CHILE - Chile has been hit by a powerful 6.3 earthquake, which has sparked residents to evacuate. The quake struck off the coast of northern Chile, which caused damage. Panicked residents were also urged to evacuate as a precaution. An aftershock, which measured 6.3 magnitude, followed within half an hour. The GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences reported aftershocks of around magnitudes 6.2 and 5.5. It landed in the Ring of Fire, so-called because a huge number of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions take place there. People were woken from their sleep as the initial quake was felt across the region. Damage and minor landslides were reported in areas near the epicentre of the earthquake.

USA - The death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020 might appear, looking back, as a pretext for mayhem. His reported killing by a white police officer was immediately followed by a wave of riots during which neighborhoods in several major cities were devastated. Stores were looted, buildings were burned and people were murdered as mayors and other local public officials chose to let the rioters run wild, whip up racial conflict and protect the criminals rather than the citizens being brutalized. The riots quickly appeared to have nothing to do with Floyd's death and everything to do with groups seeking to overthrow America.

UK - The United Kingdom is willing to walk away from post-Brexit trade talks with the European Union if the bloc does not drop its demands that Britain abides by EU regulations on state aid for companies. Britain’s chief Brexit negotiator, Lord David Frost, informed his Brussels counterpart, Michel Barnier, that there will be no compromise on the issue of state aid, as the United Kingdom is unwilling to be tied by EU regulations, especially in light of the economic crisis caused by the Chinese coronavirus. EU control over state aid has previously made it difficult or impossible to rescue strategic industries such as steel. The two sides will resume informal trade talks this week, with formal negotiations planned for the following week. EU negotiators have signalled that they do not believe a trade deal is likely to be agreed upon before October when the European Council will meet.

TURKEY - Turkey on Monday accused Greece of "piracy" and attempting to "arm the island" at the centre of their row over gas exploration in the eastern Mediterranean. Relations between the two countries have sunk to a new low over disputed maritime rights and energy resources, with both sides staging military drills in the area. Greece argues the waters around the island two kilometres (1.2 miles) off the Turkish coast are under Greek sovereignty and opposes any Turkish exploration nearby.

USA - Since the end of the Cold War, most US policymakers have been beguiled by a set of illusions about the world order. On critical issues, they have seen the world as they wish it were and not how it really is. President Donald Trump, who is not a product of the American foreign policy community, does not labor under these illusions. Trump has been a disrupter, and his policies, informed by his heterodox perspective, have set in motion a series of long-overdue corrections. Many of these necessary adjustments have been misrepresented or misunderstood in today’s vitriolic, partisan debates. But the changes Trump has initiated will help ensure that the international order remains favorable to US interests and values and to those of other free and open societies.

IRAQ - The United States military is expected to reduce its troop presence in Iraq by one-third, or down to about 3,500, over the next two or three months, an official told Reuters Friday. Currently, 5,200 troops are stationed in the Middle Eastern country as a part of an effort to fight the Islamic State's (ISIS) presence there, but the Trump administration is now confident that Iraqi forces are able handle the terrorist organization on their own. The move was largely expected after President Trump recommitted to a reduction in the number of troops stationed in the Middle Eastern country during Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi's visit to the White House last week.

USA - The drought in Iowa has caused severe headaches for farmers ahead of harvest, following high winds that flattened cornfields and destroyed silos in early August. Iowa, the biggest US corn-producing state, is facing lower crop yields and deteriorating grain quality due to the recent volatility in the weather. This comes at an inopportune time as China increases purchases of US farm goods. "The challenge here, and what's unique, is that we're dealing with adverse weather conditions over such a wide area in the state of Iowa," Naig said. He said, "this is the largest area of coverage of multiple problems that I've seen," adding that crop yields could be much lower than estimates from months back. Reuters noted the powerful windstorm on August 10, impacted 14 million crop acres, or about 57% of the state's farms.

CHINA - China’s official manufacturing data, released on Monday, showed a decline in manufacturing linked to widespread flooding in August. The Chinese government insisted consumer spending is increasing, while the production decline was modest and limited to a few of the hardest-hit areas. China has been hit by very severe floods this summer, affecting millions of people, washing away roads and forcing the closure of some tourist sites and transport links. The August PMI [Purchasing Managers’ Index] was also below analyst expectations reflected in a Bloomberg poll, which forecast a climb to 51.2. Any figure above the 50-point mark represents growth rather than contraction. In February, the index plunged to 35.7 points after the coronavirus brought much of China to a standstill.

GERMANY - Germans are rising up against Bill Gates, demanding humanity wake up and reject the self-styled “world health dictator“, as well as corrupt Big Pharma and the elite who are driving the world towards “global totalitarianism” and “slavery.” Robert F Kennedy Jr spoke to an enormous crowd in Berlin on Saturday, as tens of thousands of Germans joined forces to protest what Kennedy Jr referred to as Bill Gates’ “bio-security agenda, the rise of the authoritarian surveillance state and the Big Pharma sponsored coup d’etat against liberal democracy.”

GERMANY - Top German politicians have been venting their fury after Saturday’s massive anti-lockdown rally in Berlin ended with the surreal scenes of protesters trying to storm the Reichstag building – the seat of the national parliament. Many were baffled after footage showed one of the groups of protesters rallying against anti-coronavirus restrictions in the German capital breaking through police cordons with flags and banners and literally trying to take the Reichstag by storm. Politicians all across the political spectrum have been left furious at the security lapse, but most of all at the Covid-sceptic protesters. President Frank-Walter Steinmeier slammed the incident as an “intolerable attack on the heart of our democracy” that Germany would “never put up with.”

VATICAN – On the March day that Italy recorded its single biggest jump in coronavirus fatalities, Pope Francis emerged from lockdown to offer an extraordinary prayer and plea to his flock to reassess their priorities, arguing the virus had proved they needed one another. Francis’ words from the rain-slicked promenade of St Peter’s Basilica encapsulated the core messages he has emphasized during his seven-year pontificate: solidarity, social justice and care for the most vulnerable. The pandemic, he said in an interview, had given “a whole new impetus to the papacy” to double down on its core message, articulated most comprehensively in Francis’ 2015 encyclical “Praised Be.” In the document, Francis demanded political leaders correct the “perverse” structural inequalities of the global economy that had turned Earth into an “immense pile of filth.” “It is his conviction that this is a turning point, and that what the church can offer humanity could be very helpful,” Ivereigh said.

USA - It has been heartbreaking to watch what has been transpiring on the streets of America in recent months. Our founders intended for us to be united by a common set of values, but now our differences are literally tearing our nation to pieces. Americans are fighting other Americans in the streets, and that should make all of us incredibly sad. Does anyone out there actually believe that all of this violence will be resolved by the upcoming election? If anything, rising political tensions are likely to make the violence even worse, and if the result of the presidential election is contested by either side that could easily take things to an even higher level.

ISRAEL - Tel Aviv is in talks with “many” Arab nations that are “in line” to establish relations with Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed in the wake of the UAE having ended its economic boycott of the Jewish state. “There are many more unpublicized meetings with Arab and Muslim leaders to normalize relations with the state of Israel,” Netanyahu said at a joint press conference with US National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien and Jared Kushner, the White House senior adviser. The prime minister did not name any particular Arab nations with which Israel is supposedly in talks, but said other Muslim leaders have now lined up to make peace with his country. The UAE’s decision to normalize relations with Israel has deprived Palestine of its “veto” on peace between the Jewish state and the Arab world. “If we’d have to wait for the Palestinians, we’d have to wait forever. No longer,” he added.

SCOTLAND - A leading atheist in Scotland has hailed the SNP’s proposed Hate Crime Bill as an opportunity to target Christians for prosecution. The left-separatist Scottish National Party (SNP) administration’s proposed Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill is set to criminalise speech that is “likely” to “stir up hatred” against supposedly marginalised groups. As written the law would not require police or prosecutors to demonstrate malicious intent behind the statements.

UK - “Why the Germans do it better” — the title of a new book by John Kampfner, a respected journalist — speaks volumes about the current state of the British psyche. The government is replacing Public Health England, the body that was supposed to stop Britons from dying of covid-19, with a new outfit modelled on the Robert Koch Institute, the body at the centre of Germany’s public-health system. James Kirkup, head of the centrist Social Market Foundation, says his aim is to “make Britain more like Germany”. Other thinkers are less explicit, but pore over the details of Germany’s technical-education system or social-insurance market.