In Other News
Last month, China and the United Arab Emirates completed their first cross-border payment using a central bank digital currency, which the Chinese Embassy in the U.A.E. characterized yesterday as “a breakthrough in global financial innovation and bilateral financial cooperation.” Supported by the Bank for International Settlements, the mBridge project technology eliminates the need for the U.S. dollar in international trade. The European Union is also developing a digital currency. The rise in international non-dollar transactions is important because Isaiah 23 prophesies that a global trade alliance will form that excludes the U.S. and other modern nations of Israel from world trade.
Nato foreign ministers are meeting in Belgium today, with the notable exception of U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. A State Department official explained, “Secretary Rubio has already attended dozens of meetings with nato allies, and it would be completely impractical to expect him at every meeting.” Yet this is the first such absence since the tensions of the Iraq War in 2003. Many European foreign ministers, and many Europeans, take this as another sign of American abandonment and the need for rapid European militarization.
Storms unleashed havoc on Asian nations in recent days, particularly Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. Heavy downpours caused catastrophic flooding and mudslides that have killed more than 1,350 people and displaced millions more. Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto attributed the destruction to climate change, but there is a spiritual reason why such heartbreaking calamities occur. Learn what it is by reading our free booklet Why ‘Natural Disasters’?
Donald Trump announced yesterday that he regards all documents, proclamations, executive orders, memorandums and contracts signed by autopen during Joe Biden’s term as null and void. “The autopen is not allowed to be used if approval is not specifically given by the president of the United States,” President Trump posted on Truth Social. According to legal scholars, presidents have the authority to revoke previously issued executive orders, yet revoking pardons may be unconstitutional without proof that they were granted without presidential approval. Trump’s new announcement highlights the fact that Biden was a “puppet president,” something Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry consistently warned about from his inauguration. Read more in his crucial book America Under Attack.
American billionaires Michael and Susan Dell pledged yesterday to give $6.25 billion to help 25 million American children open newly created investment accounts under President Trump’s Invest America initiative. This gift will fund $250 deposits for children ages 10 and under who were born before Jan. 1, 2025. Children born after that date already qualify to receive the federal government’s $1,000 newborn contribution to their tax-advantaged Invest America accounts, commonly known as “Trump Accounts.” As things stand, Social Security is the only major retirement fund in America that gives a negative rate of return. Putting $250 in diversified index funds designed to grow over time shows that there is a much better way to manage money. It is an impressive charitable contribution from a billionaire.
Pope Leo xiv will hold a mass at the site of the Beirut blast today, with more than 120,000 people registered to attend. The 2020 explosion that killed more than 160 people involved a large cache of ammonium nitrate owned by Hezbollah and called into question whether the terrorist group should continue to influence Lebanon’s future. Five years on, the Vatican is drawing attention to the tragedy because it has its own plans for the future of the entire Middle East.
Olaf Scholz was once one of Germany’s most unpopular chancellors. His successor, Friedrich Merz, is now as unpopular as Scholz at his lowest point. Only 22 percent of Germans are currently satisfied with him, the worst rating Forsa has ever recorded for the rtl/ntv trend barometer. At the same time, the Federation of German Industries sees the economy “in its worst crisis since the founding of the Federal Republic,” and it claims “the federal government is not responding decisively enough.” Germany’s democratic system is failing, and the Bible prophesies that a modern form of authoritarian rule will take its place.
The bbc reported that Georgia’s government used a “World War i-era” chemical to subdue pro-European Union protesters last year. Based on testimony of those affected, the bbc claims the government used camite, a substance that likely has long-lasting effects. This crackdown shows that the former Soviet nation is falling back toward Russia.
Chinese General Secretary Xi Jinping stated he would “resolutely crack down” on web “misconduct” at a meeting of the Chinese Communist Party on Friday. “Governing the online ecosystem is an important task in building China into a cyberpower,” he said. This comes after Chinese regulators said they would “take action” against ByteDance for “displaying harmful content”—the same type of content that Western nations allow. China’s “great firewall” of Internet censorship blocks not only harmful content but also content that questions the world’s most powerful Communist dictatorship.
On Monday, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court decision disqualifying Alina Habba from serving as U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey. Habba is a former personal lawyer to President Donald Trump. The 32-page ruling stated that the president did not obtain “advice and consent” from the Senate as specified by the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, so Habba cannot serve in a permanent capacity as a district attorney.
President Donald Trump’s military strikes on drug boats in the Caribbean Sea have reduced supply and raised drug dealers’ prices, Drug Enforcement Administration Administrator Terry Cole told cbs News on November 19. Cartels are paying more for vessels and manpower and are losing cargoes. President Trump is hoping to weaken cartels and foreign adversaries and to reduce the number of Americans who become addicted or die due to drugs. But America’s self-inflicted drug epidemic, which now claims roughly 100,000 lives each year, will continue. Cartels will find new ways to supply what so many Americans so tragically demand.
A study released yesterday shows that smartphones are making our kids tired, fat and miserable. Led by the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, the University of California–Berkeley and Columbia University in New York, the study analyzed National Institutes of Health data from more than 10,500 youths between 2018 and 2020. It found that the younger a child is when getting a smartphone, the higher his risk for depression, obesity and sleeplessness, even “clinical-level psychopathology.” Though 95 percent of teens ages 13 to 17 have a smartphone, this is another clear warning to parents to buck that trend—and to all adults of the need for self-control. Phone-induced depression, obesity and poor sleep can be a problem at any age.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday asked President Isaac Herzog to pardon him from corruption allegations. The request is highly unusual since Netanyahu has not yet been convicted. President Herzog’s office stated today that the pardon request “is clearly provoking debate and is deeply unsettling for many people in the country, across different communities. I have already clarified that it will be handled in the most correct and precise manner. I will consider solely the best interests of the State of Israel and Israeli society.”
The Lithuanian Defense Ministry has been offering drone assembly, programming and piloting courses to citizens over the past two months, with the goal of training 22,500 Lithuanians, including 7,000 children as young as 10 years old, by 2028. The ultimate objective is to bolster the nation’s defense against Russian aggression, something Europeans increasingly fear and are now acting upon.
On Friday, Russian MiG-31 fighter jets flew westward over the Baltic Sea, prompting the Polish military and nato forces to put their Patriot air defense systems on high alert. The jets then changed course. MiG fighter jets can carry Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, which have a range of 300 miles. Two Patriot systems from the German Air Force, which are currently stationed in Poland, were also involved. An officer told Bild, “Russia is constantly testing us. They want to know how we will respond to such actions.” Russia’s provocations are causing Europe to militarize and unite.
“Migration policy is our business, and we decide on it as we see fit,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Thursday. He was responding to news that the U.S. State Department recently instructed diplomats to lobby other Western countries for tighter immigration laws. Merz and other leaders recognize the “negative social impacts of mass migration, including displacement, sexual assault, and the breakdown of law and order” to which the State Department referred. Focusing on the fact that it came from the U.S. betrays the increasing resentment toward American leadership and pressure.
Russia’s Vladimir Putin welcomed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to Moscow on Friday. “We have important areas of cooperation, and we haven’t given up on any area of that cooperation, no matter the external pressure,” Orbán stated. The United States recently exempted Hungary from sanctions to allow it to continue importing large amounts of Russian oil and gas. Such exemptions and continued partnership with Putin as he wages war on Ukraine are controversial, and as a result, Polish President Karol Nawrocki canceled his December 4 meeting with Orbán. This is a vivid indication of how complex the relationships are between European states and Russia. Orban is leading Europe toward the Catholic Church and toward strongman leadership. All Europe will soon go in this direction. The fact that he is so chummy with Putin is interesting; Orban once took the lead in breaking Hungary out of the Soviet bloc. He is a bellwether showing where the political wind is blowing.
At least 146 people have died in a Hong Kong apartment building block fire that began Wednesday afternoon and expanded to seven of the block’s eight buildings. The cause of the fire is unknown, but flammable materials used during renovations are believed to have contributed to the spread. Eight construction firm employees have been arrested on charges of criminal negligence.
Cyclone Ditwah kills at least 69 people in Sri Lanka after arriving on the island Friday. Twelve inches of rain caused landslides and floods; more deaths are expected as flooding continues. The flooding has disrupted transit routes, and neighboring India is flying in food aid. Sri Lanka effectively went bankrupt in 2022, its economy is still struggling, and now this cyclone adds another major burden. This comes after two deadly typhoons struck the Philippines. Why does a loving God allow such disasters? Read the Bible’s answer in your free copy of Why ‘Natural’ Disasters?
“To all airlines, pilots, drug dealers and human traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY,” President Trump posted on Truth Social on Saturday. The next day, he confirmed that he had called Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro. Anonymous sources told the Miami Herald he gave Maduro an ultimatum: “You can save yourself and those closest to you, but you must leave the country now.” Venezuela under Maduro and his predecessor, Hugo Chavez, has been transformed into a nest of vipers on America’s doorstep. Few realize that Maduro’s fall, if it happens, could provide an opportunity for Europe much more so than for America, to the detriment of the latter. Read what the Bible says about Latin America and the rising Holy Roman Empire in Europe in “Vatican Eyes Regime Change in Venezuela.”
Today, Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau raided the premises of Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Ukrainian legislators and anti-corruption groups had previously demanded that Zelenskyy fire Yermak amid an ongoing investigation into a $100 million energy corruption scandal. The investigations could end Zelenskyy’s presidency, leaving the country more vulnerable to a Russian takeover. The Bible shows that, one way or another, Russia is certain to make more gains in Ukraine.
President Emmanuel Macron announced the program yesterday, open to men and women, mostly ages 18 and 19, who will receive 10 months of training starting in April. He claimed that the younger generation has a “thirst for engagement” and that they are “ready to stand up” for their nation. Although European militarization is regarded as a reaction to Russia, the Bible reveals that European military “engagement” is a threat to the U.S. and the world.
After a lengthy conflict over pension reforms that threatened to topple the German coalition government, the legislature passed a $607 billion national budget for 2026. The budget relies heavily on new debt to finance increased spending on the military, infrastructure and social programs. Even with this budget passing, Germany still desperately needs reforms to its welfare state and stronger leadership overall.
A German astronaut is going to the moon, the European Space Agency announced yesterday. Artemis, a nasa mission in conjunction with agencies from Europe and nine other countries, is scheduled to reach the moon in 2027. A stronger European presence in space is “more and more important for security and defense, and it is a domain where Europe has to catch up,” European Space Agency Director General Josef Aschbacher said. Dr. Wernher von Braun, the Nazi rocket scientist who helped take the first Americans to the moon, stated years ago: “He who controls the open space around us is in a position to control the Earth.”
President Donald Trump said yesterday during a call with troops that he plans to conduct operations “by land” against Venezuela “very soon.” He has used anti-drug trafficking laws to strike Venezuelan drug smugglers at sea, killing more than 80, and has reportedly deployed more than a dozen warships and more than 15,000 troops to the region. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his predecessor, Hugo Chávez, turned the nation into an enemy of the U.S., allowing cartels and terrorist groups to operate. The U.S. is finally taking action, but Bible prophecy suggests that this could lead to an even worse situation.
