Middle East

Results from Iran’s June 12 presidential election showed a landslide victory for hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Supporters of the president’s main challenger, former Prime Minister Mir Hossein Mousavi, have taken to the streets in massive protests over the past week. To date, they are surviving a brutal security crackdown. Mousavi is calling for a new vote, saying the elections were fraudulent. It is likely, however, that Iranian discontent with Ahmadinejad is highly exaggerated in Western media. The president remains very popular throughout most of the country. Despite what the media may portray, this is not the herald of a new age of moderation in Iran. The election—like all Iranian elections—was a charade. This isn’t merely a question of whether or not votes were counted correctly. Iran is not a democracy—it is a theocratic republic. The religious leaders decide who can run for office and who can’t. Even Mousavi—now considered a reformist—has a history as a hardliner from the days when he was prime minister under the Islamic Republic’s founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Whatever happens in Iran in the short term, biblical prophecy tells us that it will continue to seek undisputed leadership of the radical Islamic camp.

In a speech at the Bar-Ilan University on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu argued that Israeli settlements on the West Bank were not the cause of the lack of peace between Jews and Palestinians, as U.S. President Barack Obama implied in his Cairo speech, but rather the fact that the Palestinians want to destroy Israel. Netanyahu outlined conditions for a peaceful two-state solution: The Palestinians must recognize the right of Israel to exist, and solve the refugee problem outside of Israel’s borders; the Palestinian state must be demilitarized, and Jerusalem must remain the unified capital of Israel. The Arab world’s reaction to Netanyahu’s offer proves what the fundamental problem is with the peace process. “Netanyahu’s demand that Palestinians recognize Israel as the Jewish state is ruining the chance for peace,” said Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, for example. “Not Egypt, nor any other Arab country would support Netanyahu’s approach.” If one side refuses to recognize the right of the other to exist, then no amount of haggling over settlements will help. It appears Netanyahu recognizes this and is rejecting the land-for-peace formula.

It seems reconciliation with Hezbollah is the aim of Lebanon’s ruling March 14 alliance as it forms a new government following the country’s parliamentary elections on June 7. The ruling party knows that the Iran-sponsored Hezbollah terrorist group will retain its grip on the country one way or another—which is why it is accommodating Hezbollah rather than standing up to it. While Saad Hariri, leader of the ruling alliance, is resisting granting Hezbollah formal veto power, Stratfor reports that he and his Saudi patrons are “formulating a new working relationship with the Shiite militant group that protects and pays tribute to the ‘Resistance’” (June 16). Fearing Hezbollah would take matters into its own hands, violently, Hariri has set out to appease the group by giving it security guarantees, meaning Hezbollah will not be called upon to disarm.

Europe

U.S. bonds worth an astounding $134.5 billion were seized by Italian police from two Japanese as they attempted to cross the border into Switzerland earlier this month, Italian media reported last week. Authorities have not indicated if they are real or fake, but either way it could have implications for the U.S. bond market and the value of the dollar. If the bonds are authentic, it probably means that some government is trying to sell a huge chunk of its dollar holdings, with Japan being the prime suspect. If they’re fake, then this is by far the biggest counterfeiting operation ever. Either way, it is not good for the dollar.

“Gold to go” machines will soon be unveiled across Germany as firm TG-Gold-Super-Markt tries to take advantage of widespread uncertainty in the economic downturn. “Gold is an economic canary,” wrote theTrumpet.com columnist Robert Morley last year. “Historically, when the price of gold goes up, it is an indicator of probable economic trouble” (“Gold Price Warning Signs,” Jan. 22, 2008). Gold becoming so popular that people can buy it from vending machines is a big warning sign.

According to figures released by Eurostat, the European Union’s statistics office, on June 12, industrial production in the 16-nation eurozone fell by 21.6 percent from April 2008 to April 2009. Germany was one of the hardest hit countries, with a 23.2 percent annual fall. As the largest economy in Europe and the world’s biggest exporter, Germany is the main driver of economic activity in Europe. The new statistics indicate the European economy is not close to a recovery.

Asia

China’s new economic stimulus program has ratcheted up trade tensions. Following on the heels of President Obama’s stimulus plan that favors U.S. supply chains, Beijing has issued its own “buy Chinese” policy. Nine Chinese government departments have jointly released an edict that all government stimulus projects must use only Chinese-made products or services, unless such products or services are not available within the country. The official Chinese order was dated June 1, but reported only this week by state media. To use foreign goods, special permission will be required. Government officials also said they were beginning to investigate complaints that local governments have been favoring foreign suppliers in procurement related to the country’s $585 billion stimulus plan. Is the world verging on a new era of protectionism, or trade war? Read our February 2008 Trumpet article “First Shots of Trade War?” for more.

Russia and China have agreed to increase the use of their national currencies—the ruble and the yuan—in bilateral trade, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said at a joint news conference with Chinese President Hu Jintao on Wednesday. The day before, Medvedev repeated his call for new reserve currencies in addition to the dollar. The Associated Press reported that “It reflects both the Kremlin’s push for greater international clout and a concern shared by other countries that soaring U.S. budget deficits could spur inflation and weaken the dollar.” Watch for other nations to look for alternatives to the dollar.

At Wednesday’s conference, Medvedev also announced that Russia and China had agreed to a record $100 billion worth of energy deals—though some of this figure may represent previously announced agreements. Earlier in the day, Hu praised the cooperation between the two countries, saying, “We have enacted effective strategic cooperation, which allows us … to assert our joint forces and provide the necessary contribution to achieving peace and stability in the world.” Watch for Russia and China to cooperate even more; see our July Trumpet article “The Giants of the East” for details.

A Chinese submarine collided with a sonar being towed by the uss John S. McCain in the South China Sea on June 11. While reportedly an accident, this is the latest in a series of incidents between the navies of America and China. Watch for these types of incidents to continue as China’s navy grows in strength and boldness.

Latin America/Africa

Brazilian virologists identified a new form of swine flu (h5n1) this week. When the bird flu scare infected everyone in 2005, scientists knew there was no real threat unless the virus mutated into a form that could spread easily and be sustained ably among humans. The current form of the virus is rarely lethal, but it does spread easily—it has made the jump that makes possible a deadly pandemic like the Spanish influenza that killed 40 million human beings in 1918. The only reason the world is not in crisis due to swine flu now is the low mortality rate of this particular strain of the virus. Like all viruses, though, it will mutate. The Spanish influenza also began as a mild strain of the flu that killed relatively few until it made the final mutation that killed more people than live in all of Canada. For more detail on the dangers of h5n1, read our January 2006 Trumpet article “Is Bird Flu Really a Threat?”

South Africa’s Medical Research Council has released a shocking survey: One in four South African males admitted to having raped someone, with about half saying they had multiple victims. According tobbc News, the survey said that “practices such as gang rape were common because they were considered a form of male bonding.” Seventy-three percent of respondents said they carried out their first attack before they were 20 years old. One in 20 surveyed admitted to committing a rape in the last year. The survey included 1,738 men in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. A recent trade union report said a child is raped in South Africa every three minutes—but these cases are rarely reported. For every 25 men accused of rape in South Africa, only one is convicted. In a country with 500,000 rapes every year, the government still has not stepped in to combat the problem. For more insight into the curses South Africa faces—specifically outlined in your Bible—read our online booklet South Africa in Prophecy.

Anglo-America

In Iraq, U.S. combat troops are exiting the cities ahead of their June 30 deadline. Roadside bomb and other attacks continue in Baghdad—at a rate of five to six per day—and elsewhere, proving that the situation is far from under control. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, said he is “absolutely committed” to the June deadline and only a “very small number” of military trainers would stay behind to work with Iraqi security forces.

The U.S. Navy is tracking a North Korean ship that is suspected of carrying weaponry, U.S. officials said on Thursday. The Kang Nam, off the coast of China, is being monitored by air. Its cargo is suspected to be missile parts or nuclear materials. North Korea conducted its second nuclear weapon test last month.

On the heels of President Obama declaring June a month of pride in lesbians, homosexuals, bisexuals and transgenders, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday ordered that homosexual partners of American diplomats be granted diplomatic passports and access to medical care and U.S. government jobs overseas. The State Department will now reimburse moving expenses for Foreign Service homosexual partners. “This change is the right thing to do, and it is the smart thing to do,” Clinton said.

On the other side of the political aisle, an ostensibly conservative politician has admitted to having an adulterous affair with a staffer last year. The married politician doubled the staffer’s salary, granted her husband two extra weeks of pay and put their son on his payroll while the affair was going on.