In Other News
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Saturday to speed up government reviews of certain psychedelic drugs, including ibogaine. These powerful mind-altering substances remain illegal under the strictest federal laws. Trump wants faster research to see if they can treat serious problems like post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and addiction—especially for combat veterans who say other treatments have failed. Trump said the order will help suffering people “reclaim their lives” and find real happiness. Yet the Bible gives a different warning. Galatians 5:19-21 list “works of the flesh” that keep people from God’s Kingdom, including “witchcraft.” The original Greek word is pharmakeia, which means the use or administering of drugs—often tied to sorcery and seeking spiritual experiences apart from God. Today, many turn to drugs like these to fill a deep spiritual emptiness. Governments are increasingly approving them, but the Bible shows this path leads to self-destruction not true healing.
The opposing governments in Libya participated in U.S. special forces exercises in Sirte on Tuesday. This is the first time the rival factions’ militaries have exercised together since before the Second Libyan Civil War started almost 12 years ago. Less than a week before, the two sides agreed on the nation’s first unified state budget since 2013. The Bible prophesies that Libya, bitterly divided for years, will soon become not only united but also a significant ally—of Iran.
The European Union will test its ability to defend itself without nato, Politico reported on April 17. The EU’s chief diplomat, Kaja Kallas, will hold an exercise in the EU’s Political and Security Committee to test how the union’s mutual defense clause could work in practice on the political level. The 2007 Treaty of Lisbon established that if any member state is attacked, other members must assist it “by all the means in their power,” an equivalent provision to Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty. The timing of this exercise is notable because it occurs as confidence in nato is dying.
On Wednesday, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić called on his nation’s military to create special military units equipped with attack drones as part of its ongoing rapid remilitarization program. This came the day after Vučić announced a partnership with Israel to produce “the best drones” in that “part of the world.” Serbia’s militarization efforts pose a threat to Germany’s dominance in the Balkans, which the Germans are unlikely to tolerate.
Syria’s Foreign Ministry announced on April 16 the completion of the “handover of military sites where United States forces were previously present in Syria to the Syrian government.” U.S. Central Command confirmed it had “completed turning over all of our major bases in Syria.” The U.S. organized a large-scale military presence in Syria in 2011 under President Barack Obama to counter the Islamic State. Yet the U.S. seems to have no qualms handing things over to the current Syrian government, which has connections to al Qaeda. Bible prophecy states that the more the U.S. helps build up Syria, the more it is walking into a trap.
From 7 a.m. Wednesday to 7 a.m. Thursday, local time, Russia conducted major drone and missile barrages against three Ukrainian cities, killing at least 18 people. The attack, which was one of the largest in months, involved 659 Russian drones and 44 missiles, according to the Ukrainian military. This is another example of Russia’s ruthlessness, which the Bible prophesies will get far worse.
Germany sent $7.8 million worth of weapons exports to Israel in the first four weeks of its war against Iran, according to official numbers reported yesterday by Deutsche Presse Agentur. This is a small amount but a contrast with the complete cutoff of weapons to Israel from several other major nations. Many German politicians are pushing for Germany to follow suit, yet Israel and Germany are working together on ballistic missile defense. Watch for this “friendly enemy” tension between Israel and Germany to result in the Israelis finally coming to trust their former World War ii enemies—to their own peril.
A survey published today by broadcaster zdf shows that satisfaction with Germany’s governing coalition of the Christian Democratic Union, the Christian Social Union and the Social Democrats has dropped to 27 percent, down from 34 percent in March. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is even less popular, with 30 percent approval, as are Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil and Economy Minister Katherina Reiche. Meanwhile, the far-right Alternative for Germany, polling at 26 percent, has overtaken the cdu-csu, which stands at 25 percent. The German people are becoming increasingly disillusioned with their democratically elected leaders. Bible prophecy reveals that this will pave the way for another dictatorship.
Julius Malema, the head of South Africa’s far-left Economic Freedom Fighters party, was sentenced yesterday to five years in prison for firing an automatic rifle into the air during a 2018 political rally. The Economic Freedom Fighters is a Marxist group that advocates race war with white South Africans. Malema has publicly stated, “Kill the Boer” and “Our revolution will require us to kill.” Malema, who is appealing the sentencing, may be his movement’s biggest agitator, but imprisoning him won’t fix South Africa’s racial tension, and it just might make him a political martyr.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has now made its bold ambition official. Its budget report, sent to Congress on Wednesday, announced plans to deport 1 million people each year in 2026 and 2027. The agency says it has the officers and resources to meet this goal. The agency carried out 442,637 removals in 2025, about 171,000 more than in 2024 under Joe Biden. A 2018 Yale study estimated 16 to 29 million undocumented immigrants were already in the U.S., and millions more entered during the Biden years. Even in perfect conditions, it would take decades to deport them all. But Bible prophecy warns this will not go perfectly. Instead, the “strangers” in the land will bring destruction and burn our cities with fire (Deuteronomy 28:52; Isaiah 1:7).
Yesterday, the Bundestag’s Budget Committee approved a contract for German defense giant Rheinmetall to manufacture more loitering attack drones, weapons that hover over conflict zones to identify and strike targets. The drones will be used by German troops stationed in Lithuania. Initially valued at $345 million, the contract could expand to $1.2 billion, depending on legislative approval and Rheinmetall capacity. This allows for large stockpiles of thousands of drones. The government signed similar contracts with German start-ups Helsing and Stark Defense in February, but this new contract represents confidence in the adaptability of its well-established military industry. Meanwhile, Germany is cooperating closely with Ukraine to evaluate battlefield data and optimize its drone warfare capabilities. Bible prophecy warns that Germany will once again shock the world with new military advances.
“Cuban nationals have emerged as one of the largest identifiable groups of foreign fighters supporting Russian military operations in Ukraine,” an April 8 presidential report to Congress states. The Trump administration claims that up to 5,000 Cuban troops are fighting alongside Russian forces and that there is a strong indication the Cuban government “knowingly tolerated, enabled or selectively facilitated the flow.” Bible prophecy indicates that Cuba will join a global alliance that will economically cripple the U.S., so Cuba’s ties to American enemies and growing tensions with the U.S. bear scrutiny.
Iran used a Chinese spy satellite secretly acquired in 2024 to monitor American military bases in the Middle East, the Financial Times reported yesterday, citing Iranian military documents. The satellite has been used during the current war to identify targets such as the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, which is used by U.S. forces. China denies the report, but if true, this is yet another example of America’s enemies working together and another indicator that Iran’s radical Islamist regime will survive, as the Trumpet has consistently forecast based on Bible prophecy.
The United States is indicating it could be close to a proper deal to end the war with Iran. While President Donald Trump has not sent any high-ranking officials to the Middle East for talks, a mediator in Pakistan has reportedly made progress. A U.S. official told Axios: “We want to make a deal. And parts of their government want to make a deal. Now the trick is to get the whole of government over there to make a deal.” President Trump told Fox News yesterday that he viewed the war “as very close to over.” As many have noted, it appears that the U.S., for all its power, and President Trump, for all his willingness to use it, is somewhat desperate to end hostilities despite the Iranian regime remaining unchanged.
Yesterday, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard’s office sent criminal referrals to the Department of Justice, indicating that former Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson could have committed crimes when he allegedly skipped normal checks, exceeded his authority, and lodged an anonymous complaint that helped start the impeachment of President Trump in 2019. Atkinson flagged Trump’s July 2019 phone call with Ukraine’s president as an “urgent concern,” but the Office of the Director of National Intelligence says it has evidence that this, along with an apparent “coordinated effort” among former intelligence agents, may have violated federal law. The odni said that former intelligence workers may have violated federal law in a “coordinated effort” to cause the impeachment. Gabbard said her office has records exposing “deep state actors” whose goal was to overturn the 2016 election results. Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry has consistently said since 2018 that radical leftists, including Barack Obama, were guilty of treason in their actions against President Trump.
Yesterday, a 14-year-old shooter killed nine people and wounded 13 others at a middle school in Turkey, a country where firearms are heavily restricted. This followed an unrelated shooting in another Turkish school on Tuesday in which 16 people were wounded. These atrocities highlight the reality that violence is increasing throughout the world, as prophesied in 2 Timothy 3.
Russia’s oil revenue almost doubled last month, the International Energy Agency reported yesterday. Due to the war in Iran and Iran’s terrorist attacks on energy shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, the average price of Russian oil rose from $46 per barrel in February to $78 per barrel, and income increased from $9.7 billion in February to $19 billion. For Russia, the timing couldn’t be better, as it faced a first-quarter national budget deficit that exceeded $60 billion, surpassing the projected deficit for the entire year. Russia, once again, can escape crippling economic conditions and continue its aggression, and the Bible prophesies much more of the same.
Chinese Communist Party leaders hosted Cheng Li-wun, the leader of Taiwan’s Kuomintang party, for a six-day visit that ended on Sunday, another assertion of Chinese Communist power against democratic Taiwan. The first such visit by a Kuomintang leader since 2015 included a widely publicized 14-second handshake between Cheng and Chinese General Secretary Xi Jinping. The Kuomintang party has not ruled Taiwan for more than a decade, but many voters support it for its policy of favoring engagement over military resistance. The Chinese Communist Party favors it for the same reason. The Trumpet maintains its forecast of over two decades that China will ultimately seize control of Taiwan, with the deciding factor being weakness and unfaithfulness from Taiwan’s democratic ally, the United States.
During a Polish legislative session yesterday, on Holocaust Remembrance Day, a lawmaker speaking to the chamber unfolded an Israeli flag with the Star of David replaced with a swastika. Konrad Berkowicz, of the far-right Konfederacja party, accused Israel of genocide and said, “Israel is the new Third Reich, and its flag should look exactly like this.” The Israeli Foreign Ministry responded: “It is hard to imagine a lower depth of contempt towards the Holocaust than this revolting act.” The incident is a crucial sign that as Israel fights for its existence against Islamist terrorists in the Middle East, the greater threat is rising again in Europe.
2025 was the deadliest year for Jews outside of Israel in over 30 years, according to a study released by Tel Aviv University on Monday. Anti-Semitic attacks last year killed 20 people in three countries outside of Israel. The last time more were killed in a single year was 1994, when a single bombing killed 85 and wounded over 300. Attacks on Jews began spiking after Hamas terrorists tortured, raped and mass-murdered their way through unsuspecting Jewish homes, streets and schools on Oct. 7, 2023. The aftermath of that massacre would logically be the time of greatest sympathy and support for Jews—yet it has instead produced a surge in Jew-hatred worldwide. The reason for this bizarre, hateful and deadly trend is explained in “The One Minority Society Loves to Hate.”
The U.S. eased sanctions on Venezuela on Tuesday to help the government survive protests from workers demanding higher wages. The average monthly pay in the country is $237, but the Associated Press said many are paid around $160 per month. The Trump administration is now allowing Venezuela to use U.S. currency, reenter the America-run global financial system, and receive billions of dollars in oil sales. Bible prophecy indicates that the conflict over Venezuela will soon turn in favor of not the United States or Venezuela, but Europe.
Rheinmetall is forming a joint venture with Dutch defense company Destinus to “manufacture, market and deliver advanced missile systems,” including “cruise missiles and ballistic rocket artillery,” a Rheinmetall statement said yesterday. ceo Armin Papperger said this venture furthers “the foundations for scalable, operational missiles that are tailored to the current requirements of the European and allied armed forces.” Rheinmetall Destinus Strike Systems is scheduled to start operations later this year and constitutes yet another necessary component of a rising European superpower.
A blacklisted tanker linked to China transited the Strait of Hormuz today, despite a U.S. blockade on the crucial choke point, lseg shipping data shows. The Rich Starry, owned by Shanghai Xuanrun Shipping Co. Ltd., was previously sanctioned by the U.S. for helping Iran circumvent energy sanctions. The tanker loaded 250,000 barrels of methanol at the United Arab Emirates’ Hamriyah Port over the weekend. It aborted an attempt to transit Hormuz yesterday, just as U.S. President Donald Trump’s blockade on the strait went into effect. This morning, the vessel resumed its voyage, successfully passed, and is now in the Gulf of Oman, bearing toward China. As the blockade’s aim is to dry up the revenue streams of the Iranian mullahs, it is likely that vessels calling at the U.A.E. and other non-Iranian ports may not be subject to it. Nevertheless, the decision to allow a blacklisted tanker to pass suggests America lacks the will to further use its power.
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio is hosting Israel and Lebanon’s ambassadors to the U.S. today in Washington, the highest-level discussions between the two countries since the 1990s and a potential prelude to a formal peace deal for ending the state of war that has existed between them since 1948. The talks, coming under pressure from the U.S., are taking place while Israel is attacking Hezbollah terrorists in southern Lebanon, with the Lebanese government’s apparent tacit blessing. The Lebanese government has also issued its first official declaration that Hezbollah’s military activity is illegal and condemned its attacks. It has conducted arrests of terrorists and is expelling Iranian personnel linked to Hezbollah. Israel, bowing to pressure from America, may hope that the current government could be a partner for peace. But Bible prophecy indicates that such deals will set Israel up for a double-cross.
Last night, Canada’s ruling Liberal Party won three by-elections, giving it 174 seats in Canada’s Parliament and a working majority. The Liberals won two districts in Toronto easily, and a narrow victory in a Montreal district that traditionally votes Bloc Québécois. These wins followed five members of Parliament from other parties joining the Liberals. This is the first time in Canadian history a minority government has switched to a majority between elections. Carney now faces much less resistance to his legislative agenda, which includes many dangerous authoritative measures, and a foreign policy that anchors Canada to Communist China and Catholic Europe. Learn more about “Mark Carney’s Successful Coup Against Democracy.”
Eat zero-calorie sweeteners and you may pass on the negative effects to your grandchildren, a study published in Frontiers in Nutrition on April 10 concluded. Researchers found that when two groups of mice were fed sucralose, a sweetener used in Splenda, and Stevia, a more natural zero-calorie sweetener, the offspring of their offspring were worse at regulating their blood sugar levels and experienced changes to their gut bacteria. Sucralose had a much more powerful negative effect than Stevia. The study indicates that how you eat could impact your grandchildren in ways scientists are only just starting to understand. To learn more about sweeteners’ effects on humans, read “The Sweet Deception of Splenda.”
