Germany and France have had an on-again, off-again relationship for decades. Recently, that relationship has soured. Germany sees France as undermining “the landmark Mercosur trade deal with South America, which the Germans have long wanted in order to promote industrial exports. Germany is also considering pulling out of a €100 billion joint fighter-jet program over disputes with the French” (Politico, January 23, 2026).

A young woman once went to her grandmother and told her about the difficulties of her life and the hardships she was facing. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling—whenever one problem was solved, a new one seemed to pop up.

Recently, there have been news accounts of several high-profile figures who have been seriously injured by falling while doing routine tasks around their home or workplace. In a moment of distraction or carelessness, debilitating and life-changing consequences can occur when one falls. On a personal note, while recently completing a simple little project at my home, I tripped over what I had been working on and took a tumble, resulting in a serious sprain of my left hand and wrist from which it took weeks to fully recover.

Mass kidnappings continue in central and northern Nigeria. Back in November 2025, over 300 students and teachers were abducted from a Catholic school by armed men who stormed the school at 2:00 a.m., while everyone was asleep (BBC, November 23, 2025). Some teachers and students were able to escape.

On Tuesday, January 27, the Doomsday Clock of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists was adjusted from 89 seconds to midnight to only 85 seconds—the closest it has ever been since these scientists first began reporting their opinion in 1947. This tool is used to represent how close they believe mankind is to destroying the world—the closer to midnight, the higher they believe the risk.