EUROPE - The fallout of the sanctions imposed on Russia over the conflict in Ukraine has turned the European Union into “the third world of the Western world economies,” a senior contributor to Forbes magazine has claimed. “These days, the European stock market is the worst in the Western world,” under-performing the US by ten basis points, Kenneth Rapoza pointed out in his article on Tuesday. “The most significant headwind” for such a state of affairs has been the “Russian sanctions on energy as punishment for its war with Ukraine,” Rapoza insisted. Those restrictions “set off a massive commodity price spike that’s hurt the European economy the most,” he added. The author advised investors against putting their money into the bloc, at least until Brussels figures out how to compensate for the massive reduction in energy supply from Russia, and how to mitigate the harmful impact of its own sanctions.

BELARUS - Belarus's warplanes have been upgraded to carry nuclear weapons, the country's authoritarian leader President Alexander Lukashenko has said, adding it has 'selected targets' in the West if provoked. President Lukashenko, a staunch ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, warned the US and its allies against carrying out a 'provocation' against Belarus. He said the modification of the SU-24 planes followed his meeting with Putin in June, when he offered to make Belarusian combat aircraft nuclear-capable at Russian factories and to help train pilots. The Kremlin had no immediate comment on Lukashenko's statement.

UK - It’s just before 8am on a Monday morning and my A&E department is heaving. I’ve been on-call all weekend — I’m shattered — but I don’t have time to dwell on it. Our traffic-light system is a sea of red: red for staffing, meaning we’re low on doctors and nurses; red for capacity, meaning we have far too many patients; and red for acuity, meaning a terrifying number of those patients are severely ill. Some of them are dependent on a ventilator. Some won’t make it to the end of the day, let alone the end of the week.

USA - The parents of a ten-year-old model who reportedly identifies as transgender say they plan on having their child undergo transgender surgeries at age 16. Noella McMaher, who’s been hyped in the media as the world’s “youngest transgender model,” was socially transitioned at the young age of four and had a legal name-change by age seven. Dee McMaher, the child’s mother, told Chicago Parent in 2019 that Noella would, in the next few years, start puberty blockers and then begin a physical transition with gender surgeries at age 16, REDUXX highlighted this week.

NETHERLANDS - The Hague in the Netherlands has revealed it will ask the EU to grant it a temporary exemption from anti-Russia sanctions. The city, known as the seat of the International Criminal Court, reportedly wants to keep buying natural gas from Russian energy giant Gazprom until an alternative supplier is found. According to Reuters news agency, The Hague city council outlined its plans on Thursday, pointing out that the municipal authorities held an EU-wide tender in June and July but failed to find a replacement for Russian gas. EU sanctions, imposed in response to Russia’s military offensive against Ukraine, mean that all governments and public bodies in the bloc must terminate their existing contracts with Russian companies by October 10.

CHINA - China’s power grid is still under duress amidst the worst heatwave the country has seen in half a century. Now, electric carmakers Tesla and Nio are shutting down some of their charging stations in Sichuan province to save energy and help keep the lights on in Chinese homes, Bloomberg reports. Owners of EVs from Tesla and Nio report that they first learned about certain charging stations in the city of Chengdu going offline through charger-locating apps. Charging is being suspended as far away as Chongqing, a city just under 200 miles east of the Sichuan capitol. Sichuan’s power production has plummeted during the heatwave. The province relies on hydroelectric dams, but rivers in the region are at dangerously low water levels. The reduced hydropower output prompted city officials to shut down factories making microchips and those that process lithium for EV batteries, too.

GERMANY - The left wing of Germany’s Social Democrats has reportedly urged the chancellor to stop arming Kiev and push for diplomacy instead. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is facing dissent within his own party ranks from those who want Berlin to stop providing Kiev with weapons, Der Spiegel has claimed. The outlet suggests the left wing of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) has also called on Scholz to engage in dialogue with Russia. Among the signatories are multiple members of the Bundestag and the European Parliament, as well as prominent party figures from several German regions, the article claims. “A continuation of the war will only bring more deaths and destruction,” the appeal seen by Der Spiegel reportedly says.

USA – I am certainly not one to dare assume to know what goes on in the mind of the God I believe in, and consider it a bit arrogant to go down that path. Nevertheless, at the risk of being labeled an old fool, it is a challenge for me to believe that the series of “plagues” that have befallen the United States of America of late are not part of some heavenly master plan. From the end of World War II and for 70 years thereafter, America “worked.” The triumph of democracy and freedom over fascism and national land grabs energized the American body politic to take responsibility and rebuild the world after the devastating losses in the war. The world was put back in order, nations devastated by battle were rebuilt (much of that through US programs like the Marshall Plan), while people felt secure enough to plan for careers, family, education and retirement.

USA - Do you believe in “coincidences”? There have always been droughts all throughout human history. So if there were a couple of isolated droughts in 2022, it wouldn’t be a big deal. But that isn’t what we are facing. Instead, right now the United States, Europe, Africa and China are all experiencing droughts of epic proportions. As a result, crops are failing in key agricultural areas all over the globe. Of course if just one country or one region was experiencing a “historic drought”, agricultural production from the rest of the world could make up for that. Unfortunately, what we are currently witnessing is truly unprecedented. For the very first time in modern history, virtually all of the largest economies on the entire planet have been hit by extreme drought conditions simultaneously, and that means that global agricultural production is going to be way below expectations in 2022. We have never seen it happen simultaneously to so many key areas all over the planet. Do you really think that what we are witnessing is just a “coincidence”?

USA - It would not be the first time in history that prayer was invoked on behalf of a country. We need only follow the lead of the last person any of us would have expected would turn to prayer, and look at the example of General George S Patton, Jr, head of the US’s Third Army in Europe in World War II. In December 1944, fog, clouds, rain and snow over Europe were hampering US war efforts. A frustrated Patton contacted Chaplain James O’Neill, a Catholic priest, and asked for a prayer for good weather that would improve the chances of victory. In the presence of Patton, there was only one response the chaplain could offer and that was “Yes, sir.”

ISRAEL - In a statement to the press, Michaeli said that she had ordered the head of the National Transportation Agency to put forward a study that will examine the economic and logistic ramifications of the possibility of operating the Red Line of the light rail on Saturdays. “Not operating the light rail on the weekends significantly harms the people who do not own a private car,” the statement said. “The enormous investment amounting to billions of shekels – by the ministry through NTA in the transportation infrastructure that will form the backbone of transportation in Gush Dan in the next two decades – justifies its full utilization seven days a week for the benefit of the public.”

ISRAEL - Israel is having an Italian moment. One that, as it faces potential war with Iran, it might just ignore. Since the end of World War II in 1945, Italy has had 70 governments, each in office an average of 1.1 years. The most recent collapsed in July. As for Israel, early in November it will hold its fifth election in three years.

VATICAN - Pope Francis, who turns 86 on 17 December, has repeatedly talked about the possibility of stepping down. He is not seeking to cling to office at all costs. At the same time, Francis will resist any pressure from those unhappy with the direction in which he is steering the Barque of St Peter. There are choppy waters ahead, and he is likely to keep his hand on the tiller for the time being. The last days of August, when the world’s cardinals will gather in Rome, marks the beginning of what can be described as a “pre-conclave” period. It is a time when speculation over who could succeed Pope Francis really starts to heat up and marks a critical moment to take stock of the Francis pontificate, due to mark 10 years on 13 March 2023.

UKRAINE - On August 24, Zelensky addressed Ukrainians to congratulate them with the Independence Day of Ukraine. In his speech, he claimed that Kiev will not hold any negotiations with Moscow. Earlier, Zelensky said that he will not negotiate with Putin if Russia moves forward with plans for a mass trial of captured “Mariupol defenders”, including members of the nazi Azov regiment. So far, the Ukrainian military have not managed to stop Russian advance on the front lines. Zelensky’s loud statements aimed at showing the “brave leader of a heroic country” and gaining more political support will cost the Kiev government the lives of thousands of its soldiers more.

RUSSIA - The two countries have successfully established a mechanism for mutual settlements in rubles and rupees, Purnima Anand says. Russia and India don’t need the US dollar in trade, having turned to national currencies to conduct mutual settlements, BRICS International Forum President Purnima Anand told reporters on Thursday. “We have implemented the mechanism of mutual settlements in rubles and rupees, and there is no need for our countries to use the dollar in mutual settlements. And today a similar mechanism of mutual settlements in rubles and yuan is being developed by China,” she said. “That means that the BRICS countries are opening up to Russia, offering the opportunity for the country to overcome the consequences of sanctions,” Anand added, as quoted by RIA news agency. BRICS an international socio-economic and political forum incorporating five member nations: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.