SOUTH AFRICA - The National Disaster Management Centre has declared a drought disaster due to the persistent drought conditions in the Northern Cape, Eastern Cape and Western Cape. National resources will now be mobilised to assist affected farmers. Farmers from all three provinces are battling the effects of the drought, the worst experienced in 100 years, according to Agri SA. Agri SA’s risk and disaster manager, Andrea Campher, said they are positive that government will now assist farmers, farmworkers and rural economies affected by the devastating drought.

CHINA - A new video circulated among Chinese Communist Party channels has warned China will destroy Japan with nuclear weapons in a "full-scale war" if Tokyo interferes militarily in Taiwan. The new video singles out Japan, threatening it will be the “exception” to China’s stated policy to not use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear powers. “We will use nuclear bombs first. We will use nuclear bombs continuously. We will do this until Japan declares unconditional surrender for the second time,” the video said. The video ends by stating: "There will be no peace talks."

USA - Did you know that the US has averaged more than one and a half mass shootings a day so far this year? I know that sounds crazy, but it is true. Monday will be the 200th day of the year, and according to Wikipedia there have been 327 mass shootings up to this point in 2021. And actually the information on Wikipedia does not include all of the most recent mass shootings, and so the true number is actually a little higher. But you can’t really blame Wikipedia, because it is extremely difficult to keep up with all of the mass shootings that are happening these days.

USA - Lake Powell is getting an emergency release of water from upstream reservoirs. Water levels have approached a critical level. Water levels in Lake Powell are at record lows. If levels drop much further, hydroelectric turbines will cease to run. The lake supplies water to 30 million people and irrigation of 5 million acres. The Bureau of Reclamation began emergency water releases from reservoirs upstream in the Colorado River this week in an effort to keep Lake Powell, the country’s second-largest reservoir, full enough to continue to generate hydroelectric power.

USA - Wikipedia can no longer be trusted as a source of unbiased information since the online encyclopedia's left-leaning volunteers cut out any news that doesn't fit their agenda, according to the site’s co-founder. Larry Sanger, 52, co-founded Wikipedia in 2001 alongside Jimmy Wales, said the crowdsourcing project has betrayed its original mission by reflecting the views of the ‘establishment.’ He said he agreed with the assessment that ‘teams of Democratic-leaning volunteers’ remove content that isn’t to their liking, including information about scandals linked to President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden. When asked by Unherd.com if Wikipedia can be trusted, he replied: ‘You can trust it to give a reliably establishment point of view on pretty much everything.'

EUROPE - European nations are scrambling to ramp up vaccination drives, using a carrot-and-stick approach to persuade the reluctant to get their shots as the more transmissible delta variant drives a surge in infections. Greece became the latest to enact new restrictions on Friday, requiring proof of vaccination or recent recovery from COVID-19 for access to indoor restaurants, cafes, bars and movie theatres. Children can enter with negative tests. The measure, part of a package of government incentives, had little immediate effect as virtually all public life moves outdoors during Greece’s hot, dry summers. Sidewalk cafes and restaurants and open-air movie theatres remain accessible to all.

USA - Investing in healthy ageing — rather than fighting specific diseases — could have an economic value worth trillions. We’re living longer, but not necessarily better. As the population over 65 in the United States is projected to double by 2060 — with one in five residents in retirement age — so will the number of Americans needing long-term care services. A new study suggests targeting ageing itself — rather than individual diseases associated with it — could be the secret to combatting many health care costs traditionally associated with getting older.

MIDDLE EAST - Nearly all Arab states are finding it difficult to cope with the challenges of the 21st century. The gap between them and the modern world is widening, to the extent that there is doubt it can be bridged without a deep social and cultural revolution. There is less openness, pluralism and tolerance, and more violence and autocracy. Blaming Arab failures on a history of colonialism is a pathetic excuse, when we compare the Arabs to the achievements of post-colonial India in establishing democratic rule and removing hundreds of millions of people from desperate poverty, despite a heritage of the caste system. The failure is due to a society that clings to its tribal, patriarchal structures, whose values are not pluralistic. This political culture explains, to a large extent, the Arab states' few scientific achievements, the prevalence of terrorism among themselves, the failure of many Arab migrants to Europe to integrate into society, the Palestinians' rejection of compromise and delusion about the destruction of Israel, and the culture of violence, crime, and tribalism that is rife in Arab society in Israel.

MIDDLE EAST - US lawmakers castigated Abbas for terror payments during ‘tense’ Ramallah meeting. He said families would be penniless without ‘welfare’ money; they asked if PA also pays cancer victims; opposed his call for Israel-Arab deals to wait ’til Palestinian issue solved. A visiting congressional delegation expressed their disapproval over payments to terrorists and their families during a meeting in Ramallah with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas last week, several members of Congress told The Times of Israel Tuesday. One congressperson described last week’s closed-door meeting with 10 visiting members of Congress as “tense at times, as it was clear that we didn’t see eye to eye on a number of issues.” The source spoke on condition of anonymity. Ramallah’s policy of paying stipends to Palestinians jailed for security offenses and the families of deceased attackers has long been a point of contention with Washington. While Israel argues that the payments encourage terror activity, Abbas has vowed to maintain the stipends, which the Palestinians view as a form of welfare and a national responsibility.

ISRAEL - In Israel, Jews and Arabs sit together in the waiting room of Hadassah Hospital waiting to receive the same care. I know, I have worked there. Jewish and Arab students doing top-flight research at Hebrew University and the Technion present their work side by side at major scientific conferences. I know, I have been there. Jews and Arabs start restaurants and other businesses together. I have seen it. Any claims of apartheid are fallacious. Given what I know, I was dismayed to learn of the Yale College Council (YCC) vote to condemn Israel and equate her with apartheid South Africa. The invalidity of this analogy is evident to any thinking student of history. I am frankly disappointed that the Yale administration has been embarrassingly silent in response to statements like that of the YCC. But I am doubly disappointed that Yale students, scholars-in-training, would so readily swallow the false claims underlying the YCC action.

MIDDLE EAST - As this year’s summer camp session begins, children around the world find themselves playing games, doing arts and crafts, participating in sporting matches, and swimming in the pool. For children in the Gaza Strip, however, summer camp looks very different. Rather than playing soccer or outdoor camping, some 50,000 children in Gaza participate in camps run by armed groups like the al-Qassam Brigades and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s Saraya al-Quds, which aim to instill radical Islamic values and provide military training to children. Promotional videos and advertisements entice young children into registering for such camps, culminating in the conscription of children in Hamas’ armed forces. On June 26, 2021, the Vanguards of Liberation camp was officially launched with a press conference given by camp spokesman Abu Bilal, who designated this year’s camps as the “Sword of Jerusalem.” The intention is for these camps to exemplify the Palestinian peoples’ achievements during the May 2021 war.

EUROPE - The EU has finally released its report on the Palestinian Authority's school curriculum, which documents the appalling material UK-funded teachers are delivering to Palestinian children. The report provides extensive examples of incitement to violence, anti-Semitism, denial of Israel's existence, and the near complete absence of any message about peaceful coexistence. Britain's government has rightly taken a zero tolerance approach to anti-Semitism, yet our continued support for Palestinian teachers who teach this material undermines our commitment to combating anti-Jewish racism [By UK Member of Parliament, Stephen Crabb].

ISRAEL - During the period of Israel's full control of the West Bank (1967-1992), the Arab population expanded by 79%, from 586,000 to 1,050,000, due to the unprecedented Israeli development of health, medical, transportation, education and employment infrastructure, following stagnation during the Jordanian occupation of the area (1948-1967). Arab infant mortality was drastically reduced, while life expectancy surged. The Arab population in the West Bank has also undergone massive urbanization (from 75% rural in 1967 to 77% urban in 2021). Israel, with a birthrate of 3.09 per woman (compared with 3.02 among West Bank Arab women), leads the 34 OECD countries in fertility. This is due to the Israeli state of mind, which is heavy on optimism, faith, patriotism, attachment to roots, collective responsibility, and the centrality of children. It is common for secular, highly-educated, working Israeli Jewish women to have three or four children, a trend unheard of elsewhere in the West. Israel's robust demography refutes the assertion that its Jewish majority is threatened by Arab demographic growth.

LEBANON - As a hybrid actor, Hezbollah has risen to become the most influential political organization in Lebanon. It enjoys legitimacy within the Lebanese state, but is able to operate without the accountability required of a state institution and without full responsibility to the Lebanese people. Holding power without responsibility is ideal for Hezbollah. In theory, the group has the military capability to take power in Lebanon by force, but it is not in its interest to do so. Western governments’ attempts to reverse Hezbollah’s influence in Lebanon by focusing on curbing the activities of the group itself – such as through sanctions – are not sufficient. For as long as the current political system in Lebanon exists, it will not be possible to loosen Hezbollah’s hold over the Lebanese state.

ISRAEL - On Tisha B’Av, Bennett speaks of ‘freedom of worship’ for Jews on Temple Mount. Statement appears to be at odds with status quo at the site, under which Jews are allowed to visit but not pray; spokesman for police minister claims there is ‘no change in policy’ Prime Minister Naftali Bennett asserted on Sunday that both Jews and Muslims have “freedom of worship” on the Temple Mount, potentially hinting at a change in policy at the most contentious site in Israel. The statement, issued in English and Hebrew, came a day after Channel 12 news reported that groups of observant Jews have been ascending to the Temple Mount in recent months and quietly praying without interruption by police. The TV report called the development “a revolution, unfolding gradually, under the radar.”