GERMANY - The leadership of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has opened an inquiry into Alexander Eichwald after the youth activist delivered a speech said to mirror the rhetoric of former Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, German press agency DPA reported. Speaking at the founding meeting of the AfD's youth organization, Generation Germany, Eichwald began by discussing his "love and loyalty to Germany," how animals have breeds, and about "foreign influences" on German culture, according to German site Suddeutsche Zeitung (SZ).

GERMANY - Under a rainbow-lit dome, hundreds of people gathered to drink pink glühwein and watch Jacky-Oh Weinhaus, a celebrity drag queen, at the opening week of Berlin’s LGBT Christmas market. “This is an adult market,” said one of the security guards at the entrance, solemnly. “I have a duty to tell you your children may see pictures of penises and things of that nature.” Until three years ago, the Christmas Avenue festival was held out in the open on Nollendorfplatz, the heart of the gay district, immortalised nearly a century ago by the Berlin novels of Christopher Isherwood. Now, it takes place under an elevated railway line, cocooned with crash barriers erected between the concrete and metal pillars. Any rucksacks or other large bags must be searched and handed over to the guards. This is the reality for Germany’s 3,250 Christmas markets. For centuries the embodiment of Gemütlichkeit, a feeling of homely cosiness, the markets are held under the shadow of steadily worsening political violence.

EUROPE - Nato is considering more aggressive measures towards Russia in response to its escalating hybrid war against the West, a top official said. Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, the head of the alliance’s military committee, said: “Being more aggressive or being proactive instead of reactive is something that we are thinking about.” A “pre-emptive strike” could be considered a “defensive action”, he told the Financial Times, but said it was “further away from our normal way of thinking and behaviour”. Moscow called the comments “extremely irresponsible”, accusing Nato of suggesting it was “moving towards an escalation”. Maria Zakharova, Russia’s foreign ministry spokesman, added that it was a “deliberate attempt” to sabotage peace talks. The proposed change in the alliance’s stance towards Moscow comes amid what has been described as a “pivotal week” for peace talks on the continent.

TANZANIA - It is being called “Tanzania’s Tiananmen Square”. And for good reason. A stage-managed election, hundreds of protestors fatally shot, leaked images of overflowing morgues, and satellite evidence of mass graves. A country envied across Africa for its political stability – and a prime tourist destination – is facing unprecedented turmoil. How did we get here? The October 29 election was a coronation for incumbent president Samia Suluhu Hassan, the country’s first female head of state, who took power after the death of her predecessor in office in 2021. With the main opposition leader jailed since April on treason charges, Ms Hassan was declared the winner, with 98 per cent of the vote. Security forces dispatched to contain them responded with deadly force. Diplomatic sources suggest that a toll of around 1,000 deaths is credible.

LEBANON - Lebanon will not disarm Hezbollah by the US-imposed deadline, risking a major escalation in the Middle East, current and former Israeli military officials have warned. The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) have been tasked with seizing and destroying all of the Iran-backed terror group’s weapons by December 31. But despite optimism earlier in 2025 regarding the LAF’s efforts, Israel has grown increasingly doubtful they will succeed. Lebanon’s failure to root out Hezbollah could have major repercussions in the region. The White House reportedly approved a $230 million (£174 million) package to help the LAF carry out the disarmament plan, and failure risks Donald Trump’s wrath. Israel too could respond with even more force to Hezbollah’s build-up.

INDONESIA - The death toll from flooding and landslides across southeast Asia, including Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and parts of Thailand and Malaysia in recent days, has passed 1,000. Indonesia deployed the military to try to rescue survivors after monsoon rains swamped swathes of the region. Thousands of people have been left without shelter and supplies. Residents were left clinging to rooftops awaiting rescue by boat or helicopter, and entire villages were cut off from assistance. Prabowo Subianto, the Indonesian president, travelled to one of the worst-affected areas on Monday saying the “priority now is how to immediately send the necessary aid”.

LEBANON - Pope Leo said on Sunday that the only solution in the decades-long conflict between Israel and the Palestinian people must include a Palestinian state, reaffirming the Vatican's position. "We all know that at this time Israel still does not accept that solution, but we see it as the only solution," Leo, the first US pope, told journalists on a flight from Turkey to Lebanon during his first in-flight press conference. "We are also friends with Israel, and we are seeking to be a mediating voice between the two parties that might help them close in on a solution with justice for everyone," added the pope, speaking in Italian.

UK - Raising a child can cost parents almost a quarter of a million pounds, as expenses peak in their late teenage years due to extravagant grooming regimes. On average, parents spend £13,830 a year on their child from pregnancy until their 18th birthday, according to research by MoneyFarm, an investment platform. The most expensive period of a child’s life was between 15 and 18 years old, when parents spend £65,016 on their children. Spending on health, beauty and personal care items among this age group has reached £1,182 a year, double what it was in 2023.

USA - The two West Virginia National Guard members were ambushed and shot near the White House on Wednesday by an Afghan national who was resettled in the United States through a Biden-era program funded entirely by American taxpayers. Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, succumbed to her injuries on Thanksgiving, while Sergeant Andrew Wolfe, 24, remains in critical condition. This incident underscores a harsh reality: billions in US tax dollars have been poured into resettling tens of thousands of Afghans, some of whom pose a direct threat to American lives and security. Author and political commentator Mike Cernovich shared a post breaking down the cost and wrote, “We are being forced to fund our own destruction.”

USA - Masked terror supporters torched piles of American flags outside Philadelphia City Hall, waving Palestinian banners and chanting as the flames spread. The anti-Israel mob — about 400 strong — marched through Center City, clashing with police and leaving vandalism in its wake before several were arrested. In nearby Rittenhouse Square, activists gathered under the “All Out for Gaza” banner, some brazenly flaunting Hezbollah and Hamas symbols. Organizers promoted the events by calling the US “AmeriKKKa” and declaring Independence Day illegitimate. That this was allowed the day after a Muslim migrant from Afghanistan shot and killed National Guard troops on Thanksgiving in broad daylight in our nation’s capital is unconscionable. This wasn’t a “protest.” This wasn’t “speech.” This was a deliberate, hostile act inciting to civil war.

USA - The truth is that it is happening now… During the holiday season of 2025 wealthy Americans are literally spending money as if there is no tomorrow. But meanwhile, just about everyone else is really struggling. For a long time, we were warned that a cost of living crisis would be coming. That is happening now. For a long time, we were warned that delinquency rates would rise because consumers were piling up too much debt. That is happening now. For a long time, we were warned that foreclosure filings would surge when the current housing bubble started to burst. That is happening now. For a long time, we were warned that cryptocurrency prices would plummet. Now more than a trillion dollars in cryptocurrency wealth has been wiped out. Another thing that we have been relentlessly warned about is the weakness of the labor market. Today, we learned that “the pace of layoffs has picked up over the past four weeks”… I fully understand that the reality of what is taking place all around us is not welcome news to a lot of people out there. But IF WE ARE NOT WILLING TO FACE REALITY, we will inevitably make bad decisions. And making bad decisions is what got us into this giant mess in the first place.

CHINA - An analysis by the organization Open Doors revealed that the Bible is banned or restricted in 88 of the world's 195 countries, meaning that nearly half of all nations limit access to the Holy Scriptures. Among the most serious cases is China, where — despite its image of economic openness — state control, direct government intervention, and social surveillance mechanisms continue to persist. Additionally, Cardinal Joseph Zen has called on the faithful to “return to the catacombs,” warning that in China religious worship is not only strictly regulated, but that there is also a state-authorized form of worship. The prelate discourages attending these official churches and urges believers to practice their faith freely, remaining “faithful to the truth that makes us free.”

TURKEY - Breaking with his predecessors, Pope Leo XIV declined to pray at the Blue Mosque of Istanbul on Saturday as he continued his first international tour as the Bishop of Rome. In a show of respect, Pope Leo removed his shoes and toured the 17th-century mosque in his white socks; however, unlike Pope Benedict and Pope Francis before him, the recently selected pontiff declined an invitation to pray at the Sultan Ahmed Mosque on the third day of his Apostolic Visit to Turkey, a former Christian epicentre now comprised of 99.8 per cent Muslims. While he did not pray at the Blue Mosque, Pope Leo did pray alongside Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, during a service at the Patriarchal Church of Saint George, in a show of solidarity with the Eastern Orthodox Church and to commemorate the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, which both Churches still recognise as authoritative.

USA - AI-Powered teddy bear back on market after telling children how to start fires. Folotoy, the company behind the AI-powered Kumma teddy bear, temporarily ceased sales of the product in response to backlash over safety concerns raised by researchers. The bear’s AI chatbot was proven to instruct children on how to start fires, find knives in their homes, and how to locate prescription drugs. The Company claims the teddy bear, once again for sale, now has stronger child protections in place.

USA - The elite aren’t stupid. They can see that our society is coming apart at the seams all around us, and so they want to live some place safe. In fact, for many among the elite security has become the number one priority when choosing a new home. Unfortunately, the vast majority of us do not have the resources to move into high security communities guarded by teams of armed professionals. When things really start hitting the fan, most Americans are just going to have to deal with the chaos that is suddenly erupting all around them. But for the ultra-wealthy, one of the benefits of having so much money is being able to shut yourself off from the rest of the world.