News and Prophecy Staff

The European Union’s long-planned alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative is about to move ahead (Politico, January 23, 2023). A planning document for the Global Gateway Project proposes 70 different international projects, some of which are set to begin in 2023. “The EU has several projects planned in China’s backyard, such as an energy transition partnership with Indonesia and a digital connectivity project in the Philippines.

The recent 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Syria and Turkey and subsequent aftershocks have claimed nearly 50,000 lives and wreaked vast devastation, including destroying over a quarter of a million apartments in Turkey (The Tribune, February 18, 2023). As time runs out for saving the lives of more people buried in the rubble, the death toll is expected to soar to even greater levels.

New Zealand’s most popular news site, Stuff, reports that polyamory—having more than one agreed-upon lover—is on the rise and far more widely accepted than just a decade or two ago. As this practice increases in acceptance, a growing body of written literature has been created to support it.

Reuters reported in January that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unexpectedly traveled to Jordan to meet with King Abdullah. The two leaders apparently discussed maintaining the status quo on the Temple Mount, joint security details, and economic cooperation between the two nations.

The concept of “toxic masculinity” has attracted much press in recent years. In some ways, men acting in ungodly ways have brought the label and condemnation on themselves. But our society tends to readily apply this label to any man who has confidence, goals, and ambitions, and is even remotely assertive.