News and Prophecy Staff

The world has been a violent place for thousands of years, but societies around the globe appear to be getting even more violent. Last Sunday in Toronto, Canada, a 25-year-old man drove a rented truck into pedestrians, killing ten and injuring 13 more (The Independent, April 24, 2018).

In the last 15 years, France’s bird population has fallen by over 30 percent (The Guardian, March 20, 2018). The numbers of some bird species have dropped by two-thirds! Researchers believe the primary reason for the die-off “is the intensive use of pesticides on vast tracts of monoculture crops, especially wheat and corn.” The birds are not being poisoned.

Tensions are rising with the accusation that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s army again used chemical weapons in contravention of the Geneva Convention (U.S. News & World Report, April 10, 2018). The U.S., the U.K.

A recent study verifies what many have observed over the last couple decades in Europe: that “Christianity as a default, as a norm, is gone, and probably gone for good—or at least for the next 100 years” (The Guardian, March 20, 2018).

Today there is growing animosity between Russia and the West—Europe, Britain and the United States. Some experts note that “China, Russia, India, Turkey, Iran, and others are seeking to carve out a new space for themselves in the newly emerging international system, as the United States is struggling to redefine its place and identity in the new world” (Oxford Research Group, January 2, 2018). “Although the West continues to possess the power of influence, Western leaders have not been effective in using such power.