GERMANY - Trust between Olaf Scholz and his coalition partners has hit rock bottom as Germany's economy continues to falter. The future of Olaf Scholz's "traffic light" coalition government hangs in the balance with talk of a break up between parties growing. Germans aren't due to go to the polls until September 28 next year, but relations between the leaders of Germany's coalition parties are said to be frayed. People close to the situation have claimed trust is lost between Mr Scholz, Free Democrats leader Christian Lindner and the Greens Robert Habeck, who is Germany's vice-chancellor. Tensions have been worsened by Germany's economic downturn, with manufacturing struggling against global competition and talk of recession. A slowdown in China, a drop in domestic consumer spending, Germany's ageing society and low productivity have all conspired against a country now dubbed the "sick man of Europe". Since that election, all three coalition parties have lost support in polls, in part prompted by anti-immigrant sentiment fuelled by fears about living standards.

GERMANY - On the initiative of the German Defence Ministry, the federal government and the Länder governments are working together in a joint effort to accelerate the realisation of military construction projects. It is part of a wider commitment to massively strengthen the German armed forces. More than 60 billion euros are to flow into the maintenance, upgrading and expansion of Bundeswehr properties and facilities across Germany over the next few years. The expansion of military infrastructure is part of the Bundeswehr's reorientation on a potential war against Russia.

GERMANY - Baerbock calls for German participation in a ‘protection force’ for Gaza. Bundeswehr praises ‘incredibly close’ German-Israeli military cooperation. IDF has helped turn the Bundeswehr into an intervention army. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock does not rule out the deployment of Bundeswehr soldiers as part of an international ‘protection force’ for the Gaza Strip. This move would see Germany engaging in a military intervention designed to oversee a ceasefire. Other politicians in the ruling ‘traffic light’ coalition generally agree but reject – at least for the time being – Bundeswehr involvement in combat operations. If the mission did materialise it would build on what is now a long tradition of German-Israeli military cooperation.

GERMANY - The delivery of another German-built submarine to the Israeli navy is imminent. According to media reports, the vessel is named INS Drakon and is currently being completed by ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) at its Kiel shipyard. Work and sea trials are almost finished and the sub – to be the IDF’s most expensive combat weapon – can be handed over very soon. It will be the next in a long line of weapon systems and components that Germany has supplied to Israel’s armed forces. The Merkava tanks that Israel is likely to use in a possible ground offensive in Lebanon are powered by German engines. Experts in the field say that this armaments partnership is essentially based on common interests. The closely woven German-Israeli arms cooperation is, in fact, increasingly accompanied by direct military cooperation – a further intensification of bilateral relations.

UKRAINE - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky returned from his trip around Western Europe, including Berlin, at the weekend without the hoped for PR success and without any real new pledges of support. Zelensky had already been duped by the American cancellation at short notice of the planned Ramstein summit. That was to be his major opportunity to promote his so-called “victory plan”. On his visits to London, Paris, Rome and Berlin Zelensky largely heard Western leaders only repeating long-standing promises. Ukraine not only finds itself increasingly on the defensive militarily, losing more and more territory; Zelensky’s government is also coming under growing pressure at home. There has been a significant rise in army desertion numbers. A sharp tax hike, which Ukrainian politicians admit is likely to be highly unpopular, has become unavoidable to help finance the war.

USA - Dear Faithful American Catholics, I am addressing all of you, a few days before the Presidential Election that will call millions of American citizens to the polls. Even in conditions of relative normality, the exercise of the vote is your moral duty, through which you cooperate in the first person in choosing the person who will lead the Nation for the next four years. But in this coming electoral round – just as in 2020 and indeed much more so – you are not simply called to choose between two candidates who happen to be on different political sides but who both nevertheless have the common good at heart in compliance with the Constitution and the Law. No; in this election you must choose between two radically opposed ways of conceiving the government of your Nation: you are called to choose between democracy and dictatorship, between freedom and slavery.

USA - Rev Franklin Graham exhorted attendees at the 11th Hour Faith Leaders Meeting, an event for faith leaders and others, that God is central to saving the United States from its current state of disarray. Graham, the son of evangelist Billy Graham, began his remarks in Concord, North Carolina, on Monday by asking, “Have you ever thought that our country would be in such trouble? The only hope for this country is God.” Graham then shifted to talking about Trump, who was in attendance, saying that the Republican nominee holds the best political rallies in American history, with massive crowds and lots of energy. “However, rallies and positive poll numbers are not going to win this election. It’s going to be God. There’s a spiritual element that’s at work here. There are dark forces that are arrayed against this man,” the preacher asserted. “They’ve tried to put him in prison,” Graham continued. “They’ve tried to assassinate him twice. He’s attacked every day in the media. And the only hope for Donald J Trump and our nation is God.”

ISRAEL - IDF warplanes launched multiple missiles early on Saturday, targeting a number of facilities in the Islamic Republic. Israel relayed a warning to Iran through several third parties ahead of its missile strike against the Islamic Republic on Saturday, Axios has reported, citing three anonymous sources. According to the media outlet, West Jerusalem indicated what type of targets it would attack, while cautioning Tehran against retaliating.

FRANCE - France is set to ramp up the intensity of border controls with European neighbours amid fears of uncontrolled migration and terror threats just weeks after Germany announced a similar policy. French authorities informed the European Commission last week that its borders with six of its neighbouring Schengen members - namely Belgium, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain and Switzerland - will be reinforced with increased checks as of November 1 for at least six months. The controls will be applied to travellers entering France via land, sea and air routes from all six nations and are set to expire on April 1, 2025, but authorities have said they could be extended further.

GERMANY - Germany in shock as its biggest automaker lays off thousands, closes 3 plants and cuts pay. Volkswagen to shut three factories, axe jobs and cut pay by 10%, says union. The German carmaker Volkswagen is planning to shut at least three factories in its home country, lay off thousands of workers and cut pay by 10%, according to the company’s union. The deeper-than-expected cuts come as the company faces weak sales and slow expansion in the electric vehicle (EV) sector amid tough competition from Chinese manufacturers. “The board wants to close at least three factories in Germany,” the works council chief, Daniela Cavallo, told employees at VW’s headquarters in Wolfsburg on Monday. Its remaining manufacturing sites will reduce capacity, she said, citing information provided by management.

MIDDLE EAST - As everyone was expecting, Israel’s retaliation for the Iranian ballistic missiles attack of 1st October was launched last Friday night. Some 140 IDF warplanes attacked roughly 20 targets including Islamic Republican Guard Corps missile launching sites and bases and also air defence (AD) locations. According to the IDF all its planes returned safely, which tells you everything about their complete superiority in the air. The message to Iran’s leadership is quite clear; the Israelis can do what they want and when they want, and there is little the Iranians can do about it.

USA - Legendary financial and geopolitical cycle analyst Martin Armstrong says we are getting down to the wire with the 2024 Election, and the Deep State Dems are in panic mode. Could we have a false flag, martial law, debt crisis, default, war or all of the above? Armstrong says, “They want war. There is no question about that… Lindsey Graham was on Face the Nation a couple of months ago, and he slipped and told the truth for once. He said there was a $10 trillion to $12 trillion natural gas asset under Crimea, and we can’t allow Russia and China to get that… This is like Iraq. We are going after the oil.”

UK - A host of "forgotten" diseases that plagued Victorian Britain more than 150 years ago are making a shocking comeback in modern life, medics have revealed. Cases of scurvy, rickets, scabies and measles are all on the rise due to poor diet, lifestyle and low uptake of essential vaccines. The cost of living crisis has also resulted in an increase of malnutrition with almost 11,000 people admitted to hospital being undernourished, according to NHS figures. The increase is believed to be a contributory factor in the resurgence of diseases such as scurvy and rickets which are caused by vitamin deficiencies. He said: "The idea we are starting to suffer the same diseases that in Victorian times people on long ocean voyages suffered because of the shortage of citrus fruits is simply horrendous."

USA - The number of migrants who have crossed illegally into the US under Kamala Harris is 25 per cent higher than official figures suggest, The Telegraph can reveal. Almost nine million people have headed across the border since Ms Harris became vice-president and was tasked with tackling the “root causes” of illegal immigration from Central America more than three years ago. However, when immigration data is collated every month it does not include those who evaded detection by Border Patrol, known as “gotaways”. Jason Owens, the head of Border Patrol, told CBS News in February that he lay awake at night worrying about the number of “gotaways” and considered the situation a “national security threat”. "What do they have to hide? What are they bringing in? What is their intent? Where are they coming from?” he said. “We simply don’t know the answers to those questions.”

USA - With the spooky season nearing its climax, Americans are as scared as ever – and they are generally afraid of more things, too, according to a new survey. Those findings are contained in the latest edition of the Survey of American Fears that California’s Chapman University has been publishing annually around Halloween. Corrupt government officials, the US becoming involved in a third world war, and terrorism (cyber or otherwise) are all among the top 10 fears flagged by the study released in the waning stages of the 5 November presidential election – and as Russia and Israel continue warring with Ukraine and Hamas, respectively.