EUROPE - Moscow’s immense military mobilisation is clearly not aimed just at Ukraine. Unless Vladimir Putin accepts a ceasefire with meaningful security guarantees there will be no end in sight to the war. If anything, we could see the extension of Russia’s aggression beyond Ukraine. The bleak reality is that Europe still faces an unprecedented threat and notwithstanding signs of progress for Ukraine at talks in Jeddah, we face it alone. Worse, we now have to confront it with the US working against us. Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump appear to share a plan: a Vichy-like regime in Ukraine and a European continent split into spheres of influence, which Russia, the US (and perhaps China) can colonise and prey upon. Most European publics sense this. A critical mass of European leaders gets it too. They are beginning to act.
UK - The government has not ruled out imposing retaliatory tariffs on the US after President Trump placed a 25 per cent levy on steel and aluminium imports. James Murray, the exchequer secretary to the Treasury, told Times Radio that ministers must remain “cool-headed” but said that “all options are on the table”. The European Union announced it would impose €26 billion of counter-tariffs on American goods, intensifying a global trade war in response to the US’s blanket tariffs on steel and aluminium.
USA - As President Trump was sworn in for a second term on a freezing cold January day in Washington’s Capitol Building, the founders and bosses of America’s top technology companies were given front row seats as the billionaire “tech bros” made a show of their allegiance to the new president. The promise of deregulation and a fresh wave of deal-making sparked a post-election rally that propelled the share prices of the tech heavyweights higher, some to record levels.
USA - In an escalation of his America First agenda US President Donald Trump has sparked jitters by imposing hefty tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, igniting fears of an all-out global trade war. US President Donald Trump sparked fears of a global trade war by unleashing 25% tariffs on aluminium and steel imports. The unprecedented move - ramping up duty on products entering America - ends all exemptions to levies. It immediately sparked jitters across the world, pushing countries towards major disputes, but President Trump remained unrepentant as he continued to plough ahead with his America First agenda at the expense of historical allies, saying the hike was "necessary to rebuild our country."
GERMANY - Europe's largest economy has hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers still yet to have their applications processed. Germany could turn asylum seekers away at the border in huge numbers regardless of any agreements it has with EU neighbours under new plans hinted at by the incoming government. Friedrich Merz is the leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). He is expected to be announced as the new Chancellor of Germany in the coming weeks as his party could form a coalition with the Social Democrats (SPD). Germany, which has Europe's largest economy and population, also hosts the highest number of refugees and asylum seekers, with around 2.5 million, according to the UN. Despite talk of potentially bold moves to combat the migration crisis in Europe, it’s not clear if countries neighbouring Germany would accept any asylum seekers rejected at the border.
UK - A medical test used to detect cancer may actually be contributing to the disease, research suggests. Computerized tomography (CT) scans use X-rays to create detailed images of the body and are used to diagnose and monitor diseases like cancer and bone injuries, as well as to assist in surgeries and evaluate efficacy of certain treatments. However, there is little to no regulation of the scanners and radiation levels emitted can vary widely machine to machine. In 2009, researchers estimated high doses of radiation from CT scans were responsible for two percent of all cancers (or roughly 30,000 per year). And ongoing research indicates as the number of CT scans increases, related cancers will likely rise.
JAPAN - Japan’s debt bomb is ticking. Their 40-year bond yields just hit 2.5%, the highest ever. With a debt-to-GDP ratio over 200%, rolling over that debt at higher rates is a financial death sentence. Worse, the Bank of Japan holds 70% of their bonds — meaning if the market crumbles, the central bank collapses too. Japan’s experiment of perpetual debt-funded growth is unravelling fast. Once confidence breaks, their economy could implode overnight. This is a warning for the entire world.
UK - It stretches the bounds of credulity to expect people to refer to bearded men as women, rather than trans women. One of many things President Trump has got right is exposing the ludicrous nature of wokery, pointing out in his speech to Congress this week the millions of dollars that had been squandered on “diversity, equity, and inclusion scholarships in Burma”, “LGBTQI+ promotion in Lesotho” and – wait for it – “making mice transgender”.
UK - Migrant communities need to stop self-segregating and learn English. With the recent discovery that more than a million people either have poor English-speaking skills or none, it is time to admit that modern Britain is not quite the paragon of migrant integration that some would lead us to believe. According to the 2021 census for England and Wales, 880,000 people could not speak English well. A further 161,000 don’t speak English at all. Hotspots include the city of Leicester in the East Midlands and the eastern London Borough of Newham. Closer inspection reveals that in areas of Leicester such as Spinney Hill Road and Belgrave South, more than a quarter of the residents cannot speak English or speak it well. In some of these enclaves, there is little desire to integrate – even if English language tuition was readily available on their doorsteps. The residents of such areas may live in Britain in a physical sense, but their hearts and minds are elsewhere.
USA - The United States has told its allies that it does not plan to participate in military exercises in Europe, according to reports. The move, the latest in Donald Trump’s pivot away from the bloc, would see America pull out of exercises beyond those already scheduled for this year. The withdrawal concerns exercises that are on the “drawing board”, according to Swedish newspaper Expressen. It means that Nato countries will be forced to plan exercises without the participation of the US military, the largest in the alliance. Mr Trump has repeatedly criticised Nato countries for not meeting the current goal of spending two per cent of GDP on defence, arguing that the disparity puts an unfair burden on the United States. On Friday, he warned that the US may not defend Nato allies who do not meet the spending target as part of a major shake-up of the alliance.
UK - In a searing critique,the neurologist Suzanne O’Sullivan argues that the increasing use of labels and drugs is not helping people and risks making us sicker. You don’t need to be a doctor to have noticed that certain medical diagnoses that used to be rare now appear common. Anecdotally at least, it feels like everyone either has ADHD or knows someone who does. Neurodivergence was one of the buzzwords of 2024 and mood disorders such as depression and bipolar have skyrocketed.
GERMANY - The gospel of Luke says it is easier to get a camel through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to pass into the kingdom of Heaven. Friedrich Merz, Germany’s chancellor-apparent, must envy the camel-threaders the blissful simplicity of their task. This week, electrified by horror at the level of hostility from the Trump administration, he struck a deal to pursue one of his country’s most momentous reforms since it was reunified in 1990. It includes a €500 billion slug of debt for infrastructure investment, roughly equivalent to Norway’s entire annual economic output.
ISRAEL - This year, Purim, which falls on March 14 (March 15 in Jerusalem), has an added dimension in Israel. Because of the war and the situation of our hostages, we are focusing not only on the merry aspect of eating, drinking, carnival, and masquerade but also on what we are instructed to do in Deuteronomy 25:17–19:
“Just what is an APOSTLE?”
Today we find the Church of God in a “wilderness of religious confusion!”
The confusion is not merely around the Church – within the religions of the world outside – but WITHIN the very heart of The True Church itself!
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