News and Prophecy Staff

In the first half of 2023, gangs in Haiti “killed at least 2,000 people and kidnapped more than 1,000,” according to the United Nations (The Guardian, 14 August 2023). Since the 2021 assassination of Haiti’s last president, anarchy has taken over as 150 rival gangs compete to control the nation’s capital. Murder, robbery, rape, and kidnappings are rampant, and the police are powerless against them.

In a recent article in the Le Figaro newspaper, three right-wing French senators and 96 members of the parliament attacked French president Emmanuel Macron’s policies concerning Africa (The Telegraph, 12 August 2023).

Reuters reports, “China again asked the Philippines to tow away a grounded warship—a World War Two-era vessel now used as a military outpost—from a disputed shoal on Tuesday, after Manila rejected Beijing’s earlier demand” (August 8, 2023). The shoal lies within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone—the area of the sea around the Philippines in which the nation possesses special rights to economic exploration and development.

In the past, Germany has been reluctant to share military technology with other nations. However, the war in Ukraine is changing things (Politico, August 1, 2023). In January, Germany finally agreed to send 18 of its Leopard 2A6 high-tech battle tanks to Ukraine.

A human rights organization working in China has reported that one Chinese province is now requiring churchgoers to register with a smartphone app developed by the provincial Ethnic and Religious Affairs Commission (EWTN, March 7, 2023).