In Other News
Nine people were killed and 27 injured in a school shooting at the community of Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, in the Rocky Mountain foothills. The killer, a boy who reportedly identified as a girl and whom authorities are calling the “gunperson,” apparently committed suicide. British Columbia Solicitor General Nina Krieger called the attack “one of the worst mass shootings in our province’s and country’s history.” Such tragedies bring much introspection yet few answers to the most important questions. To understand the deeper reasons for such atrocities, read Trumpet executive editor Stephen Flurry’s article “The Motives for Mass Shootings.”
“Our ambition should always be to reach agreement among all 27 member states,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote in a letter to other EU leaders on Monday. “However, where a lack of progress or ambition risks undermining Europe’s competitiveness or capacity to act, we should not shy away from using the possibilities foreseen in the treaties under enhances cooperation.” According to the treaties, a minimum of nine countries can agree to deepen cooperation without the rest of the member states. Revelation 17 reveals that a core group of European nations led by “ten kings” will emerge out of the present union.
The EU published an Action Plan on Drone and Counter-Drone Security on Wednesday that advocates massive expansion of drone production and development of an anti-drone defense system. Magnus Brunner, commissioner for internal affairs and migration, said, “With today’s Action Plan, we have more arrows in our quiver to counter threats to our security and use this technology as an advantage, including by launching a new Counter-Drone Center of Excellence, establishing an EU Drone Incident Platform and spending €400 million on drone and counter-drone technology.” Step by step, the EU is developing sophisticated joint military capabilities.
Nato launched “Arctic Sentry” today, a new military exercise designed to secure Greenland and the High North area of operations. The exercise follows Denmark’s “Arctic Endurance” exercise, which first deployed troops on January 15 and is scheduled to continue throughout the calendar year. U.S. President Donald Trump recognized “Arctic Endurance” as opposition to his plans to acquire Greenland and threatened retaliatory tariffs on the European allies involved, before relenting. The nato exercises are notionally designed to demonstrate that nato can protect strategic areas from Russian and Chinese threats. But Bible prophecy warns that the greater threat to the U.S. is actually Germany and Europe.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in Washington, D.C., meeting with American diplomats Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner yesterday and scheduled to meet with President Donald Trump today. Netanyahu is reportedly making this trip out of concern that U.S. negotiations with Iran will ignore Israeli interests. He is scheduled to return to Washington next Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Board of Peace and an American Israel Public Affairs Committee policy conference. Whatever the results of these talks, the way that Americans treat Israelis’ security is a matter far more consequential than most people realize.
Search warrant affidavits unsealed yesterday lay out the fbi’s justifications for seizing hundreds of boxes of ballots and other materials related to election fraud in Fulton County, Georgia, during the 2020 presidential elections. One affidavit, written by fbi Special Agent Hugh Raymond Evans, led to a judge signing off on a search warrant of Fulton County’s election facilities. This search was carried out on January 28 when the fbi seized more than 650 boxes of ballots and other 2020 election materials. The corporate media is reporting that the affidavit relies on misleading and disproved claims about the 2020 election. Yet Evans openly acknowledges in the affidavit that some of the allegations have been substantiated. Thus, the investigation aims to determine whether the “deficiencies” in Fulton County were more than the clerical errors that Democrats and other Fulton County apologists claim them to be. It has already been shown that 315,000 early votes from the 2020 election were illegally certified yet still tabulated in the state’s final count. Now the fbi is trying to determine if the county was stolen by accident or on purpose.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi enjoys an approval rating of 67 percent among his people. This surpasses the combined approval ratings of France’s Emmanuel Macron (16 percent), Germany’s Friedrich Merz (21 percent) and the UK’s Keir Starmer (23 percent) in their respective countries. According to a Morning Consult survey of adults in 43 countries from February 2-8, Modi was the most popular leader overall, followed by Andrej Babiš of the Czech Republic. These results suggest that a leader’s approval rating doesn’t depend on ruling democratically but rather on accomplishments. Bible prophecy reveals that Europe’s unpopular democratic system is about to be replaced by strongman rule.
Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai was sentenced to 20 years in prison by the city’s high court on Monday, a sober conclusion to the city’s pro-democracy history. Lai, publisher of the Apple Daily newspaper, was ostensibly suspected of “collusion with foreign forces,” “endangering national security,” and “conspiracy to publish seditious materials,” cnbc reported, but the case is recognized by many as an attack on free speech and dissent against the regime, which has a conviction rate of 99.98 percent. Communists gaining control of the courts was the very reason millions of citizens participated in protests in 2019 and 2020, but the regime’s conviction and sentencing of Lai, who is also a British citizen, punctuates the termination of freedom in Hong Kong and signals the oncoming “times of the gentiles.”
Chinese Communist Party officials have told banks to reduce holdings of U.S. treasuries, Bloomberg reported on Monday, even advising those with larger holdings to begin selling. This reveals not only weaker trust in the U.S. dollar but a financial war warning shot. The Chinese government controls roughly $680 billion in U.S. bonds. Selling a significant portion of these assets would decrease their value and harm China and other nations, but it would devastate the already shaky American financial system.
Atomic Energy Organization of Iran leader Mohammed Eslami said Monday that Iran could dilute its highest-enriched uranium in exchange for complete sanctions relief from the United States. But Iran has ruled out dismantling its nuclear infrastructure, so even if Iran follows through with this latest tactic, it could re-enrich the material at will. U.S. President Donald Trump wants Iran to completely dismantle its nuclear program. Iran will not settle for any deal that doesn’t leave it an option to restart the program. These two premises are mutually exclusive. Bible prophecy shows that one way or another, Iran will win out.
Francesca Albanese, a special rapporteur on the Palestinian territories for the United Nations, stated that “[h]umanity now has a common enemy” in remarks about Israel at a forum hosted by Al Jazeera on February 7. She accused Israel of “the planning and making of a genocide” and said the “global community” is facing unprecedented challenges from those who “control large amounts of financial [capital], algorithms and weapons.” Such blatantly anti-Semitic comments from a UN representative may seem shocking, but it’s only the tip of the UN anti-Semitism iceberg.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated on Sunday that his country will not stop uranium enrichment, even if it means war with the United States. “Why do we insist so much on enrichment and refuse to give it up, even if a war is imposed on us?” he asked. “Because no one has the right to dictate our behavior.” The assertions come after Friday’s meeting with Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s special envoy for peace missions. Trump said the talks were “good,” but it is clear that the threats Iran poses, even its nuclear threat, won’t be dissolved in negotiations. In fact, even the threat or reality of military action won’t stop Iran. The Bible prophesies that the U.S. will be irrelevant when Iran clashes with German-led Europe in all-out war.
Ten European nations are planning to stockpile raw materials used in defense, aerospace and digital technology. Germany will source the materials, France will cover the financing, Italy will store them, and certain other European nations will have access. The EU currently imports almost all its rare earth minerals and relies heavily on China. This is another significant strategic move for Europe to become more self-sufficient, more wealthy, more powerful and more aggressive.
On Friday, France and Canada opened their consulates in Nuuk, Greenland. France is the first EU nation to do so. France’s Foreign Ministry said the consulate will “deepen existing cooperation projects with Greenland in the cultural, scientific and economic fields, while strengthening political ties with local authorities.” The consulate was announced in June, and French Consul General to Greenland Jean-Noël Poirier claimed it is not designed to signal opposition to U.S. control of Greenland. Nevertheless, developments like this show that Europe is resisting U.S. strategy and wants to retain control of Greenland for its own purposes.
North Korean soldiers are carrying out much more advanced military missions in Ukraine today than they were 15 months ago, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday. The first North Korean units to arrive were entrusted with lower-level missions, but now they are receiving and completing missions that require significant skill. North Korea’s alliance with Russia is helping its immediate war goals—but it is also preparation for a much larger war prophesied in Ezekiel, Revelation and other books in your Bible.
On Saturday, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani confirmed that his country would not join the Board of Peace, which is personally controlled by Donald Trump, largely due to a clause in Italy’s constitution stating that Italy can join international organizations only as an equal member. Britain, France and other traditional U.S. allies have also declined to join. These decisions highlight a flaw in America’s foreign policy.
Morgan McSweeney, chief of staff to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, resigned yesterday. McSweeney was involved in Starmer’s appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the United States. Mandelson has been understood as a secretive and corrupt yet powerful figure in British politics for decades, but his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein—the late serial rapist, pedophile and child sex trafficker—was more fully exposed in recent document releases by the U.S. Justice Department. The resignation of the highest-ranking member of the prime minister’s office is significant, but many continue to insist that Starmer himself must resign. This is a striking example of how British moral decadence among the common people and the elites directly connects to power, politics and, as the Bible warns, national security.
Russia has struck Ukraine with 71 missiles and 450 drones so far this week: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a strike on Tuesday injured nine people and knocked out heat for thousands of Ukrainians. Temperatures in the country have dropped as low as 13 degrees below zero Fahrenheit, and Russian President Vladimir Putin is proving more than willing to weaponize winter conditions to cause even more civilian suffering in an effort to break Ukraine and move on to far greater imperialistic goals.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said yesterday that maintaining sufficient energy flows remains the “supreme priority” of the government, and that “[a]ll of India’s decisions are taken and will be taken with this in mind.” United States President Donald Trump claimed Monday that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had made several trade agreements with the U.S., including “to stop buying Russian oil.” Other Western officials responded positively to the claim, since Indian purchases of Russian oil are largely financing the latter’s invasion of Ukraine. But Jaiswal’s statement contradicts Trump’s statement and indicates that, despite any arrangements with the U.S., real or fictitious, India is allying more closely with Russia.
Provisional statistics provided by the German government yesterday show that manufacturing orders rose by 7.8 percent in December, a 13 percent increase from December 2024. The figure was 5.7 percent higher than in November and the “strongest monthly increase in two years,” according to the Wall Street Journal. Although Germany’s historically world-class manufacturing sector has reported numerous negative statistics in recent months and years, some economists think this might be a turning point. Bible prophecy indicates that ultimately German manufacturing will surge beyond belief as Germany arms for war.
A proposed new German law announced yesterday will require streaming services operating in the country to invest 8 percent of their German revenue into the European film industry. It also sets a quota for German-language productions, according to dpa. France and Italy have similar laws already, but the new law would reduce profits to American companies and further escalate the trade conflict simmering between Europe and the United States. It would also promote German culture, a trend worth watching, since a massive cultural counterrevolution in Europe is prophesied in the Bible. Learn more about this oncoming transformation of European identity in “The Holy Roman Empire Goes Public—Big Time!”
“Germany was once the engine of Europe’s progress; now it has turned into an engine of regression,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said yesterday, later adding that it is “regrettable that an individual such as Mr. Merz now represents Germany on the world stage.” Araghchi’s insult follows German Chancellor Friedric Merz’s statement on Wednesday that Germany is “prepared to further increase the pressure and to engage in talks” to end Iran’s nuclear program. Merz called Aragachi’s comment a sign of insecurity. Bible prophecy warns that the world is heading toward a clash of civilizations between Iran-led radical Islam and German-led Catholic Europe.
At least 167 Nigerians were slaughtered by gunmen on Tuesday. Though no group claimed responsibility for the attacks, Mohammed Omar Bio, a legislator from the region, claimed that the Islamic State-affiliated group Lakurawa is to blame. Video from the villages of Nuku and Woro shows burning houses and murder victims with tied hands. This is one of the worst attacks in Africa in recent years. At least 13 people were killed by unknown gunmen in another village on the same day, and 36 were murdered at a construction site last week. Why do such massacres and suffering occur if there really is a loving God? To learn the Bible-based answer few have heard, read Chapter 4 of Mystery of the Ages, by Herbert W. Armstrong.
Nato’s Multinational Battlegroup in Lithuania, composed of troops from several European nations, was formally integrated into Germany’s 45th Tank Brigade yesterday. This move brings the personnel at Germany’s disposal in Lithuania to roughly 1,700. By 2027, Germany wants that number to reach 4,800. “Germany’s leading role in protecting nato’s eastern flank is invaluable,” Lithuanian Defense Minister Robertas Kaunas stated at the integration ceremony. The April 2025 establishment of the brigade in Lithuania marked the first permanent German military deployment on foreign soil since World War ii. nato was originally created in part to restrict German power, yet now a German brigade is commanding a nato battle group. Bible prophecy shows this level of trust in Germany is dangerously misplaced.
Chinese Communist Party officials hosted a forum with members of Taiwan’s Kuomintang party in Beijing on February 3, marking the first formal talks between the two sides in nine years. The dialogue, called “Prospects for Cross-Strait Exchange and Cooperation,” focused on improving China-Taiwan relations through industrial cooperation, tourism and joint environmental efforts. The talks will likely be followed up by a landmark meeting later this year between Chinese General Secretary Xi Jinping and Kuomintang party chief Cheng Li-wun. Though Kuomintang legislators have not ruled Taiwan for a decade, they remain a potent political force and staunchly oppose military conflict with China. Many Taiwanese voters support this policy, partly due to increasing doubts of United States’ support of Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion. The Trumpet maintains that America’s lack of resolve will cause the Chinese Communist Party, whether through Taiwanese capitulation or war, to conquer Taiwan.
Yesterday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz began a three-day Middle East trip with a visit to Saudi Arabia. “Our partners may not all share the same values and interests, but they share the view that we need a world order in which we trust agreements and treat each other with respect,” he said, an apparent acknowledgment of the fact that Saudi Arabia’s monarchy has been accused of serious human rights violations, including suppression of the country’s opposition. Merz, however, is promising Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states energy deals and more German weapons. “In such a network of partnerships, we reduce unilateral dependencies, mitigate risks, and create new opportunities together for our mutual benefit,” he said. In recent months, he has also traveled to Brazil, South Africa and India. The Bible prophesies that these relationships will grow into new alliances designed to weaken and even destroy Britain, Israel and the United States.
