Here are five of the most important news stories this week, as well as relevant links to the full articles and videos here on theTrumpet.com.

Will Russia Push Japan to End Its Defense Treaty With the U.S.?

Russian President Vladimir Putin signaled on November 10 that for Moscow and Japan to conclude a peace treaty, Tokyo might first have to reconsider its long-standing defense alliance with the United States. And Russia may have a bargaining chip that would make the offer difficult for the Japanese leadership to resist: the disputed Kuril Islands.

If Russia offers Japan territories in exchange for diminishing or ending the U.S.-Japan alliance, it would represent a major step toward the fulfillment of Bible prophecies about the coming together of “the kings of the east.”

Is Europe Waking Up to the Iranian Threat?

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri resigned on November 4 to express his unwillingness to continue serving as part of a government that legitimizes Iran’s hold over the nation, via Hezbollah.

Saudi Arabia is vehemently opposed to Iranian influence in Lebanon. As is Israel, because it faces a clear and present danger from Hezbollah in the north, as well as Iranian patronage of Hamas in Gaza in the southwest. And so also is the United States under the leadership of President Donald Trump, whose first foreign tour began in Riyadh.

But what about Europe?

EU Leaders Take ‘Historic’ Step Toward United Military

During a November 13 ceremony described by the European Union foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, as an “emotional moment” and a “historic moment in European defense,” 23 EU member nations agreed to coordinate their defense spending and planning in order to boost the fighting effectiveness of the EU as a whole, rather than designing their militaries to defend only their individual borders. The agreement is a major step toward the formation of a European army.

Dancing With the Plague

One of the most feared diseases in history is making a comeback: the Yersinia pestis bacteria, which causes the pneumonic, septicemic and bubonic plagues. This bacteria caused the Black Death, which killed at least a third of Europe’s population between 1347 and 1353.

Bizarre rituals in Madagascar involving the exhumation of decomposing corpses and dancing with them are reportedly spreading the plague in the island nation off the southeast shore of Africa. The World Health Organization fears it could spread into mainland Africa and potentially create a huge crisis—one that would ring with prophetic overtones.

Deadly 7.3-Magnitude Earthquake Rattles Iran-Iraq Border

On November 12, a deadly 7.3-magnitude earthquake hit the border of Iraq and Iran, and reverberated all across the region, from Turkey to Dubai. The earthquake killed more than 500 people, injured more than 8,000 others, and left more than 70,000 homeless.

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