USA - Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we all wake up someday and the pandemic is finally behind us? Wouldn’t it be wonderful to go back to a world with no masks, no restrictions and no mandates? I know that is what so many of you want. I want it too. Just like millions of others, we are ready for this long nightmare to finally end. Unfortunately, we are now being told that this crisis is never going to have an end. COVID is apparently going to be with us indefinitely, and that means that we will be talking about masks, restrictions and mandates for years on end. I know that must sound extremely depressing, because it sounded extremely depressing when I wrote it. We are supposed to be “the land of the free”, and people should be able to make their own health decisions without any government oppression. Unfortunately, we are seeing a trend toward authoritarianism all over the globe, and many believe that it will only get worse in the years ahead. We desperately need change, because right now officials all over the world are telling us that there will never be a return to “normal”, and that would be a very bleak future indeed.

EUROPE - French President Emmanuel Macron was right when he said Tuesday that Europe should stop being naive and quit relying primarily on the United States for its defense. Indeed, it’s in the interests of both the United States and Europe to realize that. In one sense, this is nothing new from Macron. He has previously called for Europe to aspire to “strategic autonomy” and has argued for a “true European army” for years. Macron evidently believes that Europe weakens itself by relying on US arms and military might for its defense, and thus is unable to push for its own interests even in its own neighborhood. The recent announcement that Australia was ripping up a deal with France to build new submarines to pursue a new deal with Britain and the United States was thus only the spark that lit the fire. The kindling of fundamental strategic disagreement was laid long ago.The United States and Europe would both benefit from an alliance of true equals rather than maintaining the current imbalance. We are both stronger together if we are both strong separately.

RUSSIA - For the past 500 years European nations—Portugal, the Netherlands, Spain, Britain, France and, briefly, Germany—were able to plunder much of the planet by projecting their naval power overseas. The ultimate inheritor of this naval imperial project is the United States, which, with the new addition of air power, and with its large aircraft carrier fleet and huge network of military bases throughout the planet, is supposedly able to impose Pax Americana on the entire world. Or, rather, was able to do so... But now this imperial project is at an end.

ISRAEL - "Israel is eager to contribute to the world - despite being in the toughest neighborhood on earth. We are an ancient nation. Returned - to our ancient homeland. Revived - our ancient language. Restored - our ancient sovereignty. Israel is a miracle of Jewish revival. Israelis don't wake up in the morning thinking about conflict. Israelis, like everyone else, want to lead a good life, take care of our families, and build a better world for our children. Which means that from time to time, we might need to leave our jobs, say goodbye to our families, and rush to the battlefield to defend our country - just like my friends and I have had to do ourselves."

NIGERIA - As Nigeria marks its 61st anniversary of independence, its citizens are stuck in a general anomie of despondency. This is as a result of general insecurity in the country, rising unemployment and high-cost of living. It is also an age of anxiety, with many measures of Nigeria’s socioeconomic progress painting a picture of a nation in great distress. Nigeria’s economy has been stagnant, growing at less than 1% cumulatively during the past six years, far below population growth of 2.6%. It also has about 40% of the population of about 200 million living below the poverty line. The country is equally beset by security and political challenges. Boko Haram insurgents still operate in the North-East. In the North-West, bandits are overwhelming the security forces. In North-Central Nigeria, deadly clashes between farmers and herders continue. And separatist and irredentist agitations resonate in the South-East and the South-West of the country. A lack of political leadership denies the country of the possibility of meaningful growth and critical citizenry.

UNITED NATIONS - Global industry groups have warned Governments of a "transport system collapse". The International Chamber of Shipping, which represents 65 million workers and 80 percent of world's merchant shipping fleet, issued the warning in an open letter to the United Nations general assembly on Wednesday. The statement, which was signed by the International Air Transport Association, the International Road Transport Union and the International Transport Workers' Federation, claimed there could be a "global transport system collapse" if world Governments failed to restore pre-pandemic levels of travel movement or give priority vaccine notices to transport workers.

USA - Shutdown of the US Government could happen this week - and the results could be extremely damaging to the US economy, and would "help China", it's been claimed. A US Government shutdown is imminent as lawmakers in Washington DC fight over funding ahead of Thursday’s deadline. Democrats and Republicans have been arguing over a bill to pass funding for a new fiscal year that begins on Friday. On Monday, the Senate voted 48 to 50 and was not able to pass a government funding bill that would allow the progression of President Joe Biden's $3.5 trillion federal overhaul.

CHINA - The UK'S fuel shortage pales in comparison to China's deepening energy crisis, as experts warn power cuts to the country's major industrial hubs threaten to upset the global economy. A crackdown on greenhouse emissions, the rising price of coal and increased demand for energy have led to one of the nation's biggest energy crises yet. China's industrial hubs, in particular, have borne the brunt of the outages, with officials in Guangdong province urging businesses to limit their power usage. Sudden power cuts and energy rationing have affected homes, businesses and factories, including manufacturers supplying tech giants Apple and Tesla. According to Ron Bousso, a Reuters writer who specialises in the oil and gas industries, the situation threatens to spill over into the rest of the global economy. International tech powers like Tesla rely on Chinese manufacturers for many key technologies and parts, which means their supply lines could be disrupted as a result.

USA - The chip crisis turned dire when the coronavirus hit. The chips, which are made by just a handful of firms, are notoriously hard to produce. And there just were not enough for everyone. Manufacturing the tiny chips is extremely complicated. It includes hundreds of steps, takes months to complete, and requires factories worth billions. "We commit to building a US-EU partnership ... to design and produce the most powerful and resource-efficient semiconductors," the White House said in a statement [on 29 Sept 2021 in Pittsburgh for the first meeting of the "EU-US Trade and Technology Council" (TTC)]. The elephant in the negotiation room is how to deal with China.

GERMANY - German think tank demands a more offensive foreign policy, willing to take greater risks: "Blurring the boundaries between war and peace." The next government should initiate a shift to a more offensive foreign policy, willing to take greater risks, and seek the necessary "public approval." This demand has been raised by a group of experts in their newly-published strategy paper. The group had been coordinated over a ten-month period by the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP). For the foreseeable future, international politics will be dominated by the "great power competition between the USA and China," the paper notes. "Vulnerability" has become the "normal state of affairs," the "boundaries between war and peace are becoming blurred." Over the past few years, Germany has been losing influence in this development and must, therefore, seek to "prevent further strategic déclassement." The DGAP paper lists conflicts within the EU and the escalating crises beyond the EU's external borders as examples for this loss of influence. Berlin must be prepared "to take decisions even amid great uncertainty."

VATICAN - Pope Francis underscored the inviolable right to life from conception to natural death in an address to the Pontifical Academy for Life Monday. People have gotten used to abortion, the pope said in his address in the Vatican, because they fail to look at the reality and see “it is really a murder.” Abortion consists in “the disposal of children that we do not want to accept,” he said, meaning they are “returned to sender by direct killing.” “It is really a murder and to understand it well perhaps it helps us to ask a double question: is it right to eliminate, to take out a human life to solve a problem?” he asked. “Is it okay to hire a hitman to solve a problem?” “This is abortion,” he said.

UNITED NATIONS - Humanity is on the brink of "nuclear annihilation" with the threat reaching its highest boiling point in forty years, a top UN chief has warned. The nuclear arms race has the globe teetering "unacceptably close" to mass atomic destruction, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said. He urged nations that have "stockpiled nearly 14,000 nuclear weapons" to sign the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty to avoid an international crisis.

ISRAEL - The Iranian nuclear program has reached a “watershed” moment and Israel’s tolerance on the matter is running out, PM Naftali Bennett has said, calling on the international community to recognize the gravity of the situation. Speaking to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Monday, Bennett said that Iran had made “a major leap forward” in recent years and that its “weapon program is at a critical point.” The Israeli leader contended that Iran’s nuclear program had now hit a “watershed moment” and words would not be enough to stop its centrifuges. But Bennett said that while the rest of the world either considered Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons inevitable, or they’re just tired of hearing about it, Israel didn’t have that privilege and its tolerance was running out. “Iran is much weaker, much more vulnerable than it seems,” he noted, adding that Israel would not tire on the matter and would not allow Tehran to acquire nuclear weapons.

VATICAN - Pope Francis urged Europe to remember its Christian roots Wednesday, a recommendation inspired by his recent visit to Hungary and Slovakia. This journey “was a pilgrimage to the roots,” the pope told the crowds gathered in the Vatican for his weekly General Audience. “In meeting my brother bishops, both in Budapest and in Bratislava, I was able to experience directly the grateful remembrance of these roots of faith and of Christian life.”

VATICAN - Pope Francis had harsh words for those who criticize him, saying such attacks are “the work of the devil,” La Civiltà Cattolica revealed Tuesday. There is “a large Catholic television channel that has no hesitation in continually speaking ill of the pope,” Francis said during a meeting with Jesuits in Bratislava during his recent visit there. “I personally deserve attacks and insults because I am a sinner, but the Church does not deserve them. They are the work of the devil. I have also said this to some of them,” he added. In its report on the meeting, America magazine, the Jesuit flagship journal in the US, said the pope was referring to EWTN (Eternal Word Television Network) when speaking of “a large television channel” that criticizes him. The EWTN Global Catholic Network was founded in 1981 by cloister Franciscan nun Mother Angelica and is the largest religious network in the world, broadcasting in multiple languages and reaching an audience in more than 145 countries.