News and Prophecy Staff

A recent Guardian article title tells a sobering story: “UK universities suffer worst-ever rankings in world league table” (June 9, 2020). For centuries, English universities have garnered tremendous respect around the world. Cambridge, Oxford, Imperial College London, and other universities in the United Kingdom have long been recognized as some of the best in the world, and have been tremendous sources of pride for the English.

The respected journal Foreign Affairs recently published an article on the emerging role of “middle powers” (“Can Middle Powers Lead the World Out of the Pandemic?,” June 18, 2020).

About a year ago, there appeared to be a thaw in the perpetually tense relationship between North and South Korea, stirring hope for increased unity between the two countries. However, last week North Korea “blew up an inter-Korean liaison office in its city of Kaesong”—an office built in 2018 that was used for inter-Korean meetings (Deutsche Welle, June 16, 2020).

Finnish politician Päivi Räsänen is a physician and a Lutheran who has written on and spoken extensively about homosexuality and the Bible. Her views on homosexuality reflect the Bible’s clear teaching that homosexuality is a sin. As Jonathan Van Maren describes in a May 28 article for First Things, her position and writings on the matter have resulted in her being interrogated by Helsinki police on several occasions.

Concerns are rising that the ongoing border dispute between India and China in the Himalayas will expand to include military action. At the end of May, many sources reported that troops on both sides have engaged the other in physical attacks, though both sides claim no shots have been fired and that altercations have been limited to clubs and stones, injuring dozens.