In Other News
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order suspending U.S. support for 66 organizations, including the United Nations’ population agency and the UN treaty that establishes international climate negotiations. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, “The Trump administration has found these institutions to be redundant in their scope, mismanaged, unnecessary, wasteful, poorly run, captured by the interests of actors advancing their own agendas contrary to our own, or a threat to our nation’s sovereignty, freedoms and general prosperity.” This marks a resurgence in American sovereignty, but unless Americans repent toward God, this show of strength will likely contribute to America’s isolation and downfall. To understand why, read The United States and Britain in Prophecy.
China’s secret training of Russian military forces last year was personally authorized by President Vladimir Putin’s defense minister and carried out with direct involvement of at least four senior generals from both nations, Reuters reported July 1. The training was intended to advance Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and helps lay the groundwork for deeper Russia-China military cooperation that biblical prophecy says will shake the world.
Ayatollah Ali Khamanei’s funeral began Friday and is still ongoing, with thousands of supporters in a funeral procession as of this morning. Further ceremonies are expected in the coming days in the Shiite holy city of Qom as well as holy sites in Iraq, before Khamenei is buried in Mashhad, the largest pilgrimage site in Iran.
The United Arab Emirates is likely giving military aid to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Critical Threats reported Thursday. The drc is in the midst of war and is looking for helpers. Growing Emirati support matches the trend that started mid-2025 when the two began signing mineral deals. The uae is pouring money into wars across Africa to increase its influence. Further involvement in the drc could intensify the power struggle.
The United States will stop supporting Somalia’s anti-terrorist mission next year, Reuters reported Thursday. Cited documents show the U.S. plans to disallow the United Nations from supporting the campaign, which is led by the Africa Union. The mission, including nearly 12,000 soldiers, has been essential to Somalia’s fight against terrorist group al-Shabaab. According to the Africa Union Commission, the decision carries “significant implications for the logistical sustainment, operational posture and financing of the mission.” It could help Iran gain control of this geographically vital nation.
Russia carried out massive missile and drone strikes on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities in the early hours of the morning, targeting mainly residential buildings, killing 28 civilians, and injuring at least 90 others, including children. As Ukraine’s strikes on Russia’s oil infrastructure cause painful fuel shortages at home, Russian President Vladimir Putin is escalating his campaign to break Ukraine’s will and force it into submission.
German reservists must report for training outside of crises and military exercises regardless of employer approval, according to the Reserve Strengthening Act approved by the German cabinet yesterday, which also triples reserve troop goals to 200,000 by 2035. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius stated that a “modern democracy must be able to defend its freedom. To do that, we need a reserve force that is rapidly deployable, well trained and closely linked to the active-duty troops.”
The Vatican officially issued a decree of excommunication of all six bishops of the ultra-conservative Society of Saint Pius X today. Early this week, the group’s two bishops consecrated four new bishops in defiance of the pope. The Catholic Church also warned clergy and laymen that they would be excommunicated if they “adhere to the schism of the Society of St. Pius X.”
German Economics Minister Katherina Reiche possibly used artificial intelligence to write at least parts of her guest articles published by Handelsblatt and Frankfurter Allgemeine, Spiegel reported yesterday. A spokeswoman for Reiche did not deny the accusation.
Israel’s defense minister accused America of protecting Hezbollah on Monday. Israel Katz told reporters that America’s linking of the Lebanese conflict to its peace talks with Iran “saved Hezbollah from a terrible blow, perhaps even its collapse. … It was an American interest. They very much wanted to advance the possibility of negotiations with Iran.”
The European Investment Bank will lend a record $3.4 billion to Airbus, bank president Nadia Calviño said yesterday, adding that the institution “is deploying its full firepower to bolster Europe’s technological autonomy, industrial strength and economic competitiveness.”
Right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori was declared winner of Peru’s presidential election yesterday, winning by a small margin of 50,000 votes.
Poland signed a deal to buy three Swedish A26 submarines produced by saab for $4.8 billion yesterday. The first submarine will be delivered in 2031, with all three complete by 2038. Sweden will loan Poland a submarine until it receives its first delivery.
Despite weeks of painful blows to Russia’s oil infrastructure, on Sunday President Vladimir Putin rejected a new proposal by Ukraine for both sides to halt long-range strikes. His goal, he said, remains the “complete liberation of Donbas and Novorossiya,” with the latter term referring to the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.
France and Italy are pushing to lead a replacement of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, which is scheduled to end on December 31.
Israel and Lebanon signed a framework agreement on June 26 for Israel to withdraw from Lebanon. Israel has conditioned this to the threat ending from Hezbollah and other Lebanese terror groups. United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who supervised the signing in Washington, said that “there is a lot of work ahead.”
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said in a speech on Saturday that he will resign in the coming weeks. This follows mass protests against his rule starting in 2024.
Russia and China jointly deployed bombers near United States military bases in the Western Pacific on Saturday. The formation of Russian Tu-95MS and Chinese H-6K strategic bombers was escorted by fighters from both nations for a combined patrol that lasted roughly 6 hours.
Kim Jong-un led a ceremony Tuesday launching the Choe Hyon warship at the port of Nampo. The 5,000-ton vessel is the largest North Korea has ever built and is said to be armed with nuclear missiles, marking a significant step in Kim’s effort to transform his navy from a coastal defense force into a power that can threaten regional sea lanes far beyond the Korean Peninsula.
The German and Israeli navies conducted a joint exercise near Haifa yesterday. According to the Israeli military, this marked “a further step toward strengthening professional and operational relations between the two navies.”
Over Berlin on Tuesday, German Eurofighters flew alongside American F-16s as the American Embassy celebrated Independence Day in advance.
A Quinnipiac University poll released June 24 found that 59 percent of respondents lack confidence that “President Trump’s deal with Iran will work,” and 40 percent of those polled are “not confident at all.”
Germany’s Defense Ministry announced yesterday that it had canceled plans to build the F126 frigate, which would have been the largest class of German warships since World War II. Instead, it will buy eight cheaper multipurpose frigates from Germany’s ThyssenKrupp, the first of which will be ready in 2029.
China’s LineShine supercomputer overtook America’s El Capitan to become the most powerful supercomputer in the world, according to Top500 on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu finished his testimony for his corruption trial, after 18 months and 98 hearings.
Larry Sanger, cofounder of Wikipedia, was indefinitely banned from the site Monday for promoting a proposed initiative called “WikiProject Intellectual Diversity,” designed to make sure points of view from demographics like Christians, Zionists and conservatives are represented. Apparently, that is forbidden on Wikipedia.
