German Air Force prefer the American F-35 fighter jet produced by Lockheed Martin [to replace the Tornados], the most modern airplane available on the market. American planes would come with established logistics chains and programs to quickly train pilots, compared to training in Germany which can drag on for years. The other European nuclear-sharing countries — Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy — have all opted for the F-35…

“But here this option seems to have been quietly dropped, in part due to French pressure: For Germany and France are in the early stages of developing a joint fighter plane — the Future Combat Air System (FCAS), which combines manned fighter jets with swarms of cloud-connected drones… The French threatened to go FCAS alone, should Germany buy the modern American F-35 jets… And, there is another reason some politicians are wary of the F-35: It is, they concede, basically a black box. ‘You don’t know which information or data may be transmitted to America,’ one parliamentarian told DW.

“In theory, Germany could add to its 138-strong fleet of Eurofighter jets, built by a European consortium owned by Germany, Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom. In Germany, the plane’s final assembly is also done in Manching, where the Tornados undergo their maintenance, and it is an important regional employer… It is a tricky issue, as the US reportedly told the German government that it would take much longer to certify the Eurofighter for its nuclear role than any American aircraft — possibly up to ten years. That would push it close to the Tornados’ end date. Airbus maintains that Germany shouldn’t have given the Americans an option, but simply told them to certify the Eurofighter, rather than let them favor the American-produced plane…

“SPD politician Fritz Felgentreu… prefers to uphold the nuclear sharing agreement. In theory, Germany could pull out, as Greece and the United Kingdom have done, in the latter case following popular protests against the nukes. But ‘it wouldn’t be prudent for Germany (to do so),’ Felgentreu told DW… In early 2020, the two left-leaning leaders of the Social Democrats — Norbert Walter-Borjans and Saskia Esken — called for a withdrawal of all nuclear weapons in Europe and Russia, adding that the presence of American nukes in Germany was ‘problematic.’ For now, it is unclear who might gain the upper hand within the party… Should the SPD pivot away from the nuclear sharing agreement, it could potentially upend Merkel’s increasingly fractious coalition.

“Meanwhile, frustration is mounting among the German Air Force. ‘We just want a plane that does its job,’ one Tornado pilot told DW wryly. ‘Time is running out.’”

Please see our new StandingWatch program, titled, “Does Germany Have Nuclear Weapons?”

Germany in the Middle

Stars and Stripes wrote on January 6:

“The burgeoning crisis in the Middle East may complicate the Army’s plans to hold the largest military exercise in a generation in Europe this year. Defender-Europe 20, which is set for this spring, is expected to send 20,000 U.S. soldiers to Europe in the largest Army deployment to the Continent in 25 years. The units include an immediate response force from the 82nd Airborne Division that would conduct air and parachute assaults in the former Soviet republic of Georgia.

“However, about 4,000 crisis response soldiers from the 82nd Airborne were dispatched to the Middle East… The Pentagon last year sent 14,000 additional troops to the Middle East amid concerns about Iranian aggression in the region.”

t-online wrote on January 11 that the central place for the planned operation will be Germany, with thousands of tanks and soldiers being transported eastward, using German streets and the autobahn, German airports and German waterways. The transport via Germany’s streets is supposed to happen mainly at night, in April and May. The transport of all the equipment and manpower back from the east will begin by the end of May and is supposed to be accomplished by July. 18 countries are participating in the exercise. In some parts of Germany, proposed military fights will be conducted. All in all, 35,000 soldiers will participate. According to the article, the reason for the exercise is the fear of further aggressive conduct by Russia, to be able to move quickly in case of an emergency.  

What Lies Ahead for Austria

The Local wrote on January 7:

“The 33-year-old chancellor Sebastian Kurz says the unlikely coalition offers ‘the best of both worlds.’ Here are some of the main points of the government’s 300-page programme.

“The government is aiming to be carbon neutral — meaning greenhouse gas emissions are balanced with measures that absorb or eliminate carbon — by 2040, a decade ahead of the European Union’s 2050 ambition… While the Greens campaigned — along with environmentalists — for higher eco taxes to be introduced… the government programme makes no direct promise of that… The plan does, however, stipulate a tax of 12 euros ($13.40) on every plane ticket for both short and medium-distance flights, up from 3.50 euros and 7.50 euros respectively. On the other hand, the government wants to introduce a yearly pass, costing three euros a day, to be used on public transport throughout the country…”

Kurz Old/New Immigration Policy—Nothing Has Changed

Politico wrote on January 13:

“Austria’s Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said it is the government’s duty to ‘protect young girls’ from the harmful side-effects of immigration, defending his pledge to ban headscarves in schools for girls under the age of 14… Kurz also said controlling illegal immigration is… pivotal… ‘… it is… important to decide who will live in our country,’ he said, adding that better control of immigration is an integral part of protecting cultural identity. He also announced more drastic measures to guarantee national security, such as preventive detention of immigrants suspected of religious extremism

“Kurz has long championed tougher immigration rules on the national and European level, earning him both support and criticism. One German NGO earlier this month caused considerable outrage across German and Austrian media when it denounced Kurz, 33, as ‘Baby Hitler,’ after the leader said sea rescue operations in the Mediterranean only encourage more refugees to make the dangerous crossing to Europe and lead to more deaths.”

It has been observed that all important government posts are in Kurz’s hands. Some of his radical measures regarding immigration are clearly cause for concern. However, some of the Green-inspired programs are ludicrous.

The Senate’s Impeachment Trial – another chapter in the Ongoing Hoax

npr wrote on January 10:

“When the Senate impeachment trial of President Trump opens, the man in the center chair will be Chief Justice John Roberts… the Constitution… says that the chief justice ‘shall preside’ over the Senate trial of a president… Yet under Senate rules, it is the senators themselves who have the first and last word. They establish the procedures for the trial and can, by majority vote, overturn any of the chief justice’s rulings.

“The extent of the chief’s powerlessness was driven home to Chief Justice William Rehnquist at the beginning of President Bill Clinton’s Senate impeachment trial in 1999. When Rehnquist asked Senate Sergeant at Arms James Ziglar how to turn on his microphone, Ziglar replied, ‘You don’t. We control that.’… Rehnquist… really had absolutely no control of his courtroom…

“Trump’s relationship with Roberts has been rocky at best. During the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump called Roberts a ‘disgrace,’ a ‘disaster’ and a ‘nightmare’ and castigated him repeatedly for casting the deciding vote to uphold the Affordable Care Act… Roberts… tried mightily to convey an image of the court as apolitical.

“Even as Roberts will be presiding over the Senate trial, he and fellow justices are hearing a series of blockbuster cases this term on issues as diverse as abortion, LGBTQ employment rights, a major immigration case involving the potential deportation of 700,000 ‘DREAMers,’ and even a series of cases in which Trump is seeking to block subpoenas of his financial records. With that menu dominating his day job, it is unlikely that Roberts will want to insert himself as a major player in the impeachment trial…

“Borrowing a line from Gilbert and Sullivan’s play Iolanthe, Rehnquist opined, ‘I did nothing in particular and did it very well.’”

House impeachment prosecutors presented the articles of impeachment against President Trump to the Senate chamber on Thursday, reading the charges aloud. Then, John Roberts, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, was sworn in to preside over the trial that will determine whether Trump should be removed from office. After Roberts was sworn in, he administered an oath to deliver “impartial justice” to all 100 senators.

The historic trial marks only the third such proceeding in US history. The trial is anticipated to begin next Tuesday. The outcome is predetermined. Trump will remain President of the USA.

The End of the UK?

The New York Times wrote on January 10:

“The United Kingdom may be finally coming to an end… The United Kingdom will leave the European Union on Jan. 31. For decades, membership in the European Union helped glue together a fragmenting United Kingdom; now Brexit is tearing it apart

“Mr. Johnson’s plan is likely to lead to a border between Northern Ireland and Britain for the first time in modern history… A once-more united Ireland is firmly in view…

“A large majority of Scots voted to remain in the European Union during the 2016 referendum; to allow Northern Ireland but not Scotland to remain aligned with the European Union’s market will only add to the sting. Nicola Sturgeon, the S.N.P.’s leader, has already formally requested that the Scottish parliament be given powers to hold an independence referendum. Mr. Johnson, for his part, has made clear that he intends to stand in the way of such a vote, but he may not be able to block it forever.

“So maybe this is the end… First Scotland, then Northern Ireland, leaving just England and Wales, a mini-union, which itself could break up under pressure from Welsh nationalists…

“England… would probably have to give up its nuclear weapons — the United Kingdom’s nuclear submarine base is in Scotland…”

In due time, a break-up of the UK appears likely, if not inevitable.

Israeli Education Minister Condemned for his Biblical Views

The Times of Israel wrote on January 10:

“Education Minister Rafi Peretz came under fire Friday for an interview where he appeared to call same-sex marriage unnatural… ‘In the religious public that lives according to the Torah, a normal family is a man and a woman,’ he said in an interview with the Yedioth Ahronoth daily. ‘[We] don’t need to ashamed that we live in this natural way.’ Peretz was also asked how he would respond if one of his children was gay. ‘Thank God my kids grew up naturally and healthy. They’re building their families from Jewish values,’ he said.

“The comments were met with heavy criticism, including from a number of gay Knesset members. ‘Look, Rabbi Rafi [Peretz], this is what a “natural and healthy” family looks like,’ Labor MK Itzik Shmuli wrote in tweet that included a photo of him with his partner and their son. Meretz party leader Nitzan Horowitz called Peretz a ‘contemptible person’… The LGBT umbrella organization Aguda called Peretz’s comments ‘irresponsible’ and said they were providing an opening for homophobia and anti-gay violence…”

Woe unto you when you say what GOD thinks. But woe unto you if you don’t!

No Trust in Israel’s Political System

Breaking Israel News wrote on January 12:

“With Israel’s third parliamentary elections in less than a year due to be held on March 2, 2020–at a cost to the economy of many billions of shekels – it’s not surprising that the public’s confidence in the Knesset and the political parties is at the lowest ebb… The current political impasse, which, unbelievably, threatens to trigger a fourth bout of elections, caused 63% of the Israeli public to distrust the political system in 2019. Compare this to 56% of the public who expressed very little confidence in politics, politicians and political institutions in 2018…

“An even sharper decline was recorded in the confidence level of the parties. Fully 67% of the public expressed little or no confidence in them, compared with four percent who expressed great or very much confidence. Last year, 57% expressed little or no confidence and six percent expressed great or very much confidence…”

There is not much trust and confidence in any of the governments of this world, nor should there be. And those who worship their political leaders—for instance in North Korea—are hopelessly delusional and brainwashed.

“The World Is Drowning in Debt”

CNN wrote on January 13:

“The world’s already huge debt load smashed the record for the highest debt-to-GDP ratio before 2019 was even over. In fact, it broke that record in the first nine months of last year. Global debt, which comprises borrowings from households, governments and companies, grew by $9 trillion, to nearly $253 trillion, in the first nine months of last year… That puts the global debt-to-GDP ratio at 322%, narrowly surpassing 2016 as the highest level on record.

“More than half of this enormous number was accumulated in developed markets, such as the United States and Europe, bringing their debt-to-GDP ratio to 383% overall. There are plenty of culprits. Countries like New Zealand, Switzerland and Norway all have rising household debt levels, while the government debt-to-GDP ratios in the United States and Australia are at all-time highs.

“In emerging markets, debt levels are lower, for a total of $72 trillion, but they have risen faster in recent years… China’s ratio of debt to GDP, for example, is approaching 310%, the highest level in the developing world. Investors have long kept a skeptical eye on the highly-leveraged country. Following a push for Chinese companies to deliver in 2017 and 2018, debt levels rose again last year…

“Such massive worldwide debt is a real risk for the global economy, especially because the IIF expects levels to rise even further in 2020. ‘Spurred by low interest rates and loose financial conditions, we estimate that total global debt will exceed $257 trillion’ in the first quarter of 2020, the IIF said…

“Despite favorable borrowing conditions, the refinancing risk is massive. A total of more than $19 trillion of syndicated loans and bonds will mature in 2020. It’s unlikely that all of these will be refinanced or repaid.”

How long can the world carry these horrendous debts before breaking down under the load?

Pope Benedict Warns Pope Francis Against Relaxing Celibacy Rules

BBC News reported on January 13:

“Retired Pope Benedict XVI has issued a defence of priestly celibacy in the Catholic Church as his successor considers easing a ban on married men serving as priests. Pope Benedict made the appeal in a book co-authored with Cardinal Robert Sarah. It comes in response to a proposal to allow married men to be ordained as priests in the Amazon region.

“Pope Benedict, who retired in 2013, said he could not remain silent on the issue. In the book, Pope Benedict says celibacy, a centuries-old tradition within the Church, has ‘great significance’ because it allows priests to focus on their duties. The 92-year-old says ‘it doesn’t seem possible to realise both vocations [priesthood and marriage] simultaneously’.

“It is rare for Pope Benedict, who was the first pontiff to resign in almost 600 years, to intervene in clerical matters… Vatican commentators have reacted with surprise to Francis’s intervention, suggesting it breaks with convention…

“A theological conservative with traditional views on Catholic values, Pope Benedict pledged to remain ‘hidden from the world’ when he retired, citing poor health. But since then, he has made his views known in articles, books and interviews, advocating a different approach to Pope Francis, who is seen as more progressive. Pope Benedict still lives within the walls of the Vatican in a former monastery…”

The Los Angeles Times wrote on January 13:

“Benedict’s intervention was extraordinary, given he had promised to remain ‘hidden from the world’ when he retired in 2013 and pledged his obedience to the new pope…

“The implications for such an intervention are grave, given that conservative and traditionalist Catholics nostalgic for Benedict’s orthodoxy are already deeply opposed to Francis, with some even considering Benedict’s resignation illegitimate

“The book is being published at a moment of renewed interest in — and confusion about — the nature of the relationship between Francis and Benedict, thanks to the Netflix drama ‘The Two Popes.’ The film stars Anthony Hopkins as Benedict and Jonathan Pryce as Francis… It imagines a days-long conversation between the two men before Benedict announces his historic resignation Feb. 11, 2013 — conversations in which their different views of the state of the church become apparent.

Those meetings never happenedand the two men didn’t know one another well before Francis was elected pope. But although the film takes artistic liberties for the sake of narrative, it gets the point across that Francis and Benedict indeed have some very different ideas…”

The Guardian wrote on January 13:

“‘It’s a first for Benedict but also for the church,’ said Joshua McElwee, the Vatican correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter. ‘There’s a real worry that the figure of the former pope, who has a big following among those from more conservative circles, could prevent Francis from making a decision that he felt was right for the church.’…

“In a controversial essay published last year, Benedict blamed the Catholic church’s paedophile priest scandals on the sexual revolution of the 1960s and ‘homosexual cliques’ among priests. His comments were in sharp conflict with Francis’s efforts to steer the church out of a crisis that has blighted it for decades.”

Vatican’s “Damage Control”

AFP wrote on January 14:

“On Tuesday, the ex-pontiff’s private secretary, Georg Gaenswein, clarified that although Benedict had given Sarah passages he had written to use as the cardinal saw fit, ‘he hadn’t approved any plans for a double signature book nor had he seen and authorised the cover.’ ‘It was a misunderstanding, without questioning the good faith of Cardinal Sarah,’ Gaenswein told Italian newswire ANSA… ‘Benedict XVI… never saw, nor authorised the cover, nor did he authorise the publication of a co-authored book,’ a Vatican source ‘very close’ to the former pope told Elisabetta Pique, Vatican correspondent for Argentina’s La Nacion.

“Cardinal Sarah took to Twitter on Tuesday to defend himself, saying Benedict knew their collaboration would be a book, and that they had sent proofs back and forth for corrections. He later issued a statement affirming his ‘affection’ for Benedict and ‘obedience’ to Pope Francis, and appeared to have been forced to row back on the issue. ‘Considering the polemics caused… it has been decided that the author of the book will be for future publications: Card Sarah, with the contribution of Benedict XVI,’ he said in a tweet. ‘However, the complete text remains absolutely unchanged,’ he insisted…

“Vatican expert Christopher Lamb said the controversy was not about the book’s content, but rather over ‘the use of a retired pope’s authority to make the point.’ ‘No-one is doubting that Benedict agrees with the premise of the book,’ Lamb said on Twitter.

“Nicolas Seneze of the French Catholic daily La Croix reported a flurry of exchanges Monday between Benedict’s abode and Francis’s, ‘where the danger of a book that erects the pope emeritus as a parallel magisterium (Catholic authority) was clearly understood’.”

The Associated Press added on January 14:

“… the book’s English-language publisher, Ignatius Press, refused to back down, saying the book would carry Benedict’s name as co-author. In a statement, the San Francisco-based Ignatius said it had worked from the text provided by French publisher Fayard, which listed two authors contributing a chapter apiece and a jointly written introduction and conclusion. ‘Ignatius Press considers this a coauthored publication,’ it said. Ignatius, Fayard and all other publishers clearly have more to gain selling a book authored by a former pope than one written by a Vatican cardinal…

“But the controversy made clear once again that the unprecedented reality of a retired and reigning pope still has some wrinkles to be ironed out… [Some] noted that the lines in Benedict’s case were particularly blurred… because of Gaenswein’s dual role: He is both Benedict’s private secretary and the prefect of Francis’ papal household.”

The Vatican’s and Gaenswein’s attempts of damage control make matters worse, as very few are willing to believe their “explanations.”

Earthquakes and Volcanoes

EndoftheAmericanDream wrote on January 12:

“Last Tuesday, one of the most important volcanoes in Alaska [Shishaldin Volcano] shot hot ash 25,000 feet into the air… Then on Thursday, Mt. Popocatepetl in Mexico shot hot ash nearly 4 miles into the sky… Mt. Popocatepetl… has the potential to create the worst natural disaster in the modern history of North America, because it is quite close to Mexico City… Approximately 26 million people live within 60 miles of Popocatepetl’s crater, and so we are talking about the potential for death and destruction on a scale that is difficult to imagine. In ancient times, Mt. Popocatepetl buried entire Aztec cities [in] super-heated mud, but then it went to sleep for about 1,000 years. Unfortunately for us, it started waking up again in the 1990s…

“… down in South America the Sabancaya volcano in Peru just shot a plume of volcanic ash approximately 24,000 feet into the air…  On Sunday, Taal volcano [in the Philippines] roared to life, and it is being reported that the eruption sent ‘steam, ash and pebbles up to 10 to 15 kilometers (6 to 9 miles) into the sky…  ash has already reached Manila, and… Manila’s international airport, offices and schools [were shut down].

“Meanwhile, we continue to see unusual earthquake activity all over the globe. After already experiencing more than 1,000 earthquakes since the beginning of 2020, Puerto Rico was hit by a magnitude 5.9 quake on Saturday… causing further damage along the island’s southern coast, where previous recent quakes have toppled homes and schools.”

The Bible warns of the increase of natural disasters in the last days.

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.

This Week in the News

A More Dangerous World: US Killing Triggers Global Alarm

The Associated Press wrote on January 3:

“Global powers warned Friday that the American airstrike responsible for killing Iran’s top general [“the single most powerful operative in the Middle East” who was regarded as a “national hero” in Iran] made the world more dangerous and that escalation could set the entire Mideast aflame… The deaths of Gen. Qassem Soleimani and several associates drew immediate cries for revenge from Tehran…

“Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that a ‘harsh retaliation is waiting’ for the U.S. He moved quickly to appoint Soleimani’s deputy, Maj. Gen. Esmail Ghaani, as the new commander of the Revolutionary Guard’s Quds Force, which undertakes the country’s foreign campaigns, including in Syria and Yemen…

“German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas [said], ‘A further escalation that sets the whole region on fire needs to be prevented.’ Maas also noted that the assault ‘followed a series of dangerous Iranian provocations.’…

“The White House sought to justify the killings with a tweet alleging that Soleimani ‘was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region.’…

“Italy… warned that increased tensions ‘risk being fertile terrain for terrorism and violent extremism.’ But right-wing Italian opposition leader Matteo Salvini praised Trump for eliminating ‘one of the most dangerous and pitiless men in the world, an Islamic terrorist, an enemy of the West, of Israel, of rights and of freedoms.’

“Trump also won the support of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ‘for acting swiftly, forcefully and decisively.’…”

Especially Germany’s rather weak and indecisive position of so-called “de-escalation” has been described as satisfying nobody, while France has been reported as being apparently willing to team up with Russia and China against the USA.

“Trump Has Freed the World of a Monster!”

Bild Online published the following commentary on January 3:

“The Iranian terror sponsor Qassem Soleimani stood for a world that no peaceful human being could want – a world in which one could be blown up by a bomb at any time if one is at the wrong place at the wrong time. A world in which entire cities are wiped out – like Aleppo. In which bloodthirsty militia go from door to door and execute civilians. In which the kindergartens in Germany could burn up in fireballs at any time because its children are Jewish. In which Israel is under threat of extinction every day.

“Soleimani, the world’s most repelling and bloodthirsty terrorist, who brought suffering and harm over humanity on the mullahs’ behalf, was an enemy of our civilization. He represented the unbearable thought that murderers will live more safely and be more untouchable the more people they kill (with the support of the state).

“His violent and overdue end will not stop global terrorism, but the image of his burnt-out car still sends out a powerful message. US President Donald Trump has made it clear that the worst figures in the world, however big-mouthed and ruthless they may be, cannot hide from America’s strength.

“They may torment, torture, harass, and terrorize those who are weaker and in despair, but they cannot do anything against the most powerful democracy in the world. At most, they can hide in holes and hope that they won’t be found.

“And when they claim that they are not afraid of death, these butchers are lying – they are cowards who love the sweet, corrupt life.

“President Trump has freed the world of a monster whose aim in life was an atomic cloud over Tel Aviv. Trump has acted in self-defense – the self-defense of the US and all peace-loving people.”

The views in this hard-hitting editorial are not shared by many German politicians and the overwhelmingly left-liberal mass media.

The Unpredictable President

Bloomberg wrote on January 4:

“Three years into Donald Trump’s presidency, U.S. allies and adversaries thought they had him figured out as a leader prone to bellicose talk who rarely delivered on his boldest military threats. That all changed Thursday with Trump’s decision to kill a key Iranian commander in the biggest foreign policy gamble of his time in office… Trump caught Tehran — and the rest of the world — by surprise, restoring a sense of unpredictability that could play to his advantage as world leaders are left wondering what his endgame is in the Middle East and beyond…

“The drone strike shatters an assumption… that Trump would do his utmost to avoid war during an election year… That’s gone now, probably permanently…

“Trump’s willingness to risk an escalation in an already volatile region gives him some leverage against U.S. foes even as it raises the risk of miscalculation… Leaders like North Korea’s Kim and Syria’s Bashar al-Assad will have to proceed cautiously before crossing a U.S. ‘red line,’ and Iran will struggle to come up with a suitable response that won’t further destabilize its already embattled regime…”

Trump has proven that he is willing to go to war. This will be important to remember when the relationship between the USA and Europe will continue to deteriorate.

Situation Is Escalating

NBC wrote on January 5:

“President Donald Trump on Saturday warned Iran that if it retaliates… it will face U.S. attacks on 52 targets, a number he said was symbolic. The president tweeted that the number of targets matched the number of hostages held by Iran in 1979, when 52 American diplomats and citizens were held for 444 days…

“Trump’s tweet was vaguely worded, but… appears to suggest the targeting of cultural heritage sites [which the UN states is prohibited by international law and which some declare as being a war crime. Trump had tweeted: “We have targeted 52 Iranian sites (representing the 52 American hostages taken by Iran many years ago), some at a very high level & important to Iran & the Iranian culture, and those targets, and Iran itself, WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD”]…

“Trump added in further tweets that… ‘The United States just spent Two Trillion Dollars on Military Equipment. We are the biggest and by far the BEST in the World! If Iran attacks an American Base, or any American, we will be sending some of that brand new beautiful equipment their way…and without hesitation!…’

“Huge crowds had gathered in Baghdad Saturday [to mourn the death of Soleimani] as well as the Iraqi militants killed in the strike on the Baghdad airport…

“Iran’s state television announced that the country was ending its commitment to limit enrichment of uranium…”

Trump responded to a threat by one of Iran’s high-ranking officials who had stated: “The Strait of Hormuz is a vital point for the West and a large number of American destroyers and warships cross there… vital American targets in the region have been identified by Iran… Some 35 US targets in the region, as well as Tel Aviv [another source adds Haifa], are within our reach.”

The Associated Press reported on January 5: “President Donald Trump insisted Sunday that Iranian cultural sites were fair game for the U.S. military… ‘They’re allowed to kill our people. They’re allowed to torture and maim our people. They’re allowed to use roadside bombs and blow up our people. And we’re not allowed to touch their cultural sites? It doesn’t work that way,’ Trump said.”

Trump later said that he would abide by the law, implying that he would not want to attack Iran’s cultural sites, but he made these comments “regrettably.” Trump’s original comments on that issue of “cultural” or, by extension, “religious” sites can also have prophetic ramifications when considering that the demolition or transfer of the al Aqsa mosque and/or the Dome of the Rock seem to be a necessity for the building of the prophesied Third Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, prior to Christ’s return.

The Daily Mail reported on January 5 that “Iran has since placed an $80million bounty on Trump’s head and threatened to attack the White House in response to the president’s warning that any strike on American interests in the region will bring massive retaliation.”

Meanwhile, the US announced that they will deploy 3,500 additional troops to the Middle East.

Not surprisingly, most US Democrats with their eyes on the elections in 2020, and maybe because of other reasons (see article below), were unified in their disagreement with Trump’s actions, thereby arguably playing right into the hands of Iran and Iraq and other nations hostile towards the USA. The argument by Democrats that Congress would have had to authorize the strike sounds good to the anti-Trump mass media, but would be false if, as the Trump administration claims, the strike was launched in self-defense.

NPR added on January 9:

“The House of Representatives approved a resolution that would force President Trump to seek consent from Congress [ruled by Democrats] before taking new military action against Iran…

“The nonbinding war powers resolution was approved in a mostly party-line vote… The Senate could consider a similar measure — but one that has the force of law — as early as next week, but it is unclear if it has enough votes to clear the chamber. 

“Trump administration officials maintain the president already has the authority to take action against Iran under a 2002 war authorization passed by Congress in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks.”

Iran’s Connection with America’s Democrats

Breaking Israel News reported on January 7:

“Donald Trump’s elimination of [Soleimani], the most powerful military leader in Iran, generated a surprising level of opposition among the Democrats who feared an escalation of the confrontation with Iran. But it could be that another reason lies behind the Democrats’ support of Iran.

“The partisan support for Iran, the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world, is so incongruous that former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley commented on it in a recent Fox News interview. ‘You don’t see anyone standing up for Iran,’ Haley said. ‘You’re not hearing any of the Gulf members, you’re not hearing China, you’re not hearing Russia. The only ones mourning the loss of Soleimani are our Democrat leadership and Democrat Presidential candidates.’…

“… the Obama administration was connected to Iran through a network of personal relationships. John Kerry, former President Barack Obama’s Secretary of State and the chief U.S. negotiator for the [Iran deal], seemed especially dedicated to the deal. Soon after Trump withdrew from the agreement, Kerry conducted secret meetings with Iranian officials, advising them on how to save the agreement. The meetings were unprecedented for a former White House official and some questioned whether Kerry was in violation of the Logan Act.

“Kerry’s Iranian connection took on a personal angle when his daughter, Dr. Vanessa Bradford Kerry, married Dr. Brian Vala Nahed in 2009. Nahed, a physician, is of Iranian descent but was born and raised in the U.S… Valerie Jarrett, [Obama’s] senior adviser, was born in Iran to U.S parents and was fluent in Persian… Lisa Page… has an Iranian mother… Hassan Ghashghavi, the deputy foreign minister of Iran, had threatened to expose Western diplomats who had accepted bribes to push through… the Iran nuclear deal. Ghasghavi was the senior adviser to Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Ansari Zarif during the [deal] negotiations.”

Mere coincidence… such as Hunter Biden receiving huge amounts of money for a high position in an Ukrainian company for which he was clearly not qualified?

Could the Strike on an Iranian General Trigger a Draft?

Stamford Advocate and the Washington Post wrote on January 4:

“The impact of President Donald Trump’s decision to order a strike against Soleimani has yet to be seen… Google searches for terms such as ‘conscription’, ‘Selective Service’ and ‘Iran’ spiked… as youthful social media users… dealt with this collective political anxiety the best way they knew how: by spinning out endless memes about getting drafted in a hypothetical, but seemingly imminent, World War III.

“On Friday, the website for the Selective Service, a federal agency tasked with maintaining a database of adult men who could be called upon should a crisis require a draft, experienced technical difficulties as people flooded the site.

“The draft was suspended in 1973 because of intense public and political opposition to the Vietnam War, and Congress and the president would have to pass legislation to bring it back, should an emergency call for it. [The United States instituted the draft during the Civil War, World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War].

“But America still keeps a database of all young men who could be called upon should the draft ever return. Every year, millions of young, adult men [residing in the USA, between ages 18 and 25] are required by law to register with the Selective Service… The mandate applies whether you’re a U.S. citizen, immigrant, or undocumented immigrant. Women are not currently required to register, and signing up for the Selective Service does not enlist a person in the military. Failure to register for the Selective Service could lead to criminal penalties, and an inability to qualify for federal student loans and federal jobs.”

It is absolutely certain that the draft will be instituted in the future.

Britain Must Support the USA

The Daily Star wrote on January 5:

“Admiral Lord West – formerly the most senior officer in the Royal Navy – said it would be ‘very difficult’ for Britain to stay out of a fresh conflict in the Middle East. The Royal Navy hero said Britain and the US are ‘joined at the hip’ militarily [in] the region – and are also perceived as being absolutely interlinked by Iran. He explained Iran views the US as the ‘Great Satan’ and the UK as the ‘Little Satan’… He added: ‘It is highly dangerous…’”

The Sun wrote on January 5:

“A CRISIS bigger than Brexit. It seems hard to imagine. But that is exactly how one Cabinet minister characterised the rapidly-escalating emergency in the Middle East. Iran’s violent reaction to the assassination of its murderous military chief ­General Qasem Soleimani could easily present the West with its most dangerous threat since the last Gulf War.

“So as the first rockets are fired in revenge after President Trump’s drone strike, it is vital that Britain gets its response right. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has already criticised European countries for not being helpful — that includes the UK. [In a Fox interview, he stated that European allies were not as helpful as he wished them to be, and then he singled out the Brits, the French and the Germans.]

“We must not lose sight of the fact that, as well as having 900 troops in Iraq and Syria, we have regularly been the target of Iranian aggression.

“In July, British oil tanker the Stena Impero was seized by the Revolutionary Guards. There was the 2017 cyber attack when Iran hacked MPs’ emails, and human rights abuses such as the jailing of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe on trumped-up spy charges…

“It was bad enough that Trump told his oldest ally nothing of the US strike in advance. But since then the Government has shown signs of struggling to catch up. This is a major early test for Boris Johnson. He must step in quickly and make a strong stand against an Iranian regime which has regularly threatened Britain.”

As it was expected, Johnson pledged his full support to Trump, against the opposition of Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn, who had allegedly received 10.000 pounds from an Iranian TV channel.

Washington vs. Europe

Politico wrote on January 4:

“The assassination of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani is a turning point for relations between the United States and Iran. It also pulls U.S. allies in Europe deeper into uncharted waters, and threatens to leave European forces on the ground caught in the crossfire of escalation between Tehran and Washington… For European capitals, this means their worst predictions… are becoming reality…

“Ironically, despite the rivalry with Iran, Arab Gulf countries can be useful partners for Europe in finding an off-ramp through diplomacy. Iran’s Arab neighbours have become increasingly worried that they are exposed to heavy costs for any military escalation between the U.S. and Iran. Europe should step up cooperation with the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Kuwait and Iraq to jointly prevent escalation.”

Some of that “collaboration” will take place… but not for peaceful purposes.

Iraqi Parliament wants US and other foreign Troops Out of the Country

Deutsche Welle reported on January 5:

“The Iraqi parliament voted on Sunday to remove US troops from Iraq. In an extraordinary session, lawmakers voted for a resolution to ask the government to end an agreement with Washington to station 5,200 troops in Iraq…

“Caretaker Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi… said that if US troops remain then they will be considered an occupying force. The resolution will also apply to other countries’ armies. The German government said later on Sunday that their military presence in Iran would ‘only remain if the Iraqi government want that.’

“The resolution is nonbinding, but it is likely to be heeded by the government as Abdul-Mahdi supports the measures.”

Trump warned that he would levy punishing sanctions if it expelled American troops.

CNBC quoted President Trump on January 5 as saying the following:

“‘If they do ask us to leave, if we don’t do it in a very friendly basis, we will charge them sanctions like they’ve never seen before ever… It’ll make Iranian sanctions look somewhat tame. We have a very extraordinarily expensive air base that’s there. It cost billions of dollars to build. Long before my time. We’re not leaving unless they pay us back for it,’ Trump said.”

As we pointed out in our prior Update, the USA will ultimately leave Iraq. Prophetically, Iraq and other Middle Eastern countries, such as Turkey and Jordan, as well as Saudi-Arabia, will then align with Europe against the USA and Israel.

New Chaos and Fiasco in Iraq… USA Withdrawing from Iraq… just an Honest Mistake???

Axios wrote on January 6:

“With multiple media outlets reporting on a letter appearing to reveal U.S. plans to withdraw from Iraq, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper told reporters Monday afternoon that no such decision has been made…

“AFP and Reuters set off a frenzy by publishing a letter from Marine Corps Brig. Gen. William Seely informing the Iraqi military that the coalition to fight ISIS would be ‘repositioning forces’ and preparing to move ‘out of Iraq’ in the coming days and weeks out of respect for Iraqi sovereignty. Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Gen. Mark Milley told reporters that the letter was simply a draft and was not meant to be released… ‘[It was] poorly worded, implies withdrawal, that is not what’s happening,’ Milley said.”

Drafting such a letter does not simply occur without any underlying discussion. It’s not being concocted out of the blue by one over-zealous soldier. Israel fears that if the USA withdraws from Iraq, then there WILL BE war between Israel and Iran.

US Must Remove Forces from Entire Middle East

The Times of Israel wrote on January 6:

“A top commander of Iran’s missile array said Monday that even killing US President Donald Trump would not be satisfactory retribution…

“Rather, only the complete removal of US forces from the entire Middle East would suffice, said… [the] commander of the IRGC Aerospace Force, who is in charge of missiles that can hit US bases across the region…

“[He] said that revenge required more than ‘just four missiles, targeting a US base, or even killing Trump.’”

These statements can be viewed as typical Iranian hyperbole, but they reflect nevertheless the desire of most countries in the Middle East to see America leaving. See the next articles.

Iran’s Retaliation and further Threats

Newsmax wrote on January 8:

“Iran said it launched more than [a] dozen missiles against U.S. targets on Wednesday in retaliation for the killing of Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani in a U.S. drone strike last week. ‘Military action like this is not sufficient. What is important is ending the corrupting presence of America in the region,’ Khamenei said in a televised speech, describing the missile strikes as a ‘slap on the face’ for Washington.

‘This region will not accept the presence of America,’ he said, renewing Tehran’s long-standing demand for Washington to withdraw its forces.”

 JTA wrote on January 7:

“Iran fired ballistic missiles at U.S. military targets in Iraq in retaliation for the killing last week of a top general and warned that if the United States escalates, Iran’s next targets would be U.S. allies, including Israel.

“‘Iran is warning that if there is retaliation for the two waves of attacks they launched, their third wave will destroy Dubai and Haifa,’ Ali Arouzi, NBC’s Tehran correspondent, reported on Twitter, where he was relaying official comments from Iran’s state media. The U.S. Sixth Fleet often docks in Haifa.

“The warning came after Iranian missiles hit two U.S. bases in Iraq on Tuesday… Tensions have escalated over the last year between the United States and Iran… Late last year, an Iranian proxy killed an American contractor, leading President Donald Trump to approve the assassination last week of Qassem Soleimani…

“Arouzi and others on Twitter quoted Iranian media as saying that Iran would not continue its attacks if there were no further U.S. retaliation.”

Trump’s Response to Iran

Newsmax reported on January 8:

“President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Iran appears to be ‘standing down’ and said no Americans or Iraqis were harmed in Iran’s Tuesday ballistic missile strike on two Iraqi bases housing U.S. troops…

“Trump announced that the U.S. will immediately place new sanctions on Iran ‘until Iran changes its behavior.’ Trump reiterated his position that ‘Iran will never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon’…”

Iran’s assertion that many American troops died in the missile strikes seems to be without foundation. The implication that the USA would not retaliate militarily at this point was the reaction European allies and many Democrats hoped for, but the announcement of further economic sanctions, instead of lifting existing ones, caused more concerns for a further escalation.

Deadly Crash of Airplane in Iran—Shot Down?

The Sun wrote on January 8:

“IRAN has refused to hand over the black box of a plane that crashed killing 176 people to international investigators. The Kiev-bound Ukraine International Airlines jet came down shortly after taking off from Tehran Airport this morning, killing everyone on board. The tragedy came just hours after Tehran fired at least 15 ballistic missiles at two US bases in Iraq, sparking fears it could have been shot down by mistake by jittery Iranian air defences. And chilling images show pieces of the aircraft’s fuselage peppered with shrapnel holes – which some experts say points to a ‘shootdown’ event…

“Iranian media said the Boeing 737 came down after ‘technical problems’ and quoted an aviation chief who said no emergency had been declared. Qassem Biniaz, a spokesman for Iran’s Road and Transportation authority, claimed one of its engines caught fire, causing the pilot to lose control. But the aircraft was new in 2016 and was last checked just two days ago, the Ukrainian foreign ministry said.

“… Ukraine’s Tehran embassy… abruptly removed a line from its statement excluding a terrorist attack or missile strike… Aviation expert Julian Bray told Sun Online: ‘This is catastrophic and not the type of crash that comes from an engine failing…’

“The plane crash comes just days after Iranian President Hassan Rouhani appeared to hint he was threatening another Lockerbie bombing. And it bears chilling similarities to the 2014 downing of a Malaysia Airlines plane by Russian-backed separatists over Ukraine, after it was mistaken for an incoming missile. The US Navy also killed 290 people in a similar incident after mistakenly shooting down an Iranian passenger jet in 1988.

“A number of airlines have now suspended flights over Iranian and Iraqi airspace.”

This would indeed be a strange coincidence if the two events were unrelated. Iran’s refusal to turn over the black box is further cause for concern.

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 9:

“Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told a news conference later Thursday that his government had intelligence from ‘multiple’ sources that showed an Iranian missile shot down the jet… Trudeau’s comments were echoed by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who said that there is ‘a body of information’ that the plane was brought down by an Iranian missile.”

 Both added that they believed it was unintentional. Donald Trump also stated that he believed that Iran was responsible for the crash, which Iran, of course, denied.

The Russian-Iranian Connection

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 6:

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s festive season is spoiled beyond repair. First, US Congress imposed sanctions on companies building the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, the Kremlin’s key European energy project. Then Israel, Cyprus and Greece — all of which enjoy cordial relations with Moscow — dealt it another blow by announcing the construction of a gas pipeline to Europe that could undermine Nord Stream’s profitability. And only three days before Russian Orthodox Christmas, the Americans hit Moscow’s Iranian ally hard by killing General… Soleimani…

Putin knew Soleimani very well: He played a key role in creating the Russian-Iranian alliance that saved Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria from what seemed in 2015 an imminent demise… despite the harsh statements by the Russian foreign ministry and the anti-American and pro-Iranian hysteria in state-controlled media, behind the scenes the Kremlin must hope that Tehran will limit its response to the Baghdad killing.

“If the Iranians choose confrontation, President Putin will have two choices — either to stand by his Iranian allies through thick and thin or quietly exit the stage leaving Tehran to fend for itself.

“The first option means risking direct military confrontation with the United States, almost certainly more (and more severe) sanctions from US Congress, devastating painfully built relations with the Saudis and the Israelis. Moreover, all this will be in vain — Iran stands no chance of winning in such a conflagration.

“The second option for Putin is looking from the sidelines as his Iranian allies get smashed militarily and economically. But what’s worse is that it may also mean regime change in Tehran — governments that lose wars usually do not win any popularity. The late General Soleimani’s security service and police colleagues already killed dozens if not hundreds of anti-regime demonstrators in recent months

“In such a case Russia will not only lose a key ally in propping up Assad in Syria, but also become much less important to Israel… and the Saudis… It will also embolden Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who already seems to be falling out with Russia over Libya…”

These are interesting potential developments. Especially Turkey and Saudi Arabia will ultimately be on Europe’s side.

Brexit on January 31

Axios wrote on January 9:

“The U.K.’s House of Commons voted 330-231 in favor of the European Union withdrawal agreement negotiated by Prime Minister Boris Johnson… The bill must still be passed by the House of Lords, but the Commons’ approval essentially ensures that Brexit will happen on Jan. 31. The passage of the bill after three years of deadlock is a result of the landslide victory Johnson’s Conservative Party won in last month’s snap election…

“Following its official Jan. 31 exit, the U.K. will remain aligned with EU rules and regulations for an 11-month transition period, during which the two sides will seek to negotiate a full free trade agreement. Those types of international treaties typically take years to negotiate, but Johnson has ruled out extending the transition period past the end of 2020 — prompting fears of a ‘clean break’ that could cause significant damage to the British economy…”

Stock Market Slides

The Jerusalem Post wrote on January 3:

“European shares slipped from near record highs on Friday… with a surge in oil prices hammering airline stocks…

“‘We are only into the third day of the new year, and a big fat dollop of geopolitical uncertainty has landed on investors’ desks already this morning,’ said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at OANDA…”

The Times of Israel wrote on January 6:

“World shares fell Monday as financial markets were rattled by escalating tensions in the Middle East… After a brief respite thanks to a preliminary agreement between Washington and Beijing that staved off a further escalation of trade tensions, world markets have been hit by a fresh onslaught of worries.”

This is just the beginning in the first week of 2020. The world economy is at the brink of a major global crash.

Terror Attack against USA in Kenya

ABC News wrote on January 5:

“One U.S. service member and two American Department of Defense contractors were killed in a terror attack on a military base in Kenya that houses some U.S. military personnel. The Somali terror group al-Shabab has claimed responsibility for the attack…

“Last week, al-Shabab carried out a car bomb attack in the heart of Mogadishu that killed at least 80 civilians. ‘Al-Shabab is a brutal terrorist organization,’ U.S Army Maj. Gen. William Gayler [said] in a statement. ‘It is an Al-Qaeda affiliate seeking to establish a self-governed Islamic territory in East Africa, to remove Western influence and ideals from the region, and to further its jihadist agenda. U.S. presence in Africa is critically important to counter-terrorism efforts.’

“About 500 U.S. troops are stationed inside Somalia assisting and advising that country’s military in its fight against the terror group.”

No connection has been pointed out between the terror attack in Somalia and the most recent events pertaining to Iran, but it shows that the USA is being surrounded by enemies.

Split in Methodist Church over Same-Sex Marriage

MSN wrote on January 3:

“Leaders of the church announced Friday they had agreed to spin off a ‘traditionalist Methodist’ denomination, which would continue to oppose same-sex marriage and to refuse ordination to LGBT clergy, while allowing the remaining portion of the United Methodist Church to permit same-sex marriage and LGBT clergy for the first time in its history…

“Many mainline denominations, including the Episcopal Church, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, United Church of Christ and others, already perform same-sex marriages and appoint gay clergy. But the United Methodist Church, the nation’s largest mainline denomination and the third-largest denomination of any faith in America, has fought bitterly over the issue, to the point that leaders have feared a schism over the issue for years.”

God and His values don’t change, but humans seem to always do. This is especially tragic when these humans claim to speak on behalf of God.

Government-Ordered Euthanasia in Canada

Life Site News wrote on January 6:

“The British Columbia government is ordering a palliative care hospice to allow its patients to be killed onsite through ‘medically-assisted death,’ or euthanasia, by February 3…

“It’s the latest development in the society’s long-running battle to prevent the lethal injection of patients onsite at the 10-bed Irene Thomas Hospice it runs in a suburb of Delta, a city south of Vancouver… New Democratic Party (NDP) Health Minister Adrian Dix has already broadly hinted that the government will pull the non-profit society’s public funding…

“The FHA [Frazer Health Authority]  issued its euthanasia policy in September 2016, three months after Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government legalized the practice in Canada at the bidding of the Supreme Court, which in February 2015 struck down the law prohibiting euthanasia as unconstitutional.”

Euthanasia was one of the practices for which Nazi Germany was strongly condemned.

Deadly Earthquakes in Puerto Rico

CNN wrote on January 8:

“A 6.4 magnitude earthquake that killed one person in Puerto Rico on Tuesday is one of hundreds of tremors that have rattled the island for more than a week. And experts say the shaking is not over yet. The latest earthquake struck during the predawn hours, flattening homes, knocking out power in some areas and jolting awake terrified residents. Just a day earlier, a magnitude 5.8 quake hit off the island’s southwestern coast…

“Puerto Rico sits on an unusual spot, which makes it vulnerable to earthquakes…”

Australia’s Wildfires Might Have Killed a Billion Animals… so far…

The Sun wrote on January 5:

“HEARTBREAKING footage shows the charred remains of dead koalas and kangaroos – as experts fear the devastating Australian wildfires have killed a BILLION animals [some estimate the number as 500 Million] [including mammals, birds, reptiles, frogs and insects]… It comes as 24 people were killed and 200,000 homes were destroyed in the horrifying bushfires.

“Sydney was declared the hottest place on earth yesterday with temperatures rocketing to nearly 50C as fires continued to rip through the area…

“The destructive wildfires are thought to have killed off a third of Australia’s Koala population whose numbers are already dangerously low. Around 8,000 of the furry creatures are believed to have perished [The Guardian estimates the number with 25,000 Koalas] whilst there are also huge fears over the western ground parrot, the eastern bristlebird and the Kangaroo Island dunnart.

“The blazes are creating their own storms because of the heat they are generating – with fire tornadoes causing some of the biggest fires to merge…”

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 9:

Snipers in helicopters took to the skies as part of a bid to curb [kill] ‘extremely large’ herds of camels [up to 10,000] in South Australia. An ongoing drought has driven the animals closer to towns, threatening the water supplies of locals… Camels are not native to Australia and have no natural predators. They were first brought to the continent in the mid-1800s to aid in exploration. Australia is now believed to have the largest wild camel population in the world, with officials estimating that up to 1 million camels are currently roaming the country’s inland deserts.”

It is feared that the fires will continue to burn for months. God has prophesied that the modern descendants of the ancient house of Israel, which include Australia, will have to experience much suffering, including from natural disasters. At the same time, God has promised protection for His people. But it has also been reported that many of the blazes in Australia were ignited by arsonists. In fact, authorities in Australia have arrested close to 200 people for deliberately starting the bushfires. In that light, blaming the fires on global warming or climate change sounds rather silly.

Don’t Forget the Third Temple

Breaking Israel News reported on January 8:

“During a speech at the Kohelet Policy Forum on Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, among other things, discussed the importance of Israel’s presence in Judea and Samaria. Warning about the dangers of Israel’s withdrawal from the region it liberated in the Six-Day-War, Netanyahu stated: ‘If Israel is not present on the hills of Judea and Samaria, Islamists will take over instead.’

“Without skipping a beat, Rabbi Yehuda Glick interrupted him yelling: ‘same with the Temple Mount!’ At that point, the Prime Minister gave Glick an uncomfortable glare and continued with his speech.

“However, Glick’s intention was not to embarrass the Prime Minister but rather to keep the idea of the third Temple alive and in the psyche of the Jewish people as he told Breaking Israel News: ‘You have to keep saying it. If you don’t say it, you’ll forget it.’

“The following speaker was Defense Minister Naftali Bennett who during his speech, began to list important locations throughout Israel which didn’t include the Temple Mount. At a certain point, Glick interrupted him too adding ‘and the Temple Mount!’ This time, Bennett responded to Glick’s comment saying: ‘You’re absolutely right Yehuda, also the Temple Mount.’”

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.

This Week in the News

Putin’s Lies about Poland

Deutsche Welle wrote on December 30:

Germany and Russia colluded to invade Poland, US envoy to Warsaw Georgette Mosbacher said in a tweet. Her comments follow claims by Russia’s Vladimir Putin that Poland was on board with Hitler’s plans [and] that Poland was responsible for the start of the war. ‘Dear President Putin, Hitler and Stalin colluded to start WWII. That is a fact. Poland was a victim of this horrible conflict,’ Mosbacher wrote.

“German ambassador echoed Mosbacher’s statement… ‘The Molotov-Robbentrop Pact served to prepare Nazi Germany’s criminal military attack against Poland,’ Ambassador Rolf Nikel said in a Polish-language post. ‘The Soviet Union, together with Germany, took part in the brutal partitioning of Poland.‘…

“Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki on Sunday condemned Putin’s comments as well… World War II began in 1939 when Poland was invaded by Nazi Germany, followed by Soviet Russia two weeks later. Around 6 million Polish citizens were killed during the war.”

Putin’s attempts to whitewash Russia of its horrible crimes—past and present—are pathetic… and show a very dangerous mindset.

Putin’s Frightening Hypersonic Weapons

The Associated Press wrote on December 27:

“A new intercontinental weapon [the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle] that can fly 27 times the speed of sound became operational Friday, Russia’s defense minister reported to President Vladimir Putin, bolstering the country’s nuclear strike capability… The Avangard is launched atop an intercontinental ballistic missile, but unlike a regular missile warhead that follows a predictable path after separation it can make sharp maneuvers in the atmosphere en route to target, making it much harder to intercept… It carries a nuclear weapon of up to 2 megatons…

“China has tested its own hypersonic glide vehicle, believed to be capable of traveling at least five times the speed of sound

“The Pentagon also has been working on the development of hypersonic weapons in recent years, and Defense Secretary Mark Esper said in August that he believes ‘it’s probably a matter of a couple of years’ before the U.S. has one…”

Putin, not unlike Stalin, is preparing for an outright war… but this time with highly sophisticated nuclear weapons. While no such war is going to take place between Russia and the USA, a nuclear war will break out between Europe, which will be alarmed by rumors from the Far East, and Russia and its allies, including China.

Russia and UN to Restrict Internet

AFP wrote on December 28:

“The United Nations on Friday approved a Russian-led bid that aims to create a new convention on cybercrime, alarming rights groups and Western powers that fear a bid to restrict online freedom… The United States, European powers and rights groups fear that the language is code for legitimizing crackdowns on expression, with numerous countries defining criticism of the government as ‘criminal.’ China heavily restricts internet searches to avoid topics sensitive to its communist leadership, as well as news sites with critical coverage.

“A number of countries have increasingly tried to turn off the internet, with India cutting off access in Kashmir in August after it stripped autonomy to the Muslim-majority region and Iran taking much of the country offline as it cracked down on protests in November… Human Rights Watch called the UN resolution’s list of sponsors ‘a rogue’s gallery of some of the earth’s most repressive governments.’”

While Russia is again involved in trying to suppress the freedom of the press, the hypocritical UN has proven to be an organization that supports and sponsors totalitarian governments.

Religious Persecution in China

 MSN wrote on January 2:

 “On Monday, [Christian Pastor] Wang was sentenced to nine years in prison for ‘inciting subversion of state power’ and ‘illegal business activities’ following closed-door proceedings. The pastor… will also be ‘stripped of political rights’ for three years and have approximately $7,200 of his assets seized, according to a government statement.

“Wang is a well-known Christian leader and was invited to the White House in 2006 by George W. Bush to discuss religious freedom in China. The U.S. was quick to denounce the prison sentence this week… Another leader at the church [Qin Defu] was sentenced to four years in prison for ‘illegal business operations’ in November…

“It’s not just Christians facing persecution in China… In far northwestern Xinjiang, more than a million Muslim-majority Uighurs and other ethnic minorities have been detained… and evidence of large-scale destruction mosques has been reported. In Tibet… some citizens… have been ordered to replace altars to religious figures like the exiled Dalai Lama with shrines to Xi.

“[One scholar said:] ‘Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party regard the Christian church as the number one enemy.’”

Iraq… “America’s Worst Mistake” Back in the News

Axios wrote on December 31:

The storming of the U.S. embassy in Baghdad has launched one of the biggest foreign policy crises of the Trump presidency. Trump tweeted on Tuesday afternoon, ‘Iran will be held fully responsible for lives lost, or damage incurred, at any of our facilities. They will pay a very BIG PRICE! This is not a Warning, it is a Threat. Happy New Year!’

“Outside the embassy, ‘thousands of protesters and militia fighters [were] chanting “Death to America,” throwing rocks, covering the walls with graffiti and demanding that the United States withdraw’ from Iraq, the N.Y. Times reports. ‘[M]any were members of Kataib Hezbollah,’ which is backed by Iran.

“120 Marines were rushed to Baghdad today, the most since ISIS was at its peak… President Trump may feel compelled to do something… On the other hand, Trump has, until his recent retaliatory air strikes, been reluctant to fight a proxy war against Iran inside Iraq. When Iran shot down a U.S. drone earlier this year, Trump was prepared to strike several Iranian targets, but at the last minute his more dovish instincts kicked in. It was only when Iranian proxies killed a U.S. contractor recently that Trump felt he had no choice but to strike back…

“Iranian militias are well positioned to attack the roughly 5,000 U.S. military personnel still inside Iraq. The Iraqi security forces have shown themselves to be incompetent and cannot be relied upon to protect American troops in Iraq…

“If Trump strikes back hard against Iran, he may get a new Middle East war he never wanted. If he does nothing, he may show… weakness he has long derided… But there’s another possibility that cannot be entirely dismissed… what if Trump made a flip decision and totally withdrew American forces from Iraq?… Trump has long wanted out of Iraq and believes the American presence in Iraq is an unmitigated disaster that was the worst mistake in U.S. history…”

The Daily Mail wrote on January 2:

 “Iran-backed militiamen withdrew from the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad on Wednesday after two days of clashes with American security forces, but U.S.-Iran tensions remain high and could spill over into further violence It ended a two-day crisis marked by the breach of the largest and one of the most heavily fortified U.S. diplomatic missions in the world. The attack prompted President Donald Trump and the Pentagon to send hundreds of Marines to the Middle East… The attack on the embassy also prompted U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to delay a European and Central Asian trip…”

The further development of this dangerous crisis will be interesting to watch. Ultimately, the USA will withdraw completely, and the ensuing power vacuum will be filled. Players who are not suspected by many, will finally step in to do just that.

Record Number of Mass Killings in USA in 2019

Deutsche Welle wrote on December 29:

“This year witnessed the highest number of mass killings in the United States in recent history. The lives of 211 people were lost in 41 mass killings, defined as when four or more people are killed, excluding the perpetrator. Of those, 33 involved firearms.

“The findings reveal that there were more mass killings in 2019 than any year going back to at least the 1970s. The second-highest number of mass slayings in a year was 38 in 2006. But the total of 211 people killed this year is surpassed by the 224 victims in 2017, when the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history took place in Las Vegas, where 58 people were killed.”

The Bible talks again and again about our violent, murderous and bloody cities in these end times.

Crash in 2020?

CNN wrote about December 29:

“Analysts at Vanguard say there’s a good chance the crash could come as early as 2020. It’s been a bumper year for financial markets. But as a new decade moves swiftly into view, analysts are becoming understandably nervous about a potential stock market crash…

“According to Guggenheim Partners’ Chief Investment Officer Scott Minerd, the end of this glorious bull market is getting dangerously close…  Minerd isn’t the only one sounding alarm bells. Nobel Prize-winning economist Robert Shiller also warned that there were ‘bubbles everywhere’… Joe Davis, head of investment strategy at Vanguard, says he sees a 50% chance of a market crash in 2020.”

Reuters wrote on December 27:

“The current economic cycle is already the longest in U.S. history and a recession looks inevitable in the new decade — which also will mark 100 years since the Wall Street crash of 1929… ‘Central banks have effectively invited governments to experiment with more unconventional policies,’ Deutsche Bank said. However, those policies may pile up even more global debt, already at record highs…”

Newsmax wrote on December 27:

“Banks around the world are [revealing] the biggest round of job cuts in four years as they slash costs to weather a slowing economy…This year, more than 50 lenders have announced plans to cut a combined 77,780 jobs, the most since 91,448 in 2015… Banks in Europe, which face the added burden of negative interest rates for years to come, account for almost 82% of the total.

“The 2019 cuts bring the total for the last six years to more than 425,000. In fact, the actual amount is probably higher because many banks eliminate staff without disclosing their plans… This year’s figures also underscore the weakness of European banks

“Deutsche Bank [Germany’s biggest lender] is planning to get rid of 18,000 employees through 2022… [Germany] is the most fragmented major banking market in Europe and among the most exposed to negative interest rates…”

“Seeking Alpha” wrote on December 27, 2019, that the USA has already been in a recession for 6 months. The EU has been since July, Germany for 18 months and the UK for two years. Please watch our newest program on Comments on News and Prophecy, titled, Economic Crash in 2020?”

Not a Real Whistleblower?

Breitbart wrote on December 27:

“President Trump on Thursday retweeted a Trump campaign tweet that contained a link to an article that named the alleged Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) ‘whistleblower,’ whose complaint catalyzed House Democrats’ drive towards impeachment… The Trump campaign [wrote:] ‘The CIA “whistleblower” is not a real whistleblower!’ and posted a link to a Washington Examiner article, which named the alleged whistleblower Eric Ciaramella…

“Ciaramella is a 33-year-old CIA analyst who works on Ukraine and Russia. He previously served at the National Security Council during the Obama administration, when former Vice President Joe Biden was the point person for Ukraine… The New York Times and Washington Post first reported that the ‘whistleblower’ is a relatively junior CIA analyst. CNN reported that he was a Democrat.”

The entire “impeachment” circus, initiated by Democrats and an alleged “whistleblower,” was clearly a total hoax and witch-hunt from the outset.

Young and Old Evangelicals Divided on Trump?

Reuters wrote on December 29:

“After evangelical publication Christianity Today published a blistering editorial on what it called Donald Trump’s ‘grossly immoral character’, some church leaders and the U.S. president himself denounced the criticism as elitist and out-of-touch… However, the coziness with the Republican president… is being abandoned by younger generations

“Trump’s presidency may make the age gap worse… many younger evangelicals opposed Trump’s immigration and asylum policies and were concerned about alleviating poverty, in contrast to older members of the faith… Evangelicalism, like all forms of Christianity in the United States, is struggling to attract younger members, amid an unprecedented surge in recent years of the number of people identifying as religiously unaffiliated.

“White evangelical protestants declined as a proportion of the U.S. population between 2006 and 2018, falling to 15% from 23%… Higher-than-average voter turnout among evangelicals means the group still represents more than a quarter of the U.S. electorate, but a failure to draw young worshippers means their electoral heft is set to diminish…

“The perhaps unlikely alliance between conservative Christians and the twice-divorced New York real estate developer has been important for Trump… Many U.S. evangelicals also strongly support conservatives in Israel, and hailed Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and move the U.S. embassy there…

“A group of nearly 200 leaders from the conservative wing of evangelicalism defended him in a letter to the magazine, praising the president for seeking the advice of ‘Bible-believing Christians and patriotic Americans’… Meanwhile, other religious scholars and leaders have signed a petition in support of Christianity Today, stating that the ‘United States evangelical and Christian community is at a moral crossroads.’ Younger evangelicals are put off by church leaders’ seemingly unconditional support for Trump…”

The division between younger and older Evangelicals is interesting in the light of biblical prophecy that ultimately, the Roman Catholic Church will capitalize on such disagreements and emerge worldwide as THE religious power.

Left-Wing Democrats Accuse Trump of Anti-Semitism

Breaking Israel News wrote on December 31:

“In the wake of a machete-attack carried out by a black man in Monsey on Saturday night [on the 7th night of Hanukkah], many Democrats are blaming President Trump for the rising tide of anti-Semitism but at least one Jewish Democratic politician is pointing at the stark reality that is the real culprit in New York: unrepentant left-wing anti-Semitism.

“President Trump responded strongly to the attack, calling for a united fight to ‘eradicate the evil scourge of anti-Semitism.’…

Congressman Rashida Tlaib… predictably blamed the president for the attack… Tlaid’s criticism of President Trump is ironic since her short time in Congress has been characterized by her anti-Semitic remarks

“Rather than take responsibility for the wave of anti-Semitism that has plagued the state he serves, Mayor Bill Deblasio doubled down on blaming the right-wing [and] President Trump… Deblasio’s claim was harshly criticized by Dov Hikind, a former Democratic New York State Assemblyman representing Brooklyn who is a religious Jew… Hikind highlighted the rise in a uniquely left-wing anti-Semitism… and its Democratic supporters in Congress like Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, and Alexandria Ocasio Cortez… ‘All the hate in New York is coming from the left,’ Hikind insisted…

“These claims [against Trump] are, even on a superficial level, perplexing. Trump’s presidency has been highlighted by unprecedented support for Israel as illustrated by recognition of Jerusalem as the capital, Jewish sovereignty in the Golan, and removing the State Department’s description of a Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria as ‘illegal’. Also, earlier this month, Trump signed an executive order that would cut federal funding to colleges and universities that don’t curb anti-Semitism against Jewish students.”

This very perceptive article reminds us of phenomena outside the USA as well, for instance in the UK (Labour Party) and in Europe, including Germany (SPD and the Greens). It is actually the left-wing radicals within those parties who are much more anti-Semitic than many others.

How Germans View World Leaders

Deutsche Welle wrote on December 26:

“When asked who posed the greatest threat to world peace, Germans in a recent poll overwhelmingly pointed to one person – Donald Trump. The US president beat out the leaders of North Korea, Russia, China and Iran. Although Washington is one of Germany’s closest allies, public trust in the US has significantly eroded under President Donald Trump…

“Germans were asked who was more dangerous: North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Russian President Vladimir Putin or US President Donald Trump. Some 41% of Germans said they thought Trump was the most dangerous out of the five world leaders. In second place was Kim with 17%, followed by Putin and Khamenei with 8%. Coming in last was China’s Xi with 7%…

“A separate year-end poll showed that public trust in German Chancellor Angela Merkel had also diminished at home, particularly when compared to other European leaders… 57% of Germans surveyed said they had a ‘rather high’ level of trust in French President Emmanuel Macron. Merkel, on the other hand, came in several points behind the French leader at 53%. The differences were even more pronounced on the other end of the scale, with 44% of Germans surveyed saying they had ‘very little’ trust in Merkel, compared to 32% for Macron.

“In that poll, Trump came in last as the least trustworthy leader (89% very little trust), behind Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (86%) and Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson (71%).”

For so many Germans to draw such kind of conclusions, they seem to be blind and uninformed, but their perspective might be mirrored by their current and future political leaders, which can result in catastrophic consequences.

Germany’s Arms Exports

Deutsche Welle wrote on December 27:

“German arms exports rose 65% from January to mid-December 2019 compared to 2018 and hit a record of €7.95 billion ($8.8 billion)… two of Germany’s top 10 arms export customers, Egypt at number two and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at number nine, were active participants in the war in Yemen, in spite of government assurances that Germany would no longer arm those countries. The figures show government-approved exports of weapons, vehicles, and warships beat the previous record in 2015…

“Germany’s total export licenses had already exceeded last year’s total of €5.3 billion by the middle of the year, the figures revealed… The largest number of German weapons deliveries in 2019 went to Hungary, where exports reached €1.77 billion, followed by Egypt at €802 million and the United States at €483 million…

“The Berlin government agreed to halt arms exports to the countries involved in the Yemen conflict as part of the coalition deal reached in 2018. It later said it would ban all exports to Saudi Arabia following the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, though subsequent reports showed that the government still approved some exports to Riyadh this year.”

So, the German government has lied to the German people and the world.

Europe’s Defense Policy for 2020

Euractiv wrote on December 26:

“… the EU aims to deal with the bloc’s fragmented defence industry [to create an] EU headquarters for military operations under the European Commission’s helm… the EU is already eyeing new money sources for its various military projects, with currently 47 such initiatives under the EU’s permanent structured cooperation (PESCO), and 25 member states participating…

“Although several countries, including Germany, have in recent months rejected the possibility of acquiring armed drones, Greece recently announced its intention to buy a fleet of American and Israeli armed drones which could be used against similar Turkish assets already deployed in the eastern Mediterranean as Ankara prepares to exploit offshore oil and gas fields…”

The EU will emerge as a powerful military entity with its own unified Army.

Comeback of Italy’s Matteo Salvini?

Politico wrote on December 30:

“Matteo Salvini… the leader of the far-right League party and former Italian interior minister believes he’ll be prime minister in 2020… Salvini believes his comeback is close as the new coalition struggles to agree on crucial policy issues and reboot the country’s stagnating economy…

“Salvini said he plans to focus on improving relations with Germany and France once back in government, and believes he can drive change in Brussels… ‘But it’s not just about Paris and Berlin … I want to be part of an international front that includes Donald Trump, who will be re-electedBoris Johnson, [Brazil’s] Jair Bolsonaro and [Israel’s] Benjamin Netanyahu … These are all leaders that the left criminalizes but have all been overwhelmingly supported by the people,’ he said…

“The Italian government has been plagued by infighting of late. Last week, Education Minister Lorenzo Fioramonti, from the 5Stars, resigned after failing to receive the €3 billion in school funding he had demanded for 2020. Several 5Stars lawmakers have left in the past couple of months and in October former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi left the PD to form a new party. Salvini hopes that will play in his favor in two crucial regional elections next month…”

That would be an interesting development, as the parallels between Salvini and Mussolini are striking.

Sebastian Kurz’s Risky Endeavor

Bloomberg wrote on January 1:

“Kurz, the 33-year-old former chancellor, announced he struck a deal to return to power with Austria’s environmentalist party late on New Year’s Day. Pending approval by a Green party conference on Saturday, the new administration could be sworn in by President Alexander Van der Bellen (himself a former Green leader) on Jan. 7…

It’s a risky project… From 2015, Kurz used the European refugee crisis to take over his party. He dressed the conservatives in the clothes of populism and steered them out of an awkward coalition with the Social Democrats to join forces with a xenophobic party founded by former Nazis. After winning two straight elections, a third of his voters are now former supporters of the Freedom Party and other rightist groups.

“By teaming up with the Greens, Kurz finds himself on the opposite side of the debate from the populists and vulnerable to their attacks for the first time. Concessions to his partner could also estrange his new voters as well as People’s Party mainstays like farmers, industry, commuters and traditionalists panicking about meat prices or fuel taxes.

“Kurz will have to show to his supporters that his tough line on migration and integration remains intact, that there are neither more taxes nor more debt and that legislation will remain business-friendly. [Green party leader Werner] Kogler will need some wins on climate policy, including tangible investments in infrastructure and some form of carbon taxes, at least a toning down of the anti-immigration rhetoric of Kurz’s former government, and measures on transparency and anti-corruption.”

Deutsche Welle added on January 1:

“The ‘experiment,’ as the daily Kurier put it, will mark the first time the left-wing Green party has been in government. The new coalition of widely disparate parties is likely to be significantly different from the previous government…

“The coalition in Austria will be closely watched in Germany, where the current coalition between the Social Democrats and Angela Merkel’s conservatives is under strain. In Germany, the Greens are polling at roughly 21% compared to the 8.9% the party scored in the last federal elections in 2017. A collapse of the current coalition government, early elections or the scheduled 2021 election could bring the Greens into government with Merkel’s conservatives.”

A risky endeavor indeed, but Kurz has been described as “very adaptable” to “compromise.” In other words, as the proverbial politician. The Green party in Germany recently came under strong attack due its perceived anti-Semitic stance.

What Will Be Left of the UK?

The Corner wrote on December 29:

“What kind of relationship will Britain have with a European Union it has formally left?… There is still an 11-month transition period in which a trade deal has to be finalized… But from the end of January 2020, the UK will no longer have a seat at the high European table…

“If it marries itself to the US, will there be a bride price that will seriously weaken the independence of British institutions?… Will Britain… be a pawn in US hands…

“Throughout the Brexit negotiations to leave the EU, there were serious Irish and Northern Irish concerns. Yet the first major schismatic fault-line would seem to lie with the Scots… seeking another referendum for independence. A legal vote on Scottish independence can only be sanctioned in Westminster, not in Edinburgh. The Scots will be mulling, nevertheless, a Catalonian-style unilateral referendum and using it as moral leverage in difficult and likely protracted discussions and confrontations with Westminster. The one thing Prime Minister Johnson is unlikely to have is any guaranteed unity in the British project.

“As food prices rise, European common agricultural policy subsidies are withdrawn, and new food suppliers cannot be found — or found only with great transport costs — the UK agricultural sector looks set to be decimated. New tariff barriers, unless successfully negotiated downward over the next 11 months, would raise the prices on almost all imported commodities in a land with declining manufacturing capacities, alongside agriculture that cannot survive without subsidies…”

Even though many Brits might have longed for Brexit (which might be humanly understandable) in order to depart from the clutches of an overpowering EU, the prophesied future of the UK is doomed.

Jordan’s Lies about Israel

Breaking Israel News wrote on December 30:

“In a Dec. 28, 2019 article in the Jordanian daily Al-Ghad, ‘Abdallah Kan’an, secretary-general of Jordan’s Royal Committee for Jerusalem Affairs, wrote that the festival of Hanukkah is based on traditions relating to the ‘false’ Jewish Temple, and therefore constitutes a direct threat to the Muslim and Christian holy places in Jerusalem.

“… the article claims that Israel and right-wing organizations in it use Hanukkah to further their plans of Judaizing Jerusalem and to carry out mass raids on the Al-Aqsa mosque ‘in the guise of Talmudic religious rituals.'”

The First and the Second Temple stood on the Temple Mount, where the Al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock stand today.

The Pagan Origin of New Year’s Day

Breaking Israel News wrote on January 1:

“The Julian calendar was enacted by Julius Caesar in 46 BCE to reform… the Roman calendar. The Gregorian calendar was decreed in 1582 by papal bull by Pope Gregory XIII, replacing the Julian calendar. The decree was not recognized outside of the Catholic Church so the days on which Easter and related holidays were celebrated by different Christian churches diverged. Currently the world’s most widely used civil calendar, the Gregorian calendar, was adopted in stages with some countries incorporating the system in the late 16th Century while others joined in as late as the 20th century.

“Despite the papal decree, many Catholics were quite aware of the pagan roots of their calendar… Many of the names of the months and days of the week have their roots in paganism:

“January –named for the god Janus… February –named for the pagan Roman festival of purification… March – named for the god Mars, the Roman god of war… April – named for the Greek goddess of love, Aphrodite… May – this month is named for the Roman goddess Maia, a deity of growth and increase. June – named for the goddess Juno, the wife of Jupiter, also known as the Queen of Heaven.

Sunday – this day is in honor of the sun god. Monday – this day is in honor of the moon goddess. Tuesday – this day is in honor of the Norse god of war, Tiu, or Tyr, the son of Odin, or Woden. Wednesday – this day is in honor of the chief Norse god Odin, or Woden. Thursday – this day is in honor of the Norse god of thunder, Thor, who is the oldest son of Odin. Friday – this day is in honor of the Norse goddess Frigg. She is the goddess of darkness, goddess of the sky, and goddess of love. She is the wife of Odin. Saturday – this day is in honor of the Roman god Saturn.

“The Gregorian calendar is based on the solar cycle, putting it at odds with the Hebrew calendar which is lunisolar… It is important to note that the Roman calendar that preceded the Julian calendar observed an eight-day week called the nundinal cycle. This put it directly at odds with the seven day week described in the Bible as embedded in the creation of the world. And the Sabbath was moved from the seventh day to the first day, Sunday, named for the pagan sun god…

“The tradition of beginning the new year on January 1 was based on the Roman calendar and remained so in the Julian Calendar, though by the Middle Ages, some countries began the new year on December 25. It is believed this mid-winter new year was based on its proximity to the solsticea pagan celebration of the sun god’s rebirth. Naming the first month after the pagan god Janus was appropriate since he was depicted as having two faces, one looking forward and the other looking back. Scholars have suggested that the drunken parties that characterize New Year’s celebrations have their roots in orgies meant as a form of service to the pagan gods

“Pope Sylvester, whose sainthood day and the day he was buried is commemorated on December 31, convinced Roman Emperor Constantine to prohibit Jews from living in Jerusalem. At the Council of Nicaea… Sylvester promulgated a host of new anti-Semitic legislation. It is for this reason that January first was frequently marked throughout history by the burning of synagogues, Jewish books, and other acts of Jew-hatred

“One such anti-Semitic New Year’s Day event took place in 1577 when Pope Gregory XIII, who established the Gregorian calendar, decreed that all Roman Jews had to attend a Catholic conversion sermon given in Roman synagogues after Friday night services. The penalty for not doing so was death. Then, on New Year’s Day of the next year, the Pope signed a law forcing Jews to pay for a ‘House of Conversion’ whose purpose was to convert Jews to Christianity. Three years later on New Year’s Day, he ordered the confiscation of all the Roman Jewish community’s Hebrew scrolls and books.”

In addition, the origins for the names of the following months (not mentioned above) are:

July–the month in which Julius Caesar was born, and named Julius in his honor in 44 BCE, the year of his assassination. August–in honor of the first of the Roman emperors, Augustus. September–the name comes from septem, “seven.” October–the name comes from octo, “eight.” November–the name comes from novem, “nine.” December–the name comes from decem, “ten.”

Today, it is not wrong to use the names of days and months to which we are accustomed. Otherwise, we could not even communicate with others.  But we should realize that the weekly Sabbath is the seventh day of the week (from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset) and that God’s annual Holy Days are determined by the Hebrew calendar… not the calendars of this world.  

Thousands of Koalas Might Have Died in Australia’s Wild Fires

The Associated Press wrote on December 28:

“Thousands of koalas are feared to have died in a wildfire-ravaged area north of Sydney, further diminishing Australia’s iconic marsupial, while the fire danger increased in the country’s east… as temperatures soared. The mid-northern coast of New South Wales was home to up to 28,000 koalas, but wildfires have significantly reduced their population in recent months.

“Koalas are native to Australia and are one of the country’s most beloved animals, but they’ve been under threat due to a loss of habitat. ‘Up to 30% of their habitat has been destroyed,’ Australia’s environment minister, Sussan Ley, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation…”

The Huffington Post wrote on December 27:

“Fires have been burning out of control since October amid a record drought and heatwave, claiming the lives of nine people and destroying hundreds of homes. Last week, average temperatures hit 107.4 degrees Fahrenheit.

“All animals are at risk in the bush fires, and experts believe a staggering number have already been killed. But Australia’s native koalas were already at risk before the destructive new threat. The Australian government lists the koala population as ‘vulnerable.’ Community volunteers and firefighters have been struggling to save the animals they can.

“In one heartbreaking scene in Adelaide, a koala stopped in the middle of a roadway and approached passing cyclists. It clambered onto one rider and drank eagerly from an offered water bottle…”

We received the following in-house report from Australia:

“Earlier this week we again had temperatures over 40 degrees, with catastrophic fire risk in some areas. The highest level of risk has been extended from extreme to catastrophic recently. In East Gippsland, (eastern part of Victoria), 30,000 tourists were asked to leave the area on Sunday due to the risk, and locals were asked to either leave or be prepared to defend their properties. On Monday, the only highway in the area was closed due to the danger of smoke and fire. Those who had not left were trapped on the coast. At Mallacoota, residents took refuge on the beach and in boats. The sky was black in daytime and it has been called apocalyptic. There were many explosions caused by gas bottles igniting in the town.

“The fires in East Gippsland are expected to continue burning for the next two months if there is no significant rain. The fire plume was said to reach 14 kilometres in altitude and was creating its own weather conditions, including lightning. Somewhat over 200,000 hectares have been burnt so far in Victoria. And this is just the start of the fire season.  In Southern New South Wales, a 10 ton fire truck was lifted off the ground and inverted by a tornado caused by the fire, which resulted in the death of a fire fighter trapped in the vehicle.

“A few days ago, the total number of homes destroyed in Australia was over 950 according to insurance companies. More have been destroyed since with some towns burnt out.”

Further Info on Australia’s Wildfires

The Independent wrote on January 2:

 “The wildfire crisis ravaging Australia has wreaked environmental havoc since it began in September… Ecologists at the University of Sydney estimate around 480 million animals have been killed in the wildfires, including 8,000 koalas

 “Across the Tasman Sea, smoke from the wildfires are posting a new threat to New Zealand’s iconic white glaciers, turning them black and staining snow brown… Ash from the smoke could accelerate melting snow on the glaciers, which already face a climate disaster of their own...”

 The Sun added on January 2:

 TENS of thousands of people in the path of raging bush fires in Australia have been ordered to leave the danger zones – as the death toll rose to 18. As temperatures soar to 46C this weekend, New South Wales fire chiefs warned tourists and locals on the coast south of Sydney [not to stay in the area].

“Huge areas between Bateman’s Bridge and the border with Victoria state have been ruled ‘unsafe’, sparking monster traffic jams as thousands flee for their lives through choking smoke. Transport minister Andrew Constance described the situation as the ‘largest mass relocation of people out of the region that we’ve ever seen’…

“Already supermarket shelves are empty and petrol pumps have run dry. Downed trees and power lines cut off supply routes. Military ships and helicopters are being deployed to the worst-hit areas… Tens of thousands of homes are without electricity in the state and telephone and internet connections are down…

“In neighbouring Victoria, 4,000 people are still stranded at Mallacoota in East Gippsland after their escape route was cut off by fire. Naval ship HMAS Choules arrived yesterday and can carry 700 people. Others may be flown to safety by helicopter… [In fact, the navy ship can evacuate 500 – 1000 people, provided they can climb a rope ladder. There will be aerial evacuations for the elderly and infirm if they desire since the roads are closed.]

“Meanwhile today Aussie PM Scott Morrison… was heavily criticised for jetting on holiday to Hawaii despite the fires…”

Across Australia, 17 people have died and more than 1400 homes have been destroyed, according to the Guardian Australian Edition, since the fire season began in October.

Canada to Criminalize Conversions of Homosexuals

Life Site News reported on December 17:

“A bill that will criminalize ‘conversion therapy’ in Canada is a ‘despicable’ attack on religious liberty that could lead to Christians going to jail for proclaiming that homosexual individuals can change, warns Canada’s pro-life, pro-family organization Campaign Life Coalition.

“Introduced last week by Independent Senator Serge Joyal, Bill S-202 will make it an indictable offense punishable by up to five years in jail to benefit materially or financially indirectly or directly from the provision of’ ‘conversion therapy’ to anyone under 18 years of age. The bill further amends the Criminal Code to make advertising ‘conversion therapy’ a crime punishable by up to five years in jail.

“Not only that, but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government plans to introduce a similar bill in the House of Commons when Parliament reconvenes in January… Trudeau instructed justice minister David Lametti to ‘amend the Criminal Code to ban the practice of conversion therapy and take other steps required with the provinces and territories to end conversion therapy in Canada.’…

“Bill S-202 defines ‘conversion therapy’ as ‘any practice, treatment or service designed to change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity or to eliminate or reduce sexual attraction or sexual behaviour between persons of the same sex…’ This sweeping definition includes ‘Christian counselling, prayer, and evangelism directed at the LGBT community’ as well as ‘medical or psychological practices,’ Cooke said.

“‘In other words, if you publicly proclaim (‘advertise’) the message that homosexuals can be saved and changed, you will go to prison,’ he added. ‘And if a young homosexual (under age 18) is converted at your church and starts contributing to the offering (providing a financial ‘benefit’), your church leadership will go to prison.’ ‘Christians could actually become criminalized for just being Christian…’”

Canada is part of modern-day Ephraim, as are of course the UK, Australia and New Zealand, and God is extremely angry with all of them for their godless conduct. You might want to view our recent StandingWatch program on the topic of conversion of homosexuals, titled, How Our Wrong Values Destroy Our Children!” 

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.

This Week in the News

US Sanctions against Nord Stream 2 Pipeline

On December 22, Bild Online published the following article:

“US President Donald Trump (73) signed the US sanctions against the company Allseas, which is currently laying the last kilometers of the Russian gas pipeline Nord Stream 2 south of the Danish island of Bornholm. Minutes later, Allseas announced that it wanted to temporarily stop its construction work…

“In an interview with BILD and the US news agency Associated Press, Ambassador Richard Grenell (53) explained the motives behind the sanctioning of the Nord Stream 2 construction company.

“Richard Grenell: ‘You see, this is a longstanding US policy that goes back to the Obama administration. The goal has always been for diversification of Europe’s energy sources and to ensure that not one country or source can build up too much influence on Europe through energy…

“‘15 European countries, the European Commission and the European Parliament have all expressed their concerns about the project… That is why the sanctions are a very pro-European decision… I’ve been hearing all day from European diplomats thanking me for taking this action… As far as the US government is concerned, this is about energy security in Europe.“

These more or less meaningless sanctions and some negative vocal reactions in Europe will not substantially hinder the German-Russian project. Contrary to Grenell’s statements, other reports claim that Brussels stated that the USA has no business in interfering in these “European” matters. All of this will contribute to the prophesied deterioration of the US-EU relationship.

The Bridge of Shame

Deutsche Welle wrote on December 23:

“Russian President Vladimir Putin opened a commuter rail bridge between the Crimea and Russian mainland with a ceremonious train journey on Monday, as Russia continues to cement its influence in Crimea since its annexation in 2014… The bridge consists of parallel automobile and railway sections…

“With the opening of the bridge to commuter traffic it is now possible to travel between St. Petersburg and Sevastopol, with the journey lasting a total of 43 hours and 25 minutes…”

In its reporting, Bild Online spoke of the “bridge of shame,” stating that Ukraine to which Crimea belongs legally, the EU and the USA protested against the bridge. As if Putin cared… Crimea will remain in Russian hands, and the same will be true very soon for Ukraine.

No Justice and Truth in Saudi Arabia’s Murder Case

The Associated Press wrote on December 23:

“A court in Saudi Arabia sentenced five people to death Monday for the killing of Washington Post columnist and royal family critic Jamal Khashoggi, whose grisly slaying in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul drew international condemnation and cast a cloud of suspicion over Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Three other people were found guilty by Riyadh’s criminal court of covering up the crime and were sentenced to a combined 24 years in prison… independent media were barred…

“Agnes Callamard, who investigated the killing for the United Nations, reacted by tweeting that the verdicts are a ‘mockery’ and that the masterminds behind the crime ‘have barely been touched by the investigation and the trial.’ Amnesty International called the outcome ‘a whitewash which brings neither justice nor truth.’…

“In Washington, Congress has said it believes Prince Mohammed is ‘responsible for the murder.’ President Donald Trump has condemned the killing but has stood by the 34-year-old crown prince and defended U.S.-Saudi ties. Washington has sanctioned 17 Saudis suspected of being involved. Among those sanctioned is Saud al-Qahtani, a hawkish former adviser to the crown prince. The Saudi attorney general’s office said Monday that al-Qahtani was investigated and had no proven involvement in the killing. Meanwhile, Ahmed al-Asiri, also a former adviser to the crown prince who was deputy head of intelligence, was tried and released because of insufficient evidence, the attorney general’s office said. The court also ordered the release of Saudi Arabia’s consul-general in Istanbul at the time, Mohammed al-Otaibi. He is among those sanctioned by the U.S. over his ‘involvement in gross violations of human rights.’ The U.S. State Department has also issued travel bans against his immediate family…

“Although Khashoggi’s killing tarnished Prince Mohammed’s reputation in the West, he is hugely popular at home, especially among young Saudis…”

Sadly, in this world of Satan, guilty powerful perpetrators are protected and go unpunished and will be able—for a while—to continue with their rotten conduct. But ultimately, the time of reckoning will come.

Further Aggravation between Germany and Britain over Brexit

Express wrote on December 24:

German drug importers have warned they expect Brexit to further exacerbate drug shortages in Berlin, which are already scarce… Jörg Geller, board member of the Association of Pharmaceutical Importers in Germany (VAD) and President of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Importers (EAEPC), said:… ‘We fear that after Brexit we will no longer be able to buy medicines in the UK. At the same time, the UK can continue to buy medicines in the EU. Therefore the market will quickly be imbalanced.’

“The current situation with drugs in Germany is dire, and has been since 2018. This is because there are currently 274 delivery bottlenecks that have been reported to the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices. In 2018, 12.9 percent of all prescription drugs in Germany came from imports as a result.

“Mr Geller… said he cannot comprehend how a nation as powerful and rich as Germany could possibly be struggling with a shortage of medicines.

“He said: ‘The pharmaceutical manufacturers are causing the shortages because they do not produce enough medication and put it on the market. Many manufacturers also seal off the markets through quotations and discount contracts for patent-protected preparations. Some producers even exclude entire countries from delivery because the sales prices there are too low for them. This creates an artificial shortage.’”

Sadly, this rings very true, and shame on those greedy pharmaceutical manufacturers. This kind of conduct won’t help in creating a smooth Brexit “divorce.”

Shocking anti-Semitism in Germany

The Jerusalem Post wrote on December 22:

“The chairman of the Jewish community in Halle, Germany – where a neo-Nazi attempted to shoot up a synagogue on Yom Kippur – said that all German political parties are infected with Jew-hatred according to a Sunday interview in the Bild paper…, adding ‘I would not recommend to anyone to walk through Halle wearing a kippa.’… He said… ‘Just yesterday there was an email in the mailbox of the Jewish Community in Halle, which said: “Unfortunately, our grandparents did not completely solve the problem from 1933 to 1945.” The sender signed it with his full name. I forwarded the email directly to the public prosecutor’s office,’ said Privorozki.

“The Jewish community leader said ‘Antisemitism is not just a problem of the AfD [Alternative for Germany]. All parties are affected by the antisemitism virus…’ Some telling examples of antisemitism scandals over the last year, according to German media reports and critics, unfolded within the German Green Party and the Social Democratic Party

“A 2017 federal government study said 40% of Germans hold a modern antisemitic attitude, namely the intense loathing of the Jewish state. The study revealed that nearly 33 million Germans of 82 million are contaminated with contemporary antisemitism.”

There is no further denying the fact that Germany’s anti-Semitism, which actually has always been in existence, has reached extremely dangerous proportions.

Germany’s Confidence in anti-Israel ICC’s Proposal

The Times of Israel wrote on December 25:

Australia rejected the effort by the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor to launch an investigation into the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, arguing that the matter must be resolved by the two parties at the negotiating table… ‘Australia’s position is clear — we do not recognize a so-called “State of Palestine” and we do not recognize that there is such a State Party to the ICC’s Rome Statute,’ the spokesperson went on… Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz praised Australia for the statement…

Germany, in a more nuanced stance, said it had full trust in the court, was confident the ICC’s judges would ‘address issues of admissibility,’ and cautioned against politicization… reiterating Berlin’s support for the court… Germany is generally known as a staunch supporter of the court…

Israel vociferously rejects her statement, arguing that the court clearly does not have jurisdiction over the case, as there is no Palestinian state that has the mandate to transfer criminal jurisdiction over its territory to The Hague… US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday issued a statement saying the administration remains ‘firmly’ opposed to the ICC’s supposed investigation into the matter, slamming it as an unfair attack on Israel.”

122 countries are Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Italy, Norway, France, Belgium, Spain, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, Portugal, and the United Kingdom. Countries that are not members include the United States, China, India, Iraq, Libya, Yemen, Qatar and Israel. The U.S. signed the treaty during the Clinton administration, but Congress did not ratify it.

China, Russia and Iran

Breaking Israel News reported on December 26:

“As [Israel] announced that [it] is fighting Iran alone, China, Iran and Russia have scheduled joint naval drills in the Indian Ocean and Sea of Oman starting on Friday and ending on Monday…

“China’s Xining guided missile destroyer will participate in the drills, which are meant to deepen cooperation between the three countries’ navies…

“The Sea of Oman is a critical waterway as it connects to the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil passes… This comes as tensions between Iran and the United States and Israel have risen throughout the year…”

According to the Bible, a Far Eastern military bloc will be forming, which will apparently support Iran.

“Democrat Legal Expert: Trump Isn’t Impeached Until Articles Go to Senate”

Breitbart wrote on December 20:

“Harvard Law School professor Noah Feldman, who testified as a Democrat witness in the House Judiciary Committee’s public hearings on impeachment [which he strongly supported, albeit with unconvincing arguments], argues President Donald Trump is technically not impeached until the House submits the articles to the Senate.

“In a Bloomberg News opinion-editorial published Thursday, Feldman writes the definition of impeachment, according to the framers, ‘assumed that impeachment was a processnot just a House vote,’ and impeachment is official only when the articles are transmitted to the Senate, where lawmakers are ‘obliged by the Constitution to hold a trial.’

“Feldman writes: ‘If the House does not communicate its impeachment to the Senate, it hasn’t actually impeached the president… As for the headlines we saw after the House vote saying, ‘TRUMP IMPEACHED,’ those are a media shorthand, not a technically correct legal statement. So far, the House has voted to impeach (future tense) Trump. He isn’t impeached (past tense) until the articles go to the Senate and the House members deliver the message.’”

Other legal scholars have voiced similar opinions. In any event, the impeachment process and the impeachment trial will NOT lead to a conviction and will NOT prevent Trump from becoming re-elected. In a somewhat strange and bizarre move, Nancy Pelosi has invited President Trump to deliver the State of the Union address on February 4, 2020, in the House of Representatives, and Trump agreed to do so.

Evangelicals Support Trump, Reject “Christianity Today” Article

Breitbart wrote on December 22:

“More than [two] hundred influential evangelical Christian leaders sent a letter to the president of the far left magazine Christianity Today, chastising him for publishing a commentary on Thursday calling for the removal of President Trump.

“The letter, addressed to Christianity Today president Timothy Dalrymple on Sunday, was signed by well-known evangelical Christians, including Dr. James Dobson, former Gov. Mike Huckabee, former head of the Family Research Council Gary Bauer, author Eric Metaxas, and pastors Robert Morris, Tommy Barnett, and Jentezen Franklin [as well as Franklin Graham and Jerry Falwell, Jr.].

“‘We write collectively to express our dissatisfaction with the  editorial Christianity Today published on Thursday, December 19, 2019 calling for the removal of our duly elected President, who was put into office at the behest of over sixty million voters,’ the letter began. ‘The editorial you published… not only supported the entirely-partisan, legally-dubious, and politically-motivated impeachment but went even further, calling for Donald Trump not to be elected again in 2020 when he certainly survives impeachment,’ the signatories wrote in the letter. ‘Your editorial offensively questioned the spiritual integrity and Christian witness of tens-of-millions of believers who take seriously their civic and moral obligations…”

“Early Friday, Franklin Graham, the son of Billy Graham, who founded Christianity Today in 1956, criticized the organization’s current leadership for their pro-impeachment commentary. Celebrated evangelical pastor Franklin Graham revealed Friday his father, Billy Graham, voted for Donald J. Trump in 2016 because he believed he was the best man for the job.”

Christianity Today’s editorial was certainly ill-advised and flawed as it used the biased “impeachment” procedure as the basis for demanding Trump’s removal. At the same time, one has to wonder why so many Evangelicals support Trump unquestionably, even though his comments and life style do not at all correspond to Christian “moral obligations” and godly values allegedly upheld by these same Evangelicals. Of course, liberal permissive Democrats have no corner on the market either. All of this shows why TRUE Christians must not be involved in politics and voting in governmental elections.

Homelessness on the Rise due to California

CNN wrote on December 21:

“The homeless population in the US increased 2.7% this year largely because of a surge in unsheltered and chronically homeless individuals in California, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) said in a news release Friday.

“The study found that 567,715 people across the nation experienced homelessness on a single night in 2019, an increase of 14,885 people compared with 2018. Meanwhile, homelessness among veterans and families with children declined in the year, dropping 2.1% and 4.8%, respectively.

“The number of people experiencing homelessness dropped in 29 states and Washington, DC in 2019, the news release said. But the rise in homelessness in California and elsewhere on the West Coast ‘offset’ the nationwide decreases, the office said… An additional 21,306 people were homeless in California in 2019, up 16.4% from the previous year, HUD said.

“The data comes after the Trump administration sent a team of officials on a ‘fact finding’ trip to California in September to learn more about homelessness in Los Angeles.

“The homeless population in Los Angeles County increased to almost 60,000 people in 2019… Thousands of people became homeless, the authority said, as a result of the economy, foster care, mental health, criminal justice and the housing market.”

This is a terrible report. That there should be so much homelessness in the world’s wealthiest country does not speak well for its politicians and those in charge. And even though we are hearing in the mainstream media about a booming economy, there are other voices warning of a complete and total crash in 2020.

For instance, former Congressman “Ron Paul warned about ‘the mother of all bubbles’ in a recent piece arguing that the U.S. may be on the verge of experiencing a catastrophic economic crisis” (Advocates, December 6, 2019).

The Birch Gold Group wrote on November 5, 2019, “that a broken economy can be technically held together for a decade, but under the surface, the structure continues to rot… We saw this during the crash of 2008, and now we’re seeing it again… All of these factors and more show an economy in recession or depression… More stimulus will not stall the crash that is already happening… The can has been kicked for the last time.”

In spite of this or because of utter ignorance of the American people, crazy and irresponsible Christmas spending reached an all-time high. “Holiday shopping set records over the weekend, with Super Saturday sales reaching $34.4 billion, the biggest single day in U.S. retail history… [while]  online spending so far this season has accounted for 58% of sales growth from a year earlier,” according to MSN, dated December 23.

“Merry Christmas” from Netanyahu

The Algemeiner wrote on December 24:

“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a Christmas greeting on Monday, ahead of the start of the holiday. ‘Merry Christmas to all our Christian friends in Israel and around the world,’ Netanyahu said, standing alongside his wife Sara. ‘The State of Israel is the culmination of so many prophecies and our deepest held values,’ the prime minister stated. ‘We share the common civilization, the Judeo-Christian civilization, that has given the world the values of freedom, individual liberty, the sanctity of life and the belief in one God.’

“‘We are proud of our traditions,’ he added. ‘We are proud of our Christian friends. The State of Israel would not have come into being if it weren’t for the avid support of Christians in the 19th century, in the 20th century as well and in the 21st century.’ Netanyahu concluded, ‘We know that we have no better friends around the world than our Christian friends. So thank you. Thank you all for standing up with Israel, standing up for the truth. Merry Christmas.’”

The Bible prophecies that many Jews will become more and more engaged in “Christian” observances. After all, what do Christmas celebrations have to do with standing up for the Truth?

How Christmas Is Forced Upon Us

The Week wrote on December 24:

Christmas is (finally) upon us. After months of red-and-green evergreen decorations in every store, and an increasingly unbroken stream of Santa-centric pop songs in every public place, the annual American onslaught reaches its peak this week. Every year, those of us who don’t celebrate Christmas find ourselves having the same debates over and over again, starting well before Thanksgiving and continuing into the New Year. Well-meaning friends, neighbors, and colleagues insist to us that we should not be bothered by the giant Christmas trees in every building lobby, or the Christmas music supplanting our usual radio fare. Christmas, the argument goes, is secular; therefore, everyone should be comfortable participating in it, whether or not they identify as Christian…

“… the pushback to secular Christmas tends to be dominated by Jewish voices… As an assimilated American Jew, I’m intrigued by this… For those who grew up celebrating Christmas, it can be hard to conceive of decorated evergreen trees [as] neutral symbols of the ‘magic; of the season…

“Christmas is neither neutral nor secular. It is firmly associated with a religious tradition that erases our existence at best, and oppresses us at worst…”

To call Christmas “secular” is total nonsense, even though many non-religious people might celebrate it as well, while they are oblivious to Christmas origins. Christmas has always been a religious festival with pagan roots.

Changing Saturday to Sunday

Express wrote on December 21:

“On September 12 this year, Pope Francis announced his plan to launch a global education pack to ‘unite efforts’ to combat climate change. The leader of the Vatican called on world leaders to come together on May 14, 2020, to discuss his ‘Laudato Si’ proposal to reduce global warming… Francis also suggests Sundays with keeping a better environment.

“Page 237 reads ‘On Sunday, our participation in the Eucharist has special importance, Sunday is meant to be a day which heals our relationship with God, with ourselves, with others and with the world’.

“[Biblical Seventh-Day Adventist preacher Greg Sereda claimed:] ‘The implication here is that we need to have a law mandating rest on Sunday, so it appears that his agenda on climate change includes giving Sunday rest and worship mandated by law to improve the environment’. Mr Sereda went on to claim that Saturday should actually be the day of rest and not Sunday, therefore those that follow the Pope’s order will be ignoring God’s wishes… ‘the Catholic Church changed the sabbath from Saturday to Sunday and no man has the right to change God’s commandment. So in convincing people to honour Sunday as the sabbath, which is a part of Pope Francis’ agenda for climate change, people will be submitting themselves to the authority of the church’…”

The article went on to “explain” that the warnings in the Book of Revelation are to be understood metaphorically and that they cannot be applied to a literal abolition of the Sabbath and its replacement with Sunday. There can be no doubt that God’s weekly Holy Day is the Sabbath (from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset) and that the Catholic Church “changed” God’s Law by substituting the Sabbath with Sunday. And so, the world is being kept in darkness until it will be too late.

Celebrating Winter Solstice or Christmas?

The Sun wrote on December 22:

“HUNDREDS gathered at Stonehenge this morning to welcome the winter solstice, as the sun rose for the shortest day in the year. Crowds, donning colourful clothing, congregated at the prehistoric monument in Wiltshire, hugging the stones… The winter solstice is most notably associated with the druids who mark the start of the solar year with a celebration of light and the rebirth of the sun. But the celebrations were not just confined to Stonehenge, with other cultures regularly observing the shortest day of the year.

“Across Europe the winter solstice is known as Yule, from the Norse word Jul (or juul), meaning wheel. The day has been celebrated by various cultures around the world for thousands of years and is generally a recognition of rebirth.

Fires would be lit to symbolise the heat and light of the returning sun and a Yule log was gathered and burnt in the hearth as a tribute to the Norse god Thor. There are many songs and poems used to celebrate this special day. Pagan homes are often decorated with supposedly sacred herbs and red, green and white colours. Holly, ivy, evergreen boughs and pine cones are usually put around the home, especially in places where socialising takes place.

“A sprig of mistletoe is put up above a threshold and is meant to be left there until the next Yule. Pagans see it as a charm for good luck throughout the year but [it] has now taken on a symbolic meaning for kissing beneath it and the opportunity for romance.”

The similarities with Christmas are striking and obvious. It should be clear that modern Christmas customs were adopted from pagan rites and observances. God calls this an abomination.

Church of England Accused of Betraying Christian Faith

Daily Mail wrote on December 21:

“A former chaplain to the Queen has converted to Catholicism after becoming exasperated at the ‘astonishing’ failure of the Church of England to defend Christian values and the faith itself. Dr Gavin Ashenden was chaplain to the monarch for a decade, resigning from the post in 2017 after objecting to the Koran being read during an Anglican service. Now, he has quit altogether to join the Catholic church, launching a stinging attack on the Anglican church in the process.

“He said the Church had ‘swallowed wholesale’ trendy politically correct causes such as transgender rights rather than offering a ‘Christian critique’. He also accused it of failing to stand up for those accused of ‘thought crimes’ for stating their Christian beliefs…

“Today’s children are bombarded with social media messages sowing doubts about what was a cast-iron certainty of childhood: you are a boy or a girl. And, as The Mail on Sunday reported last week, up to a quarter of children ‘presenting’ as transgender could simply be autistic.”

His criticism of the Church of England is clearly justified. His conversion to Catholicism, which could be accused of the same frailties, is difficult to comprehend.

Occultism on the Rise especially for Young People

Crux wrote on December 22:

“… references to the demonic are increasingly prevalent in videogames and school games such as the ‘Charlie Charlie challenge,’ in which players cross two pencils on a grid with sectors marking ‘yes’ or ‘no’ and ask a supernatural being, ‘Charlie,’ to answer the questions they ask…

“One example of the normalization of Satanism… is the recent book, A Children’s Book of Demons, which was published in May and is directed to children aged 5-10 years of age. Penned by Aaron Leighton, an award-winning illustrator and known fan of occult practices, the book contains colorful images of some 20 different demons and teaches kids the sigil, or magical symbol, for the demons and how to summon them

“As Satanism and occult practices become increasingly normal among young people, they also face pressure not to feel out of the loop if friends and peers are involved…”

Young people must be properly taught by their parents about the danger of Satanism and occult practices. Of course, in many cases, parents are confused themselves, not really knowing what constitutes occultism, and they might even participate in superstitious practices thinking they are harmless fun. This would include believing in horoscopes and astrology, and participating in Halloween and Christmas celebrations (which are pagan to the core). Far Eastern meditation practices, consulting mediums or participating in séances also include a fertile ground for demonic activities.

Pope Francis Challenges “Traditional Catholic Values”

Breaking Israel News wrote on December 24:

“Pope Francis’ Christmas address shocked many as he rejected tradition, Western culture and compared Jesus in Bethlehem to a refugee… This anti-West approach should be expected as Pope Francis is the first Jesuit pope, the first from the Americas, and the first from the Southern Hemisphere…

“There is no doubt that traditional Catholic values are being challenged under Pope Francis. In November, the pope announced that he would consider a request to allow married men to be priests. He is also considering the addition of ‘ecological sins’ to the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Among the sins that Catholics would confess to a priest are whether their clothes are fairly traded, how many animal products they consume, and whether they overuse their mobile phones.

“His policy in which homosexuals are welcomed into the church is so revolutionary that the American LGBT magazine The Advocate named Pope Francis their Person of the Year for 2013… He has frequently met with openly homosexual and transgender people.

“Some Catholic Churches are taking this agenda even further. Catholic dioceses in the United Kingdom are reportedly hosting homosexual Masses designed to welcome homosexuals into the church and combine ‘gay pride’ with the Eucharist and other Romish sacraments… these events welcome homosexuals into the Catholic Church while not advocating celibacy.

“The Pope has also been advancing his Declaration on Human Brotherhood… [He] has been criticized for advancing the concept of one world religion…”

Many of the Pope’s new ideas are clearly in opposition to traditional Catholic dogma. Some of his ideas are worthwhile considering in the light of biblical prophecy, while others are downright silly. IF these ideas represent what Francis REALLY believes, then a dramatic clash with the Vatican is inevitable.

Sudden Call to Start the Temple Services

Breaking Israel News wrote on December 24:

“As Shabbat ends, the Sanhedrin will be hosting a Menorah lighting on Mount Zion for all nations, bringing together representatives of all of humanity, in what is the battle call for the war of the Sons of Light against the Sons of Darkness…

“The focus of the ceremony on Mount Zion will be the lighting of the seventh flame on a large nine-branched menorah… Specially prepared to be used should a sudden call go out to jump-start the Temple service on the Temple Mount, the menorah can be carried by one man. The oil used in the lighting ceremony was prepared according to the strictest laws of purity that apply to olive oil prepared for use in the Temple. “

The rest of the article includes a lot of utter nonsense, but it is noteworthy that the desire for the building of the Third Temple is mentioned, which is very much alive today in the state of Israel.

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.

This Week in the News

EU Concerned after Brexit

AFP wrote on December 13:

“European leaders warned Friday that Britain could become a formidable rival, just hours after a big victory by Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s conservatives all but sealed the UK’s Brexit divorce.

“Led by France and Germany, EU member states said they would pursue a swift trade deal with a tight deadline of end [of] 2020, but insisted that any new arrangement must uphold European values and norms… Angela Merkel warned that Britain would be an economic ‘competitor at our door’ after it leaves the EU and French President Emmanuel Macron saw a threat that London would become an ‘unfair competitor’

“Brussels is also worried about the breakneck speed with which Johnson would like to strike a trade deal with Europe, as well as any British effort to undermine the unity among the remaining 27 members.”

Express wrote on December 13 that Macron was threatening Johnson, stating: “The French President said his country will now be the only nuclear power and the remaining member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) left in the EU.”

The relationship between the EU and Britain will deteriorate drastically.

No Further Brexit Transition Period Extension beyond End of December 2020

The Sun wrote on December 16:

“BORIS Johnson will make it illegal to extend the Brexit transition period beyond the end of next year as he fired the opening salvo to the crucial trade talks with the EU. The PM will include the provision in the Withdrawal Agreement Bill (WAB) when he brings it back to the Commons for the crucial vote on Friday. The PM will use his new 80-seat majority to enshrine in law that any extension will be outlawed

“The WAB will finally implement Mr Johnson’s Brexit deal so Britain leaves the EU on January 31, triggering an 11-month ‘implementation period’ whereby EU rules will still apply here but the UK will have no role in making decisions…”

The EU has sharply criticized this move. The implementation period will prove to be thorny and difficult. If no agreement is reached, a “hard Brexit” will still occur.

Johnson’s Connection to Israel

Breaking Israel News wrote on December 16:

“Boris Johnson’s connection to Israel may have been the secret weapon that helped him win a landslide victory in last week’s British election and his first official act reflects that: a powerful anti-Boycott, Divest and Sanctions (BDS) movement law… the new law would ban public agencies from working with those who boycott Israel in any way…

“Johnson refers to himself as a ‘passionate Zionist’ who ‘loves the great country’ of Israel… He has openly criticized the United Nations Human Rights Council for their obsession with Israel’s so-called human rights violations.”

Both the USA under Trump and Great Britain under Johnson are the only real allies of Israel under Netanyahu. Some in the media have described Johnson’s victory as “divinely inspired.” The friendship between Trump, Johnson and Netanyahu is remarkable. Please watch the following new StandingWatch program: Johnson’s Brexit; Trump’s Impeachment; Netanyahu’s New Elections.” 

The Fall (and Rise?) of Austria’s Heinz-Christian Strache

Der Spiegel wrote on December 13:

“[Austria’s former Vice Chancellor] Heinz-Christian Strache… is alleged to have accepted bags full of cash from Eastern Europe in exchange for political favors… For instance, fearing that the European Union would abolish paper money, the FPÖ boss invested heavily in gold, preferring bullion coins minted with the design of the Vienna Philharmonic…

“Strache is also said to have put in place an emergency fallback plan in case, for example, NATO were to invade Austria. The FPÖ leader would then have been whisked away with party officials and their families to the Defereggental valley in East Tyrol, to ‘their fortress.’ There, in August, investigators had uncovered stockpiles of gold at the Pension Enzian guesthouse. Beyond that, confidants affirm that Strache had hoarded canisters of gasoline in his office and had occasionally carried around ‘pieces of metal in his underwear’ that were ‘supposed to have healing powers.’”

Deutsche Welle wrote on December 14:

“The far-right Freedom Party has removed former party leader Heinz-Christian Strache from its ranks…

“In recent weeks, 50-year-old Strache… said he will not withdraw from political life. ‘The enormous encouragement I’ve received from the public in the last weeks and months has allowed me to reconsider a political comeback in 2020,’ he said in a video message… This week, three Strache allies broke away from the party to found a new political group called the Alliance for Austria (DAÖ). Their goal is to run in Austria’s 2020 elections with Strache as their main candidate.”

As we stated in the past, we have not heard yet the last word of Strache.

The Battle of the Bulge and a United Europe

Deutsche Welle wrote on December 16:

“German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Monday urged Europe to stand up against nationalism at an event commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge. ‘A united and peaceful Europe — that is the lesson we Europeans have learned from unbridled nationalism and racism, from the war of annihilation,’ said Steinmeier…

“The commemoration event took place in the small Belgian town of Bastogne, where Allied soldiers managed to repel the last major German offensive of World War II. More than 19,000 US troops were killed in what is considered one of the bloodiest battles in US history

“The Battle of the Bulge is considered a turning point in the war, effectively paving the way for Allied forces to break through German defenses in western Europe. Less than six months after the battle, Nazi Germany surrendered…”

Unfortunately, the prophesied united Europe will be anything else but peaceful.

Pelosi Too Afraid!

The Associated Press wrote on December 19:

 “The top Senate Republican is denouncing the ‘unfair’ House impeachment of President Donald Trump and reassuring Trump and his supporters that ‘moments like this are why the United States Senate exists.’ Sen. Mitch McConnell, in remarks prepared for a Thursday floor speech, accused House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of being afraid to send ‘their shoddy work product to the Senate’ after she threw uncertainty into the impeachment process by refusing to say when she would send two impeachment articles to the Senate for a trial...

“Until the articles [abuse of power and obstruction of Congress] are submitted, the Senate cannot hold the trial [that is nearly certain to acquit the president, according to Newsmax and Bloomberg]… there is no Constitutional requirement on Pelosi to send them swiftly — or at all.”

The New York Times wrote on December 19:

“… the third-ranking House Democrat [James E. Clyburn of South Carolina], raised the possibility that the chamber could permanently withhold the articles from the Senate if it did not get assurances of a fair trial.”

Mitch McConnell even “threatened to cancel Donald Trump’s impeachment trial in the Senate if ‘scared’ Nancy Pelosi refuses to send him the formal articles of impeachment” (Daily Mail, December 19). On the other hand, President Trump demanded a trial in the Senate.

The Democrats have signed their death warrant. They might not only have guaranteed that Trump will be re-elected but they might also have managed to lose the House in the next election. Republicans are now unified as never before, while the Nation is deeply and incurably divided. Now, the House Democrats under Pelosi are trying to find a way out of their self-inflicted mortal wound, and delaying a Senate trial indefinitely might be their rationale for mitigating some damage. 

That new “tactic” won’t work. To suggest that the trial in the Senate might be unfair is the epitome of hypocrisy given the fact that the Democratic procedure under Adam Schiff and Jerry Nadler in the House was completely dictatorial, biased and utterly unfair.

Not Yet “Impeached”?

Newsmax and Bloomberg News wrote on December 19:

Lawyers… are exploring whether House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s decision to temporarily withhold articles of impeachment from the Senate could mean that the president hasn’t actually been impeached. The legal argument… is that if Trump has been officially impeached, the U.S. Senate should already have jurisdiction. Backers of the theory would argue that the clause of the U.S. Constitution that gives the Senate ‘the sole Power to try all Impeachments’ indicates that the impeachment is not formalized until the House reported the charges to the upper chamber.”

US Senate Sanctions Russian-German Pipeline

Deutsche Welle reported on December 17:

“US lawmakers on Tuesday approved sanctions on companies and governments working on the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline that will link Germany with Russian gas.

Companies providing services such as pipe laying are being targeted, as Washington tries [to] halt the completion of the $10.5 billion (€9.6 billion) pipeline, which would transport gas under the Baltic Sea. The sanctions, which overwhelmingly passed in the House last week, are expected to be signed into force as part of a defense spending bill by US President Donald Trump later this week.

“The Trump administration would then have 60 days to identify companies and individuals providing services on the pipeline. The sanctions would revoke US visas and block property of these individuals. Those targeted by the sanctions would then have 30 days to wind down their operations. Switzerland-based Allseas, which has been hired by Russia’s Gazprom to build the offshore section, is one company that could be targeted by the sanctions.

“US officials believe the pipeline will increase Europe’s reliance on Russian energy, put billions of dollars in Moscow’s coffers, and increase Russian President Putin’s influence.

However, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has urged the US not to meddle in European energy policy. Speaking on German television last week, Maas criticized the House decision to move ahead on Nord Stream 2 sanctions. ‘We think this is unacceptable, because it is ultimately a move to influence autonomous decisions that are made in Europe.’ ‘European energy policy is decided in Europe, not in the US,’ Maas later tweeted.

“The German-Russian Chamber of Commerce said last week that the pipeline is essential for European energy security and called for retaliatory sanctions on the US. German Bundestag member Andreas Nick told DW that sanctions over the Nord Stream 2 would unite Germany behind the project. ‘It’s an issue of national sovereignty, and it is potentially a liability for trans-Atlantic relations,’ said Nick.”

CNBC added on December 18 that the defense bill approved by the Senate includes US sanctions regarding the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, but that “the sanctions might not have much effect given that the Nord Stream 2 pipeline is almost complete.”

US House Approves $1.4 Trillion Spending Package

The Week wrote on December 18:

“The House approved a $1.4 trillion spending package Tuesday that would fund the federal government through Oct. 1, 2020. The Senate needs to pass [after some further compromise, the Senate passed the bill on Thursday] and President Trump sign the legislation before midnight Friday to prevent a government shutdown…”

The Associated Press added on December 17:

“The Democratic-controlled House [handed] President Donald Trump a victory on his U.S.-Mexico border fence… The hard-fought legislation also funds a record Pentagon budget… A tax on medical devices and health insurance plans would also be repealed permanently. Tuesday’s tax breaks [would] repeal the three so-called ‘Obamacare’ taxes…

“The increase in the tobacco purchasing age to 21 also applies to e-cigarettes and vaping devices… but anti-smoking activists said the provision didn’t go far enough because it failed to ban flavored vaping products popular with teenagers…

“The outcome in the latest chapter in the longstanding battle over Trump’s border wall awards Trump with $1.4 billion for new barriers — equal to last year’s appropriation — while preserving Trump’s ability to use his budget powers to tap other accounts for several times that amount. That’s a blow for liberal opponents of the wall…”

Trump emerges successfully… but the unprecedented amount of the spending package is astronomical.

Animal Sacrifices and the Third Temple

The Jerusalem Post wrote on December 12:

“‘Our ascent to the Temple Mount makes known God’s name in the World,’ said [Rabbi Eliyahu] Weber, who is styled the dean of the Temple Mount Yeshiva. Weber goes up to the Mount practically every day to recite the morning service with a minyan, and says he has done so for many months. ‘The essence of our presence on the Temple Mount shows that this place belongs to the Jewish people,’ said Weber… The final goal, however, is to rebuild the Temple. ‘The ultimate goal is to be able to offer sacrifices in the Temple,’ Weber says simply…

“There is religious controversy regarding Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount, let alone when it comes to work aimed at rebuilding the Temple. The influential Torah scholar Maimonides taught that the Temple would be built by Messiah. Other scholars believe that the Temple will descend from the heavens in the messianic era while the modern right-wing flank has called for Jews to build the Temple now and usher in the Messiah…”

There is no biblical evidence that the temple would descend from heaven. After the third resurrection, the heavenly Jerusalem will descend from the third heaven, but there will be no temple in it. The Bible teaches that the Jews will build the third temple prior to the return of Christ, and that this will apparently become the millennial temple as described in the book of Ezekiel.

Trump’s Plan for Israel

The Jerusalem Post wrote on December 17:

“Jerusalem will remain united under mostly Israeli control with some responsibilities shared with a Palestinian state including the West Bank and Gaza, according to a purported draft copy of US President Donald Trump’s ‘Deal of the Century’ peace plan for the Middle East published by the Lebanese Al-Mayadeen TV channel on Monday. The unconfirmed reported draft details the timetable and methods of the plan.

“The parts that were released by the TV channel, which is based in Lebanon and affiliated with Hezbollah, discuss a trilateral peace agreement between the Palestinian Authority, Hamas and Israel in which a ‘new Palestinian state’ would be established in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, excluding the settlement blocs which would remain as a part of Israel… Jerusalem will not be split up in the agreement, but instead will be ‘shared’ between Israel and the Palestinian state, with the Arab population of the city becoming residents of the Palestinian state…

“The United States will provide 20% of the funds in the agreement, while the EU will provide 10% and the Gulf nations will provide 70%. The contribution provided by the Gulf nations will be split between them according to their oil producing capabilities. According to the draft, an agreement will be signed between Israel and the new Palestinian state, with Israel providing protection to the state from ‘external aggression,’ while the Palestinians pay for it…

“Upon the signing of the agreement, Hamas will hand over its weapons and armaments to Egypt, and members of Hamas will receive monthly salaries from Arab nations… The Jordan Valley would remain under Israeli control…

“If Hamas and the PLO reject the deal, the United States will end all financial support they provide to the Palestinians and will try to prevent other countries from providing support to the Palestinians… In any military confrontation between Israel and Hamas, the US will support Israel in order to harm the leaders of Hamas and [PLO] as the US won’t accept a situation in which dozens of people control the fate of millions. If Israel rejects the deal, the US will end economic support to the state…

“A letter published in The Guardian by former EU officials, including six prime ministers and 25 foreign ministers, called for postponing the ‘Deal of the Century’ because it is unfair to the Palestinians. In the letter, which was sent to the European Union and EU governments, the former leaders argue that Europe must stand by the two-state solution and condemn the Trump administration’s policy, which they claim is unilaterally in favor of Israel.”

If the report on the contemplated “Deal of the Century” is accurate, then there is no chance that that deal would be accepted by the involved parties. It would constitute another total waste of time and energy.

What Trump Did for Israel

JTA wrote on December 12:

“He has been willing to take action on issues pertaining to Israel and the broader Jewish community that past presidents had shied away from, creating a fervent right-wing Jewish fan base… Trump has forcefully condemned anti-Semitism

“Here’s a list of his most momentous moves in relation to the Jewish state: Recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Moved the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. Sent a fierce Israel defender, Nikki Haley, to the United Nations, where she used her office to bash the institution for anti-Israel bias. Slashed U.S. funding for the Palestinians. Pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu despises.

 “Those all add up to arguably… the most pro-Israel and most controversial Middle East policy agenda ever.

 “There’s one area of disagreement between Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu:… In September 2019, Trump abandoned the U.S.’ Kurdish allies [in Syria], leaving room for Turkey and the Assad regime to cement their influence on the region. Other Israeli politicians… said that the United States abandoning a trusted Middle Eastern ally was not a good precedent for the U.S.-Israel relationship…   in September of 2019 [Trump also said] he was considering a U.S.-Israel defense pact.”

The now very friendly relationship between the USA and Israel is remarkable, in that prophetic events can and will take place soon, which would otherwise be impossible to occur.

Turkey and Israel on Brink

Express wrote on December 18:

“According to an investigation by The Daily Telegraph the Palestinian group [Hamas] is using Turkey as a safe harbour to plot suicide bombings and assassinations in Israel. The report also claims that Hamas maintains close ties to Turkey’s intelligence agencies, while its top leaders and activists travel freely to the country, with some now living in Istanbul. Hamas is a militant group who are opposed to Israel’s existence within any borders…

“The organisation is considered a terrorist group by the EU and US, while its armed wing has been designated a terror group by the UK… in a sign of the close relations between the Turkish state and Hamas, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met the group’s leader Ismail Haniyeh last weekend. After the meeting, Mr Erdogan re-iterated his support for Hamas, telling reporters: ‘We will keep on supporting our brothers in Palestine.’”

The report by the Daily Telegraph rings true. Turkey will continue to behave antagonistically towards Israel.

Dangers of an “Accidental” War

Daily Star wrote on December 18:

“Gerasimov, the chief [of] Vladimir Putin’s general staff, has said he believes the West are preparing for a ‘large-scale military conflict’… saying that the West has assigned ‘adversary status’ to Russia… NATO and Russia both have shipped tonnes of military hardware to the frontier in eastern Europe… General Gerasimov warned this could accidentally spiral into conflict between Russia and NATO – World War 3

“General Gerasimov said both Moscow and the West must reduce the risk of clashes. It comes after a string of military incidents between the two sides, with warships and warplanes often ‘buzzing’ each other in eastern Europe…

“Meanwhile, US Major General Barre Seguin… confirmed the US is to send 20,000 troops to Europe next April and May in its biggest military exercises on European soil since the Cold War… to mass around 37,000 troops along the eastern flank…”

According to the Bible, a nuclear war will ensue between a united Europe and a Far Eastern power bloc under Russian and Chinese leadership.

Russia’s Persecution of Jehovah’s Witnesses

Deutsche Welle wrote on December 13:

“One man became the second Jehovah’s Witness to receive a six year prison sentence in Russia in the last two months. Moscow has outlawed the fringe Christian group [in 2017], saying they are dangerous extremists… The government has been trying to crack down on the US-based Christian sect, which has been completely outlawed in Russia… ‘The current state of religious freedom in Russia is reminiscent of Soviet times,’ said Jehovah’s Witness spokesman Jarrod Lopes in New York…

“Both the government and the Russian Orthodox Church have said that the Jehovah’s Witnesses, who believe in predestination as well as several other fringe Christian doctrines, are a threat to the country’s institutions. However… even President Vladimir Putin has called into question the need to target the group. Still, Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said there were no immediate plans to change the law.”

When being confronted, Putin, the proverbial chameleon, will say whatever may be convenient at the time. The persecution of the Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia is appalling and signals further coming persecution of any religious minority group which is not part of the Russian Orthodox Church.

End of Religious Exemptions for Vaccines even in isolated Private Schools

WKSG news reported on November 7, 2019:

“A state appeals court in Seneca County has upheld New York’s elimination of religious exemptions to vaccine requirements… This is the first school year in which a medical exemption form signed by a doctor is the only way around vaccination requirements for students enrolled in public, private or parochial schools in New York.

“The case in Seneca County focused on an Amish family represented by Long Island attorney Jason Mermigis… All 24 of the students at the private school are unvaccinated, the complaint said. Forcing the children to be vaccinated would be a ‘betrayal of faith in God’ for their father, Jonas Stoltzfus, Mermigis wrote…

“Under the rules barring religious exemptions to vaccines, schools can be fined up to $2,000 per day for each student who is out of compliance… Mermigis said the family lives in a secluded community, and they would not put anyone else at risk by being unvaccinated…”

The Associated Press added on December 16:

“New Jersey’s Assembly on Monday passed a measure to eliminate religious exemptions for vaccines for [public and private school children as well as for child care centers].… but the Democrat-controlled state Senate postponed a vote because there weren’t enough yes votes…

“If approved, the bill would go to Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy’s desk. His office declined to say what he would do with the bill. New Jersey would join a handful of states, including New York and California, in doing away with the religious exemption, if the bill becomes law… Forty-five states and the District of Columbia allow for religious exemptions to immunizations…”

It is no surprise that left-wing liberal states like California and New York would eradicate religious exemptions. The paranoia regarding this whole matter is breathtaking.  

Changing “Values”

Axios wrote on December 16:

“The industry is changing fast. PBS is planning to increase its LGBTQ programming on broadcast and digital next year… NPR was recently applauded for embracing a plurality of diverse voices on its air. Disney hosted its first ‘Magical Pride’ celebration at one of its theme parks in Paris earlier this year. Highlights, a children’s magazine, made headlines two years ago when it featured an illustration of a same-sex couple in an issue for the first time.

“The bottom line: 61% of Americans support same-sex marriage, up from 31% in 2004…”

The sign of the times and the beginning of sorrows… Walt Disney would turn in his grave if he could and if he knew…

Criminalizing Conversion Therapy for Minors in Germany

Deutsche Welle wrote on December 18:

“Germany moved one step closer to banning ‘conversion therapy’ targeting transgender and gay people after its Cabinet approved a draft bill…  The bill will next be presented to Germany’s lower house, Health Minister Jens Spahn told the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland news group (RND). If the bill passes both houses of parliament, advertising or offering conversion therapy will be banned and infringements will carry fines of up to €30,000 ($33,000). After the proposed ban, only adults who freely seek out the… ‘therapy’ will be legally permitted to undergo it… The bill passed by the Cabinet was amended to include banning the practice for 16- to 18-year-olds

“A previous draft of the bill would have allowed the practice on 16- to 18-year-olds if the practitioner could prove the patient understood its implications and risks. Under the bill, parents or caregivers would also be punished for making a 16- to 18-year-old undergo the therapy…”

It should come as no surprise that Jens Spahn is openly gay. Germany, as usual, finds itself in the forefront of promoting highly controversial matters. As we reported in the last Update, Germany is also largely to be blamed for the abominable sex education classes in Europe, including the directive to familiarize children with homosexuality. Note the next article as an opposite example.

EU Attacks Poland over Stance on Family

Deutsche Welle wrote on December 18:

“The European Parliament adopted a resolution… condemning so-called ‘LGBTI-free’ zones in Poland…

“Neither same-sex marriage nor civil unions are allowed in Poland…”

The resolution reads, in part, as follows:

“In a resolution adopted by 463 votes in favour, 107 against and 105 abstentions on Wednesday, MEPs express their deep concern at the growing number of attacks on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people in the EU by states, state officials, national and local governments as well as politicians. Recent examples include homophobic statements during a referendum campaign in Romania and hate speech targeting LGBTI people in the context of elections in Estonia, Spain, the UK, Hungary and Poland…

“MEPs notably condemn the areas ‘free from LGBTI ideology’’ established since the beginning of 2019, by dozens of municipalities, counties and regions in the southeast of Poland. These local governments have issued non-binding resolutions pledging to refrain from taking any action to encourage tolerance of LGBTI people and saying they would not provide financial assistance to NGOs working to promote equal rights. The European Parliament urges Polish authorities to condemn these acts and to revoke all resolutions attacking LGBTI rights…”

“Parliament also deplores the attacks carried out against LGBTI people by some member states’ public authorities, targeted at educational institutions and schools. MEPs recall that schools should be places that reinforce and protect the fundamental rights of all children…”

Instead, children are being encouraged in school to engage in homosexual conduct, labeling it as normal. It is troublesome to see how it is tried to enforce the gay agenda on others. In addition, Deutsche Welle reported on December 17 that in the British Parliament, “the number of out gay, lesbian and bisexual MPs [is] more than [in] any other parliament in the world.”

Blaspheming Jesus Christ

Breaking Israel News wrote on December 12:

“… get ready for what’s become a new vulgar Christmas tradition; propagating the delusional denial that Jesus was a Jew. The denial of Jesus’ Jewishness gets ‘better’ by making up the claim not only that Jesus was a Palestinian Arab, but that he was the first Palestinian…

“It’s well documented that Jesus was from the tribe of Judah, and that he was born in Bethlehem, the land designated for Judah’s decedents. That’s why the area around Bethlehem is known as the Judean Mountains today, as it was called Judea then. Why, if Jesus was born in Judea, were his parents visiting from Nazareth in the Galilee where Jesus spent most of his life. This is documented in the New Testament (Luke 2:1-7) that Joseph and Mary returned from Nazareth to Judea during Sukkot (Tabernacles) to participate in a Roman census

“At a news conference at the United Nations in 1983, (PLO leader Yasser) Arafat called Jesus ‘the first Palestinian fedayeen [militiaman] who carried his sword.’ When Arafat triumphantly took control of Bethlehem in December 1995, he told a throng gathered in Manger Square that he was there to liberate ‘the birthplace of our Lord the Messiah… the city of the Palestinian Jesus!’ During a visit to the Vatican a few years later, Arafat even greeted Pope John Paul II as ‘the successor of Peter, the first Palestinian pope.’…

“Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, describes Jesus as ‘a Palestinian messenger of love, justice and peace.’ Palestinian Authority leader Saeb Erekat has referred to Jesus as the ‘first Palestinian shahid (martyr)’… What’s next, that the last supper was not a Passover Seder but a Ramadan break-fast?

“Claiming Jesus was a Palestinian goes hand in hand with what I term Temple Denial Syndrome: the Palestinian Arab absurdity that there was never a Temple on the temple Mount. Despite historical and biblical reality, and despite that in 1925 the Islamic Wakf documented that their mosques do in fact sit in the site of Solomon’s Temple, that’s what they want you to believe.

“Only after the Bar Kochba rebellion, in the year 132, did Rome rename Israel as Palestina in order to underscore that Judea had been sacked, purging Jewish connection to the Land… Further documenting this, ancient Roman coins have been found with the phrase ‘Judea Capta,’ Judea is Captured. Not ‘Palestine is captured.’ There was no Palestine, ergo Jesus is not, was not and could not have been a Palestinian. ‘Palestine’ didn’t even exist when he lived… [it is] certain is that he was a Jew, something the Romans underscored when they crucified him, mockingly calling him King of the Jews.”

Jesus was clearly a Jew (Hebrews 7:14; John 4:22). Making matters worse, a new Brazilian “comedy” on Netflix portrays Jesus as gay. Also, the first and the second temples clearly stood on the Temple Mount. Ideas to the contrary are unbiblical and without any shred of evidence whatsoever.

Liberal Jews and Christmas Trees

Brandeis Now wrote on December 16:

“Louis Brandeis was well known for becoming the first Jewish person appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court. So it may seem surprising that he celebrated the winter holidays with a Christmas tree in his home… Christmas trees were common in the homes of secular American Jews at the time. What’s happened since then is more complex. ‘In the late 19th century, there were quite a few liberal Jews – especially those from central European backgrounds – who had Christmas trees in their homes and saw them as secular symbols of the season,’ University Professor Jonathan Sarna told BrandeisNOW… ‘Christmas isn’t even mentioned in the New Testament – trees were not necessarily ubiquitous at Christmas – so some Jews felt the trees were a symbol that could be shared by people of all faiths,’ said Sarna…

“‘The rise of the state of Israel, which saw itself as the heir to the Maccabees, led to a strengthening of Hanukkah as a holiday versus Christmas,’ Sarna said… Hanukkah, whose origin dates back to the Maccabean Wars of 160-167 CE, isn’t considered a Jewish high holiday and [barely] appears in the Talmud. But its celebration became more widespread thanks to its proximity on the calendar to Christmas.

“Jews gave gifts of money when they celebrated Hanukkah in the 19th century – a tradition that continues today with gelt. But receiving presents became more mainstream at Hanukkah after Christmas became a national holiday in 1870… ‘When Christmas became a national holiday, Jewish children felt discriminated against,’ Sarna said. ‘Christian children received gifts and Jewish children felt left out. Parents took note, and there is no doubt the tradition of Hanukkah gifts, apart from gelt, was influenced by the surrounding culture of gift-giving at Christmas.’

“In the last 40 years, Sarna says two specific groups have brought back the tradition of bringing Christmas trees into the home: Russian-speaking Jews and inter-married couples. Christmas was banned as a religious holiday in the Soviet Union, but the tree remained a symbol of the new year. As such, Russian-speaking Jewish immigrants continue to see the tree as a secular symbol of winter. Sarna said intermarried couples, where one partner is Christian, might have a Christmas tree as a matter of compromise… ‘Lots of intermarried Jews find their non-Jewish spouses miss the Christmas tree and feel they can have a menorah and a tree as multiple symbols of the season,’ Sarna said…”

Liberal “secular” Jews engage in all kinds of additional “observances” which are clearly connected to pagan-filled “Christianity.”

Pontifical Secret Abolished

The Associated Press reported on December 17:

“Pope Francis abolished the ‘pontifical secret’ used in clergy sexual abuse cases Tuesday, responding to mounting criticism that the high degree of confidentiality has been used to protect pedophiles, silence victims and prevent police from investigating crimes… In a new law, Francis decreed that information in abuse cases must be protected by church leaders to ensure its ‘security, integrity and confidentiality.’ But he said ‘pontifical secret,’ the highest form of confidentiality in the church, no longer applies to abuse-related accusations, trials and decisions under the Catholic Church’s canon law.

“The Vatican’s leading sex crimes investigator, Archbishop Charles Scicluna, said the reform was an ‘epochal decision’ that will facilitate coordination with civil law enforcement and open up lines of communication with victims…

“Francis also raised from 14 to 18 the cutoff age below which the Vatican considers pornographic images to be child pornography – a response to the Vatican’s increasing awareness of the prolific spread of online child porn that has frequently implicated even high-ranking churchmen

Pope Benedict XVI, when he was a cardinal, had persuaded the pope to decree in 2001 that these cases must be dealt with under ‘pontifical secret.’…  The Vatican had long insisted that such confidentiality was necessary to protect the privacy of the victim, the reputation of the accused and the integrity of the canonical process…

“According to the new instruction… the Vatican still doesn’t mandate reporting the crimes to police, saying religious superiors are obliged to do so where civil reporting laws require it…”

The practical application of the change is still pretty much unclear and undefined.

The Length of a Sermon

The Associated Press wrote on December 15:

“According to Pew… Catholic sermons [are] the shortest, at a median of just 14 minutes, compared with 25 minutes for sermons in mainline Protestant congregations and 39 minutes in evangelical Protestant congregations. Historically black Protestant churches had by far the longest sermons, at a median of 54 minutes.

“Pew said sermons at the black churches lasted longer than mainline Protestant sermons even though, on average, they had roughly the same number of words. A possible explanation, Pew said, is that the preachers at black churches allow more time during their sermons for musical interludes, responses from worshippers in the pews and dramatic pauses in their oratory.”

Following the well-considered example of the Worldwide Church of God under Herbert W. Armstrong, sermons in the Church of the Eternal God last, on an average, from 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes.  (A sermon is not being interrupted by responses from worshippers.) In addition, sermonettes of approximately 10 to 15 minutes in length are given in a Church service. A “sermon” in the Catholic Church would qualify, just based on length, as a sermonette in the Church of the Eternal God.

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.

This Week in the News

The Most History-Shaping Election since WW II

The Associated Press wrote on December 9:

“Britain is facing the most testing and significant period in its modern history since World War II. The polarized electorate now has a critical choice to make — but it seems unlikely the result… will heal deep and toxic divisions

“This election [on December 12] will shape the country’s future.”

Axios wrote on December 9:

“This has been a brutal campaign fought by two leaders who are disliked and distrusted by broad swaths of the public. Johnson has been accused of repeatedly misleading voters, while opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn has been charged with allowing anti-Semitism to fester within his Labour Party…”

Johnson Wins Big

 JTA wrote on December 12:

 “Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party has defeated Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party by a large margin in Britain’s general elections on Thursday, exit polls indicate. The Conservatives received 368 seats out of 650 according to the polls by BBC, ITV and Sky News, with Labour lagging far behind with 191…

“Many British Jews have said the elections are particularly fateful for them because they believe that the Labour Party has become institutionally anti-Semitic under its left-wing leader, Jeremy Corbyn, who was elected to lead the party in 2015… If the exit polls are accurate, it would be the worst performance by Labour in any general election since the World War II…”

 It would also be the biggest victory for the Conservatives since 1987.

Brexit Almost Certainly a Given!

 The Sun added on December 12:

 “The expected results mean Britain’s political chaos could finally be over, leaving Boris with the numbers to push his Brexit deal through Parliament in weeks… Exit polls… almost always correctly predict the outcome of general elections and are known to be accurate…”

BBC News wrote on December 12:

“If the exit polls pans out – it means one big constitutional question will be ‘solved’. The UK will leave the European Union under Boris Johnson. There will be bumps along the road and negotiating a new trade deal might not be easy. But a Tory majority government will take the UK out of the EU. If the numbers in Scotland play out, though, another constitutional clash is coming… So while Brexit might become easier to deliver – there will still be big debates over the future of the UK…”

Scotland is vehemently opposed to Brexit.

The Huffington Post wrote on December 12:

“… a newly empowered Prime Minister Boris Johnson will be able to claim a mandate to ‘get Brexit done’ on his terms, likely killing off any chance of a second referendum on Britain’s membership in the European Union… [The results give] the Conservatives an unexpectedly large majority of 86 seats, if the poll is accurate… Brexit was central to the campaign run by Johnson, who is pushing to leave the European Union by the end of January…”

ABC News wrote on December 12:

“If early exit polls are any indication, Conservatives have won a huge victory in U.K.’s closely watched general election… The victory would mean a clear vindication for Brexit-champion Boris Johnson, who would remain as prime minister.”

The anti-Brexit tabloid Bild Online stated: “By the end of January, it will apparently be said: ‘Bye-Bye EU!’” But the tabloids also pointed out that difficult negotiations between the EU and Great Britain will continue until the end of 2020, to determine the future relationship between the two power blocs.

Die German paper Die Welt commented: “Brexit will now almost certainly happen by the end of January.”

Ukraine between EU and Russia

The Associated Press wrote on December 8:

“Germany’s longer-term economic interests are a continual challenge for Ukraine. Berlin is seen as having harmed Ukraine’s interests by moving forward with the completion of a Russian-German gas pipeline called Nord Stream 2 that will bring Russian natural gas to Western Europe. Its route bypasses Ukraine, cutting off its leverage as a transit country and an income source…

“Vadim Karasev, head of the Institute of Global Strategies, an independent Kyiv-based think tank, said the Europeans ‘have grown tired of Kyiv’s endless problems… European powers, he said, ‘can’t endlessly deal with Kyiv’s problems when they have their own issues to solve.’”

Russia the Clear Winner

Deutsche Welle wrote on December 9:

“Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky agreed to implement a cease-fire in eastern Ukraine by year-end, following their first meeting on Monday at a summit in Paris mediated by France and Germany… The four-way summit with the leaders of Germany and France also led to all sides agreeing to implement an ‘all for all’ prisoner exchange by the end of the year.”

Bild Online commented: “For years, Putin plays dumb, deceiving the world. And Macron and Merkel are ‘extras.’”

Newsmax added on December 9:

“The presidents of Ukraine and Russia… failed to resolve crucial issues such as a timeline on local elections and control of the borders in the rebel-held region… the two leaders failed to find a compromise to bring an end to the 5-year-old war that has killed 14,000 people, emboldened the Kremlin and reshaped European geopolitics…

“A major breakthrough at the Paris talks had been seen as unlikely… With U.S. influence waning around the world, many in Kyiv see one clear winner: Russia.”

Deutsche Welle added on December 10:

“The Ukrainian president may consider the Paris summit to be a draw with Russia, but he couldn’t be more wrong… The West and Ukraine are willing to compromise to woo [Putin], the undisputed ruler of Russia…

“The annexation of the peninsula by Russia was not even on the agenda in Paris. But… [it] helps prevent Ukraine’s ambitions to move closer towards the EU and NATO, as countries with ongoing conflicts cannot be admitted as members…”

The Bible reveals very clearly that ultimately, Ukraine and Russia will be working together AGAINST Europe.

House Democrats Push for Impeachment of President Trump

Breitbart wrote on December 10:

“House Democrats on Tuesday unveiled two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump over his contacts with Ukraine: Abuse of power and obstruction of Congress… The charges… stem from second-hand allegations brought forth in a whistleblower complaint by a partisan CIA officer, who alleged President Trump attempted to pressure the leader of Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, in exchange for U.S. military aid. Both President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have both vehemently denied any pressure was applied during their July 25 telephone conversation at the center of the impeachment inquiry.

“Notably absent from the articles were any mention of bribery, which House Democrats accused the president of committing in his dealings with Ukraine. Also absent was an article regarding past claims that the president obstructed special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into now-debunked criminal conspiracy between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia…”

Democrats decided against introducing additional articles of impeachment [such as, obstruction of justice and bribery], fearing that such additions might not even be accepted by the House controlled by the Democrats and that they would clearly guarantee their defeat in upcoming elections. Regardless, Democrats have already signed their death warrant for political suicide, as the impeachment circus will fall flat in the Senate. Trump will once again emerge as the winner and be re-elected in 2020.

No Grounds for Impeachment

Breitbart wrote on December 10:

“Democrats’ articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump allege… the two weakest possible charges among the many the House had been considering.

“The term ‘abuse of power’ does not appear in the Constitution’s Impeachment Clause, which specifies that Congress’s power of impeachment covers ‘Treason, Bribery, or other High Crimes and Misdemeanors.’…

“Harvard Law School professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz… argues… that ‘abuse of power’ is never impeachable — at least not without an underlying crime. In this case, there is none…

“Legal scholar Cass Sunstein, a former Obama administration official and an intellectual leader on the left, published a crucial book…  in 2017… Of ‘obstruction of Congress,’ Sunstein said that a president cannot be impeached simply for resisting subpoenas. A mere ‘conflict between the branches’ of government, he declared, is ‘no legitimate basis for impeachment’…”

Even scholars from the left state clearly that the Democrats have no case against Trump. But it had to develop in this way so as to guarantee that Trump will stay in office after the next election.

NAFTA Revised

The Independent wrote on December 10:

“House speaker Nancy Pelosi has announced that Democrats have reached a deal on Donald Trump’s revised version of Nafta, just after her caucus introduced two articles of impeachment against the president. The deal would revise the 1990s free trade agreement between the countries [USA, Mexico and Canada], with slight tweaks that would especially impact the autos sector, copyright and the US dairy industry.

“But the timing of the deal shows that Ms Pelosi is also playing a shrewd political game, knowing that some of her most vulnerable members may be sticking their necks out by backing impeachment against Mr Trump. At the same time, Democrats are risking handing Mr Trump a major trade victory with just under a year before the 2020 election.”

Again, the “politics” of the Democrats portray an attitude of willful self-infliction and harm.

Escalation of Chinese-American Trade War

Express wrote on December 11:

“China has ordered all its government offices and public institutions to remove American computers amid trade negotiations between the two countries failing to progress… this is likely to hit US companies such as HP, Dell and Microsoft hard. Analysts at Jefferies say that US technology companies generate as much as $150bn a year in revenues from China…

 “This comes after US President Donald Trump’s administration banned US companies from doing business with Chinese telecoms equipment maker Huawei earlier this year… Washington was said to be concerned about Chinese technology companies helping the government to conduct cyber espionage. Huawei was a particular concern as it helped build ultra-high-speed 5G networks around the world.”

This trade war, and others which are pending or which will arise, WOULD be very harmful to the American people. However, it was just announced by Newsmax, dated December 12, that  “The White House reached a ‘deal in principle’ with Beijing on trade… In the current deal, the United States would suspend tariffs expected to go into effect on $160 billion in Chinese goods, and Beijing has promised to buy more U.S. agricultural goods…”

NATO’s Uncertain Future and Europe’s Destiny

On December 4, Project Syndicate published the following article by Joschka Fischer who was German Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor from 1998-2005:

“A profound change in US strategic priorities under President Donald Trump demands that Europeans revisit long-held assumptions about their collective defense. The result is that Europe must fend for itself for the first time since the end of World War II. Yet after so many years of strategic dependence [on] the US, Europe is unprepared – not just materially but psychologically – for today’s harsh geopolitical realities. Nowhere is this truer than in Germany.

“NATO’s future is more uncertain now than at any time in its history… NATO’s survival can no longer be taken for granted, and Europeans cannot wait 20 years to figure out what should come after it…  Europe has no choice but to become a power in its own right… But Europeans should not harbor any illusions about what defense autonomy will require.

“… NATO still exists, and there are still US troops deployed in Europe. But the operative word is ‘still.’… the alliance’s unraveling has become less a matter of ‘if’ than ‘when.’… Macron understands this, whereas Germany, in typical fashion, is paying mere lip service to its old commitments, promising to increase its defense spending but making little real headway. Macron understands that the rupture in Europe’s defense following a withdrawal of US troops… would unfold… as a sudden break… Europe… must make substantial investments in its military and expand its own capabilities on a massive scale. In other words, it must act as if the break has already happened…

“Trump’s nationalist shift under the slogan of ‘America first’ has suddenly forced Europe to confront the question of its own sovereignty, which means becoming an independent technological power with the ability to act decisively as a united front. The EU never would have done so of its own volition. Trump, whatever his intent, is forcing Europe to reinvent itself… the EU must act as if the alliance was already gone.”

Angela Merkel has been described in the German press as someone who is sound asleep. But others are not, and sooner than later, European core nations, under a new German leadership, will unite to create a powerful military unity.

Annexation of the Jordan Valley?

The Times of Israel News wrote on December 5:

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the possible annexation of the Jordan Valley and other parts of the West Bank with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during their talks here… Netanyahu stressed, however, that ‘These things are much easier when you have a government…’

“Netanyahu also said he and Pompeo agreed to move forward with plans for a joint defense treaty… Asked about the International Criminal Court chief prosecutor’s statement, issued earlier on Thursday, that she was ‘concerned’ about Netanyahu’s vow to apply Israeli sovereignty over the Jordan Valley, he replied tersely: ‘It’s our full right to do it, if we decide to do it.’”

Israel will go forward with plans such as the ones described in this article.

Praying on the Temple Mount

The Jerusalem Post wrote on December 5:

“Until recently, police have prevented Jews and other non-Muslims from praying conspicuously on the Temple Mount out of a concern that such activity would stoke tensions and lead to violence from Muslim worshipers. In the past, the police would routinely eject or detain any non-Muslim seen to be praying at the holy site, and this stance was mostly backed by the courts, which ruled that although in theory Jewish prayer was legal on the Temple Mount the police were entitled to prevent it due to security considerations. But all this has changed in recent months.

“According to Elishama Sandman, a spokesman for the Yeraeh Temple Mount visitation advocacy group, the prayer services have been taking place at least since Passover this year… He said however that the various Temple Mount activist groups are ‘not satisfied’ with the new situation, and hope eventually that the prayer services can be more organized, and that prayer will be possible with prayer shawls, tefillin, prayer books and a Torah scroll. ‘The ultimate vision is of course that the Temple be rebuilt on the Temple Mount,’ he said.”

Jewish prayers on the Temple Mount are another step towards bringing animal sacrifices and building the prophesied third temple on the Temple Mount.

New Israeli Elections in March

 The Week wrote on December 11:

 “Israel in March will vote in a third election within a year, after a final deadline for forming a government passed Wednesday and parliament moved to disband itself.

 “In the country’s last election in September, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his challenger Benny Gantz were essentially deadlocked. That meant Netanyahu was given the first opportunity to form a coalition, and when he failed to do so, Gantz took the reigns. But he also couldn’t execute an agreement, which — in an unprecedented move — meant the mandate was passed to parliament, which got one last opportunity before the clock ran down and elections became the only option.”

 The Algemeiner added on December 11:

 “What had once seemed nearly impossible to many Israelis — a third visit to polling stations after the inconclusive ballots of April and September — carries a heavy economic price: it will be well into 2020 before a new budget is passed, which will mean months of cutbacks that will weigh on growth…

 “But this time, Israel‘s longest-serving leader [Benjamin Netanyahu, 70,] is running under the cloud of a criminal indictment announced last month… As prime minister, Netanyahu is under no legal obligation to resign as a result of the indictment, and while in office he can ask the legislature to grant him immunity from prosecution.

 “As caretaker premier, Netanyahu would remain in the post until a new government is formed — a process that could stretch months past a March [2] ballot if what is likely to be tortuous coalition-building is taken into account.”

Pope Compares Trump with King Herod!

Breaking Israel News wrote on December 6:

“In a report published on Thursday, it was reported that while on a recent visit to Buddhists in Thailand, Pope Francis addressed the issue of refugees, comparing the policy of building walls and detention centers to the acts of King Herod who killed Jesus… ‘there are walls that even separate children from parents,’ Pope Francis said in an oblique reference to President Trump’s policies on the southern border, suggesting that the policies will ultimately fail. ‘Herod comes to mind. Yet for drugs, there’s no wall to keep them out.’

“King Herod, also known as Herod the Great, was a Roman client king of Judea. Herod’s family were converts to Judaism and his religious commitment was questioned by some elements of Jewish society. While Herod publicly identified himself as a Jew and was considered as such by some, this religious identification was undermined by the decadent lifestyle of the Herodians… Herod later executed several members of his own family, including his wife Mariamne.

“In the account of the Massacre of the Innocents in the New Testament, in an attempt to kill the infant Jesus, Herod gave orders to kill all boys of the age of two and under in Bethlehem and its vicinity.”

A very unfortunate comparison by the Pope, whether it was made intentionally or not.

Merkel Visits Auschwitz

Deutsche Welle reported on December 6:

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel viewed what may be the most devastating testimonial to the industrial murder perpetrated by the Nazis at Auschwitz-Birkenau: The building that houses the personal belongings of those people who were sent to their deaths at the camp. She saw enormous mounds of human hair, thousands of pairs of glasses and a mountain of suitcases…

“Merkel [addressed] the alarming increase in racism, hate crimes, intolerance, xenophobia and anti-Semitism…

“Following Helmut Schmidt (1977), and Helmut Kohl (1989 and 1995), Merkel became just the third German chancellor to visit Auschwitz… As the early afternoon sun begins to set in the west, Merkel’s journey through the darkest chapter of German history also came to a close. She saw the ruins of the gas chambers and the remnants of Birkenau’s crematorium. She stood in front of a rail car parked at the camp’s train platform, where more than 1 million people stepped off of trains and to their deaths.”

Sadly, as many fear, another Holocaust WILL happen. It is clearly prophesied in the Bible.

Germany’s Young Socialites Condemn Government for Anti-Israel Stance

The Jerusalem Post wrote on December 9:

“The youth organization of Germany’s Social Democratic Party (SPD) condemned in late November its leadership’s anti-Israel voting record at the UN. The Young Socialists (Jusos) organization wrote that the ‘disproportionate condemnation of Israel, the only democratic state in the Middle East’ is a problem affecting UN bodies ‘that is carried out not only by states of the Middle East, but also European states who pass, or abstain from, anti-Israel resolutions.’ Jusos urged Germany to ‘dissociate from the initiatives and alliances of antisemitic member states in the bodies and specialized agencies of the United Nations.’…

“There are over 70,000 members of the Jusos who fall into the age group 14 to 35 years-old.

“Germany’s Social Democratic Foreign Minister [Heiko] Maas has greenlighted nearly 30 condemnations of the Jewish state at the UN since 2018. Christoph Heusgen, Germany’s ambassador to the UN, compared Israel in March with the jihadi terrorist organization Hamas. Maas and Chancellor Angela Merkel[‘s] administration have rejected efforts to change Germany’s anti-Israel voting pattern at the UN. The Free Democratic Party pushed an initiative in the Bundestag in the Spring to reverse the alleged anti-Israel bias of the Merkel administration. Merkel’s party, the Christian Democratic Union, and the SPD rejected the initiative.”

The track record of politicians such as Maas and Heusgen is clearly appalling in this regard; and so is the at least passive approval of Angela Merkel, which stands in deep contrast to her visit at Auschwitz.

“Ninth Circuit Lifts Injunctions Blocking Trump’s ‘Public Charge’ Rule for Immigrants”

Politico wrote on December 5:

“A divided federal appeals court has lifted several injunctions blocking the Trump administration from implementing a rule aimed at limiting immigration benefits for individuals who participate in government programs such as food stamps or Medicaid.

“In an order Thursday, a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals voted, 2-1, to stay preliminary injunctions issued by federal judges in Oakland, Calif., and Spokane, Wash., against the newly issued ‘public charge’ policy just before it was to take effect in October.

“However, the policy remains on hold because judges in Maryland and New York City also blocked the new rules nationwide and their decisions are unaffected by the ruling from the 9th Circuit, which has jurisdiction over nine Western states. The Justice Department is also appealing the other injunctions.

“The majority on the 9th Circuit panel said the Trump administration was likely to prevail in its arguments that it had legal authority to issue regulations to broaden the definition of what constituted someone likely to become dependent on public assistance. ‘We find that the history of the use of “public charge” in federal immigration law demonstrates that “public charge” does not have a fixed, unambiguous meaning,’ Judge Jay Bybee wrote, joined by Judge Sandra Ikuta. ‘Rather, the phrase is subject to multiple interpretations, it in fact has been interpreted differently, and the Executive Branch has been afforded the discretion to interpret it… the wisdom of the policy is not a question we can review,’ added Bybee, who, like Ikuta, was appointed by President George W. Bush.

“The third judge on the panel, John Owens, [who was appointed by Obama] dissented, saying he would have denied the stay and allowed the injunctions to remain in place pending more thorough review by the appeals court…”

These are alarming developments for millions upon millions of (potential) immigrants, and when the case ends up with the US Supreme Court, the opinion of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals might very well prevail.

Prosecuting the Innocent and Supporting the Guilty

Breitbart wrote on December 6:

“The criminal case against the undercover video journalists who exposed the fetal tissue trafficking activity of Planned Parenthood and its allies in the biomedical procurement industry is headed to trial. Former California Attorney General Kamala Harris, now a U.S. senator and former 2020 presidential candidate, initiated the case against David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt of Center for Medical Progress. When Harris was elected to the U.S. Senate, her successor, current Attorney General Xavier Becerra, continued the case.

“The undercover citizen journalists were charged with 15 felony counts, 14 counts of illegal recording of confidential conversations and one count of conspiracy. The case makes them the first undercover journalists to be criminally prosecuted in the history of the state of California. On Friday, Judge Christopher Hite of San Francisco Superior Court announced nine of the felony charges had sufficient evidence to proceed to trial. Hite dropped the remaining six charges.

“Daleiden said in a statement: ‘Former California Attorney General Kamala Harris concocted this bogus, biased prosecution with her Planned Parenthood backers against undercover video reporting… The real criminals are the Planned Parenthood leadership who sold fetal body parts from late-term abortions and weaponized the justice system to try to cover it up.’…

“Thomas More Society Vice President and Senior Counsel Peter Breen, said that Daleiden used the same practices other undercover journalists have used to expose corruption. ‘David Daleiden is being charged as a criminal for openly delivering information that the public has a right to know, information that the abortion lobby and its financially supported elected officials would rather keep hidden,’ he said. ‘This prosecution by the State of California is an abuse of the justice system…’”

This is indeed a scandalous example of political persecution in California’s courtrooms, and we will continue to report on the further developments of this unjust procedure.

How Robocalls Became America’s Most Prevalent Crime

The Week wrote on December 7:

“Today, half of all phone calls are automated scams… Automated telephone calls might be America’s most prevalent form of lawbreaking, with more than 180 million such calls every day. A 2009 law that banned unsolicited, prerecorded telemarketing has failed to stem the explosion of calls seeking to steal information or scare people into scams… Just the time wasted dealing with robocalls costs Americans $3 billion per year… 70 percent of Americans don’t answer calls from unfamiliar numbers anymore… October was the worst month on record, with an estimated 5.7 billion robocalls…

“By one estimate, 90 percent of scam calls from abroad now show up as U.S. numbers. Robocalls home in on targets by asking consumers to press a button if they’d like to stop receiving calls, which actually lets callers identify ‘live’ numbers

“Many Americans have been called by a fake Social Security Administration representative, who claims that the recipient’s Social Security number is compromised, asks for the number, and then uses it to commit identity theft. (In reality, the IRS and SSA don’t make unrequested telephone calls.)… Robocalls are often menacing, threatening prison or deportation; these tactics intimidate some vulnerable seniors and immigrants into cooperating…”

 Those who engage in robocalls or in hacking computers of others should be regarded as mean and despicable criminals and, if caught, they should be treated accordingly.

Volcanic Eruption on White Island

The Independent wrote on December 9:

“There are no more survivors of the volcanic eruption on New Zealand‘s White Island that killed at least [six] and left more than 30 wounded, police have said. The death toll is expected to rise [Eight missing people are believed dead]… among those currently listed as missing or injured are [five] New Zealanders who were part of the tour operation, and [24] tourists from Australia, [nine from the US, four from Germany, two each from China and Britain, one from Malaysia]…

“Many day tours visit the island regularly, and one from the Ovation of the Seas cruise liner was there at the time… Experts said they believed the island, which is New Zealand’s most continuously active volcano, had been dangerous for some time. It last erupted three years ago. ‘White Island has been a disaster waiting to happen for many years,’ said Ray Cas, a professor emeritus at Monash University…

“Monday’s was the first deadly eruption on White Island, also known as Whakaari, since 1914. The volcanic island is uninhabited and privately owned.”

The questions have been raised as to why tourists were allowed on the island when it was known that its volcano was potentially dangerous. However, there are many active or potentially active volcanoes and people do not care about the dangers. Mount Vesuvius in Italy is just one example.

Creating Animal-Human Embryos

The Daily Star wrote on December 7:

“Chinese scientists have created pig monkey hybrids… ‘This is the first report of full-term monkey-pig chimeras’, Tang Hai at the State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology in Beijing told New Scientist.

“The animals had only a small amount of monkey DNA – concentrated in the heart, liver, spleen, lungs and skin cells. The team is now trying to create healthy animals with a higher proportion of monkey cells, says Hai. While the long-term goal is to incubate human-compatible organs in pig hosts, the team chose to develop the technique using monkey cells first.

“This is at the result of criticism around work done by Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte’s team at California’s Salk Institute in 2017. In that case pig-human hybrids were created but concerns were raised that the animals could have partly human brains. Belmonte’s team is now working in China, and according to an unconfirmed report have already created human-monkey chimeras…

“In other experiments, researchers have created monkeys with brains that are partially human, mice with human cells in their eyes and sheep with partially human organs. A rival team is working on a project to create a mouse with a brain made entirely of human cells.”

This is SICK and despicable! It seems that scientists will justify anything to satisfy their morbid desire for experimentation.

Samoa Incarcerates Anti-Immunization Campaigner

Deutsche Welle wrote on December 6:

“Samoan authorities on Friday warned that propaganda opposing a mass vaccination drive would not be tolerated after an anti-immunization campaigner was arrested. Police arrested Edwin Tamasese and charged him with incitement against a government order late on Thursday. The country is struggling to control a measles epidemic that has killed at least 63 people, most of them children…

“Details of the arrest were published by an online edition of [the] national newspaper  the Samoa Observer. The paper said Tamasese — who could potentially face up to two years in jail — was arrested after he breached a written warning demanding that he end his anti-vaccination activities…

“Samoa on Friday entered the second day of a lockdown as it administers compulsory vaccinations. Businesses and non-essential government services have been shut down and residents have been told to obey a dawn-to-dusk curfew and to display a red flag outside their home if they are unvaccinated to alert mobile immunization teams.”

With the hysteria pertaining to those who caution against vaccinations due to side-effects, such drastic authoritarian governmental measures can be expected to occur in many other countries as well.

Deadly Deer Disease Could Infect Humans

The Sun wrote on December 5:

“A DEADLY infection similar to mad cow disease is spreading in deer – and could infect humans, experts have warned.

“Officials are monitoring cases of chronic wasting disease (CWD), which attacks the brain, spinal cord and other tissue, in North America. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says the disease – sometimes referred to as ‘zombie deer’ – has now spread to at least 26 states.

“Around 12 months after an animal is infected with CWD, it suffers progressive weight loss, listlessness, drooling, lack of awareness, lack of fear and aggression before the infected animal dies. The disease is caused by proteins (called prions) that attack the brain and spinal tissue.

“Symptoms are similar to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), also known as mad cow disease, and its human equivalent, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), which is incurable

“CWD, which was discovered in 1967, is spread through bodily fluids, either directly or through contamination of soil, food, or water. There’s no treatment or cure for CWD, and it’s fatal to animals who become infected. Experts fear the disease could easily make the leap to humans through infected meat….

“Dr Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, told the Independent: ‘We could be having human transmission occurring today and we wouldn’t even know it. The key issue here is that unlike the mad cow disease, here we see (chronic wasting disease) in the muscle as well, so it’s actually much more present in the meat that you’re eating. Cooking doesn’t do anything to destroy it.’”

Sadly, we can expect more and more reports like these. The Bible predicts massive deadly disease epidemics to occur soon around the world.

German Bishops: Homosexuality Is Normal

Breitbart wrote on December 11:

“The German Catholic bishops’ conference has issued a statement declaring homosexuality to be just as ‘normal’ as heterosexuality…

“Both the homosexual and heterosexual orientation ‘belong to the normal forms of a sexual predisposition that cannot and should not be changed by any specific socialization,’ the Dec. 5 communiqué stated… Since one’s sexual orientation is unchangeable, ‘in church thinking, this means that any form of discrimination against homosexuals must be rejected…’ the bishops note…”

Catholic Church thinking and God’s mind, as revealed in the Bible, are two different things.  

We also received the following report from Australia:

In a legal case here, Israel Folau, one of the top Rugby players in the world, came to a confidential settlement with Rugby Australia. He was suing for 14 million dollars for being wrongly terminated for his Instagram post that homosexuals will go to hell. Since he has hundreds of thousands of followers, Rugby Australia claimed that it was against his employment contract to make such statements publicly and it affected their income because of the loss of sponsors.

Australia currently is determining a freedom of religion bill which is causing great controversy. The religious community say it does not go far enough in allowing them to hire and fire based on religious ideals. The non-religious community say it will allow for discrimination and hate speech. Interestingly, the religious community including Catholics, Anglicans, Jews, Muslims and others are all in agreement.

EU vs. Poland on Sexual Education

LifeSite News reported on November 20, 2019:

“Over 400 members of the European Parliament have voted to pass a resolution criticizing a Polish bill called ‘Stop Pedofilii’ that seeks to protect minors from sexual abuse by adults. The… bill seeks to make the incitement of minor children to sexual activity illegal in Poland… The age of consent in Poland is currently 15… anyone who has sex with a child under 15, including another child under 15, in Poland can be charged with statutory rape.

“An explanatory note attached to the ‘Stop Pedofilii’ bill gives some historical context for the proposal. It says some sex education teachers have been promoting sexual activity, including homosexual acts and masturbation, to Polish children, thanks to sexual education standards for Europe composed by the World Health Organization and the German Federal Center for Health Education (BZgA). These standards were introduced to Poland for the first time in 2013.

“‘According to the Standards, children of the age of 0–4 should learn information regarding masturbation and enjoying pleasure by touching their bodies,’ the note states… the Standards also stipulate that children from the age of 4–6 are supposed to know how to express their own sexuality and sexual feelings as well as ‘take pleasure and joy in’ masturbating. Children aged 6–9  must learn about sexual consent and different methods of intercourse and contraception. Children between 9 and 12 are supposed to learn how to use condoms, learn about their first sexual experiences, and receive information about orgasms. Children between 12 and 15 should be able to communicate about their own and their partners’ desires ‘in order to have safe and pleasant sex.’ ‘According to the Standards, at every step of development there is also intensive familiarizing of children with homosexuality,’ the note adds.”

Shame on Germany and the WHO for promoting these terrible ungodly and clearly harmful sexual education standards, and shame on the 400 members of the European Parliament for criticizing the Polish government which is trying to stop sexual abuse of children by sex education teachers and others.

Scorpions on the Planes

USA Today wrote on December 7:

“A passenger on a United Airlines flight from San Francisco to Atlanta had a nasty surprise: A scorpion sting… [The passenger] was stung multiple times… This isn’t the first time that a scorpion has made its way onto a flight without a ticket. This is at least the third occurrence of the animal causing a disturbance on a plane in 2019 alone.

“Earlier this year, in February, [a] passenger caught a scorpion on video as it crawled out of an overhead bin after the Lion Air flight landed in Indonesia… Just a month later, a student flying from Toronto to Calgary was stung by a scorpion in the middle of the flight…”

St. Nicholas and the Devil

The Associated Press wrote on December 7:

“Dozens of people in grim reaper and devil costumes accompany St. Nicholas on his journey through the village of Valasska Polanka in this eastern corner of the Czech Republic. It’s an old pre-Christmas tradition that has been surviving for centuries in a few villages in the Wallachia region.

“The whole group parades together from door to door for the weekend. St. Nicholas presents the children with sweets to soothe them after they see the scary costumes. The devils wear homemade masks of sheepskin and travel with white creatures representing death who carry scythes. The custom reportedly dates from the pagan era before Christianity, when the masks helped the people of mountainous region defend themselves against the demons of winter.”

Paganism is still very much alive in “Christian” cultures.  Note the next article.

Austria’s Demons

The Guardian wrote on December 8:

“Goat-horned half-demons with scraggy coats of fur, lolling tongues and threatening bundles of birch branches are no one’s idea of a welcome guest on a winter’s night. In Austria, however, the figure of the Krampus has been part of pre-Christmas folklore for centuries, with men in costumes roaming the streets to scare children and grownups from the end of November to the middle of December. Yet in recent years the Krampus has developed to become an altogether very modern bogeyman, with a rising number of complaints about the demons acting in a drunkenly and disorderly fashion once they have donned their fearsome masks.

“In Carinthia, police recorded a number of violent incidents this year in the run-up to the official ‘Krampus day’ on 5 December, with one person being hit in the face with a birch and an 11-year-old child being left with bloody cut on their thigh. In Klagenfurt, in Carinthia, the fire brigade complained that two of firefighters were set upon and beaten by a group of Krampuses, while in Salzburg last Sunday police were called out to deal with a number of drunken devils in the city centre. A video of Thursday’s Krampus run in Sterzing in South Tyrol, on the Italian side of the border, shows spectators fleeing in panic as a group of devils start to beat and kick a person lying on the ground.

“In the town of Neumarkt in Lower Austria, a man dressed as a Percht, an Alpine pagan goddess, sustained severe neck injuries when a spectator yanked his mask by the horns. In Schwoich in the Tyrol region, three Krampuses set their costumes on fire and suffered burns after accidentally setting off a box of fireworks…

“In the 19th century, evil Krampus spirits began to accompany Sankt Nikolaus impersonators on home visits and would sometimes cross the threshold to scare children… in recent years the appetite for large-scale ‘Krampus runs’ has grown across Austria: at an event Salzburg on 23 November this year, about 1,000 goat-demons roamed the streets of the city…”

Christmas celebrations and accompanying pagan activities such as Krampus and other demon figures really belong together. That is why some who are professing Christianity are re-thinking their approach towards Christmas, as the next article shows.

Dropping Christmas Celebrations

Breaking Israel News wrote on December 10:

“Particularly for Christians who are reconnecting to the Hebraic roots of their faith, traditional celebrations of Christmas have begun to raise knotty questions about the lack of a scriptural basis for the holiday, as well as its seemingly pagan origins. Ever-increasing numbers of Christians are dropping the traditional celebrations associated with Christmas…

“Just how widespread is the trend away from Christmas among Christians today? [Jon] Sherman told Breaking Israel News, “Although celebrating Christmas is still all but assumed in most evangelical circles today, the occurrence of people in the faith beginning to question Christmas is global, and the magnitude is growing exponentially.”

Re-Building the Temple of Baal

Breaking Israel News wrote on December 9:

“The Russian government recently announced that it will partner with the Syrian government in reconstructing the ancient temple to the pagan god Ba’al in Palmyra… Mentioned more than 90 times in the Bible, most notably when Elijah defeated the priests of Ba’al, also known as Moloch, in a contest to bring down fire from heaven to burn a sacrifice, Ba’al became the archetypical form of idol worship

“Followers of Ba’al engaged in bisexual orgies and sacrificed human infants, burning them alive. Anthropologists conjecture that the child sacrifice was to cull the population after the inevitable outcome of wanton sexuality…”

Why would anyone professing Christianity or Islam want to rebuild such an ancient temple to a demonic pagan god?

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.

This Week in the News

Tense NATO Summit Celebrating Its 70th Anniversary

Deutsche Welle wrote on December 3:

“US President Donald Trump kicked off a tense two-day NATO summit on Tuesday by criticizing French President Emmanuel Macron’s comment about the ‘brain death’ of the military alliance.

“Speaking to the press on the summit’s sidelines, Trump [called] Macron’s comments ‘nasty,’ ‘insulting,’ and ‘very dangerous’ adding that: ‘Nobody needs NATO more than France.’… [Trump] said that he could ‘see France breaking off’ from NATO… [He reiterated] his call for European partners to increase defense spending – calling out Germany in particular for falling short…

“The French president told reporters he stands by his ‘brain death’ comments, even if they ‘shook up a lot of people’… Macron pointed out that [the 29] NATO members have different definitions of what constitutes terrorism. He called on Turkish leaders to clarify their position at this summit, saying ‘they now are fighting against those who fought with us. And sometimes they work with ISIS proxies.’”

President Trump, who had been highly critical of NATO in the past, also said in a press conference with Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (whom he later described as “two-faced”) that it was not fair that Germany had not been paying its fair share in all the previous years, saying that they owe much money to the US. Also, that if they don’t deliver, tariffs will be imposed on German cars. Trump said the US has the better cards. He also said that Germany should pay much more than what they have presently agreed to. When asked whether the USA would defend a NATO ally when attacked, he said: “That is a good question,” continuing with complaints about the failure of some NATO allies to pay their fair share.

Later, Deutsche Welle reported this on December 4:

“On Wednesday, NATO leaders agreed on the importance of mutual defense…  ‘We reaffirm the enduring transatlantic bond between Europe and North America … and our solemn commitment as enshrined in Article 5 of the Washington Treaty that an attack against one ally shall be considered an attack against us all,’ they said in a joint statement… Trump suddenly canceled a press conference scheduled for the end of the day’s proceedings after footage leaked that appeared to show other world leaders mocking him behind his back.

While one has to wonder as to how political the “reaffirmation” of NATO leaders really is, the subsequent abrupt departure of Trump shows the deep rift within NATO. Also note the next two articles which reveal American and German feelings about NATO and their respective countries.

Americans Skeptical of NATO

Politico wrote on December 3:

To the extent that U.S. citizens think about NATO at all, they disagree about whether honoring its commitments would be worth the sacrifice. This wavering commitment likely signals a belief that American protection is no longer necessary for European security or that the United States has different priorities from when NATO was created 70 years ago…

“NATO is in the midst of an existential crisis…”

“Germany Would NOT Use Military to Defend… [the] US from Attack”

Express wrote on December 2:

“YouGov quizzed voters in the UK, France, Germany, the USA, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway about their attitudes towards the [NATO] alliance… Germans object to the possibility of defending the United States from attack by 43 percent to 32 percent, in stark contrast to the 54 percent of Americans think they should defend Germany should it find itself besieged… [In France, the support for defending the USA was even much less.]

“Both countries [Germany and France] also baulked at the idea of defending Ukraine, which is not a member of NATO, France by 35 percent to 28 percent, and Germany by 47 percent to 22 percent…

“On the wider issue for support for NATO generally… [in] France, just nine percent of those asked strongly support the alliance, a drop of 12 points compared with two years ago. In the case of Germany, strong support has plummeted, down from 41 percent in 2017 to 22 percent now. Even in the UK, strong support has fallen dramatically, from 42 percent to 25 percent.”

Germany’s New Military Budget

Deutsche Welle wrote on November 29:

“The German parliament has passed a record budget for 2020… [It] will include Germany’s ever-largest military budget amounting to some €45.05 billion (compared to €43.23 billion this year), with extra money specifically earmarked for the Bundeswehr’s overseas missions and NATO commitments.

“… Wednesday’s ‘general debate’ in the Bundestag [showed] the rift in Merkel’s coalition with the Social Democrats, whose parliamentary group leader Ralf Mützenich said his party would not blindly support the ‘urge’ for military dominance…”

Germany, following external pressure, will become more and more powerful in its military endeavors.

Germany’s Grand Coalition in Serious Doubt

Deutsche Welle wrote on November 30:

“With the fate of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition government on a knife-edge, her center-left partners have elected new leaders. The Social Democrats now face a decision on whether to remain in the government.

“Vice Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who is also finance minister, and his running mate Klara Geywitz were soundly beaten, obtaining only 45.33% of the vote from the party’s rank and file. Both back staying in the coalition until the next national elections in 2021. Instead, party members chose challengers Norbert Walter-Borjans [sometimes called the German Bernie Sanders] and Saskia Esken, who have been strongly critical of the alliance with Merkel’s conservatives..

“Many party members are in favor of leaving the government and rebuilding support for the party in the opposition. That would likely trigger new elections or pave the way for a weak and uncertain minority government…

“The SPD is desperate to try and win back voters following a series of electoral losses and plunging support in opinion polls. ‘Whoever wins this membership poll will deserve the full support of the entire party,’ Foreign Minister Heiko Maas [said], an SPD member… Current opinion polls put the party at 14%, trailing in third place behind Merkel’s conservatives and the Greens…”

It is remarkable that the SPD has still some of their controversial members in high political positions, such as Scholz and Maas, while the party is of no political consequence in national elections.

Deutsche Welle added on December 1:

“Who would have thought it? The Social Democrats (SPD) have voted for revolution. Norbert Walter-Borjans and Saskia Esken, two party members who, up to this point, had been relatively unknown… belong to the party’s left… Those who, until now, have had a say in the running of the SPD have been duped… And no wonder. [They] had pledged to stay in the governing coalition until the next scheduled election in fall 2021.

“… Given that Germany will assume the EU Council presidency in 2020… neither party is keen to hold an early election. Anyone who has made it to the front row, and thus has much to lose, has no interest in political suicide. Norbert Walter-Borjans and Saskia Esken are different… Both are convinced that the SPD is only in such a weak position because it’s moved too far towards the political center. They want to bring the party back to its social democratic roots, heralding a new beginning with a radical change of course…”

The Guardian wrote on December 2:

“Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, the head of the Christian Democrats (CDU), said the coalition deal with the Social Democrats (SPD) would either stay intact or the SPD would have to leave the government…”

The big question is, who will replace Merkel and emerge as the leader of Germany and/or Austria and ultimately Europe, in fulfillment of biblical prophecy?

Will Germany’s Far-Right AfD REALLY Change?

Reuters and the Algemeiner wrote on December 2:

The far-right Alternative for Germany on Saturday elected a decorator from the east backed by a radical wing within the party as one of two co-leaders. The election of Tino Chrupalla, a lawmaker from Saxony, is a tribute to former Communist eastern states where the AfD has made big gains in three elections this year. He will lead Germany’s largest opposition party with Joerg Meuthen, an economics professor from the industrial southern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg who serves as a European Parliament lawmaker…

“The AfD is the biggest opposition party in the Bundestag national parliament, which it entered for the first time in 2017, propelled by voters angry at conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel’s decision in 2015 to admit almost one million mainly Muslim asylum seekers. The AfD also sits on opposition benches in all of Germany’s 16 state parliaments, where it is ostracized by all established parties, including Merkel’s center-right Christian Democrats (CDU) and the center-left Social Democrats (SPD).

“Alexander Gauland, 78, a unifying figure in the AfD who has been a co-leader since 2017, did not stand for reelection. He has said he wants to pass on the baton to a new leadership that ensures the party join a governing coalition with Merkel’s CDU, at least at the state level. ‘They call us Nazis, fascists and right-wing terrorists,’ Gauland told delegates. ‘But we need to be wise and resilient. The day will come when a weakened CDU has only one option: us.’…

“‘If we want more success we need to change,’ Chrupalla said on Friday… ‘We want to move toward the center. This will work because the CDU keeps moving to the left.’… The party is more popular in former Communist eastern states, with double the support that it has in the west of the country. ‘In a few years, we may well have an AfD-CDU coalition, most likely at the state level in the east,’ said Matthias Quent, director of the Institute for Democracy and Civil Society. ‘This could split the CDU. Some CDU members in the east are openly in favor of such a coalition.’…”

AfD’s pronouncement of change and Gauland’s statement that the party needs to be “wise and resilient” could be interpreted in different ways.

Known Terrorist Organization Operates Openly in Germany

The Jerusalem Post wrote on December 1:

“The Lebanese terrorist organization Hezbollah uses a center in Berlin as well as other locations across Germany to recruit members and raise funds for terrorism and weapons purchases, according to a report by the Berlin-based Tagesspiegel newspaper… According to the article, Hezbollah members ‘use Germany as a place for drug trafficking, trade in stolen cars and money laundering. The implications of the group for the drug business are well documented.’

“The report said that Hezbollah’s ‘main routes now move from South America to Africa into the EU. Cocaine reaches Germany mainly via the ports of Rotterdam, Antwerp and Hamburg.’ Within the capital city of Berlin, ‘Hezbollah is also allowed to spread propaganda here in the Reuterstrasse, recruit new members, collect donations – and then forward them to Beirut,’ Tagesspiegel reported.

“The Islamic Center Imam Riza, a Shi’ite institution, is located on Reuter Street in the Berlin district of Neukölln. Berlin’s intelligence agency – the rough equivalent of Shin Bet – revealed in its 2019 report that 250 Hezbollah members live in the capital. A total of 1,050 Hezbollah members and supporters operate across Germany, according to other German intelligence reports.

“Some 30 mosques and cultural centers in Germany have links to Hezbollah, according to a 2019 Hamburg intelligence agency report…

“The Jerusalem Post exclusively reported in August that a Hezbollah mosque in the German city of Münster posted a shocking video on its Facebook page announcing it was proud of terrorism and its allegiance to the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. A Lebanese member of the Imam Mahdi Zentrum Shi’ite mosque in Münster declared: ‘We belong to the party of Ruhollah [Khomeini]. We have been accused of being terrorists – we are proud of terrorism.’

“The German government has rejected appeals to outlaw Hezbollah’s so-called political wing from the country; the military wing was banned by Germany and the European Union in 2013.”

Hezbollah and all its operations are clearly part of a violent and dangerous terrorist organization. Germany’s indifferent approach towards them is shocking, but as we pointed out in our last Update, anti-Semitic positions might very well be a cause for it.

The London Bridge Murder

Daily Mail wrote on November 30:

“The London Bridge attacker who murdered two innocent people in a knife rampage was a convicted terrorist banned from entering the capital. Usman Khan, 28, was released from jail on condition that he obey 20 strict conditions, including not going to London, but probation bosses granted him an exemption to attend an ex-prisoners’ conference organised by Cambridge University because they wrongly believed he had reformed. Instead, he launched a frenzied knife attack inside the Fishmongers’ Hall building on Friday afternoon before being chased down by members of the public on London Bridge where he was shot dead by police.

“Last night, a catalogue of apparent errors by police, judges, politicians and probation services emerged that allowed Khan to launch his attack close to the scene of another terrorist atrocity at Borough Market just two years ago. Khan was jailed in 2012 over a plot to kill Boris Johnson and blow up iconic sites including the London Stock Exchange. Released under strict bail conditions in December last year, he had to wear a tag, attend deradicalisation sessions and was under surveillance by MI5. Yet he apparently ‘hoodwinked’ the authorities by behaving like a ‘model ex-prisoner’ and lulling them into allowing him to travel to London. As the investigation into Khan continued, it emerged that:

“Judge Lord Justice Leveson decided Khan had ‘bigged up’ his role and downgraded his sentence. His release from jail was signed off by the Ministry of Justice, then led by David Gauke. MI5 did not have ‘surveillance eyes’ on Khan on Friday.”

The unfolding story about this known terrorist is extremely troublesome in light of the apparent incompetence of involved government agencies.

Far-Left Anti-Semitism in Britain

The Algemeiner wrote on December 1:

“A new study on antisemitism in the UK found that more than two-thirds of strong supporters of Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn hold at least one antisemitic view. It also found that far-left hatred of Jews is now more prevalent than far-right Jew hatred in Britain, with 60% of the former believing at least one stereotype…

“The poll revealed that 84% of British Jews believe Jeremy Corbyn to be a threat to the Jewish community, with 42% having considered leaving the country in the past two years due to antisemitism, a scale that is ‘unprecedented since medieval times,’ according to the report. Almost half of British Jews cite not feeling comfortable identifying as Jewish in public…

“Gideon Falter, Chief Executive of Campaign against Antisemitism [said:]… ‘the far-left is now home to even more anti-Jewish bigotry than the far-right… Nowhere is that more obvious than in the Labour Party, where Jeremy Corbyn is now the politician of choice for anti-Semites.’

“In the last year, over a dozen MPs and three peers have resigned from the Labour Party citing its institutionalized antisemitism. Many MEPs, councilors, and members have also left in protest.”

These figures are shocking!

Netanyahu Slams Six European Nations

Times of Israel wrote on December 1:

“Israel on Sunday scolded six new European members of the INSTEX barter mechanism meant to circumvent US sanctions on Iran, saying they encouraged the Iranian regime’s repression of its citizens and ‘should be ashamed of themselves.’ ‘While the Iranian regime is killing its own people, European countries rush to support that very murderous regime,’ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu charged in a video released Sunday.

“In a separate statement, Israel’s Foreign Ministry said ‘Belgium, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden could not have picked worse timing. The hundreds of innocent Iranians murdered during the latest round of protests are rolling in their graves.’…

“[Netanyahu continued:] ‘And while the people of the Middle East bravely stand up to Iran and its henchmen, here’s the absurd thing: While all of this is happening, countries in Europe are working to bypass US sanctions against Iran…. While Iran bombs Saudi Arabia’s oil installations, while Iran rushes to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons, European countries rush to appease Iran with even more concessions.’

“In an apparent reference to World War II, the Israeli leader added: ‘These European countries should be ashamed of themselves. Have they learned nothing from history? Well, apparently not. They are enabling a fanatic terrorist state to develop nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, thereby bringing disaster to themselves and upon everyone else.’…

“The accession of the six new members ‘further strengthens INSTEX and demonstrates European efforts to facilitate legitimate trade between Europe and Iran,’ France, Germany, and Britain said.”

All these Israelite European nations (i.e., Belgium, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, France and Britain, and, in addition, non-Israelite Germany) are turning against the state of Israel, and vice versa. Ultimately, it will be the entire world against Israel.

Iraq in Turmoil… America’s Attempt to Bring Democracy to the Country Failed Completely

Reuters and the Algemeiner wrote on December 2:

“Iraq’s parliament voted on Sunday to accept the resignation of Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi after weeks of violent anti-government protests that have rocked the country. Abdul Mahdi’s decision to quit on Friday came after a call by Iraq’s top Shi’ite Muslim cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani for parliament to consider withdrawing its support for Abdul Mahdi’s government to stem the violence… Iraqi forces have killed nearly 400 mostly young, unarmed demonstrators since mass anti-government protests broke out on Oct. 1. More than a dozen members of the security forces have also died in clashes.

“Abdul Mahdi’s resignation, though welcomed by protesters, is not expected to end the demonstrations, which have called for an overhaul of a political system accused of being corrupt and keeping most of the population in poverty. Protesters on Sunday torched the Iranian consulate in the holy Shi’ite city of Najaf for the second time in a week, police and civil defense sources said…

“The unrest poses the biggest challenge for Iraq since Islamic State insurgents seized swathes of Iraqi and Syrian territory in 2014. It pits mostly young, disaffected Shi’ite protesters against a Shi’ite-dominated government backed by Iran and accused of squandering Iraq’s oil wealth while infrastructure and living standards deteriorate.”

America’s attempts to bring democracy to Iraq have failed entirely.

Iran in Turmoil

Aljazeera wrote on December 2:

“At least 208 people are believed to have been killed in Iran during a security crackdown on protests that came after a surprise petrol price increase, Amnesty International has said… adding that the actual figure was likely to be higher…

“‘The escalation of the use of force is evident from the fact that protesters were shot from close range. Protesters were also shot from the rooftops and in one case from a helicopter. This represents a regression even by the Iranian government’s own standards.’… It described the death toll as ‘evidence that Iran’s security forces went on a horrific killing spree’…”

The New York Times wrote on December 2:

“Iran is experiencing its deadliest political unrest since the Islamic Revolution 40 years ago… as angry protests have been smothered in a government crackdown of unbridled force.”

As long as Iran is run by dictators, there will be no peace and freedom in the country. However, one should not think that if a governmental change were to take place in the country, it would become more friendly towards America. Rather, Iran will become more and more aligned with Russia.

The Chinese-Russian Pipeline

Deutsche Welle wrote on December 2:

“China and Russia’s leaders opened the giant ‘Power of Siberia’ pipeline project on Monday. The 3,000 kilometer pipeline has been hailed as a sign of the close friendship between two of the world’s superpowers… The project, which Putin has called ‘the world’s biggest construction project,’ is set to last 30 years and pump $400 billion (€363 billion) into Russia’s economy… The agreement came as Russia faced sanctions from the EU and US after it annexed the Crimean peninsula during the same year. It is part of Russia’s plan to boost trade with countries like China and Turkey, as relations with the West continue to deteriorate…

“Xi and Putin… both attended the opening ceremony via video link… ‘ This step takes Russo-Chinese strategic cooperation in energy to a qualitative new level and brings us closer to fulfilling the task, set together with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, of taking bilateral trade to $200 billion (€181 billion) by 2024,’ said Putin. Putin added that it was ‘a genuinely historical event.’

“Xi told Putin via video link that ‘China-Russia relations are entering a new era’ and that the pipeline was an ‘example of deep integration and mutually beneficial cooperation.’”

In the near future, a powerful coalition will develop between Russia, China and other Far Eastern nations. The Bible calls this emerging power bloc “the kings of the East.”

Blocking Russian Gas Pipeline to Germany?

 Newsmax wrote on December 4:

 “President Donald Trump is under pressure from two key senators to thwart completion of the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline from Russia to Germany by sanctioning companies involved in the project.

Senators Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, and New Hampshire Democrat Jeanne Shaheen are pushing to put a provision that would sanction companies involved in the construction of the pipeline in a defense spending bill that is viewed as a must-pass measure before Congress leaves Washington for the year.

 “Cruz expressed frustration with the Trump administration for not acting on its own to impose sanctions that could stop the pipeline, which is a project of Russian energy company Gazprom PJSC…

 “Cruz and Shaheen sponsored legislation, which was approved by the Foreign Relations Committee in July by a vote of 20-2, that would target vessels that lay the pipeline and sanction executives from companies linked to those vessels. It would deny visas to those individuals and block transactions related to their U.S.-based property or interests. The bill would also penalize entities that provide insurance to the project.

“It was never brought to the floor for a vote, but Senator Jim Risch, the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, told Defense News that the sanctions measure had been added to the draft of the National Defense Authorization Act. The sanctions measure may fall victim to haggling between Democrats and Republicans about what should or shouldn’t be included in the defense bill…

“The Nord Stream 2 project has divided the European Union, with nations led by Poland concerned about Russia’s Gazprom tightening its grip on the region if the new pipeline comes online...

“Trump was non-committal when asked about sanctioning the pipeline companies as he met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel Wednesday during this week’s NATO summit in London. ‘Well, we haven’t really determined that yet,’ Trump said. ‘I do think it’s a problem. But it’s a problem that Germany’s going to have to work out for themselves. Maybe for Germany, it won’t be a problem. I hope it’s not, actually. But we’ll be talking about that.’”

It would be hard to imagine what would happen if the USA were to impose sanctions on Russia and Germany regarding the pipeline.  Nothing that has happened so far would even come close to the animosity which would develop between those countries.

Where to Store Nuclear Waste?

CNN wrote on November 30:

“Germany… [will close] all of its nuclear plants in the coming years… [The seven power stations still in operation today are due to close by 2022.] Experts are now hunting for somewhere to bury almost 2,000 containers of high-level radioactive waste. The site must be beyond rock-solid, with no groundwater or earthquakes that could cause a leakage. The technological challenges — of transporting the lethal waste, finding a material to encase it, and even communicating its existence to future humans — are huge. But the most pressing challenge today might simply be finding a community willing to have a nuclear dumping ground in their backyard…

“Currently, high-level radioactive waste is stored in temporary facilities, usually near the power plant it came from… As the name suggests, high-level radioactive waste is the most lethal of its kind

“With more than 400 nuclear power plants around the world, many nearing the end of their operating lifetimes, the issue of waste storage will only become more urgent…”

Another example of how mankind has created its own disasters.

Our Trillion Dollar Deficits

The Hill wrote on December 1:

“Trillion-dollar deficits as far as the eye can see, and hardly a voice of caution to be heard.

In the old days, a decade or so ago, Democrats would have assailed Donald Trump’s failure on federal deficits; instead of eliminating it, as promised, the deficit has doubled to a trillion dollars as far as the eye can see.

Republicans would be in full fury over the spending schemes of Democratic presidential candidates; even the mainstream moderates propose huge increases for health care, education and the social safety net for the disadvantaged. Yet deficits, as a political issue, are dead.”

People have become accustomed to dangerous situations. It is as if a spirit of slumber has overtaken them.

California’s Ignored Volcanoes

The Los Angeles Times wrote on November 30:

“California is famous for its catastrophic earthquakes and wildfires, but they are not the state’s only natural hazards. As head of the observatory, or CalVO, Mangan has drawn attention to the state’s more overlooked threats: a dozen restive volcanoes that stretch from Medicine Lake near the Oregon border to the Salton Buttes in the Coachella Valley… the risk of a small-to-moderate eruption somewhere in the state over the next 30 years is 16% — about the same as for a magnitude 6.7 or greater earthquake along the San Andreas Fault… Unlike earthquakes, which are over in a matter of seconds, volcanic eruptions can drag on

“[Air Traffic could be interrupted.] Planes regularly fly over California’s volcanoes, ferrying up to 300,000 passengers to, from and along the West Coast every day. Each year, millions more people drive through the Mount Shasta hazard zone on Interstate 5 between Redding and the Oregon border… Thousands of miles of high-voltage power lines bound for major population centers cross through hazard zones, particularly in the northern part of the state. These could short out if covered in wet ash, leaving consumers in the dark for weeks. A natural gas pipeline snakes between Shasta, Lassen and Medicine Lake, supplying 4.2 million homes. And many of the state’s water reservoirs lie within the ash fall zones of various volcanoes… ash damages electronics and interferes with radio signals…”

Earthquakes, volcanoes, wildfires, hurricanes, tornadoes and other natural catastrophes, including the impact with asteroids and meteors, will contribute to the destruction of vast areas of the USA and the entire world.  In this regard, we received the following report from Paul Niehoff in Australia:

“47 wildfires are burning in Queensland and 96 in New South Wales from the south coast to the Queensland border. Sydney has hazardous air quality due to the smoke, people with health issues are being urged to stay indoors and some workers are refusing to work outdoors. Central Western Australia has extreme fire danger, temperatures over 40 degrees are expected.”

Controversial Pope’s Quest for a World Religion

Breaking Israel News wrote on December 1:

“Islam was founded in the 7th century CE, approximately 600 years after the founding of Christianity and several thousand years after Judaism began. As an aggressive form of replacement theology, Islam appropriated all of the figures in the Christian and Jewish Bible as Muslim prophets. Even though Buddhism was founded in the 6th century BCE, Islam did not appropriate Siddhārtha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, as a Mulsim prophet. This may be because Islam considers Buddhism to be a forbidden form of idolatry… ‘The Pope wants to unify all religions and all governments under one world order,’ Rabbi Assur said. ‘What is the big surprise? He is not hiding anything. Just listen to what he says and who he is and his plans are right there for all to see.’

“Pope Francis… is the first pope from the southern hemisphere and, most significantly, he is the first Jesuit to be appointed to the position. Though established by papal order in 1540 to stop the spread of Protestantism and convert the indigenous peoples of Africa and the Americas, the Jesuit order has historically been treated with suspicion by the Catholic Church for being power-hungry‘You assume that the pope is Catholic but he is certainly not acting like a Catholic,’ Rabbi Asore said… ‘Brotherhood is a wonderful thing but one religion is only good if it is worshipping the true God,’ Rabbi Asore said…

“Pope Francis has come under fire before for connecting the Catholic Church with the children of Ishmael. In 2015, 71 elders of the Sanhedrin tried the Pope in absentia for recognizing a ‘State of Palestine’ with an official treaty. By doing so, the Sanhedrin claimed, the Pope was denying the covenant as described in the Bible in which God gives the land of Israel to the descendants of Jacob…

“Pope Francis has also made displays similar to his sitting barefoot in front of the Golden idol of Budda in Bankok that showed a shocking level of tolerance for idolatry. In October, a video emerged of what appears to be Pope Francis blessing a Pachama Goddess statue. Pope Francis has also taken on a policy in which homosexuals are welcomed into the church so much so that the American LGBT magazine The Advocate named Pope Francis their Person of the Year for 2013.”

The Bible predicts we will see a universal body of “believers”—all in opposition to the true God.

Coming—Microchip Vaccinations?

Natural News wrote on October 23:

“It’s all happening, just as we predicted. Big Pharma is officially partnering with the tech industry to pair ‘immunization’ with digital biometrics, meaning humans will soon be microchipped, tracked, and ultimately controlled through a global identification matrix… Similar to how cattle are marked with ear tags, this globalist alliance wants all humans to be ‘vaccinated’ with digital tracking chips that will create a seamless monitoring system for the New World Order to manage the populations of the world with ease…

“While the… program’s testing grounds are primarily in the Third World, the group says it’s also now working with governments here in the United States to start microchipping people through vaccination. In Austin, Texas, for example, the homeless population is now being exploited as a collective guinea pig for… microchip vaccination program… [the program] is also jabbing refugees with its microchip vaccinations…

“All of this is priming the public for an eventual mandate of microchip vaccinations…”

The article makes the common mistake of equating microchip vaccinations with the mark of the beast. It has nothing to do with it. Still, the article is remarkable in that it shows what misguided power-hungry people are willing to do.

 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.

This Week In The News

ALARMING—German Holocaust Victims’ Group Loses Charity Status

Deutsche Welle wrote on November 24:

“One of Germany’s oldest and biggest Holocaust victims’ organizations is facing the loss of its nonprofit status…

“The Union of Persecutees of the Nazi Regime/Federation of Antifascists (VVN-BdA) received a notice this month from the financial authorities of the [city] of Berlin that its nonprofit tax benefits would no longer be awarded…

“Several other nonprofit organizations and politicians condemned the decision… who described the letter from the financial authority as an ‘alarm signal for democratic civil society.’

“Nonprofit status exempts an organization from several taxes, and allows supporters to write their donations off against tax. In a statement posted on its website on Friday, the VVN-BdA said the decision could lead to five-digit back taxes that could endanger the group’s survival. But other German financial authorities, such as the one representing North Rhine-Westphalia, continue to recognize VVN-BdA’s nonprofit status

“According to [a 2016 report by] the Bavarian intelligence agency charged with tracking extremist groups, the VVN-BdA’s agenda goes beyond simply fighting far-right extremism… The report also cited an article by VVN-BdA spokesman Ulrich Schneider in support of direct blockades of Nazi demonstrations as evidence that the organization accepted left-wing extremist groups as allies.

“The VVN-BdA describes itself as a non-party-affiliated alliance of victims of the Nazi regime, resistance fighters, and anti-fascists of all generations. It was originally founded in 1947, having emerged from an alliance of Holocaust victims’ associations and former anti-Nazi resistance fighters… The group now has around 6,000 members in Germany.

German financial authorities appear to be cracking down on politically active nonprofit organizations… According to a report in Der Spiegel magazine, German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz is keen to cut tax benefits for groups that try to influence political debate.”

This is an extremely dangerous, biased and right-wing decision, which is based on ridiculous arguments and ludicrous conclusions [see some of our underlining in the article], and it may set in motion very troubling developments reminiscent of the rise of Adolf Hitler.

REVEALING—German New Nazis’ and Greens’ Anti-Israel’s Policy 

The Jerusalem Post wrote on November 24:

“The German neo-Nazi party The Third Way and the Green Party welcomed the EU top court ruling that mandates Israeli products from the disputed territories must be branded with a label to show consumers that they were not produced in Israel proper.

“The Third Way ‘has been calling for years to boycott all products from the terrorist state of Israel’… Third Way added a link to an article from 2014 titled: ‘Israel Boycott: What anyone can do against Zionist genocide.’ A graphic on the Third Way’s entry states: ‘Boycott products from Israel: 729=Made in Israel.’ The number 729 is used in bar codes to identify Israel-based products and companies.

“The intelligence agency for the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate wrote in its 2018 report: ‘The Third Way’s slogan “Boycott Products from Israel”… betrays significant parallels to the anti-Jewish agitation of the National Socialists.’

“German intelligence officials in the state of Baden Württemberg wrote in a 2018 report that propaganda from the Third Way calling to boycott Israeli products ‘roughly recalls similar measures against German Jews by the National Socialists, for example, on April 1, 1933 (the slogan: “Germans! Defend yourselves! Don’t buy from Jews!”).’

“MPs from the German Green Party have sought to label Jewish products from the West Bank, Golan Heights and east Jerusalem since 2013… Green Party MP Renate Künast… once invoked a contemporary antisemitic conspiracy theory to describe a German organization as a ‘Mossad front’ that seeks to advance Israel’s security and stop Iran’s nuclear weapons program.

“In 1983, the Green Party put out a ‘Green Calendar’ with the headline ‘Israel, the gang of murderers’ and urged a ‘boycott of goods from Israel.’ The German daily Die Welt published an article titled ‘The long tradition of Green Anti-Zionism,’ in which the Green Party’s history of blaming Israel for the Middle East’s problems was highlighted.”

Anti-Israeli positions and anti-Semitism have now gone far beyond the preposterous claims of certain controversial German parties and have reached the entirety of Europe, as the above-mentioned EU Court’s decision has proven. The next article shows the extent of such anti-Israeli positions in the EU which ultimately lead to a military intervention in the Middle East and Europe’s occupation of Israel.

Sad and Troubling —Anti-Semitism in Germany on the Rise

The Algemeiner wrote on November 26:

Antisemitic outrages have risen precipitously across Germany during the last year, together with a corresponding rise in antisemitic attitudes. Two studies on Tuesday from separate regions of Germany underlined that the problem exists on a national scale.

“First, the daily newspaper Der Tagesspiegel reported that antisemitic incidents in the state of Brandenburg [in East Germany] during the first nine months of this year equaled the entire record for 2018… Meanwhile, an academic… study, carried out by the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena, showed that 16 percent of respondents in Thuringia [in East Germany] agreed with the statement that Jews were unwelcome aliens (‘They don’t belong here.’)… The university study also showed that 24 percent of Thuringia residents identified with right-wing extremist parties, such as the ‘Alternative for Germany’ (AfD).”

Have those Jew-hating Germans learned NOTHING from history?

SHOCKING—Europe to Stop Recognizing Israel as an Independent State?

Project Syndicate wrote on November 25:

With the United States standing firmly with Israel’s most hawkish elements, it is up to the rest of the international community to push back against Israel’s violations of international law in Palestinian territory. The European Union should lead the charge.

“The United States may have just obliterated any remaining hope for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s declaration that Israeli settlements in the West Bank do not violate international law defies a longstanding global consensus. The rest of the world must push back…

“After the US reversal, the EU’s foreign-policy chief,  Federica Mogherini, confirmed that its position on Israeli settlement policy ‘remains unchanged: all settlement activity is illegal under international law’ and ‘erodes the viability of the two-state solution and the prospects for a lasting peace.’

“But this is far from the first time the EU has criticized Israel’s behavior… If European leaders – or, indeed, any others around the world – want to advance a vision of an independent Palestinian state alongside an Israeli one, they have only two choices: officially recognize Palestine as an independent state or stop recognizing Israel as one until it proves it is serious about reaching a negotiated solution.

“Already, most European parliaments have voted in favor of recognizing Palestine as an independent state along the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital. But only Sweden has followed through, with the EU advising others to wait for the perfect opportunity to arise – the moment when a unified decision to recognize Palestine could have a real impact. Now is that moment.”

Even though the article does not set forth the OFFICIAL policy of the EU, there is no denying that it describes quite accurately the underlying reasons for the EU’s conduct and actions. The anti-Israeli policy of the EU is in stark contrast to the current pro-Israeli policy of the USA… the differences could not be greater. This is bound to result in a military clash between those two power blocs in the very near future.

DANGEROUS—Israel and Jordan—Relations at an All-Time Low

Breaking Israel News wrote on November 24:

“Relations between Jordan and Israel are at an ‘all-time low’ King Abdullah [said]… Regarding the Israeli-Arab conflict, Abdullah added that ‘If we do not solve the Israeli-Palestinian issue, Israel cannot really be part of the Middle East’

“‘I think that no small amount of us in this room believe that the only way forward is the two-state solution – because the alternative is much worse,’ he added…  ‘But I am not ready for this to come at the expense of what my father and late Prime Minister Rabin fought so hard to achieve, as a symbol of hope and opportunity for Israelis, Palestinians, Jordanians and others.’

“Despite the king’s sentiments, it should be noted that Prime Minister Rabin was against a Palestinian state.”

These are strong anti-Israeli words coming from Jordan… and they are also misleading.

INTERESTING—Israel’s Attorney General Breaks the Law in Indicting Netanyahu

Breaking Israel News wrote on November 24:

“According to Israeli law, Israel’s Attorney General, Avichai Mandleblit has no authority to indict the Prime Minister at this time… The law states that before the attorney general indicts a Member of Knesset such as Netanyahu, they must first submit a recommendation to the Knesset committee. The only problem is that during a transition government (as there is now), there is no Knesset committee which means that no indictment can be handed down.

“The law also states that after the Knesset Committee receives the letter to recommend an indictment, the committee then has to take the time to discuss whether or not the suspect should enjoy immunity. These sessions can take months. And as long as there is no government, as is the case currently, these discussions cannot even take place.

“As [Conservative pundit Caroline] Glick puts it: ‘When Mandleblit announced that he was indicting Netanyahu, he made a political decision, not a legal one. He behaved like a politician and not like an attorney general… everything a lie. There is no indictment, no law and no sentence. There is a coup whereby state prosecutors (with the help of opportunistic politicians and politically biased journalists) are trying to bring down a political leader without elections.’”

The parallels to the US Democrats’ strictly political attempts to concoct reasons for their indictment scheme against President Trump are only too obvious. In this regard, Bild Online wrote on November 24:

“Witnesses in the impeachment showdown accuse him severely. [But] Trump will be the winner in the end.” It should also be noted that none of the witnesses who accuse him have first-hand personal knowledge. It has all been hearsay in the impeachment circus. And as we said before, the alliance of Donald Trump (USA=Manasseh), Benjamin Netanyahu (Israel=Judah) and Boris Johnson (UK= Ephraim) would be an interesting triumvirate.

TELLING—Church of England Blames So-Called Christian Theology for the Holocaust

Breaking Israel News reported on November 24:

“Christian theology played a part in the stereotyping and persecution of Jewish people that ultimately led to the Holocaust, according to a new report released by the Church of England on Thursday.

“… the 121-page report said attitudes towards Judaism over centuries had provided a ‘fertile seed-bed for murderous anti-Semitism,’ and that Anglicans and other Christians must repent for the ‘sins of the past,’ as well as actively challenge anti-Semitic attitudes or stereotypes. ‘The attribution of collective guilt to the Jewish people for the death of Christ and the consequent interpretation of their suffering as collective punishment sent by God is one very clear example of that,’ the report said.”

The report is right in pointing out that the Bible condemns the concept of a “collective guilt” and a “collective punishment” approach against the Jews. Please note our Q&A on that issue, titled, “What is the significance of the saying of Jews at Jesus’ time that ‘His blood be on us and on our children’ (Matthew 27:25)?” 

CONFIRMED—Britain’s Labour Party and Jeremy Corbyn Deeply Anti-Semitic 

Breitbart wrote on November 26:

“The Archbishop of Canterbury has backed an electoral intervention by Britain’s chief rabbi by saying the country should be alert to the profound unease felt by many Jews at the prospect of a left-wing Labour government led by Jeremy Corbyn. Justin Welby tweeted Tuesday after Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis wrote in the Times of London that Britain’s Labour Party and its leader have been deeply tarnished by anti-Semitism

“It is without precedent for the chief rabbi to express his thoughts on party politics during an election campaign. He stopped short of advising voters to shun Labour but made his point about the prospect of Jeremy Corbyn gaining Number 10. ‘The way in which the (Labour) leadership has dealt with anti-Jewish racism is incompatible with the British values of which we are so proud,’ he wrote…

“The Labour Party in general has been engulfed in claims of institutionalized anti-Semitism since Corbyn became leader. At a personal level, he has also been slammed after pictures emerged confirming he attended a 2014 wreath-laying ceremony for Palestinian terrorists. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly admonished Corbyn when the images became public last year: ‘The laying of a wreath by Jeremy Corbyn on the graves of the terrorist who perpetrated the Munich massacre and his comparison of Israel to the Nazis deserves unequivocal condemnation from everyone – left, right and everything in between.’

“Netanyahu’s rare public criticism of a foreign politician came after the Daily Mail newspaper published photos of Corbyn holding a wreath to honor the instigators of the Munich atrocity. He had previously denied being part of the service… Also last year Corbyn’s camp defended comments he made during a speech at a rally outside Israel’s London embassy in 2010 in which he compared Israel’s blockade of the Gaza strip to the Nazi sieges of Leningrad and Stalingrad during World War II.”

The Labour Party’s anti-Semitism under Corbyn is well- documented and undisputable. What is shocking and alarming is that so many Brits are willing to vote for them. Notice the next article as well.

Disgusting—Radical Proposals on Abortion

The Daily Mail wrote on November 25:

“Labour’s… radical proposals on abortion seem to have slipped through unnoticed.

“However, it is vital we examine the party’s declaration that ‘we will uphold women’s reproductive rights and decriminalise abortions’. Decriminalising abortion would mean you could have one for any reason; you wouldn’t even be asked why you wanted it.

“Right To Life campaigners say the plan has the potential to allow unlimited abortions right up to birth, well beyond the present 24-week limit, which is already around twice the average time limit on abortions in Europe… Legislatively, it would mean scrapping the existing 1967 Abortion Act, which says you have to give a reason for an abortion and that two doctors have to sign it off…

“Two years ago, a Daily Mail investigation revealed that Marie Stopes, which has 60 clinics across England, signed off abortions for women they had never even met. Undercover reporters were approved for abortions based on a brief phone conversation with a call centre worker and told there was no need to meet a doctor because they filled out the necessary forms ‘behind the scenes’, based on reasons given to staff over the phone. The discussions could be as short as 22 seconds…”

The liberal ungodly laws in England and elsewhere are already terrible enough. Left-wing Labour wants to make them even worse…

SHAMEFUL—China’s Concentration Camps, while the World Is Silent (Again)

The Associated Press wrote on November 24:

“President Donald Trump’s new national security adviser [Robert O’Brien] is criticizing what he says is silence from the rest of the world over China’s confinement of more than 1 million Muslims in reeducation camps, linking the lack of a global outcry to China’s economic clout…

“‘Where is the world? We have over a million people in concentration camps,’ O’Brien said. ‘I’ve been to the genocide museum in Rwanda. You hear “never again, never again is this going to happen,” and yet there are reeducation camps with over a million people in them.’”

The Associated Press wrote on November 25:

“[New] classified documents lay out the Chinese government’s deliberate strategy to lock up ethnic minorities even before they commit a crime, to rewire their thoughts and the language they speak… Drawing on data collected by mass surveillance technology, computers issued the names of tens of thousands of people for interrogation or detention in just one week… the documents give the most significant description yet of high-tech mass detention in the 21st century in the words of the Chinese government itself. Experts say they spell out a vast system that targets, surveils and grades entire ethnicities to forcibly assimilate and subdue them.”

The world was silent when the truth about concentration camps in Nazi Germany was known. The world has been silent ever since in light of unspeakable atrocities. There is a reason for that: This is Satan’s world, not God’s.

FRIGHTENING—Nuclear Weapons Not the Solution

Deutsche Welle wrote on November 24:

“Visiting Japan, Pope Francis has condemned atomic weapons, nuclear deterrence and the growing arms trade…

“In a highly symbolic visit to Nagasaki, one of the two Japanese cities devastated by nuclear strikes during the closing days of World War II in August 1945, Pope Francis said nuclear weapons were ‘not the answer’ for global security, peace and stability… ‘I ask political leaders not to forget that these weapons cannot protect us… Peace and international stability are incompatible with attempts to build upon the fear of mutual destruction or the threat of total annihilation,’ Francis noted…

“The head of the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics also criticized governments for spending huge sums on the development and manufacture of destructive weapons, while millions of people worldwide remain destitute…”

The Associated Press added on November 26:

“Pope Francis is planning to change official Catholic Church teaching to declare the use and possession of atomic weapons as ‘immoral,’ a move that makes clear that his rejection of the Cold War-era doctrine of deterrence is to be official church policy… ‘This must go in the Catechism of the Catholic Church,’ he said, referring to the published compendium of official church teaching. ‘Not just the use, also the possession,’ he said…

“Francis first articulated his opposition to the doctrine of deterrence in 2017, during a Vatican conference, when he said the possession of nuclear weapons was ‘to be condemned.’ The shift upended three decades of the Vatican’s tacit acceptance of nuclear arsenals. Starting in 1982, St. John Paul II had held that deterrence could be morally acceptable in the interim as long as it was used as a step toward mutual, verifiable disarmament…”

No amounts of weapons—nuclear or otherwise—are the answer for our protection. But until man changes his way of thinking, finally realizing that “it must be of the spirit, if we are to save the flesh” (General Douglas MacArthur, Tokyo Bay, September 2, 1945), we will slip and stumble from one catastrophe to the next, until the unthinkable will happen, as our comments to the next article show. 

TYPICAL—Germany Not Ready and Willing

Deutsche Welle wrote on November 22:

“Only a world without nuclear weapons can be a ‘safe world,’ the German foreign minister [Heiko Maas] said on a trip to Hiroshima. But that requires international consensus, and Germany won’t be taking the first step… [He] said he was against a unilateral German withdrawal of nuclear weapons… Germany currently stores around 20 US nuclear warheads. The armed forces have Tornado jets on standby to deploy them if necessary…

“The US nuclear attack on Hiroshima at the end of World War II almost completely destroyed the city and killed around 140,000 people, mostly civilians. Tens of thousands died subsequently as a result of the long-term effects of the radiation. Three days after the attack on Hiroshima, US forces dropped another nuclear bomb on the city of Nagasaki where a further 70,000 people died.”

Heiko Maas’s poor and faulty reasoning shows why there will be no solution to our problems. This world will not get rid of nuclear weapons; in fact, they will be used again and if it were not for the return of Christ to end man’s madness and bring peace, all life on this planet would be annihilated. 

STUNNING—Germany Economy Minister Attacks USA

Politico wrote on November 25:

“German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier on Monday defended describing the United States as ‘unreliable and untrustworthy’ in a debate over whether Chinese companies should be banned from providing equipment for Germany’s 5G telecoms network. The U.S. ambassador to Berlin, Richard Grenell, strongly condemned the remarks, branding them ‘an insult to the thousands of American troops who help ensure Germany’s security and the millions of Americans committed to a strong Western alliance.’

“Altmaier, Angela Merkel’s former chief of staff and a close ally of the chancellor, made the comments on live television… Merkel has advocated letting the Chinese in, despite deep reservations both within her own party and her governing coalition…

“Altmaier’s negative characterization of Germany’s longtime ally and protector illustrates the depth of the rift between the U.S. and Germany, which has worsened in recent months amid trade disputes and Washington’s persistent criticism of Berlin’s failure to meet NATO defense spending goals…

“Altmaier, however, wasn’t the only senior figure to draw comparisons between the U.S. and China on the talk show. Dieter Kempf, the president of the German Federation of Industries, a powerful business lobby, said he saw no reason to treat Chinese companies any different from American ones… ‘If you compare the Chinese intelligence act with the U.S. Patriot Act, which some of us appear to have forgotten, one can see that they have pretty much the same requirements.’”

That rift between the USA and Germany (as well as Europe) will continue to worsen until a MILITARY confrontation is no longer unthinkable. 

AFFIRMING—Donald Trump… the “Chosen One” Sent by God?

The Huffington Post wrote on November 25:

Departing Secretary of Energy Rick Perry [said] that the president was ‘the chosen one’ sent by God to rule over America. The former Texas governor and Republican presidential rival of Trump used Old Testament kings to make his point. ‘God’s used imperfect people all through history,’ Perry said. ‘King David wasn’t perfect, Saul wasn’t perfect, Solomon wasn’t perfect.’

“Perry said he shared his thoughts with Trump on paper recently. ‘I said, Mr. President, I know there are people that say you said you were the chosen one and I said, “You were.” I said, “If you’re a believing Christian, you understand God’s plan for the people who rule and judge over us on this planet and our government.”’…

“Perry… is not the first Trump acolyte to attribute the president’s ascent to religion. Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale said earlier this year that ‘only God could deliver such a savior to our nation.’ Former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said God ‘wanted Trump to become president.’ And Secretary of State Mike Pompeo…  said in March that ‘it’s possible’ that Trump… had been sent ‘to help save the Jewish people.’”

Daily Mail added:

“The failed 2012 and 2016 presidential candidate continued: ‘None of us got here by accident. I’m a big believer that the God of our universe is still very active in the details of the day-to-day lives of government. You know, Barack Obama didn’t get to be the president [of the] United States without being ordained by God. Neither did Donald Trump

“Trump won the Republican nomination after turning aside a raft of rival Republicans – including Perry, who in 2016 denounced him as a ‘false prophet.’ ‘Let no one be mistaken – Donald Trump’s candidacy is a cancer on conservatism, and it must be clearly diagnosed, excised and discarded,’ Perry warned in a speech at the National Press Club in July of 2015. ‘My fellow Republicans, beware of false prophets. Do not let itching ears be tickled by messengers who appeal to anger, division and resentment. Resentment is the poison we swallow that we hope harms another. My fellow Republicans, don’t take the poison.’…

“Trump described himself as the ‘chosen’ one when describing his role taking on China on trade practices. ‘Somebody had to do it,’ he told reporters at the White House at the end of August. ‘I am the chosen one,’ he said, looking upward [and stretching out his arms]. ‘Somebody had to do it. So I’m taking on China.”

It is not true that God ordains every president of the United States, or every ruler on this planet. As we explain in our Q&A on Romans 13:3,  the Bible tells us that sometimes, God has nothing to do with certain people coming to power. This is Satan’s world, not God’s, and Satan is the ruler of this world, which includes the USA, the UK, Israel and other nations. Sometimes, people come to power without any spiritual influence—neither from God nor from Satan. At other times, Satan gives power and authority to certain people (he will do so in respect to the beast and the false prophet or the man of sin). On the other hand, nothing happens against God’s Will. And sometimes, God intervenes directly and places people in power, strictly and solely for the purpose of fulfilling biblical prophecy. We believe that in regard to Donald Trump, and perhaps other current leaders, this is the case.

UNFOLDING—“Brexit—No Going Back Now”

Express wrote on November 25:

“EU BOSSES are set to press ahead with a new European Commission without Britain after Boris Johnson’s steadfast refusal to nominate a representative. The Prime Minister’s hardline stance threw Brussels into a tailspin as its own laws clearly state every member nation must have a commissioner. But EU legal teams have been working round the clock throughout the weekend to come up with a solution to make the new Commission legitimate without a British presence.

“… Officials are confident [that] the next European Commission [will be conducted] in December without a UK commissioner. [A document by the EU commissioners] says the UK’s failure to meet its obligation to nominate a commissioner ‘cannot undermine the regular functioning of the Union and its institutions and thus cannot constitute an obstacle to the appointment of the next Commission in order for it to start as soon as possible exercising the full range of its power under the Treaties’.

“The European Commission has wide-ranging powers that include proposing policies on everything from migration to climate change, policing member states’ budgets and negotiating global trade deals. It is normally comprised of one representative from each of the EU’s 28 member states. Britain was given until midnight last Friday to respond to the launch of legal action in which it is accused of violating EU law by refusing to put forward a nominee. But the Government did not respond and is not expected to do so.”

Brexit will happen soon. The “patience” of the EU with the UK is running out. While Angela Merkel has been trying so far to delay Brexit, the Bible says that ultimately, Germany will not be able to help the UK anymore. From a biblical perspective, Brexit will destroy the UK, but it is prophesied to happen. At the same time, Money Week reported on November 24 that Christine Lagarde “is pushing harder on the door that Draghi already opened – the ECB is here, it’s printing money, and it will continue to buy all the bonds you can issue in order to fund more government spending. Meanwhile, progress towards ‘ever closer union’ will continue… Draghi effected political change but cloaked it under economics. Lagarde is going to do more, and in plain sight…”

Sicknesses Because of Vaccinations 

The Associated Press reported on November 25:

Four African countries have reported new cases of polio linked to the oral vaccine, as global health numbers show there are now more children being paralyzed by viruses originating in vaccines than in the wild. In a report late last week, the World Health Organization and partners noted nine new polio cases caused by the vaccine in Nigeria, Congo, Central African Republic and Angola. Seven countries elsewhere in Africa have similar outbreaks and cases have been reported in Asia. Of the two countries where polio remains endemic, Afghanistan and Pakistan, vaccine-linked cases have been identified in Pakistan…

“The Independent Monitoring Board, a group set up by WHO to assess polio eradication, warned in a report this month that vaccine-derived polio virus is ‘spreading uncontrolled in West Africa, bursting geographical boundaries and raising fundamental questions and challenges for the whole eradication process.”

We need to understand that ALL vaccines are potentially dangerous, and that is especially true for people with a weak immune system.  In countries where it is mandatory for children to be immunized, it is important that parents are aware of the potential dangers so they can pray fervently to God for His protection of the children. An uninformed, casual and lackadaisical approach is most certainly not called for.  

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.

This Week in the News

The Pope’s Stance on Nuclear Weapons, Death Penalty, Euthanasia, Abortion and Suicide

The Associated Press wrote on November 17:

“[Pope] Francis has gone further than any other pope by saying that not only the use, but the mere possession of nuclear weapons is ‘to be firmly condemned.’…

“Francis changed Catholic teaching last year by declaring the death penalty ‘inadmissible’ in all cases. He has also denounced today’s ‘throwaway culture’ where euthanasia, abortion and suicide are often considered acceptable…”

The disagreements between the Pope and conservatives within the Catholic Church continue.

Pope Condemns Groups like the Churches of God

Vatican News wrote on November 11:

“Pope Francis… warned against those who tell us that the end is coming immediately, that ‘the time is at hand.’ … ‘The poor facilitate our access to heaven,’ he said.”

 The end IS near, and we do NOT go to heaven when we die.

“The Pope Has Gone Further Away from God”

Breaking Israel News wrote on November 17:

“Pope Francis received the Grand Imam… of Egypt at the Vatican on Friday… a joint statement signed by the Pope and the Imam in February in Abu Dhabi intended to promote a ‘culture of mutual respect.’

“William Kilpatrick, a professor at Boston College… was skeptical of the agreement. ‘It’s unlikely that the Muslim parties will stick to their end of the bargain’, he wrote upon its signing, noting that the document ‘seems to have been written almost entirely in Rome. [The agreement is] geared to obfuscating the dangerous differences while emphasizing the surface similarities between Christianity and Islam… This is not what Muslim converts want to hear from their pope….That the Pope seems to propose the Quran as a way of salvation, is that not cause for worry?’

The meeting at the Vatican comes at a time when traditional values in the Catholic Church are changing. Pope Francis has taken on a policy in which homosexuals are welcomed into the church… Pope Francis stated that homosexual ‘tendencies are not a sin…’

“Catholic dioceses in the United Kingdom are reportedly hosting homosexual Masses designed to welcome homosexuals into the church and combine ‘gay pride’ with the Eucharist and other Romish sacraments… these pro-homosexuality events have received blessings from the local Roman Catholic bishops…

“Rabbi Hillel Weiss, the spokesman for the Sanhedrin, noted that… rather than take the time to repent, the Pope has gone even further away from God…”

The Algemeiner wrote on November 16 that “Pope Francis said on Friday politicians who rage against homosexuals… remind him of Hitler.”

 The Pope’s fascination with homosexuals is quite remarkable.

Strengthening the Bonds with Other Religions?

Deutsche Welle reported on November 20:

“Once again, Pope Francis is traveling to countries where Catholics make up a small percentage of the population… the pope, who arrived in Thailand on Wednesday, has made it his mission to use such trips to foster understanding between faiths. The pontiff said he sought ‘to strengthen the bonds of friendship that we share with many Buddhist brothers and sisters.’…

“Francis [has] gone further than his predecessors by making… astonishing statements… about religious diversity

“Media outlets will give heavy coverage to the pope’s visits to the memorials to the victims of the atomic bombings in Hiroshima, where he will participate in an interfaith peace conference, and Nagasaki, where he intends to deliver a rebuke of the use of nuclear weapons… Francis will become the second pope to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki. John Paul II visited in 1981, at the height of the Cold War…”

As we reported in our last Current Events section, and as it is discussed in our StandingWatch program, titled, “Is Pope Francis the False Prophet of the Bible?”, Pope Francis’ attempts to bring non-Christian religions under the Roman Catholic Church’s umbrella is being heavily criticized by conservative Catholics.  

Iran Cuts Off Internet Access

The Associated Press wrote on November 17:

“Iran’s supreme leader on Sunday cautiously backed the government’s decision to raise gasoline prices by 50% after days of widespread protests, calling those who attacked public property during demonstrations ‘thugs’ and signaling that a potential crackdown loomed.

“The government shut down internet access across the nation of 80 million people to staunch demonstrations that took place in a reported 100 cities and towns… By Saturday night, connectivity had fallen to just 7% of ordinary levels… The semiofficial ISNA news agency reported Sunday that Iran’s Supreme National Security Council ordered a ‘restriction of access’ to the internet nationwide, without elaborating.”

This shows how easy it is for autocratic dictatorships to cut off access to the Internet. But note the next article.

How the USA and the EU Could Turn the Internet on for Iran

Deutsche Welle wrote on November 19:

Richard Grenell, the US ambassador to Germany, tweeted that the United States and EU could ‘turn the internet on’ for Iran after the regime shut it down during protests against fuel price hikes. [He] followed up with a tweet to cellphone manufacturers and social media companies, encouraging them to join in the task…

“It’s nearly impossible for ordinary users with computers and routers to quickly access familiar internet services if a regime blocks network connections. However, limited communication may still be possible with a fair amount of effort…

“Before the World Wide Web got going in the 1990s, plenty of people already used the internet to communicate without being online all the time. CrossPoint (also called XP) brought together the function of discussion forums with those of an email program. Simple PCs equipped with one or two telephone modems acted as servers. These CrossPoint servers only needed to call one another every now and then on a normal telephone line to exchange their data packets.

“The technology works in countries run by authoritarian regimes, too. The Zamir Transnational Network demonstrated that starting in 1991, during the wars in the former Yugoslavia. As long as the servers were able to reach a telephone number in a free country, communication with the internet and the rest of the world was assured… It could still take days for an email to reach its recipient, but it was far faster than sending a letter.

The backbone of a contemporary system in Iran and other countries with authoritarian governments would be the hundreds of thousands or even millions of smartphones that people carry around with them… Each of those phones would become a server and connect with other phones nearby. A massive parallel internet would emerge through which users could communicate with each other…

“The free internet for Iran that Ambassador Grenell has called for could possibly be implemented with a cleverly designed app that would include a number of secret servers operated inside the country that allow telephone communications abroad… If a country blocks all channels of communication abroad, what’s left is communication into space…”

Today’s technologies and their potential are just amazing. God will assure that the gospel message will be proclaimed in all the world as a witness before Christ’s return.

Germany’s Volkstrauertag and the Rise of Extremism

Deutsche Welle wrote on November 17:

“German dignitaries paid their respects to the victims of war, oppression and violence on Sunday, as they took part in annual Volkstrauertag (“Remembrance Day”) ceremonies in Berlin…

“The president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, used the day of remembrance to caution against what he called ‘a creeping tendency’ of right-wing populism and extremism… Schuster spoke of ‘a real danger’ of becoming accustomed to right-wing extremism, citing ‘regular neo-Nazi concerts’ and the electoral success of the far-right AfD party…”

Antisemitism is clearly on the rise in Germany and throughout Europe.

Antisemitism in the US and across Europe

The Jerusalem Post wrote on November 17:

“Over the past five years, the world has seen record high numbers of antisemitic incidents in the United States and across Europe. Holocaust survivors say verbal and physical attacks against Jews and their property in 2019 are in many ways akin to what they experienced in Germany in the 1930s, which has created a deep-seated fear that another Holocaust is possible

“Polls done on the subject of antisemitism in Austria and the United States have yielded frightening results. In the US, 58% of Americans believe that something like the Holocaust could happen again… 68% of people believed that antisemitism was prevalent in the United States… nearly a third of all Americans and more than four out of 10 millennials believe that substantially less than six million Jews were killed (two million or fewer) during the Holocaust…

“In a similar survey done… in Austria this year, similar results were reported. More than half (58%) of Austrians said that they believe that something like the Holocaust could happen again in other European countries. More than a third of Austrian adults – 38%, who are 43% of millennials and Generation Z – believe that National Socialism/Nazism could come to power again…

“Prof. Judy Baumel Schwartz of the Department of Jewish History and Contemporary Jewry at Bar-Ilan University said the hatred of Jews didn’t start with the Holocaust. ‘Hatred of Jews began a very long time before Hitler’… Following the Holocaust and until the 1980s, it wasn’t fashionable to be antisemitic, but this was just a temporary situation and ‘now Europe has gone back to the way it always was.’”

 This is frightening and deeply depressing. The propaganda promulgated on the Internet and in the social media is dangerous when false information is disseminated—such as the hoax that the Holocaust did not exist.

German Neo-Nazis and Green Party .. .an Interesting Symbiosis

The Jerusalem Post wrote on November 15:

“The EU’s top court has been engulfed since Tuesday in an antisemitic legal scandal because of its singling out of Jewish, Israeli products from the disputed territories for a punitive labeling system. Critics say the legal ruling is discriminatory.

“What has been omitted from the rage over the alleged European Union discriminatory ruling is that Germany’s main neo-Nazi party and the German Green Party advocated a labeling of Israeli products from the disputed West Bank, Golan Heights and east Jerusalem territories as early as 2012 for the Nazi party NPD and for the Greens in 2013…

First, the Nazis: In 2009, Jürgen Rieger, a Holocaust denier and then-deputy chairman of the neo-Nazi National Democratic Party of Germany, called on Germans to boycott Israel. In 2012, the NPD party submitted a legislative initiative in the parliament of the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania to mark Israeli products…

“A mere five months later, in 2013, Germany’s influential Green Party introduced an initiative in the federal parliament that largely mirrored the neo-Nazi-sponsored legislation from the previous year… Both initiatives use the historical model of the German Nazi regime boycotts of Jewish businesses starting on April 1, 1933, and invoking the mass slogan: ‘Germans defend yourselves. Do not buy from Jews!’… The much-documented antisemitism of the Green Party has been reported on over the decades…

“A striking feature of the Green Party’s deep obsession with targeting Jewish products with disciplinary action is that the party, like the EU’s top court, ignores the over 100 other territorial disputes in the world. Put simply, the Green Party seeks no economic warfare against Turkish products, for example, for Ankara’s illegal seizure of Northern Cyprus…

“The Israel Hayom columnist Caroline Glick tweeted on Tuesday: ‘Weren’t the Nazis rooted in the Green Party beginning in the late 19th century? And didn’t Nazis play a key role in establishing the postwar Greens? Didn’t the Greens push to label Jewish Israeli goods? (Yes, all the above is true.)’ Glick , a former columnist for the Post, hit a button about the Nazi roots of the Green Party.

“Take the example of August Haussleiter, who, as co-founder of the Greens in 1979, played an important role in the party’s development. Haussleiter was active in Hitler’s Munich Beer Hall Putsch in 1923 and praised the German Wehrmacht in 1942. Baldur Springmann, a former member of the SA, the Nazi Party’s original paramilitary organization, also played a critical role in the nascent phase of the German Green Party. He left the party in 1980.”

This is a very revealing article, as it exposes the deeply anti-Semitic culture of Germany’s neo-Nazis and the popular environmentalist Green Party—not unlike Britain’s Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn.

Removing the Dome of the Rock?

Breaking Israel News reported on November 18:

“The Supreme Court of India ruled that an ancient [Hindu] temple must be rebuilt and a mosque that was built in its place must be relocated elsewhere. The case is surprisingly similar to the situation at Jerusalem’s Temple Mount and some see this as a precedent paving the way for the return of a Jewish Temple.

“… last week, the Indian Supreme Court gave its final ruling that the land required to build the Hindu temple be handed over by the Muslim authority…

“Assaf Fried, the spokesman for the Temple Organization, noted the unmistakable similarities between the case in India and the situation on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem… ‘The situation is precisely like the one in Jerusalem. Though it cannot be used in Israeli jurisprudence, conceptually, it is compelling… The structure of the Dome of the Rock, which is not a mosque but only a monument, can be moved to another location on the Temple Mount or in Jerusalem. It could even be transferred to Mecca.’…

“Yaakov Hayman, chairman of the United Temple Movements, agreed that the case in India was identical to the situation at the Temple Mount… He suggested moving the Dome of the Rock… ‘It is a beautiful building but it doesn’t need to be precisely there. That specific site is holy to the Jews. I think that what was shown in India is what should be done. If it was done in India, it can be done in Israel.’”

The push towards building the Third Temple gets more and more intense…

USA Reverses Decision to Call Israeli Settlements Illegal

Breitbart wrote on November 18:

“Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Monday that the U.S. had reversed the policy of Presidents Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama, who declared Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria (the ‘West Bank’) illegal. Israel took over the region during the Six Day War in 1 June 1967, after Jordan, ignoring pleas from Israel to stay out of the unfolding war with Egypt and Syria, began shelling western Jerusalem. Israel’s counter-attack was victorious.

“Though the area is commonly described as ‘occupied,’ Israel has long maintained that the territory is actually ‘disputed,’ since Jordan had no sovereign right to the territory. If anything, Israel has a superior legal claim, resting on the Balfour Declaration on 1917 and the subsequent League of Nations approval of the British Mandate, which included provision for a Jewish National Home in Palestine. Palestinians also claim the area for their future state.

“Jews had lived in portions of Judea and Samara for millennia. It is the Biblical cradle of the Jewish faith; Jews also lived in Jerusalem, Hebron, and other areas. Many were killed or expelled in the 1948 war of independence, but some began coming back, and establishing new settlements on state land, from 1968 onward…

“Secretary Pompeo issued a statement explaining the administration’s legal reasoning…: ‘After carefully studying all sides of the legal debate, this Administration agrees with President Reagan.  The establishment of Israeli civilian settlements in the West Bank is not per se inconsistent with international law.’…

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders celebrated the U.S. decision…”

The Associated Press added on November 18:

“The European Union warned of the potential repercussions in a statement following the announcement that did not mention the U.S…. The international community overwhelmingly considers the settlements illegal

“Shortly after Pompeo’s announcement, the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem issued an advisory warning for Americans planning to travel in the West Bank, Jerusalem and Gaza…”

The Associated Press wrote on November 20:

“The Vatican on Wednesday expressed concern that ‘recent decisions’ could undermine regional stability in the Middle East, in an apparent reference to the US reversal of position on Israeli settlements.”

The Netherlands Objects

The Times of Israel reported on November 20:

“The Dutch parliament on Tuesday approved a motion pushing back against a European Court of Justice decision that ordered the labeling of Israeli goods made in West Bank settlements. The motion, approved 82-68, calls on the government to object to the ruling, unless similar standards are applied to all disputed territories around the world. It deems the singling out of Israel in such regard unfair and discriminatory…

“The Dutch vote, supported by Christian groups in parliament and backed by the governing coalition, does not compel the government to act and is largely symbolic. However, diplomatic officials told the Ynet news site that the strong support from the coalition indicated it would guide government policy to an extent.”

The Netherlands is the exception. Most European countries, including Germany, reject the American positionEven though somewhat symbolic, the statement of the USA will set the stage for a coming clash in the Middle East. Note the next article.

Netanyahu Moves Ahead

Breaking Israel News reported on November 20:

“While much of the world screamed at the Trump administration’s announcement that international law does indeed grant Israel the right to Judea and Samaria, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took the opportunity to move forward towards redemption. As per a campaign promise made before the September 17 election, Netanyahu  announced on Tuesday [that he] approved a bill that would annex the Jordan Valley. The initiative for the bill actually came from Sharren Haskell (Likud) who, in light of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s announcement, requested that the bill be exempted from the mandatory six-week waiting period and be fast-tracked with a Knesset vote held next week. The move would include about 20 percent of Judea and Samaria into Israel

“The vote should go through with ease since Benny Gantz, head of the left-wing Blue and White party, announced two weeks ago that he supported annexing the Jordan Valley and the area adjacent to the Dead Sea. The left-wing party responded to Netanyahu’s campaign promise by saying,  ‘[We are] happy Netanyahu is adopting the Blue and White policy platform’…

“Rabbi Yehudah Glick, a Temple Mount activist and former Likud Member of Knesset, described the annexation of the Jordan Valley as the beginning of redemption. ‘The Jordan Valley, in particular, Jericho, was where the Jews first came into Israel,’ Rabbi Glick told Breaking Israel News. ‘That was the beginning of the first redemption. It was where we first became a free nation. This announcement is more than a political agenda. Just like the Jews who first crossed the Jordan River after the Exodus from Egypt, this is an announcement to the world that we are home… Like Abraham, we are saying, ‘Hineni’ (Here I am). We are here, and we are ready to settle the entire land,’ Rabbi Glick said.”

This will surely give rise to further anti-Israel resolutions and actions.

Israel’s Uncertain Future… a Third Election on the Horizon

Deutsche Welle reported on November 20:

“Benny Gantz, Blue and White party leader, announced on Wednesday that he will not be able to form a new government… President Reuven Rivlin had given him a midnight deadline… He now returns the mandate to Rivlin. This announcement deals a major setback to Gantz’s hopes of replacing Netanyahu as prime minister.

“Parliament now has 21 days to rally around Gantz, Netanyahu or another candidate to avoid the third election within twelve months… Avigdor Lieberman, leader of a smaller Israeli party and dubbed ‘kingmaker’ in the election, said earlier on Wednesday that he would not support Gantz, all but ensuring Gantz’s failure. He previously also ruled out working with Netanyahu.

Neither Gantz nor Netanyahu have the required majority in parliament to form a government in their own right. Despite rounds of meetings, both have been unwilling to bend on key issues… A third election now seems likely with no other solution on the horizon.”

This means, Netanyahu remains Prime Minister for the time being.

Netanyahu Indicted

JTA wrote on November 21:

“Benjamin Netanyahu has been charged in three corruption cases, marking the first time a sitting Israeli prime minister has been indicted.

“The charges, announced on Thursday evening by the Justice Ministry and Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, include bribery and breach of public trust.

“Netanyahu has denied the charges and called the investigations against him a ‘witch hunt.’…

“He has 30 days to request that the Knesset grant him parliamentary immunity in order to avoid a criminal trial. Government ministers are required to resign if faced with a criminal charge, but not the prime minister.

The Jerusalem Post added:

“The indictment will significantly impact the ongoing efforts to form a coalition before December 11 when the period of 21 days expires.”

Donald Trump—the Last US President?

On November 13, Breaking Israel News published an article with the following headline:

“Rabbi: Blessing Trump as King Shows He is the Final President Before the Return of Davidic Dynasty.”

The article continued:

“President Trump attended an Orthodox Jewish fundraising event at the Intercontinental Hotel in Manhattan on Tuesday evening. Four hundred Orthodox Jews participated in the event… Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Jacobson recited the blessing said upon seeing a non-Jewish ruler… The crowd responded with an enthusiastic ‘Amen’ and chants of ‘Four more years.’ The Talmud states that it is a mitzvah (Torah commandment) for a Jew to go out of his way to see rulers and kings, whether they are Jewish or non-Jewish… ‘Though it is true that Trump is not technically a king but he is the most powerful ruler of the world,’ Rabbi Hollander told Breaking Israel News. ‘In that sense, Trump is more of a king than other kings.’…

“Rabbi Berger noted that the blessing of Trump as a king was timely indeed. He cited Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, the medieval commentator known by the acronym Rashi, explains that this mitzvah is incumbent on Jews who will see the coming of the Messiah… ‘The Messiah will come to fix the mess that has been made of governments around the world, in almost every nation. America and Israel are both having crises in leadership,’ Rabbi Berger said.

“‘We are seeing that democracy simply does not work. The Bible does not talk about democracy. If the U.S. had a king, there would not be any spurious impeachment process or pointless investigations. Democracy allows people who hate the country, who hate God, and even hate half of the people, to run the country. This breakdown of government is intended to turn people to the real king.’ ‘If Israel had a king, there would not be any election reruns,’ Rabbi Berger said. ‘Since David was the king, he went out and dealt with the Philistines in a true and decisive manner. Because Israel does not have a king, it is 70 years and we are still getting attacked by the same Philistines.’ ‘We need the real king and all this conflict over how to run the country will end with the emergence of the true king,’ Rabbi Berger said.”

We have suggested for quite a while that Donald Trump might indeed be the last President of the United States. And as the article points out, only the Messiah will be able to make an end to the mess which we have created.

“Is America Ready for an Openly Gay President?”

AFP wrote on November 18:

“As young Democrat Pete Buttigieg emerges as a genuine contender in the 2020 White House race, his rise poses the question of whether America is ready for an openly gay president… The latest national polls put the Afghanistan veteran fourth behind… former vice president Joe Biden and… senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders… While Buttigieg does not dwell on his sexual orientation, he has spoken candidly about his decision to come out four years ago, and his engagement in 2017 to Chasten — with whom he hopes to start a family, perhaps even in the White House.

Unlike Europe where half a dozen countries have elected gay leaders since 2009, the barrier to LGBT presidential candidates, as well as women, remains unbroken in the United States. Barack Obama, the first black man elected president in 2008, was preceded in the White House by 43 white males, none openly gay… Now we have two [openly gay] governors [and] two [openly gay] US senators… The first openly gay presidential candidate was Fred Karger, who sought the Republican nomination in 2012, although his candidacy never took off.

“On its website, Victory Fund regularly updates a map of elected LBGTQ officials in the United States: the number currently stands at 762 across all levels of government and all states except South Dakota and Mississippi… In May, a Gallup poll found 76 percent of respondents said they would vote for a gay candidate, three times more than in 1978. Among Democrats… the share rose to 83 percent… Most [opposed] were able to overcome their reservations after hearing him speak in calm and measured tones and once he had reminded them he is a practicing Christian…”

The change in the USA—and around the world—pertaining to “openly gay” politicians is quite remarkable and a telling sign of the times. The Bible condemns the practice of homosexuality. But the discussion as to whether America is ready for an “openly gay president” may only be of theoretical interest, because Donald Trump will be reelected in 2020.

The Nuclear Crisis

Project Syndicate wrote on November 18:

Iran has begun a slow but steady process of getting out from under many of the agreement’s limits… It may… be calculating that these steps could dramatically reduce the time it would need to produce nuclear weapons without being attacked. But it is at least as likely that Iran’s actions will lead the US, or more probably Israel, to undertake a preventive strike designed to destroy a significant part of its program.

“Such a strike could lead several other regional powers, including Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, to develop or acquire nuclear weapons of their own. Turkey, increasingly estranged from many of its allies, has suggested that it may choose to develop nuclear weapons regardless of what Iran does. North Korea is far ahead of Iran: it already has several dozen nuclear weapons and missiles, has tested missiles that can reach the US, and is developing submarine-launched nuclear weapons.

“The notion that North Korea will agree to give up its weapons and ‘denuclearize’ is fanciful. Its leader, Kim Jong-un, believes that only nuclear weapons can ensure his regime’s survival, a belief understandably strengthened by the experience of Ukraine, which accepted security guarantees in exchange for giving up the nuclear weapons it inherited from the Soviet Union, only to be invaded by Russia 25 years later.

“One risk is… that North Korea’s neighbors, including South Korea and Japan, will determine that they, too, need nuclear weapons given the North Korean threat and their diminished confidence in the reliability of the US and its guarantees to protect them with its nuclear forces. The danger in both regions is that a race to acquire nuclear weapons could trigger a preventive war…

India and Pakistan, two countries with a long history of bilateral conflict, are both nuclear powers. Nuclear deterrence cannot be assumed

“… the number of countries [known to have] nuclear weapons is… nine… But with nuclear technology increasingly available, arms control unraveling amid renewed great power rivalry, weakened alliances as the US pulls back from the world, and fading memories of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we are entering a new and dangerous period. Nuclear competition or even use of nuclear weapons could again become the greatest threat to global stability. Less certain is whether today’s leaders are up to meeting this emerging challenge.”

A nuclear all-encompassing World War III is prophesied to happen soon.

Vaccinations for Children Soon Mandatory in Germany

Deutsche Welle wrote on November 14:

“On Thursday, the German parliament — the Bundestag — passed a law to make immunization mandatory. The ‘Measles Protection Act’ stipulates that as of March 2020 children and staff in kindergartens and schools, medical facilities, and community facilities must be vaccinated. These include residences for asylum seekers, refugee shelters and holiday camps. Parents who do not vaccinate their children of school age will face hefty fines of up to €2,500 ($2,749), while younger children could face a ban from day care facilities…

“After months of debate, the law approved on Thursday wasn’t passed without criticism. Pediatrician Dr. Steffen Rabe… said every parent should be allowed to decide whether they immunize their child. ‘The law is unnecessary, ineffective and unconstitutional,’ Rabe told DW, quoting the right of bodily integrity…

“As the measles vaccination in Germany is only available as a triple — and sometimes quadruple — shot, the mandatory measles vaccination will also indirectly make immunization against measles, mumps and rubella, and in some cases chicken pox obligatory… ‘Some parents don’t want to vaccinate their children against all three diseases due to concerns about possible… side effects later in life,’ Rabe said.

“The German Association of Cities was also critical, saying that the law will affect the legal right to a place at a kindergarten and the difficulty of finding an available spot — an ongoing issue in Germany. German Health Minister Jens Spahn defended the new law.”

Many can be influenced by following the popular mass-media-driven notion endorsed by many governments regarding the necessity of vaccinations, while overlooking or suppressing potential side effects. Spahn who is openly gay has also been instrumental for the enactment of other laws which are likewise quite controversial.

 In addition, Bild Online reported on November 20 that Germans are overwhelmingly disappointed with their government. Only 26% feel the quality of their government constitutes strength for their country, and only 57% have confidence in the political stability (down from 81% a while back). 73% of East Germans think that the current government is too weak. Further, the coalition between CDU and SPD is being rejected by a large portion of the population, but so would be a coalition between the CDU and the Greens.  

Jury Sides with Planned Parenthood Against Undercover Video Journalists

Breitbart wrote on November 15:

“The jury in the federal civil case brought against the undercover video journalists who exposed Planned Parenthood in its alleged trafficking of the body parts of aborted babies found in favor of Planned Parenthood Friday. In the case of Planned Parenthood v. Center for Medical Progress (CMP), the jury found the pro-life journalists caused significant harm to the abortion chain with its sting video series and awarded punitive damages to the abortion chain of over $2.2 million, according to the Thomas More Society, which represented David Daleiden, who headed the CMP project.

“In a statement, Daleiden said: ‘Justice was not done today in San Francisco. While top Planned Parenthood witnesses spent six weeks testifying under oath that the undercover videos are true and Planned Parenthood sold fetal organs on a quid pro quo basis, a biased judge with close Planned Parenthood ties spent six weeks trying to influence the jury with pre-determined rulings and suppressed the video evidence, all in order to rubber-stamp Planned Parenthood’s lawsuit attack on the First Amendment. This is a dangerous precedent for citizen journalism and First Amendment civil rights across the country, sending a message that speaking truth and facts to criticize the powerful is no longer protected by our institutions.’

“Prior to the start of the trial, U.S. District Judge William Orrick III ruled the jury would not be allowed to consider any information Daleiden gleaned from the video recordings… Orrick has been the subject of controversy as he presided over the case, during which he imposed a gag order on CMP regarding the online publication of the National Abortion Federation (NAF) and Planned Parenthood video footage… the Good Samaritan Family Resource Center — an entity that is in partnership with a Planned Parenthood affiliate, a member of the NAF — had named Orrick as an emeritus member of its board… Orrick’s wife’s Facebook account was found to have included posted public comments — along with a photo of her and her husband — that indicate support for Planned Parenthood and criticism of Daleiden and CMP.

“Planned Parenthood has yet to be prosecuted for any of the allegations of profiting from the sales of the body parts of babies aborted in its clinics….”

This Judge should have been disqualified, as he was obviously biased. This is a travesty of justice and an abominable judgment of shame in favor of an organization which is admittedly engaged in terrible and ungodly conduct. How could a true Christian participate in jury trials like these?

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.

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