NATO - NATO chief Mark Rutte has chillingly warned that World War III will start with simultaneous invasions from Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin. Secretary-general Rutte suggested the combined attacks from the Chinese and Russian leaders could trigger a World War nightmare and bring the planet to the brink of Armageddon. According to the NATO chief, China would start by seeking to grab Taiwan - while ensuring the Kremlin dictator simultaneously attacks NATO territory, amid fears Putin is anyway eyeing the Baltic republics Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, formerly part of the USSR.

USA - Elon Musk says he is launching a new political party following his explosive row with President Donald Trump. The billionaire promised to "give back your freedom" as he made the announcement on X last night. Musk created an online poll on July 4 where he asked his followers if he should spearhead a fresh political party. Of those polled, over 65% answered "yes", which paved the way for the announcement. "By a factor of 2 to 1, you want a new political party and you shall have it!" he wrote on his social media platform. "When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy. Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom." It is unclear whether the party has been formally registered with US election authorities.

MIDDLE EAST - With Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heading to Washington to meet President Donald Trump, diplomatic and domestic political pressure is rising on him to agree to a hostage deal with Hamas. After Hamas, over the weekend, added demands to the temporary ceasefire proposal presented by President Trump, Prime Minister Netanyahu rejected them as being “unacceptable.” The Gaza-based jihadist group is demanding that Israel release several high-level terrorists, including leaders of various terrorist groups, in return for a partial release of hostages after 21 months of fighting that began as a result of the October 7 massacre. Among them would be prisoners Israel has thus far refused to release, some of whom would likely assume leadership positions in terror groups. In addition to the freeing of convicted terrorists, Hamas is asking Israel to restore the aid distribution mechanism, which gave it control over the food and other humanitarian supplies entering Gaza. The terrorist group also wants an indefinite truce in a bid to regroup and rearm its fighters, and a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from the enclave.

UK - What should be done about Palestine Action, the group that broke into RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire last month and sprayed red paint on two military planes? Ministers want to ban the group but this has prompted outrage from a host of stars, including Tilda Swinton, Steve Coogan and Miriam Margolyes, who claim to know better. They have signed an open letter, organised by Artists for Palestine UK, which states that “labelling non-violent direct action as ‘terrorism’ is an abuse of language and an attack on democracy”. That depends of course on the definition of non-violent. Palestine Action’s own website describes it as a “direct action movement” that uses “disruptive tactics”. Such tactics include occupation of premises, destruction of property and vandalism. Several members of the group are awaiting trial accused of serious offences. Whose judgment carries more weight: the view of those charged with responsibility for public safety and security, or the celebrities?

UK - It's not surprising that people with such a strong sense of their own righteousness can show themselves to be utterly immoral. Glastonbury is no longer a music festival — it’s a megaphone for militant hate. By any traditional measure, Glastonbury was once a celebration of music. Today? It’s become a grotesque, hyper-political hate-fest. Glastonbury has now been hijacked by the militant left — a performative circus for the blue-haired brigade who are less interested in music and more obsessed with virtue-signalling and venom. This year’s spectacle on the West Holts Stage - punk duo Bob Vylan took to the stage and incited the crowd with a despicable chant of “Death to the IDF.” This isn’t political commentary — it’s incitement. These are calls for death, broadcast live to TV audiences and cheered by a mob who claim to represent “inclusivity.” Is this what we now accept as normal festival culture in Britain? If chanting for death on stage is “inclusive,” then Britain has truly lost the plot.

EUROPE - Not since the 1930s have young voters been so angry with their leaders. That is why populists are on the rise. Is European youth giving up on democracy? The latest YouGov poll of Generation Z (born between 1997 and 2012) suggests that only 57 per cent now support democratic forms of government, while one in five would prefer authoritarian rule. In France, Spain and Poland, only about half of young people choose democracy. And criticism of the European Union is rising too: 39 per cent say that the EU is not very democratic. They see Europe as less influential than the authoritarian powers Russia and China. This is the first generation to have lived their entire lives in the post-Cold War era. Yet they are deeply disillusioned with the freedoms their parents embraced when the Berlin Wall fell in 1989.

JAPAN - Japan has been rocked by 900+ earthquakes in just 10 days across the Tokara Islands. Now the government says the risk of a magnitude 9+ MEGAQUAKE in the Nankai Trough is as high as 82% and could kill nearly 300,000 people. This isn’t fear porn. It’s math. The fault line snaps every 100–200 years. The last one? 1946. Japan admits their current response plans would only reduce deaths by 20%. They’re not ready. Not even close. Locals can’t sleep. Flights are being cancelled. Even a manga prediction of a July 5 quake has the public rattled. The Ring of Fire is active. The pressure is real. And this many quakes in this short a window? That’s not normal. Something’s coming. And Japan knows it.

(Source: Japan Meteorological Agency, 2025 Government Panel, Journal of Geophysical Research)

USA - As political tensions simmer across the US, whispers of a second Civil War grow louder. Could California's bold moves ignite a national crisis? America could be hurtling towards a second Civil War within the next decade as California edges closer to secession, a top political expert has warned. Professor Benjamin Cohen, of the University of California-Santa Barbara, said the chances of a violent national rupture are “substantially greater than zero,” as political polarisation deepens across the United States, reports MailOnline. In a chilling hypothetical scenario, the political economist envisages California declaring independence from the US in 2035 — sparking an explosive response from the federal government.

UK - Chanting “Death to the IDF” is not edgy or brave. It’s despicable. If Britain cannot say that clearly and without a proviso, then it has lost its moral compass. “Death, death to the IDF” – not criticism of Israeli policy, not solidarity with Palestinians, but a bloodthirsty chant calling for the extermination of soldiers, most of them 18- and 19-year-olds, many of whom are defending the very values of liberal democracy that Glastonbury claims to celebrate. The words were spat out not from a dark corner of the internet or a fringe protest, but from an act named Bob Vylan, performing on a stage sponsored by the British public, with the tacit blessing of the cultural elite. This wasn’t some underground venue or obscure gathering. It was broadcast live by the BBC. We’re not talking about subtle dog-whistles or controversial metaphors. This was incitement. Open. Shameless. And, judging by the cheers from the crowd, not unpopular.

UK - It was once the the wool capital of the world and the richest UK city outside London. Now, parts of Bradford have become Britain's latest no-go zone - where drug-fuelled chaos and violence have left locals scared to walk the streets and businesses are going to the wall. Fed-up traders and shoppers say areas of the once-thriving city centre are over-run by rough sleepers camped out in tents, using the streets as their personal drug dens and toilets. One of the worst-hit spots is Rawson Square, where heroin and crack cocaine are smoked openly and fights break out daily.

USA - A Texas rancher held back tears as he revealed the overwhelming destruction caused by a monstrous flash flood that swept through communities across the state on Friday. The resident of Hunt - whose family has called the area home for over a century - reflected on the many 'good times' he's experienced in the close-knit Southern town, now left in ruins by the extreme weather event that claimed at least 79 lives - including 28 children from a local summer camp. 'This very well may be the worst flood Hunt has ever seen,' he said. 'The devastation is unbelievable. How these kids survived, in any of these camps along the river, is nothing short of a miracle.' As of Sunday evening, the death toll has risen to 79, with 11 children from Camp Mystic - a summer camp situated along the Guadalupe River - still missing, CNN reported.

UK - Farmers are set to lose their land to tackle the problem - but experts warn if they don't Britain is on the brink of disaster. Britain is facing a water emergency. The UK is currently losing around three billion litres of water per day due to leaks, which is the equivalent of around 1,200 Olympic-sized swimming pools. As well as issues with aging and deteriorating pipes - some as old as the Victorian era - there is an increased need for water due to a growing population. According to the Office for National Statistics, the British population will hit 72.5 million by 2032 - up from 67.6 million in 2022. A warming climate is also having an impact, with hotter and drier summers reducing the amount of water in reservoirs and rivers. The last time a reservoir was built in England was 1992. The government has warned that, without appropriate action, the UK could run out of drinking water by the mid-2030s. "When London runs out of water, and not if, it's going to cost the economy £50 billion a day."

KENYA - Demonstrations have raged over the governance of President Ruto, who faces anger over corruption, cost of living and his security forces’ brutality. At least 16 people were killed and hundreds injured during a crackdown on anti-government demonstrations in Kenya’s major towns and cities. Witnesses reported police firing live rounds, rubber bullets and tear gas during youth-led marches organised on social media against police brutality and corrupt rule. “Sixteen verified dead… most were killed by police,” Irungu Houghton, the head of Amnesty Kenya, said, confirming the death toll so far from the countrywide protests. At least five had been shot dead. With 80 of the wounded in a serious condition, the death toll is likely to rise.

USA - We must make no mistake: The enemies of Israel and America are not standing down from their extraterritorial terror campaigns targeting Jews and the West. For years, officials have tracked the growing threat of Iranian proxies and sleeper cells operating in North America at Tehran’s direction. The FBI has foiled assassination plots targeting John Bolton, Mike Pompeo, and activist Masih Alinejad, but some threats have slipped through the cracks. Since October 7, SCN has tracked over 10,000 threat incidents impacting the Jewish community in North America. Just this year, we have flagged over 500 credible threats to life that required immediate law enforcement intervention. That number is expected to surpass 700 by year’s end, a 40 percent year-over-year increase.

EUROPE - European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is facing a dramatic no-confidence vote in the European Parliament this week, as pressure mounts over her leadership and a series of damaging controversies. The vote, scheduled for next Thursday, comes after Romanian MEP Gheorghe Piperea filed a formal censure motion with the support of 72 lawmakers — the minimum number required to trigger such a move. It marks the first time in more than a decade that an EU Commission President has faced the threat of being ousted by Parliament and underlines growing anger in Brussels over Ms von der Leyen’s conduct during her turbulent second term in office.