Here are five of the most important news stories this week, as well as relevant links to the full articles and videos here on theTrumpet.com.

Is 2018 the Year Europe Falls Apart?

Europe is struggling with the economic crisis in Greece, the euro crisis, the refugee crisis, the Catalan crisis in Spain and the South Tyrol crisis in Italy.

When Greece’s economic troubles started making global headlines in 2008, Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry wrote, “The crisis in Greece is a forerunner of a whole rash of similar crises set to soon break out across Europe. They will provide the catalyst for the EU’s leading nation, Germany, to rise to the fore with solutions of its own making. Biblical prophecy declares that the result will be a European superstate with Germany at the helm. And that is not good news for America, Britain and the little nation called Israel.”

German Media Despise Trump

The majority of media coverage United States President Donald Trump has received since coming into office has been overwhelmingly negative—the most negative of which has come from Germany. According to Der Spiegel, one of Germany’s most popular newsmagazines, President Trump is single-handedly leading humanity back into the Stone Age. Its latest cover story depicts the president as a monkey and mankind following behind in his footsteps.

Why does Germany have such open disdain and criticism for America’s leader today?

Turkey Launches Operation Olive Branch in Syria

On January 20, Turkey began a military operation in Syria’s northwestern region of Afrin as part of its ongoing effort to solve the Syrian crisis and combat what it calls terrorists. Code-named Operation Olive Branch, the offensive is Turkey’s effort to rid the Afrin border region of an estimated 10,000 Kurdish militants and create a 20-mile-deep security buffer.

“The importance of Turkey’s incursion,” wrote Geopolitical Futures, “lies … in the challenges it poses to relations between Turkey and the three other foreign powers invested in Syria’s future: Russia, Iran and the United States.”

Chinese President Orders Army to Prepare for War

Earlier this month, Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke to more than 7,000 Chinese servicemen and ordered all members of the People’s Liberation Army (pla) to ready themselves for the outbreak of war. “Here I give my orders,” announced President Xi. “The military at all levels should strengthen military training and war preparedness.” Newsweek reported that during his speech, Xi encouraged the troops to “enhance their military training and combat readiness” to “grasp the capability to win battles” as dictated by the Chinese Communist Party.

The president’s direct orders to the pla are another big step for Xi in securing power for both himself and his nation.

Where Are the Donations for the Las Vegas Shooting Victims?

Following the Las Vegas shooting of Oct. 1, 2017—in which Stephen Paddock killed 58 people and wounded more than 850 others—donations for the victims have fallen far short of expectations and needs.

“[T]he fund may be suffering because of the back-to-back tragedies in 2017 and into 2018,” wrote npr’s Leila Fadel on January 20. “Think about it, before the shooting there was Hurricane Harvey that flooded Houston, then Irma in Florida, then Maria that devastated Puerto Rico. Right after the shooting in Las Vegas there were the fires in Northern California that killed dozens, then a mass shooting in a Texas church, then more fires in Southern California and fatal mudslides.” “Compassion fatigue is a real thing,” fundraising specialist Sandy Rees told the Los Angeles Times.

Why are so many overwhelming tragedies and disasters hitting the United States? What is the remedy for the mayhem?

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