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.

Over 300 Dead in Easter Sunday Attack in Sri Lanka

Over 300 have been killed and hundreds injured in a series of bomb attacks on Christians celebrating Easter Sunday in Sri Lanka. The attacks, which targeted four hotels, three Catholic churches and a housing complex, are the worst violence in the country since the end of its civil war a decade ago.

The attacks were orchestrated by a radical Islamic terrorist group, and they are yet another provocation for a prophesied clash of civilizations.

Will Pope Francis Cause a Schism in the Catholic Church?

Since Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò revealed last August that Pope Francis covered up for a homosexual cardinal who had sexually abused young boys, some conservative Catholics have been calling for the pope to resign. While liberal Catholics have mostly glossed over the cover-up, Pope Francis responded to the accusations against him by saying that those who spend their lives accusing the Catholic Church are “friends, cousins and relatives of the devil.”

Pope Emeritus Benedict xvi, who resigned as pope six years ago, has avoided commenting on Francis’s papacy, but he broke his silence on April 10 to bolster the conservative position and criticize the current state of the Catholic Church.

While the two living popes have not been openly criticizing one another, the fact that they have different visions for the Catholic Church is creating confusion and division.

The Catholic Church may be facing its biggest crisis in centuries.

Iranian Terror Network Uncovered in Central Africa

“We want to create an army to fight against Westerners in Africa,” the head of a Central African terrorist cell recently told i24news.

The terrorist network is backed by Iran.

According to the Jerusalem Post and i24news, Iran has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to fund the terrorist network and paid $150,000 for the recruitment of Islamic insurgents to target Chad, the Central African Republic, Eritrea, Gambia, Niger, South Sudan and Sudan.

“All of this violence in Africa is just a prelude to the fulfillment of [the Daniel 11:40] prophecy,” Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry warned readers in 2013. “Monitor these events closely and see if what we’re telling you doesn’t come to pass. So many prophecies already have. Never in mankind’s history has so much prophecy been fulfilled so rapidly! Events are racing along. This is not the world you knew 10 or even five years ago. It’s very different.”

Russia Warns Ukraine and NATO of ‘Military Conflict’

Russia’s Federation Council recently warned that violations of freedom of navigation rules by Ukrainian vessels in the Kerch Strait could spark a “military conflict.”

“The passing of Ukrainian ships through the Kerch Strait is not a question of the balance of force or of nato’s presence in the Black Sea region. It is exclusively a problem of Ukraine’s compliance with the established procedures that are well-known to it and had been successfully used by it up to November 2018,” read a statement from the Russian Federation Council. “Ukraine’s attempts to bypass these procedures are fraught with the risk of a military conflict between Ukraine and Russia in which nato may be involved.”

Such Russian threats and provocations are not just intimidating Ukraine. They are frightening the nations of Europe in a way that will lead to large-scale conflict.

Violence Escalates in Northern Ireland

The killing of journalist Lyra McKee on April 18 has sparked new outrage and fears in an Irish city historically known as a flashpoint for violent opposition against British rule.

A member of the New Irish Republican Army (ira) shot and killed McKee during a riot in Londonderry with a bullet that likely was intended for a police officer.

There is a specific reason why the Trumpet watches Northern Ireland. When the Bible mentions Israel in its prophecies, it is referring to the modern-day descendants of that ancient nation. These include Britain, its commonwealth and the United States.

Bible prophecies describe rioting and anarchy in the cities of these nations as a prelude to an unprecedented intervention in these nations—by God Himself!

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