In Other News
Right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori was declared winner of Peru’s presidential election yesterday, winning by a small margin of 50,000 votes.
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.”
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.
- U.S. government divided: The Senate yesterday passed a non-binding resolution demanding congressional approval for any additional military operations against Iran. The measure, which originated in the House, highlights that the U.S. government cannot even agree with itself on the conflict.
- Iran defiantly rejects limits: President Masoud Pezeshkian announced yesterday, alongside Pakistan’s leader, that Iran’s missile program was never part of the U.S. memorandum of understanding and “will never be.”
- Iran claims control of Hormuz: Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s chief negotiator with the U.S., declared on Monday that “international regulations will be observed, but Iran will administer the Strait of Hormuz.” Freedom of transit for oil shipments may now be gone for good.
- Trump accuses Iran of lying: President Donald Trump yesterday blasted the Iranian government for making “false statements” after it claimed it had not agreed to International Atomic Energy Agency inspections.
France held a “top secret” meeting with Hamas—the first European nation to do so since the Hamas massacre of Oct. 7, 2023—Saudi newspaper Asharq Al-Aswat reported on Monday.
Vladimir Putin could attend a United Nations peace conference without threat of arrest, the Moscow Times reported yesterday, based on a June 8 announcement by the International Criminal Court.
Romania’s parliament rejected prime minister-designate Adrian Vestea’s proposed government on Monday, prolonging political instability in yet another European government.
In New York City’s recent primaries, Mayor Zohran Mamdani endorsed socialist candidates over more moderate, establishment Democrats. His preferred candidates won. This outcome reflects a broader shift among a significant part of America further to the left, embracing socialist policies and figures.
- U.S. sanctions waivers now allow Iran to sell oil in U.S. dollars, the United States Treasury Department announced yesterday. This is the first time it has allowed this since 2016 through 2018 under Barack Obama’s Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
- The sanctions relief comes hours after Vice President JD Vance claimed Iran had agreed to allow inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency to monitor its nuclear program. Iranian state media disputed the claim, stating Iran hasn’t made any such new commitments.
Five Taliban officials will travel to Brussels to meet with EU officials to discuss deporting Afghan citizens from the European Union, the New York Times reported yesterday. The EU is searching for ways to solve its migrant crisis, a search that will ultimately lead it to find a more authoritarian government.
Christian Freuding, inspector of the German Army, stated its “top priority is to achieve full operational readiness for the Lithuania Brigade next year,” Germany’s Bild reported Friday. The Lithuanian brigade is Germany’s first permanent foreign-stationed brigade since World War ii. The Army’s “top priority” shows that Germany is focused on becoming the new defender of Europe, a role which Bible prophecy warns it will use against Europe’s old defender.
Russia’s military has pushed into the city of Kostyantynivka in eastern Ukraine and is now trying to surround the strategic city, the Institute for the Study of War reported Saturday. Kostyantynivka is viewed as a gateway to the rest of the Donbas since Russian forces could use footholds there to push toward the cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, the last real strongholds in the Donbas region. The infiltration shows that Russian President Vladimir Putin remains viciously determined to conquer Ukraine and may be approaching a breakthrough in that goal. Whatever the outcome of this conflict, Bible prophecy shows that he will eventually lead a vast Asian military that will wage far larger wars.
Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces are preparing a major offensive on El Obeid, Sudan War Monitor reported yesterday. This is the same group whose October assault against El Fasher slaughtered so many civilians; some estimates place the death toll immediately following the attack at 70,000. Analysts fear El Obeid’s fall would end with a similar genocidal rampage. Stories like this often make people wonder how a loving God, if He exists, could allow such horrors. Chapter 4 of Mystery of the Ages, by Herbert W. Armstrong, reveals the Bible-based answer.
