Appalling Conditions on USS Abraham Lincoln

Stars and Stripes wrote on August 13:

“Family members and sailors say months at sea with no end in sight to a grueling Middle East deployment have intensified worries about mental health and the risk of self-harm aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln. Those concerns were brought directly to Navy leadership Thursday, when family members spoke to Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao and other senior officials during intense town hall meetings… In one case, a spouse tearfully told officials that she received a message that same day from her husband saying ‘he hopes he doesn’t wake up tomorrow’… 

“The worries expressed at Thursday’s meetings echo those raised independently with Stars and Stripes by sailors and family members in recent weeks. Interviews with active-duty sailors and family members, along with dozens of public social media comments and posts by crew members, describe sailors struggling with exhaustion and declining morale, including reports of suicidal thoughts and at least one instance where a crew member was prevented from jumping overboard. The concerns come during an unusually demanding deployment… The aircraft carrier left San Diego in November for a Pacific deployment, was redirected to the Middle East and has now been deployed for more than eight months, including a record-breaking number of days at sea without a port stop. Its crew has spent much of that time supporting U.S. combat operations against Iran, and the deployment, which was anticipated to end in May, has been extended with no publicly announced return date….

“Family members and sailors say the roughly 5,000 service members aboard Lincoln have endured food and water shortages, disrupted mail service and long workdays with little time off…. Carriers generally pull into a port every 30 to 45 days to allow for replenishment, maintenance and crew rest… ‘Nothing to really look forward to at this point,’ [a] sailor said, adding that crew morale now is so low that sailors and Marines aboard Lincoln would be willing to forgo any upcoming stops in favor of returning home as soon as possible…”

While Secretary of State Pete Hegseth flatly denied the reports, saying they were “completely misrepresented,” President Trump downplayed or dismissed them, saying that the deployment was “not nearly long enough.” This happens when you start an unprovoked war in the Middle East with no clear goal or concept of duration in mind. These denials sound untrustworthy.

Trump’s Navy in Crisis

Daily Mail wrote on August 18:

“Donald Trump’s Navy is facing renewed scrutiny after a warship lost all power while deployed in the South China Sea, stranding sailors without drinkable water, food, air conditioning or working toilets for four days.

“A generator failure aboard the USS Benfold on July 24 left the destroyer without power… The Navy did not disclose the incident for nearly a month…”

Trump Attacks Fox News Anchor

TV Insider wrote on August 17:

“Fox News’ Shannon Bream appeared to get under Donald Trump’s skin on Sunday (August 16) as the president delivered not one but two lengthy rants against the anchor on Truth Social… ‘Watching FoxNews with Shannon Bream is always like watching the Worst of Fake News CNN,’ he wrote in the first of two unhinged rants….

“‘I don’t know Shannon, but she always seems to pick guests, charts, and “polls” that are negative, never talking about all of the incredible things that the Trump Administration has done,’ he continued before reeling off a list of supposed accomplishments and claimed that the U.S. is ‘more RESPECTED throughout the World than at any time in Memory’… adding, “Even Chris Wallace was better, and he was really bad.”

Trump lives in a dream world. 

Due to Trump, Tension Escalates in Strait of Hormuz

The New York Post wrote on August 15:

“President Trump posted an AI image of himself helping seize an Iranian-flagged tanker in the Strait of Hormuz on Truth Social, in another online escalation as a US ally said Iran fired on another commercial vessel. ‘It’s Our Oil Tanker Now!’ Trump posted Friday night, hours after declaring on Long Island that ‘Pretty soon, I will be declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States.’ 

“‘This strait will only be opened and closed under Iran’s command, and as long as you do not accept the reality of defeat and stop indulging in delusions, Iran will continue to enforce the blockade,’ Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi posted on X Saturday. The United Arab Emirates said Saturday that Iran had attacked another Abu Dhabi National Oil Company vessel transiting the strait, the third attack in a week.”

Some say Trump’s comments regarding declaring the Strait of Hormuz territory of the USA was a joke, but due to Trump’s ongoing provocations and his desire to invade other countries and areas, it would be foolish to dismiss his illegal threats as a joke. Note the following article.

Daily Mail added on August 18:

“The US President shared a map on Truth Social showing the narrow waterway with the words ‘NEW U.S. TERRITORY’ written across it. The bizarre image showed a large blue circle around the strait, which connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and is one of the world’s most important shipping routes.”

Trump Threatens Oman 

The Daily Mail wrote on August 17:

“Donald Trump threatened to ‘bomb the s….’ out of Oman if it continues negotiations with Iran without American approval as the ceasefire with Tehran nears its expiration.

Oman, a major US defense ally in the Middle East, is negotiating with Iran over a plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by placing the narrow waterway, through which one-fifth of the world’s oil passes, under joint control…

“Trump’s threats against his own ally come as the 60-day US-Iran ceasefire is set to expire today, raising fears of renewed fighting that could further destabilize the region and disrupt global oil supplies…”

With his wild rant against Oman, Trump proved again his frustration and his realization that he is unable to bring the war to an end. 

Using Nuclear Weapons Against Iran?

Vietnam.vn wrote on August 17:

“Former US Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene claims that officials in Washington are discussing the possibility of using nuclear weapons against Iran amid the escalating months-long conflict… According to Ms. Greene, the issue of nuclear weapons use was discussed in strategic planning meetings…

“Ms. Greene wrote: ‘They are discussing the use of nuclear weapons against Iran in strategic meetings. I’m not speculating, I know that. And that’s absolutely evil.’… Ms. Greene warned that such a move could trigger a ‘nuclear catastrophe’ and drag the world into a war on a much larger scale.”

Greenland Objects—Far From Receiving Approval

Euractiv wrote on August 11:

“US oil operator Greenland Energy will not obtain the approvals needed to begin drilling in eastern Greenland this year, local authorities said, contradicting the company’s public timetable. Nuuk, however, says the project remains far from receiving approval.

“‘In the current situation, I do not believe it is realistic for the company to carry out drilling work this autumn,’ Greenlandic Minister for Foreign Affairs and Natural Resources, Múte B. Egede, told local broadcaster KNR.”

It will remain to be seen how US oil operator Greenland Energy will react, given its close relationship with Donald Trump. 

Eritrea’s Strategic Importance

Deutsche Welle wrote on August 13:

“Amid growing tensions and security risks in the Horn of Africa, Eritrea, with its strategically important coastal points on the Red Sea, is emerging as an important player in the region… Yemen lies on the other side of the Red Sea, which makes Eritrea’s location particularly interesting… The only safe route in this area runs through Eritrea… The Houthi militia, propped up by Iran, have been attacking merchant ships in the Red Sea from the Yemeni coastline…

“Still, Eritrea continues to exert its influence as the Red Sea has emerged a crucial sea route for the world, and especially for the Gulf states — Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates… A viable alternative, should the Strait of Hormuz remain repeatedly blocked, would be for these Gulf nations and their partners to find routes via Saudi ports located further up on the Red Sea…

“Meanwhile, Eritrea’s neighbors, particularly landlocked Ethiopia, are fighting hard to maintain access to the Red Sea as a trade route, Sayed added — in particular for oil exports from the Horn of Africa to the rest of the world, especially to Europe and the Americas.”

At one time, Ethiopia and Eritrea were one country until they separated in 1993. Biblically, the two powers might still be viewed as one country. The same may be true for India and Pakistan, which were one country in the past, until their separation in 1947. Other examples might be North and South Korea, which separated in 1953, or Germany and Austria, which seem to be “one country” according to the Bible.  

Israel Can’t Wait Forever

The Jerusalem Post wrote on August 16:

“The clock has been ticking for two months since the June ‘ceasefire’ between the US and Iran, and still the Islamic Republic is rearming. That should dominate Israel’s thinking about every day that passes without an agreement capable of restraining the Iranian regime…  Israeli defense officials have been shocked by the speed with which Iran is recovering from the damage inflicted during the war…

“Israel and the United States struck more than 2,600 missile and military-industrial targets during the roughly 40-day war, carrying out some 30,000 attacks, and it left Israeli officials believing the scale of the destruction had crippled Iran’s ability to restore its military industries at anything like their previous pace…. Now the Post has confirmed that Iran is producing new weapons at a much faster pace than Israeli planners anticipated…

“The ballistic missile threat remains unresolved, and the pressure campaign has yet to return Tehran to the negotiating table on terms that can give Israel confidence the danger is actually receding. The longer this goes on, the more it looks like the Americans are operating without a real, strategic plan… Every month gives Iranian engineers, commanders, and procurement networks more time to reopen facilities, replace machinery, uncover underground missile sites, disperse production, and replenish stocks…

“Israel cannot afford to wake up next year and discover that a threat believed to have been pushed back by years was delayed by only a matter of months… Israel is directly in the firing line. The United States is not. If we need to take matters into our own hands, then that should be our prerogative, whatever our working relationship with the US… Two months have already been spent trying to turn a ceasefire into something more permanent. Iran has spent those same two months recovering…  Israel cannot afford to give Iran any more time to rearm.”

The war with Iran was a catastrophic failure from the outset. 

Terrible Demands

Brussels Signal wrote on August 17:

“Israel’s Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir has called for the Israeli army to carry out targeted assassinations in Gaza every night, arguing it should be ‘taking down 30 to 40 every night.’… 

“Ben-Gvir said the killings should not be confined to those posing an immediate threat, describing people in the enclave as unworthy of life and not even human.”

Trump to Americans: Accept Higher Gas Prices

Reuters wrote on August 15:

“Trump urged Americans to accept slightly higher gasoline prices while the conflict continues. He told a political rally in Garden City, New York, on Friday that paying ‘a tiny little bit more for your gasoline’ is worth the cost of ensuring ‘a very evil country’ could not have a nuclear ‌weapon, one of his stated rationales for the war.

“Throughout the conflict, the president has alternated between threats of escalation and assertions that a peace deal is imminent. In a trend that has sparked inflation and disappointed voters, the average U.S. price of a gallon of ⁠gasoline was about $4.08 on Friday, up 29% from a year earlier… Trump… campaigned for reelection on a promise to lower energy costs, and Democrats are seeking to make the war’s fallout an issue in November congressional elections….

“Only two vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Friday with no crude oil shipments ‌visible… Some ships may cross the strait undetected with their transponders off, ​but the figures are nowhere near the more than 130 ships that traversed it daily before the war. Vessels that dare ​navigate the strait without Iranian permission risk missile or drone strikes… Attacks by ‌Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen renewed concerns about a widening regional war… the Houthis fired six ballistic missiles at the Red Sea port of Mocha ​on Friday, killing four civilians…”

Americans are not going to accept higher gas prices for a war which should have never been started. In fact, Trump’s declaration for the goal of the war contradicts what JD Vance just said. Note the next article.

Top Goal of Iran War: Get Gas Prices Down

AFD wrote on August 14:

“The top US priority now in the Iran war is no longer its nuclear program but to bring gasoline prices down for American consumers, the vice president said Thursday… Preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon — consistently touted by President Donald Trump as his main reason for the war — now takes a back seat to getting oil flowing again freely through the strait, Vance told Will Cain on Fox News.

“Vance’s comments underscored the stark reality that the war now centers on control of the Strait of Hormuz, the critical fuel supply conduit that was open before Trump started the war along with Israel in late February… Republicans fear Trump and the war, which has caused gasoline prices to soar, will cost them their control of Congress.”

Trump reiterated again that his main goal is that Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon. He said that he does not care about the midterm election (and by extension, gas prices). It does not look like Trump and Vance are on the same wavelength. This confusing picture is not very reassuring for American citizens. 

Trump’s Loyalty Test

The Daily Beast wrote on August 14:

“The Trump administration is quietly trying to force international partners to pass an ideological fealty test before deciding whether to pull back vital military protection.

A leaked document sent to alliance members… lays out a high-stakes questionnaire probing whether individual countries have ‘been publicly supportive’ of President Donald Trump’s foreign policy…

“Allies have balked at the private questionnaire, viewing it as a blatant attempt to pressure sovereign nations into political alignment in exchange for basic security guarantees…

“The questionnaire arrives partway through an administration review of its military presence in Europe, expected to wrap by December. That review process has left NATO allies bracing for deep cuts to U.S. troop levels and the military assets the U.S. would deploy in the event of an attack. The document touches on several major flashpoints that have divided Washington from its partners, including the U.S. war with Iran and the raid that captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro…

“ It specifically asks whether countries are buying from American defense firms and whether they have spoken out against new ‘made in Europe’ procurement policies, adding, ‘If not, would they be willing to do so?’”

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte attempted to downplay the rift, even stating foolishly that the questionnaire would bring NATO “closer together.” NATO, as we know it, is doomed, and Rutte’s hypocritical “diplomacy” won’t change that. 

No Referendum as Long as Trump Is in Office

CBC wrote on August 18:

“The Parti Québécois will not hold a referendum as long as U.S. President Donald Trump remains in power, party leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon announced Tuesday morning. In a news release, St-Pierre Plamondon said he wants to avoid having the issue ‘hijacked by the ups and downs of American politics.’ ‘An issue as crucial as the political future of Quebec requires conditions that allow for an informed and calm debate,’ the PQ leader said.

“He said the next government will be faced with ‘more than enough challenges’ without calling a referendum. ‘So I decided to completely defuse the argument that this would be the worst time to think about our future because of Trump, by ruling out the possibility of holding a referendum by the end of his second term,’ St-Pierre Plamondon explained. Trump’s second term is set to end on Jan. 20, 2029.

“St-Pierre Plamondon said that, if elected, he would still consult Quebecers on the issue of independence during his first mandate, but only after Trump leaves office. The announcement comes just over a week ahead of the official launch of the Quebec provincial election campaign. Voters are scheduled to head to the polls on Oct. 5.”

Will Putin Attack NATO?

The Sun wrote on August 13:

“With his back against the wall, Putin could choose to risk it all and attempt a World War Three-stoking attack on a Nato nation, according to longtime Kremlin critic and Brit banker Bill Browder. The gamble would aim to test who is truly on Ukraine‘s side and would be aimed at the US with Russia hoping they would avoid being drawn into a conflict despite Article 5 of the Nato treaty. One theory is Putin could grab a city in Poland or one of the three Baltic states – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania  – all Nato nations which have strongly backed Ukraine during the war. A new US intelligence report even revealed this week that US officials fear Putin is plotting a small-scale land incursion to test the alliance.

“Bill told The Sun: ‘Putin has reached a stalemate in his war with Ukraine. It’s been going on for more than four years, and he’s unable to gain more territory. He’s losing between 1,000 to 1,500 troops a day. His oil refineries and warehouses of online retailers are being bombed by the Ukrainians. And the Ukrainians are developing more and more sophisticated weapons so they’ve reached a stalemate – and, of course, he’s short on money.’ 

“Russia’s faltering economy is one of the biggest issues hampering the war, he says…. ‘If he were to attack a Nato country, he might do that with the expectation that Trump doesn’t get involved. And then he’s got this situation where you have Nato without America. Bill says the Kremlin could turn Trump’s refusal to support Europe into a weapon of their own. They could demand countries stop funding Ukraine and supplying weapons or risk war with Russia. ‘That may be Putin’s best way to win this war with Ukraine as if Ukraine doesn’t get European funding, they will lose the war,’ Bill added.”

Some of these thoughts are quite interesting. We know that ultimately, Russia and Ukraine will be together against Europe. 

Russia on German Soil?

On August 16, Die Welt wrote:

“Russia is increasingly becoming a threat to Europe: the explosive-laden drone at Leipzig Airport, the impact of a Russian missile in Poland, a drone crash in Romania, and repeated airspace violations in the Baltic states. For former US Secretary of Defense and ex-CIA chief Leon Panetta, these are warning signs that Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin is systematically testing Europe’s lines of defense…

“Panetta is no longer willing to rule out even a nightmare scenario: Russian military actions taking place on German soil as well… ‘Putin reacts to weakness, and if he senses it in NATO and the US, he will continue to provoke and strike,’ Panetta warns.”

Ultimately, Russia WILL attack Europe and Germany, but not yet.

Putin’s Drones on NATO’s Doorsteps

The Sun wrote on August 18:

“AN ‘apocalyptic’ war is looming over Europe as Russia lines its borders with new drone bases capable of striking Nato and Kremlin warships stalk the seas, experts warn. Desperate Vladimir Putin is rapidly expanding Russia’s drone network and developing new warfare tactics as he prepares to take on the West…

“Images showed enough storage at one base for more than 1,000 drones to be kept on site at one time… Turkey, Romania, eastern Poland and the Baltic Republics, Lativa, Lithuania and Estonia are all under threat.”

A Three-Front War?

The Atlantic wrote on August 17:

“Western military planners do not seem eager to talk about their nightmare scenario, much less prepare for it. But they tend to agree on how it would begin: a coordinated, near-simultaneous attack on opposite sides of the planet, in which Russia targets a NATO member in Eastern Europe while China makes its move against Taiwan. The U.S. military would need to react on two fronts at once—three if it remains at war in the Middle East…

“About a year ago, General Alexus Grynkewich, the top NATO commander in Europe, issued a rare public warning about the risk of a two-front war against Russia and China, and he called on European allies to help the U.S. prepare. But when I asked a range of military experts and strategists what the West would do in such a situation, the responses rang surprisingly hollow. Most of them expressed bewilderment and a bit of shame about how little has been done in recent years to study this risk in detail.”

FBI Failed to Investigate Epstein

California Post wrote on August 14:

“Playboy founder Hugh Hefner repeatedly called the FBI to report Jeffrey Epstein for sexual abuse in 2005, after a Playboy Playmate [Christiansen]… told him she was raped and trafficked by the disgraced financier, according to new details in a lawsuit… The revelations are part of an amended complaint filed in May in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida by Epstein victims who charge the FBI failed to act on multiple reports about his sexual abuse as early as 1996.

“‘The fact that the FBI is trying to utilize procedural technicalities to try to avert accountability and responsibility for its failures to properly investigate Jeffrey Epstein for over 20 years should be deeply concerning to all,’ Jordan Merson, lawyer for the victims, told The Post… Christiansen… was only contacted by the FBI in October 2020, after Epstein’s death, to follow up on the information provided 15 years earlier…

“The FBI tried to get the lawsuit thrown out in June, saying it was ‘not required to investigate every complaint’ it received.”

The Epstein scandal is not a fake, but very real. The lack of US government investigations into Epstein is deeply disturbing. The idea that Epstein committed suicide is likewise absurd.

California’s “Rolling Resistance” Madness

The New York Post wrote on August 18:

“The California Energy Commission unanimously approved new rules Monday that will phase out the sale of replacement tires that don’t meet the state’s energy- efficiency standards— potentially wiping out a huge chunk of the tires currently available to California drivers… The rules target a tire’s ‘rolling resistance’ — how much energy it takes to keep a tire moving down the road. Lower resistance means cars use less gas or electricity.

“The first phase begins in 2029, when replacement tires will have to meet a maximum rolling-resistance level of 9.1 newtons per kilonewton. That threshold drops to 7.2 in 2033….

“Goodyear’s Bret Gladfelty told the commission the rules could drive up costs and said technical and legal questions remain unresolved. While the commission estimates phase-two rules would add an average of about $6.50 per tire, Gladfelty warned that actual increases could reach several hundred dollars. He also told KCRA that the rules could eliminate an estimated 70% of the tires currently sold in California by 2033.”

 No wonder California is going down.

Scientists Use AI to Create New Viruses

The Jerusalem Post wrote on August 18:

“Researchers at Stanford University used artificial intelligence to create 16 functional viruses not found in nature earlier this month… [Researchers are] using EVO 2, a generative AI model… that generates new DNA sequences.

“… many have also expressed concern over the potential dangers of using artificial intelligence to create viruses. EVO 2 is open source, meaning anyone can download the AI and design new genomes themselves….

“In a paper written in response to King and Hie, scientists from John Hopkins University’s Center, Thomas Inglesby and Moritz Hanke for Health Security warned that while the Stanford researchers limited the AI’s training data it would not be difficult for a different user to discover a way around the limitations, opening the possibilities for viruses designed to infect humans, animals, or plants in ways we cannot yet counter.”

Another Frankenstein monster in the making… 

Covid Lockdowns to Delay Natural Immunity 

Life Site News wrote on August 14:

“Jeffrey Tucker, a prominent critic of COVID-19 lockdown policies from the earliest days, stated categorically that the purpose of the stringent measures was not to protect people’s health; it was to delay the onset of natural immunity so that the experimental ‘vaccine’ which was still in development would be hailed as the heroic solution to the virus…. ‘I was told by top FDA, NIH officials that a major reason for social distancing, lockdowns, masking, plexiglass, stay at home orders, and everything else was to delay the onset of natural immunity, to delay rising seroprevalence levels, to delay endemicity, until after the shots were online,’ said Tucker…. 

“‘It was to keep us from gaining a natural capacity to resist the virus so that they could wait until the injection came along so the injection could be deployed and experimented upon us and thereby get all the credit for having solved the issue,’ he explained… Multiple sources have confirmed this without a shadow of a doubt in their mind that that was the real purpose of the school closures, the business shutdowns, stay-at-home orders, the travel restrictions, everything – to delay the point at which we would have essentially solved the problem through natural exposure and immune upgrades.’”

Tucker stated that it sounds like a “wild conspiracy theory. But it’s the truth.” Frankly, in light of what has transpired, it sounds VERY believable. 

Fauci and Lauterbach

On July 28, the Berliner Zeitung published an article with the following headline and introduction:

“Fauci’s secret diary: ‘Important Zoom meeting with Karl Lauterbach.’ Secret vaccine coordination… Karl Lauterbach appears in the diary of immunologist Anthony Fauci.”

The article goes on to state:

“In the recently released secret diary of US coronavirus chief Anthony Fauci, an interested reader from Germany might be surprised to come across a familiar name: Former Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach had ‘by now become something of a friend’ to Anthony Fauci, the American immunologist wrote in his diary on December 8, 2022…. Lauterbach features quite prominently in Fauci’s notes… Lauterbach frequently sought the advice of the ‘Corona Pope’ [regarding the vaccination campaigns].”

This is by no means “surprising.” It has long been known that Lauterbach followed Fauci’s “wisdom” in his disastrous vaccination measures and his often unlawful efforts to combat the coronavirus. Consequently, Lauterbach should also be held accountable.

Applications For Conscientious Objection More Than Double

Kettner-Edelmetalle wrote on August 13:

“The figures are clear—and uncomfortable for the federal government. By July 31, 2026, the Federal Office of Family Affairs and Civil Society Functions in Cologne had received 8,302 applications for conscientious objection. That is more than twice as many in seven months as in the entire year of 2025, when the agency recorded 3,879 applications. This surge was evidently triggered by the new military service system that came into effect on January 1, 2026. Since then, every young German has received mail from the Bundeswehr shortly after their 18th birthday…

“Anyone who attributes these figures merely to the youth’s desire for an easy life is oversimplifying the issue. From our editorial team’s perspective, this mountain of applications reveals one thing above all: a profound loss of trust in the political leadership… The debate surrounding conscription assessments and conscientious objection is a symptom of broader uncertainty. The security situation, national debt, energy prices, migration…”

The “Firewall” Only Benefits the AfD

Die Welt wrote on August 18:

“A report by the British magazine ‘The Economist’ ahead of the state election in Saxony-Anhalt [on September 6] states that the ‘firewall’ has primarily benefited the AfD…

“The ‘Economist’s assessment prior to the election: Friedrich Merz—now Chancellor—had pledged in 2018 to cut the AfD’s support in half. Since then, however, support for the party has doubled, while the CDU is approaching record lows. ‘Irregular migration has dropped sharply, yet the AfD has simply shifted further to the right.’ It now rails against ‘culturally alien workers’…

“‘The Economist’ identifies the AfD itself as the greatest beneficiary of the firewall. AfD Bundestag member Torben Braga told the publication that the firewall protects his party from having to grapple with very difficult questions—a view the magazine explicitly shares. Political scientist Christian Stecker of Darmstadt adds that, behind the firewall, the AfD can promise anything; it shields the party from the disappointment that comes with the responsibility of governing in a democracy.

“The magazine outlines tricky scenarios for election day on September 6: If the AfD narrowly misses an absolute majority, the CDU would likely need the support of all other parties, including The Left… If the AfD remained excluded from power despite holding twice as many seats as the CDU, it would not just be its supporters asking whether German democracy is functioning, ‘The Economist’ continues…

“The magazine sees no clear path forward for the right way to deal with the AfD… Some things will collapse, new things will emerge—and we do not know what it will all look like in the end.”

Does the AfD Want to Abolish Christmas?

Focus wrote on August 13:

“State Minister for Culture Wolfram Weimer sharply criticizes the AfD and its understanding of German culture in an interview. He points out that some within the party even want to abolish Christmas.

“‘What the AfD understands by “German thinking” is particularly alarming. I see a blatant, narrow-minded nationalism there, a resurgence of the mindset from dark times…. At the last AfD party conference, there was this motion… from the state capital to abolish Christian holidays and introduce Germanic holidays instead. They seriously propose celebrating the Yule festival and the winter solstice instead.’”

Hitler tried to do that, too. Read our free booklet, “Europe in Prophecy.”

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer:

These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to the contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing to worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.

Fox Moderators Critical of Trump’s Iran War

The Guardian wrote on August 1:

“Throughout his two presidencies, Donald Trump has leaned on reliable support from the conservative opinion wing of his favorite cable news channel, Fox News. But, like a broad swathe of the American public, several traditionally supportive commentators on the channel have recently expressed concerns about whether the war on Iran is succeeding, suggesting that Trump is on increasingly dicey footing in the conservative media world he relies on for backing.

“While he isn’t close to losing the support of hosts such as Sean Hannity or Jesse Watters, Trump has received scrutiny from one of the network’s top personalities, Laura Ingraham, who has regularly questioned whether the US has achieved the tactical wins it has claimed in Iran. He has also faced reliable skepticism from one of the network’s most prominent commentators about the armed forces, Johnny ‘Joey’ Jones, a contributor and retired Marine Corps staff sergeant who lost both his legs in combat in Afghanistan…

“That’s not to mention the network’s military commentators, such as retired Lt Gen Keith Kellogg, who said on Fox on Wednesday that Trump needs to ‘change’ his strategy…  ‘Bombing is not going to get the job done.’…

“Brit Hume, a Fox News analyst, connected the quagmire to Trump’s political promises to voters. ‘He promised to keep us out of endless wars or unsatisfactory wars, and now he’s in one, and it’s not at all clear how it’s gonna end…’ In June, John Roberts, a Fox News anchor, said he was ‘a little puzzled’ about Trump’s Iran negotiation strategy. Even Watters, a reliable Trump booster, seemed skeptical about his ever-changing timelines for reaching a deal with Iran to end the war. ‘He keeps saying: “We’re very close. We’re days away.” And I don’t know what that means. We’ve heard that for a very long time,’ he said in June.

“Hosts on the network’s business channel have also regularly questioned the rising price of oil and the impact on American consumers, particularly ahead of the upcoming midterm elections.”

Trump’s Ballroom on Hold

The Associated Press wrote on August 7:

“A divided federal appeals court ruled Friday that President Donald Trump’s administration must stop construction of the $400 million White House ballroom because Congress has not approved the project, a decision he blasted as ‘unjust’ while vowing to appeal it to the nation’s highest court….

“Friday’s ruling marked the second time this week that the Trump administration has made headlines for construction plans that have been called into question. An assessment by the National Park Service found that a 250-foot-tall (76-meter-tall) triumphal arch that Trump has proposed building could compromise the historical significance of dozens of sites near its planned location on a traffic circle between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery….

“After the lower court earlier this year ordered a halt to aboveground construction, the president argued that permission from Congress was unnecessary because public money was not being used to pay for it. Trump has said he has raised hundreds of millions of dollars from corporations and wealthy people, including himself, to cover the construction costs. But the Trump administration had requested $1 billion for the ballroom, which Congress refused in May…”

It is more than doubtful that the Supreme Court will side with Trump on this issue, but one never knows.

Birthright Citizenship—Trump Tries It Again…

Newsweek wrote on August 7:

“President Donald Trump on Thursday signed executive orders aimed at narrowing access to birthright citizenship, marking a renewed effort after the Supreme Court struck down a broader administration policy earlier this year. The move follows the Supreme Court’s June 30 rejection of Trump’s earlier executive order seeking to deny automatic citizenship to some children born in the United States to noncitizen parents.

“The orders target what the administration describes as ‘birth tourism’and seek to deny automatic citizenship in a limited number of circumstances that officials argue fall within longstanding exceptions to the 14th Amendment. The White House said the measures expand the definition of people ineligible for birthright citizenship and strengthen restrictions aimed at curbing so-called birth tourism. Administration officials argued the new orders fall outside the scope of the Supreme Court’s June ruling because they apply only to categories that they contend are not covered by birthright citizenship protections.

“The order directs federal agencies not to recognize U.S. citizenship for certain people born in the United States when neither parent is a U.S. citizen and one of several conditions applies… A separate executive order directs the State Department and Department of Homeland Security to take additional steps aimed at curbing birth tourism… Officials contend that some cases involving birth tourism involve fraudulent entry or misrepresentation by parents seeking U.S. citizenship for a child… The order defines birth tourism as a foreign national entering the United States on a nonimmigrant visa for the purpose of giving birth on American soil, or assisting another foreign national in doing so. The order authorizes federal agencies to deny visas or travel authorizations to people seeking to engage in birth tourism, revoke existing travel documents, permanently bar entry, and pursue action against individuals or organizations involved in facilitating such schemes….

“The American Civil Liberties Union, which successfully challenged Trump’s previous birthright citizenship order, said the new measures were unlikely to survive judicial scrutiny. ‘The Supreme Court already decided this issue: Birthright citizenship is guaranteed by the Constitution. No additional executive order can change the meaning of the Constitution,’ Cody Wofsy, deputy director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, said in a statement. Critics have argued that the 14th Amendment broadly guarantees citizenship to nearly everyone born on U.S. soil and that attempts to narrow that protection through executive action are unconstitutional. Civil rights groups and immigration advocates have long maintained that changes to birthright citizenship would require legislation or a constitutional amendment rather than executive action. Trump said Thursday that he believed the new actions were constitutional.

“The new orders come after the Supreme Court dealt a major blow to Trump’s broader effort to restrict birthright citizenship through executive action. In June, the court ruled that children born in the United States are generally citizens at birth, reaffirming a longstanding interpretation of the 14th Amendment’s Citizenship Clause while leaving intact certain historical exceptions. The decision preserved the legal framework established by the court’s landmark 1898 ruling in United States v. Wong Kim Ark, which held that a child born in the U.S. to immigrant parents was an American citizen.

“Trump and his allies have argued that the Citizenship Clause has been interpreted too broadly and have pointed to what they describe as abuses of the system through birth tourism. Following the ruling, Trump called on Congress to pursue legislation addressing the issue, writing on Truth Social that lawmakers should ‘start TODAY’ on efforts to end birthright citizenship.”

In that Trump asked Congress to act, he admitted that he does not have the authority to unilaterally act via executive order. His “belief” that the new orders are constitutional is meaningless because Trump is not even a lawyer… what does he know about the Constitution? He admitted in the past that he does NOT understand the Constitution, in that he does not know whether he has to uphold it.

Hypocritical Moves

Newsweek wrote on August 12:

“Secretary of State Marco Rubio, whose parents were not United States citizens when he was born in the U.S., announced Wednesday that the State Department has revoked more than 600 visas as part of a new crackdown on so-called ‘birth tourism’ networks…

“The announcement places Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants who were later naturalized, at the forefront of one of the administration’s most aggressive efforts yet to curb what officials describe as the exploitation of citizenship laws. Born in Miami in 1971, around 15 years after his parents arrived in the U.S., Rubio became a U.S. citizen under the same constitutional principle now at the center of a heated political debate. When his presidential eligibility was challenged in 2016, his lawyers argued that his U.S. birth made him a natural-born citizen under English common law, Supreme Court precedent, and the Fourteenth Amendment tradition.

“That argument is in line with what has long been the legal understanding of birthright citizenship, but conflicts with a broader theory pushed in an executive order by President Donald Trump in 2025 to make parental citizenship or permanent residence necessary for American citizenship to be granted to newborns… Traveling to the United States while pregnant is not, by itself, illegal. The legal issue is the traveler’s primary purpose and whether she truthfully represents that purpose.”

Fauci in Contempt of Congress

NPR wrote on August 7:

“The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee yesterday voted along party lines to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress. The decision comes after Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment right to avoid self-incrimination during a hearing on the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The Justice Department will decide whether to pursue potential criminal prosecution of Fauci. Prosecutions are rare, but two former Trump advisers — Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro — were imprisoned on contempt of Congress charges during President Joe Biden’s administration.”

One will have to see whether Fauci will ever be held accountable for his conduct. Sadly, the chances are rather slim.

Opening of Strait of Hormuz… At What Cost?

NPR wrote on August 7:

“Iran’s parliament is considering an agreement with Oman to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The proposal would ban ships connected to the U.S., Israel and other ‘hostile countries’ from the key waterway until Iran receives compensation for war damages. Commercial vessels passing through the strait would be subject to fees of up to 7% of cargo value and a 20% fine for noncompliance. On Wednesday, Iran said it was finalizing a shipping route agreement with Oman, a U.S. ally. The Trump administration disputes Iran’s characterization of the agreement, maintaining that the U.S. currently controls the strait through its naval blockade of Iran. Oman has not commented…

“The stalemate has raised concerns from observers that the U.S. may have to accept terms worse than the previous status quo, which was free movement through the Strait. Current negotiations are also focused on the waterway reopening rather than issues like uranium enrichment, which Trump originally cited as justification for the war.”

Newsmax wrote on August 8:

“Iran’s top national security official said Saturday the Strait of Hormuz will not fully reopen unless the United States meets a sweeping list of demands, including lifting sanctions and its naval blockade, withdrawing U.S. military forces from around Iran, and paying compensation for damage caused by the war…

“The conditions cast new uncertainty over efforts to restore commercial traffic through the critical waterway…”

US in Control of Hormuz?

The Jerusalem Post wrote on August 11:

“US President Donald Trump said on Monday that the United States controls the Strait of Hormuz and had swept the strategic oil waterway for Iranian mines… Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz fell to six that day, compared with a 10-day average of about 11 vessels, shipping data showed, amid fading hopes of a peace deal between the US and Iran.

“Four commodity vessels, including two empty oil product tankers, entered the waterway… Two vessels – a small tanker laden with liquefied petroleum gas and another carrying residual fuels – exited the Strait… In pre-war days, about 130 to 140 ships typically transited the strait.”

Trump’s declarations are not believed or shared by Gulf States. They are also not realistic. See the next article.

Gulf States Accept a New Normal in Hormuz: Iran Is in Control

The Wall Street Journal wrote on August 10:

“Persian Gulf energy producers are concluding that Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz will become permanent, disrupting their oil and gas exports and global energy supplies indefinitely.

“The problem is they worry the alternative—going back to war—would be worse.”

Trump Concerned About Low Weapons Stockpile

The Jerusalem Post wrote on August 9:

“Russia and China could feel emboldened to begin a hot conflict with America due to the US’s rapidly depleting weapons supply, senior officials and defense experts told the New York Times on Saturday….

“The… low stockpile levels have been a driving factor in Trump’s latest decisions in his campaign against Iran. The president reportedly chose not to go through with a major bombing campaign he threatened last month due to the low level of munitions.”

The attack will not come from Russia and China, but from Europe.

Trump in Big Trouble

Daily Mail wrote on August 10:

“Donald Trump’s strategy to defeat Iran is facing more roadblocks as the US weapons stockpile and cash to fund the military operation runs dry. Further complicating the path to peace, Tehran is refusing to reopen the Strait of Hormuz until Washington pays war reparations, lifts sanctions, and ends its naval blockade. Meanwhile, War Secretary Pete Hegseth has failed to sell skeptical senators on Trump’s record $1.5 trillion defense budget. The chamber left town for its five-week summer recess without advancing it, or the separate war funding the Pentagon says it urgently needs…

“Iran’s demands amount to a message that the regime does not plan to submit to Trump in the near future. Tehran wants US forces out of the region and a compensation check for the damage, terms Washington has consistently ruled out… Nearly every condition Tehran listed on Saturday already appears in the memorandum of understanding Trump signed on June 17, an agreement that collapsed when American strikes resumed and the blockade was reimposed on July 14.”

Trump really does not seem to know what he is doing. The next article proves this.

Trump’s Empty Boasts of “Victory”

The Jerusalem Post wrote on August 5:

“[Trump] has declared ‘total and complete victory, 100%’ in Iran in several versions, at least 32 times… Yet the war, now in its sixth month, sputters on and on – along with the president’s other empty boasts. Just this week, after more threats to obliterate the ancient Persian civilization with ‘the biggest attack since WWII,’ he suddenly called the attack off ‘for the Future benefit of the world.’ He apparently didn’t even inform his Israeli partner, who reportedly learned of the decision the same way the rest of the world did: in a post on Trump’s Truth Social account.

“It looked like another case of what has come to be known as TACO, Trump Chickens Out Again. This is not the first – nor likely the last – time he warns of apocalyptic strikes only to back down at the last minute. The Iranians, along with America’s adversaries and allies, see it as a sign of weakness…

“On June 25, 2025, he declared Iran’s nuclear capacity had been ‘completely and totally obliterated.’ However, seven months later, re-obliteration was his rationale for starting a war of choice in partnership with Israel. He did not cite any imminent threat to justify the February 28 surprise attack… Trump apparently had no clear strategy, no support base, or exit plan for his war. Allies were not briefed in advance… Control of the Strait of Hormuz is potentially worth tens of billions of dollars annually in transit fees for Iran and power over a major portion of the world’s resources.”

Iran is not going to give up this lucrative power. It seems America is ruled by incapable “children” (compare Isaiah 3:4, 12).

Iran’s Goal

The Guardian wrote on August 7:

“Tehran has set out a protracted negotiating timetable designed to keep Donald Trump embroiled in the Iran conflict until the midterm elections, in the hope of inflicting the same ruinous blow on his presidency as Jimmy Carter suffered over the 1979-81 US embassy hostage crisis…

“But the focus on the midterms became more obvious this week when the deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, told the official IRNA news agency that after agreeing a route for commercial shipping through the strait of Hormuz, it would take two to four months to reach the second phase of negotiations on Iran’s nuclear programme…

“If Tehran gets its way on this timetable, Trump will be going to the polls with no Iranian commitment on nuclear weapons, only a hefty economic bill for a failed war…”

And so, Trump started a war with Iran which he could not win. Note the next article.

Trump Caught in the Iran Trap

Bild Online reported on August 8:

“In addition to mounting pressure regarding the Iran war, US President Donald Trump (80) is now also facing the consequences of weaknesses in his own economy! The monthly US labor market report (the ‘Jobs Report’) took both experts and the administration by surprise: instead of the job boom Trump had promised, 23,000 jobs were lost in July. Furthermore, the figures for May and June were revised downward by a combined total of 103,000 jobs. While the unemployment rate did fall to 4.1 percent, it did so for the wrong reason: 264,000 people gave up looking for work and dropped out of the labor market.

“Trump thus finds himself in the midst of a dual crisis: regarding the Iran conflict, Tehran is increasingly dictating the terms of negotiations over a potential reopening of the oil shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz. Now, grim news from the domestic economy has been added to the mix—traditionally one of the key factors in how citizens evaluate a presidency…

“The Iran war has not only driven up gasoline prices; transport and energy costs are rising too—bringing with them the risk of further price hikes. Trump’s trade conflicts are having a similar effect: he recently imposed new import tariffs of 10 to 12.5 percent on goods from 60 countries. Higher import costs can burden companies and push consumer prices even higher. At the same time, Trump is betting heavily on the expansion of artificial intelligence. Yet, public concern is growing that AI could act as a ‘job killer,’ replacing millions of positions. Moreover, the drastic decline in immigration and increased deportations are exacerbating labor shortages in certain sectors—such as agriculture, construction, and the hospitality industry.

“… Trump’s popularity has recently fallen to record lows, primarily due to the unpopular Iran war. US political science professor Scott Erb views the new job figures as ‘a real weakness in the US economy.’ Trump, by contrast, seeks to ‘sugarcoat’ the situation and focuses on issues ‘that miss the mark regarding the concerns of many voters’… Consequently, Trump could cause massive damage to the Republicans in the congressional [midterm] election campaign.”

“America’s Era Is Coming to an End”

t-online wrote on August 8:

“America’s global power is clearly waning. Entangled in a war trap in the Middle East; humiliated by Tehran’s militias and by the imperialist Putin in Eastern Europe; burdened by massive debt and depleted weapons arsenals; and barely able to curb China’s aggressive rise in Asia—the former ‘world policeman’ now shuffles through the global arena in a rumpled uniform and with a battered sheriff’s badge. Thirty-five years after the collapse of the Warsaw Pact, the era of American supremacy is drawing to a close. Donald Trump’s constant threats against everyone and everything are the most glaring sign of this diminishing influence. Those who lose their authority shout all the louder…

“Less obvious to European observers is the dynamic unfolding within the US itself. Yet it appears no less dramatic than the developments in foreign policy. The balance of power is shifting rapidly—both within Trump’s administration and between the Republican and Democratic parties—compounded by the most profound technological revolution since industrialization 150 years ago: Artificial Intelligence is transforming the entire economic landscape, and only the digital economy is saving the US from a severe recession…”

Cuba Regime Overthrow?

The Telegraph wrote on August 8:

“Regime change in Cuba would look more like Iran than Venezuela, American spy agencies have warned… The Cubans who would take power…  are from hard-line factions, like their Iranian counterparts… It is unclear who the White House would prefer to lead Cuba, and there is a lack of practical options.

“This week, the Cuban ambassador to Britain declared that the Cuban people would fight to the death against any US military intervention….”

Greenland Warns Trump

Firstpost wrote on August 9:

“Greenland issued a ‘strong warning’ after an American oil company connected to US President Donald Trump started preparing to sink wells in the Arctic region without any permission from local authorities. The firm’s project is coming at a time when the American leader has renewed his threats to claim the vast Arctic territory. The Greenlandic authorities began to express concern when drilling materials were brought ashore in recent days on the island’s eastern coast. The move has prompted Greenland’s government to issue a ‘strong warning’ that no approval had been granted to land the kit.

“‘All future logistical matters must be advised and approved by the mineral resources authority – before they are carried out,’ the government said in a statement. However, two days later, Trump made a menacing post on Truth Social, showing himself looming over a Greenlandic village [The AI-generated image showed a giant Trump, looming over the island, with the words, “Hello, Greenland!”]

“The company in question is Greenland Energy, which is based in Texas and was set up last year. They have claimed that $1 trillion of crude may lie beneath the Jameson Land region. Hence, the firm announced plans to spend $60 million drilling two wells to find out. However, it is pertinent to note that the Greenland authorities stopped issuing new oil licences in 2021 on environmental grounds. But despite this, a UK company called 80 Mile had secured exploration rights in Jameson Land. Greenland Energy’s corporate filings say it will take a majority stake in the project in exchange for funding the exploration, though it still needs government permission to proceed.

“The American firm is retained by Phil McGraw, popularly known as Dr Phil, a prominent rightwing former chat show host who served on Trump’s religious freedom commission… It has also appointed the director, a US Navy veteran who is working on Golden Dome, the missile defence plan for which Trump says controlling Greenland is “vital”. Larry Swets, Greenland Energy’s chair and a big shareholder, appears to enjoy access to Trump’s circle….

“The Greenland government’s statement… said it ‘would not be proportionate’ to demand the equipment be removed. An application for permission remained under processing, it added…”

UPI added on August 8:

“Trump has, for years, been adamant in his desire to annex Greenland. He has claimed the United States needs it ‘for defense.’  In January, he told European leaders that one of the reasons he renewed his push to own the territory was because he did not win the Nobel Peace Prize. Trump has been rebuffed by officials in both Denmark and Greenland.”

Spain’s Humanitarian Disaster

Sue Reid wrote the following article, which was published by Daily Mail on August 7:

“… a deceitful narrative is being peddled by politicians, including our own new Prime Minister, that this crisis is over. The truth is it’s only just beginning.

“This week, to my horror, I have witnessed a migration catastrophe unfolding in Ceuta, with a multitude of children, some only 11 or 12, at the heart of it. For make no mistake, between 2,000 and 4,000 young north African and sub-Saharan boys have not budged an inch since arriving – and have no intention of doing so. They have become pawns in a migration disaster sparked by families sending their children to find a better life in Europe, spurred too by an avalanche of social media messages flooding Africa that encourage the young to up sticks and leave via Ceuta, which is seen as a gateway to Madrid, Berlin or London….

“Outside the main police station, I watched hundreds of children on Wednesday and Thursday sitting pathetically in rows on the street as they waited in the vain hope that the Spanish authorities would give them the paperwork necessary to allow them to board ferries to mainland Spain… This is a humanitarian disaster unfolding in real time, which also threatens the national security of Europe. Spanish intelligence services say ISIS jihadis from across war-torn Africa have been caught among the tens of thousands who seized the chance to enter Ceuta.”

The Jerusalem Post wrote on August 7:

“Spain’s leftist government expects to transfer some migrant minors from overcrowded reception centers in the North African enclave of Ceuta to the mainland within weeks… 1,342 minors had been registered so far and more staff would be drafted in to help the effort. [Youth Minister Sira Rego] acknowledged the ‘painful images’ of children sleeping rough on Ceuta’s streets…

“Ceuta’s local government head Juan Jesus Vivas said the modest local facilities could host up to 90 children, and were now saturated by roughly 1,100 unaccompanied minors who arrived before the border rush…”

Drone Incidents Raise Security Concerns Across Europe

AFP and Reuters wrote on August 8:

“In Germany, a spokesperson for the armed forces said on Saturday that two drones were spotted at about 10pm (20:00 GMT) on Thursday at a military base in Mechernich in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, 35km (22 miles) from the Belgian border…

“German media reported that the Bundeswehr armed forces site in Mechernich has a high-security underground storage facility for equipment and spare parts for military hardware. It is also a base for personnel responsible for the maintenance of US Patriot air defences.

“A drone was also discovered late on Tuesday at Leipzig/Halle Airport – a civilian freight and NATO logistics hub – near several Ukrainian Antonov An-124 cargo transporters, according to German media reports. The drone incidents across the continent have revived concerns about Moscow’s war on Ukraine entangling neighbouring NATO states.

“They have also intensified debate about whether strategically important members of the military alliance such as Germany are ready to cope with new security threats. German government officials have not blamed any foreign countries publicly for this week’s drone incursions, but some politicians have accused Russia, which has been at war with Ukraine since its military invasion in 2022. NATO and European Union officials have blamed Russia for previous drone sightings.

“Last month, after a suspected Russian drone was spotted over NATO member Romania’s airspace, the European Commission said it showed Russia’s war had ‘crossed yet another line.’ NATO chief Mark Rutte has said Moscow’s ‘reckless behaviour is a danger to us all’. The US ambassador to NATO, Matthew Whitaker, has pledged that the alliance will ‘defend every inch’ of its territory.

“Russia has rejected the allegations. On Friday, the Russian embassy in Berlin dismissed the discovery in Leipzig as a ‘fabricated provocation’, saying it was another example of accusations against Russia without evidence.”

Ultimately, rumors from the north and the east will cause a revived Europe to attack Russia and China.

Netanyahu Rejects US Peace Plan for Gaza

Fox News wrote on August 9:

Israel is rejecting a 15-point Gaza proposal put forward by the Board of Peace, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday, declaring that Israeli forces will not withdraw from the enclave until Hamas fully gives up its weapons… ‘When I say Hamas is disarmed, that means the heavy weapons, the less heavy weapons, all the weapons,’ he added…

“He also reiterated his opposition to the establishment of a Palestinian state in either Gaza or the West Bank. ‘As long as I am prime minister, there will be no Palestinian state, not in Gaza and not in Judea and Samaria,’ Netanyahu said. ‘Neither “Fatahstan” nor “Hamastan.”’”

Israel to Take Over Al-Aqsa?

The Guardian wrote on August 4 and August 5:

“Jordan is convening an emergency meeting of foreign ministers from the Arab and Islamic world over what it says is an ‘imminent’ threat of an Israeli takeover of the most important Muslim site in Jerusalem…

“The… Jordanian warning… follow[s] an escalating pattern of government-backed incursions by Jewish religious extremists on the compound around al-Aqsa mosque and Dome of the Rock, in violation of a status quo treaty overseen by Jordan’s Hashemite monarchy, by which only Muslims can pray at the site. On 23 July, more than 2,000 Israelis from the religious right… prayed and performed rituals all around the compound in what Jordanian officials said was the worst violation in modern history.

“Amman has also been alarmed at a recent recruitment drive for religious Jews for a special Temple Mount police unit, and is braced for more direct challenges to traditional Jordanian custodianship by extremist Israeli leaders in the major Jewish holidays in September. This year, those holidays will come amid an intense election campaign, in which the far-right coalition of the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, will be fighting for survival. ‘This is… a dangerous threat that we’re trying to counter in every tool that we have possible,’ Jordan’s foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, told the Guardian. ‘We warn that tampering with the status quo … could trigger a religious conflict that will reverberate beyond Palestine and Jordan into the whole Muslim world.’”

Anything Could Happen?

Deutsche Welle wrote on August 8, 2026:

“Reports from Jerusalem suggest that Israeli authorities are taking over one of Islam’s holiest sites, the Al-Aqsa Mosque. If they do, experts say anything could happen, from war to terrorism to ending diplomatic ties.

“The statement issued after this week’s meeting in Jordan was blunt about what might happen next. Israeli infringements on one of Islam’s holiest sites, the Al-Aqsa Mosque in east Jerusalem, could lead to ‘a religious conflict with repercussions that will extend beyond the region and threaten regional and international peace and security,’ the foreign ministers of 10 countries belonging to the Arab League said after Wednesday’s emergency meeting in Amman, Jordan. The statement was also signed by ministers from Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, and Malaysia.

“Jordan’s foreign minister called the meeting because of mounting evidence that the Israeli government is surreptitiously changing a decades-old agreement meant to ensure intercommunal peace at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, an area of great religious significance to Muslims, Jews, and Christians… Israel’s Foreign Ministry issued a response, saying the statement was inaccurate…

“This is not the first time that the governments of Muslim-majority countries and activists in Jerusalem have issued such warnings. For decades, Jewish fringe groups, often referred to as the Temple Mount movement, have demanded that they be allowed to pray at the site. The most extremist of these groups say they want to demolish the mosque and construct a new Jewish temple. At first they were mostly ignored… But [as one observer stated]… that ‘radical fringe’ has become more mainstream. ‘Over time, the Temple Mount movements, backed by more than 100 rabbis associated with the settler movement in the West Bank, became more visible, more vocal and more provocative…’

“‘This crisis has been decades in the making… [another observer said]. There’s been an effort from religious extremists to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque since at least the 1980s, when plots to do that were uncovered. But those groups and those ideologies have gained more representation within the Israeli [parliament] Knesset today.’”

ABNA wrote on August 8:

“Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has called for greater unity among Muslim countries in response to regional developments and Israeli policies, describing the recent defence agreement between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye as a step toward broader cooperation across the Muslim world…

“As if also said that, particularly in light of developments involving Israel, Muslim countries should stand together…”

But it’s much more than just cooperation between Muslim nations. See the next article.

Lulling Israel Into Sleep

Israel Hayom wrote on August 10:

“A disturbing secret proposal emerged during talks between countries in the Middle East: Officials in one country advised another to sign an agreement with Israel as a tactical move aimed at ‘lulling’ Israel into a false sense of security while using the time to prepare for a larger military confrontation against it, Kan 11 reported Monday, citing knowledgeable sources.

“According to the report, the discussions between the two sides took place in recent months. During the talks, officials proposed that their counterparts show flexibility toward Israel and work to advance an agreement with it, but not with the intention of treating it as a long-term arrangement.

“Instead, according to the report, the proposal was to use the period covered by the agreement to ‘lull’ Israel while simultaneously preparing for war against it. Once conditions were considered ripe, the agreement could be broken and a confrontation launched. The identities of the countries involved in the discussions cannot be published.

“The revelation raises questions about how Israel assesses the intentions of countries in the region, particularly against the backdrop of efforts to advance normalization agreements. Kan 11 raised the question of whether Israel could once again find itself fundamentally misreading the other side’s intentions, as it did in the period preceding Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack, and whether an apparent willingness to move closer to Israel could, at least in some cases, serve as cover for preparations for a future confrontation…

“On Friday, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan signed the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, a trilateral defense pact stipulating that an armed attack against any one of the three countries would be considered an attack against all of them. The agreement was signed in Mecca on Aug. 7 by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.”

Israel will NOT enjoy peace and friendship with Arab nations.

Robot Dogs on the Moon?

The Independent wrote on August 10:

“Chinese scientists are mulling the use of robot dogs to guard the country’s future bases on the Moon, alongside wheeled and other humanoid robots built for finding resources on the lunar surface…

“China plans to build an International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) near the Moon’s south pole in collaboration with Russia and other international partners, and says it wants to land astronauts on the Moon by 2030….

The idea is that these human astronauts will then collaborate with the robots on the Moon.

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer:

These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to the contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing to worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.

USA Gives Up Leadership of NATO Command in Germany

Politico wrote on July 31:

“The Pentagon is giving up leadership of a U.S.-led NATO command in Germany that coordinates military aid to Ukraine, the latest sign of a broader American withdrawal from its closest allies.

“… the removal of U.S. leadership from a pivotal program on the continent reinforces the extent to which America is distancing itself from European partners… The move will mean the U.S. no longer helps shape what Ukraine’s future military will look like.”

Trump’s Gibberish on Ukraine

The Huffington Post wrote on July 31:

“President Donald Trump on Friday offered a 645-word string of incoherent non-sequiturs to explain whether he is honoring a previous commitment to let Ukraine build its own Patriot anti-missile interceptor factory to defend itself against Russian attacks. ‘We have not agreed to that. We’re talking about it. But it’s a hard thing to give away that kind of technology. And I don’t think this would ever happen, but, you know, you give that technology, they can someday turn on you. You know, that is possible. You look at war, it’s happened a couple of times over the years, right,’ Trump said, answering a reporter’s question about whether he was now reneging on his pledge from just three weeks ago…

“In his answer, he twice mentioned Tomahawks, a completely different missile that was not asked about. At the end, even after an attempted follow-up…, [it] was unclear what Trump meant… Ukrainian officials, meanwhile, said they were proceeding based on the commitment made earlier this month, which was reaffirmed at the Oval Office meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday, and further affirmed in a phone call between Zelenskyy and Vice President JD Vance on Friday morning…

“Trump publicly announced at the NATO summit in Ankara… that Ukraine would be granted a license to manufacture interceptors for its Patriot anti-missile system, which are currently scarce because so many have been used in Trump’s war against Iran… Questions about Trump’s commitment to that pledge, though, arose after his interview with the Financial Times on Thursday, during which he said the following about the Patriot license: ‘It’s a very extraordinary weapon, and we have to be a little bit careful of who we license to.’”

Violation of Polish Airspace by Russia

ZDF Heute reported on July 31:

“While Ukraine is attacking new targets in Russia and even in the Caspian Sea, Russian attacks are continuing as well: the most recent target was western Ukraine, during which a presumably Russian cruise missile struck Polish territory. Such a missile—potentially highly dangerous and precise—flew approximately 95 kilometers across the Ukrainian border without being intercepted.

“Military and security expert Nico Lange explains the potential consequences of these airspace violations in Poland for NATO… For Lange, the impact in Poland is alarming for several reasons… the cruise missile flew 95 kilometers without being stopped by Polish or NATO air defenses… ‘With actions like this, Russia is testing whether air defenses are functioning at 100 percent capacity.’ Yet no one managed to shoot down the missile…”

USA Has Used Up Virtually All Essential Missiles

Fox News wrote on August 4:

“The Army has used ‘virtually all’ of its inventories of Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) and Precision Strike Missiles (PrSM) during the five-month conflict with Iran, Reuters, citing people familiar with internal U.S. military data, reported Tuesday. Officials fear the drawdown could complicate the military’s ability to respond to future crises involving adversaries such as China and Russia, according to the report.

“The White House disputed any suggestion the U.S. military lacks the weapons needed to carry out its missions…. If accurate, the report underscores a longstanding Pentagon concern: America’s most sophisticated precision weapons can be expended in months but often take years to replace. Reuters also reported that the conflict significantly reduced inventories of Patriot and THAAD missile interceptors, along with Tomahawk cruise missiles, though the Pentagon has maintained the U.S. military retains the capabilities needed to carry out operations worldwide…

“Independent analysts have also warned that months of combat have strained U.S. inventories of high-end munitions. The Center for Strategic and International Studies estimated last week that the U.S. had expended roughly 65% of its Patriot interceptor stockpile and that inventories of THAAD interceptors had fallen by at least 38% since the start of the Iran conflict…”

Russia Exposes NATO Weapons Gap 

Fox News wrote on July 28:

“Days after NATO allies committed tens of billions of dollars to new air and missile defenses, the alliance’s top transformation commander warned that the West must fundamentally redesign its weapons and industrial base to withstand attacks at the scale now being demonstrated in Ukraine and the Middle East. ‘Today, the math is not in favor of the West,’ Adm. Pierre Vandier, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (SACT), told Fox News Digital…  The summit produced commitments to acquire 900 Patriot missiles and invest more than $40 billion in counter-drone capabilities throughout five years.  But Vandier argued that simply buying more of the West’s existing weapons will not solve the underlying problem… ‘There is no way to produce 50,000 Patriots a year,’ Vandier said. ‘We don’t have the supply chain, and it’s not worth doing that given the cost of the weapon.’…

“Trump announced at the summit that the United States would grant Ukraine a license to manufacture Patriot interceptors, potentially allowing Kyiv to build more of the weapons it urgently needs to defend against Russian ballistic missiles. [Apparently, Trump later went back on that promise; see above-quoted article.] But asked whether the announcement changed his assessment that Patriots alone could not protect Europe throughout the next five years, Vandier pointed to a deeper obstacle: Western weapons were designed around an industrial base that no longer exists…

“We are at a moment where some stuff will be redesigned under pressure to be mass-produced… For NATO now, it’s a question of speed of adaptation… The Pandora’s box is open again,’ Vandier said…”

How China Won the Iran War

On August 3, Paul Krugman wrote in his newsletter:

“Make America Great Again?… Donald Trump has weakened us with astonishing speed… The disintegration of U.S. power was well underway before Trump started his war on Iran, but the pace of decline has accelerated sharply since the magnitude of our defeat started becoming apparent…

“China hasn’t been a direct combatant in the third Gulf war, and its support for Iran has, until recently, been discreet… China has been a serious geopolitical rival to the United States for some time. China’s manufacturing sector overtook the US in 2010, and the gap has continued to grow… Even before the bombing of Iran began, some observers worried about the state of the U.S. military… the war has really put the nail in the coffin of the U.S.-centered alliance system….

“Trumpian tariff policy, by itself, was an announcement to the world that agreements with the U.S. government are worthless. Add to this the demands that Canada become the 51^st state, that Denmark hand over Greenland…, and America had thoroughly lost the trust of its former friends even before the Iran war…. Trump launched a war that, in addition to creating death and destruction, cut off much of the world’s oil supply without so much as consulting other nations. Once the war began, America proved both incapable of imposing its will on Iran and unable either to open the Strait of Hormuz or to protect regional allies…

“The end of U.S. leadership and China’s growing geopolitical ascendancy are bad things. China is a corrupt autocracy, with little respect for human rights and none at all for democratic values.”

Spain Invaded by Migrants?

Daily Mail wrote on July 31:

“Morocco has been accused of facilitating the mass influx of around 60,000 migrants into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. Around 60,000 people swam from Morocco into the Spanish city located on the northern coast of North Africa on Thursday.  The Spanish territory, which shares a land border with the North African country, was overrun as tens of thousands of migrants arrived in just 24 hours…

“Spain’s Supreme Court recently ruled that migrants who are stopped at sea attempting to reach Melilla or Ceuta, both Spanish enclaves, could not be summarily sent back to Morocco. Amid the chaos, Italy has suspended its EU border-free Schengen arrangements with the Mediterranean country… Italy does not have a land border with Spain; however, the move will affect those travelling by plane or boat between the two countries… Meanwhile, the Italian interior ministry also said it had agreed with Paris to tighten controls along the Franco-Italian border… Finland backed calls for the Mediterranean country to be booted out of the Schengen area, which allows passport-free travel between 29 European countries.  

“The chaos in Ceuta also spread to Spain’s second North African enclave of Melilla overnight…

“Spain’s socialist government stands out in Europe for its pro-migrant stance, and has recently launched a programme to provide legal status for some 500,000 undocumented migrants, triggering an influx of applications double that number…”

Euractiv wrote on July 31:

“Pedro Sánchez found himself increasingly isolated in Europe on Friday evening as leaders turned the Ceuta migration crisis into a test of Spain’s credibility at controlling the bloc’s borders… Calls from EU national leaders to suspend Spain from Schengen came thick and fast… The move to suspend cooperation on Schengen with Spain is highly legally questionable, and was never truly on the table…

“Even leaders who stopped short of endorsing Meloni’s call adopted a tougher tone. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk urged Madrid to emulate Poland’s hardline approach at its Belarusian border, saying Spain ‘must follow our example if Schengen is to survive.’

“Paris struck a more conciliatory tone than several European counterparts by stressing that it stood ‘ready to assist’ Madrid if requested…

“But socialist leader António Costa, who chairs the European Council, appeared determined not to leave Sánchez isolated. The EU leader delivered a very different message late on Friday, commending Spain for its ‘firm’ response and sending an explicit message of ‘solidarity’ to Sánchez.”

Deutsche Welle wrote on July 31:

“Spain’s government said that… 48,300 migrants had returned to Morocco… The figures would mean that most of the 60,000 migrants estimated to have breached the border into Ceuta have already left.”

Don’t Believe the Spin

The Telegraph wrote on August 4:

“[When] Spain’s prime minister, declared shortly afterwards that ‘practically all’ of them had returned to Morocco, relief quickly gave way to mockery – even though almost nobody had bothered to verify Madrid’s claims… German liberal weekly Die Zeit denounced what it called ‘fact-free Spain-bashing’ and went further still: ‘The new arrivals were returned quickly and without bureaucracy…’  It would be comforting if that were true. It is not….

“The facts on the ground told a different story. The area around Ceuta’s hopelessly overcrowded reception centre remained in a state of emergency on Sunday evening. There was violence. Residents told a local news outlet that people had tried to break into their homes.

“Meanwhile, two local media organisations reported that migrants had reached the Spanish mainland – less than 12 miles away and therefore inside the Schengen area – in speedboats and on jet skis. Both said the vessels had departed from Ceuta. Were migrants who had only just entered Ceuta illegally already being smuggled onward to mainland Europe? Or had the boats in fact set off from Morocco? That remains unclear. What is clear is that the crisis is not over…

“… allowing thousands of people simply to swim around a border fence that barely reaches into the sea — or to walk around it without anyone stopping them — is not an unavoidable tragedy. It is a display of abject weakness….

“The events in Ceuta have exposed an uncomfortable truth. Whether Ceuta, Melilla, the Canary Islands or the Spanish towns along the Strait of Gibraltar become the next centre of Europe’s migration crisis is determined less by Spain or Brussels than by Morocco.”

Morocco to Occupy Ceuta and Melilla?

Politico wrote on August 5:

“The ease with which tens of thousands of migrants penetrated the border has ramped up a sense of vulnerability to hybrid attack. And that alarm has only been amplified by a fear that traditional NATO allies in the U.S. and the EU are no longer fully dependable because of their political feuds with Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. Buoyed by an increasingly warm relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump, Rabat is seizing the moment and doubling down on its claims to Ceuta and Melilla, which it sees as occupied territory, in Morocco’s state-aligned press…

“Ceuta and Melilla are among the few remaining vestiges of the vast Spanish Empire. They have been under Madrid’s rule since 1668 and 1497, respectively, and are fully-integrated parts of Spain — and the European Union. But since gaining independence from France in 1956, Morocco has consistently claimed sovereignty over both settlements, which it characterizes as “colonies” that are “occupied” by Spain…

“Morocco and the United States have become [close] since 2020. That year, Trump took the landmark step of recognizing Rabat’s claim to the disputed territory of Western Sahara in exchange for the normalization of relations between Morocco and Israel. Last week, Trump reaffirmed that recognition in a statement issued by the U.S. embassy in Rabat at the same moment as the migrants surged into Ceuta.”

Hamas to Give Up Weapons?

Thomson/Reuters wrote on July 31:

“U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday a deal he announced ‌to bring peace to Gaza was ‘a great breakthrough’ despite signs from both Hamas and Israel that significant hurdles remained before a deal can be implemented. The comment came a day after what Trump called a ‘major milestone’ towards ending the war in Gaza that he said would see the complete disarmament of Hamas and other armed groups…

“A senior Hamas official involved in the negotiation told Reuters that implementation of the deal would depend on Israel first meeting its commitments under an ​agreement reached last year that bound it to a phased end to military operations and withdrawal of its forces from Gaza. An Israeli official said Israel’s position remained ⁠that ‘there will be no withdrawalwhatsoever of the ⁠IDF from the current yellow line unless Hamas undergoes a genuine disarmament…’

“Trump, who met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington on Tuesday, said Israel was ‘very happy’ about the deal… An Israeli political source said on Thursday the issue of Gaza did not come up during Netanyahu’s meeting with Trump…

“Former Canadian ambassador to Israel Jon Allen is ‘highly skeptical’ about the deal announced by U.S. President Donald Trump, saying the president has made many promises, but significant controversy remains over the outcome…”

Axios wrote on July 31:

“… the deal requires Hamas and Israel to complete a complicated series of reciprocal and independently verified steps over roughly seven to eight months. Israeli officials remain deeply skeptical that Hamas will surrender its weapons, while comments from a senior Hamas official suggest the sequencing of disarmament and Israel’s withdrawal could still be contested.”

The Augsburger Allgemeine wrote on July 31:

“Disarm Hamas? The sooner, the better. However, matters are not as simple as Donald Trump imagines. Hamas and Hezbollah in Lebanon are terrorist organizations with which one does not negotiate as one would with normal governments. Their business model is fear—and no one is afraid of unarmed terrorists.

“Any pledge to voluntarily lay down arms could therefore mean the exact opposite: in Lebanon, Hezbollah has repeatedly promised to disarm, yet its arsenals remain stocked with thousands of rockets because the Lebanese military is too weak to take on the terrorist militia. And in the Gaza Strip, Hamas has so far used every ceasefire and every phase of negotiations to replenish its weapons stockpiles…

“Trump has no answer to the most important questions anyway: Who is actually supposed to disarm Hamas—an international intervention force that is frequently discussed but does not yet exist? Or the Israeli army, to which Hamas is unlikely to voluntarily submit? The Palestinian transitional administration tasked with organizing the disarmament exists only on paper so far. And who guarantees that its ranks won’t include Hamas activists or covert sympathizers?

“Trump’s optimism is all well and good. But if Hamas makes Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza a condition for its disarmament, the US President must not fall for the ruse… the Israeli army can only withdraw once Hamas has been disarmed.”

This is another pipedream.

God Is Ordered to Reveal the Messiah and Have Him Build the Third Temple?

Israel365News wrote on July 29:

“The nascent Sanhedrin issued a formal ruling this week, asking the Holy One… to remove hostile forces from the Jewish people and the Land of Israel, reveal the Mashiach (Messiah), rebuild the Beit HaMikdash (Holy Temple), and restore prophecy to Israel. The written ruling… follows a session the court’s members described as several hours long, during which two of the judges argued against moving forward before ultimately joining the majority.

“The Sanhedrin operates on the premise that a rabbinical court has the standing to issue a psak, a binding halachic ruling, and that, in matters concerning the fate of the Jewish people, a court above is bound to follow the ruling of a court below…

“The document closes by repeating the formula that just as the court below has ruled, the court above should rule the same, ‘and so may it stand’…”

Israel365News wrote on July 30:

“A reconstituted Sanhedrin has issued a ruling asking Heaven to reveal the Mashiach and rebuild the Temple. But the classical sources draw a sharp line the court has crossed… Nowhere… does the court receive authority to issue a psak (binding ruling) that obligates Heaven to bring the Mashiach or to rebuild the Temple….

“The King Mashiach arises, restores the Davidic monarchy, rebuilds the Temple, and gathers the dispersed. A candidate is presumed to be the Mashiach when he studies Torah, strengthens Israel in observance, and fights the wars of God; he is confirmed only when he succeeds in building the Temple and gathering the exiles…

“The resolutions… present the revelation of the Mashiach, the clearing of obstacles, and the return of prophecy as outcomes the court can decree, and Heaven is expected to implement.

“What would have fallen inside the court’s proper authority is a ruling directed at the people themselves… A court today could call the nation to coordinated teshuva (repentance); to fasting and prayer in that same representative spirit; to concrete acts of preparation for the Temple service; to the removal of internal corruption through established legal and communal means; and to the strengthening of Torah observance… But it does not follow that a human court can decree the arrival of the Mashiach and bind Heaven to perform it…”

It is the same argument which is advanced by the Catholic Church that whatever that church binds on earth, God must bind in heaven. However, the exact opposite is true. Note our Q&A about the power to bind and loose in Matthew 16:19. https://www.eternalgod.org/question-and-answer-70/

Holy See Supported Fauci

LifeSiteNews wrote on July 31:

“On May 6, 2021, while the entire world was still under the yoke of the health dictatorship, the Holy See hosted… a conference titled ‘Exploring the Mind, Body & Soul. Unite to Prevent & Unite to Cure.’ Opening the proceedings was not a theologian, not a pastor, not a defender of natural law. It was Anthony Fauci. Beside him, Deepak Chopra, Chelsea Clinton… and, in the program, the top executives of Pfizer and Moderna.

“The same Holy See that should have raised its voice against the lie, against mass experimentation, against the suspension of fundamental rights, actively collaborated with the architects of what has been—and remains—one of the greatest operations of social control and health fraud in contemporary history: a true crime against humanity.

They cannot say they did not know.

“They cannot say they were not warned… The May 2021 event was not a ‘simple conference.’ It was a public demonstration of complicity. The Holy See did not limit itself to silence: it offered its moral authority and its image to those who, in the name of ‘health,’ imposed limitations on fundamental freedoms, discrimination, blackmail, and above all experimental serums that have caused the deaths of millions of people…”

Persecution of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia

Newsmax wrote on July 31:

“A court ‌in the Russian capital has confiscated 123 real estate assets which belonged to the Jehovah’s Witnesses and ‌transferred them to ​the Russian state, Moscow’s court service said on ⁠Friday.

“It said the property ​assets had previously been registered as belonging ⁠to the Swedish branch of Jehovah’s Witnesses and included 63 residential ‌and commercial properties ​with a total area ‌of over 11,000 square ‌meters and 60 plots of land with a total area of ⁠5.6 hectares ‌situated across ⁠the country. A Russian court banned ⁠Jehovah’s ⁠Witnesses as an ‘extremist organization’ in 2017, a ‌move that the European Court of Human Rights ruled in ‌2022 ​was itself ‌unlawful. Many Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia have since been ​jailed after being convicted of ‘extremist activity.’”

And the West watches and does nothing…

Banning the AfD Without a Ban…

Nius wrote on July 30:

“In Lower Saxony, several AfD candidates were barred from running for district administrator or mayor. Local election committees determined in each case that the candidates lacked the necessary commitment to the constitutional order. The decision was justified by the claim that mere membership in the AfD state branch—which the Office for the Protection of the Constitution has classified as ‘right-wing extremist’ in Lower Saxony—was sufficient grounds…

“For Lower Saxony’s Interior Minister Daniela Behrens, AfD membership aloneis an indication that candidates lack commitment to the constitutional order… There had been no such procedure previously. Never before had members been barred from an election simply for belonging to a radical party. The Greens were radical—and the Left Party remains so today—and both were long under the scrutiny of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution. If the same criteria applied to them as to the AfD, several state branches of the Left Party, or even the party as a whole, would have to be classified as ‘left-wing extremist’ and their candidates barred from elections. That does not happen…

“The SPD, CDU/CSU, and the Greens—who oversee the domestic intelligence agencies at both the state and federal levels—regularly call for a ban on the AfD but do not petition the Federal Constitutional Court for one. They know there are insufficient grounds for such a ban, as the AfD does not aim to abolish parliamentary democracy.

“So, the AfD’s opponents are abandoning the path of the rule of law and trying a different approach. For years, AfD representatives in parliaments have faced systematic discrimination and been denied offices to which they are entitled. The plan from Lower Saxony takes this conduct to a new extreme: now, there is an attempt to bar candidates from the hated party from elections altogether. They are forced to sue, yet the courts do not issue rulings until after the election—an election in which the plaintiffs were not permitted to run.

“The SPD-led state government in Lower Saxony has planned, and is now executing, a quiet, covert coup. It is undermining electoral rights and seeking to render votes for the AfD ineffective. It claims to be protecting democracy from extremists; in reality, the government itself has become an extremist force intent on manipulating democratic elections. It aims to effectively ban the AfD without a formal ban—by keeping it off the ballot—a move that is demonstrably unconstitutional.”

The government’s actions are clearly wrong… and illegal. And they will backfire badly.

Commemorating July 20, 1944

The Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger reported on July 29:

“On July 20—the anniversary of the failed 1944 assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler—Cologne-based writer Navid Kermani spoke in Berlin about the significance of conscience…

“‘July 20 stands for the necessity of resistance when the fulfillment of duty constitutes a crime… Should a future federal government seek to lead you into a war that is as blatantly contrary to international law and as politically disastrous as the recent war waged by the United States and Israel against Iran, it will be your duty to refuse the order… the threat to annihilate an entire civilization, or a declared attack on a country’s civilian infrastructure, constitute such an obvious wrong that one need be neither a lawyer nor consult one’s own conscience to recognize it…

“‘When the federal government, of all bodies, distinguishes itself by treating international law as a secondary matter—or when a German Chancellor, of all Western leaders, is the only one to defend the American President’s threat to annihilate an entire civilization—this is devastating not only for our reputation, upon which we rely economically as an export nation. No, the trivialization of international law by the highest authorities also sends a disastrous signal for our democracy. For if the rule of law erodes in our foreign relations, it will not be long before it is held in contempt at home as well…’”

“‘As someone who is not only German, the disregard shown for our constitutional state perhaps angers me even more than it does most of you. For as the child of Iranian parents, I am also a citizen of a state that, earlier this year, allegedly shot dead some thirty thousand demonstrators in the span of two days… Imagine delivering this same speech in the country where I was born: I likely wouldn’t even survive it.

“‘Dear recruits, young as you are, there is a possibility that war could return to Germany during the course of your military careers… From a historical perspective, it is unlikely that your entire lives will unfold during a time of peace. With the Russian invasion of Ukraine, one of the current front lines has moved close to Germany… Please always bear this in mind, every single second: No matter how viciously the enemy behaves from your perspective, he remains a human being just like you. For if you view the enemy as an animal, as a mere blip on a monitor, or as a monster—simply to make it easier to kill him—then you will transform yourselves into an animal, an AI, or a monster.

“‘I have never held a weapon in my hands, but as a reporter, I have witnessed enough wars up close to know how quickly people become brutalized. There is no war—not yesterday’s, not today’s, not tomorrow’s—in which the fighting cannot suddenly devolve into bloodlust, sadism, and sexual violence…’”

In fact, there is no war which is justified in the eyes of God.

Is Spahn Making a Comeback?

The Frankfurter Allgemeine wrote on August 1:

“Judging by comments from the CDU/CSU parliamentary group and party leadership, nothing stands in the way of a comeback for Jens Spahn. Markus Söder was the first to show leniency: ‘I believe Jens Spahn’s journey is not yet over.’ Steffen Bilger, the new minister, echoed this sentiment: ‘I very much hope he remains in politics—and, of course, as a member of our parliamentary group.’

“Many fellow party members evidently share this view. Just days after the outcry over Spahn’s surrogacy scandal had reached a fever pitch, they were praising his strengths and achievements—albeit anonymously… After all, the CDU doesn’t exactly have an abundance of Spahns…

“When Spahn returns to the parliamentary group after the summer recess, he will surely be asked: Will you follow Friedrich Merz’s example? Merz tried something new and waited more than ten years. If Spahn wants to become Chancellor, he will have to do things differently.”

Söder also said: “After all, someone with such talent and political drive will certainly take on a leading role again at some point.”

FIFA and Infantino Give Up

Reuters wrote on July 31:

“FIFA’s plan to sell a piece of its business empire to outside investors has collapsed following an open revolt by soccer officials worldwide and a major rift among top FIFA executives… The deal, in which FIFA had aimed to raise up to $4.2 billion by selling a roughly 20% stake in the group, valuing the new arm at $20 billion, is no longer active…

“The proposal, which came out on Tuesday, was met with immediate resistance led by European soccer ruling body UEFA… On Thursday, UEFA’s 55 member nations voted unanimously to boycott all FIFA tournaments…

“Carlos Cordeiro, a senior advisor to FIFA President Gianni Infantino, quit on Friday in protest at the plan and FIFA’s Chief Operating Officer Kevin Lamour said staff were ‘deceived’ by Infantino…

“Thrive Eternal, a fund run by Thrive Capital, founded by Joshua Kushner, was expected to lead the proposed investor group, FIFA said. Joshua is the brother of Jaared Kushner,  U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law…”

The New York Post wrote on July 31:

“Infantino gave FIFA’s 211 member nations until Sept. 19 to back the deal, dangling payouts of up to $40 million each. Critics called it a bribe with a deadline. But FIFA and its bankers badly misread the mood in Europe, where the sport’s richest clubs and leagues bring in most of the game’s revenue….”

No More Confidence in Infantino

The Associated Press wrote on August 1:

“UEFA says it has lost confidence in FIFA President Gianni Infantino…

“Successfully stopping Gianni Infantino’s FIFA plan to sell World Cup profits to private investors was the first half of a high-stakes game in global soccer politics.

The second half kicked off Saturday with what seemed a clear aim of ending Infantino’s decade-long presidency. ‘No option should be off the table,’ said European soccer body UEFA, whose president Aleksander Čeferin has led the fight against Infantino in a seismic week for FIFA. ‘The current FIFA leadership has not only lost UEFA’s confidence but also that of many other members of the football family.’

“Later Saturday, the governing body for North and Central American and Caribbean soccer (CONCACAF) called for accountability, saying: ‘A (World Cup) proposal of this magnitude does not reach that stage by accident. It is a symptom of leadership that has stopped putting football first. This recent unilateral and egregious act of poor governance and leadership follows a pattern of missteps and similar behavior. A full review of this leadership must now take place.’…

“Asia’s soccer body joined Europe and North America in opposing [Infantino’s scheme].”

Trump Knew Nothing

Daily Mail wrote on August 1:

“Gianni Infantino’s humiliating downfall is almost complete after his friend and ally Donald Trump denied all knowledge of the FIFA president’s disastrous plot to try and sell off the World Cup to private investors…

“When asked ‘did Mr Infantino speak to you about his proposal to sell a stake in the World Cup?’ Trump brutally first replied: ‘Who?’ After the question was repeated, the president then added: ‘No, I didn’t speak to him.’”

Really?

Gianni Infantino Begs Trump to Save His Job

The New York Post wrote on August 3:

“FIFA President Gianni Infantino wants the Trump administration to help keep him in office and has scheduled private talks with Secretary of State Marco Rubio Monday amid growing pressure to resign over his scheme to sell off the World Cup to Josh Kushner’s private equity firm… ‘He wanted to get online with the secretary and talk about how soccer can be a form of soft power for America,’ said one insider briefed on the matter. ‘But we all know that it is about job protection. It is not about anything else at this point.’ A second source said the Swiss-Italian sports suit felt ‘isolated’ by the avalanche of negative media coverage.

“The State Department denied the call was taking place… Sources also say that Infantino, 56, has repeatedly tried and failed to reach Trump, 80, by phone since his plan to sell off the game’s commercial assets to private investors collapsed on Friday.”

Of course, this is all being denied by the White House. Subsequent reports state that allegedly, a scheduled phone call with Rubio was postponed.

Trump’s Botched Up Pool—He Can’t Let Go!

ABC News wrote on August 1:

“The Justice Department moved to dismiss [without prejudice] the criminal case against Olympian David Hearn, who was alleged to have vandalized the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting pool, acknowledging the damage to the pool ‘was the result of flawed installation by the contractor.’ Hearn pleaded not guilty to a felony destruction of property charge earlier this month after the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro accused him of allegedly ‘forcefully and violently’ ripping up parts of the pool floor. Pirro’s office said in a filing Friday seeking to drop the case that it only learned of evidence pointing to ‘a rushed and flawed installation process’ after Hearn had been indicted by a grand jury.

“The filing stated Pirro herself visited the Reflecting Pool on July 17 after it had been fully drained and became aware of significant damage throughout the pool area, which spurred the DOJ to request all documents from the U.S. Interior Department about how the pool was lined. Those documents indicated a flawed installation by the contractor, Atlantic Industrial Coatings, ‘with repeated failures of the lining during the installation process, and extensive peeling of the lining throughout the Reflecting Pool’ and a rush to complete the renovation project before the America 250 celebration on July 4… The filing includes an email sent on June 11 by a National Park Service engineer to others in the Department of the Interior describing their ‘concern’ that overspray of the new pool coating along the perimeter of the pool could lead to a one-to-two-foot strip ‘that is vulnerable to peeling.’ That was the area along the perimeter that Hearn was alleged to have pulled up…

“On Saturday, the president chastised Pirro in a social media post for dropping the charges, though he acknowledged there may have ‘been some contractor difficulty’ with the project. ‘I disagree 100% with Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, on the Reflecting Pool. I don’t know what she was thinking? To me, it was a pure case of VANDALISM,’ he wrote…”

It obviously wasn’t; otherwise, the case would not have been dismissed. But now, Trump is threatening Pirro with termination.

AI Tried to Trick Humans Into Poisoning Code

Politico wrote on August 4:

“A leading artificial intelligence model from Anthropic created fake online personas and tried to deceive human coders into abetting a cyberattack during a recent safety evaluation… AISI determined that Mythos 5 and GPT 5.6 took ‘autonomous, unsanctioned action on the live internet, targeting real people and organizations’…

“In another sign of worrying behavior AISI uncovered in its investigation, multiple AI agents it was testing — including GPT-5.6 — appeared to communicate with one another about how to solve the cyber evaluation. ‘One agent left public messages on GitHub offering collaboration with other agents working on the same challenge,’ AISI wrote, in what it described as an example of ‘unexpected collaboration’ between different autonomous AI agents.”

When will we understand how dangerous and destructive AI is?

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer:

These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to the contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing to worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.

The Aachen Peace Prize… a Disgrace

The Aachener Zeitung wrote on July 27:

“Martin Schulz [will] deliver the laudatory speech for Aachen Peace Prize recipients.

“On September 1, the Cologne-based initiative ‘Palestinians and Jews for Peace,’ as well as ‘Unidos MN’ and the team behind the queer sex shop ‘The Smitten Kitten’ from the USA, will be honored in Aachen. A prominent SPD politician from the region will deliver the keynote address.

“Martin Schulz—an SPD politician from Würselen and former President of the European Parliament—will deliver the laudatory speech for the designated recipients of the 2026 Aachen Peace Prize. The Aachen Peace Prize Association made this announcement recently. The award ceremony will take place on Tuesday, September 1, starting at 7 p.m. at the Aula Carolina, Pontstraße 7.”

An American gay sex shop is receiving the Aachen Peace Prize, and the former President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, is delivering the laudatory speech. Truly, Sodom and Gomorrah playing out right before our eyes.

The Churches’ Hypocrisy Regarding the AfD

Nius wrote on July 24:

“The churches do not want people to vote for the AfD. Consequently, two Catholic dioceses have launched a campaign titled ‘With Heart and Conviction for Democracy and Charity.’ The aim is to keep the AfD’s vote share low in the Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania state election.

“The dioceses have no quarrel with socialists, proponents of wealth redistribution, or advocates of expropriation. It is only the AfD that the Berlin and Hamburg dioceses are showing the red card. Once again, it is evident: the ‘church-tax church’ is blind in its left eye. It has taken a partisan stance in the undemocratic defensive struggle against the Right. In this regard, one can rely on the church-tax churches: the spiritual realm recedes to the extent that the political realm gains ground…

“Let us be clear: the Diocese of Berlin does not want AfD supporters present at anti-AfD events. It implies that nearly 30 percent of Germans are incapable of reasoned argument and capable only of hateful agitation. This is as stupid as it is vile. Yet, they are still happy to collect church taxes from this very demographic. The Archdiocese of Hamburg is also alarmed. Its territory extends into Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, where the AfD is heading toward an election victory. Domradio reports on the efforts to prevent precisely that…

“On Instagram, the Archdiocese of Hamburg states that the campaign’s goal is ‘to encourage people to reflect on their voting decision and to make it responsibly and guided by values.’ This, too, amounts to berating voters. According to this logic, the only voter who decides reflectively, responsibly, and based on values ​​is one who does not cast their vote for the AfD.”

Syncretism in the Catholic Church

LifeSiteNews wrote on July 23:

“The Archdiocese of Los Angeles allowed the performance of a ‘Misa Azteca’ (‘Aztec Mass’) concert, which featured pagan Aztec music, dances, and poetry in the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels last month… Joseph Julián González, the composer of the ‘Misa Azteca,’ claimed that the Mass composition was born out of his devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe and recalled how he felt inspired to write it after the ‘Kyrie’ from the High Mass played to an Aztec dance rhythm popped in his head, believing this was ‘divine inspiration.’”

It might have been some kind of “inspiration,” but it was most certainly not “divine.”

Incredibly, the article claimed:

“While the Catholic Church has always sought to bring people of all cultures together, it has also always condemned the concept of syncretism, or the blending of pagan and other non-Catholic rituals, such as Aztec dances, with Catholic practices.”

This statement is 100% wrong, and the ignorance of the writer is mind-boggling. The Catholic church has ALWAYS welcomed syncretism as a way of bringing pagans into the church’s fold.

The article at least admits that much:

“Despite the Church’s clear teaching, syncretism has become common in many Catholic churches across the globe in recent decades.”

As mentioned, the Church has no teaching against syncretism; just the opposite is true.

US Walks Out on France

The Associated Press wrote on July 27:

“U.S. diplomats walked out as their French counterparts were speaking at the United Nations on Monday after America’s close European ally criticized the Trump administration’s human rights record. The surprise move during a U.N. Security Council meeting on Ukraine followed U.S. opposition to giving U.N. human rights chief Volker Tuerk another four-year term. The reappointment on Friday got overwhelming support, including from France.

“The U.S. walkout reflects not only the more strained relations between President Donald Trump and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, but also wider tensions between the U.S. and Europe…

“What sparked the walkout was a social media post Friday from France’s U.N. Mission in Geneva criticizing U.S. opposition to a second term for the U.N. rights chief. The General Assembly voted 144-10 with 13 abstentions in support of Türk, with the U.S. among the ‘no’ votes. ‘The US used to be a beacon of human rights. Not anymore. Today, it stands alongside North Korea, Nicaragua, Mali & Russia, isolated. And the world no longer listens to it,’ the French Mission tweeted.

“Mike Waltz, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., in responding on X, accused France of coddling ‘some of the worst human rights abusers’ and voting ‘for someone who has been lecturing, free, sovereign democracies like the United States, the UK, and Israel, while cozying up to the world’s worst oppressors.’”

And so does Trump, counting dictators such as Erdogan, Xi Jinping, Putin, Kim Jong Un, Mohammed bin Salman (Saudi Arabia), Al Thani (Qatar) and other autocrats as his friends.

Shocking Allegations by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich

LifeSiteNews wrote on July 24:

“Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich stated Tuesday that Israel has ‘no interest’ entering the ongoing U.S.-Iran confrontation… Israel has chosen to stay out of this renewed bombing campaign despite the U.S. State Department publicly acknowledging the Trump administration had initiated its unprovoked attacks on Iran ‘at the request’ of Israel. Since military hostilities reignited earlier this month, Iranian missiles and drones have struck U.S.-linked targets in several Arab countries but have not hit Israel itself so far.

“Smotrich stressed that Israel’s long-term objective remains weakening the Iranian regime in order to topple its government, a goal he noted does not likely align with U.S. priorities… He argued that undermining Iran’s economy, harming the civilian population, represents the most effective strategy. ‘Currently, inflation in Iran is at 85 percent, food inflation of over 134 percent in a total of four months, and the Iranian rial is trading at an exchange rate of 1.9 million to the dollar – and it’s going up,’ he celebrated.

“While Israel has avoided direct strikes on Iran, reports indicate it is actively supporting the U.S. effort through intelligence sharing and other assistance…

“Smotrich embraces the most radical forms of Zionism that support the deadly suppression or expelling of the native Palestinian people from their lands to create an ever expanding ‘Greater Israel.’ This planned expanse includes not only the internationally recognized Palestinian territories… but [also] parts of Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia… Smotrich has described thwarting any future Palestinian State as ‘my life’s mission.’… On Gaza, Smotrich… asserted in 2024 that it would be ‘right and moral’ to starve the entire population (including 1 million children) in Gaza ‘to death.’

“Currently in Gaza, the Israeli army continues to violate the signed ‘ceasefire’ agreement from last October, expanding its military occupation to around 70% of the territory and attacking the virtually defenseless population almost daily, killing 1,180 (at least 247 children, 191 women) in this timeframe and wounding 3,810.

“Since October 2023, Israel has dropped the equivalent of at least 13 atomic bombs on Gaza, directly killed at least 73,293 Palestinians, including approximately 22,000 children at a confirmed minimum, with at least 173,960 people injured, including over 10,000 children who have lost at least one leg. An additional 10,000 Palestinians are missing and presumed dead and buried under the rubble….”

If these reports and numbers are only remotely correct, the world’s anger with Israel can be understood. Note the next article.

Israel365News wrote on July 24:

“A majority of Americans continue to back Israel over Hamas, but a new Harvard CAPS/Harris poll finds that voters under 25 favor Hamas by a wide margin, and most Democrats say Israel should not be formally defined as a Jewish state.”

The Insanity of Gender Segregation in Israel

Deutsche Welle reported on July 18:

“Bnei Brak, a predominantly ultra-Orthodox city in Israel, plans to introduce separate pedestrian routes for men and women. But fierce criticism appears to have put the project on hold… According to local reports, the Bnei Brak municipality had already started widening sidewalks, erecting barriers and putting up signs that are intended to physically separate male and female pedestrians from one another in the city just east of Tel Aviv. It would have made Bnei Brak the first city in Israel with gender-segregated streets…. Less conservative Israelis fear Bnei Brak could set a precedent that will further strengthen Orthodox hard-liners in society. 

“Gender segregation is not unusual in Judaism. Orthodox synagogues have separate areas for men and women and conservative practitioners won’t touch members of the opposite sex, even in greeting. At holiday ceremonies and weddings, Orthodox Jewish men and women typically sit in separate areas….

“The proposed gender segregation on Bnei Brak’s streets originates from the latter issue. That neighborhood is home to banquet halls usually booked for weddings, and local rabbis want guests to be able to arrive already separated by gender….

“Previous attempts to impose gender segregation have been struck down by the country’s Supreme Court. A 2011 ruling said there could be no mandatory segregation on public buses, even those serving predominantly conservative neighborhoods, and that there must be no pressure on women to sit at the back of the bus….

“On Thursday, the Knesset approved a law that essentially permits universities and colleges to offer segregated master’s and doctoral degree programs…. Local universities protested the law ahead of the vote because, they argued, it could undermine academic standards in the fields like medicine and health and actually make it more difficult for women to access highly specialized professions…

“The vote on segregating university courses was one of the last in the current session of the Israeli parliament. The Knesset has been dissolved in order to pave the way for the general election on October 27.”

This is SO crazy and incomprehensible! Even though the Bible seems to indicate that at the time of Christ’s return, gender segregation still exists in synagogues, it does NOT approve of such practice.

Another Red Heifer?

Israel365News wrote on July 23:

“… the National Red Heifer Institute is announcing the birth of a second red heifer [in the herd of Shai Givon, a farmer with the Institute]… Asked how two red heifers could be born so close together, Givon said he sees the timing as more than coincidence…. [it] ‘gives the strong sense that God is pressing us to accelerate the path toward building the Temple. The real question is whether we want to.’…

“The question now, Ben Tzvi said, is whether the Jewish people want the Temple built, and what each person is doing to advance that process speedily in our days. Yehuda Ben Tzvi [is] one of the Institute’s leaders…”

A red heifer is not biblically necessary for the building of the Temple.

Dubious USA-Saudi-Arabia Nuclear Deal

NBC News wrote on July 23:

“President Donald Trump said Thursday that a nuclear deal between the United States and Saudi Arabia requires the kingdom to normalize relations with Israel— a significant condition not previously mentioned as the deal was announced… Trump added that the deal ‘is totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining the very respected and successful Abraham Accords.’..

“An agreement to normalize ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia had previously been a U.S. requirement for any deal allowing the Gulf kingdom to enrich uranium, but Saudi leaders have long insisted that would not be possible without meaningful progress toward a Palestinian state…

“There was no mention of the Abraham Accords when the Energy Department announced the deal on X on Wednesday… The oil-rich kingdom did not mention Trump’s stipulations in its own release about the agreement.. Nuclear enrichment is part of the process of both civil nuclear power generation and, at higher grades of enrichment, the development of nuclear weapons.”

Deluded LGBT Activists

Daily Mail wrote on July 28:

“Across most of the Muslim world, being gay is not a picnic. In Afghanistan , the Taliban imposes the death penalty on anyone convicted of same-sex relations, including public stonings.

“Saudi Arabia and Iran have also executed large numbers of gay people in recent years, including by public stoning – while several other countries, among them tourist favourites such as Egypt, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, all keep the death penalty for homosexuality on their statute books.

“When Isis controlled parts of Iraq and Syria during the 2010s, the authorities murdered gay men by throwing them off tall buildings. In Gaza, today, Hamas tortures and executes gay people for ‘moral violations’. (Yet Israel, anathema to many Left-wingers, hosts some of the largest and safest gay pride parades in the world.)…

“So it might seem odd that huge numbers of ‘LGBT’ campaigners have in recent years become bizarrely obsessed with Islam… Last weekend’s atrocity in Berlin should be the moment the ‘LGBTQ’ lobby, and the wider Left, recognise their true enemy: radical Islam, and the issues the West now faces having imported millions of people from distant lands who – to put it mildly – hold different opinions on sexual liberalism.”

Where Is Venezuela’s Money?

The Financial Times wrote on July 23:

“The Trump administration has collected more than $13bn in revenues from Venezuelan oil sales this year, according to FT calculations, but has said almost nothing about what has happened to the money… six months after the US seized control of the funds, economists say the evidence of a recovery in Venezuela is relatively muted — a potential sign that the US has not sent all the revenues back to Caracas.

“Washington has given diverging accounts of what it is doing with the money, ranging from an executive order describing its own role as ‘custodial’ to President Donald Trump saying the US was ‘making a lot of money’ from Venezuelan oil. US lawmakers from both parties are starting to pressure the administration to explain where it has gone and what it is doing to prevent corruption around its allocation….

“Shortly after the January raid, President Trump said the revenues ‘will be controlled by me.’” 

“The fate of Venezuela’s oil money has become even more pressing in the aftermath of the two devastating earthquakes on June 24. The UN estimates the cost of damage to buildings and infrastructure alone will be $37bn.”

Fishy indeed…

US Bans Foreign-Made Humanoid Robots

Deutsche Welle wrote on July 29:

“The United States has announced a ban on the import of foreign-made humanoid and quadruped robots in a move which will likely exclude Chinese manufacturers from the US market and could strain tensions between Washington and Beijing…

“Currently…, US robot exports remain in their hundreds while Unitree and AGIBOT, two of China’s biggest advanced robotics companies, each shipped more than 5,000 humanoid robots in 2025 alone. Beyond the industrial market effects, the FCC ban could also have diplomatic consequences…

“The US has already banned imports of Chinese-made drones and is considering restrictions on Chinese open-source artificial intelligence (AI) models, citing cybersecurity concerns including espionage, surveillance and data collection.”

More Threats, Violence and Attacks

Fox News wrote on July 26:

“Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said Sunday that Tehran would maintain its support for Hezbollah as a strategic policy in a letter to the terror group’s secretary-general, while declaring there was no path forward except ‘jihad and resistance.’…

“Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi accused Ukraine of attacking an Iranian commercial vessel and killing a sailor, warning Sunday that the incident “cannot go unanswered.”

Newsmax wrote on July 29:

“Iran launched a barrage of missiles at American forces in the Middle East early Wednesday as the U.S. partnered with Saudi Arabia to strike Tehran-backed militias in neighboring Iraq, killing at least 20 fighters.

“The flare-up on multiple fronts… raised the risk of a return to all-out war. It also underscored the difficulty of winding down a five-month conflict that has jolted the world economy and is unpopular among Americans. The fighting was also likely to add to concerns that the U.S. is further drawing down already diminished stockpiles of sophisticated munitions needed to defend its bases and allies…. The renewed hostilities sent oil prices spiking…”

Trump’s reaction was telling, but his threats become more and more empty hyperbole. The New York Post wrote on July 29:

“President Trump vowed Wednesday to ‘beat the f–king s–t out of’ Iran in response to a surprise missile attack by the Islamic Republic targeting US troops stationed in Jordan… Still, despite the plans for additional retaliation, Trump added that negotiations with Iran will continue.”  

A North America Air Filter Barrier?

Daily Mail wrote on July 26:

“President Donald Trump has doubled down on his threat to build an air filter barrier between the United States and Canada… The president on Monday imposed a 50 percent tariff on Canada over wildfire smoke which has been choking US cities.

“A Trump administration official said the US president had also requested that his aides look into additional tariffs on Canada after accusing the country of ‘coming in and poisoning our air.’”

Punitive Tariffs on Lettuce?

Bild Online reported on July 25:

“US President Donald Trump (80) has announced high tariffs against Mexico due to a wave of diarrhea in the US. US health authorities traced the illnesses in nine states to a parasite found in lettuce from Mexico…

“However, the cause of the illnesses has not been conclusively proven. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) continues to suspect chopped iceberg lettuce from a Mexican supplier as the source of the parasite—even though test results have not yet confirmed this.”

More Tariffs

In the latest attempt to circumvent Congress, Trump imposed new tariffs of 10% to 12.5% on goods from more than 80 countries, including China, Canada, and the 27 European Union member states. The trumped-up, crazy justification is a violation of forced labor laws—something which Trump never even dreamed of before. And is Trump imposing those tariffs because of humanitarian reasons to force those countries to abide by these alleged labor law violations? Of course not!

The Guardian wrote on July 23 that the new tariffs are most likely illegal, and if they are challenged in court, they will be overturned. It also said:

“The New York Federal Reserve estimated that 90% of the economic burden imposed by tariffs was passed on to US consumers and businesses…  72% of Americans believe tariffs have had a negative impact on consumers, including 64% of Republican voters.”

How the IRS Persecutes Innocent Americans

The Washington Times wrote on July 24:

“A 76-year-old Tennessee farmer, Wilson Perry Kirby, mistakenly received a $20,000 refund from the IRS in 2022, and when he tried to return it, the IRS wouldn’t let him. So he hired a tax expert to take care of the matter. But that didn’t work, either. Instead, the IRS charged him interest and took his entire 2025 tax refund amount as payment — as payment for the $20,000 the IRS mistakenly sent him in 2022 and subsequently refused to take back… This is why Americans hate the IRS…..

“Someone within the IRS knew Kirby’s accountant tried to return the $20,000. Yet someone within the IRS — more likely, a group of somebodies — made the decision to refuse the return of money; refused to acknowledge the bureaucratic error; and instead, chose to criminally, wickedly, deceptively seize Kirby’s 2025 refund monies. Someone within the IRS offices knew the IRS had made a mistake, but rather than fix the mistake, decided to persecute an innocent American individual. This isn’t just a bureaucratic nightmare.

“This is a jail-able offense.”

“Someone within the IRS needs to pay the consequences for this persecution, and those consequences should include fines, fees, firing and imprisonment.”

The entire IRS needs to be fired. It is a nuisance and completely incompetent. Some prominent politicians have asked for the abolishment of the IRS—with good reasons—but have not been successful at all.

The National Enquirer added on July 23:

“Kirby’s exhausted every avenue for help. ‘I’ve tried the president, governor, mayor. They don’t mind asking you to vote for them, but when you need help you can’t get ahold of nobody,’ he said… the IRS letters never stopped. A notice sent in early July demanded he pay up to $4,300 in interest on money he says he never spent, threatening property seizure if he didn’t comply. The agency had already confiscated his $1,800 refund earlier this year.”

The Daily Mail wrote on July 23:

“Honest widower, 76, alerted IRS after they accidentally sent him $20k refund he wasn’t owed… now its idiot staff are ruining his finances and threatening to seize his farm…”

The arrogance of the IRS is abominable. According to some reports, there are literally thousands upon thousands of cases pending which are being mishandled by the IRS, where taxpayers are deprived of money they are entitled to. But a reckoning of such misconduct will come!

How to Get Away With Murder in the US

The Rutherford Institute wrote on July 22:

“Having burned through billions of dollars and depleted critical munitions stockpiles, the Pentagon is running out of money… Once again, the government is looking to the American people for a taxpayer-funded bailout—this time to the tune of $67 billion (caused largely by the Iran war). Nor is the $67 billion emergency infusion the end of it. Trump’s fiscal year 2027 budget calls for an unprecedented $1.5 trillion in national-defense spending—a staggering increase…

“The Iran war is not merely another example of government waste, although the cost is already staggering… This is government without accountability… American service members are dying in a war that is not making America safer, no matter what Trump insists to the contrary…

“Under Trump, the buck stops nowhere. No one in power pays a personal price. No one admits fault. No one resigns. No one is prosecuted. No one is held accountable. Likewise, in the American Police State, those in power are protected. Those without power bear the consequences. And the machinery of government moves on without accountability… that is how the American Police State gets away with murder.”

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer:

These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to the contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing to worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.

PM Andy Burnham Attacks Margaret Thatcher

Fox News wrote on July 18:

“Britain’s… Prime Minister Andy Burnham [who was sworn in on Monday]  used his first speech as Labour leader Friday to condemn the economic model established in the 1980s by Margaret Thatcher and promise greater public control of essential services… [He] said that Britain had taken ‘a series of wrong turns in the 1980s,’ when political power was centralized and economic power was transferred to private companies. … Burnham’s speech offered the clearest indication yet that the former Greater Manchester mayor intends to move the party… toward greater state ownership, expanded council and social housing, giving more power to regional government and increased state involvement in essential services…

“Although he did not explicitly advocate returning Britain to the 1970s or refer to the late Lady Thatcher by name, free-market critics portrayed his attack on her reforms as an effort to revive the state-dominated economic policies that preceded her government…. The ideological shift presents an immediate political gamble. Burnham must unite Labour’s competing factions, reassure financial markets and respond to Reform UK’s growing challenge — all while taking office without winning a national election.”

The Telegraph wrote on July 20:

“Burnham’s attack on Thatcher ignores the rot she inherited, and the transformation delivered. [The new] Labour leader’s premise is profoundly misleading, and a familiar Left-leaning narrative…”

Attacking Thatcher will not fly too well for many Brits.

Trump Praises Burnham!

The Sun wrote on July 19:

“DONALD Trump has branded the UK a ‘poverty-stricken disaster’as he praised Andy Burnham over reported plans to open new North Sea oil drilling… In a Truth Social post the US president said: ‘The People of Aberdeen, in Scotland, are dancing in the streets because the new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, has stated that he will be opening up, all the way, the invaluable North Sea Oil!’

“Trump described drilling the North Sea as ‘one of the Greatest Sources of quality Oil on Earth’. The commander-in-chief also said the drilling would be an economic boost for Brits. He added: ‘Britain pays Norway Billions of Dollars a year to buy its Oil, which they get from a less valuable part of the North Sea. How ridiculous is that!’..

“Going ahead with drilling would also go against Labour’s 2024 manifesto, under Sir Keir Starmer, which pledged not to issue new licences but to honour existing ones.”

Church of England Debates Israel

The Jerusalem Post wrote on July 13:

“The Church of England’s General Synod on Monday voted overwhelmingly in favor of a motion to ‘hear’ a Palestinian Christian text that describes the State of Israel as ‘a colonial enterprise built on racism.’

“The General Synod is the national assembly and legislative body of the Church of England. It is the only body alongside the UK Parliament empowered to pass national laws for England, and is responsible for setting church budgets and shaping doctrine…

“The Synod ran out of time before the motion could be put to a vote. It will return to the agenda at the next Synod in November. The debate itself, however, showcased multiple conflicting perspectives…”

Fighting With No End

Fortune wrote on July 18:

“Iran just crossed Trump’s red line for resuming all-out war as fighting continues to escalate with no end in sight.”

The President of Iran has stated that total war has begun.

Trump’s Useless Attacks

Politico wrote on July 22:

“Trump’s air war in Iran may be reaching its limits. President Donald Trump is trying to put more pressure on Tehran — but the regime isn’t budging, so far, and there’s no clear endgame for the war.”

Politico explained that air wars have never led to a successful conclusion of a war.

Hiding True Numbers of Wounded US Soldiers

Daily Mail wrote on July 20:

“Dozens of US troops were wounded in three Iranian strikes in Jordan that the Pentagon kept quiet in the week before Friday’s attack that killed two American soldiers and left one missing. [Another American soldier was killed in northern Iraq on Saturday during the controlled detonation of an unexploded Iranian drone.]

“The attacks damaged multiple American helicopters and were never publicly disclosed,… US Central Command (CENTCOM) said last week it was retaliating against Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz, never mentioning the strikes on American troops in Jordan. The discrepancy exposes the tension between what the Pentagon says it must keep secret to protect operational security and its obligation to keep the public informed about the war. 

“CENTCOM is not required to release information about injured troops. … Spokesman Sean Parnell dismissed claims of a cover-up as ‘baseless and malicious’’. Trump’s confrontation with Iran is spiraling toward a far wider conflict as American deaths climb…”

All the American propaganda cannot hide the fact that the war spins out of control and HAS BEEN LOST! According to Iran, the USA has lost 40 soldiers and 400 helicopters in the war.

What Americans Should Not Know

The Jerusalem Post wrote on July 20:

“The Trump administration has… failed to report the cost of weapons used against Iran, and how the regime has retained and rebuilt its current missile capabilities… Last month, wounded US soldiers also told CBS that their injuries were more severe than had been designated by US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth…  

“Sergeant First Class Cory Hicks was one of the dozens hurt in the strike in Kuwait that killed six soldiers. He suffered severe shrapnel wounds and underwent emergency surgeries in Kuwait. A US Army official had told his wife that his injuries were ‘minor,’ he told CBS. CBS cited Hicks as saying that he ‘absolutely’ believed that the Pentagon has tried to downplay the incident.”

Cost of War

ABC News wrote on July 21:

“Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told congressmembers on Capitol Hill that the war in Iran has cost the U.S. $37.5 billion so far.”

Hegseth is currently asking for a historic $1.5 trillion defense budget. He said that without those funds, “we face critical shortfalls.”

The Houthis Block the Bab el-Mandeb Strait

CNBC wrote on July 20:

“Houthi militants in Yemen on Monday declared a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia effective immediately, threatening to exacerbate the oil supply disruption triggered by Iran’s attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.

“The Houthis have repeatedly threatened to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait during the U.S.-Iran war. The strait is a choke point for commercial ship traffic that connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and global markets.

“The Saudis have diverted millions of barrels of oil per day through a pipeline to an export terminal on the Red Sea. Those exports have acted as a crucial relief valve for global oil markets during the U.S.-Iran war….”

Reuters added on July 20:

“Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis said on Monday they were imposing a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, a move that opens a new front against the United States in its war on Iran and widens the threat to global energy supplies and trade beyond the Gulf…

“The full closure of the Bab el-Mandeb strait would reduce global oil supply by 7% as it would leave most of Saudi oil exports unable to leave the region. The disruption would add to the massive cut to global oil flows from the war in the Gulf, which has already reduced shipments by 10% of global supply.”

Deadly Iran War Continues and Spreads…

Daily Mail wrote on July 17:

“Iran has told its citizens to turn off their air conditioning during peak hours as the country’s power grid came under strain amid US strikes… Donald Trump ordered the US military to hit Iranian bridges throughout coastal cities along the Strait of Hormuz… Trump has threatened to broaden the campaign to Iran’s power plants and bridges unless Tehran returns to talks…

“The conflict spiraled last night as Iran targeted Kuwait’s drinking water and power plants with drones and missiles after Trump caused widespread chaos throughout Iran with devastating attacks on their bridges and airports.

“Kuwait is an oil-rich desert nation where everyday life depends on desalination plants, which produce about 90 percent of the country’s drinking water by converting seawater from the Gulf… Kuwait’s government has urged residents to ration electricity to ease strain on the national grid during the height of summer, as soaring temperatures push demand to its annual peak…

“The renewed fighting has been deadly, killing at least 30 people since last week, while oil prices have spiked sharply.”

This is total insanity. Ungodly men do NOT know the way of peace.

Trump’s Illegal Threats

Deutsche Welle wrote on July 22:

“US President Donald Trump has issued a social media post threatening that the US will start striking Iranian infrastructure in response to future attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz. ‘From this point forward, any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, whether it be by Missile, Rocket, Drone, or any other device or weapon, the United States will bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT, including those located next to, or in, the Capital City of Tehran,’ Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. 

“Targeting key civilian infrastructure, such as power generation systems or bridges, is deemed a war crime in international humanitarian law, as is deliberately targeting civilian or commercial shipping.”

Oil Prices Have Rocketed

Daily Mail wrote on July 22:

“Oil prices have rocketed to their highest level in more than a month after Marco Rubio warned the US would keep striking Iranfor as long as it throttles the Strait of Hormuz… Energy markets were being squeezed on three fronts as chaos hit the Strait of Hormuz, the Red Sea and the Black Sea.

“At least two oil tankers bound for the Bab al-Mandeb chokepoint in the Red Sea turned back overnight after Iran-backed Houthi rebels threatened to blockade Saudi Arabia, choking a route that handled 12 percent of global oil flows before the war. Ukrainian attacks on Russian shipping have meanwhile disrupted a third artery, with a key Black Sea terminal halting deliveries of Kazakh oil after strikes on tankers.”

This world is doomed.

“Trump Reality Check Reveals Devastating Record of Damage”

Focus wrote on July 22:

“In a democracy, those in power should do what they say. Donald Trump has violated this principle, as a reality check shows. The US President’s record of damage is devastating… He has violated the supreme principle of democracy—telling the people what you think and doing what you say—in five key areas…

“His promise sounded alluring: ‘From this day forward, our country will flourish again and be respected throughout the world,’ he had promised at the start of his second term… A year and a half later, Trump is a man without friends. He has fallen out with his immediate neighbors—Mexicans and Canadians. He has snubbed his NATO partners to such an extent that some are no longer willing to share their intelligence with the Pentagon… There is no longer a ‘Trump camp’ in Europe that he could rely on. His last friend, Viktor Orbán in Hungary, was voted out of office. The ‘Trump perfume’ no longer seemed alluring, but rather repulsive—like the secretions of a polecat…

“In his inaugural address, he promised: ‘I will instruct all members of my cabinet to fight record-high inflation and rapidly lower costs and prices’… Since that statement, inflation has risen from three percent to a peak of 4.2 percent in May 2026, and currently stands at 3.5 percent… prices… in Trump’s USA [continue] to rise unabated. For instance, the price of ground meat has risen by 24 percent since he took office. Orange juice: up nine percent. Gasoline: up 31 percent. Electricity: up six percent. Milk: up 7.5 percent…

“[Another statement:] ‘Jobs and factories will come roaring back to our country.’… Industrial jobs shrank from 19.6 million in June 1979 to 12.6 million in June 2026—a decline of 36 percent. This process was not reversed during his second term but continued. Another 75,000 blue-collar jobs were lost…

“At the ‘Liberation Day’ event in the White House Rose Garden, Trump was still confident: ‘It is up to us to prosper, using trillions of dollars to cut our taxes and pay down our national debt. And it will all happen very quickly.’… The only thing that happened quickly during his second term was the accumulation of debt. During his second term, he drove the debt level up from the $36 trillion seen in the final year of Joe Biden’s presidency to a [projected] $45 trillion in 2029… [For] the first time in over a century, the USA no longer holds a triple-A rating from any of the major agencies. Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase—the world’s most powerful banker—said earlier this week that he could not currently recommend buying long-term US government bonds. Yet, reluctance to buy drives up interest rate premiums—and with them, US debt…

“In his inaugural address, he promised: ‘We will measure our success not only by the battles we win, but also by the wars we end—and perhaps most importantly: by the wars we are not drawn into in the first place.’… After 547 days in office, the conclusion is clear: Trump has caused explosions and clashes in every direction. Above all, the war against Iran that he initiated and the threats issued against the civilian population will… be remembered… There are no signs of a quick end to the war—and thus a normalization of energy prices.

“Bottom line: American democracy cannot be satisfied with this record of damage. While the president provides a daily spectacle for the media, he is not delivering to his citizens what he promised them…”

And so, Trump has already completely destroyed American democracy.

Trump’s Address a Wasted Opportunity

The New York Post Editorial Board wrote on July 17:

“Election security is a legitimate issue, but President Donald Trump’s primetime speech on the issue was a dud that won’t even help pass the SAVE Act that aims to address the problem. And even most Americans who share his concerns would’ve preferred to hear more about the economy or the war. Trump himself didn’t seem to have his heart in it. His points didn’t always hit home, either: The Chinese have gathered more than 200 million voter files? OK, but what can they do with the info? It ‘includes names, addresses, phone numbers, political party preferences,’ the president reports. But much of that is available in the phone book, and more can be purchased from a host of sources. And if he’s that upset about it, shouldn’t he be raising hell with his Xi Jinping?

“Our electoral system has major vulnerabilities: States like California have gone bananas regarding how they distribute, collect and count ballots; many fail to prune their rolls of people who’ve died or moved away. But there’s still no hard evidence of voter fraud extensive enough to make a difference in any election, barring a very few extremely local races.

“We too favor tighter election protocols, voter-ID laws and other provisions of the SAVE Act, but Republicans don’t have the votes to get it through the Senate and they won’t get them anytime soon. Most important: Election security is nowhere near the top of the list of America’s priorities right now.

“The public’s attention, even to our president, is a limited commodity. A major address demands a major issue, and rehashing horror stories about changes to Michigan voter-registration rules in 2020 ain’t it. In less than four months, Americans will decide what the last two years of Trump’s presidency are going to be about: Growing the economy and creating peace — or impeachment, investigation and socialism.

“If you don’t put that choice front-and-center, Mr. President, the GOP won’t win even if they’re the safest elections ever.”

It seems Trump is totally out of touch with reality and the concerns of the American people. It is hard to see how Republicans could win the midterm elections.

Trump Starts New Trade War With Canada

NPR wrote on July 21:

“President Donald Trump on Monday imposed 50% tariffs on most Canadian goods, declaring that Canada has unfairly discriminated against American autos, alcohol and dairy products. The move could unleash a new wave of economic chaos, with risks of higher inflation and further fraying of relations between two nations that had been closely woven together before Trump’s return to the White House. The administration official previewing the action said that Canada was one of the only nations other than China that retaliated against Trump’s previous tariffs and must be held accountable….

“The new tariffs carry serious political and economic risks for Trump ahead of the November midterm elections for control of Congress. His ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs last year in April provoked a financial market meltdown over concerns about inflation and a recession, prompting him to walk back the rates for a period of negotiation. The Supreme Court ruled this February that Trump had lacked the legal authority to impose the tariffs by declaring an economic emergency, causing the administration to find alternative ways to raise import taxes based on a series of legal authorities…

“The president maintains that the costs created by tariffs will cause manufacturing to relocate to the U.S., though there is little evidence of that in the economic data. The new 50% tariffs would exclude energy products, potash, fish and critical minerals, but they would include goods that had previously been protected from import taxes by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA. That 2020 trade pact was not renewed by the U.S.”

Total stupidity… Donald Trump… the modern King Midas In Reverse! Trump has now announced that higher tariffs will also be enforced against 60 countries, including members of the EU.

Trump’s Dangerous Arrangements With Saudi Arabia

The Associated Press wrote on July 22:

“President  Donald Trump has approved an agreement with Saudi Arabia that could potentially provide the kingdom with uranium enrichment capability for its civilian nuclear program… The deal is expected to last 30 years and is also expected to involve U.S. firms in developing the program. The deal could allow for the building of a uranium enrichment facility in Saudi Arabia… But the deal, which is expected to be submitted to Congress for review, could face headwinds among lawmakers who fear that helping the Saudis fulfill their long-standing desire to enrich their own uranium would open new rounds of nuclear proliferation and competition.”

The New York Times wrote on July 22:

“The agreement will require review by Congress, which under the Atomic Energy Act has the power to vote a resolution of disapproval. But as a practical matter, the agreement would likely pass, because Congress would have to assemble a veto-proof [two-thirds] majority to override Mr. Trump’s initiative.

“Nonetheless, debate over the accord is likely to be fierce. To get the deal done with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the country’s 40-year-old de facto leader, Mr. Trump had to agree to terms that may limit international inspectors from going to any sites in the country that they think could be a pathway to diverting fuel to weapons projects..

“Prince Mohammed has vowed he would build nuclear weapons if Iran does so, even insisting in one interview he would do so ‘without a doubt.’”

Saudi Arabia will become a fierce enemy of Israel… and possibly the USA. Following the uproar, Trump suddenly announced for the first time that Saudi-Arabia has to first improve its relationship with Israel and become a member of the Abraham Accords. This will not happen.

Jens Spahn’s Controversy and Hypocrisy

Deutsche Welle reported on July 17:

“Conservative politician Jens Spahn and his husband have announced that they have become parents with the help of a surrogate mother in the US… The news has sparked a political debate because such a procedure would be prohibited in Germany.

“A surrogate mother makes her body available to carry a baby to term and is typically paid for doing so. Spahn’s party, the center-right CDU… is staunchly opposed to making this legal in Germany. As recently as February 2026, the party passed a resolution reiterating this at their federal party convention. ‘In light of ethical, legal and practical concerns regarding surrogacy, the CDU of Germany reaffirms its demand that surrogacy — including altruistic models — remain prohibited in Germany in order to prevent abuse, exploitation and health risks,’ read the resolution.

“Jens Spahn, Germany’s former federal Health Minister and currently leader of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag, was present at the convention. At the time, a surrogate mother based in the US, was already pregnant with the child of Daniel Funke, Spahn’s husband.

“Spahn and his husband don’t have to fear legal consequences. Surrogacy is not prohibited in the US. In Germany, only the doctors and intermediaries involved would be liable to prosecution. It is not illegal in Germany to raise a child who was born abroad to a surrogate mother.

“Throughout his career, Spahn has consistently expressed criticism of surrogacy. In 2015, he told GQ magazine: ‘As a gay man and a Christian, I personally find it very difficult to come to terms with the idea of a “rented womb.”’… In 2020, the opposition neoliberal FDP… sought to initiate a debate on liberalizing Germany’s surrogacy laws, when Spahn was health minister. He opposed the move, citing the CDU’s familiar arguments, but also arguing that surrogacy could lead to ‘particular difficulties in the child’s sense of identity.’ Now, he stands accused of double standards…

“The 46-year-old has weathered plenty of scandals in the past. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he was responsible for the overpriced purchase of protective masks, which later led to legal disputes with suppliers worth billions. Although the scandal continues to haunt Spahn to this day, he has remained politically influential.”

Spahn—the “I-First” Man!

Bild Online published the following commentary on July 16:

“There is nothing right about it when one of the leading politicians and power brokers of the Chancellor’s party circumvents German law while abroad—law that he himself—most recently as Health Minister in 2020—actively denied to all Germans: surrogacy…

“For Jens Spahn, it is about Jens Spahn. HE is fulfilling HIS dream by circumventing—legally, yes—HIS German law. Why? Because he can—and because he can afford it. Spahn’s message of hypocrisy: ‘The law applies to you. I circumvent it—I.'”

Did Spahn learn this kind of arrogance from Trump?

Spahn No Longer Tenable

On July 16, Nius published the following commentary:

“Morality ends where double standards begin… As the most powerful Union politician in the legislature, Spahn has become untenable in his office due to this maneuver. This is not a case of accidental drunk driving or a speeding violation; rather, it is a blatant disregard for the law that makes his conduct—and his continued tenure in this post—completely unacceptable…”

Jens Spahn’s End?

Deutsche Welle wrote on July 18:

“Jens Spahn, the parliamentary leader of the ruling conservative bloc in the Bundestag [the CDU], stepped down on Saturday amid a controversy surrounding his decision to have a child via surrogacy…

“This is not the first time Spahn has faced controversy. As Germany’s COVID-era health minister, Spahn was investigated for alleged misuse of public money. However, state prosecutors dropped their investigation into his COVID-era dealings in March. Spahn was seen as a rising star in the conservative bloc, having been re-elected leader of the parliamentary group with 85% of the vote in May.”

However, Spahn was never liked by many in his own party, nor by the nation as a whole. He survived numerous scandals. To count him out now would be clearly premature.

ntv wrote on July 19:

“Spahn acted exactly as one would expect from someone like him: he confirmed judgments and prejudices about career politicians—ranging from dishonesty to hypocrisy and double standards. Instead of informing his party early on that he—and his husband—were becoming fathers with the help of an American woman, he allowed the CDU to reaffirm its opposition to surrogacy at the party conference in February. It was outrageous to leave his own party looking so foolish. Yet Spahn clung to the CDU/CSU parliamentary group leadership even as anger within the CDU erupted with unprecedented intensity. Not even the deputy chair of a local chapter with a handful of members came to his public defense—he is completely discredited.

“Spahn’s behavior demonstrated a level of selfishness and arrogance that was bound to shock the party. His resignation did not stem primarily from an acknowledgment of his questionable conduct, but rather from immense pressure coming from all levels of the CDU. Reportedly, Spahn was still intent on retaining the parliamentary group leadership as late as Saturday morning. It was CDU Chairman and Chancellor Friedrich Merz who persuaded him to resign…”

Spahn: Germany’s Most Unpopular Politician

Nius reported on July 20:

“Even more unpopular than the Chancellor: Following the surrogacy scandal involving Jens Spahn, the CDU politician has slipped to last place in the INSA politician rankings… In the survey, 62 percent expressed a negative view of Spahn; Friedrich Merz received the same score. The Sauerland native leads Spahn only in terms of approval ratings: 15 percent expressed a positive view of the Chancellor, compared to just ten percent for Spahn…

“The top rankings, however, remain unchanged. Germany’s most popular politician remains—undisputed—SPD Defense Minister Boris Pistorius. He is followed in second and third place by the new Minister-President of Baden-Württemberg, Cem Özdemir, and North Rhine-Westphalia Minister-President Hendrik Wüst… the popularity of AfD leader Alice Weidel continues to rise. She has swapped places with Bavarian Minister-President Markus Söder, moving from fifth to fourth.”

Spahn’s Successor… Not Without Controversy

ntv reported on July 22:

“Thorsten Frei, Head of the Chancellery, is set to succeed Jens Spahn—who has stepped down—as leader of the Union parliamentary group. CDU and CSU leaders Friedrich Merz and Markus Söder officially nominated the 52-year-old today. All 208 MPs were subsequently informed via text message. They will decide on the appointment during a special session next Wednesday.”

Bild Online wrote on July 22:

“The Magdeburg-based Volksstimme views the nomination of Thorsten Frei (52, CDU) as the new leader of the Union parliamentary group critically. In a commentary, the newspaper writes that Frei—during his time as Minister of the Chancellery—was ‘dangerously close to being the wrong person for the job.’ The Baden-Württemberg native is held responsible for too many communication and coordination mishaps within the federal government. The Volksstimme explains Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s (70, CDU) decision to back Frei primarily by citing his loyalty. Unlike Jens Spahn (46, CDU), Frei is considered an ‘unreservedly loyal confidant of Merz.’ This is precisely what makes him the Chancellor’s preferred candidate. The newspaper emphasizes that this personnel decision cannot be seen as a major breakthrough or a liberating move for the government….

“According to the Handelsblatt, the nomination of Thorsten Frei (52, CDU) as the new leader of the Union parliamentary group is viewed with reservations in some quarters of the Union. In a commentary, the Düsseldorf-based business newspaper writes that, for some Union MPs, his close proximity to Chancellor Friedrich Merz (70) is now seen ‘not as an asset, but as a liability’….

“Journalist Ulf Poschardt (59) of the daily newspaper Die Welt… has criticized the nomination of Thorsten Frei (52) as the new leader of the Union parliamentary group. Writing on X, Poschardt stated that with this personnel decision, the Union is adhering to a ‘status quo logic’ when a ‘revolutionary logic’ is actually what is needed. Commenting on the agreement reached by CDU leader Friedrich Merz (70) and CSU leader Markus Söder (59) to appoint Frei as Spahn’s successor, Poschardt concluded: ‘The Union is beyond help.’”

It truly is. But what (or who) will come next?

How Trump Destroyed World Cup Soccer

Deutsche Welle wrote on July 20:

“‘Trump cast a shadow over the entire tournament, weaponizing it for domestic political purposes, regardless of whether he showed up at matches in person,’ Jules Boykoff, a professor in the Politics and Government Department at Pacific University in the US state of Oregon, told DW…. Such unprecedented and direct political intervention… drew scorn and fury from most of the rest of the world — with politicians, football federations, fans and coaches all piling on to criticize. But that won’t bother Trump, Boykoff said.

“‘Based on his actions, Trump does not appear to care much about what the rest of the world thinks of him. His anti-immigration policies stained the World Cup and undercut FIFA’s slogan that ‘Football Unites the World.’ Trump used the tournament to further fracture the world while stoking his base’s worst instincts ahead of the midterm elections,’ he said.”

Trump only cares about himself.

Trump’s Incredible Arrogance

Die Welt wrote on July 20:

“Then, finally, the big moment after 104 matches at the XXL World Cup: Trump and [FIFA President Gianni] Infantino [Trump’s “buddy”] presented the trophy to Spain’s captain, Rodri. Infantino stepped away from the stage, intending to leave the spotlight to the Spaniards. But he hadn’t reckoned with the US President—Trump simply stayed put. Infantino tried to get the 80-year-old to follow him, but without success. So, the FIFA President hurried back to Trump and positioned himself a meter away from the action. Trump spoke briefly with Rodri and then moved aside—by a mere meter. Yet, as the captain hoisted the trophy high, the US President was still standing right there in the huddle of players. In doing so, he ensured his presence in the World Cup victory photos.

“Trump and Infantino were booed by large sections of the crowd.”

The booing was more than justified. Ironically, the Spanish football federation and FIFA excluded Donald Trump from the official World Cup celebration pictures shared on social media.

Corrupt FIFA over Falkland

BBC wrote on July 17:

“The White House has defended the Argentinian football team’s right to free speech after they controversially waved a banner in support of their country’s territorial claim to the Falkland Islands while celebrating their World Cup win against England… The Falklands, a British overseas territory in the south-west Atlantic Ocean, remains the subject of a sovereignty dispute between the UK and Argentina. Players for Argentina held a banner after Wednesday’s semi-final match reading ‘Las Malvinas son Argentinas’, which translates as ‘The Falklands are Argentine’.Speaking to reporters on Friday, Giuliani referenced free speech protections in the US Constitution, saying: ‘We believe in our First Amendment rights here in the United States of America’ [Really? So, why were Iranian soccer players not allowed to say anything critical of the USA or in support of Iran?]…

“For its part, the government of the Falkland Islands said it was ‘disappointed but not surprised’ about the banner and it hopes Fifa will ‘sanction all behaviour of this nature in line with its own rules’… Argentina players also sang chants which referenced the Falklands …

“A brief but bitter war arose between Britain and Argentina over the territory in 1982. A British military task force ejected Argentine forces, who had landed on the Falklands to stake a territorial claim. The 74-day conflict led to the deaths of 255 British military personnel, three islanders and 649 Argentine soldiers.”

Giuliani and the White House are such hypocrites. FIFA’s own rules state (not that they are necessarily being adhered to by FIFA):

“FIFA’s regulations strictly prohibit all political, religious, and personal statements, slogans, or imagery during official matches. Governed primarily by the IFAB Laws of the Game and FIFA’s Stadium Code of Conduct, players and teams can face sanctions—including fines and suspensions—for breaching these neutrality mandates.”

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer:

These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing at worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.

Lindsey Graham Dies Suddenly

Daily Mail wrote on July 12:

“Firebrand US Senator Lindsey Graham has died at the age of 71 after a ‘brief and sudden illness’ [which has not been explained so far]… Emergency services responded to a ‘cardiac arrest’ at Graham’s home… on Saturday night… He has been a close ally of President Trump, a longtime hawk on Iran and an ardent supporter of Israel. … Graham also cheered on Trump’s decision to strike nuclear sites last year and had been a supporter of the latest conflict that started a few months ago…

“Graham never married and is survived by his younger sister Darline Graham Nordone and other relatives. For decades, his status as a long-term bachelor fueled rumors about his sexuality. But in 2018 interview with TMZ, he firmly denied being gay. …

“Graham’s sudden death comes as other prominent Republicans have faced health issues.  Kentucky Republican Senator Mitch McConnell was hospitalized weeks ago for undisclosed health reasons.”

Deutsche Welle added on July 12:

“The exiled son of Iran’s former Shah, Reza Pahlavi, said of Graham: ‘When friends were seldom found, he stood alongside the people of Iran in their struggle against tyranny.’ Graham was also an advocate for the Kurdish people [whom Trump betrayed], particularly in their fight against the ‘Islamic State.’” 

With their bare majority, the Republicans can’t afford to lose any more members in Congress.

Medical Examination To Follow

The Associated Press wrote on July 12:

“The Medical Examiner of the District of Columbia’s preliminary findings are that Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham died of aortic dissection due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease, according to a statement released by his office on Sunday. That is when the aorta is damaged or develops a leak.

“The statement also said that the death certificate will be pending until all the toxicological and microscopic testing are finalized. At that point, the death certificate will be updated to reflect the cause of death and appropriately classify the manner of death.”

Whether a “medical examination” will put numerous rumors surrounding the strange and sudden death of Graham to rest remains doubtful. Note the next article.

Was Lindsey Graham Murdered?

First Post wrote on July 12:

“The sudden and unexpected death of veteran US Senator Lindsey Graham has sparked a flood of online conspiracy theories, with Iran and Russia becoming the focus… Graham’s recent Ukraine visit, his push for fresh sanctions on Russia, his long-standing advocacy of a hardline policy against Iran and reports of recent threats from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have prompted social media users and commentators to question whether there is more to the story.

“While the Russian angle dominates Eastern European discourse, a second, equally virulent wave of conspiracy theories points squarely at Iran. Graham was arguably the most vociferous anti-Iran hawk on Capitol Hill. He spent decades advocating for the total isolation of Tehran, consistently pushed for military action to dismantle its ballistic missile and nuclear programmes, and loudly cheered the Trump administration’s strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.Iranian state television announced Graham’s death in openly celebratory language, describing him as a ‘warmongering and anti-Iranian U.S. senator’ and congratulating Iran on his passing…

“The timeline preceding Graham’s death serves as the primary fuel for the unfolding Kremlin-centered theories. Just hours before his fatal medical emergency, Graham had returned from a high-profile visit to Kyiv—his tenth trip to Ukraine since the 2022 full-scale invasion. Days earlier, Graham had announced progress with the Trump administration on a sanctions package targeting Russia, reinforcing his reputation as one of Congress’s most vocal critics of Moscow.”

That Graham’s death is extremely suspicious is without doubt. Examiners have never been [purposefully?] too successful in explaining suspicious deaths—for instance, the death of Marilyn Monroe or Jeffrey Epstein; and the masterminds behind the murders of John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King. And there are so many other countless suspicious, undisclosed or unresolved deaths and killings.

Suspicions Galore

The Daily Mail added on July 14:

“Trove of horrifying evidence that proves why America must NOT dismiss suspicions about Lindsey Graham’s shock death: Putin expert reveals exactly how Russian agents could have done it…”

NBC News added on July 14:

“President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he is aware of conspiracy theories circulating about the sudden death of his friend and ally, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., but declared ‘the FBI is wasting their time’ investigating the matter… Trump said he was aware that Graham’s father had also died of heart complications at a relatively young age.”

Sorry to say, but when Trump is adamant that there was no foul play involved, then there might very well have been. The mass media is jumping on the bandwagon of “no evidence” for foul play… which is suspicious all by itself.

No Peace in the Middle East

JNS wrote on July 9:

“Israel ‘did not ask anyone for permission to enter Lebanon, and we do not need permission to remain in Lebanon,’ Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Thursday, hours after US President Donald Trump said he believed Jerusalem would withdraw from the country. ‘It is our right and our duty to protect the residents of the Galilee and the citizens of Israel from the threats posed by the jihadist Hezbollah terrorist organization, which seeks to destroy the State of Israel,’ Katz said in a Hebrew-language statement…

“As he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ‘have made clear, we will continue to remain in the security zone in Lebanon and operate from it as long as necessary until Hezbollah is disarmed throughout Lebanon and the threat to the residents of northern Israel is removed,’ Katz vowed. Trump, speaking to reporters alongside Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa at a press conference in Ankara on Wednesday, said he had discussed an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon with Netanyahu. ‘I talked to Bibi [Netanyahu] about that. I think they’re going to. I think they want to. I don’t think it’s a question,’ the US president said. ‘We have a deal with Israel and Lebanon, and yeah, they’ll leave.’

“The June 26 framework of understandings between Jerusalem and Beirut conditions an Israeli redeployment on Hezbollah being removed from Southern Lebanon.”

Israel and Hezbollah are not part of that “agreement.” How can anyone trust Trump’s “declarations”?

Dangerous Erdogan

The Jerusalem Post wrote on July 13:

“Netanyahu went on American television networks to lobby publicly against an administration policy still under consideration. If Iran’s decline is creating a regional vacuum, Israel fears Turkey is positioning itself to fill it, and that American F-35s, coupled with Trump’s embrace of Erdogan, might help it do so….

“Trump has repeatedly emphasized his close relationship with Erdogan. Indeed, he has gone even further, portraying himself as the man who prevented Turkey from entering the recent war against Iran on the opposite side. ‘He could have gone into the war,’ Trump said. ‘He didn’t because of me.”’…

“Why the president would want to sell state-of-the-art weaponry to a leader who he himself said had contemplated joining a war against the United States and Israel is almost beside the point. …

“Turkey’s ambitions are hardly viewed with alarm only in Jerusalem. For Greece, Ankara’s increasingly assertive posture is reflected in repeated airspace violations over the Aegean and long-running disputes over maritime boundaries. For Cyprus, it is embodied in Turkey’s continued occupation of half of the island. For Armenians, opposition to a stronger Turkey is rooted in the national trauma of the Armenian Genocide and Ankara’s continued refusal to acknowledge it.”

The Bible contains terrible predictions for the future of Turkey and maybe for Erdogan himself… because of their gruesome hostility towards Israel.

American-Israeli Failed Coup to Bring Former Iranian President Back to Power

The Daily Mail wrote on July 13:

“Former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been put under house arrest by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps after intelligence authorities uncovered his secret dealings with Israel… For years, Israel conducted a covert operation aimed at grooming Ahmadinejad as an intelligence asset who, when the time came, could be installed as Iran’s new leader, American and Iranian sources [said].  Israel even secretly transferred money to Ahmadinejad for housing and travel, while operatives met him abroad on several occasions. The discovery of the secret relationship is shocking given that Ahmadinejad was known for accelerating Tehran’s nuclear programme, calling regularly for the destruction of Israel and denying the Holocaust…

“The ambition was to set in motion the toppling of the current regime, and to install Ahmadinejad as leader, who had been living under strict surveillance in Tehran. But the grand plan failed. On February 28, Ahmadinejad’s compound was struck by an Israeli airstrike aiming towards the building of his bodyguards and his armoured vehicle. Following the strike, a black Peugeot car arrived, picked up Ahmadinejad, and took him away at high speed from the dramatic scene, according to four senior Iranian officials. The vehicle was driven by agents of Mossad, Israel’s foreign intelligence service, who whisked Ahmadinejad away to a secret safe house in Iran, American and Iranian officials said. But the former Iranian president was discontented with the chaotic rescue operation, and apparently appeared disillusioned about Mossad’s plan to return him to power…

“A second element involved training Iranian Kurdish opposition forces located in northern Iraq, arming them with weapons, and ordering them to cross into western Iran, where they would hold territory and eventually move toward the capital Tehran. This effort never came to fruition… The regime-change mission involved a ‘sequence of special operations, very, very unique, that was supposed to happen,’ Tamir Hayman, a former head of intelligence for the Israeli Defence Forces, told the PBS talk show ‘Firing Line’ in May. ‘And Ahmadinejad was part of that sequence.’…

“Ahmadinejad’s 2024 trip to the university in Budapest and a second one the following year were part of a yearslong Israeli initiative to install him as Iran’s new leader. He was such a priority for Israel that the country’s then-Mossad chief, David Barnea, even flew to the Hungarian capital in 2024 to talk with Ahmadinejad personally… Soon afterward, they said, Mossad contacted the CIA to confirm that it had been in discussions with Ahmadinejad… Ahmadinejad began writing public letters in 2017 to Trump and later to Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The US president lavished praise on both figures.”

Deutsche Welle added on July 16:

“Haaretz also wrote that the operation involved much more than Ahmadinejad and included infiltration plans inside Iran, contacts with minority groups and that there was also discussion of a broader destabilization strategy… The details have not been independently verified and remain unconfirmed. However, Ahmadinejad’s office has reportedly rejected the claims, describing them as ‘absurd’ and ‘completely false.’”

What an idiotic plot that would have been. It would show again the degree of incompetence prompting Israel and the USA to attack Iran with their “goal” of “regime change.”

Trump’s Middle East Trap

Bild Online wrote on July 11:

“Trump wants to extricate himself from the [Iran] war—but he cannot. Yet almost every tactic has already been employed: a twelve-week air war alongside war partner Israel. Then a ceasefire. Afterward, a mutual declaration of intent to hold peace talks… even an easing of sanctions… At first, he praised the new leadership under Khamenei’s son Mojtaba (56) as ‘rational’; more recently, he reviled them as ‘scum’—liars whose word is worthless. In between: wild threats…

“Americans call wars that get bogged down a ‘quagmire’—the most famous examples being Vietnam and, later, the Iraq War. Trump’s Iran offensive is already shaping up to be just such a mess…

“Now, he must also solve a problem that did not exist before the war: The battle for the oil route through the Strait of Hormuz—now apparently blocked again—looms once more! Following Iranian attacks, only two tankers managed to make the passage on Thursday morning. Furthermore, the Iran War complicates Trump’s entire Middle East policy…

“Domestic pressure is mounting: The unpopular war is driving up prices… Trump’s fellow Republicans are increasingly standing up to him. Former US military intelligence officer Michael Pregent warns BILD: ‘The greatest danger is that, in the end, this war will have been fought for nothing.’”

Who can still doubt the incompetence of Trump and his spineless or incapable “advisers” regarding the Iran War?

Iran War Without End

Deutsche Welle wrote on July 12:

“Iran reacted to the latest round of US strikes on its territory by saying they have ‘rendered futile’ the diplomatic efforts of the past few months.

“According to a foreign ministry statement cited by the AFP news agency, the US military strikes ‘has caused the return of insecurity to the Strait of Hormuz and disruption of international commercial shipping.’”

Trump declared the Strait was open again—a blatant misrepresentation.

More Idle Threats

Politico wrote on July 11:

“U.S. President Donald Trump said that the American military stood ready to ‘completely decimate and destroy all areas of Iran’ in response to threats to his life….”

The only way Trump could “completely decimate and destroy all areas of Iran” would be through the use of nuclear weapons. He apparently considered this possibility before but was fortunately “dissuaded” from carrying it out.

Now Trump Wants to Charge Ships?

Politico wrote on July 13:

“President Donald Trump on Monday said the U.S. will take over the Strait of Hormuz — and will be reimbursed ‘at the rate of 20% on all cargo shipped’ for overseeing one of the world’s most critical oil passageways that has been at the center of the U.S.’s re-escalating war with Iran. ‘We will become guardians of the strait,’ Trump said during an interview with ‘Fox & Friends’ on Monday morning…

“Trump followed his Fox News interview with a Truth Social post that said the U.S. will reimpose a blockade on Iran. All other countries will have fair and open use of the Strait,’ he said, but added that ‘as a matter of FAIRNESS, [the U.S.] will be reimbursed, at the rate of 20% on all cargo shipped, for any and all costs necessary to do the job of providing safety and security to this very volatile section of the World.’”

Crazy. Note the next article.

The Associated Press wrote on July 13:

“The International Maritime Organization, the United Nations agency which oversees safety and security measures in international shipping, said… ‘There is no legal basis through which to introduce mandatory tolls simply to transit through a strait…’”

But Trump’s threats did not endure for long.

Trump’s Ever-Changing Threats

Bild Online wrote on July 14:

“The escalating conflict between the US and Iran is keeping the economy on edge. On Monday, the US President caused a stir in the Gulf states when he announced plans to impose a kind of 20 percent toll on ships in the Strait of Hormuz. By Tuesday afternoon, however, he had backed away from this idea. A ‘total blockade’ of Iranian ships was to remain in place, though; the country’s ‘deceitful, violent, and malicious leadership’ left him no other choice… After ‘very productive talks’ with leaders in the Middle East, he decided to replace the levy with trade and investment agreements that the Gulf states would conclude with the US…”

Is there anything one can rely on when Trump makes an “announcement”? Trump’s threats seem simply ridiculous.

The War That Never Ended

Politico wrote on July 13:

“President Donald Trump formally notified lawmakers this weekend that the nation is once again at war with Iran, giving his administration another 60-day clock to use the military in the region without congressional approval… Trump had previously notified lawmakers in May that the war launched in February had ‘terminated,’ thereby negating a 60-day legal deadline under which military operations must halt without congressional authorization.”

The prior notification was clearly misleading. The war had never ceased.

Cuba Invasion Next?

CBS News wrote on July 15:

“As the U.S.-Iran war restarts following the collapse of the weeks-long ceasefire, senior Pentagon officials are also quietly eyeing another flashpoint much closer to home: Cuba. 

“Military planners have in recent weeks examined a range of options for possible action against the island, including an Army-led air assault involving thousands of U.S. soldiers to be carried out by the 101st Airborne Division, the only unit trained for such a task… Cuba has presented new security challenges… Cuba [has]  acquired attack drones of unknown origin.”

Trump’s Toothless Pledge to Help Ukraine

Newsmax republished on July 10 the following article by The Associated Press:

“President Donald Trump’s pledge to give Ukraine a license to produce Patriot air-defense systems could mark a major breakthrough for Kyiv, but experts and Ukrainian officials warn that turning the idea into real weapons would likely take years.

“[Trump’s “pledge”] left open a crucial question: What exactly would Ukraine be allowed to produce?… Trump’s wording was ambiguous because he referred broadly to producing ‘Patriots,’ without specifying whether he meant missiles, launchers, radar systems, command centers or components…

“Even if Ukraine received complete component kits from abroad…, it would likely need at least 18 to 24 months to launch its first pilot production line, followed by more time to complete the first weapons…”

Trump’s declaration that there was “love in the room” during the NATO summit sounded good, even though extremely silly and doubtful… but in any event, there was really nothing substantive behind it.

Russia’s Lack of Trust in the West

The Times of India wrote on July 10:

“Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow no longer trusts Western calls for negotiations, arguing that previous agreements and security guarantees related to the Ukraine conflict were not honored.

“Speaking at a public event, Lavrov claimed Russia’s ‘reserve of goodwill and hope’ toward the West has been exhausted, citing failed diplomatic efforts in 2014, 2015, 2019, and 2022.”

Border Controls Between Gibraltar and Spain to Be Abolished

Focus reported on July 15:

“Every workday, thousands of Spanish commuters cross the border into Gibraltar—a process that has often resulted in long wait times. This is set to change starting July 15: under a post-Brexit agreement between the EU and the United Kingdom, the border is being largely removed after 118 years, significantly easing freedom of movement between Spain and Gibraltar…

“For the region, this is considered a historic step, primarily due to Gibraltar’s economic importance. While Gibraltar ranks among the wealthiest territories in the world, the adjacent Spanish region is characterized by high unemployment.

“However, the new agreement brings not only opportunities but also new rules. Gibraltar will align itself more closely with the EU Customs Union and the Schengen Area. Consequently, goods in Gibraltar will have to comply with EU regulations. In addition, new taxes are being introduced, including a transaction tax that replaces the previous import duties.”

And so, the United Kingdom will ultimately lose Gibraltar—one of its last sea gateways—to Spain and the EU.

Germany’s Path Into the Abyss

Die Tagesschau reported on July 9:

“Germany will purchase US ‘Tomahawk’ intermediate-range weapons and station them in Germany. An agreement to this effect was reached with the US side at the NATO summit in Ankara, said Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) in his government policy statement to the Bundestag… ‘And at the same time, we will work on developing our own European systems and stationing them in Europe,’ said Merz.

“The cruise missiles have a range of 2,500 kilometers—meaning they could fly from Germany deep into Russian territory. Moscow is 1,600 kilometers from Berlin as the crow flies. European NATO states do not yet possess their own intermediate-range weapons…

“[Merz’s] goal is ‘an economically strong, socially just Germany capable of defending itself both internally and externally…’ The Chancellor explained that the answers offered by radical parties—whether from the left or the right—do not shape the future. ‘They divide our country and, should they assume political responsibility in Germany, would lead it into the abyss.’”

Many feel that Merz has already led Germany into the abyss.

American Mass Murders

Life News wrote on July 9:

“More than 66 million babies have been killed in abortions in the United States since the Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision… The Roe ruling alone is responsible for more than 64 million deaths through mid-2022, with the overall figure surpassing 65 million by early 2025 and estimates now placing it at approximately 66 million.

“In June 2022, the Supreme Court overturned Roe in the Dobbs decision, returning authority over abortion to the states [a move supported by Trump]. Many states promptly enacted protections for unborn children. These measures led to abortion center closures in pro-life states and initial drops in abortions there. The abortion industry responded by shifting resources to pushing women to travel across state lines for abortions and by expanding access to dangerous chemical abortion pills through telemedicine and mail delivery…

“The cumulative death toll from abortion since Roe now stands at an estimated 66 million babies. It’s a heartbreaking figure that shows abortion is genocide.”

It is indeed genocide, and America will pay dearly for it.

Trump Insists Terrible ICE Policy Must Continue

The Guardian wrote on July 15:

“The White House overturned a one-day old homeland security department (DHS) memo that said they would be halting traffic stops in the wake of recent stops that left two men killed in the space of a week on Wednesday morning… On Tuesday, federal officers across the US had been told to temporarily stop pulling drivers over. That directive came after ICE agents fatally shot Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston on 7 July and Joan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Maine on Monday. Both men were unarmed, neither was the intended target of the operation that killed him, and in both cases the agents involved wore no body camera to record what had happened.

“The president’s Wednesday declaration made no mention of either killing… The whiplash from the post initially rebuked his own homeland security department, which had just spent a day trying to contain the fallout from back-to-back killings…. Civil rights groups have called both shootings extrajudicial killings…. None of that appears to have registered with the Trump, who instead said that attempt to hold ICE accountable should be blamed on ‘Radical Left Dumocrats.’”

And so, human life does not seem to have any more value in America, and the killing of innocent people will continue.

Swiss New Military Law—Godless and Respectless

SWI (Swissinfo.ch) wrote on July 10:

“The requirement for priests and monks to serve in the Swiss army from June 1 has angered Swiss Churches. The three main national Churches and the Network of Evangelical Churches have expressed their discontent and demanded action in a letter to the government…

“Religious communities are particularly incensed that the government no longer considers pastoral care, and therefore the spiritual support of the population, as essential. ‘This is simply incomprehensible,’ the Churches wrote… Alain de Raemy, head of military affairs at the Swiss Bishops’ Conference and auxiliary bishop currently in charge of the diocese of Lugano, describes the government’s decision as ‘a lack of respect for the population.’

“[The] army added: ‘The increasing secularisation of society means that fewer and fewer people feel connected to the Church’s offerings.’ According to the authorities, pastoral care is no longer even ‘an activity essential to maintaining social life’...

“According to the army, nine clergymen have already been recalled since the change in the law. The Swiss Evangelical Network said five additional requests for exemption are expected to be rejected soon. An army spokesperson stated that, in addition to pastors, members of religious orders and monasteries are also affected.”

The godless spirit of war is engulfing the world.

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer:

These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing at worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.

The World Against Trump

The Guardian wrote on July 6:

“Fifa’s willingness to bow to the wishes of Donald Trump by lifting the suspension of the USA striker Florian Balogun for the host side’s World Cup last-16 game against Belgium was criticised strongly on Monday, with European politicians, football associations and the governing body Uefa condemning the decision. In an unprecedented intervention in the middle of a tournament, Uefa accused Fifa of crossing ‘a red line’ by making an ‘incomprehensible and unjustifiable’ decision to rescind Balogun’s automatic one-match ban, which it claimed undermined ‘the integrity of the game and the credibility of the competition’… the US president made three calls to Fifa urging an intervention after the 25-year-old was sent off…

“In a move that will reignite a long-simmering conflict with Fifa, Uefa claimed that the world governing body had ignored its own rulebook for political reasons… The Royal Belgian Football Association expressed its own ‘astonishment’ at the decision, with the national team manager, Rudi Garcia, comparing it to an April Fools’ Day joke. The RBFA has also received strong support from some of its European counterparts. The German Football Association questioned whether the outcome was the result of political interference, and said that Fifa’s credibility was at stake….

“… the England head coach, Thomas Tuchel, criticised the decision following his side’s thrilling 3-2 win against Mexico that secured their place in the last 16, where they will meet Norway in Miami on Saturday. Tuchel said: ‘Where does it end now?…’”

The new designated German coach Juergen Klopp also condemned FIFA’s decision and Trump’s involvement in the strongest terms, saying these two people (Trump and controversial FIFA president Gianni Infantino), “who know nothing about soccer,” should stay out of the game and leave it to us.

Although, objectively speaking, Balogun’s foul did not warrant a red card, Trump’s interference and the about-face by his sycophant Infantino are truly outrageous. Naturally, all of this once again damages the global reputation of the USA—Trump and FIFA lost all respect long ago anyway—as well as that of the American soccer team. Trump even admitted that he did not even know what a red card was.

Europe Must Oust Infantino—and Trump Is Intolerable

Bild Online wrote on July 6:

“It is a scandal the likes of which football has never seen! US President Donald Trump calls FIFA boss Gianni Infantino (a Swiss, Italian, and Lebanese national) and ensures that the suspension of US star Balogun—imposed following a controversial red card—is lifted so he can play in the World Cup again. There is a massive global outcry. The values ​​of the game are being trampled upon. The time for standing by and watching the FIFA boss’s shameless conduct must end now…

“The uprising must… be led by the powerful Europeans. The nations that send 60 to 70 percent of the stars to the tournament—Germany…, England, France, and Spain—along with UEFA, must join forces. Condemn Infantino’s machinations. NOW!… It is time to send a clear signal. And since Infantino is unlikely to leave voluntarily—being far too obsessed with power—UEFA should at least threaten to leave FIFA, and, if necessary, show strength and actually go through with it.

“We must not stand by and watch as the football we all love so much is taken away from us for good! The very thought of Trump and Infantino presenting the World Cup trophy after the final on July 19 is already unbearable.”

In another article, dated July 6, Bild Online commented:

“Have you lost your mind, Mr. President? Please stay out of this! As a football fan, I’m used to a lot by now—World Cups in rogue states, transfer fees completely divorced from reality. But the fact that the most powerful man in the world is now apparently interfering in the World Cup as if it were a video game really takes the cake… Is politics going to step in from now on whenever football matches don’t go the way people want?… Six months before the World Cup, Trump received a peace prize from Infantino that had been cooked up on the spur of the moment. And now, another gift between cronies?”

Wars have started over far less.

“Belgium Avenges the Football World”

Bild Online wrote on July 7:

“The football world was watching this World Cup match very closely! Belgium knocks out the last World Cup host, winning the Round of 16 match against the USA 4–1 and advancing to the quarter-finals against European champions Spain on July 10…

“For the Belgians, this success is a source of special satisfaction—the Europeans are avenging the football world!… Substitute Romelu Lukaku scores the 4–1 goal from ten meters out…—sealing the victory of retribution!”

Trump’s ridiculous stunt achieved nothing—except to once again turn the world against him. But given his incredible arrogance, he seems completely indifferent to that. Perhaps he even enjoys it. In any case, Belgium’s well-deserved victory is a case of poetic justice.

China vs. Germany

Kyiv Post wrote on July 5:

“Chinese and Russian military forces will hold joint naval and air exercises in Chinese territory this July, marking further military cooperation between the two nations, Bloomberg reported… The announcement of the Joint Sea-2026 exercises comes shortly after Germany summoned the Chinese ambassador for urgent diplomatic talks on Friday, July 3. The meeting was prompted by reports that Chinese military facilities secretly trained Russian soldiers last year.

“The German Foreign Ministry confirmed it had requested the meeting following Reuters’ revelations that the training had been personally approved by Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov… ‘Anything that enables Russia to continue its war of aggression against Ukraine also threatens our security,’ a German foreign ministry source told Reuters. ‘China’s decisive and growing support for Russia’s brutal war of aggression directly impacts our security.’

“The Chinese embassy in Germany denied the allegations, labeling them ‘entirely unfounded.’”

China, Russia, North Korea, India, Pakistan and other Far Eastern countries, including Ukraine, will form the biblical “Kings of the East.”

European Censorship and Suppression

EU News wrote on July 2:

“The Court of Justice of the European Union has clarified that the ban on disseminating content from the Russia Today (RT) channelalso applies to those who operate a website that is freely accessible to the public and funded solely by users’ voluntary contributions. The ruling stems from criminal proceedings brought in Germany against three individuals accused of repeatedly publishing videos from the RT Germany channel on a freely accessible website…

“Across the EU, ‘operators’ are not permitted to broadcast RT content following the restrictive measures adopted in the context of Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine… [The Judge was] clarifying that the concept of ‘operator’ encompasses any person responsible, directly or indirectly, for making prohibited content available, even in the context of an unpaid activity. This classification does not depend on either the scope or the duration of the dissemination.

“Only this interpretation, the Court emphasises, makes it possible to prevent the spread of Russian propaganda and to protect public order and the security of the Union…”

The criminal prohibition also includes the dissemination of written articles of RT in Europe. It reminds us of the book-burning mania of the Nazis prior to and during World War II. And even citing from a RT article is prohibited if it is cited as stemming from a “valid or objective news source.”

And who is protecting us from German or European or American propaganda?

How to Keep Trump on Board of NATO?

Deutsche Welle wrote on July 4:

“NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte is working to keep the alliance united and Donald Trump engaged. But disputes over burden sharing, US military commitments, and the Iran war are creating a major test for NATO unity…

“Just days before a crucial NATO summit kicks off in Ankara on July 7, Rutte was doing what has become one of, if not his most, important tasks: keeping Donald Trump on board. The summit will bring together the leaders of NATO’s 32 allied countries at a moment of growing uncertainty amid heightened tensions in the Middle East and Russia’s ongoing war with the Ukraine.

“As the US reviews its military posture in Europe, many European governments are worried about how committed Trump remains to the security alliance.

“An important part of the Ankara summit will also be to secure further support for Ukraine, including potential new billion-dollar funding pledges to strengthen the country’s defense and security.

“According to news agency AFP, NATO’s European members and Canada will pledge to give Ukraine 70 billion euros ($80 billion) in military aid both this year and next at the upcoming Ankara summit. But tensions persist among European allies about sharing the burden.”

Unpredictable!

Politico wrote on July 8:

“President Donald Trump spent his first hours at the NATO summit publicly bashing the alliance and reciting a list of grievances that had allies fearing the worst. Then he went behind closed doors and changed his tune… The president was far more positive on Wednesday, when he gave a final 30-minute speech… The shift was a notable about-face for a president who has threatened repeatedly to leave the alliance — and came after European leaders heaped praise on Trump for helping ensure allies boosted their defense spending. But those in attendance weren’t clear what specifically changed his stance….

“His remarks represented a sharp turn from his condemnations on Tuesday and Wednesday when he lambasted NATO for failing to help with the Iran war and bristled at Spain’s refusal to spend more on defense. Trump went so far as to call for the U.S. and other countries to cut ties with Spain….

“The turnaround also underscores why European leaders remain on tenterhooks around the president, who relishes his own unpredictability. America’s carefully crafted diplomatic statements are increasingly a relic and what Trump says at one meeting may not represent his views at the next… But the tension is far from settled…”

No Future for NATO

ntv wrote on July 4:

“For the former Green Foreign Minister [Joschka Fischer], the transatlantic alliance is on the verge of collapse… and, in that event, he advocates for a European alliance with its own nuclear umbrella… Fischer said the only alternative is… the Europeanization of NATO…

“However, he spoke out emphatically against a national German nuclear umbrella: ‘For historical reasons, that would be very counterproductive.’… It is only because of the US presence that no one has had to worry until now about the potential resurgence of aggressive German nationalism. ‘Without the US, the situation changes. That is why we are already facing a potential loss of trust in Germany,’ the former foreign minister warned.

“In this context, Fischer criticized the German government’s communication—such as the announcement that the Bundeswehr should become Europe’s strongest conventional army. ‘I have doubts about whether that needs to be trumpeted so loudly. We must take our neighbors’ concerns seriously. We need a sense of our history and an understanding of the reactions it triggers in others.’ What is needed, he said, is sensitive communication—something he does not currently see coming from the German government.”

Germany has never been known for sensitive communication.

Germany a Major Military Power

Caliber wrote on July 6:

“Former NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has welcomed Germany’s growing defence role within the alliance, saying the country is on its way to becoming a major military power…Stoltenberg also cautioned against taking NATO’s long-term future for granted, saying the alliance’s continued existence cannot be guaranteed…

“Stoltenberg said European NATO countries have begun investing more heavily in defence, pointing to Germany as a notable example…”

Insane Rearmament Spending

Cryptobriefing wrote on July 6:

“Europe just decided it’s done relying on American security guarantees. The continent’s response: borrow an almost incomprehensible amount of money and start building weapons.

“The ReArm Europe initiative, unveiled on March 4, 2025 by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, aims to mobilize nearly €800 billion across EU member states to strengthen defense capabilities through 2030. Germany, the economic engine of the continent, is at the center of this shift, reforming its constitutionally enshrined debt brake to unlock potentially €400 billion in additional defense spending.

“The €800 billion figure isn’t Germany alone borrowing that sum. It’s a pan-European mobilization effort combining national budgets, joint procurement programs, and EU-level borrowing. Of that total, roughly €150 billion will be borrowed directly at the EU level to support member states’ needs for air defense systems, missiles, and drones…

“The obvious winners are European defense contractors. Companies involved in missile production, drone manufacturing, air defense systems, and military technology are positioned to absorb a massive wave of procurement spending.”

With these weapons, millions upon millions of people will be killed.

USA Too Close to Turkey?

Israel Today wrote on July 6:

“Concerns grow in Jerusalem that Donald Trump may grant Turkey military concessions, thereby weakening Israel’s strategic position in the Middle East... The unusually harsh statement by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan that Israel has become ‘a burden humanity can no longer bear’ is no longer being viewed in Jerusalem as merely another verbal exchange between Israel and Turkey. Rather, Israel sees it as part of a broader escalation in relations…

“Israel’s foreign policy and security establishment understands that the decisive question is no longer what Erdoğan or his foreign minister says, but what concessions Trump may grant Turkey as part of his efforts to draw Ankara closer to Washington once again.”

Trump’s Crazy Commitments Towards Turkey

ABC News wrote on July 7:

“President Donald Trump, during the first day of the NATO Summit in Ankara on Tuesday, said he will consider allowing Turkey to buy American F-35 fighter jets — despite possessing Russian-made air defense systems, which his first administration sanctioned the country for six years ago…

“In a 2020 release, Trump’s former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said those systems ‘would endanger the security of U.S. military technology and personnel and provide substantial funds to Russia’s defense sector, as well as Russian access to the Turkish armed forces and defense industry.’…

“Trump later said the U.S. had an ‘obligation’ to maintain the engines of planes Turkey has bought because Turkey, he said, has been ‘more helpful’ on Iran than other NATO countries. Trump again lashed out at other NATO allies for their reluctance to join U.S. military operations in reopening and patrolling of the critical Strait of Hormuz. ‘I was very disappointed with NATO,’ Trump said. ‘And frankly, if it weren’t held in Turkey, where my friend happens to be a very strong leader, a very strong person, it’s possible that I wouldn’t have attended… Italy turned us down, and Germany turned us down and France turned us down… They’ve [The Turks have] been extraordinary in many ways with respect to our relationship, including trying to end the war with Iran, or whatever you call it, it’s not even a war, it’s a military operation, it’s a denuclearization, that’s really what it is, of Iran…”

What absolute nonsense. Not a war with Iran? And Trump’s good friend Erdogan—an Antisemite, mass murderer and autocrat—helped the USA? Turkey will turn against the USA and Israel. Trump is building a Frankenstein monster.

Erdogan—the Leader of the Muslim World?

Politico wrote on July 7:

“Erdoğan remains an uncomfortable peacekeeper for much of NATO. At home, he has spent the last year methodically dismantling what remains of Turkey’s political opposition…  and deploying riot police to storm the headquarters of the country’s main opposition party…. He also maintains an open line of communication with Moscow even as European allies demand a harder line on Russia. Europe doesn’t love any of it… What appalls Europe about Erdoğan doesn’t appear to bother Trump,…

“… he is more than the president of Turkey. He is the leader of the Muslim world. He is the key interlocutor between North and South, East and West, the inheritor not of Ataturk but of the Ottoman sultans,’ said one former senior administration official who served in both the first Trump and Biden administrations… ‘This is a role history and destiny have granted him, and no one else in the world has this kind of presentational ability.’”

Trump’s and Netanyahu’s Lost Iran War

Former British diplomat Alastair Crooke of the Strategic Culture Foundation wrote on July 6, 2026:

“The prediction of a popular uprising in Iran has proved to have been a strategic mistake of such bearing that per contra, it catalysed a stronger, more defiant and assertive Republic…. now we have civil war inside the White House over Iran – Vance vs Rubio… For now, the oil coming out of the Persian Gulf is not heading to the U.S…. even were tankers to head to the U.S. now, the U.S. would still face a serious deficit of sour crude until 23 August at the earliest, given the 42 days voyage time to the U.S….

“The expected triumph of Israel over the Middle East has failed. The connected revolutionary war on Russia and the siege of China are faltering also…

“… some in Israel – including senior military figures – are already lamenting Israel’s assassination of the Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, on 28 February 2026 – ‘At least we knew where we stood with Khamenei’, a senior Israeli military source told Ben Caspit. ‘[Khamenei] had red lines, he had a strategy, and he was sober to some extent. There was a certain stability to the Iranian madness. The current leadership is much less stable, far more extreme and unpredictable. They are intoxicated by power and hubris, convinced that they defeated both America and Israel.’”

Hezbollah Will Not Be Disarmed

The Ron Paul Institute wrote on July 3:

“Mint Press News posted there is a possibility US ground troops will be sent to Lebanon to tackle the impossible task of eliminating Hezbollah… In addition, The Washington Post reported on June 30 the US military has a plan to put ‘troops on the ground’ in Lebanon to assist the Lebanese military and Israel disarm Hezbollah….

“Hezbollah cannot be permanently dismantled without regime change in Iran and dismantling its domestic financial system and political power… In the Lebanese general election of 2022, Hezbollah secured fifteen seats in the Parliament… Hezbollah is the most prominent of Lebanon’s political movements, and has long been the most powerful in the country…

‘On June 30, Hezbollah reiterated its opposition to the framework agreement. Senior official Mahmoud Qamati characterized the accord as ‘stillborn,’ cautioning that the resistance movement ‘will not permit its implementation’ and will ‘oppose it using all available means… Despite a stillborn or deadlocked framework, France and Italy are preparing to deploy an international coalition force to southern Lebanon, supported by the United States… The U.S. and the EU are funneling millions of dollars into the Lebanese military, with the EU recently adopting a EUR 100 million assistance measure to help the state restore its authority…

“Israel, the United States, France, and Italy will not be able to disarm Hezbollah…”

And Europe supports the Lebanese army. The conflict between the USA, Israel and Europe is getting stronger.

Iran’s New Leadership: Younger, Savvier, Ruthless and Even More Hard-Line

Reddit wrote on July 24:

“After surviving months of strikes by the U.S. and Israel, the Iranian regime has emerged emboldened… Iran ‘might be weaker when it comes to its economic situation, its industries, some of its strategic capabilities,’ said Raz Zimmt, head of Iran research at the Institute for National Security Studies in Israel. ‘But the bottom line is that we are facing a new, bolder, self-confident Iran.’

“Even those perceived as moderates by the Trump administration were shaped by years spent in security agencies or war zones. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, speaker of the Iranian parliament and a main representative in peace talks with the United States, served as an IRGC commander during the Iran-Iraq war.

“By contrast, Iranian leaders with civilian backgrounds largely have been sidelined as part of the war-driven shake-up, officials and experts said. They include President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who previously led talks with the United States but has seen his position and influence diminished. The swift consolidation of power by loyalists contradicts claims by President Donald Trump that the war accomplished ‘regime change’ and empowered pragmatists willing to acquiesce to U.S. demands.”

Trump lost this war big time. Note the next article.

One of the Worst Foreign Policy Moves

Ron Paul wrote on the Ron Paul Institute on July 6:

“President Trump was reportedly ‘shocked’ to see many thousands of Iranians in the street mourning at the funeral of the country’s late leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, over the weekend… ‘I thought they hated him,’ Trump said of the murdered religious leader of Iran. Not only did the Iranian people not rise up to replace their leadership with one friendly to Washington, but the society seems to have become even more cohesive and patriotic….

“In Soccer when you kick the ball into your own goal, it is referred to as an ‘own-goal.’ That is what President Trump achieved with his attack on Iran on February 28th. In fact, it was not just one ‘own-goal,’ but a series of them. The blunder will likely go down in American history as one of the worst foreign policy moves in our history.”

Peace Deal Over

The Huffington Post wrote on July 8:

“Just weeks after admitting he agreed to a peace deal with Iran to avoid a global economic calamity, President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the deal was ‘over’ and disparaged the same leaders he recently praised as moderate and reasonable as ‘scum’ who could not be trusted…

“His comments came after the U.S. military announced another round of attacks on Iranian targets around the Persian Gulf, which were in response to Iranian attacks on oil and natural gas tankers trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz using a channel not approved by Iran.”

How Trump Unites the Catholic Church

New Lines Magazine wrote on July 3:

“For the first time, a sitting U.S. president publicly questioned the legitimacy of a pope’s election. And Pope Leo XIV refuses to back down from confronting him. The conflict between perhaps the two most famous Americans on the planet has no historical precedent, not least because Leo XIV is the first American pope. ‘It is an event that evokes the historical clashes between the papacy and the empire,’ Giovanni Maria Vian, historian and former editor of L’Osservatore Romano, the Holy See’s daily newspaper, told New Lines. He described the confrontation between the pope and the U.S. president as ‘unprecedented’ …

“Half a year ago, shortly before the first anniversary of Leo’s papacy, a senior Vatican diplomat was summoned to the Pentagon. This was not a courtesy call. Some sources inside the Holy See described the meeting as a confrontation: U.S. defense officials allegedly warned that Washington had the military power to act as it pleased and that the church had better take its side. That meeting marked the beginning of a rupture without precedent in the modern era. President Donald Trump has since questioned the legitimacy of the pope’s election, posted an AI-generated image of himself as Jesus, and declared he is ‘not a fan of Pope Leo.’ Leo, for his part, has said he has ‘no fear of the Trump administration’ and has continued to speak out….

“The relationship between the U.S. and the Holy See is at its lowest point since it was formalized in 1984. But what Trump does not seem to understand is that his outbursts are proving remarkably helpful in achieving one of the key objectives that led to Leo’s election. The new pope after Francis was expected to have two priorities: to prevent a world war and to reunite the Catholic community. Leo was elected in part to calm the disputes between conservative U.S. cardinals and the Vatican. It is no coincidence that his election came above all at the behest of American cardinals anxious to restore Vatican finances….

“Trump’s insults are helping Leo to effect reconciliation within the deeply fractured American Catholic Church…. Since the day Trump accused Leo of being ‘terrible for foreign policy,’ America’s bishops have rallied around Leo in ways they never did with Francis.” 

And so, Trump is inadvertently fulfilling biblical prophecy once again, without having any clue that he does.

America’s Marriage Laws

Israel 365 News wrote on May 5:

“Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce got married Friday night at Madison Square Garden, and the man who sealed the deal was not a priest, not a judge, not a chaplain flown in from a Manhattan cathedral. It was Adam Sandler, star of Billy Madison and The Waterboy, presiding over one of the most-watched weddings of the decade with all the rabbinic authority…

“Here is the part that ought to make headlines of its own. According to the state of New York, Sandler did not need a seminary degree, a house of worship, or a single day of religious training to legally marry two of the most famous people on the planet. Any adult can apply for a One-Day Marriage Officiant License in New York State and stand at the altar, no questions asked. Sandler filled out a form. That is the entire ordination process….

“… the ease with which American law hands out marriage authority for an afternoon says everything about how far the modern wedding has drifted from the Bible’s own definition of the institution.”

Sandler, a Jew, officiated over a “Christian” wedding.

Adding Trump to Mount Rushmore?

Daily Mail wrote on July 4:

“Donald Trump has long boasted that his record is deserving enough to be added to Mount Rushmore, but the President seems more convinced now than ever as he drops hints about his inclusion on the historic monument…

“Trump shared an AI-generated video depicting a gold-plated engraving of Mount Rushmore with his face added to the far right of the monument, alongside Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Theodore Roosevelt…. The Trump administration also heavily hinted at Trump’s addition to the monument, handing out cookies on Air Force One showing his face etched in the mountain alongside Lincoln.”

What record? Trump’s haughtiness and pride are truly remarkable.

Repeating One of America’s Ugliest Chapters?

NPR wrote on July 4:

“President Donald Trump ushered in the 250th anniversary of American independence on Friday with soaring rhetoric about American exceptionalism before veering into a darkly political speech with warnings about a sinister threat of communism that evoked one of the country’s ugliest chapters. ‘Communism is a mortal threat to American liberty,’ he said from Mount Rushmore. ‘It is the greatest threat to our country, including World War I, World War II, Pearl Harbor or even 9/11.’…

“Trump’s language evoked the Red Scare of the 1950s, when alleged communists were persecuted and blacklisted from jobs across America, from Washington to Hollywood….”

This was indeed one of the darkest chapters in America’s history, and Trump’s revoking ofthis ugly and inhumane conduct is indeed a deeply alarming development.

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer:

These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing at worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.

Fighting Continues

The Independent wrote on June 27:

“Iran has said it has struck targets linked to US forces, as each side continued to accuse the other of violating last week’s agreement meant to end the four-month-old war. Iran’s foreign ministry did not identify the locations of its ‘defensive’ attacks, which it said were a response to US strikes on its coastal surveillance facilities. Later, Bahrain,  which hosts the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, condemned what it said was an Iranian drone attack on its territory as a flagrant violation of its sovereignty. A tanker also reported being struck by an unidentified projectile in the Strait of Hormuz…

“The US military had carried out strikes on Iranian missile and drone storage sites in the wake of Donald Trump accusing Iran of a ‘foolish violation’ of the ceasefire agreement, claiming Tehran fired at least four kamikaze drones at ships in the Strait of Hormuz… He did not name the ship, but it came hours after a Taiwanese-operated ship was fired on by Iran…”

Daily Mail had reported earlier on June 25:

“Iran launched an explosive-laden suicide drone at a cargo ship transiting the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, endangering the regime’s fragile truce with the US after Donald Trump had declared the waterway safe for oil tankers.  US officials told the Washington Post that a Singaporean ship was attacked by an Iranian Shahed drone on Thursday evening… Prior to the attack, Iran issued warnings through regime media to oil tankers, cautioning that routes through the strait were restricted and that other routes were ‘completely dangerous.’…

“Although the President has said the strait is reopened following the ceasefire, only 50 vessels passed through the waterway on Wednesday.”

Tolls for Strait of Hormuz?

The Wall Street Journal wrote on June 25:

“Iran is pushing to make billions of dollars from the Strait of Hormuz as the regime positions itself to manage the global oil artery it severed at the start of the war. 

“The Islamic Republic estimates that charging for security, safety and environmental services in the strait would bring in $40 billion a year in revenue for states involved, according to officials familiar with the matter. The idea, if implemented, would bring Tehran cash flow and control that it didn’t command before the war.”

So, Iran is still determined to charge for tolls, in spite of Trump’s repeated “warnings.”

Talks Off Again Amidst Ongoing Fighting

CNBC wrote on June 28:

“Talks to end the war in Iran are on hold after the U.S. struck Iranian military targets in retaliation for Tehran’s latest strikes on shipping vessels in the Strait of Hormuz…. The diplomatic freeze comes after the exchange of fire prompted U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday to again threaten Iran with annihilation following U.S. attacks on Iranian military targets in retaliation for Tehran’s latest strikes on shipping in the strategically vital waterway. Iran’s neighbors, Kuwait and Bahrain, reported incoming missiles and drones overnight.

“The U.S. military attacked a number of Iranian targets after a commercial tanker in the Strait of Hormuz was reported to have been struck by a projectile on Saturday….  The ship was transiting the strait with more than two million barrels of crude oil…”

Subsequently, both parties agreed once more to halt strikes ahead of Tuesday (June 30) talks. These “agreements” become a shame and a farce.

Sanhedrin: Iran Deal Will Cost America Dearly

Israel 365 News wrote on June 24:

“On 7 Tammuz 5786, June 23, 2026, the nascent Sanhedrin, the Jewish court reconstituted in Israel after a 1,600-year absence, issued a formal ruling addressed to the American people, warning that the US-Iran memorandum of understanding signed in Switzerland is built on illusion and places the United States in existential danger… The message: America is making one of the greatest strategic miscalculations in its history…

“The Sanhedrin does not limit its concern to the Iranian threat alone. The court warns that China, Russia, and North Korea are watching American decision-making with interest, and what they see is weakness… The court further warns that the imaginary peace carries an internal American dimension. It predicts that armed militia groups operating within the United States will see the instability created by this agreement as a signal to act…

“The Sanhedrin’s ruling concludes with a direct call to every Jew in America to make aliyah, the Jewish return to the Land of Israel, immediately, before the situation deteriorates beyond recovery. 

“The nascent Sanhedrin, reestablished in 2004, has not achieved universal acceptance within the Orthodox world. Its authority is contested. But its warnings have a way of landing in the middle of real events… Whether or not one accepts the court’s halachic standing, its geopolitical reading is not easily dismissed…”

Also, Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem has said that the Israel-Lebanon framework agreement signed in Washington is “null”, a “humiliation” and a surrender of sovereignty…”

“There Is Nothing to Celebrate, Mr. Trump!”

Bild Online wrote on June 28:

“Four months ago today, US President Donald Trump began the war against Iran… Iran is trumpeting the claim that the agreement documents the USA’s defeat! The terrible thing, I fear, is that the mullahs are right. Of course, Trump is celebrating himself for ending the war he unleashed himself. But what has he actually achieved in these four months? Nothing. Nothing for the people of Iran, who have been subjugated by the mullahs’ terror regime and murdered by the thousands.

“Tehran’s rulers still have their highly enriched uranium; they still have their vast arsenal of missiles and drones; the Revolutionary Guards are more firmly in the saddle than ever. Sanctions are set to be lifted, and frozen assets released. And the Strait of Hormuz—a shipping route vital to the global economy—is controlled by Iran. The fact that the ‘Supreme Mullah’ Khamenei was eliminated by the Americans on the very first day of the war is certainly no cause for jubilation. Now, the ‘Junior Mullah’—his son—is simply in charge.

“We are all paying the price for Trump’s resounding defeat—at the gas pump, at the supermarket, everywhere. Inflation has risen, and the economy is even weaker than feared. This is the ‘Horror of Hormuz’: supply chains are disrupted, insurance premiums are climbing, oil facilities are damaged, and cargo ships (along with nearly 11,000 seafarers) are stranded. Goods worth nearly $125 billion have recently been backed up in the strait. And the question remains whether Iran will demand transit fees in the future.

“I call this—since everyone is currently caught up in World Cup fever—an own goal of historic proportions. Of course, Trump can claim that the US wasn’t defeated militarily. But neither was Iran. And there are no draws in war…

“I simply ask myself: What was it all for? Since February 28, 2026, the world hasn’t become a whit safer, but it has definitely become more expensive. The man who so desperately wanted the Nobel Peace Prize (but only received the ‘Mickey Mouse’ version from FIFA boss Infantino) was determined to make history. Now he has a story: the 80-year-old looking out the window and realizing he doesn’t like the world he sees. Thanks for nothing, Mr. Trump.”

The author is right. Trump’s war has been a terrible defeat and humiliation for the USA of unparalleled proportions.

Trump a Liability For Right-Wing European Parties

Politico wrote on June 23:

“For Europe’s populist right, U.S. President Donald Trump’s embrace was once seen as a political asset. Not anymore…

“Even as the Trump administration’s leading figures have thrown their weight behind Europe’s nationalist parties, the U.S. president’s embrace has become a ‘poisoned gift,’ said Jean-Yves Dormagen, president of the Cluster17 polling institute. ‘Trump is really creating a problem for these leaders,’ he stated. While their electorates are divided over Trump, they increasingly see him as a threat, he added….

“In a POLITICO poll conducted by Public First in June, only 31 percent of AfD voters… agreed that the U.S. is ‘a reliable ally.’… In the U.K., Trump has become a liability for Nigel Farage’s right-wing populist Reform UK party… Meanwhile, in Germany, the Iran war has aggravated a crisis of confidence between Trump and the far right, which had already been building before the conflict.”

Nobody likes Trump.

Bolton Pleads Guilty to Politically Motivated Charge

Daily Mail wrote on June 26:

“President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser John Bolton… pleaded guilty on Friday to a single charge of retaining classified information…  Prosecutors said Friday that Bolton ‘abused his position of trust’… by sharing roughly 1,000 pages of classified information in the form of ‘diaries’ with his wife and daughter. Bolton then retained the documents related to national defense at his home in Montgomery County, Maryland, after leaving the White House…

“The investigation into Bolton’s handling of classified materials moved forward in part during the Biden administration, and career prosecutors in the US attorney’s office signed off on the charges…”

So Bolton is guilty? Guilty of sharing unclassified documents with his wife and his daughter… not to a foreign power! And retaining them? What about Trump and Biden who all retained unclassified documents illegally? What about Hillary Clinton who destroyed unclassified documents? When will they be held accountable?

Fauci Subpoenaed to Testify

Chemistry World wrote on June 26:

“Anthony Fauci… has been subpoenaed by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee’s chairman Rand Paul. Fauci… is being accused of manipulating intelligence on the origins of the pandemic and lying to Congress to cover up alleged wrongdoing at the agency. He is expected to testify before the committee in July….

“‘Fauci was the behind-the-scenes adviser who, with his hand-picked experts, pushed the [intelligence community] to endorse a natural, animal origin to hide his dangerous research,’ Gabbard’s office stated. In a statement, it said that the NIH, under Fauci’s leadership, provided millions in funding for gain-of-function research on bat coronaviruses at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China, falsely claiming that it ‘is now widely viewed as the source of the unintentional lab leak that sparked the pandemic’….

“To protect Fauci and other officials from political persecution by the incoming Trump administration President Biden took the unusual step of granting them pre-emptive, ‘full and unconditional’ pardons… before he left office in January 2025.”

The legality and constitutionality of such preemptive pardons is being widely questioned. However, the real origin and source of the virus spreading the disease is still up for debate.

Tucker Carlson Attacks Trump

Daily Mail wrote on June 26:

“[Tucker Carlson] compared Trump to a boxer who was all talk and taunting but ‘you don’t have to worry about’ when they make threats, before sending him a blunt message… Carlson appears to have defected from Trump in the months since the war began. In an April 15 clip from the Tucker Carlson Show, which is the former Fox host’s popular independent podcast, Carlson became biblical in his criticism.  

“’Here’s a leader who’s mocking the gods of his ancestors, mocking the god of gods, and exalting himself above them,’ Carlson said in the clip.  ‘Could this be the Antichrist?’ he then said. ‘Well, who knows?’…

“Carlson’s stark abandonment of Trump has poured kerosene on the fire already engulfing right-wing circles.”

Trump’s Bizarre Interaction With a Ghost

Daily Mail wrote on July 1:

“Trump’s bizarre interaction with dead president shocks viewers…Donald Trump interacted with an AI-powered ghost of Theodore Roosevelt, sparking immediate concern online over the surreal encounter… The President… asked if the fake AI-Roosevelt believed building the Panama Canal his ‘greatest achievements.’ ‘The canal stands as one of my proudest battles, no question. But greatness is a strange thing,’ the AI-powered ghost told Trump …

“Trump has often compared himself to Roosevelt, and notably threatened to seize the Panama Canal during the early days of his second term. Speaking at the Roosevelt Library, Trump reaffirmed his commitment to expanding US control of the waterway…”

Weird, shocking and frightening. Who knows with whom Trump was communicating?

Slimy Trump Deals

The California Post Editorial Board wrote on June 29:

“It was bad when the Bidens did it, and it’s just as bad when the Trumps do it. Insider deals, finders’ fees and backdoor introductions to family members are business-as-usual in Third World banana republics, but these slimy practices have now been normalized in the White House, to the shame of the nation…. Eric and Donald Trump Jr., sons of President Trump, and Kyle and Brandon Lutnick, sons of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, are tied to a billion-dollar tungsten mining deal that the US government is financing in Kazakhstan…. The Trumps sons… are part-owners or investors in companies neck-deep in a key defense contract to mine tungsten reserves in Central Asia. It stinks to high heaven.

“If a president’s family making bank from obscure resource companies in the former Soviet Union sounds familiar, maybe that’s because Hunter Biden’s lucrative connection to Burisma — a Ukrainian gas company — was a major scandal in the 2020 election and beyond. Republicans, including Donald Trump, were justifiably outraged at the obvious influence-peddling…. True, no one thought of Trump & Co. as unblemished saints, but who would’ve thunk that he, his kin and associates were going to use the Biden family template — virtually backing up the truck and stealing the carpets and silver — as a model of ethical behavior?…

“Democrats in Congress are pressing for an investigation into Trump sweetheart deals. If they take the House in the midterms, these hearings are surely coming.”

Incredible Decision on Pesticides

The New York Times wrote on June 25:

“The Supreme Court on Thursday sided with the manufacturer of the weedkiller Roundup, overturning a jury award for a Missouri man who claimed the widely used herbicide caused cancer in a decision that could have sweeping impacts on thousands of other Americans who similarly claim the product sickened them… Justice Kavanaugh wrote that the Missouri case would ‘require a cancer warning on Roundup’s label,’ which would directly conflict with the label required by the federal Environmental Protection Agency. Because of this conflict, he wrote, federal law ‘expressly pre-empts’ the Missouri man’s claim.

“The dispute focused on a single case, a $1.25 million award for John Durnell, a gardener in St. Louis who had used Roundup for decades and claimed that years of exposure to the product led him to develop non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a blood cancer. Mr. Durnell claimed that the company had failed to warn consumers of the dangers of the product. The ramifications of the decision could be enormous, potentially jeopardizing thousands of lawsuits pending in state and federal courts against Bayer, the German company that acquired Roundup’s original maker, Monsanto, in 2018…

“The Environmental Protection Agency, which is in charge of labeling pesticides throughout the country, has determined Roundup is safe. Bayer claims that the finding, which allows Roundup to be sold without a warning label, should override claims by Mr. Durnell and others that under state laws, they were injured by the product. The Trump administration joined the case on Bayer’s side, reversing the position taken by the Biden administration. The Trump administration’s support for the Roundup manufacturer has been controversial among the Make America Healthy Again movement, whose activists had largely supported the president’s political rise…

“Roundup, which was created by Monsanto in the 1970s, is one of the most popular weedkillers in the world. But concerns over one of its active ingredients — a chemical called glyphosate that is absorbed by plants, traveling into their roots and blocking an enzyme used for their growth — have prompted one of the biggest waves of class-action lawsuits in U.S. history.

“Evidence in lab animals, along with more limited evidence in humans, has shown a link between glyphosate and cancer, and a 2015 report by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer classified it as ‘probably carcinogenic in humans.’”

The Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to determine that Roundup is safe, is perceived to be wrong. Still, the Supreme Court thinks it is bound by a wrong decision! Everybody knows (or should know) that these pesticides are harmful. The stupidity of man is just mind-boggling.

“Trump’s Most Ruthless Immigration Weapons Unlocked as Supreme Court Hands Him Stunning Double Victory”

The Daily Mail wrote on  June 25:

“The Supreme Court on Thursday handed Donald Trump two rare wins in a huge victory for his strict immigration agenda. The Court cleared the way for Trump to revoke temporary protections for hundreds of thousands of Haitian and Syrian nationals living in the United States – siding with the president on one of the most closely watched and consequential immigration cases this term. And the Justices also decided to give Trump more authority to limit asylum seekers in the US coming from Mexico.

“The court ruled 6-3 to grant Trump administration’s request to revive a controversial ‘metering’ policy that allows federal immigration officers to turn away asylum seekers at the US-Mexico border. The high court ruled 6-3 that the courts cannot review the Haitian and Syrian nationals’ non-constitutional claims, because the TPS statute bars judicial review. ….

“Justices ruled in both cases along ideological lines, and, in a rare move, Justice Sonia Sotomayor responded to the asylum case by reading aloud a summary of her dissent from the bench…. Thursday’s ruling… could make hundreds of thousands of individuals in US suddenly eligible for deportation, including many who have been living and working in the country legally for years.”

Bad decisions by a conservative majority strictly along ideological lines. Why would a nominally independent Court act this way?

Bad Consequences For America of Supreme Court Decision

The Huffington Post wrote on June 27:

“In the hours since the Supreme Court announced it would allow the Trump administration to end temporary protected status [TPS] for immigrants from Haiti and Syria, the potential consequences have ricocheted through American communities… Without further intervention from lower courts, about 400,000 Haitians and Syrians, or about a third of the 1.3 million total people with TPS, will have just about three months before they are eligible for deportation — three months to figure out what to do with the lives they have built in the United States, whether to leave behind U.S.-born children or bring them along to dangerous nations…

“But the impact will also be felt by the nation as a whole… There are at least 740,000 TPS holders in the U.S. workforce, with many holding jobs in critical fields like healthcare, childcare and elder care… More than 20% of Haitians in the nation work in healthcare… Many TPS holders, Yoon said, are in the ‘direct care’ sector, like those who provide long-term care services to people with disabilities and the elderly…

“These fields are already facing a massive workforce shortage which will only be exacerbated by the loss of a swath of workers…

“TPS holders contribute over $29 billion annually to the American economy, and that they pay almost $8 billion in federal, payroll, state and local taxes. Haitian and Syrian TPS holders alone contribute $4.4 billion to the U.S. economy annually… Some cities may be decimated if TPS holders are forced to leave the U.S.”

The decisions are plain stupid and inhumane.

Supreme Court Upholds Constitutional Birthright Citizenship

ABC News wrote on July 1:

“President Donald Trump brushed off his loss after the Supreme Court rejected his attempt to end birthright citizenship– rooted in the 14th Amendment — on Tuesday, saying the decision is ‘too bad for the Country’ and insisting that he can ‘easily make it up in Congress through Legislation.’

“The court ruled in a 6-3 decision to reject Trump’s executive order that he issued on the first day of his presidency, with Chief Justice John Roberts writing for the majority, ‘Citizenship, then and now, was the right to have rights — to freely participate in our political community. The Framers of the Fourteenth Amendment extended that promise to every free-born person in this land. We keep that promise today.’

“Trump responded to the court’s decision with a post on his social media platform, writing, ‘The Supreme Court upheld Birthright Citizenship, which is too bad for our Country, but we can easily make it up in Congress through Legislation, with the support of the President, that has now been determined during this process,’ he wrote on his social media platform.

“Birthright citizenship is rooted in both the Constitution and 1940 federal citizenship law. But even if the law were to be changed, this would likely be challenged in court on constitutional grounds with the possibility of the issue making its way back to the Supreme Court…

“House Speaker Mike Johnson… acknowledged a constitutional amendment would be ‘very complicated’ and a ‘many-years-long process,’ but said he thought it was likely the only way forward.  Amending the Constitution would take a two-thirds majority in both chambers of Congress [or] ratification by three-quarters of the states.”

This will never happen. Trump lost this case for good.

Unfounded MAGA Anger

“Amy Coney Barrett, taking office in 2020, was the final of three justices appointed by the President during his first term. But she sided with Chief Justice John Roberts, also a Republican appointee, and the Court’s three liberals to overrule the dissent of justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch. 

“Justice  Brett Kavanaugh, Trump’s second appointee, concurred with the judgment but disagreed with the majority’s argument.”

We feel that the Supreme Court decision was right. Three conservatives sided against Trump. The ruling is a major defeat for Trump. Any MAGA anger is unjustified.                                          

US Threatens to Cut Gas Supplies to EU

Big News Network reported on June 26:

“The US has warned the EU that American liquefied natural gas (LNG) could be diverted elsewhere unless Brussels eases planned methane emissions regulations…

“The EU replaced much of its Russian pipeline gas with American LNG following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022 and the imposition of sanctions on Moscow. The shift made the US the bloc’s largest external gas supplier and was hailed by EU leaders as a step toward greater energy security. Europe’s energy crisis has worsened since then, with gas and electricity prices soaring to record highs….

“US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said American exports would ‘flow somewhere else’ if the EU refused to change the rules, which are due to take effect in 2027…. The US has joined Qatar, Algeria and Nigeria in urging the EU to amend or delay the legislation. Exporters argue there is no practical way to comply…

“EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen rejected calls to weaken the legislation, insisting the bloc would not compromise its environmental standards despite pressure from suppliers…”

Brussels’ environmental regulations ARE ridiculous to a large extent. The relationship between the USA and Europe will never recover.

No Alaska Agreement?

Pravda wrote on June 26:

“Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has criticised US Secretary of State Marco Rubio for saying that no agreements on ending the war in Ukraine were reached during the meeting between US President Donald Trump and Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin in Anchorage…

“The Russian foreign minister also said he wanted to clarify the US role in efforts to resolve Russia’s war against Ukraine following Rubio’s remarks. In this context, Lavrov claimed that ahead of the Anchorage summit, US envoy Steve Witkoff had brought Moscow a proposal from President Trump for a settlement to the war…

“‘In Anchorage… Putin, looking at Witkoff, who was also present, began going through the American proposals point by point. After each point, in the presence of Trump and Secretary of State Rubio, he asked Witkoff whether he had correctly presented the ideas he had brought to Moscow before the Anchorage meeting. Each time, Witkoff answered in the affirmative,’ Lavrov said… ‘If one side – in this case the United States – puts forward proposals on a settlement and on how to approach this crisis, and the other side agrees with those proposals, then saying there was no agreement seems, frankly, not very sophisticated,’ Lavrov added.”

Witkoff is not considered to be a sophisticated negotiator either. He is certainly no match for Putin, nor has he (or Jared Kushner) been a match for Iran.

England’s New PM?

The Daily Mail wrote on June 30:

“Andy Burnham insisted Britain needs to go back to the 1970s today as he put the ‘wealthy’ South on notice for his Downing Street takeover. Delivering his first big speech in Manchester, the PM-in-waiting… argued that ‘trickle down’ economics must be ditched and replaced with a Left-wing concept of ‘good growth’. That included more state ownership…

“He suggested his Government would copy German post-reunification legislation dictating that all states must have ‘equivalent living standards’ [which turned out to be a colossal fiasco]…

“The presumptive PM has already had to conduct a series of humiliating U-turns. They include dropping a promise of £10billion compensation for so-called Waspi women within hours, and admitting he will not try to rejoin the EU…

“In a worrying sign for Mr Burnham, YouGov research released today showed his popularity already dropping. Some 43 per cent had a negative view, against 32 per cent who were positive. That is seven points worse than immediately after his by-election victory…

“Mr Burnham has previously backed a property tax that will punish those with more valuable homes, as well as an increase in capital gains tax and a new ‘death tax’ to fund social care… Analysis has found that a ‘wealth tax’ being pushed by senior Labour figures would actually wipe billions of pounds off Treasury revenues…”

Pure Madness: Britain Tests Long-Range Missile For Ukraine to Bombard Moscow

Uncut-News wrote on June 23:

“Ukraine is making it clear that it aims to ‘take the war to Russia’—and that is precisely what lies behind the recent series of massive Ukrainian drone attacks on Moscow, which have caused devastating damage, particularly to energy processing facilities and regional air traffic. The fact that… NATO supports such actions against a nuclear-armed superpower is madness.

“Beyond covert support for target acquisition, the United Kingdom is now adopting a more open stance, having reportedly just tested missiles with a range of 300 miles that are slated for delivery to the Ukrainian military. The British missile platform has the capability to deliver a 500-pound warhead all the way to Moscow…

“The Ministry of Defence (MoD) called on companies to develop long-range weapons capable of flying at speeds exceeding 370 miles per hour, costing around £400,000 apiece, and capable of being produced at a rate of 20 units per month…

“The open and blunt admission that these future systems could soon be deployed to directly attack the Russian capital would represent an insane escalation by NATO. Once NATO and Western systems begin destroying buildings in Moscow, direct military retaliation by Russia against Europe suddenly becomes a much more imminent reality. Once again, this is a case of sheer madness and insanity on the part of some of Europe’s most aggressive political leaders.”

Europe is provoking Russia needlessly. It shows that Europe IS willing to go all the way. Does Europe really want “total war”?

What If Putin Were To Invade Eastern Europe?

The Guardian wrote on June 27:

“A nightmare scenario has been playing on eastern European minds with increasing intensity since Donald Trump returned to the White House: what if Russia attacks and the US does not join the fight?…

“The problem, which would continually undermine such positivity, is that in the world of Trump, a firm promise today can be undone by a Truth Social post tomorrow….

“This is the uncertainty that sits at the core of European concerns about American reliability. For as long as Trump is in the White House, it creates… a state of ambiguity over whether the US is in or out, which will continue until a hypothetical moment of truth arrives.”

That moment arrives when Europe decides to attack the USA militarily.

Israel Is Dependent on Europe

Jerusalem Post wrote on June 27:

“Israelis like to say that Europe is ‘finished’ – an aging, divided, weak continent, increasingly Muslim and hostile to Israel. Polls show only about a third of Israelis hold a positive view of the European Union, while roughly half describe Israel-Eu relations as poor. This narrative is not entirely accurate – and certainly unwise. Israel actually depends on Europe more than on any other global actor except for the United States.

“Europe is Israel’s largest trading partner, is central to Israeli research and innovation, is an important investment source, and is home to partner academic institutions. It is also the region from which the modern Jewish state largely emerged…

“Many Europeans underestimate the threats from Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran and apply standards to Israel that are not applied to others… Many Israelis have convinced themselves that as long as America supports their approach, Europe doesn’t matter.

“As is now evident, even President Donald Trump has grown weary of the bloodshed, realizing that US public opinion is shifting. European public opinion has shifted even further, and that is serious… When Israelis say Europe is ‘finished,’ they often mean it is becoming a Muslim continent. Yet Muslims account for only about 7% of the combined population of the EU and Britain, and no serious demographic forecast suggests a future Muslim majority…

“Israel simply cannot afford to treat Europe as a secondary concern or a lost cause. Losing Europe would be devastating, and Israelis need to understand this and recalibrate.”

Israel will seek help from Germany, but won’t get it.

A Red Heifer Born?

Israel 365 News wrote on June 30:

“A red heifer born last month in the hills of the Galilee, sired by imported American semen and born to a black-coated mother, has reignited a coordinated national campaign among Israeli rabbis, breeders, and educators to restore the lost laws of ritual purity to the Jewish people.

“The campaign arrives at a moment when public appetite for Temple-related preparation appears to be surging: a recent survey found 55 percent of Israeli Jews now support rebuilding the Holy Temple on the Temple Mount, and a report published this week put the number of men enrolled in Temple service training at 150,000, out of a planned 200,000.”

Even though a “red heifer” is not biblically required, many Jews believe it is.

Vatican Excommunicates Bishops of St. Pius X Society

ABC News wrote on July 2:

 “The Vatican responded aggressively Thursday to a traditionalist society that consecrated bishops without the pope’s consent, declaring the Society of St. Paul X in schism, excommunicating its bishops and priests and warning its faithful they too face the harshest sanctions in the Catholic Church…. The society, known by its acronym SSPX, celebrates the ancient Latin Mass and opposes the modernizing reforms of the Catholic Church, which it considers to be rife with heresies and errors…

“French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre founded the SSPX in 1970 in opposition to the modernizing reforms of the Second Vatican Council… Lefebvre consecrated four bishops without papal consent in 1988. The Vatican promptly excommunicated Lefebvre and the four bishops and declared the consecrations a ‘schismatic act.’ Pope Benedict XVI in 2009 lifted the excommunications as part of his yearslong outreach to the group.”

Earthquake Cluster Rocks Venezuela, California and Japan Within Seven Hours

Daily Mail wrote on June 25:

“Harrowing footage has revealed the extent of the damage and chaos inflicted on Venezuela by a pair of massive earthquakes last night. The back-to-back 7.1 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes struck near the coast, sending terrified residents racing out from swaying apartment blocks as walls collapsed and clouds of dust rose over the capital.

“’High casualties and extensive damage are probable and the disaster is likely widespread,’ the US Geological Survey said, ‘with an initial death toll estimate likely between 10,000 and 100,000.’… The quakes are among the strongest to strike Venezuela in more than a century…”

IBT added on June 25:

“Just seven hours earlier, USGS reported a notable quake with a magnitude of 5.6…. north of Redwood Valley, California…. Less than an hour after reporting the twin quakes, USGS again noted a Magnitude 6.9 earthquake… east-northwest of Kuji, Japan… (Allegedly,) the quakes were not related as they occurred on separate fault systems and plate boundaries…”

Not related? Maybe God sees it differently?

Even though the death number is still climbing (on June 28, about 1,500 were reported), more than 51,000 people are reported missing, and “nearly 7 million may be impacted”(Deutsche Welle, dated June 28).

Also, a magnitude 6.1 quake struck Afghanistan on June 27, and a magnitude 5.4 quake struck Pakistan on the same day.

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer:

These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing at worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.

Germany’s Rearmament

The Financial Times wrote on  June 20:

“German power and action are back in the spotlight today, but is the goal to reform Europe? That is the new German question. As Europe rapidly strengthens its defense capabilities in the face of Russian aggression and an increasingly unreliable United States, Germany has thrown off its pacifist shackles, eased borrowing limits and embarked on a rearmament of historic proportions.

“Its military budget surpasses that of France and Britain, two nuclear powers. It is investing 35 billion euros in military space capabilities. Liana Fix, a German scientist working in the United States, warned earlier this year that Germany could become Europe’s new hegemon – and that we should be wary of the dangers of German power…. what is missing from Berlin is a clear explanation of the European role of this army…

“Warsaw and Paris are particularly concerned. Poland still has unresolved disputes with Germany dating back to World War II… Berlin’s decision earlier this month to abandon the Franco-German FCAS future fighter jet project… only heightened concerns in Paris that Germany had decided to go it alone…  In such turbulent times, Germany’s European partners should not be left in the dark about its new direction.”

The concern regarding increasing German military power is well-founded.

Clashes Within the EU

Politico wrote on June 19:

“Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz struck out against the EU for opening up communication with Vladimir Putin, putting the leaders of Europe’s two largest countries on collision course with a large part of the rest of the bloc. In an unexpectedly discordant late-night summit in Brussels ― the first since 2010 without longtime contrarian ex-Hungary Prime Minister Viktor Orbán ― the French president and the German chancellor scorned efforts by European Council President António Costa, who acts on behalf of all 27 governments, to reach out to the Kremlin…

“The clashes bring to light simmering tension at the heart of the EU over its approach to Russia and who should talk on Europe’s behalf… Leaders from some of the most staunchly anti-Russia countries, as well as Denmark and the Netherlands, rallied behind Macron and Merz, with some displaying unprecedented fury with Costa…

“Thursday evening’s summit exposed several faultlines: In addition to the Costa vs. E3 [France, Germany and the U.K.] divide, Italy and Poland (forming an informal “E5”) were frustrated by their exclusion from initial talks between the E3 and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ahead of the summit…”

“Poland’s President Strips Zelenskyy of Top Honor

Deutsche Welle reported on June 19:

“Karol Nawrocki’s decision to strip Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Poland’s highest honor is likely to spark a severe diplomatic crisis between Poland and Ukraine… Tensions between Warsaw and Kyiv have been high for days due to Zelensky’s decision to name a Ukrainian army unit after an insurgent army (UPA) from World War II that Warsaw accuses of participating in massacres against Poles.

“In 2023, Poland’s then-President Andrzej Duda awarded Zelenskyy the Order of the White Eagle for his contributions to security, resilience, and the defense of human rights.

“In his address on X, Nawrocki said Poland had ‘repeatedly’ called on Ukraine to change the name of the unit. ‘The Ukrainian side’s position has not changed,’ he added… Meanwhile, Poland’s liberal Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote on X that the conflict between Poland and Ukraine ‘pleases (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and shocks our allies.’… The Polish president’s move escalates the dispute between the neighbors and allies.”

Poland is one of Ukraine’s strongest supporters. Ultimately, Ukraine will become part of or collaborate with Russia, against Europe.

Russia-Ukraine War Continues Unabated…

Newsmax wrote on June 21:

“Four people were killed and fuel sales were suspended in Russian-occupied Crimea, the Moscow-backed authorities there said on Sunday, after a massive Ukrainian barrage hit the Black Sea peninsula… Ukraine said it targeted military and energy facilities in Crimea… in one of the biggest attacks on the peninsula in recent months… Part of the Crimean peninsula, which was annexed by Russia in 2014, was left without power after the attacks…

“Separately, overnight Russian strikes in eastern Ukraine killed three people…

“Ukraine has in recent months also stepped up drone attacks on energy facilities in Russia, striking targets deep behind the front lines. Earlier this week, it hit a large refinery in Moscow twice… Some petrol stations in Russia, the world’s third-biggest oil producer, introduced fuel rationing this month. Fuel exports have been banned since April…

“Talks on ending Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II remain frozen, while fighting on the front line is effectively at a standstill.”

Vance Warns Israeli Officials

The Hill wrote on June 18:

“Vice President Vance warned Israeli officials Thursday against speaking out and criticizing the peace deal negotiated by President Trump’s administration with Iran, suggesting Israel should be grateful for partnership with the U.S. while it is isolated on the international stage. ‘If I was in the Cabinet of the Israeli government, I might not be attacking the only powerful ally that I have anywhere left in the entire world,’ Vance said at a press conference at the White House. 

“‘The other thing that I would say is that over the last three months, two-thirds of the defensive weapons that protected your homeland have been built by American hands and paid for by American tax dollars.’”

As Israelis see it, it is they who have been attacked by Trump. And America has also become more and more isolated in the world.

Saudi Arabia Warns Israel

The Times of India wrote on June 18:

“Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan issued a sharp warning to Israel, saying the country would face serious consequences if it continued its military operations across the region. Speaking amid escalating tensions, Faisal condemned Israeli attacks in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, and the West Bank…

“He said he expects the U.S. president Donald Trump to intervene into Gaza and West Bank where Israeli military actions continue unabated and are worsening the already tense situation with daily bloodshed.”

More and more Arab “friends” turn against Israel… which is in accordance with biblical prophecy.

Is “Cyrus” Becoming “Judas”?

Israel Today wrote on June 19:

“… it looks a lot like President Trump is throwing Israel under the bus. The man who had appeared to be a modern-day Cyrus figure is turning out to be a potential Judas, leaving Israel at the mercy of terrorists while ensuring the safe passage of oil…

“Iran remains determined to wipe out the Jewish state… It’s very naïve to think Iran’s current leaders are suddenly being reasonable and with good intentions; the US leader should heed the wise advice Winston Churchill once offered to appeasers in our Parliament that you cannot negotiate with the devil…

“In the meantime, Israel may well end up alone – even without American support…”

To be a Cyrus and a Judas is not mutually exclusive…

Unlimited Power?

The Daily Mail wrote on June 19:

“Donald Trump triumphantly declared in an interview with Axios on Thursday that there are ‘no limits’ to his power when pressed on if he’s found any constraints on his abilities… While attending the Group of Seven summit this week, he put on display the haughty view of himself for all to see. ‘I’m the boss,’ he told the leaders candidly while taking his seat on Wednesday. 

“On Thursday evening, the President posted a two-page memo from his social media claiming that he is even more powerful than historical leaders like Genghis Khan and Napoleon, Hitler, Mao and Stalin. Those notorious men, the document written by ‘presidential historian’ Dave King states, only had local power; Trump by comparison has ‘global reach’…

“‘Sounds good to me!’ Trump celebrated in his social media post about being more powerful than the strongmen… ‘They didn’t have airplanes, right? You couldn’t travel around,’ Trump reportedly said of Alexander the Great, the Caesars of Rome and William the Conqueror. Trump relished being more powerful than Napoleon and ‘the evident pleasure he took in the company of Mao, Hitler, and Stalin’ was clear.”

These are very strange comments indeed.

Does Trump Actually Realize How Bad His Deal Is?

Bild Online wrote on June 18:

“The mullahs get the carrot and no longer have to fear the stick. Does Trump realize how bad his Iran deal is? At the G7 press conference in Évian on Wednesday, he spent an hour praising himself for the agreement (which he subsequently signed at Versailles)—yet he could not disguise the fact that, in reality, he is capitulating to the mullahs…

“US allies in the Middle East feel betrayed by Trump. The deal allows the Iranian regime to firmly re-establish its position, generate billions in revenue, rebuild its missile capabilities, and rearm its proxy armies across the region…

“Trump even praises Iran’s new leadership… He claims there are now ‘reasonable people’ there with whom one can negotiate. This, he suggests, amounts to a form of ‘regime change.’ Similarly, he even praises the Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip, claiming they have ‘behaved very reasonably’ since the ceasefire agreement last October…

“According to Trump, the Iranian regime must be allowed to build missiles again… He even concedes the regime the right to uranium enrichment!… Yet Trump insists the deal ensures the Iranian regime will not acquire nuclear weapons—even though the agreement postpones negotiations on that issue to a later date, leaving the mullahs with a far better negotiating position than they had before the war…

“Incidentally, there is one thing Trump no longer mentions: the people of Iran who have been trying to get rid of the mullahs for decades. He had incited them to revolt, promising: ‘Help is on the way.’ On January 8 and 9, 2026, between 30,000 and 40,000 of them were massacred by the mullahs’ henchmen. They evidently died for nothing. Trump is suddenly casting them aside.

“Both Democrats and disillusioned Republicans are appalled, regarding the deal as worse than anything Obama or Biden negotiated with the Iranian regime. ‘Ronald Reagan is rolling over in his grave. This is the worst foreign policy blunder in decades,’ concludes Senator Bill Cassidy, a rival of Trump’s within the party.”

ABC News added on June 19:

“… several Republican senators have broken with the president over the agreement… ‘I do have concerns that certain aspects of this deal are stepping in the wrong direction,’ Republican Sen. Tom Cotton, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told Fox News on Thursday…

“‘History demonstrates that giving billions of dollars to theocratic lunatics who want to murder us is an exceptionally bad idea, and I think unfortunately the president is receiving some really bad advice on this deal,’ Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said of the reconstruction fund…”

Worse Than Obama’s Deal

The New York Post Editorial Board wrote on June 19:

“As he prepared to sign his ‘memorandum of understanding’ with the Islamic dictatorship of Iran, President Trump again insisted that his deal was much different than that of his predecessor, President Barack Obama.  He’s right — it’s probably worse.

“Obama’s treaty did not prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, it simply punted the issue down the road in exchange for cash. Trump’s agreement has the same vague promises, the same payouts, but with the added twist that Iran can and will take the world hostage by shutting the Strait of Hormuz at will. On Friday, just days after the signing of the MOU, Iran moved to close the Strait, saying no ships could cross without its permission and suggesting that ‘insurance fees’ must be paid.

“This isn’t in violation of the deal. This is part of the deal. Point No. 5: ‘The Islamic Republic of Iran will conduct [a] dialog with the Sultanate of Oman to define the future administration and maritime services in the Strait of Hormuz.’ Why would opening the door for ‘administration’ of a previously free international waterway even be part [of] this agreement? How is this in any way the ‘unconditional surrender’ Trump described?…

“Trump is betraying his base — and his allies… What’s the plan here? Make sure we have no friends left?”

The New York Post is normally Trump-friendly. But they also see how bad this deal is. So do other Trump-friendly outlets. Note the next article.

“We Feel Betrayed”

Newsmax wrote on June 19:

“An Israeli newspaper owned by a Donald Trump megadonor published an open letter that condemned the president for agreeing to a memorandum of understanding with Iran. The sharply worded open letter appeared Thursday in Israel Hayom, the Israeli newspaper founded by the late Sheldon Adelson and now owned by his widow, billionaire philanthropist and major Trump supporter Miriam Adelson.

“Under the headline, ‘You could have been the greatest president of all, but you failed,’ veteran Israeli journalist Danny Zaken accused Trump of abandoning a strategy he said had weakened Iran and moved the region closer to lasting security… ‘We feel betrayed…’, Zaken wrote near the end of the letter. ‘You lost your patience and your moral and leadership compass.’”

The following article shows how far apart the sides are.

Not to Return

The Credle Media quoted on June 19, Israel’s Minister of Defense, Israel Katz, as follows:

“‘We have flattened the entire first line of villages in southern Lebanon, all the houses have been destroyed. The residents will never see them standing ever again.’

“In a stark acknowledgment of systemic ethnic cleansing, Israeli War Minister Israel Katz boasted on Friday that the Israeli military has completely obliterated the entire first tier of Lebanese border villages. Framing the mass destruction as a permanent ‘security zone’, Katz explicitly declared that the 200,000 displaced Lebanese residents ‘are not returning.’”

Closed Again

The Associated Press wrote on June 20:

“Iran dealt two quick blows to the interim agreement with the United States on Saturday, angered by Israel’s continued attacks in Lebanon, saying it had closed the Strait of Hormuz and announcing that while its negotiators were going to Switzerland for talks, not much is likely to happen there….

“Earlier Saturday, Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon killed at least 16 people, including two children, hours after reports emerged of a ceasefire agreement there… An Israeli military official… said Hezbollah had fired more than 50 projectiles at Israeli forces in southern Lebanon overnight. Israel’s army said it struck dozens of Hezbollah targets and militants in southern Lebanon, including Hezbollah command centers…

“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to keep Israeli forces in southern Lebanon until any threat to Israel is eliminated. Hezbollah has refused to halt its attacks unless Israel commits to withdrawing from Lebanon, which Iran says is also a condition of the deal.”

Peace Far Off…

The Daily Mail wrote on June 21:

“President Donald Trump renewed threats against Iran on Sunday just hours after Vice President JD Vance arrived in Switzerland along with top Iranian officials to begin negotiations with Tehran… Vance attempted to downplay the intensity of the fighting in Lebanon during Sunday morning’s negotiations. Minutes later, Trump renewed threats of bombing Iran if the country does not rein in Hezbollah and the militant group’s strikes against Israel…

“Hours before, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian emphasized that Iran will maintain its right to a nuclear program. ‘What is certain is that we will never back down from the right to enrich uranium, and the other side is also forced to accept it,’ Pezeshkian said on Sunday

“During an interview with Fox News Sunday morning, Trump shot back and said that Pezeshkian ‘better watch his mouth.’ He also told Iran that they won’t have a country if the Strait of Hormuz is closed.  Trump also criticized Israel, saying the country ‘can’t do anything without blowing up buildings’ in its fight against Hezbollah in Lebanon…”

Trump “Reacts”

Fox News wrote on June 21:

“President Donald Trump on Sunday told Fox News that he delivered a stark warning to Iran over the Strait of Hormuz, threatening to ‘blow the s— out of them’ should Tehran close the vital waterway… Trump reiterated his threat to potentially collect tolls for vessels traversing the strait should Iran fail to reach an agreement….

“Trump said that the 60-day ceasefire and negotiation framework established under the Memorandum of Understanding he signed last week ‘is just an option,’ and ‘I can do whatever I want after that option.’”

Is he backpaddling, due to the bad reactions to his “deal”? Note the next article.

Out of Desperation?

The New York Post wrote on June 19:

“[President Trump fired] back at Iran’s ‘probably gay,’ disfigured supreme leader’s claim he settled war out of ‘desperation’… insisting the opposite was true.

“‘We didn’t meet out of desperation, Iran did. They are FINISHED! We’ll play out the 60 days. They get no money, not ten cents!’ Trump wrote…”

Prediction: US-Iran Deal Will Fail

Newsmax wrote on June 22:

“Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., predicted Sunday that the U.S.-Iran framework agreement signed last week will collapse… Graham, who told CBS he spent 4 1/2 hours with Trump on Friday, made the comments on ‘Face the Nation’…

“He said that if talks break down, ‘President Trump is going to take the Strait of Hormuz over by force. The United States will control the Strait of Hormuz. We’ll charge a fee for all those who go through to pay for the operation… If Iran continues to attack Israel and Lebanon, the new policy will be, we’ll hit Iran…’”

Ending the War?

Ron Paul wrote in the Ron Paul Institute on June 22:

“Against the odds, the Memorandum of Understanding… may collapse, but it has survived a first round of talks between the two sides in Switzerland over the weekend. President Trump started a war on Iran against all sober guidance and in violation of the US Constitution’s requirement that only Congress can declare war. There must be a reckoning for our elected leaders who violate their oath of office, the Constitution, and simple common sense.

“However, what is more telling is the reaction when President Trump finally took the correct move and attempted to end the war. The neocons who had hailed him as a great leader – Levin, Bolton, Pompeo, etc. – suddenly turned against him when he turned against further escalation of the war…

“And more telling even than this was the reaction of the ‘opposition’ party in Congress, the Democrats. They attacked him harder for ending – or at least pausing – the war more than for starting the war in the first place… When it comes to wars, there is no Republican Party nor is there a Democratic Party. There is only the ‘yes!’ party…

“Yes, there is plenty to criticize. After weekend talks, the US side, led by Vice President JD Vance, is celebrating as a ‘breakthrough’ that the Strait of Hormuz is open again and that Iran has reportedly agreed to the return of UN inspectors. But the Strait was open before this war and UN inspectors were in Iran before President Trump unilaterally pulled out of the… ‘Iran Deal’ in his first term.

“The only difference now is that we burned through likely several hundred billion dollars, we lost dozens of aircraft and other military equipment, and we likely lost more service members than the Pentagon is admitting. It is a reminder of why the Founders intended to make sure that any war must be declared by the people’s Representatives before the first bullet is shot: it should be very hard to launch wars.

“Nevertheless, those who are truly against the wars should, in my opinion, hold their fire for the time being in hope that a lasting resolution can be found. The President Is being attacked from all sides by the war party. Now may not be the best time for the peace party to join in.”

Ending a war is always a good thing. The only problem is that Trump’s ongoing concessions and Iran’s ongoing demands, as well as ongoing disagreements, virtually guarantee that the war has not ended, but that it will resume very soon. The following article makes this very plain as well.

Conflicting Statements

Deutsche Welle wrote on June 23:

“During a news conference between [Iran’s President] Pezeshkian and [Pakistani President] Sharif, Pezeshkian asserted that Iran’s ballistic missiles are not part of the US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding and ‘will never be.’  Sharif said Iran has a right to ballistic missiles like other nations and that the issue was never on the table when it came to the discussions regarding the US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding…

“Rubio said the US would not accept any tolls or fees in the Strait of Hormuz, reiterating that any final deal with Tehran would forbid Iran from charging for passage…. ‘No country [that would include Oman as well] is allowed to charge tolls or fees on an international waterway. That’s existing international law,’ Rubio said. [So, then, Trump wouldn’t be allowed to do so either, even though he said he might.] … The MoU says that Tehran will allow the passage of shipping without tolls for 60 days only…

“US President Donald Trump says Iran has agreed to far-reaching nuclear inspections, sharply contradicting denials from Tehran [and] dismissing what he called Iran’s ‘protestations and false statements.’ Trump also maintained that unfrozen Iranian assets would be tightly controlled and used to buy US humanitarian goods, including ‘Corn, Wheat, and Soybeans from our great American Farmers.’ Iran has already rejected both assertions…

“Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said there had been no agreement on inspections and no plans to invite the UN nuclear watchdog back to the country.

“Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva pushed back against the use of frozen assets to buy food from the US, insisting that Tehran alone would decide how any released funds are used.

“The conflicting accounts underscore deep divisions between the two sides, even as diplomatic efforts to end the conflict continue.”

Senate Passes a Symbolic Resolution Rebuking Trump

CNN wrote on June 23:

“The Senate adopted a resolution on Tuesday directing the president to remove military forces from the conflict with Iran a significant rebuke to Donald Trump and a strong message that the war lacks support in Congress…. GOP Sens. Rand Paul, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and Bill Cassidy joined Democrats in voting for the resolution, while Democratic Sen. John Fetterman voted against it. The final tally was 50-48. The absences of GOP Sens. Mitch McConnell and Dave McCormick, who have previously voted against advancing war powers resolutions, contributed to the measure’s adoption….

“The measure passed the House earlier this month. But because it is what’s known as a concurrent resolution, it does not require the president’s signature and, by definition, does not carry the force of law.”

Key Republicans Flip

Fox News wrote on June 24:

“An explosive meeting in the Senate turned into a win for President Donald Trump and his administration as key Republicans flipped on another bid to handcuff the administration’s authorities in Iran. 

“In its final act before leaving Washington, D.C., for an over two-week break, the Senate rejected Democrats’ attempt to rein in Trump’s war powers in Iran as talks continue between Iran and the U.S. to hammer out a long-term peace deal. … Trump argued to the GOP that the previous war powers resolution, which passed on Tuesday thanks in part to a pair of Republicans being absent, hurt the administration’s negotiating position with the Iranians….

“[Rand] Paul, who voted present, noted that his ‘opinion on the debate over war and executive power has not changed and I have voted that way several times.’ ‘But since hostilities seem to be over and the President asked me to give consideration to his negotiating position, I will do so,’ Paul said on X. ‘My vote of present is a way to give the President more space and leverage to negotiate a lasting peace.’”

Sounds good, but with potentially bad and really dangerous consequences. The “peace deal” with Iran will not materialize. What if Trump returns to war, which is to be expected. Now could have been an occasion to restrict Trump’s war powers. But the chance was blown by some key Republicans. A way may seem good to a man, but finally, it will cause death.

Charlie Kirk’s Opposition to War With Iran

The Ron Paul Institute wrote on June 18:

“The Charlie Kirk Show is now distributed by a federally registered agent of Israel… It is part of a whopping $46 million dollar annual contract between the Israeli government and Brad Parscale, the former chief of staff for Donald Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign. This may be the largest lobbying contract in the history of foreign influence operations in the US…

“Since Kirk’s killing, his successors have done their best to bury his vehement opposition to war on Iran, as well as his public fits of disgust with Netanyahu and his army of lobbyists in the US. Kirk’s widow and replacement as TPUSA CEO, Erika Kirk, now insists that she and her husband never wavered in their support for Israel. She has also been unwilling to state what her late husband would have thought about the war the US and Israel waged on Iran this year…

“However, in the months before his killing, Kirk left little mystery about where he stood on the US imposing war on Iran. In one of many tirades against attacking Iran, he slammed Sen. Lindsey Graham and other cheerleaders for war as ‘pathologically insane’ … On August 6, 2025, just over a month before his death, Kirk openly raged against Jewish ‘leaders’ and ‘stakeholders’ harassing him for his criticism of Israeli policies..

“To date, there is no evidence that the state of Israel was responsible for the assassination of Charlie Kirk. Yet it is undeniable that Kirk’s killing removed one of the greatest obstacles to Israel’s plans to compel Trump to launch a massive regime change war on Iran… Kirk was the only figure in Trump’s inner circle to personally appeal to the president against committing US forces to Israel’s 12-day-long assault on Iran during June 2025. Trump ‘barked’ at Kirk… and angrily dispatched him. Days later, Trump ordered US airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, setting the stage for Operation Epic Fury the following year…”

Kirk was right, and Trump should have listened. Now, it’s all forgotten, and Kirk’s views are being misrepresented or suppressed.

Problematic Supreme Court Decision Regarding Green Card Holders

ABC News reported on June 23:

“The U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative majority on Tuesday bolstered the ability of federal border agents to remove from the country lawful permanent residents, or green card holders, who may have committed a crime involving ‘moral turpitude.’ 

“In a 6-3 decision by Justice Clarence Thomas in Blanche v. Lau, the court said border agents do not bear the burden of having to prove by ‘clear and convincing evidence’ that an immigrant seeking to re-enter the country after a trip abroad had committed a crime before denying them admission, but need only show that there was reason to believe they had…

“U.S. immigration law states that green card holders who legally leave the U.S. for short periods should be allowed to re-enter, but there are exceptions – among them if the green card holder is convicted of or admits to having committed ‘a crime involving moral turpitude.’”

“In a dissent, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, joined by justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, argued that the government must bear the burden of first proving that a green card holder had, in fact, committed a crime before stripping their status.”

The dissent is right.

Outrage in Italy

AFP wrote on June 19:

“Italy reacted angrily on Friday after reported comments by US President Donald Trump mocking Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni… Meloni said she was ‘frankly stunned’ by Trump’s comments to Italian channel La7.

“According to a written transcript of the phone interview provided to AFP by the network, he said Meloni ‘begged me for a picture’ at the G7 summit this week and he agreed only because he ‘felt sorry for her.’ He also suggested that Meloni was probably ‘happy that I talked to her, I didn’t have to talk to her’. Meloni called what Trump said ‘made up’, adding: ‘Neither I nor Italy ever beg.’

“‘I don’t know why the president of the United States behaves this way with his own allies,’ the far-right leader wrote on X. ‘I can only say that it’s a pity he doesn’t show the same determination with enemies of the West, with enemies of the United States, with leaders with whom, instead, he is far more accommodating,’ she said.

“Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani on X called Trump’s words ‘grave and offensive’ and said he was cancelling a visit to the US planned for June 21 and 22. Justice Minister Carlo Nordio said the comments were a ‘painful injury’ to Italy-US ties…

“Meloni has tried to position herself as a bridge between Europe and the Trump administration, but the relationship came under strain during the Middle East war. Trump turned on Meloni in April after she defended Pope Leo XIV from the US president’s harsh criticism of the pontiff’s anti-war views. Meloni condemned Trump’s remarks as ‘unacceptable’ — prompting the president to turn his fire on her… He accused Meloni of failing to help the United States with NATO. Trump has threatened to pull US troops from Italy, saying Rome ‘has not been of any help to us’ in the Iran war.”

Dispute Escalates

Bild Online reported on June 20:

“The dispute between Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni (49) and Donald Trump (80) continues to escalate. Following Trump’s disparaging remarks about a photo Meloni allegedly begged for, a right-wing conservative Italian newspaper is now attacking the US President on its front page with a crude insult… ‘Trump è un Coglione,’ the paper [‘Libero’] writes in its Saturday edition—which translates roughly to: Trump is a total moron! Depending on the context, there are even cruder translations… ‘Only a total moron could ruin everything with a lie so massive it borders on the ridiculous’…

“Why might Trump have made the claim? The answer lies in the meaning of the word ‘Coglione,’ writes [the newspaper]. ‘An incompetent, stupid person who acts with little sense…’ ‘Libero’ is a nationally known tabloid, famous for biting commentary and attacks on the left-wing mainstream—or… on politicians who publicly humiliate the Prime Minister…”

ABC News reported on June 20:

“President Donald Trump continued his war of words with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Saturday, insisting she ‘begged’ for a photo of them together at this week’s G7 summit, despite denials from Meloni and pushback from Italian ministers… ‘She is doing poorly in Italy with her level of popularity, possibly because she turned down the United States of America… when it came to denying Iran from obtaining or developing a Nuclear Weapon (But so did NATO, for that matter!),’ the president said in his post.

“Meloni snapped back on Trump with her own social media post later in the morning… ‘As for my popularity, being your friend has certainly not helped it, nor does it depend on my relationship with you… In any case, my popularity is none of your concern. I suggest you focus on yours,’ she said to Trump…

“Italian politicians, including opposition party members, have come out in support of Meloni while also arguing this shows that being too acquiescent with the U.S. administration is counterproductive.”

Ultimately, Italy will totally turn against America, as will be the case for the rest of Europe.

Nothing Goes Without Germany

Politico wrote on June 19:

“Germany has a reminder for Washington: The United States needs Europe in order to get to outer space.

“‘Germany and Europe provide critical key technologies’ for U.S. space missions, German Space Minister Dorothee Bär told POLITICO in an interview this week. ‘That is why we can confidently say: without us, it cannot be done.’”

Keir Starmer Resigned

The U.S. Sun wrote on June 22:

“SIR Keir Starmer fought back tears today while announcing he will QUIT as Prime Minister after just two years in power. Andy Burnham (sometimes called the King of the North) is the clear favourite to succeed him as more MPs swing behind his leadership claim…

“Sir Keir will become the sixth premier to resign in the last decade when he formally leaves No10 by September at the latest. He quit after a succession of Cabinet Ministers had joined Labour MPs in losing faith in his premiership following months of turmoil and drift…

“Labour nominations will open on July 9 and, if more than one candidate makes the ballot, a new leader will be elected before Parliament returns on September 1. But with senior figures already lining up behind Mr Burnham, there is growing speculation there may be no contest at all… This could see Mr Burnham enter Downing Street as Britain’s next Prime Minister as early as July 17 or 18…

“Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said his party will demand a general election immediately…

Trump said that one of the main reasons for Starmer’s demise was his opposition to the USA and the Iran war. This is clearly incorrect. Starmer gained support in Britain for occasionally standing up to Trump, especially as Trump is probably the most despised and rejected leader in the West.

“The Stupidest Idea Trump Ever Had”

Report 24 wrote on June 20:

“US President Donald Trump is turning heads at the G7 meeting in Evian. Because he is dissatisfied with Israel’s successes against Hezbollah in Syria, the new Syrian regime is supposed to handle the job. In other words, Sunni Al-Qaeda murder squads against Shiite Hezbollah fanatics… After threatening the terror regime in Tehran with destruction, [Trump] now appears to be striking a ‘deal’ with the mullahs that betrays the Iranian people and Israel. In Syria, he has sold out long-standing Kurdish allies and supported the new jihadist regime—led by internationally wanted Al-Qaeda terrorists…

“Trump first boasts that he himself was ‘very responsible for Syria’: ‘The man leading Syria now is someone I installed together with President Erdogan. He is doing a great job bringing everyone together.’ He claims the man is very capable and has done everything he—Trump—wanted. The person in question is Ahmed al-Sharaa, who remained on the UN list of internationally wanted Al-Qaeda terrorists until 2025. Al-Qaeda is, after all, the organization that carried out the 2001 terror attacks in New York. In 2013, the US had offered a substantial $10 million reward for information leading to al-Sharaa’s capture. Since taking power in Syria alongside other terrorist groups, the regime has carried out a series of massacres targeting Christians, Druze, Alawites, and Yazidis. A process of gradual ethnic cleansing is underway. …”

“The Syrian army consists of Al-Qaeda and ISIS… They will burn everything down… And they will do a better job than Israel? Doesn’t [Trump] know what happened in the Syrian Civil War?… [That] hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians [were] killed in that war? Is he aware of what war in the Middle East looks like when Muslims fight Muslims?… What does Trump [think] the Syrian army would do better? Would the Al-Qaeda gangs have better and more precise missiles, better intelligence, or a better air force than Israel? Does Trump think the Syrian army would notify the fire department and warn residents via text message before an attack—‘Leave the building, we’re about to bomb it’? Israel does that. Does Trump think Al-Qaeda will do the same?…

“… of course, no one in their right mind could welcome a Syrian invasion of Lebanon. It wouldn’t just be jihadist fanatics who died, but also countless Christians and Druze, who together make up about half the population…

“However, Trump is right about one underlying aspect: if the Syrian army takes action against Hezbollah and hundreds of thousands of people lose their lives in the process, the international outcry will be far less than if a few thousand were to die in Israeli attacks… The left-globalist mainstream public has emphatically demonstrated in recent years that it is capable of stubbornly remaining silent about mass killings committed by Muslims in Yemen, Sudan, Syria, etc….”

Christians Across Africa Are Slaughtered… But Europe Looks the Other Way

Brussels Signal wrote on June 16:

“The harrowing footage reaching (or, to be exact, not reaching) Western monitors from the Oromia region of Ethiopia leaves no room for interpretation. Dozens of Orthodox Christians murdered, churches systematically targeted, and ancient communities subjected to raw, asymmetric violence. What is unfolding in the Horn of Africa is not an isolated tribal skirmish. It is part of a brutal campaign of Islamist extremist aggression sweeping across the continent from Nigeria to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mozambique – and ultimately threatening Europe itself.

“Unfortunately, the geopolitical hypocrisy of the West hardly makes an impression anymore… the systematic erasure of Christian populations in Africa is met with an orchestrated guilty silence… Ethiopia, a nation with deep, 1,700-year-old Christian roots, is becoming a testing ground for a wider civilisational cleansing. If nobody reacts, the killing continues. We see the exact same pattern across the Sahel and Nigeria, where entire Christian villages are routinely slaughtered while international media look the other way… The Western media establishment fears that reporting the truth will fuel domestic reactions at home, so they choose complicity through silence instead….

“This leaves the global Christian population completely unprotected in the face of rising militant fanaticism. In Nigeria, the blood of martyrs has stained the Middle Belt for years, yet the European Union continues to disburse billions in development aid without demanding a single act of protection for these vulnerable groups…”

Shameful and appalling.

“Fauci Funded Lab Research that Sparked COVID”

LifeSiteNews wrote on June 19:

“A trove of communications and documents released by outgoing Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard show that Dr. Anthony Fauci ‘provided millions in U.S. taxpayer dollars to fund dangerous gain-of-function research’ on bat coronaviruses at the Wuhan Institute of Virology…

“In a viral overnight social media video already seen by millions, Gabbard announced [that Fauci] worked with politicized elements within the Intelligence Community to suppress the truth about his actions and hide the virus’ lab-leak origins, and lied to Congress while under oath in 2024.”

Fauci can still face certain charges in spite of the broad preemptive pardon issued by President Biden. While the pardon protects him from almost all federal criminal prosecutions, it does not provide blanket immunity against state-level laws or civil lawsuits. Also, legal scholars feel that Fauci’s broad preemptive pardon may be illegal.

Breitbart reported on June 20:

“Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) [said], ‘I don’t think anyone has to debate the damage that the release of this virus caused in trillions of dollars, and you know, countless lives around the world. What we do have to do is specifically get to an official investigation and charges on two major counts, the perjury count before Congress, and the cover-up…  often the cover-up is worse than the original lie, and in this case, it appears as though he willfully impeded Congress and everyone else in getting to the truth, which probably cost even more lives…’”

Cuba Invasion?

Axios wrote on June 19:

“President Trump said Thursday on ‘The Axios Show’ that ‘it’s possible’ a potential Cuba invasion would resemble the swift capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in January.”

The War Against Ivermectin

The Independent wrote on June 19:

“A rising number of cancer patients are being prescribed ivermectin instead of undergoing chemotherapy… A report… found that ivermectin prescriptions for cancer patients doubled between January and July 2025…

“Ivermectin is an anti-parasitic medication primarily used by veterinarians. It was popularized among humans by Covid vaccine skeptics during the pandemic. It has no proven medicinal properties beyond being an effective treatment for parasitic infections…

“The celebrity endorsement … was from actor Mel Gibson, who told Joe Rogan in 2025 that three of his friends survived cancer by taking ivermectin…

“MacMillan Cancer Support chief medical officer Richard Simcock… explained that a lot of the disinformation stems from some existing studies of ivermectin in the lab showing that the drug has the potential to help induce death in cancer cells when taken alongside conventional treatment. However, Simcock stressed that lab studies cannot be directly replicated in humans…

“Additionally, even the more promising lab tests were taken in conjunction with existing cancer drugs [those used in conjunction with chemotherapy]…

“Secretary of Health and Human Services, RFK Jr., [promoted] the use of ivermectin as an alternative to the Covid vaccine on his podcast prior to working for the White House…”

The article contains numerous errors. Just note the following statements:

The National Library of Medicine wrote on September 21, 2020: “Ivermectin has powerful antitumor effects, including the inhibition of proliferation, metastasis, and angiogenic activity, in a variety of cancer cells.”

Everyday Health wrote on July 7, 2025: “Researchers have been exploring ivermectin as a possible cancer drug, but they emphasize that the findings are preliminary…”

Anticancer Research wrote in June of 2026: “… ivermectin [was] associated with high rates of self-reported clinical benefit and favorable tolerability.”

Many doctors, paid by pharma, oppose ivermectin, as they do the use of medical marijuana, even though the latter has been proven to be extremely effective in certain cases. We know that chemotherapy is harmful. We also know it’s very expensive, and doctors profit from using it. No wonder pharma is quick in rejecting remedies which would affect their lucrative income and that of their agents. Ivermectin was rejected by pharma and many doctors as a remedy against Covid. They instead promoted harmful and dangerous Covid vaccinations, causing serious and deadly side effects.

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer:

These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing at worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.

America the Unfree

The Rutherford Institute wrote on June 10, 2026

“America has become an occupied nation. Not by one invading army, but by many occupying powers: the police state, the surveillance state, the war state, the corporate state, the foreign influence machine, and a ruling class that treats the American people as little more than collateral damage in its pursuit of power, profit and control. We have been policed, surveilled, taxed, indebted, manipulated, censored, tracked, searched, silenced and sold out. Foreign powers are buying up our farmland, buying favor with the Trump family…  dictating national policy…

“The swamp under President Trump has taken on a decidedly foreign flavor: any nation with enough money, leverage or strategic value to enrich the Trump family can now get its hands on a piece of the American pie—all the while, the American people continue to struggle to survive Trump’s self-enrichment schemes, broken promises, endless wars, militarized streets and vanity projects…

“That is how far we have fallen… we now have a Congress that hides government power inside thousand-page defense bills, intelligence authorizations, classified annexes and emergency spending packages. From founders who warned against foreign influence, we now have rulers who auction off access to foreign governments, foreign donors, foreign wars and foreign intelligence interests…”

The USA is controlled and to a large extent owned by foreigners, as the Bible predicted. America has “fallen,” and it will continue to do so.

Ice-Cold ICE Agents

The Mirror wrote on June 12:

“Two parents were arrested by ICE agents during a preschool graduation ceremony in Maryland, as multiple children cried through the arrest… Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson… said the arrested individuals had their children in the backseat, who screamed as their parents were ‘ripped from the car.’

“Ferguson said ‘heroic educators’ brought the children inside as the arrests unfolded ‘to try to protect them from these unbelievable and out-of-control federal agents.’ He added that the agents quickly left after taking the parents into custody…. Last month, the City of Baltimore signed an emergency bill prohibiting federal agents from operating and conducting arrests in ‘sensitive locations like public schools.’..

“Mayor Brandon Scott… called it a ‘disturbing incident’ and said, ‘Let me reiterate, this type of enforcement is not welcome in Baltimore… The presence of ICE has not made our city any safer, and in fact has led to greater fear and anxiety, especially for our immigrant neighbors… Schools are places where children should feel safe, where parents should be able to drop off their kids without fear, and where educators should be able to focus on teaching, not where federal agents carry out immigration enforcement actions in front of children.’”

This Gestapo-like conduct of ICE agents is deplorable. God does most certainly not bless a country, calling itself “Christian,” which engages in such despicable behavior.

India Wants German Submarines

Deutsche Welle wrote on June 13:

“A multibillion-dollar submarine deal between India and Germany reflects New Delhi’s push for military self-reliance — and Berlin’s growing interest in the Indo-Pacific. India is moving to strengthen its navy with a new generation of submarines designed in Germany and to be built in India. The deal, worth around $8 billion (€7 billion), is expected to be signed this summer, according to the German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.

“The deal comes as… submarines [are] playing a central role. China’s growing naval reach and Pakistan’s deepening military ties with Beijing are sharpening India’s sense of urgency…. The submarines in question are German-designed Type 214 boats, built by Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems, or TKMS…

“[Their] technology [of air-independent propulsion (AIP)] allows them to stay underwater much longer than other conventional submarines — making them harder to detect and better suited for patrols in crowded waters… In a US‑led naval exercise in 2005, a small Swedish AIP submarine slipped through heavy defenses and scored simulated hits on a US aircraft carrier — twice. That seems to be exactly the kind of capability India wants as it modernizes its fleet.”

Later on, India, as part of the Kings of the East, will use these submarines against Germany and Europe.

Putin Is Preparing For War With Europe

Daily Mail wrote on June 12:

“Fears are mounting that Vladimir Putin is preparing for a wider war with Europe… Satellite images have exposed the expansion of dozens of military bases along Russia’s borders with Nato countries. The evidence – released by Denmark’s national broadcaster in cooperation with intelligence services – shows a flurry of construction work has been taking place. New barracks, warehouses and military vehicles have been added over the past two years…

“Intelligence assessments suggest Russia’s Murmansk region, near Finland and Norway, could now accommodate up to 17,000 additional troops within striking distance of neighbouring countries… Another military site near the Estonian border has also amassed significant numbers of vehicles, according to the images. The expansion comes amid wider concerns over Russia’s growing hostility towards the Western alliance.

“The Ministry of Defence has warned Downing Street that Russian aggression towards Nato is now at record levels. Russian jets and drones are said to have violated Nato airspace more last month than at any other point this year, while the total number of incidents in 2026 has already surpassed the whole of 2025…

“Former British military intelligence officer Philip Ingram told The Sun… that Russia was creating the conditions to rapidly rearm and deploy forces towards Nato’s borders once the war in Ukraine eventually comes to an end… Danish Defence Academy analyst Anders Puck Nielsen warned that Russia sees a future confrontation with Europe as increasingly likely… Recent incidents have included Russian submarines being tracked near British undersea cables in the North Atlantic…”

According to the Bible, such a confrontation will occur; in fact, Russia, as part of the Kings of the East, will destroy Europe. Note the next article.

“Germany Must Prepare For War With Russia”

NewsFire wrote on June 11:

“Lieutenant General Christian Freuding, who assumed leadership of the German army in October 2025, stated that Russia is reconstituting its armed forces at a pace that exceeds the requirements of its war in Ukraine…

“German and allied Western intelligence agencies have concluded that Russia may possess the capability to launch a major assault on NATO territory by 2029. Freuding has previously characterized this timeline as arriving almost immediately…

“Moscow has dismissed claims it intends to attack NATO as fabrications, charging Western governments with manufacturing threats to legitimize increased military budgets.”

Of course, Russia denies any ambitions like that. So, Europe feels “compelled” to respond militarily; but it will lead to Europe’s downfall. America’s conduct in this regard will only exacerbate the situation, as the next article shows.

Europe’s Nuclear Expansion

Uncutnews wrote on June 2:

“According to a Financial Times report, the United States is currently considering extending the NATO nuclear sharing system to additional member states. Specifically, this involves… combat aircraft capable of deploying both conventional weapons and US nuclear bombs…

“Poland has repeatedly signaled its readiness to assume a more active role in nuclear sharing. Other Eastern European NATO states are also pushing for a stronger US military presence…

“One fact is particularly noteworthy: Should a direct military confrontation between Russia and NATO ever occur, the hostilities would not take place on American soil. The targets would be in Europe. The presence of American nuclear weapons at European military bases automatically turns these locations into potential targets in the event of a crisis. The further the system is extended eastward, the greater the risk for the countries involved. Washington supplies the weapons—Europe bears the consequences…

“The history of the Cold War demonstrates how quickly misunderstandings, miscalculations, or technical errors can bring the world to the brink of catastrophe. Expanding nuclear capabilities along Russia’s borders may be viewed by strategists as a sign of strength. For many Europeans, however, it likely represents something else entirely: another step toward a more dangerous and unstable future.”

According to the Bible, this unstable future begins with a NUCLEAR European attack on the USA and the UK, resulting in their total destruction, followed by a NUCLEAR war between Russia and Europe.

Britain in Trouble

The Daily Mail wrote on June 14:

“The [afore-mentioned Russian] activity will heighten pressure on Keir Starmer to resolve months of bitter internal wrangling over funding, which triggered the dramatic resignation of Defence Secretary John Healey yesterday…

“Sir Keir has now promoted security minister Dan Jarvis to fill the key Cabinet post, but the Defence Investment Plan remains unfinished. It is meant to lay out how the Government will fill a £28billion shortfall in budgets over the next four years, but it has emerged the Treasury is only offering £10billion of extra funding…”

The UK will be in no position to defend itself against continental Europe.

Putin Calls Trump

Newsmax wrote on June 14:

“Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by telephone Saturday with President Donald Trump to wish him a happy 80th birthday, using the occasion to discuss major international issues, including the war in Ukraine, tensions involving Iran and the future of U.S.-Russia relations. Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov…  said Trump was particularly appreciative of the gesture because Putin was the first foreign leader to call and congratulate him on his birthday…

“Analysts also note that if diplomatic progress with Iran leads to adjustments in sanctions regimes or energy markets, Moscow could benefit from improved conditions for oil exports and greater flexibility in global energy trade… According to Ushakov, Trump argued that ending the [Ukraine] war quickly would open the door to a new era in relations between Washington and Moscow… The Kremlin also announced that Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner are expected to return to Russia in the near future for additional discussions…”

Putin knows how to play his cards, while Trump reacts naively when flattered. However, during the G7 meeting, Trump said that Putin should end the war. Some felt that this was a sign that he was turning against Putin. We don’t think so.

From Pharaoh to Erdogan

Israel Today wrote on June 11:

“It is one of the most astonishing phenomena in world history. Few peoples are as small as the Jewish people. Few states are as tiny as Israel. And yet great powers, empires, kings, caliphs, popes, dictators, and presidents have occupied themselves again and again for thousands of years with the same land and the same people. From the pharaohs of Egypt to Haman in Persia, Antiochus, the Romans, the Inquisition, the pogroms of Europe, Hitler, the Soviet Union, and the ayatollahs in Tehran — the same claim resurfaces time and again: that the Jews are a danger [Regarding Pharaoh, the claim was not just directed at the Jews, but at all the tribes of Israel]. That Israel is a danger. That the Jewish state threatens peace, order, or even humanity itself.

“Today we hear similar words once more. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declares that Israel is ‘a threat to all of humanity.’ The Iranian leadership has described Israel for decades as an enemy of the peoples. Ali Khamenei referred to Israel over the years as a ‘cancerous tumor’ and a ‘rabid dog,’ and declared on multiple occasions that Israel must disappear…”

Erdogan is a hateful arch-enemy of Israel, and the Bible predicts some awful conduct by Turkey towards Israel.

More Israeli Control Over Al Aqsa?

MEE (Middle East Eye) wrote on June 4:

“Israeli authorities are seeking to recruit ultranationalists and settlers into police units deployed at Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem, according to a report by Haaretz… According to Haaretz, rabbis associated with Temple Mount movements – groups that organise regular incursions into Al-Aqsa and advocate for its destruction – have encouraged their followers to enlist…

“Many Israeli groups advocate the destruction of Al-Aqsa Mosque to build a third temple in its place.”

However, it will happen, a third temple will be built on the Temple Mount prior to Christ’s Return.

Israel Not on Board

The Guardian wrote on June 14:

“Earlier on Sunday, the Israeli military launched strikes on Beirut… Iran’s highest national security body warned later that a response was ‘imminent’… In an earlier Truth Social post, Trump criticized the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, for launching the attack as Washington and Tehran were in the midst of negotiating the deal.

“‘Why did Bibi [Netanyahu] have to do a f… attack?’ Trump told Axios. ‘I was so p… off. I let him know. He has no f… judgement. I let him know that.’ Trump added that he asked Iran not to respond against the Israeli strikes.”

Deal Reached… So They Say!

The Associated Press wrote on June 14:

“The United States and Iran have reached an agreement to end the war and open the Strait of Hormuz… Key mediator Pakistan said the signing will be Friday in Switzerland. Key issues like Iran’s nuclear program are expected to be addressed [over the next 60 days]. U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed a deal had been reached and said he had authorized an end to the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz [but see the articles below]…

“Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, confirmed the agreement on state television but said Iran would not start implementing it until it was signed on Friday… Iranian state TV showed a banner asserting: ‘US was forced to sign an agreement to end the war.’…

“‘Both sides have declared the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon,’ Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said…

“The deal likely returns the region to a status that existed before the war, but with thousands of people dead and Iran wielding a new source of negotiating pressure with its ability to influence shipping in the strait…

“Of the stated targets by the U.S. and Israel when they launched the war on Feb. 28 with strikes that killed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Tehran still has a missile program, support for armed proxies in the region like Hezbollah and a stockpile of highly enriched uranium for its nuclear program…

“The emerging deal had been sharply criticized by Israel’s government [see articles below] and by critics in Trump’s own Republican Party. Some said it did not improve on the terms of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal that Trump withdrew the U.S. from during his first term and still describes as ‘bad.’…

“The central question of Iran’s nuclear program remains… Iran has 440.9 kilograms (972 pounds) of uranium that is enriched up to 60% purity, a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90%, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. Iran has long maintained its nuclear program is peaceful...”

Trump’s declaration that Iran has agreed not to build a nuclear weapon would be meaningless, in any event, as Iran had pronounced that position long before the war started, claiming that its nuclear program was “peaceful,” which is of course highly doubtful.

The fact that the issue of Iran’s nuclear program has not been resolved is confirmed by the following articles as well.  

Fate of Iran’s Nuclear Program Unresolved

The Guardian wrote on June 14:

“By any assessment, the fate of the Iran’s nuclear program – a key rationale given by Trump for the war on Iran – has not been resolved in the latest agreement. The president repeated on Sunday his promise that ‘Iran will never have a nuclear weapon’ but senior Pakistani officials told the Associated Press that nuclear talks would continue over the next 60 days…”

Another unresolved question is the Strait of Hormuz, as the following articles show.

What About the Strait of Hormuz?

Daily Mail wrote on June 14:

”Trump told the New York Times in an interview on Sunday that the agreement with Iran would make the Strait ‘permanently toll free’ and that negotiations to reach a final nuclear accord would begin Friday in Switzerland.  If those details couldn’t be worked out, Trump threatened to resume attacking Iran or make the US ‘the guardian of the Middle East,’ in return for 20 percent of the region’s revenues, the Times said.”

In light of Trump’s ever-changing promises and declarations, the following article is quite revealing:

Iran’s Last Minute Changes

The Daily Mail wrote on June 15:

“Iran has said it will continue to charge fees for vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz after a ‘last-minute’ amendment to its ceasefire deal with the US. Over the next 60 days, Tehran will guarantee free passage through the strait, but after the ceasefire extension period is over, ships will be required to pay tolls to cover security, navigation, environmental and insurance services.

“The eleventh-hour change comes despite US President Donald Trump stating the vital waterway, set to reopen on Friday, would remain ‘permanently toll-free’.”

Trump subsequently stated he was not surprised by about Iran’s position regarding the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump’s declared goal of Iran’s regime change has not been reached, and now Trump even falsely claims that he never advocated regime change.

Disagreement on Lebanon

Daily Mail wrote on June 16:

“Donald Trump unleashed a new tirade at Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday as he said that Israel would have ‘been blown up a long time ago’ if he hadn’t intervened… The US President told reporters at the G7 summit in France that Israel’s war with Hezbollah has gone on too long as he urged Mr Netanyahu to be ‘more responsible’ in Lebanon…

“However it appeared that Mr Netanyahu was not heeding the US President’s calls as the Israel Defense Forces confirmed it had undertaken several strikes in Lebanon on Tuesday. The strikes came a day after Israel said its forces would not withdraw from southern Lebanon, saying the deal between Washington and Tehran ‘does not bind us in any way’.

“But Tehran repeated its demand that Israel withdraw from Lebanon as part of the secret peace agreement, which is due to be signed on Friday. Iranian foreign minister Abbas Aragchi said: ‘Without the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territories they occupied during this war, the termination of the war will not be complete.’”

If both sides stick to their guns, the deal is off.

The Wall Street Journal wrote on June 15:

“President Trump is touting his latest cease-fire deal with Iran as peace in our time, but the world is more likely to see it as a strategic retreat short of achieving his war aims. To reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Mr. Trump is accepting Iran’s promises merely to negotiate over its nuclear program.”

Disagreement in the Trump Administration

The Jerusalem Post wrote on June 16:

“CIA Director John Ratcliffe warned senior American officials that US intelligence agencies had gathered evidence that raises doubts about Iran’s willingness to make concessions regarding its nuclear program…  

“US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth shared Ratcliffe’s concerns and raised questions about the memorandum of understanding during the meetings. Ratcliff and Rubio… said that based on the intelligence, they doubted Iran would agree to the US’s nuclear demands…

“JD Vance and envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, on the other hand, reportedly advocated for the deal… Trump listened to all opinions, but noted that ‘everyone understands he is the final decision-maker’ on the matter.”

Meaning, he will be rightly blamed for a deal which accomplishes nothing.

Trump Failed

On June 16, Michael Posner wrote the following in his newsletter:

“There is no shortage of losers in this diplomatic debacle — America, Israel, Lebanon, the Gulf States, the West in general. But the brave, betrayed Persians are surely the biggest losers. Despite all the bold promises, no one came to liberate them. Despite repeated assurances that help was on the way — that this time, the West was serious about toppling the mullahs — the white knights were a No Show.

“On the contrary…, the Persians have been abandoned. Yet again… for the foreseeable future, the world‘s most evil regime will remain securely in place, and in de facto control of the Straits of Hormuz. They will play that destabilizing card whenever it suits them, especially when Israel is again forced to take on Hezbollah in Lebanon, or Hamas in Gaza, or the Houthis in Yemen…

“The enriched uranium… will stay in Iran. Assurances to Trump notwithstanding, the chance that the IRGC won’t immediately press the restart button on building the bomb is zero. The factories that manufacture ballistic missiles arsenals… [are] being rebuilt as we speak, providing the future shield for Iran’s nuclear program.

“The billions of dollars in sanctioned and frozen Iranian bank assets… will be gradually released… finance[ing] proxy militias in Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Gaza…

“Donald Trump blinked… Too eager to make a deal — any deal… Trump capitulated… America has been humiliated, exposed as a paper tiger…

“Donald Trump… never took the time to justify the war to Americans, to explain exactly why the Islamic Republic is a greater threat to Western civilization than Russia or even China… The fighting spirit is no longer there….

“The war has also driven a spike through the heart of the relationship between Washington and Jerusalem… Growing Republican and Democratic factions are seeking to distance themselves from Israel…”

Sadly, what the article expresses is so true.

“A Serious Strategic Mistake”

Die Welt wrote on June 16:

“Reza Pahlavi, the son of the last Shah, has spoken out against any agreement with Iran that leaves the current leadership in Tehran in power. ‘An agreement with this regime will fail, and we will all have to bear the consequences,’ Pahlavi stated on online platforms on Tuesday. After the regime killed 40,000 Iranians, an agreement would be ‘not only morally unacceptable but also a serious strategic mistake,’ he declared on X. ‘The Iranian people will not accept it.’

“Tehran would never ‘make a genuine peace,’ just as the government had ‘never made peace with its own citizens,’ the 65-year-old explained.”

We agree with Reza Pahlavi.

Superpower Suicide

On June 16, Focus wrote:

“The world is noting with great astonishment that the superpower USA, despite its overwhelming military strength and presence in the Gulf region, is being forced to negotiate with Iran merely on a return to the pre-war status quo in the Strait of Hormuz…. This is a slap in the face for the USA as a global superpower and undermines its status as a guarantor of freedom of navigation. ‘The Iran conflict has left the USA in a weaker position than at the start of the conflict,’ says Rebecca Lissner, a senior fellow at the US think tank Council on Foreign Relations (CFR)….

“‘While the Iran conflict demonstrated the extraordinary military strength of the USA, it simultaneously revealed its inability to translate that strength into anything even remotely resembling a strategic victory over Iran.’… US foreign policy under Trump amounts to ‘superpower suicide’…”

America is indeed committing national suicide.

Mark Levin Rebukes Trump

The Jerusalem Post wrote on June 16:

“Fox News’ major MAGA ally Mark Levin slammed US President Donald Trump over the Iran war peace deal… Levin on X wrote: ‘I have asked for days, why can’t we, the people, see the d… MOU [Memorandum of Understanding]? Not through people briefed by an anonymous person. Honestly, I’ve never seen anything like this. If it is a great outcome for peace, then release it… if you want people to stop speculating about the MOU, release the MOU. Don’t brief a few anointed ones to control the narrative and expect everyone else to sit silently. That’s not how our country works. It’s going to be signed soon. It takes time for people to digest it all once it is released…’

“Levin, a pro-Israel hawk, also slammed the president for lashing out at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after Israel attacked Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. ‘In a period of two-months, Israel has gone from a great ally and partner in war, fighting by our side against a horrible enemy that has killed thousands of our people, killed tens of thousands of their own people, and was a dire nuclear threat intent on attacking us, to Israeli PM Netanyahu being a difficult person who should be thanking us for saving his country from Iran and should get our permission if he wants to defend his people from Hezbollah and Iran, and stand down when his country is attacked,’ Levin wrote.”

Trump should think twice when even his most loyal supporters are openly disagreeing with him. An alleged text of the MOU was leaked, but it does not include some of the provisions referred to earlier in the press. Even though, note the next article.

The Sun wrote on June 17:

“Trump reminded world leaders at the G7 summit in France that the memorandum was not complete yet. He said: ‘It’s a memorandum of understanding. And if I don’t like it, we’ll go back to shooting at them, dropping bombs on their head. If I don’t like it, if they don’t behave, we’ll go right back to dropping bombs right smack in the middle of their head, OK?’”

Israel Disappointed

The Jerusalem Post wrote on June 15:

“This morning, senior Israeli officials are left feeling frustrated. There is deep criticism of the US administration and growing concern that a war that began with the stated goal of toppling the Iranian regime may end, at least for now, with that regime intact, stable, and once again benefiting from a flow of financial resources. ‘Help is on the way,’ Netanyahu and Trump told the Iranian people at the outset of the conflict. Yet for the moment, the Iranian public remains on the sidelines. The Ayatollah regime emerges from the war alive, breathing, and still firmly in power…

“National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said in an X/Twitter post that Israel is not bound to US President Donald Trump’s US-Iran ceasefire agreement…  ‘Israel is not subject to the United States, and we are an independent and sovereign nation,’ he said…

“Other Israeli officials took to X on Monday morning to state their positions, including Yair Golan, leader of The Democrats, who criticized Netanyahu for capitulating to a deal he deemed unsatisfactory… ‘Trump signs an agreement that funnels billions to the Ayatollahs’ regime, leaves the nuclear infrastructure intact, preserves the ballistic threat as is, and throws a lifeline to the murderous regime in Tehran,’ he said in harsh criticism of the agreement…

“Benny Gantz, leader of the Blue and White party, said ‘… it is forbidden to agree to restrict Israel’s freedom of action in Lebanon or to a withdrawal that endangers the residents of the north… The emerging agreement with Iran appears to be a strategic failure…’

“Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich also posted on X, saying, ‘The agreement with Iran is bad for Israel and for the entire free world. Period.’ He also implied that Israel will have to continue to carry out the war against Iran itself in order to ensure that Iran does not achieve nuclear weapons.’

Netanyahu and Trump Face Broad Disapproval

The Washington Post added on June 15:

“Caught between Trump’s public browbeating and broad discontent at home, Netanyahu faces a challenge like never before over how to navigate the next two months… The mounting pressure on Netanyahu from across the Israeli political spectrum and the Israeli military establishment could place the conflict in Lebanon — and the broader U.S.-Iran peace talks — on a hair trigger and deepen a public split between Israel and the United States that is unlike anything seen in recent years…

“Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz stated that Israeli troops will stay ‘indefinitely’ in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip…

“In the end, it was those who are close to Netanyahu who lashed out with a bitterness and sense of betrayal rarely seen directed by Israelis toward Trump. In a stunning social media tirade early Monday, Yinon Magal, a former lawmaker and anchor on Channel 14 television who is often described as Netanyahu’s most prominent mouthpiece, lashed out at Trump as a ‘loser,’ Vance as a ‘lowlife,’ and Trump’s special envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff as ‘two little Jews … whom Qatar bought for a lot of money and who sold out their brothers in Israel.’

“Amit Segal, another influential right-wing television analyst close to the prime minister, simply offered a quote attributed to Henry Kissinger, per William F. Buckley Jr.: ‘It may be dangerous to be America’s enemy, but to be America’s friend is fatal.’”

Trump might have lost Israel as America’s closest ally…which the Bible also prophesied to happen.

Another U-Turn

Daily Mail wrote on June 17:

“In a stunning departure from decades of established US foreign policy, President Donald Trump revealed that a forthcoming peace agreement with Iran will likely allow the regime to retain its conventional ballistic missiles. Standing before reporters at the G7 meeting in France, the President argued that a complete ban is unrealistic because ‘they got to have some.’ ‘What am I going to do? Am I going to let Saudi Arabia have missiles, but they can’t have them?’ Trump said during the briefing. ‘Missiles aren’t the problem. They hurt a little location, but they don’t blow up the planet.’…

“For months, Rubio centered his argument for military action against Iran on the necessity of neutralizing the nation’s missile capabilities. He labeled the regime’s unwillingness to negotiate regarding its arsenal a ‘big problem’ and an ‘unsustainable threat,’ asserting that Tehran maintained weaponry ‘solely designed to attack America and attack Americans.’

“For generations, every American administration has maintained a strict ‘red line’ against Iran’s ballistic missile capabilities…. Trump broke not only with his predecessors but with his own historical stance by conceding that Iran would likely retain a missile arsenal. His sudden concession that Iran ‘has to have’ them isn’t just a break from establishment bipartisan policy; it’s a U-turn on his own first-term record.”

This is truly irresponsible.

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer:

These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing at worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.