NewsWatch

Anarchy: Gaza Follows Haiti

For more than a year, Haiti’s law enforcement system has been in shambles. Despite police assistance from Kenya and monetary and military hardware aid from the United States and the United Nations, the situation in Haiti is far from being under control (Reuters, September 3, 2024). Aid has been slow to arrive, leaving security forces struggling against gangs and losing hope. Five or more children die every week due to gang warfare (The Guardian, August 23, 2024).

On the other side of the Atlantic, as Israel dismantles Hamas, Palestinian crime families that Hamas once kept at bay are resurfacing (The Times, August 19, 2024). Residents hear frequent gunfire in their neighborhoods—not fighting between Hamas and Israeli troops, but between Palestinian gangs. When Hamas took over, it moved powerful Palestinian clans to the side but allowed them to keep their weapons. According to a source in Gaza, Hamas made an agreement with these large clans—each with a minimum of 3,000 men—that they would not use their weapons against each other. But with Hamas mostly gone, these clans are fighting again. As one humanitarian aid worker noted, “The fabric of society has been ripped apart,” and Palestinian clans are now helping to destroy the remaining shreds of their society.

Without the guidance of God’s Spirit and the moral compass of His law, people may take care of their friends and families but are often willing to subjugate everyone else. The Apostle James observed, “Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?” (James 4:1). There is a solution to the situations in Haiti, Gaza, Myanmar, and many other nations around the globe that are currently self-destructing. That solution is the return of Jesus Christ!

Australia Dusting Off Old Air Bases

Rising tensions in the Pacific are stirring nations to act. “Across Australia, decades-old facilities—many built by the United States during World War II—are being dusted off or upgraded amid growing fears of another global conflict” (The Washington Post, August 24, 2024). Government officials say these efforts are not for offense but for “deterrence.” The U.S. Secretary of Defense says these efforts will assist in promoting “greater peace, stability, and deterrence across the region.” He also touted the “unbreakable alliance” between Australia and the United States. Critics have begun to accuse Australia of becoming America’s “51st state.”

At only 2,000 miles away, the Australian air bases are strategically close to many flashpoints in the South China Sea and can project additional power throughout the region. Australia also plans to upgrade three other bases in the north and a base in the Indian Ocean to monitor Chinese naval activity. America is working with Australia on these projects, as well as providing money and eventually aircraft that will be located at several of the bases. The U.S. is also working to refurbish some of its own bases in the South Pacific—bases that were critical steppingstones during the Second World War (Defense News, April 10, 2024).

The winds of war are growing in Europe and the Pacific—the two major theaters of World War II. Nations that have been militarily quiet for the last 80 years now feel threatened by Russian and Chinese aggression and are preparing for a rapid response.

The World’s Economic Engine Is Slowing

As Europe’s manufacturing sector struggles, new German data is sobering. The Telegraph reports that German employment rates are falling at their fastest rate in four years, and manufacturing orders are being further cut (August 22, 2024)—and now the service sector is starting to slow.

Meanwhile, America’s drastically revised non-farm payroll numbers, the worst numbers seen since the Lehman Brothers collapse in 2008, paint a far different picture from what has been assumed. Economists now expect a series of interest rate cuts in the months ahead, as the U.S. Federal Reserve works to stave off recession. And while European and U.S. economies slow, news from China is worse as the nation sinks deeper into depression. New home starts, the engine of China’s economy for decades, have dropped by 63 percent from their high—a greater property bust than Japan experienced in the 1990s. This home-building collapse is the major reason iron ore prices have crashed. China is using global trade to generate more revenue, but as it undercuts global competitors, it is forcing factories out of business (Wall Street Journal, August 22, 2024). Some economists fear a new global trade war is coming.

Many are concerned about the financial future of the world and wonder if there is a nation that could serve as an economic savior. The Bible foretells that a German-led European “beast” power may come to the globe’s rescue. The Apostle John prophesied that at the end of the age, “the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury” (Revelation 18:3). Germany’s strength may be questionable now, but Bible prophecy indicates that this will change!

Thousands of Toxic UK Landfills

A recent study in the British Medical Journal found that there are over 21,000 historic landfills across Britain that contain unknown substances (The Guardian, June 28, 2024). For decades, the standard way to dispose of toxic chemicals was known as “dilute and disperse.” This meant that politicians and planners would take industrial and domestic waste, “stick it in a hole in the ground, cover it up and hope for the best.” According to the study, “80 percent of the British population lives within 2km of a functioning or closed landfill site.”

Many currently active and now-abandoned landfills are found in highly populated areas of the United Kingdom, and many of these sites leach “forever chemicals,” methane gas, and other banned chemicals into the environment. Methane gas exposure can “lead to mood changes, slurred speech, vision problems, memory loss, nausea, vomiting, facial flushing and headaches”—and even worse symptoms in some. Of particular concern are landfill sites located in floodplains and along ocean shores, where exposure to water will spread these dangerous poisons farther afield. Many toxic landfills have been converted to green spaces and parks because permits to build on top of these sites are not attainable.

The UK is not alone in having toxic landfills. Many nations around the world face the same problem, and the toxic effects of leached chemicals are seen in humans, insects, and animals. While our modern civilization has given us many marvelous advances, we have also created dangerous poisons that will impact the environment and human life for decades to come. However, the Bible foretells that a time of refreshing and restoration will arrive when Jesus Christ returns and begins resolving these deadly problems (Acts 3:19–21).

You Can’t Hide from Microplastics

According to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, nanoplastics are now found in human arterial plaque (Science News, April 2, 2024). According to this study, those with nanoplastic particles were nearly four times as likely to experience stroke, heart attack, or death over a three-year period! A University of Louisville cardiovascular researcher who reviewed the study noted that “very, very, very few things have that much of a risk.” While evidence is still lacking that conclusively proves these plastics cause terrible diseases, the circumstantial evidence is rapidly mounting.

The extensive use of plastics in our throw-away society is well known, and tiny plastic particles have been found in the depths of the oceans and on the tallest mountains. As we dispose of plastic waste, we contribute tiny particles of plastic to the contamination of water supplies.

Humanity, with all its advancements, continues to create products that pollute every aspect of God’s creation, and there appears to be no end in sight to these man-made health threats. However, the Bible reveals that there is a better, safer, healthier time coming—Jesus Christ will return to deliver the whole creation from the “bondage of corruption” that is causing so much suffering today (Romans 8:18–22).

Rise of the Weimar Triangle

In 1991, France, Germany, and Poland created a regional alliance they dubbed the “Weimar Triangle” (Deutsche Welle, June 27, 2024), but it has not been particularly active. Now, with the guns of war again blazing on Europe’s edges, this regional alliance has been given new life. “In March, Emmanuel Macron, Olaf Scholz and Donald Tusk met in Berlin to renew the Weimar format and primarily discussed working together in supporting Ukraine.”

In a late-June meeting in Paris, Defense Ministers from the three countries of the triangle announced concrete plans to improve NATO’s strength should the United States be unable or unwilling to assist in a future confrontation. The three leaders announced plans to procure long-range cruise missiles that can strike weapons-manufacturing sites deep within Russia should a war break out. They also announced plans for joint military exercises between their nations to occur in Poland next year. These military exercises will prepare for a potential attack from Russia on NATO’s eastern flank.

Many commentators have speculated that a “core” of European nations may eventually break ranks with the larger, politically cumbersome European Union in order to make real progress with defense and other areas. Could the Weimar Triangle group make such a move and be joined by others?

Bible prophecy foretells that a European “beast” power will emerge to lead Europe just before the return of Jesus Christ. This beast power will eventually be composed of ten “kings” who will be willing to work together for a time to accomplish a common goal (Revelation 17:12).