USA - The return of great power competition across the globe is forcing countries to adapt, spurring major changes to alignment and spending from Europe to the Indo-Pacific to the Middle East. The change is everywhere on the map — but most evident in countries like Sweden and Japan as the nations make dramatic changes to meet rising threats from Russia and China. “I’ve described the security environment as the most dangerous I’ve seen in 40 years in uniform,” said US Admiral John Aquilino, head of Indo-Pacific Command, before the House Armed Services Committee this month.

AFGHANISTAN - The Taliban vowed in a message to the West over the weekend that it will soon return to stoning women to death in public. “You say it’s a violation of women’s rights when we stone them to death,” said Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, according to The Telegraph. “But we will soon implement the punishment for adultery. We will flog women in public. We will stone them to death in public. These are all against your democracy but we will continue doing it,” he continued. “We both say we defend human rights – we do it as God’s representative and you as the devil’s.” The publication said that these remarks are the most extreme that he has made since the Biden administration effectively handed over control of Afghanistan to the Taliban during President Joe Biden’s disastrous withdraw from the country in August 2021.

UK - One in seven stores are now empty after more than 14,000 retail outlets closed last year, with the map showing the North East of the UK the worst hit. High Streets that were once the pride of British communities are being gutted, worrying new figures show, with shops sitting empty and the North East the worst hit by vacancies - while retail giants like Zara and Primark are bucking the trend. Last week it was revealed that nearly 100 stores in one Suffolk seaside resort pulled down their shutters for good due to the growth of online shopping, with despairing locals describing the area as a 'zombie town'. Meanwhile, across all shopping destinations, a whopping 55,514 shops, pubs, restaurants and other service businesses closed last year - the highest figure in more than 10 years and 6,820 more than in 2022.

RUSSIA - Russian authorities have begun deporting large numbers of Muslims in the wake of last week’s deadly Islamist state attack at a Moscow concert hall, in an effort that has been reportedly dubbed “Operation Anti-Migrant.” According to The Moscow Times, anti-Islamic sentiment has soared in the aftermath of the attack, in which at least 144 people were killed and hundreds more were wounded or in critical condition. Islamic State has since claimed responsibility for the massacre.

UK - The foreign aid budget should be halved to fund a 3 per cent of GDP spend on defence, a senior Tory MP has said. Former Cabinet Minister Robert Jenrick warns that the Armed Forces are 'shockingly under-prepared' and Britain's nuclear deterrent has been 'appallingly neglected'. Writing in today's Mail on Sunday, he says 'a significant chunk of our “development” spend is incoherent and wasteful. 'It's ludicrous that we send hundreds of millions to nuclear powers China, India and Pakistan'. He writes: 'We have no choice but to increase our defence spending to 3 per cent of GDP to deliver the uplift we need to defend ourselves. The dangerous and humiliating collapse of our nuclear deterrent is a disaster waiting to happen unless we urgently grip this crisis. Why do we still send millions to China when we desperately need that money to defend ourselves against countries like... China?’

UK - Despite cuts to the aid budget from a public finances squeeze post-pandemic, the UK remains the third-largest donor in the world. In 2022, the UK was the third-largest ODA donor in the world, sending just under £12.8 billion to those in need. Last year, Africa received the biggest proportion of ODA as a region – the outbreak of war in Ukraine, however, saw a surge in payments made within Europe. As the Government is yet to publish its final report on 2022, figures from 2021 provide the most up-to-date insight on beneficiary countries. That year, there were 132 of them. Afghanistan was the top recipient, with bilateral assistance totalling £187 million. Nigeria, where radical groups such as Boko Haram continue to terrorise civilians causing millions to be internally displaced, received the second-largest amount of aid, at £140 million. Pakistan came in third (£132 million), followed by Ethiopia (£120 million) and Yemen (£107 million).

UK - There are few more joyous places for a Christian at Easter than northern Europe's tallest and largest Gothic cathedral in the city of Cologne. This morning, thousands of worshippers from Germany and across the globe gather for the most important day in the Christian calendar to mark their belief that Jesus rose from the dead. Inside the ancient cathedral, they will sing to the heavens as Catholic priests light Easter candles and the smoke of their swinging incense burners wafts through the glorious nave to the tourist-filled square outside. But Cologne is also staging a very different kind of religious event this Holy Week. Last night, at a football stadium five miles from the cathedral, hundreds of Muslims attended the city's first communal Iftar, a sunset dinner of Islamic delicacies that marks the end of daily fasting during the sacred month of Ramadan.

UK - A Tory MP has exploded in fury after Labour chose to put out a message celebrating "Transgender day of Visibility" on Easter Sunday. Bassetlaw MP Brendan Clarke-Smith described Keir Starmer's party as clowns for the post on X (formerly Twitter) marking the woke celebration on the holiest day in the Christian calendar. It came after his former party colleague Lee Anderson, who has defected to Reform UK, wrote for Express.co.uk that politicians need to remember that Britain "is a Christian country."

USA - The Biden administration’s decision to honor “Transgender Awareness Day” on Easter Sunday has caused widespread controversy. However, many Americans may be unaware that there are more than 50 LGBTQIA2S+-themed holidays. Transgender Day of Visibility was already on the calendar before this week. The Biden White House doubled down in its embrace of Transgender Day of Visibility, despite some vocal criticisms.

USA - A cargo vessel damaged the supports of a bridge over the Arkansas River less than a week after a deadly incident in Baltimore. The Oklahoma State Patrol has completely closed a highway after a barge struck the US-59 Bridge over the Arkansas River on Saturday. Law enforcement is diverting traffic away from the area, to the south of Sallisaw, until inspections of the structure can be made, the state highway service wrote on X (formerly Twitter). There were no reports of injuries on the road or the barge, AP news agency quoted patrol spokesperson Sarah Stewart as saying. It was not immediately known what led to the collision.

EUROPE - Catalonia region is currently suffering its worst drought on record. And, as Statista's Anna Fleck reports, it’s not just Spain afflicted with this problem: The EU Commission’s Joint Research Center sounded the alarm earlier this year over how prolonged drought events have affected Europe for more than two years already and northern Africa for as many as six, which is “causing water shortages and hampering vegetation growth.” Food and water supplies were not considered a particular issue among Europeans for a long time. But new data illustrates how that is starting to change.

MIDDLE EAST - Hamas cites the arrival of red heifers as one of the reasons the terrorist group invaded Israel. In addition to listing Hamas’ accomplishments in the war, Obeida also discussed the reasons for Hamas’ brutal invasion of Israel and specifically cited the red heifers. This claim was made by Abu Obeida, a Hamas military leader, in a televised appearance marking the 100th day of the terrorist group’s war with Israel.

USA - A prestigious university has been branded a 'disgrace' after it awarded the world's oldest photojournalism prize for a picture of a mutilated and murdered October 7 victim. Photo agency AP won the world's oldest photojournalism award for its picture of Shani Louk's dead body on the morning of the October 7 attack. The agency has denied claims its photographers collaborated with Hamas to get the winning shots. Shani Louk, 22, became a symbol of the brutal Hamas attack after the world saw the picture of gunmen rushing her half-naked corpse back to Gaza on the back of a pick-up.

EUROPE - The EU never enforced its Growth and Stability Pact or Maastricht Treaty rules. The crisis is coming to a head with France and Italy in the spotlight. The first casualty will be Green policy. France and Italy are major disasters right now on the budget deficit rule. France has a budget deficit of 7 percent and Italy 5 percent. France needs to reduce its deficit by a whopping 4 percent of GDP! Neither Italy nor Greece should ever have been allowed in the EMU (European Monetary Union – Eurozone) in the first place. Greece has a debt-to-GDP ratio of 170 percent. The target is 60 percent. Only the Scandinavian countries are in compliance.

UK - Around 300 children charged through the building, with Thames Valley Police issuing a dispersal order following the ‘antisocial chaos’ ahead of the bank holiday. Witness Janey Chandler called 999 after she heard screaming and saw young people running as she visited a Boots store. In one clip, a police officer can be seen grappling with a schoolboy before his colleagues and security guards force the crowd back. As the video pans around the large group, with most of the children in school uniform, the officer disappears into the melee. ‘All the youngsters I saw were rude, swearing and aggressive to anyone who wasn’t a teen involved in the chaos. But when the police arrived they all ran off scared.’