Middle East

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert went on trial Friday over the corruption allegations that forced him to resign last year. Olmert, the first Israeli prime minister to stand trial, is charged with fraud, breach of trust and failure to report income, dating back to before he became Israel’s leader. He denies any wrongdoing. Prime Minister Olmert’s trial is the latest in a series of scandals involving Israeli politicians.

Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi told the United Nations Wednesday evening what his solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was: a single state called Isratine, an acronym for Israel and Palestine. It was the first time Gadhafi had addressed the UN General Assembly in his 40 years in power. Libya is currently a temporary member of the UN Security Council.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spoke to the UN General Assembly the same night, railing against Israel and the United States. He accused Israel of “inhuman policies” in the Palestinian territories, calling on the world to respond, and charged Israel with dominating global economic and political affairs. He also accused the American-led forces in Iraq and Afghanistan of “war, bloodshed, aggression, terror and intimidation.” This is just further evidence of the UN being used as an acceptable forum for anti-Israel and anti-American rhetoric. The UN is simply being used by enemies of the West to marginalize the U.S.’s influence on the world scene.

Iranian media reported Tuesday that Tehran has welcomed Washington’s reversal on its missile defense plans in Central Europe. This, of course, comes as no surprise. While Iran’s Press tv claims that the move is welcome as a reduction in the conventional arms race, the true reason for Tehran’s approval is that it is a geopolitical victory for Iran, as Stephen Flurry pointed out in his column last week.

Iran’s state news agency irna on Tuesday also reported that the country’s first nuclear power plant is 96 percent complete and that final testing will soon begin. Iranian Vice President Ali Akbar Salehi, who heads Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, said that almost all of the equipment had been installed in the Bushehr nuclear power plant and that it would go into full operation after it had been tested. Russia has been helping Iran build the Bushehr plant since 1992.

Europe

If Ireland rejects the Lisbon Treaty, a smaller group of European Union nations should create a “core Europe” in order to implement the treaty, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi suggested on September 18. “If the Lisbon Treaty on EU reform does not pass, we need to completely revisit the current functioning of Europe to create a core of states that operate beyond unanimity,” he said at a press conference after meeting with Slovenian Premier Borut Pahor. “Europe cannot truly take decisions because decisions must be taken unanimously and that cannot continue,” said Berlusconi. The EUobserver.com reported, “Some experts believe that even if the Irish approve the treaty, such a move remains inevitable as the Union expands beyond 27 member states.” This is one way that a unified group of 10 nations, as indicated in Bible prophecy, could emerge from the EU. Watch this trend closely.

German conservative Edmund Stoiber is urging the European Commission to take measures to strip up to €40 billion (us$59 billion) a year in administrative costs from its total annual burden of €360 billion (us$529 billion). Stoiber has chaired the High Level Group of Independent Stakeholders on Administrative Burdens since its establishment in September 2007. The group’s purpose is to pinpoint where the administrative burden of unnecessary European Union legislation can be cut. Its second report, issued this month, details regulations in such areas as public procurement and financial services whose removal could save businesses more than €3 billion (us$4 billion) monthly. Evidence shows that Stoiber’s clout with EU politicians is growing. His advancing position could yet allow him to realize his expansive vision for Germany.

Al Qaeda released a video September 18 threatening terrorist attacks in Germany if Sunday’s national election does not produce the result it wants. “In a democracy, only the people can order their soldiers to come home,” said a man identified as Bekay Harrach, using the name Abu Talha and speaking in German. “But if the German people decide to continue this war, then it has sealed its own fate and, on top of that, it will have demonstrated that in a democracy civilians are not innocent after all.” The speaker told Muslims to “stay away from anything not vital for the two weeks after the elections.” “If the German people wants to live in security again, it has the opportunity now,” he said. Otherwise, he warned, after the elections Germany faced a “rude awakening.” Referring to the possibility of an Islamist terrorist attack on German soil, Gerald Flurry stated in a recently-recorded Key of David program: “I believe this could very easily happen, and could lead to the biggest change in world events in this end time.” For more analysis on this, watch the Key of David program next week titled “End-Time Antiochus.”

Asia

U.S.-led threats of fuel sanctions on Iran are being undermined by China and Russia. Chinese companies are already selling gasoline to Iran, and Russia is poised to follow suit. Because Russia has so often thwarted sanctions on Iran in the UN Security Council, the U.S. has been forced to get more creative. The U.S. has pressured nations that supply gasoline to Iran to back off. Although Iran is among the world’s largest crude oil producers, it lacks the refining capability to meet domestic demand for gasoline. Iran’s gasoline imports, therefore, are the most vulnerable part of its economy. But there are massive cracks in the U.S.’s plan. “We estimate, based on what we are hearing in the market,” said Lawrence Eagles, head of commodities research at JPMorgan, “that 30,000-40,000 barrels a day of Chinese petrol is making its way from the Asian spot market to Iran via third parties.” Iran imports approximately 120,000 barrels of gasoline each day. By shipping through intermediaries, China can supply one third of that amount without any overt official agreements. It is unlikely that Moscow will make such efforts to disguise its assistance to Iran. Russia’s relationship with Iran is one of its most powerful items of leverage against the U.S. In terms of geography and gasoline capacity, Moscow is in a position to cripple the sanctions.

Taiwan’s former president, Chen Shui-bian, and his wife have been sentenced to life in prison on charges of embezzlement and accepting bribes. Chen’s supporters believe his prosecution was politically motivated, owing to his staunch stance on Taiwanese independence from mainland China. Chen was charged with embezzling $3.15 million and receiving at least $9 million in bribes, but he has denied the charges, claiming he is being prosecuted by current President Ma Ying-jeou because of his anti-China stance. Although the Nationalist Party that Ma leads has made clear that it finds Mr. Chen’s support for Taiwanese independence from China to be misguided, Ma has denied any correlation between these political disagreements and the charges against Chen. Polls show that nearly a third of Taiwanese citizens do not believe their president.

China’s military power has taken a “quantum leap” forward, and its military technology is approaching the same standard as the Western world’s, Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie said in an interview Monday. Further modernizations are planned, he said, and a blueprint has been prepared to set “a solid foundation by 2010” to further upgrade the armed forces. “Our capabilities in waging defensive combat under modern conditions have taken a quantum leap,” said Liang. “We now have military satellites, advanced jets, new main battle tanks, sophisticated warships and subs.” All these modernizations will help China project its power beyond its borders. Watch for China’s global clout to increase with its military power. As China grows stronger, Asian nations such as Japan and South Korea will continue to pull away from their American allies and align themselves with their increasingly powerful neighbor. For more information on China’s rapid military growth, see our booklet Russia and China in Prophecy.

Latin America

Former Honduran President Manuel Zelaya is now in the Brazilian Embassy in Honduras. He has encouraged his supporters to protest in the streets. The interim government, still solidly committed to keeping Zelaya out, has scheduled presidential elections for November 29. For more on U.S. support of the ousted dictator, read “Defending Dictators” by Stephen Flurry (September 11).

Chief of Russia’s General Staff Nikolai Makarov announced on September 18 that Russia will help modernize and train Cuba’s military. This continues Russia’s pattern of undermining U.S. interests in Latin America, as explained in “Russia Infiltrates Latin America” by Brad Macdonald (Oct. 2, 2008).

Anglo-America

On Thursday, a federal court indicted Najibullah Zazi on a conspiracy charge to commit mass murder. Zazi is a permanent legal resident living in Denver, Colorado, who works as an airport shuttle driver. He is charged with plotting a bombing in an unspecified location.

Also on Thursday, the Treasury Department said its $700 billion bank bailout had been a success, but America’s financial system remained “fragile.” The program, which has used up $365 billion already, may be extended until October 2010.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Wednesday that in addition to cutting the nation’s fleet of nuclear-armed submarines from four to three, the government is also considering cutting its nuclear warheads. Prime Minister Brown’s remarks come as the United Nations holds talks on nuclear disarmament.

At the same time, Brown responded to reports that U.S. President Barack Obama had snubbed the prime minister. Rumors are circulating that Brown’s administration made numerous requests for a formal meeting with the president, who rejected them, yet met with leaders from Japan, China and Russia. Both Downing Street and the White House denied the rumors.

In Australia, Sydneysiders and other residents of New South Wales woke up to an alien landscape on Wednesday. An intense dust storm blew immense clouds of dry, reddish dirt all over the city of Sydney and reduced visibility. The red dust that forced Australians indoors delayed flights and hampered commuters. Intense drought conditions continue to plague the nation. An intense low-pressure system that swept across New South Wales from central Australia brought gale-force winds that stripped topsoil and coated every visible surface for hundreds of miles with a fine, red layer of dust.