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The Power Outage That Paralyzed Europe

By Joel Hilliker • April 30, 2025

The Power Outage That Paralyzed Europe

The Power Outage That Paralyzed Europe

By Joel Hilliker • April 30, 2025

What would the world do if the power went out? On Monday, a massive power outage struck Spain, Portugal and parts of southern France, causing turmoil across the Iberian Peninsula, affecting some 60 million people. Though power was completely restored within 24 hours, the disruption was severe:

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  • The blackout paralyzed public transportation (subways, trains and airports), knocked out traffic lights, disrupted telecommunications (phone and Internet services), and affected businesses, ATMs and supermarkets. Hospitals relied on backup generators. Elevators trapped people, requiring over 200 rescues in Madrid alone.
  • Spain’s Confederation of Business Organizations estimated losses at €1.6 billion. Small businesses like ice cream shops and restaurants faced significant losses due to spoiled goods.
  • Spain declared a state of emergency, deploying 30,000 police to manage traffic and public order. Portugal declared an energy crisis. Both countries held emergency cabinet meetings.
  • People died. At least seven deaths were reported in Spain, including three in Galicia from carbon monoxide poisoning linked to generator use.

What caused it? We don’t yet know. Authorities are investigating, but no definitive explanation has been confirmed. It isn’t thought to be a cyberattack, though authorities haven’t ruled it out. Experts warn of vulnerabilities in aging grid infrastructure and of the problems that these nations’ heavy reliance on green energy brings.

It highlights how interdependent nations have grown, even for everyday needs. As Geopolitical Futures wrote:

A fire in southern France, an unexpected grid oscillation in Spain, a blackout in Lisbon—all are threads in the same fabric. No matter how localized they appear at first, disruptions ripple outward through tightly linked infrastructure.

For Europe, this energy interdependence symbolizes what is also happening economically, politically and militarily, just as Bible prophecy foretold.

It also vividly shows just how fragile is our electrified modern world. It is one thing to have a power grid downed by an earthquake or tornado. Here, apparently something simply broke, and pandemonium ensued. What if a power disruption lasted not a day but a month, or a year? Life as we know it would cease. This could play a role in key prophecies, especially regarding America. Brace yourself.

Friedrich Merz cleared the final hurdle to become Germany’s next chancellor today when the Social Democratic Party approved a coalition deal with his Christian Democratic Union and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union. He will be elected chancellor by the Bundestag on Tuesday.

Germans, and Europeans generally, have high hopes that Chancellor Merz will help fill the leadership void at the heart of the European Union. Amid tensions with the Trump administration and Russia’s war in Ukraine, Merz has vowed to prioritize European unity, economic revival and security. He looks like a significant step up from Olaf Scholz. Impressively, he already managed to put together a government—avoiding a prolonged political muddle—and to push through a constitutional amendment that will help turn Germany into a military powerhouse.

Watch for a Trumpet Brief later today from our editor in chief about where Merz may fit into the larger picture of biblical prophecy for Germany and for Europe.

Sweden’s problem with (*whispers*) migrant crime: Three youths were killed in a shooting in Sweden yesterday, in a suspected gang-related case, our In Brief reports. The incident highlights a growing crisis in this Scandinavian nation.

In 2015, Europe opened the floodgates to migrants. Soon, Sweden’s government had a whole new set of statistics to keep track of: street bombings.

  • People noticed grenade attacks becoming increasingly common in 2016.
  • By 2018 the government started counting—there were 162.
  • By 2024 it had nearly doubled, to 317.
  • This past January alone, there were 30—an average of one blast per day.

Between 2012 and 2022, gun fatalities in Sweden tripled. Last November, the prime minister warned of “a new wave of violence” sweeping the country.

The government avoids connecting the dots between migration and gang violence, but if you dig into the data, the evidence is clear. Not only has the violence coincided with mass migration, but the violence is largely concentrated in the areas where migrants live. When professors at Lund University reported some of this data in 2021, they were accused of “conducting and publishing illegal research.”

Gang violence like yesterday’s makes people more inclined to speak out. If authorities continue trying to crack down on any discussion of migrant crime, they light the fuse for a different kind of explosion: a backlash against migrants that could bring down liberal governments as collateral damage.

Changing policy? What did Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy talk about in St. Peter’s Basilica over the weekend? Axios today released an article with details. Their sources say Zelenskyy urged Trump “to take a tougher line with Vladimir Putin and reprioritize a ceasefire.” The sources claimed after the meeting, “Zelenskyy felt he’d managed to shift Trump’s thinking about Putin for the first time.” The sources say this may have been because of the absence of Vice President JD Vance and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, who, according to the Ukrainians, favor Russia’s position more.

On his way back to America, President Trump posted on social media that he thinks Putin doesn’t want an end to the war and threatened further sanctions.

However, in an interview yesterday with ABC News, President Trump told Terry Moran, “I think he does” want peace. Which is it? Does it depend on which adviser whispers in his ear last? All this brings more uncertainty in analyzing Trump’s plan to end the war—and other conflicts.

IN OTHER NEWS:

Syria’s leader claims to want peace with Israel, but can he be trusted? Mihailo Zekic covers this topic in our feature article today, looking at current events surrounding the nation and what the Bible prophesies for Israel-Syria relations.

Trump seeks free passage through Suez: On Saturday, President Trump called on Egypt to allow military and commercial U.S. ships through the Suez Canal “free of charge,” our In Brief reports. Egypt’s leadership is balking.

“Ratlines” exposed: On Monday, Argentina declassified over 1,850 documents detailing Nazi activities in the country after World War II, focusing on war criminals like Adolf Eichmann, Josef Mengele and Martin Bormann. The declassification, ordered by President Javier Milei, aims to expose the “ratlines” that enabled Nazis to flee to Argentina.


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