World News and Trends: British rule over Gibraltar threatened

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At the beginning of 1947 most of the British Empire was still intact, but the next 40 years saw a rapid unraveling of the empire on which it once could be said the sun never set. Threatened now are its vestiges.

At the beginning of 1947 most of the British Empire was still intact, but the next 40 years saw a rapid unraveling of the empire on which it once could be said the sun never set. Threatened now are its vestiges.

The British fought a war to retain sovereignty in the Falkland Islands in 1982. Hong Kong is to be returned to China this year. And Spain has never been happy with the status of Gibraltar.

Recently Marcus Warren reported that "Britain's commander in Gibraltar could soon be taking orders from a Spanish officer, ending nearly 300 years of sole British military control of the Rock. A change in NATO's structure, now under discussion, to put a Spaniard above the British officer in the Mediterranean chain of command would be a huge propaganda victory for Spain, which has never recognised British rule of the tiny peninsula."

Ever since the Cold War, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization has struggled to find a new role for itself. Who would have thought that its very command structure could figure in the future of Spanish claims on Gibraltar? (Source: The Sunday Telegraph.)

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John Ross Schroeder

John died on March 8, 2014, in Oxford, England, four days after suffering cardiac arrest while returning home from a press event in London. John was 77 and still going strong.

Some of John's work for The Good News appeared under his byline, but much didn't. He wrote more than a thousand articles over the years, but also wrote the Questions and Answers section of the magazine, compiled our Letters From Our Readers, and wrote many of the items in the Current Events and Trends section. He also contributed greatly to a number of our study guides and Bible Study Course lessons. His writing has touched the lives of literally millions of people over the years.

John traveled widely over the years as an accredited journalist, especially in Europe. His knowledge of European and Middle East history added a great deal to his articles on history and Bible prophecy.

In his later years he also pastored congregations in Northern Ireland and East Sussex, and that experience added another dimension to his writing. He and his wife Jan were an effective team in our British Isles office near their home.

John was a humble servant who dedicated his life to sharing the gospel—the good news—of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God to all the world, and his work was known to readers in nearly every country of the world. 

Scott Ashley

Scott Ashley was managing editor of Beyond Today magazine, United Church of God booklets and its printed Bible Study Course until his retirement in 2023. He also pastored three congregations in Colorado for 10 years from 2011-2021. He and his wife, Connie, live near Denver, Colorado. 
Mr. Ashley attended Ambassador College in Big Sandy, Texas, graduating in 1976 with a theology major and minors in journalism and speech. It was there that he first became interested in publishing, an industry in which he worked for 50 years.
During his career, he has worked for several publishing companies in various capacities. He was employed by the United Church of God from 1995-2023, overseeing the planning, writing, editing, reviewing and production of Beyond Today magazine, several dozen booklets/study guides and a Bible study course covering major biblical teachings. His special interests are the Bible, archaeology, biblical culture, history and the Middle East.