GERMANY - For the 13 years since its founding, the nationalist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party - labeled “right-wing extremist” by the country’s domestic intelligence agency and accused by others of xenophobia, antisemitism and Islamophobia - has stood in opposition. Opposition to the European Union. Opposition to immigration. And, as the largest party outside the governing coalition after last year’s federal election, opposition to Chancellor Friedrich Merz. This year, the AfD is looking to lead for the first time - by winning control of a state government. That, in turn, could undermine the fragile coalition that governs the country and open a path to power for the AfD at the federal level. Five German states will hold elections in 2026. In two eastern states - Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania - the AfD leads by wide margins in opinion polls. If it wins control of either state, German politics may never be the same.

UK - The number of abortions in England and Wales rose 11% in 2023 to reach a record high, according to official statistics. There were 277,970 abortions in 2023 compared with 251,377 in 2022, figures from the Department of Health show. Charities and health leaders said the data reflects economic pressures and the rising cost of living as well as poor access to sexual health services. "Economic pressure and the rising cost of living are shaping women's reproductive choices with many choosing to delay or have smaller families. At the same time, overstretched GP and sexual health services are making it harder for many women - particularly in more deprived communities - to access contraception when they need it, increasing the risk of unplanned pregnancy." Right To Life UK spokeswoman Catherine Robinson said it was a "national tragedy and a national scandal that so many lives were lost to abortion. Every one of these was a human being whose life had potential and every one of them deserved protection. We are calling for a national conversation about our abortion laws."

UK - The cotton mills of Manchester, the coal mines up and down the country, and the shipyards that turned out more vessels than any other nation. But there is one industry this country has always been able to rely on: salt. For hundreds of years, since long before the Industrial Revolution, Britain has produced all the salt it needed for domestic consumption. Indeed, for much of the 19th and 20th centuries, this country was the world's biggest salt exporter, sending tonnes of this vital chemical around the Empire, using it as a tool of power.

USA - Melissa McKay criticised the tech giant after it told her son how to switch off the safety features ahead of his 13th birthday, and Google changed their policy. The email that landed in Melissa McKay’s inbox from Google about an update to her family account was vague and seemingly innocuous. The one the company sent to her son at that same moment, however, was much more directly worded and far less opaque: you are about to turn 13 and now old enough to turn off parental controls. It gave him detailed instructions on how to do so and even provided a hyperlink. But for her job, McKay would be unlikely to open her email. The mother-of-five just happens to be the president of the Digital Childhood Institute. McKay said: “Google is asserting authority over a boundary that does not belong to them. It reframes parents as a temporary inconvenience to be outgrown and positions corporate platforms as the default replacement.”

USA - X is currently filled with requests made by users in plain sight to produce sexualised images of children and unconsenting adults (children can never consent to this). Not only is the chatbot fulfilling these requests, it is laughing off the suggestion it might be doing anything wrong.

IRAN - Iranian leaders are moving tens of millions of dollars out of the country as they begin “abandoning ship” amid the deadly protests in Iran, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Newsmax on Wednesday. “We are now seeing the rats fleeing the ship, because we can see millions, tens of millions of dollars being wired out of the country, snuck out of the country by the Iranian leadership,” Bessent said. “So they are abandoning ship, and we are seeing it come into banks and financial institutions all over the world." The ongoing protests in Iran began in response to the country’s plummeting economy, as the rial’s value fell to record lows. In the interview, Bessent attributed the downward spiral of the Iranian economy to the economic measures US President Donald Trump began implementing after being elected. Further, while Trump has said the killings in Iran were "stopping," he has threatened military action against the country if they did not.

USA - At least 40 earthquakes have shaken Southern California since Wednesday morning, with the largest reaching a magnitude of 4.4. The US Geological Survey recorded the first quake near Holtville at 1:40am PT on Wednesday, with the most recent detected on Thursday morning. While swarms of this size are typically harmless, seismologists say they can indicate shifting stress along major faults that could precede a larger earthquake. Holtville sits in a very active seismic zone in Imperial County, part of the Salton Trough, a slowly spreading rift valley that produces frequent small-to-moderate earthquakes as the crust fractures under tectonic stress. Geologists describe the Salton Trough as a young, actively stretching rift valley, meaning the Earth’s crust in the region is slowly pulling apart. As the land pulls apart, it fractures along numerous faults, including the Imperial Fault and smaller subsidiary faults, producing frequent earthquakes of varying magnitudes. While most of these quakes are minor, scientists warn that the same tectonic forces have the potential to trigger larger, more damaging earthquakes, especially along connected faults like the San Andreas.

EUROPE - France is growing increasingly concerned over Germany’s military buildup, fearing it will tilt the military and political balance in Europe and undermine its influence on the continent, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, citing sources. According to the agency, France is “watching with both awe and unease” as Germany has embarked on a “historic” rearmament campaign, committing to spend more than €500 billion ($582 billion) on defense by 2029. For 2026 alone, the German military budget is expected to reach about $127 billion. Berlin has also eased borrowing limits, meaning that few other European countries would be able to match its buildup speed due to fiscal constraints. Four French officials told Bloomberg that “there is a general unease about Germany’s growing military power and the political influence that comes with it.”

EUROPE - Member states have increased defense budgets, citing an alleged Russian threat, which Moscow dismisses as ‘nonsense’. The EU has been working to boost its defense capabilities in order to become a “military powerhouse,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said, Euractiv has reported, citing sources. The remarks were reportedly made on Wednesday during a closed-door meeting in the European Parliament, where von der Leyen told lawmakers that the bloc needs to draw up its own security strategy and that the Commission would present such a document in 2026. “We know that we need to be strong… We are not a military powerhouse, but we are building up to be a military powerhouse,” von der Leyen was quoted as saying.

GERMANY - Germans reportedly set to face US troops in Greenland. And so we’ve come to the point where the failing German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is flexing his supposed military power, bragging to be ready to simultaneously tackle Russians in Ukraine and Americans in Greenland. All this, despite repeated reports of unpreparedness in the Bundeswehr. It may sound like posturing in vain, but German press is reporting that Germany will send its first soldiers to Greenland already this week. German troops will arrive in Greenland tomorrow, under Danish command. This circumvents NATO's command structure, and allows Europe to defend Greenland in case of an invasion.

USA - The chairs of a dozen European and global central banks responded to US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s declaration of war on the US President by declaring “full solidarity” in a joint letter on Tuesday. Central bank bosses including key figures like The Bank of England’s Andrew Bailey and the European Central Bank’s anti-Trump chair Christine Lagarde co-signed a letter praising the “integrity” of Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell after he broadcast a statement on Sunday, characterised as a “declaration of war” on the US President, alleging lawfare.

USA - President Trump has declared war on the price of credit. With Americans still smarting about high prices from recent inflation and the costlier mortgages, car loans and credit balances that resulted, politicians are scrambling for ideas to improve affordability. Democrats prefer subsidies and price controls to lower out-of-pocket costs on everything from rent to utilities. Trump’s instinct, shaped by real estate, is to force borrowing costs down, by edict, bureaucratic manoeuvre and to put pressure on the Federal Reserve. Trump has this week demanded a one-year cap of ten per cent on credit card interest rates, for example. He does not have unilateral authority to do this without legislation. Those with poor credit scores or lack of credit history will endure fewer approvals, closed accounts or higher fees. When the boiler breaks or car fails, these American families will not be consoled by Trump’s warm intent. They will be driven toward payday lenders, pawnbrokers and loan sharks.

IRAN - The Iranian rial has effectively collapsed, plummeting to an unprecedented low of more than 1.47 million per US dollar on unofficial markets this week. The currency crash has triggered a wave of nationwide 'revolutionary' protests, as the cost of basic survival spirals out of reach for millions of Iranians. On Monday, 12 January 2026, the dollar was quoted as high as 1.47 million rials in the 'free market' of Tehran, marking a catastrophic decline from 2025 levels. For comparison, the rial traded at roughly 70 to the dollar during the 1979 revolution; it has now lost approximately 20,000 times its value over four decades, according to The Economic Times.

UK - Four million people are to be denied the vote in May’s local elections in a “disgraceful attack on democracy” by Labour. The Government is expected to cancel at least 27 council elections, meaning hundreds of councillors will avoid the risk of being voted out. The Tories and Reform UK accused Sir Keir Starmer of “running scared” of the electorate at a time when polls show a collapse in support for Labour. Nigel Farage’s party will launch a judicial review on Thursday in an attempt to make the elections go ahead. The Prime Minister is relying on an obscure clause in the 2000 Local Government Act which gives his ministers the power to delay votes if there are exceptional circumstances.

IRAN - President Trump has cancelled all meetings with Iranian officials and told protestors that 'help is on its way,' suggesting direct intervention on his latest Truth Social post. In a significant escalation of 'maximum pressure' rhetoric, Trump has shifted from diplomatic sanctions to an overt call for grassroots regime change by urging Iranian citizens to 'take over' their institutions. "Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING - TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!! Save the names of the killers and abusers. They will pay a big price. I have cancelled all meetings with Iranian Officials until the senseless killing of protesters STOPS. HELP IS ON ITS WAY. MIGA!!!'," he wrote this morning. Since the nationwide demonstrations began on December 28, the US–based human rights organization HRANA reports it has confirmed about 600 fatalities, but according to other reports that number is more likely in the thousands.