Britain’s Immigration Scandal, Budget Cuts in France, Druze Youth Attacked in Southern Syria

Is Britain preparing to share nuclear bombs with Germany? That’s the question I examine in today’s main story. Of course, if you read my Morning Brief last week, you know the answer already. But the article goes into more detail of Germany’s nuclear dilemma, how it wants to keep the U.S. onside while it finds alternative sources of nuclear bombs, and some very specific Bible prophecies.

[BRIEF]

The British government paid £7 billion to bring in around 100,000 migrants, lied about it, and then made it illegal for anyone to report on the story.

It looks set to be one of the biggest scandals in modern British history. Someone at the Ministry of Defense reportedly leaked the identity of 24,000 Afghans who helped British forces during the invasion.

To protect these men, many of them were airlifted to the UK. The government applied for a super-injunction making it illegal for the press to report on the story. It is the first time such a wide-ranging injunction had been used by the government against the press. The High Court lifted it yesterday, allowing the story to be revealed for the first time.

The Ministry of Defense estimates the total cost of bringing the Afghans to the UK at £7 billion (us$9.4 billion).

The data leak occurred under the Conservative government, but the policy of silence, lies and suppression continued under Labour, implicating both major parties.

Twenty-four thousand people have been offered asylum in the UK. They will also be allowed to bring their wives (many have several) and children—which would bring the total figure to somewhere in the region of 100,000. Some of those offered asylum after the data breach had previously been denied asylum because of a history of violence or sexual assault.

When protests were held across the nation in the aftermath of the Southport stabbings last summer, the worst unrest was generally in places where large numbers of these Afghans had been resettled.

After the Southport stabbings, Britain responded by covering up the truth about the stabber and jailing those who spoke it, only to later admit the truth. It’s understandable that some are questioning whether even now we have the true or full story on the Afghan refugees.

Writing to modern Britain, God warns in the book of Hosea that “Ephraim, he hath mixed himself among the people [or foreigners]; Ephraim is a cake not turned” (Hosea 7:8). In some ways, the nation may look good on the surface, but on the inside, it has been overbaked and burned out. The nation is quickly destroying itself. But as Herbert W. Armstrong pointed out in his book The United States and Britain in Prophecy, there is hope.

Good news! I’ve found a politician willing to put his career on the line in order to cut spending and bring debt under control. The bad news, for most of us, is that he’s French. Prime Minister François Bayrou unveiled a new plan to bring France’s runaway spending under control yesterday. He aims to cut $50 billion from France’s budget. He warned that the nation’s debt was a “mortal danger” and that the nation was adding $5,700 to its debt every second. “It’s the last stop before the cliff, before we are crushed by the debt,” he said. His plans include:

• Reducing civil service jobs
• A one-time tax (or a “solidarity contribution” as he called it) for the rich
• Closing tax loopholes
• Not raising welfare benefits, some government salaries and income tax brackets in line with inflation this year
• Canceling two national holidays

It’s that last point that has raised the most outrage. By law, all French workers have to take 30 days off a year, whether they want to or not. They love their paid vacation.

Canceling Easter Monday means reducing a four-day weekend to three. I’m more concerned about canceling V.E. Day: France not celebrating victory in World War II is another step away from its alliance with Britain and America.

Even all this only slowly lowers France’s borrowing. In 2024, the government borrowed 5.8 percent of its gdp. Bayrou wants to bring this down to 4.6 percent next year, and below 3 percent by 2029. This means France’s debt is still growing—just more slowly.

Yet this may be too much for the French. Bayrou’s Parliament is split three ways, between far left, center and far right. The last prime minister was pushed out in December over a similar attempt to control spending. Bayrou has already survived eight no-confidence motions. Fringe-right leader Marine Le Pen threatened yesterday to bring down the government unless Bayrou backtracked. Far-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon also said, “Bayrou must go.”

This could be the end of another French government. Bayrou has clearly decided he’d rather go down trying to do the right thing than take the easier course of kicking the can down the road, and I respect that. The scrapping of national holidays may be a savvy political move. It’s possible that he plans to backtrack on that, allowing his other reforms to go ahead.

Even so, navigating the next few months will be very hard for Bayrou. Like many other countries in Europe, France is close to ungovernable. Nations are heading for financial disaster, with democracy unable to save the nation. Watch for the oncoming disaster to bring a strongman onto the scene to sort it out.

Druze youth in southern Syria have been attacked by Bedouins affiliated with the Syrian government, local media reports. The religious minority has feared for its survival since Syria’s Islamist ruler, Ahmed al-Sharaa, took power last December. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, more than 200 people have been killed in recent days. The government’s goal is undoubtedly to bring southern Syria under the complete control of government troops. Videos show government fighters cutting off men’s mustaches—a severe humiliation for a devout Druze.

Syria’s Defense Ministry blamed militias in Suweida for violating a ceasefire agreement provoking the recent clashes. However, the Syrian Army is filled with radical jihadists in its ranks that have also been accused of the massacres against the Alawite and Christian minorities in March.

There is absolutely no sign that the new Syrian government has overcome its terrorist roots. News like this causes further questions of the Trump administration’s decision to lift sanctions on Syria.

Israel sees the danger more clearly and bombed Syrian government positions in Suweida to help the Druze. Earlier today, the Israeli military confirmed it conducted an air strike near the entrance to the Syrian Ministry of Defense in Damascus.

The Israeli government knows that if the jihadists persecute religious minorities in their own country, Jews will most certainly be their next target. Israel seems close to reaching a deal with the Syrian government, but Bible prophecy says it will be betrayed.

IN OTHER NEWS

Two died in flooding in New Jersey, authorities announced yesterday, after their car was swept away in floodwater. Heavy rains caused flash floods in New York and Pennsylvania, Monday night and early Tuesday morning. New York’s Central Park recorded its second-highest one-hour rainfall ever. Our booklet Why ‘Natural’ Disasters? shows why these weather curses are becoming more common.

President Trump backtracked on some of his statements against Russia yesterday. When asked if the U.S. would supply Ukraine with missiles that could reach deep into Russian territory, he said, “We’re not looking to do that.” He also said Ukraine “shouldn’t target Moscow.” The White House said the Financial Times took President Trump out of context when it claimed the opposite. Trump has made a marked shift against Putin, put perhaps not quite as far as it appeared yesterday.

China can now buy more advanced AI chips from Nvidia as President Trump follows through on an earlier agreement easing the trade war between the two. Nvidia’s H20 chip is a dumbed-down version of the H100, designed for export to China. In April, the U.S. banned their export, but allowed them again on Monday. President Trump agreed to resume exporting chips to China in exchange for China selling rare earth metals to the U.S. It’s another example of the power China’s control over rare earth metals gives it.

South Korean leaders plan to retake wartime command of troops from the United States, Yonhap News reported July 15. The report, based on statements from Defense Minister nominee Ahn Gyu-back, says this will likely occur within the five-year term of President Lee Jae-myung. We’ve said for decades, based on biblical prophecy, that U.S. power in Asia will be reduced and its alliances in the region will be ruptured. Our In Brief has more.

The brother of Spain’s prime minister fled to Japan weeks after being indicted for embezzlement. Japan has no extradition treaty with Spain. It makes his family look guilty and adds to the pressure on Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. It’s yet another European country with political troubles.