USA - Global debt is expected to skyrocket to a record $277 trillion by the end of the year as governments and companies continue to spend in response to the Covid pandemic, the Institute for International Finance (IIF) has said. According to the IIF, whose members include over 400 banks and financial institutions across the globe, global debt has ballooned by $15 trillion this year to $272 trillion as of September. “There is significant uncertainty about how the global economy can deleverage in the future without significant adverse implications for economic activity,” it said, warning of an “attack of the debt tsunami.” According to the research, debt levels in emerging markets rose to over 248 percent of GDP, with Lebanon, China, Malaysia, and Turkey experiencing the biggest rises in non-financial-sector debt.

SWITZERLAND - The World Economic Forum (WEF) was founded fifty years ago. It has gained more and more prominence over the decades and has become one of the leading platforms of futuristic thinking and planning. As a meeting place of the global elite, the WEF brings together the leaders in business and politics along with a few selected intellectuals. The main thrust of the forum is global control. Free markets and individual choice do not stand as the top values, but state interventionism and collectivism. Individual liberty and private property are to disappear from this planet by 2030 according to the projections and scenarios coming from the World Economic Forum.

SWITZERLAND - Davos, is the small town, nestled high in the Swiss Alps, widely known for hosting the annual conference of global business-people, world leaders, activists, and journalists that takes place every January. The organisation that arranges the event, the World Economic Forum (WEF), and its enigmatic founder Klaus Schwab, are less well-known.

MIDDLE EAST - In a new show of military might, two American bomber aircraft flew from the United States to the Middle East on Thursday, in a round-trip mission that US officials said covered a wide swath of the region and was a direct message of deterrence to Iran. The flight of the two massive B-52H Stratofortress bombers, the second such mission in less than a month, was designed to underscore America’s continuing commitment to the Middle East even as President Donald Trump’s administration withdraws thousands of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. The long-range heavy bombers, which are capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear weapons, are a formidable sight and are flown less frequently in the Middle East than smaller combat aircraft, such as American fighter jets. Adversaries often complain about bomber flights in their region, deeming them a provocative show of force.

USA - Early in the pandemic, Joo Park noticed a worrisome shift at the market he manages near downtown Washington: At least once a day, he'd spot someone slipping a package of meat, a bag of rice or other food into a shirt or under a jacket. Diapers, shampoo and laundry detergent began disappearing in bigger numbers, too. Since then, he said, thefts have more than doubled at Capitol Supermarket - even though he now stations more employees at the entrance, asks shoppers to leave backpacks up front and displays high-theft items like hand sanitizer and baking yeast in more conspicuous areas. Park doesn't usually call the police, choosing instead to bar offenders from coming back. "It's become much harder during the pandemic," he said. "People will say, 'I was just hungry.' And then what do you do?" Hunger is chronic, at levels not seen in decades. The result is a growing subset of Americans who are stealing food to survive.

USA - When I was young, America still existed. No more. Not even the blather from the 4th of July can hide the obvious fact. The young do not know that they have lost their country because they are born into a time when the country is lost. To them that is normalcy. Besides, the young are too busy texting and describing themselves, often intimately, on social media to be aware of the fate that awaits them, lost as they are in their insouciance.

ISRAEL - Israel and Morocco have agreed to establish diplomatic relations, US President Donald Trump announced on Thursday. Morocco became the fourth Arab country to normalize ties with Israel in four months, following the Abraham Accords with United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan. “Another historic breakthrough today!” Trump tweeted. “Our two great friends Israel and the Kingdom of Morocco have agreed to full diplomatic relations – a massive breakthrough for peace in the Middle East!” In addition, Trump announced that he signed a proclamation recognizing Moroccan sovereignty over the Western Sahara, a disputed territory. “Morocco's serious, credible, and realistic autonomy proposal is the ONLY basis for a just and lasting solution for enduring peace and prosperity!” he tweeted. “Morocco recognized the United States in 1777. It is thus fitting we recognize their sovereignty over the Western Sahara,” Trump added. No other UN member states recognize Western Sahara as part of Morocco.

USA - The big corporate news networks are trying to convince us that there is absolutely no way that the Supreme Court will rule in favor of President Trump and his allies in Texas vs Pennsylvania, but what if they are wrong? The case is on the docket, and the states of Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin have been ordered to file their responses by 3 PM on Thursday. It appears that the Court understands the urgency of this matter, and they seem determined to move things along very quickly. One way or the other, we should find out what they are thinking fairly rapidly. And the more I examine the facts, the more I am convinced that their legal claims are right on target. If the Supreme Court is faithful to the US Constitution, the voting results in all four states will have to be thrown out. But what happens then? But if Trump ends up getting a second term after everything that has already transpired, we are going to see an explosion of anger that will be off the charts.

USA - The mainstream media and many on the left are greatly underestimating the importance of the election case that was put on the Supreme Court docket this week, and that is a tragic mistake on their part. Just like Bush vs Gore in 2000, Texas vs Pennsylvania will be “outcome determinative”. In other words, the Supreme Court is about to decide whether Donald Trump or Joe Biden will be President for the next four years.

USA - Very few of the lawsuits that Trump’s legal team has filed since Election Day have really worried the left, but when Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit directly with the Supreme Court on Monday night they immediately began freaking out. The reason why they are so alarmed is because they understand that this suit has the potential to flip the election. The suit alleges that the states of Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin conducted their elections in ways that violated the US Constitution, and if the Supreme Court agrees that would almost certainly mean that the Supreme Court would force the state legislatures of those states “to appoint a new set of presidential electors in a manner that does not violate the Electors Clause and the Fourteenth Amendment”.

USA - Four trial participants who received the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine experienced facial paralysis, according to the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA said the issue should be monitored as the jab becomes more widely available. The potentially concerning cases were revealed after the US drug regulator published an analysis of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine ahead of a meeting to consider emergency use authorization for the jab in the United States. According to the documents, Bell’s palsy, a form of temporary facial paralysis, was reported by four participants during phase 3 trials. The individuals had been administered the jab, and no members of the placebo group experienced similar adverse effects. The condition resembles a stroke, with most sufferers watching helplessly as one side of their face droops and their muscles go limp. In some rare situations, both sides of the face may become paralyzed. It is unclear what causes Bell’s palsy, although the temporary paralysis usually goes away on its own.

JAPAN - Japan is planning to build new missiles that would allow it to preemptively strike North Korea in the event of a credible threat from the communist regime there. The proposal was approved by lawmakers in Tokyo Wednesday, according to the Wall Street Journal. Officials in Japan have been reviewing their military defense capabilities against North Korea in light of further missile development by Kim Jong-Un’s regime, the WSJ reports. Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi says the country wants to develop the capability to strike from beyond the reach of its opponents. The new plan includes the construction of two new Aegis ships for missile defense, reports the WSJ. The Japanese military has reportedly already set aside funds to purchase multiple Norwegian and American missiles with ranges of up to 550 miles.

UK - Boris Johnson faces a new crisis with the prospect of several years more of intense post-Brexit trade talks with the European Union after a regional parliament in Belgium threatened to veto any agreement if it breaches their red lines. Belgium's former Prime Minister and now President of Wallonia, Elio Di Rupo, lashed out at the "mood swings" from Mr Johnson during trade talks between the UK and EU, warning a no-deal outcome could threaten up to 5,000 jobs in the region that has a population of 3.6 million. He warned he "will not hesitate" to ask the Belgian parliament to use its right to vote down any deal, as done with the EU's agreement with Canada, if he believes it would cross the crucial red lines set by the country's Government. "His attitude does not allow us to see clearly in the future of relations between the EU and the United Kingdom. For my region, Wallonia, the #Brexit ‘No deal’ could represent up to 5,000 jobs lost.’ The United Kingdom is Wallonia's 7th supplier. In 2016, the CETA trade deal was almost sunk by Wallonia who issued a last-minute veto after seven years of talks.

CHINA - Beijing warships open fire as US vessels enter disputed waters. Fears of open war in east Asia surged after Chinese warships held a live-fire drill as US naval vessels entered the contested South China Sea. Beijing’s claim over the region overlaps with those of six other countries and is rejected by the United States. On Sunday the USS Makin Island and USS Somerset entered the contested area according to the South China Sea Probing Initiative (SCSPI). Shortly after Chinese warships conducted an “unscripted” live-fire training exercise, using long-range weapons, according to js7tv, a news site affiliated to Beijing’s military. The Enshi, Yongzhou and Guangyuan, all Type 056A corvettes in the Chinese navy, took part in the operation. The US, and other western powers, refuse to accept Beijing’s claim of sovereignty over the South China Sea. To demonstrate this they regularly send warships on ‘freedom of navigation’ patrols through the contested waters.

EUROPE - THE EU will suffer even bigger seismic shocks after the coronavirus crisis, Italian MEP Marco Campomenosi has claimed in an exclusive interview with Express.co.uk. As we are about to enter a new decade, the EU seems to be facing one of its worst existential crises since its inception. Euroscepticism is nothing new. Ever since the efforts to achieve European integration started in the Fifties, political parties that made anti-integration their main platform started to mushroom throughout the continent. The current pandemic, lockdown measures and the economic crisis looming seem to be exacerbating divisive trends in Europe. For example, a recent poll shows that 67 percent of Italians believe that being a member of the bloc is a disadvantage for Italy. However, in an exclusive interview with Express.co.uk, Italian MEP Marco Campomenosi claimed this is only the beginning. He said: "It is not easy to predict who else is going to join Britain out of the EU. What I think it's going to happen is that if the EU does not start responding to the needs of its citizens, it will not be able to survive."