European banking sector: “A deteriorating operating environment with low economic growth”

Frankfurt-Germany

Important Takeaways:

  • Moody’s sours on banking sector outlooks for Germany, Britain and France
  • The credit rating agency Moody’s said on Thursday that it was downgrading its outlook for the banking sector in a number of European countries as weak economies erode profits.
  • It changed the outlook to negative from stable for the banking sectors of Germany, Britain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Sweden.
  • Rising losses for unpaid loans and higher funding costs will chip away at profits, Moody’s said.
  • “A deteriorating operating environment with low economic growth and high borrowing costs will hit credit growth as well as loan performance in the largest European countries, particularly in the corporate sector,” said Moody’s analyst Effie Tsotsani.

Read the original article by clicking here.

German Chancellor accused of ‘flagrant abuse of intelligence’ regarding British and French ground troops in Ukraine

Zelensky-Ukraine

Important Takeaways:

  • German chancellor Olaf Scholz has been accused of a “flagrant abuse of intelligence” for divulging details of British aid for Ukrainian forces.
  • Scholz said Germany will not be sending Kyiv Taurus, Berlin’s version of the Storm Shadow missile, pointing to a risk of his country becoming directly involved in the war, referring to the UK and French assistance to Ukraine.
  • On Monday, he said that German soldiers could not follow the lead of their British and French allies in “the way of target control and accompanying target control”.
  • “This is a flagrant abuse of intelligence deliberately designed to distract from Germany’s reluctance to arm Ukraine with its own long-range missile system,” said Tobias Ellwood, the former chairman of the Commons defense committee.
  • Rishi Sunak on Tuesday confirmed the UK government has a “small number” of soldiers deployed inside Ukraine but added that Britain has no plans for a large-scale deployment of troops to the war-hit nation.
  • “Beyond the small number of personnel, we do have in the country supporting the armed forces of Ukraine, we haven’t got any plans for large-scale deployment,” the PM’s spokesperson told reporters, adding that large numbers of Ukrainian troops were being trained in Britain and London was supporting Kyiv with equipment and supplies.

Read the original article by clicking here.

Berlin farmers protest gains support

Farmer-Protest-Germany

Important Takeaways:

  • Thousands of demonstrators descended on the German capital Monday as a week-long protest over subsidy cuts in the agriculture sector reached a climax at the city’s famed Brandenburg Gate.
  • Behind the crowd, tractors, which last week blocked highways across the country, lined the avenue cutting through Berlin’s Tiergarten park.
  • “Without stability in the countryside, without agriculture our country has no future,” German Farmers’ Association President Joachim Rukwied said from the stage. “That’s why we are prepared to take to the streets.”
  • Monday’s demonstration was also an outlet for general dissatisfaction with the government, adding to the mounting pressure on Chancellor Olaf Scholz after scrambling to fix a billion-euro budget blunder, which led to the subsidy cuts.

Read the original article by clicking here.

Europe on high alert after arrests of terrorists

German-Courthouse

Important Takeaways:

  • Germany arrests four Hamas terrorists for plans to attack Jews
  • Four members of Hamas have been detained on suspicion of planning attacks on Jewish institutions in Europe, German prosecutors said in a statement on Thursday.
  • Three of the suspects were detained in Berlin and another was detained in the Netherlands, according to the prosecutors.
  • All four have been longstanding members of Hamas with close links to the leadership of the group’s military branch, said prosecutors.
  • Abdelhamid Al A had been tasked by Hamas leaders in Lebanon with sourcing weapons. The weapons were due to be taken to Berlin and kept at the ready for potential terrorist attacks against Jewish institutions, said prosecutors.
  • European authorities have warned of an increased risk of attacks by Islamists radicalized in relation to the Israel-Hamas war.

Read the original article by clicking here.

France, Germany, Italy called for EU special sanctions to target Hamas

Loading-Cargo-Plane

Important Takeaways:

  • France, Germany and Italy called for the European Union to set up a special sanctions scheme to target Hamas as EU foreign ministers met on Monday to consider possible next steps in response to the Middle East crisis.
  • In a letter to EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, the foreign ministers of the bloc’s three biggest countries said it was important the EU take “all necessary measures against the terrorist group Hamas and its supporters”.
  • Hamas is already listed by the European Union as a terrorist organization, meaning any funds or assets that it has in the EU should be frozen.
  • The EU said on Friday it had added Mohammed Deif, Commander General of the military wing of Hamas, and his deputy, Marwan Issa, to its list of terrorists under sanction.
  • Some suggested a decision last week by the United States, Israel’s biggest backer, to start imposing visa bans on people involved in violence in the West Bank could encourage EU countries to take similar steps.

Read the original article by clicking here.

German Minister of Defense “We have to become ready for war”

Prepare-War-in-Europe

Important Takeaways:

  • Germany Defense Minister Says Military Must Become Ready for War In Europe
  • German Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius has warned of the looming threat of a violent conflict igniting on the European continent, explaining during a television interview this weekend that a new mentality has to be adopted across society to tackle the increased risks of violent conflict.
  • “We have to get used to the idea again that the danger of war in Europe could threaten. And that means: We have to become war-ready,” Pistorius said, adding that bolstering Germany’s defense capabilities is the best means of avoiding future escalations.
  • But what he called decades of rot will be hard to fix in 18 months, the Defense Minister noted, also suggesting Germany’s armed forces will look “completely different” by the end of the decade. It was discovered earlier this year that the nation’s ammunition stockpiles have dropped below NATO’s required levels.

Read the original article by clicking here.

U.S., Germany and U.K. warn citizens abroad of potential terrorist attacks

Important Takeaways:

  • The U.S. Department of State issued a rare ‘Worldwide Caution’ alert Thursday, urging any American who is overseas to “exercise increased caution” due to “increased tensions in various locations around the world.”
  • The U.S. said there is also an increased potential for “terrorist attacks, demonstrations or violent actions against U.S. citizens.”
  • The U.S. Embassy in Beirut also urged American citizens Thursday to make plans to leave the country “as soon as possible while commercial options are still available,” as fighting intensifies near Israel’s northern border with Lebanon.
  • “We recommend that U.S. citizens who choose not to depart prepare contingency plans for emergency situations,” the embassy said in an emergency alert.
  • The U.K. and Germany issued similar warnings to their citizens.

Read the original article by clicking here.

Lutheran Church in Germany uses AI Chatbot to preach Sunday sermon

Romans 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Important Takeaways:

  • A.I. Chatbot Preaches at Church in Germany: ‘Looks Like the Unveiling of the Antichrist/Beast System’
  • A unique sermon was delivered via artificial intelligence Friday in a Lutheran church in Germany.
  • A ChatGPT chatbot asked the people in the fully packed St. Paul’s Church in the town of Fuerth to rise from the pews and praise the Lord.
  • The bot was personified by an avatar of a bearded black man on a huge screen above the altar. It preached to more than 300 people who showed up for the experimental Lutheran church service, generated almost entirely by artificial intelligence.
  • Those in the church listened attentively as the A.I. preached about leaving the past behind, focusing on the challenges of the present, overcoming fear of death, and never losing trust in Jesus Christ.

Read the original article by clicking here.

Remembering David Wilkerson’s Prophecy from 1972 predicted Financial Collapse starts in Germany: According to experts Germany has entered into a recession; Could this be the domino to start a chain reaction?

Revelations 13:16-18 “Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666.”

Important Takeaways:

  • Germany enters recession following economic ‘collapse’ – and experts predict the situation is only going to get WORSE for Europe’s largest economy… as IMF sharply upgrades UK growth forecast
  • The German economy suffered an unexpected dip in the first quarter of the year, formally putting the country into a recession, new figures show.
  • Germany’s gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 0.3 per cent in the period from January to March, data released on Thursday by the Federal Statistical Office shows.
  • The figures come as a major blow to Germany’s government, which just weeks ago boldly doubled its growth forecast for this year after a feared winter energy crunch failed to materialize.
  • Chief economist at Commerzbank, Jörg Krämer, drew a similar conclusion.
  • ‘Unfortunately, there is no fundamental improvement in sight because all important leading indicators in the manufacturing sector are now falling,’ he declared.

Read the original article by clicking here.

German Army officials say they’re struggling to fill ranks as calls for a return of conscription grow louder

Revelations 6:3-4 “when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.

Important Takeaways:

  • German politicians and military chiefs suggest return of conscription
  • Political and military figures in Germany have suggested a return of compulsory military service after the new defense minister described the 2011 phase-out of general conscription as a “mistake” that had contributed to alienating the general public from civic institutions.
  • “We definitely need more personnel in the Bundeswehr,” Högl told the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper.
  • From 1956 until 2011, German men were obliged to perform some form of civic service upon turning 18, with those who did not want to serve in the army having the option to instead carry out Zivildienst in civic institutions such as hospitals or homes for elderly people.
  • With the staffing requirements of a downsized army shrinking after the fall of the Berlin Wall, both services were suspended under Angela Merkel’s rule in 2011
  • Recently army officials have complained of their struggles to fill the ranks of a Bundeswehr no more than 183,000 strong, while social institutions bemoan the lack of young care workers for whom a Zivildienst spell used to work as a door-opener into the sector.

Read the original article by clicking here.