AUSTRALIA - Australian firefighters have been tackling a massive wildfire which has sparked out of control, damaging buildings and cutting off major roads. Australian authorities have issued warnings about a “mega blaze” which has spread outside its containment lines and razed 20 homes near Sydney. The unruly fires have burned more than 400,000 hectares and moved into a popular tourist area. Forecasters have warned an intense and unrelenting heatwave is due to strike in the region, with record-breaking temperatures predicted to hit. Since September, wild blazes across Australia caused the deaths of six people. The bushfire crisis which has gripped the eastern states of New South Wales and Queensland has destroyed more than 700 homes and blanketed towns and cities in smoke. Firefighters in these regions have been battling more than 100 fires this week as they prepared for the intense heatwave to hit.

USA - Americans are dying because of the enormous greed of the pharmaceutical industry. We have got to end their greed!

Canada: Insulin manufactured for around $6

USA: Insulin manufactured for around $6

Canada: Insulin costs $32

USA: Insulin costs $300

USA - I probably had less than 10 vaccines as a kid. There is a risk where children are being subjected to even 70 vaccines that a combination may be lethal to a child even if each separately are ok. This is just too many vaccines and the combinations of 72 possible reactions are off the charts. This is why we so desperately need reform. There should be NO AMENDMENTS to any bill that is not dealing with the subject matter of the bill. This is a rule in Congress because such things would NEVER be debated in open session for the people would then know what corrupt politicians are doing. New Jersey will probably pass that law today and this will be the confirmation that politics in New Jersey is just too far gone to be a viable state to live in going forward. Just get the hell out. The lives of your children and grandchildren are being threatened by untested drugs protected by politicians. The politicians no longer represent the people – only their own greed.

ISRAEL - Jerusalem will remain united under mostly Israeli control with some responsibilities shared with a Palestinian state including the West Bank and Gaza, according to a purported draft copy of US President Donald Trump's "Deal of the Century" peace plan for the Middle East published by the Lebanese Al-Mayadeen TV channel on Monday. The reported draft details the timetable and methods of the plan. The report is unconfirmed.

USA - There has never been a time in our history when more Americans have been on drugs. According to the most recent government numbers, 24.6 million Americans have used an illegal drug within the last 30 days. Of course the number of Americans taking legal drugs is actually far, far higher. According to Bloomberg, 46 percent of all Americans have taken at least one legal pharmaceutical drug within the last 30 days. In most instances, those legal drugs have been prescribed by doctors with the intention of helping people, but sometimes legal drugs are even more addictive than illegal drugs are.

USA - In 2008, the “freezing of the repo markets was one of the most damaging aspects” of the financial crisis, according to a report by the Bank of International Settlements (BIS). This detail sets the stage for an eerie revelation contained in the same report: that four major banks sit at the root of the recent repo crisis that started back in September. The four banks (Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo) have taken on critical roles in the lending market – perhaps too much so. So if these big banks are key lenders, and the repo markets rely heavily on them, those banks sure look like they are at the center of all this.

TURKEY - The Turkish Navy deported an Israeli research ship near Cyprus two weeks ago. The incident took place several weeks after Turkey and Libya signed an agreement dividing up authority over the areas of the Mediterranean between their two countries, which ignores Cyprus' and Greece's economic rights in the sea, granting them to Turkey. The Turkish Foreign Ministry summoned Israel's top diplomat in Ankara earlier this week to inform him that Israel's plan to lay down a natural gas pipeline to Europe in that part of the Mediterranean Sea, in cooperation with Greece and Cyprus, would require Turkey's approval

TURKEY - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Chairman of Presidential Council Fayez Sarraj held talks in Istanbul on Sunday on the joint cooperation between the two countries in economic and security fields. President Erdogan reiterated his offer to send troops into Libya if the Presidential Council requested so. Turkey’s offer comes as the Libyan capital of Tripoli comes under a large-scale offensive by warlord Khalifa Haftar’s militia groups backed by a coalition of foreign backers including Egypt, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, France and Russia, in addition to hundreds of Sudanese mercenaries. He renewed his country’s support for the Government of National Accord and his appreciation for the Libyan people’s sacrifices to establish a civilian authority.

TURKEY - The threat of a military clash in the Mediterranean has drawn nearer following talks in which Turkey has underlined its willingness to send troops to Libya to defend the country’s UN-recognised government. Such a move would risk a direct military confrontation with General Khalifa Haftar, the eastern Libyan military warlord who is thought to be planning a decisive assault on the Government of National Accord in Tripoli, or GNA. Either the UAE or Egypt, which are supporting Haftar’s forces, might also become involved.

USA - The family unit is one of the fundamental pillars of any society, and so the weaker our family units become the weaker our entire nation is going to become. For decades, the traditional family unit has been under assault in America, and the consequences have been absolutely catastrophic. Today, the marriage rate has dropped to levels that we have never seen before, we continue to have one of the highest divorce rates in the entire world, and more couples than ever are choosing not to get married at all. As a result, the number of single parents has been steadily rising, and at this point the United States actually has the highest rate of children living with a single parent of any country on the entire planet. If we continue to go down this road, the institution of the family is going to continue to collapse in the United States, and there is no possible way that America will ever be great again as long as that is happening.

EUROPE - Jean-Claude Juncker yesterday outlined his vision for stronger military co-operation between EU nations – in what will be interpreted as a push towards an ‘EU army’. In a blueprint on how the bloc will operate after Brexit, he envisaged a European defence union in which member states will ‘pool’ military resources and even buy equipment together. The European Commission President said in one such scenario, defence cooperation would be ‘deepened’ and more money would be poured into EU missions abroad. Joint procurement was put forward as one idea, with more integrated capabilities between member states. His white paper came just days after the German military merged one of its divisions with Czech and Romanian brigades. A UK report released yesterday warned such plans for an ‘EU army’ are a threat to NATO and to Britain’s strategic assets.

EUROPE - Even before she began her term of office at the helm of the EU Commission, von der Leyen had already begun to set new accents in Brussels. In her "political guidelines" for the commission, she noted back in July that "Europe" must become a "global leader;" it would have to "strengthen its unique brand of responsible global leadership. Therefore, "bold steps toward a true European Defense Union" are now needed.

USA - “US officials constantly said they were making progress. They were not, and they knew it.” That’s how the Washington Post summarized “The Afghanistan Papers,” a slick package of stories it just published revealing the rot at the heart of America’s longest war.

ISRAEL - Israelis to head back to polls on March 2 in latest bid to solve political deadlock that has engulfed country; short-lived 22nd Knesset automatically disperses at midnight. The Knesset was automatically dispersed at midnight on Wednesday, but lawmakers continued debating until early Thursday on the date of the vote. With no Knesset member having gained the support of 61 MKs by the midnight deadline, the Knesset officially dissolved and new elections set for 90 days time, March 10. With March 10 falling on the Jewish festival of Purim and various other calendar considerations, MKs eventually finalized a bill setting the elections for March 2.

ISRAEL - Jewish worshipers are able to pray on the Temple Mount with what appears to be the tacit consent of police forces at the site, The Jerusalem Post observed during a visit there on Thursday. Despite the insistence by Israel Police that there has been no change in the decades-old policy, Jews now pray – in full view of the police – in an unobtrusive and inconspicuous manner. A senior Wakf Department official said he was unaware of any change in the status quo on the Temple Mount, but warned that any change would lead to renewed protests and spark a strong response from Arabs and Muslims.