In Other News
Over the weekend, Iraq’s legislature nominated former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to get his old job back. Shiite-interest parties with ties to Iran form the largest bloc in the legislature, and Maliki is considered to be closer to Iran than the current prime minister, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani. United States President Donald Trump threatened to “no longer help” Iraq if Maliki returns to power, but Iraq’s current politics demonstrate what the Trumpet has warned about for years: Iraq has fallen to Iran.
The Chinese Defense Ministry announced on January 24 that Gen. Zhang Youxia, second-in-command of the People’s Liberation Army and lifelong personal friend of General Secretary Xi Jinping, was under investigation for “serious violations of discipline and law.” Chief of Joint Staff Gen. Liu Zhenli is also facing criminal charges. The ruling Chinese Communist Party’s official statement asserts that the two “gravely fostered political and corruption problems that weakened the party’s absolute leadership over the military” and “caused immense harm” to China’s combat readiness. But some analysts believe Zhang was removed because he resisted Xi’s plans for an imminent attack on Taiwan. “Zhang has disagreed with Xi on acting on Taiwan,” said Yun Sun, director of the China Program at the Stimson Center. “He is much more conservative from the military point of view. With the purge of him and his people, there is much less resistance in the system.” Whether or not these purges factor in, the Trumpet maintains that the Chinese Communist Party will soon seize Taiwan.
Today, Keir Starmer became the first British prime minister to visit Communist China since the onset of the covid-19 pandemic. Alongside 50 business leaders from the United Kingdom, Starmer is encouraging British companies to seize opportunities in China as trade relations with the U.S. become more volatile. He told reporters, “It doesn’t make sense to stick our head in the ground and bury it in the sand when it comes to China: It’s in our interests to engage.” This visit could change Britain’s relationship with China after years of division due to the Chinese Communist Party oppressing Hong Kong, supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and credible allegations of regularly spying on British political and business leaders.
Over the past two weeks, the dollar’s exchange rate against a basket of major currencies dropped to its lowest value in four years. “What is particularly striking is the momentum with which the U.S. currency has depreciated across the board,” Germany’s Handelsblatt wrote. The dollar was already at a four-year low due to distrust in the U.S. as a reliable trading partner and a lack of demand for U.S. bonds. President Trump responded that he was not concerned about it, which caused the dollar’s value to drop further. (He has long argued that a weaker dollar has certain advantages in manufacturing, energy and many exports). The Trumpet warns that Bible prophecy reveals a financial crisis will help isolate the U.S. economy from the rest of the world.
Midwives in Devon have no way of recording a baby’s sex on a new form provided by the local National Health Service trust. Instead, they are ludicrously expected to discern the “gender identity,” “preferred pronouns” and “sexual orientation” of babies born just minutes prior. The situation combines wokeness with incompetence, since the form comes from the nhs trust adopting new software and applying the woke default questions for a new patient to a newborn baby. “This is the backbone of documentation that will follow babies for life,” explained one local midwife. “It’s proof the baby exists and is needed to get a birth certificate.” Midwives first flagged the issue two years ago, and it’s still not fixed. Fiona McAnena, director of the campaign group Sex Matters, said, “It seems managers there are so in thrall to gender identity ideology that they are willing to risk medical clarity rather than ditch the pronouns.”
China is training drones to fight like animals, the Wall Street Journal reported January 24. Engineers using artificial intelligence designed sets of drones to mimic the behaviors of hawks and doves, and in a “five-on-five” simulation, the “hawk” drones destroyed the “dove” drones in just 5.3 seconds. A group of Chinese military theorists warned in 2024 that AI will enable new styles of combat “based on algorithms, with unmanned systems as the main combat force and swarm operations as the primary mode of fighting.” Bible prophecy indicates that AI-controlled drone swarms may indeed be involved in future warfare—the immediate future.
China’s ambassador to the Philippines said on January 20 that the nations of asean must finalize a “South China Sea code of conduct” with China by the end of 2026. Jing Quan said doing so will facilitate “regional stability.” But the Chinese Communist Party has said any such framework would carry no legal force over it, so analysts view the effort as a bid to strengthen Chinese dominance in the South China Sea, to the detriment of smaller nations such as the Philippines. Bible prophecy warns that China will dominate the nations of Southeast Asia and lead the world toward war. To understand, read “China Is Steering the World Toward War.”
On Monday, Israel recovered the remains of Ran Gvili from Hamas terrorists in Gaza. Gvili’s body is the last of 87 people who were killed in Hamas captivity, in addition to the 1,200 people murdered by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday, “The government of Israel has completed its ethical and moral mission to bring all of the hostages back home, the living and the deceased.” Israel’s government has said that once the last remains of hostages were recovered, it would allow the reopening of the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt. This also means that “Phase One” of United States President Donald Trump’s ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is now complete. U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff had already declared “Phase Two” to be underway, still without comment from either Israel or Hamas. While the deal might seem to be progressing, its fundamental flaws are leading to even more terror, murder, captivity and deaths.
Most Germans see U.S. President Donald Trump as a threat, a survey of 1,000 people carried out over Friday and Saturday concluded. Bild reported that 61 percent said Donald Trump is a “threat to the country,” compared to only 24 percent who said he was an ally. Fifty-two percent wanted German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to take a harder line with the U.S., while only 31 percent wanted closer cooperation. Friday’s Trumpet Daily looks at Merz’s speech in Davos last week and the fulfilled prophecy behind these shifting German attitudes.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced that he would not be joining U.S. President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace in its current form. “We cannot accept its leadership structures in Germany for constitutional reasons,” Merz said at a press conference in Italy on Friday. He added, however, that Germany was willing to consider new forms of cooperation with the U.S. Germany joins France, Spain and the United Kingdom in rejecting President Trump’s board. Once again, the biblical truth “the way of peace they know not” is proving true.
After “reviewing newly obtained classified documents, field reports and accounts from medical staff, witnesses and victims’ families,” Iran International claims the government killed over 36,500 protesters on January 8 and 9 during its intensive, ongoing crackdown. This included injured protesters, whom security forces tracked down to hospitals and murdered. Daniel 11:40 describes radical Islam, led by Iran, as the “king of the south.” The latest reports show just how brutal the Tehran regime is willing to be to hold onto that power.
The provincial government of Quebec has announced that it is removing the British crown from its coat of arms. On January 23, Quebec Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette and French Language Minister Jean-François Roberge said the province’s decision reaffirms the autonomy of the Quebec nation. “The vast majority of Quebecers have no attachment to the British monarchy and reject it,” Jolin-Barrette said in a news release. “By removing the British crown from our official coat of arms, we are ensuring that Quebec’s national institutions and symbols respect the Quebec population, that they are modernized, and above all, that they better reflect Quebec’s identity.”
Chinese intelligence has deeply infiltrated Taiwan’s military, the Wall Street Journal reported on January 21. The Chinese use messaging apps to offer money, business deals and even sexual favors to Taiwanese officers and veterans. In return, they have obtained secrets about Taiwanese defenses and vulnerabilities, including details about the forces guarding the presidential office. Taiwan launched a crackdown on Chinese espionage and influence operations in March, resulting in charges against several former and current members of the Taiwanese armed forces. But officials warn that the full extent of infiltration has yet to be uncovered. The Chinese are “not just benignly collecting information,” said former U.S. counterintelligence official Kerry Gershaneck. “It’s all being used in preparation for annexing Taiwan.” Biblical prophecy shows that China will eventually succeed in its drive to conquer Taiwan.
Ahead of yesterday’s emergency meeting regarding U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to take over Greenland, Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares called for the creation of a combined European Union military. “A joint effort would be more efficient than 27 separate national armies,” Albares told Reuters on Wednesday, adding that the bloc should focus on bringing together its tangible military assets before mobilizing a coalition of the willing. A joint European army was first proposed in 1951 to counter the Soviet Union, and subtle advances toward that goal have included multinational commands such as eurofor and the current integration of all three main Dutch combat brigades into German Army divisions. If elites like Albares finally succeed in creating a fully integrated joint EU military in the near future, the force would consist of 1.6 million troops (about the population of West Virginia) and a defense budget of $446 billion, making it the second-most powerful military force on Earth.
Poland’s central bank announced plans on Tuesday to buy another 165 tons of gold as a hedge against geopolitical instability, increasing its overall holdings to 772 tons. “This will place Poland among the elite 10 countries with the largest gold reserves in the world,” bank governor Adam Glapiński said in a press release. Former Polish Finance Minister Konrad Raczkowski told the Financial Observer last year that Poland expects the European Central Bank to start requiring eurozone members to keep 4 percent of their gross domestic product in gold bullion. Even though Poland is not currently a member of the eurozone, it wants to fulfill this financial requirement for more than one reason.
The United States is considering withdrawing its entire contingent of about 1,000 troops from Syria after the Syrian government ignored U.S. requests and conducted a lightning offensive against the Kurds, who are U.S. allies, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday. U.S. officials stated that this will become even more likely if the main U.S.-backed Kurdish group, the Syrian Democratic Forces, fully dissolves. The Wall Street Journal said America faces challenges working with the Syrian military, which is “riddled with jihadist sympathizers, including soldiers with ties to al Qaeda and [the Islamic State] and others who have been involved in alleged war crimes against the Kurds and Druze.” President Trump has tried to portray Syria’s new regime as reformed, safe and cleansed from its former Islamist associations, yet it has some explaining to do as to why Syria’s jihadists in suits are ignoring U.S. interests and destroying U.S. allies.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, confirmed on January 21 that President Donald Trump has invited Pope Leo xiv to join his Board of Peace and that the pope is considering the offer. Parolin said the Vatican will not “participate financially” in the Board of Peace because “we are not in a position to do so” and explained that the Vatican “finds itself in a different situation than other countries, so there will be a different consideration.” Meanwhile, President Trump withdrew his invitation to Canada to join after Prime Minister Mark Carney told world leaders at the World Economic Forum on January 20 that the world’s “middle powers” must band together to resist economic coercion from the world’s largest powers. Thus, the one-day-old Board of Peace is already engendering strife.
An R-rated vampire film featuring impaling, burning, occultism, profanity, drinking, smoking, racism, sex, gushing blood and other horror has received 16 nominations from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, more than any other film in the organization’s 98-year history. It’s a rare film that succeeded among both critics and viewers, bringing in $363 million globally and becoming the 12th-highest grossing horror movie ever. The Academy usually does not nominate such a movie for many Oscars—considered the most prestigious film award in the world—yet this film received more nominations than such mainstream movies as Titanic. The profusion of nominations for Sinners reflects not only the morals of the Academy but also of viewers. For more on our growing obsession with violence and horror, read “These Violent Delights.”
High school students across Russia will learn how to assemble and control drones as part of a mandatory new course on national security, Russia’s state-run ria Novosti news agency reported on Wednesday. “Fundamentals of Security and Defense of the Motherland” also requires classrooms to be equipped with mock weapons, including AK-47 assault rifles, Makarov pistols and hand grenades. The curriculum includes instruction on post-graduation military enlistment, along with classes on the penalties for failing to comply with conscription laws. This is yet another sign that Ukraine is merely the opening salvo in Vladimir Putin’s biblically prophesied campaigns.
Former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi received the International Charlemagne Prize on January 17, an acknowledgment of his decades-long push for European unification. Named after the Frankish Emperor Charles the Great, the first ruler to unify Western Europe after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the prize is awarded by a committee of individuals connected to Aachen, Germany, Charlemagne’s capital. Committee head Armin Laschet remarked, “Europe must not become a pawn of external powers in the face of overlapping geopolitical crises.” The prize is an endorsement of Draghi’s agenda to deepen Europe’s economic integration to better compete with China and the United States.
The United States “is searching for Cuban government insiders who can help cut a deal to push out the Communist regime by the end of the year,” the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday, citing senior U.S. officials. Targeting the regime of President Miguel Díaz-Canel comes as a record 1,660 Cubans were deported from the U.S. to Cuba in 2025, according to a December 19 Cuban government report. That’s roughly double the number from 2024, and more than the three previous U.S. presidents combined. Removing a Communist government on America’s doorstep would be a temporary blessing, but the U.S. should be wary of opening the door to an even greater adversary.
On Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security launched Operation Catch of the Day to enforce immigration laws in Maine, a state with a sizable Somali population. According to Reuters, more than 100 federal agents arrived there this week. Coming after immigration enforcement actions in Minnesota and revelations of massive Somali fraud there, the operation in Maine expands the Trump administration’s crackdown on another Democrat-run state in an effort to stabilize America’s illegal immigration crisis.
The European Parliament slowed down the approval process for the recently signed EU-mercosur trade deal today by voting, 334 to 324, to refer it to the Court of Justice of the European Union to assess whether it is compatible with EU treaties. The court could take over a year to rule—a significant delay for the massive and controversial treaty. However, the European Commission can put the deal into force provisionally without waiting for the court to rule. The deal continues to face significant opposition within Europe, but elites and powerful nations are determined to push it through. Bible prophecy shows that such a trade alliance will lead to a comprehensive and sophisticated economic siege against the United States. Decades ago, the Plain Truth under Herbert W. Armstrong identified these prophecies as pointing to “two gigantic trade blocs, Europe and Latin America ….” Continue to watch the approval process for the EU-mercosur deal. It may encounter yet more resistance, but Germany is committed to putting it into effect.
Italy will not join President Trump’s Board of Peace, the Corriere della Sera newspaper reported today. Italy’s constitution states that it will join international organizations only “on equal terms with other states,” and American dominance of the board fails that test. Of all the major European powers, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is on the best terms with Donald Trump, so if her nation declines to join the board, who in Europe will? This is yet another sign that Europe has turned against America.
Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng used his speech at the World Economic Forum yesterday to call on the nations of the world to boost trade with China. “We encourage businesses from around the world to seize the opportunities presented by our expanding domestic demand, provide more and better products and services, and further explore China’s consumer market,” said He, adding that “China will open its door still wider to the world.” The statement comes during a time of increasing tensions between the United States and many of its trade partners in Europe over American threats to seize Greenland—tensions China is eager to exploit. In an indirect criticism of U.S. President Donald Trump, He said, “The unilateral acts and trade deals of certain countries clearly violate the fundamental principles and rules of the [World Trade Organization] and severely impact the global economic and trade order.” They threaten to send the world back into “the law of the jungle, where the strong bully the weak,” he added. Biblical prophecy shows that a China-led economic alliance will soon emerge to systematically shut the U.S. out of global trade.
Timothy Broglio, the Catholic archbishop of the United States armed forces, said during a bbc interview posted on Sunday that if the U.S. orders servicemen to invade Greenland, it would be difficult for them to disobey such orders, but “strictly speaking, he or she would be—within the realm of their own conscience—it would be morally acceptable to disobey that order. But that’s perhaps putting that individual in an untenable situation, and that’s my concern.” Matters of faith are sensitive subjects, but Broglio’s comments can be interpreted as license to reject orders from the current administration. More importantly, this is symptomatic of a deeper division between the Vatican and the Anglo-American tradition. Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry’s article “Should the King Pray With the Pope?” explains.
