Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, also known as the Promised Messiah and the Imam Mahdi, wrote a 1905 poem describing massive earthquakes and destruction across the world, which some have now interpreted as a warning of World War III. In the poem, published around the time of his death in 1908, Ahmad predicted streams of blood flowing from widespread death, entire regions being wiped out, a massive earthquake, and even strange sky events beyond scientific explanation.
At the beginning of the year, German men aged 18 began to receive a compulsory questionnaire registering their fitness for army service under a law passed last month. Joining the army is voluntary for now, but the law allows the government to introduce mandatory service to meet its goal of building what it says will be the strongest army in Europe for the first time since World War II.
Russia has accused Ukraine of killing at least 24 people, including a child, in a drone attack on a hotel and cafe where New Year celebrations were taking place in a Russian-controlled part of Ukraine's southern Kherson region. Vladimir Saldo, the Russian-installed governor of the region, first made the claim in a statement on Telegram before Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and senior politicians later accused Ukraine of carrying out a terrorist attack.