USA - Since the dawn of civilization, humans have had only one world in which to live: the real one. But tech visionaries say we’ll soon have an alternative: a virtual world where our digital avatars and those of people in our communities and around the globe come together to work, shop, attend classes, pursue hobbies, enjoy social gatherings and more. Immersive videogames and virtual concerts have given us a taste of this world. But visionaries say the metaverse, as this world has been dubbed, will be far more engaging and robust, not only mirroring the real world in all its three-dimensional complexity but also extending it to allow us to be and do what previously could only be imagined. Walk on the moon in your pajamas? Watch a baseball game from the pitcher’s mound? Frolic in a field of unicorns—or be a unicorn yourself? In the metaverse, tech visionaries say, just about anything will be possible.

GERMANY - Supermarkets in Frankfurt and the surrounding region can now implement rules that only allow vaccinated and Covid-recovered people onto their premises. The new Covid health pass entry rules announced by the central state of Hesse have upped the pressure on the unvaccinated by allowing all shops to implement the so-called 2G rule at their doors. The 2G rule refers to public places being given the option to allow entry only to vaccinated (geimpft in German) or people who’ve recovered from Covid (genesen). and has so far been allowed in half of Germany’s states for certain public places like bars, restaurants, nightclubs and cinemas. The government in Hesse said that it had taken the decision to go a step further and allow shops to bar entry to the unvaccinated “at the request of the sector”.

USA - All active-duty Navy personnel must be vaccinated by November 28 or face separation, according to a Navy administrative message released Wednesday. Any active-duty Navy service members who do not get fully vaccinated or do not have an approved or pending exemption will be processed for an honorable separation without involuntary separation, according to NAVADMIN 225/21, released by Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. William Lescher and Chief of Naval Personnel Vice Adm. John Nowell. Service members in the Ready Reserve Navy will need to be fully vaccinated by December 28. Those who are separated for refusing the vaccine will be discharged with no lower than a general discharge under honorable conditions, according to the Navy release.

CHINA - Apple has taken down a Quran app and a Bible app in China at the request of Chinese officials, the company confirmed to the BBC. The apps, which are called Quran Majeed and Bible App by Olive Tree, were first reported as having been taken down by activist website Apple Censorship on Tuesday. Apple directed the BBC to its Human Rights policy, which says: "We're required to comply with local laws, and at times there are complex issues about which we may disagree with governments and other stakeholders on the right path forward. " Apple told the BBC that Chinese officials had said the apps breached laws on hosting illegal religious texts. Quran Majeed has over 5 million downloads on the Google Play Store, while Bible App by Olive Tree has just over 1 million.

USA - Lake Tahoe's water levels have dropped about half-an-inch below its natural rim as experts warn that another dry winter could put the body of water at risk of becoming 'terminal' - meaning the lake will no longer be able to supply its only outflow, experts say. The severe drought conditions across California and the Sierra Nevada mountains have taken their toll on the lake. Water is no longer flowing from the lake into the Truckee River and salmon are unlikely to spawn in a major tributary this year, according to the Los Angeles Times. Boat ramps and docks remain hundreds of feet from the water line while clumps of stringy algae have been washing ashore. 'Water flows over the rim, down to the dam, it can be impounded and controlled. Once the lake drops enough, it hits that natural rim, basically the natural lake is full but the reservoir is empty you can't get any water out of the lake to the dam and out the river,' Chad Blanchard, the US District Court Water Master, told News 4 TV. While experts say it's still not a full-blown crisis, a lot will depend on just how much rain and snow California will get this winter.

USA - The trucking issue with California LA ports, ie the Port of Los Angeles (POLA) and the Port of Long Beach (POLB), is that all semi tractors have to be current with new California emissions standards. As a consequence, that mean trucks cannot be older than 3 years if they are to pick up or deliver containers at those ports. This issue wipes out approximately half of the fleet trucks used to move containers in/out of the port. Operating the port 24/7 will not cure the issue, because all it does is pile up more containers that sit idle as they await a limited number of trucks to pick them up. THIS is the central issue.

USA - The deputy secretary at the US Treasury has put Americans on notice that the only way to end the plague of empty shelves around the country is for every resident to be vaccinated. The frank warning came off as a threat to many. Wally Adeyemo, the Biden administration’s second-highest official in the Treasury Department, appeared to publicly blackmail the still-sizable portion of Americans who have not been vaccinated against Covid-19 during a Thursday ABC interview, seemingly blaming them for the ongoing shortages of consumer goods that have led many to mock the president as ‘Empty Shelves Joe’. Despite viral photos depicting thousands of cargo ships lined up at the Port of Los Angeles ready to unload their goods, Adeyemo claimed that the supply chain issues plaguing so many US retailers are an international issue and will only let up when a sufficient percentage of the country has been vaccinated. However, many truckers working for shipping companies have balked at the idea of mandatory vaccination, leaving their firms’ fleets woefully understaffed, and others have gone on strike to demand better working conditions.

UK - The death of Sir David Amess was today being treated as a terror attack 'linked to Islamist extremism' as officers raided two homes in London and a British Muslim man of Somali descent remained in police custody.Sir David was holding a constituency surgery in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, when a knifeman in the church building launched a frenzied attack. The 69-year-old politician was wounded at least 12 times and died at the scene. Horrified constituents waiting to see the veteran MP, who has campaigned to help refugees, watched in horror as the assailant leapt on him just after midday. Shortly after midday, the knifeman waited calmly in line after booking in at the constituency surgery before launching the fatal attack, according to witnesses. At 12.05pm yesterday, the police were called and say they were on scene 'in minutes'. Witnesses described how the knifeman made no attempt to leave the scene and waited for police to arrive at which point members of the public described him as being compliant.

GREECE - Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias underscored the persistent “threat of war” with Turkey in a meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the signing of a deal to upgrade defense cooperation between Athens and Washington. “Greece is facing a casus belli, a threat with war if it exercises its sovereign rights and, I have to say, Greece is facing daily provocation,” Dendias said Thursday at the State Department. “Greece is committed to resolve disputes with diplomacy and always in accordance with international law.” Turkey and Greece have competing economic claims in the eastern Mediterranean, the danger of which was dramatized in a “mini-collision” between two frigates attempting to enforce the claims of the capitals. NATO officials established a “deconfliction” mechanism to avoid an outright conflict between the two countries, which went on to maintain “a quiet summer,” to the gratification of US officials.

USA - As a country, we have never been through anything like this before. In the months ahead, millions upon millions of highly qualified people are going to be forced out of their jobs because of federal, state and local mandates that will soon be implemented. If you think that this is a good idea, you are crazy. How will you feel if there is a fire in your neighborhood and your home burns down because there weren’t enough firefighters? Or how about if you have a heart attack but you have to wait three hours for an ambulance because there aren’t enough first responders?

UK - The idea of challenging taboos and breaking free from the shackles of moral norms is becoming rampant in advertising. But while the commercialisation of identities may be good for the bottom line, it messes people up. A new advert in the UK for John Lewis home insurance offers compelling evidence that transgenderism has become the sacred cause of the woke establishment. Titled ‘Let Life Happen’, it features a narcissistic-looking young boy running riot and thrashing his home. However, according to the message signalled by the ad, all is forgiven because he is wearing his mom’s frock and lipstick. According to the current woke ethos, little boys expressing themselves through cross-dressing are inevitably labelled as ‘brave’, and unlike their straight-laced mates are capable of expressing themselves through transgressing. In this ad, John Lewis isn’t just simply selling insurance; it is also celebrating a lifestyle. This lifestyle promotes transgression and the ethos of transgenderism… it is only a matter of time before the act of criticising transgenderism itself becomes a taboo.

USA - New York has begun firing and suspending healthcare workers who refuse to get inoculated with the experimental Covid-19 shot, proving the mandate from the state that once praised its ‘frontline heroes’ is really just about power. Monday was the deadline for New York’s healthcare workers to receive their first vaccine dose, and the state’s facade of blissful obedience has already begun to crack.

ISRAEL - Foreign Minister Yair Lapid is in Washington DC to meet with top Biden administration officials for talks centered on Iran as well as the Gaza Strip and other security-related matters. As expected, Lapid warned US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan that Iran is on the brink of becoming a "nuclear threshold state". As nuclear talks between Tehran and world powers have remain stalled in Vienna, a key question at the center of debate over whether the US should seek a restored JCPOA deal with Iran remains just how close is Iran to acquiring a nuke?

UK - 18 companies on brink of collapse after gas shipper fails. Two more UK energy firms have gone bust in the past 24 hours due to soaring wholesale gas prices and up to 18 utility companies are now also at risk as a major gas shipper falls into difficulty, an industry expert has warned. Pure Planet and Colorado Energy, which have a combined 250,000 UK customers, have become the latest casualties in the market. The announcement on Wednesday comes after nine small energy suppliers collapsed last month. Wholesale gas prices have more than quadrupled this year and many utility firms have been unable to cope with the rising overheads. Now the founder of green energy firm, Ecotricity, has warned there could be a “domino effect” as a major gas supplier to the utility firms runs into problems. In a post on Twitter, Dale Vince noted the latest energy firms to go bust and warned a number of other companies could be about to leave the market. He tweeted: “And one gas shipper, that provides wholesale gas to 18 utility companies, about to exit - that could cause a domino effect.”

USA - Whether you like it or not, a major global energy crisis is here, and it is going to hit all of us right in the wallet. Today, markets for energy are truly global, and that means that price spikes in one part of the planet will inevitably filter elsewhere. For example, a lot of natural gas that is produced in the United States is now heading for Europe, and that is pushing up prices here. As energy supplies get tighter and tighter, power bills are going to go higher and higher. In fact, the US government is now warning American citizens to expect heating bills to rise more than 50 percent this winter. Needless to say, a lot of families out there simply cannot afford that.