USA - In a civilized society, authorities are able to maintain at least a basic level of law and order in the streets most of the time. Unfortunately, at this point it is up for debate whether the United States is still a “civilized society” or not. The chaos in our streets never seems to end, and those that are in charge of running things don’t seem to be able to regain control. The theft, violence and mayhem that we are witnessing in our major cities is being fueled by the worst homelessness crisis in our entire history, the worst drug crisis in our entire history, and the worst migration crisis in our entire history. If authorities cannot control our streets now, what is going to happen once our societal collapse reaches a much more advanced stage?

EUROPE - Shortly before German Economy Minister Robert Habeck’s trip to South Korea and China, there is another twist in the downward spiral of a trade war between the EU and the People’s Republic of China. At the beginning of the week, Beijing launched an anti-dumping investigation into EU pork exports to China. Punitive tariffs are likely to follow. This product group has an annual value of 2.5 billion euros. It will be China’s response to the European Commission announcement that it will impose punitive tariffs ranging from 17.4 to 38.1 per cent on imports of Chinese-made electric vehicles from 4 July. These tariff hikes come on top of the regular import 10 per cent duties. This move by Brussels is highly controversial in Germany.

CHINA - China's latest stunt in the South China Sea has triggered fresh horrifying "open war" fears. Beijing deployed a monster 541-feet Coast Guard ship within 200 nautical miles of the Philippines in its latest bid to intimidate the top US ally in the Indo-Pacific. China has been embroiled in a bitter dispute with Manila for months as it seeks to assert its sovereignty over the contested body of water. Xi Jinping's navy has ramped up its aggressive stance - despite repeated warnings from Washington it would intervene should the Philippines come under attack. But China has so far shown no sign it plans to listen to demands from other countries with a stake in the South China Sea to stand down.

FRANCE - As votes continue to be counted following France's shock election poll, riots break out sparking scenes of chaos amid celebrations for The New Popular Front. As the votes continue to be counted following France’s hard fought election, pockets of civil unrest have dampened the victory celebrations of The New Popular Front (NFP), a left-wing alliance formed at the last minute to fight the election, who exit polls predict have won the most seats. No party appears to have won a majority, but Marine Le Pen, the co-leader of the National Rally with Jordan Bardella, has refused to admit defeat, as she defiantly told reporters her party's "victory has only been delayed", and she "sees the seeds of tomorrow's victory in today's result”.

USA - South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham added his voice on Sunday to a chorus calling for cognitive and physical evaluations for Joe Biden – but also called for the same for Donald Trump and others. The Republican lawmaker recommended such tests for all future presidential nominees as well as those who may take over from a president or a nominee. “All nominees for president going into the future should have neurological exams as part of an overall physical exam… Let’s test Trump. Let’s test Biden. Let’s test the line of succession”, the 68-year-old Graham told CBS’ Face the Nation on Sunday. “This is a wake-up call for the country,” he added. “We need to make sure that the people who are going to be in the line of succession are capable of being commander-in-chief under dire circumstances.”

ITALY - Mount Etna, Italy's largest volcano located in Sicily, has been erupting over recent days. The volcanic activity has escalated, with incredible images captured of lava spewing from its largest crater. Travellers at Catania airport - a major international gateway to Sicily - experienced significant delays. A minimum of 90 flights departing and arriving at Catania airport were cancelled, causing disruption for approximately 15,000 passengers. Ryanair was hit the hardest, being forced to cancel 42 flights - the highest number among all airlines. Meanwhile, Italy's Stromboli volcano - one of the most active in the world - has been spilling lava into the sea following a major eruption.

FRANCE - Violence has erupted on the streets of France after a shock exit poll predicted that a left-wing coalition is leading the snap election battle - dashing Marine Le Pen's hopes of forming the country's first hard-right government since the war. Shocking footage shows hooded and masked protesters running through the streets, launching flares and setting France ablaze - after 30,000 riot police were deployed across France amid high political tension. This comes after the second round of polls predicted the hard right National Rally (RN) is on track to come third - having led the race after the first round.

UK - Boris Johnson has warned the UK is "on the road to serfdom" amid reports Sir Keir Starmer will start to renegotiate the post-Brexit deal with the EU within weeks. The new Prime Minister is expected to use a major summit at Blenheim Palace later this month to unofficially get the ball rolling. Sir Keir is said to want lower trade barriers and have more relaxed freedom of movement rules. EU sources believe he is willing to sign Britain up to some of Brussels's rules in exchange. But Mr Johnson warned against any renegotiation of the five-year pact he signed in 2020. The former prime minister told the Mail on Sunday: "The great sell-out begins. Sir Keir, who backed Remain and a second referendum, has previously said he would seek a better deal with the EU if he won power." But the Labour leader has insisted he would not drag the UK back into the Single Market or customs union.

EUROPE - EU leaders yesterday offered to help Labour unpick Boris Johnson's Brexit deal. Irish premier Simon Harris said his country would help 'facilitate' a closer deal with the UK 'every way we can around any European table'. Mr Harris said there was a 'willingness to have those conversations' in Brussels about a new deal, which could include a form of free movement for young people. Germany said it was working with Labour 'to see how the UK can move closer to the EU'. Sir Keir Starmer, meanwhile, said work had 'already begun' on negotiating changes to the 'botched' Brexit deal. The Prime Minister told reporters in Edinburgh: 'We intend to improve our relationship with the EU and that means closer trading ties with the EU.' He added: 'I do think that we can get a much better deal than the botched deal that Boris Johnson saddled the UK with.'

YEMEN - The head of the Yemeni Ansarallah terrorist organization, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, boasted in a national address on Thursday that his jihadists had turned American aircraft carriers into “obsolete weapons.” Houthi’s group, which controls the Yemeni capital of Sana’a and received significant backing from state sponsor of terror Iran, declared war on Israel in October in support of fellow jihadist terrorists Hamas. The Houthis’, as they are commonly known, main contribution to terrorism in the Middle East has been a campaign against commercial shipping in the Red Sea in which they use drones, missiles, and other often rudimentary weapons to attack random civilian vessels in the region.

IRAN - Given the calamitous track record of Iran’s so-called “moderate” leaders, it would be naive in the extreme to believe that the election of former heart surgeon Masoud Pezeshkian as the country’s next president will lead Tehran to adopt a less confrontational approach towards the West. On the contrary, with the Iranian regime edging ever closer to developing its own nuclear weapons, and Iranian-backed terrorist movements such as Hamas and Hezbollah continuing to destabilise the Middle East, Pezeshkian’s victory should be seen as nothing more than a token gesture to the millions of ordinary Iranians who long for an end to their rulers’ brutal repression.

USA - A long-running heatwave that has already broken records, sparked dozens of wildfires and left about 130 million people under a high-temperature threat is about to intensify enough that the National Weather Service has deemed it “potentially historic”. The NWS on Saturday reported some type of extreme heat or advisory for nearly 133 million people across the nation – mostly in western states where the triple-digit heat, with temperatures 15F to 30F higher than average, is expected to last into next week. By midday Saturday, Las Vegas ended up tying its daily heat record of 115F, the NWS said, as it pleaded with people to be mindful of leaving children or pets inside vehicles in the extreme heat.

USA - Officials have issued evacuation warnings after a forest fire in Santa Barbara spread to nearly 5,000 acres in the span of a day. A wildfire, dubbed the Lake Fire, that erupted at around 3:45 pm yesterday has left more than 300 acres of land charred in the Los Padres National Forest. The blazing Lake Fire had spread to about 4,673 acres before 11 pm, according to Los Padres officials. The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office has since issued evacuation orders for areas around Figueroa Mountain Road to the Forest Station to Chamberlin Ranch as well as areas north of Zaca Lake Road, east of Foxen Canyon Road and south of the Sisquoc River, according to the Santa Barbara Independent. Scott Safechuck, a Santa Barbara Fire Department spokesman, said temperatures had reached 90 degrees and relative humidity was nine percent in the fire area as of last night.

ISRAEL - Israel will only be able to claim complete victory over Hamas and Hezbollah once Iran's nuclear programme is wiped out, according to an Israeli politician. An Israeli politician has issued a chilling five-word warning to Iran as he argued stopping Teheran from expanding its nuclear programme is key to defeating terror organisations in the region. Avigdor Lieberman, a member of the right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu faction of the Knesset, insisted Israel must use "all the means at our disposal" to stop Iran.

USA - The US media has finally turned on Joe Biden. Conservative outlets always disliked him, of course, but liberal-leaning journalists have provided cover for years – hitting Trump, praising Biden and downplaying the president’s physical decline. But at the June 27 debate, the evidence became irrefutable. Biden, mumbling and confused, looked like a man who’d spotted a light and was tempted to walk towards it. The Washington Post called his performance “ninety minutes of pain”. The New York Times concluded, “To serve his country, President Biden should leave the race.” Yet Biden’s weakness had been obvious for a long time before the debate. The White House did its best to cover it up; the liberal media, say critics, colluded – even gaslit the public. The story of how reporters turned from enablers to critics of this administration is a tragedy of politics and ethics.