USA - President Joe Biden could declare a climate emergency as soon as this week, according to The Washington Post, in a bid to implement elements of his environmental agenda as climate legislation has stalled in Congress. Leading Biden administration officials are debating ways to advance the president’s agenda, and the president is prepared to announce a number of new initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, reported the Post, citing three people familiar with the matter. The internal discussions come after Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia told party leaders last week that he opposes the plans to advance this month’s significant economic package that includes billions of dollars toward slashing carbon emissions and promoting green energy.

USA - In case it wasn't clear that Biden and the Dems have learned absolutely nothing and are still committed to running this country off a cliff with their "green energy" push, John Kerry is here to remind you that they are still as crazy as ever. Green policies caused chaos around the globe, and the message from the "climate czar" is that we are behind and we need to transition away from fossil fuels even faster. It's not enough that fuel is through the roof because of these green policies. It's not enough that the power grids are nowhere close to being able to support as many electric cars as there are gas cars. The Left is always progressing forward. Straight off a cliff. If you want to know what a faster, more drastic, move to green energy looks like, the Democrats' dream world, just look to Sri Lanka.

USA - As more Americans buy electric vehicles, the pitfalls of owning such a car become clear, and one teenager in Florida just discovered a major problem firsthand. Avery Siwinski, a 17-year-old student in St Petersburg, was thrilled to join the ranks of electric car owners, thinking she not only was helping to save the environment but also was going to save a ton of money by avoiding high gasoline prices. But not long after taking possession of her car, she was met with a major crisis unique to EV owners. Her dashboard started lighting up like a Christmas tree telling her that a major problem was detected. After owning the vehicle for only six months, Siwinski was shocked that it needed a service so soon. The Siwinskis were told the battery pack was at the end of its life and needed to be replaced — and the bill was going to be $14,000. But then things got worse. The dealer said it couldn’t even get a battery. Ray Siwinski said customers should be aware that car dealers are not able to really service EVs because of a lack of qualified technicians as well as parts. “If you’re buying a new one, you have to realize there is no secondhand market out there because manufacturers aren’t supporting the cars,” the grandfather said.

USA - An explosion has rocked the Hoover Dam, after a transformer caught fire at the hydroelectric complex on the border between Nevada and Arizona. Officials said there were no injuries following the fire on Tuesday in the turbine house of the massive power-generating dam, which supplies electricity to parts of three states. Water levels in Lake Mead, the reservoir created by the dam, are at historically low levels due to an ongoing mega-drought in the area, which was also experiencing extreme heat on Tuesday. It's unclear whether high demand for electricity, or diminished generating capacity due to low water levels, played a role in the fire. Officials said the cause of the fire was under investigation. As both an iconic American structure and a piece of critical infrastructure, Hoover Dam has long been tightly protected against potential attacks.

RUSSIA - On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin is visiting Iran for a fifth time. Is it a lot or a little? Well, if you count back to 2000, when he first became the leader of Russia, it doesn’t seem much. However, if you look at the dates of the visits, a very different picture emerges. It turns out that this trip is the fourth in the last seven years. Yes, Putin first came to Tehran in 2007, but his regular trips did not start until 2015. At the same time, all of Putin's visits have been of a working nature. He has never been to the Islamic Republic on an official tour. Each time his arrival was linked to a multilateral event held in the Iranian capital: Such as The Caspian Forum, a summit of gas-exporting countries.

RUSSIA - The timing is crucial and no coincidence. Just days after President Joe Biden visited Israel and Saudi Arabia and vowed the US was prepared to use 'all elements of its national power' to stop a common enemy, Iran, from acquiring nuclear weapons, who should turn up in the Iranian capital? Vladimir Putin. And when the dark master of the Kremlin pays a rare visit outside Russia, it sends shivers down Western spines. With good reason.

UK - Wildfires broke out across southern England today as Britain experienced its hottest day on record with temperatures soaring past 40C (104F) amid growing rail travel chaos as schools shut again in the extreme heat. A huge grass blaze broke out in Wennington, East London, and appeared to have destroyed at least two houses - while major fires also took hold of nearby land in Upminster and across the Thames at Dartford in Kent; on a day when millions of people were working from home. There was also a major gorse blaze at Zennor in Cornwall. The mercury hit an unprecedented 40.2C (104.4F) at London Heathrow Airport at 12.50 pm - around an hour after a reading of 39.1C (102.4F) in Charlwood, Surrey, beat the previous all-time UK high of 38.7C (101.7F) in Cambridge in July 2019. The extreme heat has been caused by a plume of hot air from north Africa and the Sahara and an 'Azores High' subtropical pressure system creeping further north than usual - which experts say is a result of climate change. Forecasters said an absolute maximum of 43C (109F) is possible later on - and the highs in England are equal to the warmest spots anywhere in Europe today. The UK is also hotter than Jamaica, the Maldives and Barbados.

GERMANY - This comes as the eurozone is descending into "crisis", according to finance expert Alasdair Macleod. The euro is facing high debt and rapidly spiralling inflation. In June, eurozone inflation rose to a record level of 8.6 percent and energy prices rose at an annual rate of almost 42 percent, compared with 39 percent in May. The rising prices come in the wake of the global pandemic and have been exacerbated by Russia's war in Ukraine. Speaking about the problems facing the eurozone, Mr Macleod said: "The euro system and its currency are descending into crisis. Comprised of the ECB and the National Central Banks, the system is over its head in balance sheet debt, and it is far from clear how that can be resolved." He said that the issue has sent Germany's economy into crisis, warning that the country may see "riots and growing political instability" as a result.

IRAN - Last month, Iran’s nuclear program entered dangerous new territory: Tehran now possesses enough highly enriched uranium for a nuclear bomb. That material, enriched to 60 percent, would need to be further enriched to roughly 90 percent — so-called weapons-grade uranium — before it could be used in a nuclear weapon. But that process, known as “breakout,” will now take just weeks due to Iran’s advances since 2019, when Tehran began casting off the constraints of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal following the US withdrawal from the agreement. Although this action alone would not give Iran a bomb, it is the most important step in building one. The consequences of this milestone are profound. Until now, the international community has had months, if not years, to prevent any Iranian dash to bomb-grade material — plenty of time to resolve the crisis diplomatically. Should that fail, the United States has always kept military options as a last resort. Indeed, this fact has helped deter Iran from trying to build a bomb. But as US envoy Robert Malley noted last month, Iran’s capabilities have reached the point where Tehran “could potentially produce enough fuel for a bomb before we could know it, let alone stop it.” Given that Democrats and Republicans have long maintained that they will not allow Iran to produce nuclear weapons, the fact that the United States might not be able to prevent an Iranian dash should be deeply worrying.

USA - Former White House doctor Ronny Jackson, who is currently a Republican congressman from Texas, said Sunday it is possible that President Joe Biden suffers from a disease that is progressively worsening his cognitive abilities. “I saw him periodically throughout the years I was there, making the comment that I wasn’t his physician at the time,” Jackson said. “I oversaw the guy that did take care of him, but I wasn’t his physician at the time. But I have seen the same thing everybody else saw. I saw a Joe Biden that was always prone to gaffes.” Jackson said there is a stark difference now.

EUROPE - With Europe in the throes of what could be one of its worst heat waves, fatalities mounted in Spain and Portugal and a 116-degree reading in Portugal broke a national record. The heat wave that has seared much of the Iberian Peninsula since last week has killed at least 1,000 people in Portugal and Spain, according to BNO News. The majority of these deaths have occurred in Portugal where 659 deaths were recorded last week, according to the Directorate-General for Health. At least 368 deaths occurred in neighboring Spain in the same time period. On July 10, the first day of the heat wave, 15 heat-related deaths were recorded in Spain. Since then, the number of daily deaths has increased every day across both Spain and Portugal as temperatures surpassed 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) daily.

UK - Britain's cost of living crisis is biting hard as cash-strapped families face a £454 jump in annual grocery bills amid rampaging food and drink price inflation. Milk, butter and dog food experienced massive price increases of around 20% in the 12 weeks to July 10 compared to the same period last year, while grocery price inflation jumped to nearly 10% - the second highest level on record - over the four weeks to July 10 compared to last year.

AFRICA - A catastrophic decline of vulture populations in Africa and Asia is causing alarm among researchers, who fear that a “cascade” effect could lead to the spread of deadly old and new diseases, including plague, anthrax, and rabies. For thousands of years, the birds have been synonymous with death and gluttony. “Where the corpse is, vultures will gather,” Jesus is quoted as saying in Matthew 24. But in reality, the birds serve us in ways that we are only just beginning to understand – helping to keep ecosystems and pathogens in check. If the lion is the king of the savannah, the vulture is the hardworking, unsung grounds keeper. A flock of vultures can wipe a dead antelope clean in about 20 minutes, stopping the carcass from turning into a toxic soup leaking into water sources. Maggots and bacteria are the only things more effective at disposing of dead meat. But now, many vultures and other raptor species are diving beak first into the abyss. In the 1990s, vulture populations on the Indian subcontinent plummeted by about 99 per cent. Seven out of eleven of the species found in Africa are now on the verge of extinction. “If you get rid of a hugely important component of an ecosystem – like a vulture which hoovers up dead meat – diseases can proliferate because they're not being kept in check,” Mr Kapila said.

USA - A California man is suing the candy maker Mars, alleging Skittles contains a “known toxin,” making the popular candy “unfit for human consumption.” On Thursday, San Leandro resident Jenile Thames filed a lawsuit seeking class-action status in the US District Court for the Northern District of California. Attorneys for Thames said Skittles were unsafe for consumers because they contain “heightened levels” of titanium dioxide. Mars Inc uses titanium dioxide to produce Skittles’ rainbow of artificial colors. In 2016, the Mars publicly stated its intention to remove the additive from its products. However, the Thursday complaint noted it is still used in products like Skittles today. In a statement sent by Mars to several other news outlets, the company said: “While we do not comment on pending litigation, our use of titanium dioxide complies with FDA regulations.” Although the additive is legal in the US it has been banned in other countries.

MIDDLE EAST - Purnima Anand, the chair of the Forum, said that at the 14th BRICS summit they discussed the possibility of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Turkey joining BRICS very soon. According to the president of the BRICS International Forum, Purnima Anand, Turkey, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia might “very soon” join the club of major emerging economies, which also includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. “All these countries have shown an interest in joining and are preparing to apply for membership. I think this is a good step, because expansion is always perceived positively; this will clearly increase the influence of BRICS in the world… I hope that the accession of countries to BRICS will happen very quickly, because now all representatives of the core of the association are interested in enlargement. So it will be very soon,” Purnima Anand stated.