Sounds like the JW rumor mill is working full tilt...
The Society is going to have a new teaching program for all elders. From what I understand, these schools were going to be at Bethel for all US elders. That's probably the "special meeting" that your contact was talking about.
As far as JWs are concerned, they've been teaching that they've been living in the "Time of the End" since 1914 for decades. That's nothing new. As for the "End of the End", the leadership has always tried to instill a sense of urgency in the rank and file to keep them busy and distracted from reality. It's ironic...and frustrating...how the WTS will use the rumor mill to promote that the "End" is so close, but in writing they'll hedge their bets by saying that no one knows the hour.
The UN banning religions has been a JW urban myth since I was a little...and that was a few decades ago. Other fundamentalists have rumored the same thing. No basis in fact or logic.