Europe
Europe is in disarray. Or so it appears. In June the Irish decisively voted against the eu constitution version 2.0, aka the Lisbon Treaty. After democracy destroyed the first EU constitution, when France and the Netherlands voted against it, European nations were careful not to let the people have a say in the ratification of their new constitution—except for Ireland. In its referendum. 53.4 percent of those voting rejected the treaty.
Despite this hiccup, Europe marches forward. Germany and France issued a joint statement that the treaty ratification process is to continue in other nations while a solution to the Ireland conundrum is worked out. French President Nicolas Sarkozy said, “The Irish will have to vote again.” Somehow, Europe will overcome this difficulty. It has never let democracy get in the way before; why start now? Regardless of a YouGov poll that showed only 14 percent of Britons support it, the UK formally ratified the Lisbon Treaty in June. Both the House of Commons and the House of Lords ratified the treaty, and the Queen gave it her royal assent.
For the rest of Europe, it was also business as usual. Superstate-type policies, such as a controversial law establishing a common EU policy for expelling illegal immigrants, continue to be introduced. European interior ministers meeting in France in July announced that EU nations could station their police in tourist hot spots around Europe. This means, for example, French police could send their police to London and British police could be stationed in Paris. Since March, detectives from Europol nations have been able to carry out investigations and even make arrests in other nations.
As Europe grows in power, expect it to become less tolerant of those citizens who do not conform to its social norms. Anti-Islam action is growing across the EU. The Italian interior minister, for example, announced in July that he will shut down the Jenner mosque in Milan after receiving complaints from local residents. Also in July, a woman from Morocco who has lived in France since 2000 and who has a French husband and French-born children, was denied citizenship because she wears a burka; the supreme court on administrative matters ruled that it was incompatible with French values.
Even as Europe starts to get tougher at home, it is seeking to expand its global influence. President Sarkozy launched his Union for the Mediterranean in July. The Union includes 43 European, Middle Eastern and African countries, with a total population of 800 million. This is the latest of many European efforts to expand its influence in the Middle East and Africa, fulfilling a specific biblical prophecy (Daniel 8:9).
Germany also committed itself to investing heavily in Kosovo in July, pledging €100 million for 2008 and 2009 toward the construction and development of Kosovo’s democratic structures, particularly its ailing economy. This makes it Kosovo’s second-largest single donor after the U.S. Germany’s ongoing investment in Kosovo demonstrates its position as the new master of the Balkans and is part of what editor in chief Gerald Flurry has termed Germany’s “master plan.” That master plan is swiftly unfolding toward a shocking and dramatic conclusion. To learn about this conclusion, request a free copy of The Rising Beast—Germany’s Conquest of the Balkans.
Mideast
Terrorist attacks have risen by more than 40 percent in eastern Afghanistan in the first five months of 2008 compared to the same period last year.
Turkey is in the midst of a constitutional crisis. In March, the country’s chief prosecutor launched a suit aimed at shutting down the ruling Justice and Development Party (akp) and banning dozens of politicians for five years because of their efforts to undermine the secular state and impose Islamic rule. Heightening the political tension, police arrested 21 people in early July, including two retired generals, suspected of plotting a coup against the akp. Europe has responded by condemning the secularists for being undemocratic. Turkey is in a Catch-22 with respect to Europe. Should the prosecution be successful in removing the ruling party, EU officials say it would set back Turkey’s bid for Union membership indefinitely. If it is unsuccessful, Europe will consider Turkey “too Muslim” to join the EU.
Hezbollah and its allies acquired the power of veto in a new Lebanese national unity government on July 11. The Iran-backed terrorist group and its opposition allies now hold 11 of 30 seats in the cabinet. Five days later, Hezbollah won another victory when Israel handed over five terrorists in exchange for the bodies of the two Israeli soldiers whose capture initiated the Israel-Hezbollah war two years ago (see article, page 26).
An truce between Israel and Hamas, brokered by Egypt, began June 19, though sporadic rocket fire from Gaza has continued. Given the history and nature of Hamas, this cease-fire is nothing more than a chance for the terrorist group to catch its breath.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s Kadima party and Defense Minister Ehud Barak’s Labor Party struck a deal on June 25 to prevent the ruling coalition from collapsing as a result of the Olmert bribery scandal fallout. Kadima has agreed to hold primaries to elect a new party leader (and hence prime minister) by September 25, and Labor has agreed not to push for early national elections. What may appear to be a show of unity, however, is anything but: It is simply a desperate measure to avoid an election that would bring to power the more popular Likud. Meanwhile, Olmert is a lame-duck prime minister.
Israel is experiencing its fourth consecutive year of drought, with last winter’s rainfall only 65 percent of the long-term average and the water level in the Sea of Galilee dropping close to the danger line. Ironically, it is during this current water crisis that the Olmert administration has put both the West Bank and the Golan Heights on the negotiating table—two primary sources for Israel’s water.
The European Union announced a significant upgrade in its relations with Israel on June 16 during the annual eu-Israel Association Council Meeting in Luxembourg. The agreement “will usher in a new era in Israeli-European relations,” the Foreign Ministry said. Israel’s apparent warming relationship with Europe is prophesied in the Bible—along with the outcome of it: a massive double cross (request our free booklet Jerusalem in Prophecy).
Conflicting reports in recent weeks of war games and peace deals in the Middle East have observers drawing diverse conclusions. Israel conducted a large military exercise in June. A few weeks later, Iran responded by launching medium- and long-range test missiles. Meanwhile, there has been talk of Israel and Syria inching toward a landmark peace deal, and on July 13 Prime Minister Olmert declared Israel and the Palestinians “have never been this close” to a deal. What’s more, there are indications the United States and Iran are moving closer to making a deal over Iraq, and officials are downplaying the idea of an Iranian nuclear threat. In reality, Israel and the West are being manipulated; Iran and its proxies are simply laying the groundwork for realizing their ambitions—in Iraq, in Lebanon, in Israel, in nuclear technology. At a moment of their choosing, they will start pushing again. Bible prophecy tells us that despite any short-term gains for peace in the region, we will soon see the Middle East explode in war—which will actually presage peace breaking out through the coming of the Messiah to this Earth.
Asia
Alarmed by rising oil prices, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (asean) is seriously considering building nuclear power plants to provide energy for its 10 member nations. A Southeast Asian nuclear power grid could work in conjunction with nuclear power plants already in India, China, Russia and Japan to turn the Asian continent into a giant nuclear power bloc—both civilly and militarily.
As China, Singapore, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates gobble up Western assets using sovereign wealth funds, Russia and Japan are looking to establish such funds of their own. A government agency will manage Russia’s soon-to-be-created sovereign wealth fund, allowing Moscow to more effectively invest in American institutions. Japanese lawmakers have proposed a us$94.2 billion fund. If created, it would likely target foreign real estate and securitized products, stocks and domestic bonds. American bankers and businessmen may welcome such investments, but they would give foreign countries control over America’s strategic and income-producing assets and erode its economic base.
As the eu and Russia compete over the natural resource wealth of Central Asia, Russia is forming military alliances to secure its stake. In June, the State Duma ratified an agreement with Tajikistan on the mutual use of military forces. Uzbek President Islam Karimov suggested that the Collective Security Treaty Organization and the Eurasian Economic Community should merge to create a “powerful union capable of becoming a counterbalance to nato and the eu.”
In North Korea, Kim Jong Il met with visiting Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping on June 18 to highlight the two nations’ warm ties. China is North Korea’s most important ally, biggest trade partner, and main source of food, arms and fuel. North Korea then handed over a much-delayed declaration of its covert nuclear activities to China, a long-overdue part of a nuclear disarmament deal agreed to in February 2007. While the U.S. celebrated the move, all this declaration signals is that North Korea is willing to cooperate with China in return for security and economic prosperity. Remember, it was just last September that it was helping Syria and Iran build a secret weapons-grade plutonium refinery.
Asia is minting new millionaires faster than anywhere in the world and is home to five of the 10 fastest-growing private wealth-creation markets. Asia now has 2.8 million millionaires, third-most after North America (3.3 million) and Europe (3.1 million). If the trend continues, Asia will possess more combined millionaire wealth than Europe in only five years.
As the food crisis ripples through the world, Asia is feeling the effects. At least 29 countries have enacted drastic food export limitations to keep prices down. The restrictions are hurting impoverished countries that rely on food imports. The result: rising prices, scarcity and panic.
Japan signed an Economic Partnership Agreement with Indonesia that will pave the way for more Indonesian workers in Japan. As Japan’s birthrate drops, its populace is aging and its workforce shrinking. This agreement marks Japan’s first significant diplomatic step to address its demography issue. Expect Japan—a traditionally ethnocentric country with an anti-immigration policy—to continue to improve its relationships with the rest of Asia.
Latin America, Africa
The global supply of coca and opium has dramatically increased, according to the United Nations. Coca cultivation in Colombia—the world’s top cocaine producer—grew 27 percent in 2007, most of it in regions controlled by insurgents. Global opium output—92 percent of which comes from Afghanistan—doubled between 2005 and 2007. The profit largely went to Taliban militants. The war on terror and the war on drugs are closely connected, so recent growth in the drug industry is bad news on both fronts.
The government of Venezuela is supporting Hezbollah—providing safe harbor for and employing its agents. The U.S. State Department also says Venezuela has deepened ties to Iran and Cuba, both state sponsors of terrorism. July 22, President Hugo Chávez announced plans to purchase weapons, including tanks, from Russia, citing the threat posed by the U.S. as the reason for it. Venezuelan oil spigots to the U.S. have definitely slowed—11.7 percent in the first four months of this year alone. It will take time for Venezuela to wean itself off U.S. funds completely, but China is moving in as Venezuela’s new favorite buyer.
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe went ahead with a run-off election on June 27 despite his opponent withdrawing because of violence against his supporters. G-8 nations issued a strongly worded condemnation of President Mugabe’s illegitimate election, but South Africa’s Thabo Mbeki has been quiet, and Russia and China protect Zimbabwe with promises to veto any UN sanctions against Zimbabwe.
Oil is becoming a favorite tool of both terrorists and politicians. The leader of the Algerian wing of al Qaeda says the group will strike U.S. oil targets because of Washington’s support of “criminal” governments and purported plans to steal African oil. In June, Libya’s Oil Ministry announced it is considering punishing the U.S. by reducing its oil output, sparking a $4 per barrel jump in oil prices. Militant attacks in African oil giant Nigeria have been so successful that its production (at one time 3.2 million barrels per day) dipped below that of Angola (which produces less than 2 million bpd). Nigerian President Umaru Yar’Adua says billions of dollars in oil has been stolen and traded for guns.
Though these militants aim to run off foreign investment in Nigerian energy, it appears they may only shift who those investors are. Russia has developed a preliminary agreement with Nigeria to handle oil production in Oganiland—the same area that Royal Dutch/Shell abandoned in 1995 because of the violence. Though Russian energy giant Gazprom will face significant security and public relations challenges, the desire to gain an edge in the global resource war is leading more countries to make risky deals. For more information on where the fight for and with resources is headed, read “The Battleground” from the March 2006 Trumpet.
Anglo-America
American financial woes are heavy on the minds of Americans—as well as other nations whose economies are tied to this sinking ship. A Barclays Capital official has said the world economy is headed for a financial storm, and the best that investors can do is try to hold on to the wealth they have. The Royal Bank of Scotland is equally pessimistic, advising clients to brace for a global stock and credit crash.Bloomberg says that the world is about to enter one of the worst bear markets in the last century. Barclays also said the U.S. Fed now has zero or even “negative credibility,” and that “the creditworthiness of many U.S. financial institutions will decline in coming months” (for more on the state of America’s economy, see articles, pages 8-9).
These economic woes come in the middle of new record-high petroleum costs and rising steel costs. Crude oil has risen 50 percent since the beginning of the year, and the average price of a gallon of gas in California is above $4.50. At the same time, torrential weather has forced agricultural commodities to record highs as Midwest floods have ruined crops and increased the risk of a smaller harvest. Corn for December delivery rose to $7.80 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade, the highest-ever close for a most-active contract. Corn reserves are at a 12-year low, representing about 20 days of supplies.
The weather has also been wracking California with drought and fires on the heels of its latest moral debacle, the legalization of homosexual unions. California authorities ordered mandatory evacuations in early July in Big Sur. At the peak of the blazes, about 25,000 personnel were fighting more than 2,000 fires across northern California.
A recent study found that Americans are the world’s top consumers of cannabis and cocaine. More than 16 percent of Americans have tried cocaine at least once and 42 percent have used marijuana, according to the online scientific magazine PLoS Medicine.
More and more girls barely out of puberty are choosing to end the life of the unborn child growing inside them. British newsmedia report that last year, 21 percent more British girls under age 14 had abortions than in 2006. Abortion rates for girls under 16 rose 10 percent, amid climbing rates of abortion for all age groups.
In what many are hoping is not a sign of things to come, two young British students have been punished for not praying to Allah. The two students from year seven (11-to-12-year-olds) at Alsager High School were apparently sent to detention in early July for refusing to kneel down and “pray to Allah” in religious education class. The rest of the class was reportedly denied its snack break as punishment. The class also apparently involved a foot-washing ritual. “Making them pray to Allah, who isn’t who they worship, is wrong and what got me is that they were told they were being disrespectful,” parent Sharon Luinen said. One grandparent said, “[I]f Muslims were asked to go to church on Sunday and take Holy Communion, there would be war.”