UK - The phrase ‘new variant of coronavirus associated with faster spread’, uttered in sombre tones by Matt Hancock in the Commons yesterday, conjures up terrors of some hitherto unseen mutant pathogen scything through the civilian population: a new plague altogether. In fact, the reality is much more prosaic. The simple fact is that all viruses mutate. It is a normal occurrence, happening all the time, and is not something to be particularly alarmed about. The flu virus does so more readily than Covid, which is why scientists develop a new vaccine against it every year. There is nothing in itself alarming about a virus mutating: in the vast majority of cases, this makes little difference to how much disease it causes or how fast it spreads. A lot of the mutations are down to faults in the ‘proof-reading’ operation when the DNA or RNA multiplies or replicates.

USA - It is often said that a house divided will surely fall, and the same thing can now be said for the United States as a whole. If there is anything that this election has made clear, it is the fact that there is little hope of healing the very deep divisions that exist in our country. Most of those on the political left absolutely hate those on the political right, and most of those on the political right absolutely hate those on the political left. But it isn’t as if the two opposing sides are even united. The radical left is absolutely disgusted with “moderate Democrats” such as Joe Biden and is very much looking forward to the day when their “progressive revolution” finally triumphs in America.

HUNGARY - Hungary’s parliament has passed a law that effectively bans same-sex couples from adopting children, provoking a major outcry from human rights groups and LGBTQ activists. The legislation, pushed forward by the government of conservative Prime Minister Viktor Orban, whose Fidesz party enjoys a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly, makes only married couples eligible to adopt children. With same sex-marriages banned in the country, it basically disqualifies gay and lesbian unions from applying for adoption. “The main rule is that only married couples can adopt a child, that is, a man and a woman who are married,” the law reads. The parliament also approved amendments to the constitutions, which among other things define a family as the union of a father, who is male, and a mother, who is female.

EUROPE - It’s not transphobic for Hungary and Poland to want to recognise only men and women and uphold their traditional, conservative way of life. But this puts them on a collision course with the EU’s proposed new LGBTIQ laws. The European Union wants to teach Hungary and Poland a lesson by forcing its newly proposed plan to ‘promote gender equality’ down these nations’ throats. What this means is that if a government upholds the view that there are only two sexes – man and woman – it will be accused of violating the EU’s ‘values’ and risk facing serious financial sanctions!

USA - A major nor’easter is expected to take shape at midweek and unload the biggest snowstorm in years across a good portion of the Northeast. Snowfall totals are expected to be measured in feet in some areas across the interior as winds ramp up and create near-blizzard conditions for parts of the region late Wednesday into Thursday morning. But, one factor will keep the storm from becoming a full-on “snowmaggedon,” and that will be it’s forward speed. It’ll be a fast-moving storm, which will keep overall snow totals down. Even still, at the storm’s peak, snow is expected to come down at a rate of 1 to 3 inches per hour. “All the ingredients are now coming together for our snowstorm, and I really don’t see a way out of this for many cities across the Northeast,” AccuWeather Chief On-Air Meteorologist Bernie Rayno said. A fresh injection of cold air is already in place ahead of the storm, Rayno explained, adding, “You can already feel it.” When Atlantic moisture gets pulled into the storm off the coast on Wednesday, that’s when the storm will really get going, he added.

SICILY - An eruption at Mount Etna sent a violent stream of lava and smoke hundreds of feet into the air above Sicily Sunday night. Volcanic activity was first detected from the southeast crater shortly before 9:30 pm local time. The eruption lasted through Monday morning, with a dense ash plume some three miles high and lava fountains rising more than 325 feet into the air, according to the Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC) in Toulouse, France.

CHINA - Multiple top international news outlets confirm that a list of 1.95 million Chinese Communist Party members has been leaked, and in it are the names of potentially thousands of individuals who live and work in the West, including at major financial institutions, medical research and pharmaceutical companies, and foreign governments.

TURKEY - Ankara withdrew its envoy to Israel in 2018 over deadly attacks on the Palestinians in besieged Gaza. The move to appoint Ufuk Ulutas, 40, as the new Turkish ambassador is part of an attempt to improve ties with incoming President-elect Joe Biden’s administration, a report by Al Monitor quoting “well-placed sources” revealed last week. Ulutas, described as “very polished”, “very clever” and “very pro-Palestinian” by sources quoted in the report, studied Hebrew and Middle Eastern politics in the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He is also an expert on Israel’s regional rival, Iran, but is not a career diplomat.

USA - The President’s son-in-law was widely mocked in the US but made historic breakthroughs in the Middle East, with four Arab countries recognizing the Jewish state within months. The United Arab Emirates is getting top-of-the-line fighter jets. Morocco is winning recognition for decades-old territorial claims. And Sudan is coming off the US terrorism blacklist.

UK - Matt Hancock told the Commons today that Tier 3 rules will come into effect in London just after midnight on Wednesday morning. He said areas of Hertfordshire and Essex will also go into the highest restrictions after seeing 'sharp and exponential' growth. But in another bombshell announcement Mr Hancock said that scientists had identified a 'new variant' of the virus that appeared to be influencing the spread in the south of England. He said initial evidence was that the strain, named VUI – 202012/01, appears to spread more quickly but does not appear to be any more deadly or able to resist a vaccine. ‘We've currently identified over 1,000 cases with this variant, predominantly in the south of England, although cases have been identified in nearly 60 different local authority areas, and numbers are increasing rapidly,' he said. Mr Hancock said the strain had also been identified in other countries and the World Health Organization had been notified, with tests still being carried out at the government's Porton Down lab.

GERMANY - Germany’s Angela Merkel has rejected Boris Johnson’s pleas for face-to-face talks to help secure an 11th-hour Brexit deal, with a source saying she is “determined to make Britain crawl across broken glass” for an agreement. With December 13th becoming the latest “final” deadline for the talks to be pushed back yesterday — the first was in the summer — Boris Johnson has been trying desperately for a breakthrough, flying to Brussels to talk directly to European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and offering to do the same for high-profile national leaders such as Chancellor Merkel and France’s Emmanuel Macron. He has gotten nowhere, however, with the Brussels talks producing nothing and Merkel and Macron both declining to meet with him.

USA - The Supreme Court justices who rejected Texas' bid to overturn the election results in four key states "hid behind procedure" instead of reviewing the "facts of the case" that "still stand," White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany told "Hannity" Friday. “There is no way to say it other than they dodged,” McEnany told host Sean Hannity. “They dodged, they hid behind procedure and they refused to use their authority to enforce the Constitution," she continued. "You know, we’ve gone state by state, Sean, outlining the egregious equal protection violations, the due process claims that were entirely ignored." The press secretary noted that “none of the judges” on the Supreme Court “gave a view on the facts of the case” adding that the matter "was dismissed on standing.”

USA - Texas Republican Party chairman Allen West is floating the idea of secession after the Supreme Court betrayed the people and dismissed a lawsuit against battleground states that engaged in grotesque fraud. “The Supreme Court, in tossing the Texas lawsuit that was joined by seventeen states and 106 congressman, have decreed that a state can take unconstitutional actions and violate its own election law,” West said in a statement. “Resulting in damaging effects on other states that abide by the law, while the guilty state suffers no consequences. This decision establishes a precedent that says states can violate the US constitution and not be held accountable. This decision will have far reaching ramifications for the future of our constitutional republic,” he continued.

VATICAN - The Vatican uncovered its 2020 manger scene in Saint Peter’s Square Friday, leaving onlookers scattered, scandalized, and scornful. Observers shoveled abuse upon the unfortunate spectacle, rivaling each other to come up with the most appropriate epithets to describe the appalling scene. “Mummified Mary,” “Weeble Jesus” (after the ovate children’s toys launched by Hasbro in the 1970s), “Martians,” “toilet paper rolls,” and “astronauts” were some of the comparisons made to the cylindrical figures meant to represent the Holy Family, the Magi, and the shepherds at Bethlehem.

MOROCCO - Jewish history and culture in Morocco will soon be part of the school curriculum — a “first” in the region and in the North African country, where Islam is the state religion. The decision “has the impact of a tsunami,” said Serge Berdugo, secretary-general of the Council of Jewish Communities of Morocco. It “is a first in the Arab world,” he told AFP from Casablanca. For years, although the kingdom had no official relationship with Israel, thousands of Jews of Moroccan origin visited the land of their ancestors, to celebrate religious holidays or make pilgrimages, including from Israel. But Morocco this week became the fourth Arab nation since August to announce a US-brokered deal to normalize relations with Israel, following the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan.