EUROPE - The European Union has long had to deal with the challenge of being led by a dominant Germany. But suddenly it finds itself facing a different realization — the only thing worse than a strong Germany may be a weak one. Germany is hardly collapsing, but the failure of Chancellor Angela Merkel to form a coalition government presents a profound crisis of leadership for Europe and a protracted period of uncertainty, at a time when it can least afford it. Serious decisions on the eurozone, migration, asylum, defense and other issues — let alone negotiating Britain’s exit from the bloc — were already put off until after the French and German elections this year. Now they will be further delayed, waiting for plodding Germany to work through this new political quandary.

EUROPE - German chancellor Angela Merkel's failure to form a coalition government has raised concerns in Europe that the EU's most powerful country will send the block into paralysis. "It's not in our interest that things get tense," French president Emmanuel Macron said on Monday, adding that the situation was creating "real risks".

EUROPE - A weakened Berlin is bad news for the entire EU. For decades, the Continent has feared the specter of a “German Europe,” of domination by its biggest country.  These days Europe is more worried about what it will do without a strong German hand at the tiller.  The collapse of coalition talks in Berlin on Sunday is fueling concern that a political vacuum in Berlin could bring the European Union to an effective standstill as it confronts challenges big and small.

SWEDEN - A book promoting transsexuality to toddlers and preschoolers, about a transgender man and his horse who claims to be a dog, has been published in Sweden. The stars of Hästen & Husse are a man and a horse that lives with him. The man is depicted as a transgender who wears women’s clothing and lipstick when he returns home from work, while the horse is “trans-species” and believes that he is a dog. Author and university lecturer Susanne Pelger says that she hopes the book will allow toddlers and preschoolers to “be who they want”, SVT reports. Pelger, who has a PhD in genetics and biology, says she was inspired to write the 32-page picture book after meeting several students at Lund University who had gone through gender transition.

USA - The threat of ‘The Big One’ has long loomed over the Pacific Northwest, where several major cities from Vancouver down to northern California are cradled by the 620-mile-long Cascadia Subduction Zone. The geological record shows the area is due for a major earthquake, which would likely be followed by a massive tsunami. Now, a new study has confirmed the region just off the coast of Washington has the ingredients for a megaquake. 

USA - Within the last 7 days, 134 earthquakes “have hammered a three-mile stretch around Monterey County on the San Andreas fault”.  17 of those earthquakes were of magnitude 2.5 or greater, and many believe that these quakes could be a warning sign that a much bigger quake is imminent.  Let’s hope not, because when the “Big One” finally strikes California we will witness devastation on a scale that is unlike anything that we have seen before in modern American history. 

GERMANY - The German president held talks with the heads of political parties on Tuesday in a bid to end the crisis over forming a new government and avert new elections. President Frank-Walter Steinmeier met with Christian Lindner, who pulled his Free Democrat Party (FDP) out of coalition talks with Angela Merkel at the weekend, in an effort to persuade him to return to the negotiating table. In an interview with a German newspaper released shortly after spending one hour with the president, Mr Lindner said further coalition talks "made no sense". But the crisis has made Mr Steinmeier the most powerful man in Germany. He alone can call new elections or appoint a minority government. And he has complete discretion over how long talks can last.

MIDDLE EAST - The issue of Syria dominated the more than hour-long phone call between the Russian and American presidents. Putin briefed Trump of his recent meeting with Assad, and both leaders agreed on the importance of the UN-led Syrian peace process. Putin told Trump that President Bashar Assad confirmed his commitment to political reforms in Syria, including constitutional amendments. Assad also supported the idea of holding presidential and parliamentary elections as part of a transitional political process during his Monday meeting with Putin in Sochi. “We’re talking very strongly about bringing peace to Syria, very strongly about North Korea, and about Ukraine," Trump told journalists following the phone call with Putin.

VATICAN - The US State Department has issued a terror warning for Americans abroad after the Islamic State threatened to bathe the Vatican in “Christmas Blood” this December. Islamic State terrorists threatened the Vatican and Pope Francis by means of a poster aired on social media last week featuring a masked man driving a car toward the Vatican, seated next to a large backpack and semiautomatic rifle. The poster is captioned “Christmas blood: So wait” and the image was circulated by the pro-Islamic State Wafa Media Foundation.

FRANCE - Societe Generale, one of France’s biggest banks, has reportedly asked the National Front (FN), the far-right anti-immigration eurosceptic party led by Marine Le Pen, to close its accounts after 30 years of cooperation. FN has vowed to fight the decision.

UK - The number of chemicals on supermarket vegetables has increased by up to 17 fold in 40 years, data shows, as the organic food industry and scientists have warned that consumers are exposed to a “toxic cocktail” of pesticides. Figures released for the first time by the Soil Association, which certifies organic food, show the number of toxic chemicals found in onions, leeks, wheat and potatoes has been steadily increasing since the 1960s. This is despite industry data showing that the volume of pesticides found on supermarket vegetables has halved since the 1990s. Speaking at a Royal Society of Medicine conference on pesticides yesterday, where the figures were unveiled, scientists warned that consuming tiny amounts of many different chemicals on a regular basis could be harmful to human health. 

UK - Members of the royal family aren’t often told what they can and can’t do. But just a few days into his first year of school, 4-year-old Prince George already faces a mandate: No best friends allowed. Thomas’s Battersea, the school George attends, bans kids from having best friends, Marie Claire reports. Instead, teachers encourage all students to form bonds with one another to avoid creating feelings of exclusions among those without best friends.

INDONESIA - Tens of thousands of people have fled their homes in Bali over the past months, fearing an inevitable Mount Agung volcanic eruption, which on Tuesday, finally spewed ash as high as 700 meters into the Indonesian sky. The volcano on the Indonesian resort island erupted at 5:05pm Tuesday, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) announced, urging residents to “remain calm” and to stay away from areas within 7.5-kilometer radius of the volcano.

GERMANY - Germany was in crisis on Monday as Angela Merkel fought to rescue her chancellorship following the collapse of coalition talks. Europe’s predominant power and the country to which the continent has looked for stability for over a decade was facing its own political drama and weeks if not months of damaging uncertainty.

UK - France and Germany are blocking a Brexit deal, David Davis has suggested.... The Exiting the EU secretary told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that Britain would not compromise on EU talks without Brussels giving ground, saying “nothing comes from nothing”. He singled out France and Germany as blocking progress in talks in Brussels, listing five EU countries that want to do a deal. His comments came as Theresa May, the Prime Minister, prepares to meet Donald Tusk, the EU Council president, at a summit in Sweden. Mr Davis said: “Many of them do want to move on. You know, they see it's very important to them. Countries like Denmark. Countries like Holland. Countries like Italy and Spain. Countries like Poland can see the big, big benefit in the future deal that we're talking about."