USA - Dollar Tree’s latest earnings report offers a grim reflection on the state of the American economy. What we are witnessing is not just a minor fluctuation in retail performance, but a broader indictment of an economy that, under the stewardship of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, has manifestly lost its way. For those unacquainted with Dollar Tree’s dual audience, its Family Dollar stores cater to lower-income households seeking everyday necessities, while its namesake brand draws in middle- and upper-income shoppers for affordable party supplies and seasonal goods. What makes this earnings report notable is the revelation that even households earning over $125,000 per year — once thought immune to such cutbacks — are now tightening their belts and shifting from “buying for want” to “buying for need.”

HUNGARY - The European Union has fined Hungary for failing to accept its delegated quota of migrants. Hungary has refused to pay the €200 million fine issued by the European Court of Justice (ECJ). Will this be the issue that finally breaks ties between Hungary and the European Union? Hungary is constantly at odds with the elite in Brussels who wish to impose a one-Europe government over all member states. The EU has taken over trade, currency, and domestic law for each member. In June, the ECJ found the nation guilty of “unprecedented and exceptionally serious breach of EU law” for limiting the number of asylum seekers. “That conduct constitutes a serious threat to the unity of EU law, which has an extraordinarily serious impact both on private interests, particularly the interests of asylum seekers, and on the public interest,” the judges said. There is no European Union. There is a European authority within the pretend union that controls all members.

USA - The United States has said it is time to 'finalise' a deal between Israel and Hamas to end the war in Gaza after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's refusal to bow to pressure.

NIGERIA - A report from Open Doors International dated September 1 called No Road Home: Christian IDPs Displaced by Extremist Violence in Nigeria details the dire situation faced by Christians who have been hunted to the verge of extinction by the Islamic State, the jihadis of Boko Haram, and groups of Muslim militants known as the Fulani. It is not easy to say which Islamist faction is winning the competition to kill and displace as many Christians as possible, but Nigeria’s Christians are definitely losing. Thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) have been rendered homeless by militant attacks. One Nigerian Christian said he and his brethren have become an “endangered species.”

USA - Southern California Edison notified Rancho Palos Verdes that electricity service would be discontinued at multiple homes due to fire risk because of the ongoing movement. While the city has long dealt with landslides, a historic storm in February intensified and accelerated the movements leading to shifts as great as 1ft a week. Rancho Palos Verdes is now grappling with buckling streets, buildings sinking and cracking and hundreds of families forced to leave their homes, said Janice Hahn, a Los Angeles county supervisor, at a news conference on Monday. Last year, hillside homes in the affluent Rolling Hills Estates in Los Angeles crumbled and cracked due to similar cliffside shifts, leading to rushed evacuations.

MIDDLE EAST - There is a burning issue in the Red Sea that needs to be resolved. Thirteen days ago now, the oil tanker MV Sounion was attacked by the Houthis. A French Aspides ship came to the rescue whilst destroying an approaching surface drone. They put out the initial fires and evacuated the crew to Djibouti. With the ship now abandoned at anchor, the Houthis went back two days later, placed charges and filmed the subsequent explosion for social media.

UK - The left-wing Labour Party government in Britain announced Monday that it will be suspending dozens of arms export licences to Israel over concerns of UK weaponry being used to violate human rights in Gaza. Foreign Secretary David Lammy told the House of Commons that the British government will be suspending 30 of its 350 arms export licences to Israel, including UK-made components used in military drones, helicopters, and aircraft, including fighter jets used by the Israelis.

ISRAEL - In a series of posts on X on Tuesday, Netanyahu condemned the decision as “shameful,” as well as criticizing its timing. The suspension came two days after the bodies of six hostages presumably killed by Hamas were found in an underground tunnel in Gaza. Israel is pursuing “a just war with just means” and is “comporting fully with international law,” Netanyahu claimed. The Israeli prime minister noted that the Palestinian armed movement is still holding over 100 hostages, including five British citizens. Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson also took to X on Tuesday to accuse Britain’s new government of “abandoning” Israel and of wanting Hamas to win.

GERMANY - Sunday’s regional elections are a rebuke to Berlin’s disastrous policies, Vyacheslav Volodin has said. The elections in the German states of Saxony and Thuringia have clearly shown that voters reject the ruinous policies championed by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of the Russian State Duma, has said. Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD) came in fourth in Saxony and fifth in Thuringia, losing in both regions to the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD), and the newly formed left-wing Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW). “The Germans have told Scholz: ‘You should leave,’” Volodin wrote on Telegram on Monday. He went on to argue that the election results are a testament to the “unpopularity” of the current government in Berlin.

USA - Hundreds of employees were let go abruptly after dozens of KFC restaurant locations across Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin closed suddenly this past week. As many as 25 KFC restaurants owned by fast food franchisee EYM Chicken are now empty retail shells, but parent company EYM Group, which owns other fast-food chains like Pizza Hut, Burger King, Denny's and Panera Bread, is not yet indicating the reason for the closures. EYM Group has been struggling for years, it turns out. EYM Pizza filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after closing more than a dozen Pizza Hut locations in Indiana and Ohio. These fast-food closures are just a drop in the bucket as America's entire retail sector is in the throes of an implosion. Inflation is sky-high and still rising while costs are exceeding what businesses can afford to pay in order to stay afloat.

FAR EAST - The governments of the Philippines and Vietnam announced on Friday that they would sign a defense agreement that would expand their cooperation out of trade and into military and security projects, including “maritime” defense operations. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, made the announcement while welcoming Vietnamese Defense Minister Phan Van Giang to Manila’s presidential palace, Malacañang, on Friday. The neighboring countries have traditionally maintained cordial, if not necessarily friendly, relations, partially impaired by the Philippines’ status as a democratic US ally and Vietnam’s as a communist tyranny. In the past decade, however, their diplomacy has improved in the face of the mutual threat presented by Communist China, which illegally claims significant chunks of both Vietnamese and Philippine territory in the South China Sea.

USA - “I think our country’s missing a lot of religion. I think it really was a much better place with religion. It was some … it was almost a guide, you know, to a certain extent,” Trump explained, noting that there are “no real guardrails without it.” “You want to be good to people. Without religion, there’s no real, there are no guard rails. I’d love to see us get back to religion, more religion in this country,” Trump added. Trump has spoken about God more openly and often after his near-death encounter at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, crediting “God alone” for preventing the “unthinkable.” “Our Secret Service sniper, from a much greater distance and with only one bullet used, took the assassin’s life,” he said during his speech at the Republican National Convention, adding, “I’m not supposed to be here tonight.” While the crowd disagreed, shouting, “Yes you are!” Trump added, “Thank you, but I’m not, and, I will tell you, I stand before you in this arena only by the grace of Almighty God.”

GERMANY - Germany will clamp down on illegal immigration, Islamism, and knife crime in the wake of last week’s deadly stabbing attack in Solingen, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser has announced. She added that police and regional authorities would be given more powers to enforce new regulations. On August 23, a knife-wielding attacker began lunging at revelers at the Festival of Diversity in the city of Solingen in Germany’s western North Rhine-Westphalia region. The man killed three people and injured another eight before fleeing the scene. Authorities later detained a 26-year-old suspect, identified as Issa Al H, a Syrian asylum seeker who entered the country in 2022. According to media reports, he may have been operating on orders from Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS), which has claimed responsibility for the attack.

VATICAN - Pope Francis has once again positioned himself as a staunch advocate for open borders, declaring in a recent statement that rejecting migrants is a “serious sin.” He stated, “It must be said clearly: there are those who work systematically and with every means possible to repel migrants… this is a grave sin.” This statement, however, is not merely about promoting compassion — it represents a dangerous agenda that threatens to undermine Europe’s Christian heritage and sovereignty. The Marxist Pope’s call for more immigration, particularly from predominantly Islamic countries, raises serious concerns about the future of Europe and the survival of its Christian identity.

GERMANY - The far-Right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has won its first state election in Germany since the Nazi era in a landmark result. The AfD emerged as the clear victor in Thuringia, in the east of the country, securing almost a third of the vote. It was nine points ahead of the center-Right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which garnered around 24 percent, and far ahead of Germany's three governing parties. In neighboring Saxony, it finished only just behind the CDU, which leads the national opposition. The election outcomes underscore a deepening discontent with Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government, which has been mired in unpopularity and internal conflicts. An AfD spokesperson told Newsweek: "We are not a Right-wing extremist party."