In Other News
United States Vice President JD Vance arrived in Hungary yesterday to help Prime Minister Viktor Orbán campaign ahead of Sunday’s elections, which could possibly end the latter’s 16 years in power. Orbán is unpopular with other leaders in the European Union, and Vance’s support for the prime minister is not well received either. Yesterday, Vance accused the EU of “one of the worst examples of foreign election interference” he had ever seen to try to oust Orbán. America supporting a man whom Europeans view as pro-Russia only serves to further strain Europe-U.S. relations.
Russia fired hundreds of missiles and drones at Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv this morning, killing five people, injuring 35 others and damaging structures that include the Dormition Cathedral. Founded in 1073, the unesco World Heritage site is among the most revered sites for Ukrainian and Russian Orthodox Christians, but now it is smoldering. Many of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s supporters portray him as one of the last defenders of Christendom, but since his full-scale invasion began in February 2022, his forces have damaged or destroyed more than 700 religious sites, many of them Orthodox churches, across Ukraine. To understand more about his true character, read “Is Putin the Last Defender of Family Values?”
Bulgaria’s new government endorsed the country’s “March of the Family” on Saturday. The conservative rally in support of traditional family values countered the annual homosexual pride parade in the capital city, Sofia. “At a time of moral disorientation, social fragmentation and profound demographic crisis, safeguarding the traditional family is not simply a matter of personal choice; it is a cornerstone of our natural security, identity and future,” Member of Parliament Slavi Vassilev said. A trend the Trumpet follows is the English-speaking world, prophetically the nations of Israel, retreating from biblical morality. In this case, a Gentile nation is pushing stronger against this decline than many Israelites. God condemns Israel in Ezekiel 5:6 for rejecting His “statutes more than the countries that are round about her ….”
The Washington Post reported June 12 that Qatar was trying to talk with the United States secretly on behalf of Iran to end the war in its opening weeks. Citing “Middle Eastern security officials and Western officials briefed on the intelligence,” the Washington Post claims Qatar offered to lobby U.S. President Donald Trump to call the war off early if Iran refrained from attacking its Ras Laffan natural gas complex. Iran attacked the complex anyway, but this is another example of how a country the U.S. sees as an important ally actually supports terrorism.
Keiko Fujimori, daughter of former President Alberto Fujimori, won Peru’s presidential election on June 8, beating leftist candidate Roberto Sánchez by only a few hundred votes out of nearly 20 million. Fujimori leads the right-wing Popular Force party. Her platform is socially conservative with strong anti-crime policies, pro-family emphasis, protection of life from conception, and opposition to certain progressive social changes. Her father, who ruled from 1990 to 2000, was an authoritarian populist who ruled with dictatorial powers after a 1992 autogolpe, “coup from the top.” Fujimori’s win continues a shift toward traditionalist Catholic leaders in Latin America. The late Herbert W. Armstrong forecast that the alliance between Europe and Latin America would grow strong, cemented by the Spanish language and the Catholic religion.
Yesterday, President Donald Trump announced that U.S. forces killed Niño Guerrero, longtime leader of the Tren de Aragua gang, in an air strike in Venezuela. U.S. Southern Command carried out the strike on a gang compound, with help from Venezuela’s current government. The U.S. government classifies Tren de Aragua as a terrorist group. The U.S. Justice Department has accused former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro of ties to the gang. Maduro was captured by U.S. forces in January and now faces charges in the United States. Cooperation on this strike shows improved U.S.-Venezuela relations under the new Venezuelan leadership.
The New York Knicks won their first nba championship in 53 years on Saturday, beating the Spurs in San Antonio. Fans watching in New York City poured into the streets to celebrate, but some descended into what police called “reckless and dangerous behavior,” smashing and burning five yellow school buses used for World Cup fans. In one incident near Times Square early Sunday, a 17-year-old boy was shot in the foot. Gunshots caused panic, and crowds blocked ambulances, but no one was killed. Such shameful displays highlight a deficiency in American moral character that will endanger the nation when times get harder.
Two senior European officials confirmed that the U.S. is planning to withdraw military assets from its European allies, the New York Times reported today. The German media had previously reported similar details. According to the Times, the number of F-16 and F-15E fighter jets will be reduced from about 150 to 100, maritime reconnaissance aircraft from 26 to 15, and aerial refueling tanker jets from 8 to 0. These reductions, along with U.S. troop withdrawals and relocations, leave Europe in a difficult strategic position. “nato’s main problem is that, as long as Trump is president, there is no longer any faith that the U.S. would come to the Europeans’ aid in an emergency,” said Anton Hofreiter, a German lawmaker from the Green Party. Watch for Germany to use this growing distrust in the U.S. to its advantage and center Europe’s military strategy around its own.
Germany is the second-largest host country for refugees, after Colombia, according to a United Nations Refugee Agency “World Refugee Report” released yesterday. A total of 2.7 million refugees resided in Germany as of last year, 2.1 million of whom were Ukrainian, Syrian and Afghan. An additional 400,000 refugees have become citizens since 2016. The influx of refugees, beginning in 2015, has pushed Germany toward radicalization and a stronger, urgent craving for decisive Germany-first leadership.
Sixty-one percent of Israelis ages 18 and above do not want Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to run as a candidate, compared to 35 percent who do, a May 31–June 5 poll by the center-left Israel Democracy Institute shows. Fifty-seven percent of Jewish-Israeli respondents and 83 percent of Arab-Israeli respondents said Netanyahu shouldn’t run. Prime Minister Netanyahu is running regardless. The poll surveyed only 753 people, below the usual benchmark of 1,000 that many analysts consider representative, but it indicates that the prime minister faces an uphill battle to remain Israel’s leader.
- United States President Donald Trump claimed on Truth Social today that the U.S. “will be hitting Iran … very hard tonight.” He also claimed that “in the not too distant future, we will be taking Kharg Island, and other oil infrastructure points, and assume total control of their oil and gas markets, much like we have with Venezuela ….” This reflects the aggressive tactics of his initial strikes beginning on February 28, but he has made similar threats over the ensuing 15 weeks and declined to follow through.
- For the fourth time since the April 7 ceasefire, the U.S. has struck Iran. After an Iranian drone crashed into a U.S. attack helicopter on Monday, the U.S. struck various Iranian military sites on Tuesday and Wednesday and launched 49 cruise missiles today. Iran has retaliated by targeting U.S. 5th Fleet Headquarters and other American assets in Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait.
North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un inspected a new facility in Yongbyon on June 3 that could increase the nation’s nuclear enrichment capabilities by 75 percent, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday. The article cited the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute as estimating North Korea’s current stock of nuclear warheads at around 60, with “material to make at least 90 more.” North Korea’s growing nuclear arsenal will complement the mass-destructive capabilities of a rising Asian alliance prophesied in the Bible.
Neura Robotics, a German firm, raised up to $1.4 billion in its latest funding round from investors including Amazon, Bosch and Nvidia, Germany’s Bild reported yesterday. The company has an order backlog of $1 billion for its AI-powered humanoid robots designed to perform tasks currently done by humans. It intends to scale production to millions of units by 2030 and to position Europe as a competitor to the U.S. and China in this sector. The Bible warns that a technologically powerful Germany will use its abilities for war.
European Parliament and member state representatives reached a provisional agreement to automatically authorize defense readiness projects if regulators do not block them within 102 working days, Germany’s nTV reported Wednesday. The proposal is part of a larger package to reduce regulation on military projects. This is the same bloc that will not only approve and develop deadly hardware but also use it to “make war.”
Lithuania placed a $1.2 billion order for military vehicles from Mercedes-Benz, the Lithuanian Defense Ministry announced yesterday. The ministry called the purchase “one of the largest investments” in its logistical capabilities. The Baltic nation will use European Union loans to help fund the purchase, and deliveries are expected between 2026 and 2032. This order is an example of Russia scaring its European neighbors into rapidly arming, with help from Germany. The Bible warned that Russia would propel Europe to rearm.
Just 11 percent of Europeans view the United States as an ally, according to a European Council on Foreign Relations survey published yesterday. This marks a 50 percent decline since November 2024 to an all-time low. Among 19,481 respondents across 15 European nations, the survey also found that a majority did not believe America would defend them in the event of an attack. European hostility to the U.S. was foretold in Bible prophecy.
The U.S. annual inflation rate jumped to 4.2 percent in May, according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics report, published yesterday. This is the highest official inflation rate since April 2023. Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose slightly to 2.9 percent. This indicates that energy shortages, due primarily to Iran successfully blocking the Strait of Hormuz, are the main cause of the increase. U.S. gasoline prices have risen 30 to 44 percent year-over-year, with the national average at approximately $4.15 per gallon, and diesel is up about 50 percent to $5.21 per gallon. Commercial trucks transport virtually all goods—multiple times—consumed by Americans, including more than 70 percent of U.S. food and agricultural products. Fuel prices could surge even further in the coming months as inventories fall to critical lows.
Somalia will re-subjugate its breakaway regions, its ambassador to Ethiopia pledged in an interview published Saturday. Multiple Somali states have cut ties with the weak federal government and acted independently for years, but now the Somali government is gaining power. This interview indicates a renewed effort to re-subjugate these regions. The violence that could result from such a push could give foreign powers opportunities to manipulate the nation and project power into the Red Sea off its coast.
A Sudanese asylum seeker brutally stabbed a man on a street in Belfast, Ireland, on Monday, and videos posted soon thereafter showed him in the middle of the street, apparently attempting to cut off the victim’s head. The attacker was charged with attempted murder, and last night, Irish protesters set fire to the homes of migrants, a Middle Eastern supermarket and several vehicles. These riots are the result of the Irish feeling helpless in the face of repeated outrageous crimes committed by migrants, which the government has facilitated through its unpopular open border policies.
An investigation published by the Telegraph on Monday found that the British government handed $37 billion to criminals and enemy nations in the form of loans and covid aid between 2015 and 2021. Millions of dollars were handed to the Islamic State and Russia, while billions went to human traffickers, terrorists and other organized crime institutions inside the UK that claimed the benefits fraudulently. This further reveals the nation’s poor leadership, a curse for disobedience.
U.S. soldiers in Lithuania tested German start-up Helsing’s HX-2 drones during Project Flytrap anti-drone drills in April and May, Axios reported yesterday. The 17 HX-2 drones involved succeeded in taking out 15 targets, with just two near misses. German weapons industry innovations like these are building Germany into a military superpower, as the Bible prophesied.
A Gallup poll released yesterday suggests public approval of major American cultural vices is dropping. For example, abortion approval is no longer a majority; 49 percent of respondents approve of abortion, down from 54 percent in 2024. Approval ratings of having a baby outside marriage has fallen to 58 percent, from 70 percent in 2023. Gambling has fallen to a 57 percent approval rating, Gallup’s lowest recording since it introduced the question in 2003. These numbers are moving in the right direction, but it will take more drastic changes in opinion and more drastic and difficult actions for America to truly repent.
Chinese General Secretary Xi Jinping concluded a two-day visit to North Korea today, marking his first trip to the rogue nation in seven years. Xi and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un vowed to strengthen strategic ties between their nations and resolutely safeguard their security, sovereignty and development interests. China’s Xinhua News Agency said Xi called for deepening cooperation in agriculture, health care, science, technology and trade, and for increasing people-to-people exchanges. “In the face of the profound changes unseen in a century that are accelerating across the world, the two sides should take a broad and long-term view, build on past achievements and open up a new future,” Xi said. The strengthening China-North Korea partnership is an important part of a pan-Asian alliance foretold in biblical prophecy and now taking shape.
At least 37 people died and 134 were injured after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Mindanao Island in the Philippines yesterday. The shock destroyed several buildings and triggered landslides, displacing more than 10,000 families. More than 125 aftershocks were recorded with magnitudes up to 6.7. To understand the Bible’s answer about why such tragedies happen, read Why ‘Natural’ Disasters?
The leaders of Europe are “taking up and continuing the negotiation process” with Russia “that the U.S. has largely led,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s spokesman, Stefan Kornelius, stated Sunday, adding that negotiators will stay in “close coordination with the U.S.” and that the transition to more open dialogue with Russia is part of a “phase of reorientation.” Although he said European negotiators will “stay in close coordination with the U.S.,” this is an opportunity for European diplomats to strengthen European policy and interests and directly diminish American policy and interests on the Continent.
Germany’s Handelsblatt reported yesterday that Germany is backing out of the joint French-German-Spanish Future Combat Air System project, which was launched in 2017 to build a sixth-generation fighter jet for Europe, due to disagreements between German-influenced Airbus Defense and Space and France’s Dassault Aviation. Expect Europe to develop advanced military capabilities through “joint” projects dominated by Germany.
