USA - Now it is doing the exact same thing. 80 years ago, American forces stormed the beaches of Normandy to break the grip of a totalitarian regime that sought to erase national borders and impose a uniform ideology across the continent. Today, history is repeating itself, though the threat no longer emanates from Berlin bunkers but from the gleaming glass towers of Brussels. The United States once again finds itself as the essential counterweight to a European project that has morphed from a cooperative economic agreement into an ideologically driven superstate.

GREENLAND - Keir Starmer joined European allies warning of a 'dangerous downward spiral' in NATO today after Donald Trump threatened a trade war over Greenland. A joint statement from Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the UK said they stood 'firmly behind' the 'principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity'. The president has shocked the military alliance by warning that opponents of an American takeover of the Danish territory will be hit with punitive tariffs from February 1. In a bombshell post on his social media site, Mr Trump said levies will start at 10 per cent - and potentially rise to 25 per cent if they have not capitulated by June. But in a joint response this afternoon, the European powers said: 'As members of NATO, we are committed to strengthening Arctic security as a shared transatlantic interest. The pre-coordinated Danish exercise Arctic Endurance conducted with Allies, responds to this necessity. It poses no threat to anyone.'

CHINA - Beijing quietly EXTENDED a policy letting banks roll over 3.8 TRILLION yuan of bad personal loans. Translation: the debts are so bad they can’t be cleaned up. Banks are dumping credit-card defaults at 10–20¢ on the dollar, hiding losses, and repackaging the trash into “ABS” that circle back into ordinary people’s savings. This is robbing the already thin wallet of the average Chinese citizen. When regulators stop publishing data and just extend deadlines, it means the credit foundation has cracked. 3.8T yuan isn’t the end. It’s the opening act.

USA - Washington’s “abuse” of financial instruments through sanctions is pushing the rest of the world away from the greenback, Paulo Batista has told RT. The US is the main enemy of the dollar, prominent Brazilian economist and former International Monetary Fund (IMF) executive director, Paulo Nogueira Batista Jr, has told RT. Washington has increasingly weaponized its national currency, undermining trust in the greenback and the broader Western financial system, he said, in an exclusive interview with RT. “The main enemy of the dollar and of the international payment system controlled by the West is the US itself,” Batista said. “There is a move away from the dollar, from US Treasuries, to a large extent derived from the abusive use by the US of instruments [such as] SWIFT, of reserves.”

USA - Half of Americans now deliberately spend less time on screens, and the choice is paying off. People who create screen-free windows in their day say they feel more productive, more present with loved ones, and more aware of what’s happening around them. But here’s the kicker: 70% of time spent online actually leaves people feeling disconnected and lonely rather than connected to others.

VATICAN - Pope Leo XIV has warned of "new Orwellian-style language," and condemned "jihadist violence." He made the warning Friday during an address to members of the diplomatic corps. "It is painful to see how, especially in the West, the space for genuine freedom of expression is rapidly shrinking," Leo said, Fox News reported. "At the same time, a new Orwellian-style language is developing which, in an attempt to be increasingly inclusive, ends up excluding those who do not conform to the ideologies that are fueling it."

UK - “In a chilling move, the UK government has rolled out a taxpayer-funded video game that paints every curious teenager as a potential far-right extremist.” “The ‘Pathways’ game, backed by the Home Office’s Prevent counter-terrorism program, threatens young players with referrals to anti-terror experts [as part of the game] simply for questioning unchecked mass migration or engaging with online debates about British identity.” “This indoctrination tool assumes teens are one wrong click away from radicalisation, equating basic concerns over job competition or veteran housing with illegal hate groups. It’s a blatant assault on free thought, designed to stifle dissent and enforce globalist narratives in schools — exposing the state’s tightening grip on the next generation.”

UK - The price of food was once perhaps the central issue in British politics. Until recently it had entirely faded in public concern, but with people being reminded of spiralling food costs each time they go to the supermarket or do their online grocery shop, could it once more break a government? A galvanising spark for the anti-regime protests in Iran has been the rise in the cost of everyday essentials. If the Islamic Republic falls, it will be far from the first seemingly invincible regime that has been a casualty of a cost-of-living crisis. Food played its part in the American, French and Russian revolutions. Food riots are now something we read about in the world’s poorest countries, but they were once commonplace in England. The 18th century was punctuated by unrest over the price of bread. There were notable explosions in 1756 and then again in 1766, when civil order broke down in England on at least 131 occasions.

USA - The Pentagon has ordered about 1,500 active-duty US soldiers to prepare for a possible deployment to Minnesota, the site of widespread protests against the government's deportation drive, The Washington Post reported on Sunday. The army placed the units on prepare-to-deploy orders in case violence in the state escalates, the newspaper said, citing unnamed defense officials, adding that it is not clear whether any of them will be sent. This comes after Minnesota Governor Tim Walz mobilized the state's National Guard to support the Minnesota State Patrol amid ongoing protests against US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Minnesota Department of Public Safety announced in a Saturday post to X/Twitter.

IRAN - As Donald Trump weighed striking Iran this week, municipal workers in Israel were wearily reopening public bomb shelters that had gathered dust since the war last June. Mr Trump was “locked and loaded”, and the region was braced for another round of air strikes. British officials were among those evacuating bases and embassies. By the weekend, however, the tone in Washington had changed significantly. Mr Trump’s missiles had not materialised. Something had caused the president to blink. That something, in part, lies inside Iran, where the regime is now looking stronger than at any time since the protests began. Pro-regime rallies have filled the streets of Tehran and the security services appear to have taken back control. Iran has also started to bristle militarily. Despite the war last year, Iran retains enough military prowess to trouble its foes in the region, which are still waiting for US reinforcements to arrive.

GREENLAND - The Arctic is no more important now than it was during the Cold War, when the threat was far greater. Here we go again with Greenland. Normal daily business has once again been interrupted by a mid-afternoon Truth Social bomb, this time the president of the United States announcing tariffs on eight European nations opposing US control of the Arctic territory. This will be a 10 per cent import tax on goods from us, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Finland, effective on February 1, rising to 25 per cent in June unless a deal is struck for the “complete and total purchase” of Greenland. Denmark has wasted no time dismissing the threat as “absurd,” but has also requested allied support and over the last few days, armed forces personnel from various countries have flown there. What is this all about – is it about the security of the United States as Potus keeps saying, or is there something else?

GREENLAND - Trump has done more to create a ‘very dangerous situation for the safety, security and survival of our planet’ than anyone. Donald Trump’s attempt to strongarm Denmark and Europe into accepting the annexation of Greenland is a disgraceful betrayal of the Western alliance, a foolish misunderstanding of the American national interest, and a dangerous, destabilising step in world affairs. It is one thing to have an economic dispute with an ally. It is possible (though often unwise) to disagree over correct trade policy, or to raise tariffs in the hope of eventually triggering a mutual liberalisation between friendly nations. It is even possible to decide that national security, in a few genuine cases, requires onshoring or friendshoring, and restrictions on trade of sensitive or vital products.

GREENLAND - The president’s theatrics have forced Europe to recognise the strategic importance of the territory. Greenlanders are the biggest winners. Greenland – a geographical afterthought for most of history – has suddenly found itself at the centre of great-power intrigue, complete with threats, counter-threats, congressional pushback, NATO awkwardness and a level of theatricality usually reserved for Hollywood dramas. Yet, once the noise subsides, Greenlanders, despite being threatened with invasion, may well emerge as the key winners.

UK - Sir Keir Starmer condemned Donald Trump as “completely wrong” for igniting a trade war with Britain in an attempt to force a deal on Greenland. In the biggest crisis in US-UK relations since Sir Keir became Prime Minister, the US president announced a 10 per cent tariff on all goods sent to the US by Britain and its European allies from February 1. The levy will rise to 25 per cent on June 1, unless Britain and other European countries agree to let him take control of the Danish territory. On Saturday night, the Prime Minister said he would be “pursuing this directly with the US administration”. Sir Keir’s measured language came in stark contrast with Emmanuel Macron, the French president, who said of the tariffs: “No intimidation nor threat will influence us.”

USA - A deluge of research has painted a picture of our world being drowned in tiny, inescapable microplastics. Our guilt over plastic particles being found in even the most remote regions on Earth turned into paranoia once scientists started discovering them in our own bodies, too — riddling our blood streams, organs, and even our brains, stoking a rush of scientific inquest. But now, there’s a growing contingent in the scientific community that’s casting significant doubts on these claims, The Guardian reports, criticizing the methodologies used in some of the most notable papers behind them. One study published in the journal Nature Medicine last February claimed to have documented a rise in micro and nanoplastics (MNPs) in human brain tissues by autopsying preserved cadavers of people who had died between 1997 and 2024. But in November, another group of researchers contested the findings in a letter published in the same journal, criticizing them for “limited contamination controls and lack of validation steps,” per The Guardian. “We do have plastics in us — I think that is safe to assume,” Materić said. “But real hard proof on how much is yet to come.”