CHINA - Chinese automakers are looking to flood the United States market with cheap Electric Vehicles (EVs) as President Joe Biden’s administration has made a rapid all-electric, green energy push without having first ensured domestic manufacturing capacity. According to Axios, Chinese automakers like BYD Co Ltd, Li Auto, Xpeng Motors, Nio Inc, and Geely are looking to the US market to sell cheap EVs to Americans as the Biden administration makes its push for an all-electric economy. Chinese automakers will likely follow the same script as Japanese and Korean brands decades ago: Use imports to exploit a void in the US market, learn quickly and then go deeper with factories on American soil.

USA - The United States has announced a historic $345 million military aid package for Taiwan which for the first time will come from existing US military stockpiles instead of purchases through the foreign military sales program, the White House announced Friday. The Pentagon has signaled for much of the year that it intended to prepare such a passage after Congress authorized $1 billion for military aid to be provided to Taiwan under what is known as a Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA). The announcement will likely draw criticism from China which considers Taiwan to be a breakaway province and which has escalated tensions around the island in recent years. That includes demonstrations of its maritime and airborne capabilities as it edged closer to Taiwan territory beyond the Taiwan Strait. The difference from existing arms sales agreements with Taiwan is that the weapons systems will arrive there in quick order as opposed to having to wait years for them to be built from scratch.

USA - More and more states in the US are implementing digital ID systems, raising more concerns that these digital systems could turn into backdoors for government surveillance and erode personal privacy. At least eight states already have state-sponsored apps where people can store their digital IDs. These include the Mobile ID app in Arizona, Delaware, Mississippi and Oklahoma and the myColorado app, which provides proof of identification, age and address anywhere in Colorado. These apps are designed to work with a state government to set up a process for verifying a person’s identity digitally.

USA - On July 18th the US Department of The Treasury revealed that the top foreign holders of US Treasury bonds / debt are selling off their holdings at an alarming rate. Japan, which is #1 holder reduced its US Treasury bonds by $30.4 billion in May. China reduced its holdings of US Treasury bonds by $22.2 billion in May. This marks the second consecutive month of reduction and brings its total holdings close to the historical low of 801.5 billion dollars. China has been steadily reducing its holdings since August of last year. But here is the surprising news that everyone should start paying attention to. In April at least 19 countries globally have sold off US Treasury bonds leading to a reversal in the flow of funds invested in US Securities.

UK - Only half of Gen Z and millennial adults plan to start a family, as financial pressures and global anxieties continue to deter young adults from having children, a new survey reveals. The research, which polled 1,000 British adults between 18 and 34 who haven’t yet started a family, also found that one in four respondents have already decided against having a baby ever. Only 55 percent of participants say they plan to have children in the future, while 20 percent are unsure. The most common reason, given by 49 percent of respondents, was their desire to focus more on themselves. Financial issues followed closely, cited by 47 percent, and fears about the state of the world were raised by 38 percent of the participants.

UNITED NATIONS - United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres announced on Thursday that the era of global warming has ended and the era of global boiling has arrived. Gutterez claimed that July 2023 will set records for being the hottest month on record. Of course, his statements were meant to scare the West to invest in more Chinese windmills and solar panels and to destroy the energy sector in the United States. And it’s all based on lies. It is as if the heatwaves in 1936 never happened. The percentage of the US that reaches 100F this year is currently at a record low. The elites won’t tell you that. The five hottest July 25ths in the US were 1934, 1901, 1940, 1936 and 1952. US summers are much cooler now than they were prior to 1960. They’re lying to you. The temperatures in 1936 were much worse than this year.

GREECE - A video posted yesterday by the Swiss weekly Die Weltwoche provides an aerial view of the Greek island of Rhodes, revealing an isolated fire, but not a widespread conflagration. The video appears to have been shot by a Swiss aeroplane passenger (or perhaps pilot?) on the previous day. Referring to dramatic reports in the media, Weltwoche writer Christoph Mörgeli comments: “Someone flying over the island at 10,000 meters [33,000 feet] above sea-level, and who thus has a good overview, gets a much less dramatic impression. Although a cloud of smoke can be clearly seen on the video shown here, there is no sign of a burning island or a gigantic conflagration.” At the end of the clip, the videographer makes the same point more succinctly. “According to the media, all of Rhodes is burning,” he says. “It’s nuts the **** that they tell us.”

EASTERN EUROPE - Tensions are flaring in Eastern Europe. With the background of the absolute carnage of the war in the Ukraine, involving some of the biggest battles since WW2, the recent developments pitting NATO’s Poland and the Baltic countries against Belarus and Russia is a distressing reality. Lithuanian news site LRT also reported on the growing tensions: “On Thursday, top Polish politicians visited the border with Belarus, where tensions are rising. They talked about the dangers arising from Belarus and Russia, and said that Poland is ready to counter any provocations.”

SOUTH AFRICA - Is the global dominance of the US dollar in danger? In recent weeks, there has been lots of speculation about the introduction of a new BRICS currency that would be backed by gold. In this article, my goal is to sort through what is true and what is not true. From August 22nd to August 24th, the 15th BRICS summit will be held in Johannesburg, South Africa. Back on July 5th, RT sparked a firestorm of rumors when it reported that a decision to introduce a new BRICS currency that would be backed by gold would be made prior to the upcoming summit in Johannesburg. In the aftermath of that report, many prominent voices were warning that the US dollar was in big trouble.

ISRAEL - After months of tensions along the Blue Line separating Lebanon and Israel, tents set up by Lebanese Hezbollah – in response to an Israeli border war project on occupied territory – may escalate into the largest conflict between both sides since the 34-day war of 2006. Lebanon and Israel are technically in a constant state of war, frozen since August 2006. Despite both sides having largely held their fire since the mid-2000s, a series of provocations has threatened to change the status quo in dramatic fashion.

UK - Violent shoplifting gangs have effectively been given 'freedom to loot' by lax policing, store bosses have warned. In the first six months of the year, shoplifting, violence and antisocial behaviour in Co-op stores rocketed by 35 per cent to more than 175,000 incidents, almost a thousand a day. Shop staff, many of whom worked throughout the pandemic, have been terrorised by thugs, who are sometimes armed, with assaults up by 30 per cent. Co-op complains that many stores have been abandoned by the police. One Co-op outlet was raided three times on the same day, while others have been hit as many as 50 times.

EUROPE - Wildfires have devastated swathes of Southern Europe and Northern Africa in the midst of near-record high temperatures. Over 40 people have died in the last week, despite authorities across the area declaring on Wednesday that the worst was over. The fires claimed 34 lives in Algeria, state broadcaster EPTV reported on Monday, with 10 of the victims said to be soldiers attempting to evacuate the coastal province of Bejaia. The fires were declared contained by the country’s civil protection services in a statement on Wednesday after over 8,000 firefighters were deployed to contain them. In Tunisia, wildfires forced the evacuation of 300 people from the coastal village of Melloula. Türkiye saw wildfires break out in the southern province of Antalya. Croatia also reported wildfires south of Dubrovnik on Monday, though its fire service confirmed on Wednesday that these were under control.

UK - From Farage to corrupt migration lawyers, the Left's dismissal of stories they don't like is a grave threat to free and open debate. It confirms there is a woke sector of the Establishment that truly thinks it is infallible, which carries on assuming its perfect and virtuous status — even after getting it wrong. Worse, this privileged cabal does everything in its power to scupper news stories it finds inconvenient or embarrassing. In truth, this is a scandal of epic proportions. A democratic political figure being 'de-banked' over his political views? The bank's chief executive whispering inaccurate claims to the public broadcaster? The BBC then having to apologise for its hawking of faulty information? It all adds up to a borderline Orwellian effort to control public opinion.

UK - This is sinister. The Global Majority sounds like a phrase invented by a deranged cult leader or the villain in a superhero movie. In fact, it is the chilling jargon adopted by King's College London and other institutions to separate white people from the rest of humanity. Staff at the prestigious university were invited last week to sign up for free tai chi classes, to 'tackle chronic stress triggered by racism'. But the registration form made clear the aim was to ensure that 'the participants are all from global majority backgrounds' (my emphasis). A memo went even further. It stressed the sessions were restricted to 'staff who identify as black/people of colour/global majority' — a term for the ethnic groups which constitute approximately 85 per cent of the world's population. The implication was crystal clear: 'No whites.'

UK - When you've worked in retail for 20 years, you might think you've seen everything. But for Alison, manager of a large branch of one of Britain's favourite High Street fashion stores, the past few months have been the most unexpected and upsetting of her career. 'We have seen a huge rise in shoplifting,' says the 52-year-old, whose branch in East Anglia has become a battlefield. She is too nervous to give her real name. 'Gangs turn up in vans, smash into the shop, fill their arms with piles of clothing and run out, before driving to the next location and doing exactly the same.