News and Prophecy Staff

Iceland boasts some of the lowest rates in the world for teen alcohol and other drug use, and the rates have been dropping for the last 20 years (The Atlantic, January 19, 2017). Nations and municipalities around the globe are now adopting the “Youth in Iceland” model and seeing similar results.        

In an anticipated move, this week President Trump announced that the U.S. will move its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem—a move that will likely take three to four years (Fox, December 6, 2017). This move, along with Mr. Trump’s open declaration that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital (a reality that other nations do not openly admit), could bring the two-state peace process between Israel and the Palestinians to an end.

The fall armyworm is now present in 38 African nations, including the Cape Verde Islands (Deutsche Welle, November 24, 2017). The worms are extremely destructive and feed on over 80 plant species, including the all-important staple crop of maize (corn). Experts fear that half of Africa’s agricultural crops could be destroyed by the blight in years to come—wiping out billions of dollars in income for mostly small farms.

Just prior to the recent German elections, former German Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg spoke at a rally in Bavaria, where 1,000 people came to support him (Financial Times, September 1, 2017). Guttenberg resigned from his government post seven years ago due to a plagiarism scandal and moved to New York, where he has continued to speak out on European affairs and the need for stronger leadership in the EU.

Recently, Saudi Arabia summoned Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas to Riyadh where he was apparently ordered to follow the peace plan being written up by the Trump administration (The Times, November 14, 2017).