INDIA - Even more countries are now exploring ditching the US dollar in international trade settlements. India and Egypt, two members of the BRICS economic alliance, are now reportedly in talks to completely abandon the US dollar in international trade settlements between their respective nations. This comes at a time when the US economy is $33 trillion in debt, Moody’s has downgraded its outlook on several US banking giants, and historically high inflation plagues the US economy. Breaking free from the economic side of things for a minute, foreign policy decisions have dire consequences. It turns out that fueling proxy conflicts all over the planet has created significant pushback against the US federal government.

USA - 19 months in a row! The Conference Board’s index of leading economic indicators has now fallen for 19 months in a row. When something happens for 19 consecutive months, that is definitely a trend. The economy is clearly in big trouble, and conditions are getting worse with each passing day. But the mainstream media continues to insist that the economy is doing just great. They tell us that inflation is low, but if it was still measured the way that it was back in 1980, the official rate of inflation would be well into double digit territory.

UK - Beef burgers are back on the menu as demand for vegan food plunges. Veganism is being edged out and meat is back on the menu with the latest craze among foodies being ‘smashed burgers’, new data suggests. Plant-based brand Beyond Meat last week revealed its revenue had dropped by 9 per cent as demand for its animal alternatives stalled. Overall industry sales of meat alternatives are down 13.6 per cent over the last year, with an expert analyst Carol RatCliffe saying: ‘After many years of strong growth, meat alternatives have fallen into decline.’

INDIA - Uttar Pradesh, the most heavily populated of India’s states, banned Saturday the sale and distribution of certain “Halal-certified” food products, including bakery supplies, sugar, and oil. Halal is the Muslim term for religiously approved foods. “Halal certification of food products is a parallel system which creates confusion regarding the quality of food items,” the Uttar Pradesh state government said on Saturday, insisting that only India’s national Food Safety and Standards Authority (FSSAI) should be able to set standards for food items.

USA - Suffering from recruiting woes, the Army has sent a letter to former service members who had left due to COVID-19 vaccine mandates. "As a result of the rescission of all current COVID-19 vaccination requirements, former soldiers who were involuntarily separated for their refusal to receive the COVID-19 vaccination may request a correction of their military records," the Army director of personnel management, Brigadier General Hope Rampy, wrote in a letter to former members, as confirmed by the military blog Task & Purpose.

CANADA - The fourth annual report on Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) for 2022, released late last month, states that since 2016, euthanasia has claimed the lives of nearly 45,000 Canadians. In 2016, the year MAID was legalized, 1,018 Canadians elected to die via government-assisted suicide. In 2022, that figure ballooned to an astonishing 13,241, which means an average of 36 people are euthanized each day in Canada.

CHINA - Projects masterminded by Beijing include one in Egypt by the Suez Canal, a scheme on the Solomon Islands in the Pacific beside Australia, and a £1 billion port development in Chancay, Peru, due to open next year. According to its Chinese owner, this deep-water port — close to the capital, Lima — will be the 'gateway from South America to Asia'.

USA - In mid-May, as rumors of the company's dire situation swirled, CEO Mike Beaudry insisted “these rumors are categorically not true." HERBL completely collapsed less than a month later, following in the footsteps of other California cannabis startups like Flow Kana and MedMen. The company leaves behind $17 million in unpaid taxes, while several smaller pot companies have been left in the lurch, SFGate reports.

UK - If you ever wanted more evidence that Westminster is dangerously disconnected from the rest of the country, look no further than the events of last week. First came the sacking of Home Secretary Suella Braverman, swiftly followed by her resignation letter – read by 37 million people on social media – which blasted Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for having failed to deliver on his promise to the British people to lower immigration and stop the cross-Channel boats. His flagship policy to that end – to fly asylum-seekers and illegal migrants to Rwanda to have their claims processed – was then torn down by the Supreme Court.

ISRAEL - Some observers believe that the Israel-Palestine conflict was caused by offshore gas interests in Gaza, called the Gaza Marine. Offshore natural gas resources can be found 36 kilometers off the coast of the Gaza Strip. Is there a connection between the Palestinian energy treasure and Tel Aviv’s stated intention to rule the region after the war?

YEMEN - A cargo ship has been hijacked in the Red Sea by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels from Yemen, with up to 22 crew members believed to have been taken hostage. The Bahaman-flagged 'Galaxy Leader' is reported to have been boarded by armed men as it travelled south past the Arabian peninsula on its way to India this weekend. The vehicle carrier is registered under a British company which is partially owned by an Israeli tycoon, and is currently leased out to a Japanese company, according to reports.

USA - Earlier this month we reported how nearly 1 million chickens on a Minnesota egg farm would be slaughtered in hopes to stop the spread of the highly contagious bird flu after it was confirmed there. The US Department of Agriculture announced that the virus was found at a farm in Wright County, Minnesota, as well as in three smaller flocks in South Dakota and Iowa. Whenever the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus is detected on a farm, the entire flock is killed so as to keep it from spreading to other farms. Now a new report indicates that an additional 1.2 million chickens will be slaughtered to prevent the spread of the bird flu after the virus was confirmed on an Iowa egg farm in the second massive case this week. The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship announced the latest bird flu infection at a farm in Taylor County Friday, and Iowa’s governor immediately declared a disaster there to make sure the state has the resources to respond quickly.

UK - Homeowners who have installed costly heat pumps at the behest of the government or who have found themselves living in the vicinity of them due to their neighbours have complained that the noisy contraptions are making their lives hell. It comes after a report warned the pumps too loud to be installed in millions of homes under the government's own noise guidelines. Heat pumps can produce a low constant hum of between 40 to 60 decibels (similar to the noise made by the average fridge or dishwasher) and typically run for long periods of the winter. The effect of this noise pollution has led residents to complain of restless nights and permanently droning urban environments which some have compared to the sound of a 'jet engine taking off.'

UK - Schoolchildren are being 'indoctrinated' into thinking miserable boys who may be questioning their gender may be happier if they transition to become girls, a promotional video of a primary school inclusion lesson reveals. Teachers at hundreds of primary schools across the UK are sharing 'nonsense' from lesson plans created by controversial inclusion group No Outsiders. The group, run by teacher Andrew Moffat, sells £20 teaching guides for babies and children aged 'from birth to 11 years old' that 'present gender ideology as fact'. Now, a recording has emerged of a teacher at Prae Wood Primary School, St Albans, taking a No Outsider lesson where she reads aloud a book to her class of ten-year-olds, explaining how an unhappy boy teddy called Thomas becomes happy when he transforms into a girl teddy called Tilly.

UK - I have spent recent weeks in Israel, and goodness knows this is a country that has plenty of challenges. But one question I have been asked a lot by an alarmingly wide array of Israelis is: “What happened to Britain?” Generally, I get protective after this question, and reassure people that Britain is still Britain and that our core of decency remains as it always was. But the response is always the same: “But these marches?” Now perhaps they will say “...and the vote?” It amazes most Israelis – as it amazes me – that Britain has seen some of the worst scenes of all the anti-Israel marches across the world. And I say “anti-Israel” for a reason. The first protests in London happened before Israel had even begun its military response to October 7. Rallies were held within hours of the massacres. To most Israelis this is nearly unfeasible.