News and Prophecy Staff

In a recent survey of some 51,000 households in 34 nations, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development found that just “over half the respondents from former Soviet states also thought a return to a more authoritarian system would be a plus in some circumstances” (The Guardian, December 13, 2016).

In the coming year, Britain will continue work on its exit from the EU, and America will inaugurate a president with no political experience. France will hold elections and could select a social conservative who may move closer to Russia (Rasmussen Reports, November 29, 2016). Italy’s political future is uncertain, and anti-immigration sentiments are growing in Holland and Germany.

“A new study estimates that Paraguay’s illegal economy was equal to 40 percent of the country’s GDP last year, a huge number that points to how pervasive a wide range of illicit activities are in this Southern Cone nation.” This number has quadrupled since 2002 in a nation usually considered low in corruption when compared to its Latin American neighbors, Colombia and Mexico (Latin American Post, December 6, 2016).

“Freedom of expression on abortion is currently being challenged in France. The French administration makes it every day more difficult for pro-life associations to express their ideas and to promote pro-life choices” (LifeNews, November 29, 2016).

At a time when “growth in military spending is slowing down in the volatile Middle East” and Latin America, military spending is surging ahead in Asia, where a number of countries are “positioning themselves for future conflicts” (Business Insider, February 11, 2016).