CHINA - Flooding in southwest China’s Sichuan province in recent days displaced about 110,000 people as of Sunday, Chinese government officials said. “Earlier last week, a heavy rainfall in the Southwest China’s Sichuan Province affected 589,400 people, with 109,900 people relocated, causing direct losses of 1.774 billion yuan ($274 million) [sic],” China’s state-run Global Times reported July 12. “Floods are common during China’s rainy season, with higher water levels in August last year washing away roads and forcing tens of thousands from their homes,” AFP noted Sunday. “But the threat has worsened over the decades, due in part to widespread construction of dams and levees that have cut connections between the river and adjacent lakes and floodplains that had helped absorb the summer surge.”

SOUTH AFRICA - Buildings were set on fire and properties looted in South Africa on Monday as unrest sparked by the jailing of ex-president Jacob Zuma last week continued for a fourth day. The country’s top court, which ordered Zuma jailed for refusing to appear before a corruption probe, is holding a review of its decision with a ruling expected later on whether the sentence will be upheld. The 79-year-old former anti-apartheid fighter remains popular, especially in his native KwaZulu-Natal province where he is seen to embody traditional values. KwaZulu-Natal was hit hard by protests over the weekend, and on Monday flames could be seen coming from the roof of a shopping center in provincial capital Pietermaritzburg as hordes of people rushed in to loot.

UK - The UK government has authorised the sale of £2.6 billion worth of military and civilian equipment with potential military use to China in the past three years, government figures show. Last year saw a tripling in exports to China of “dual use” items defined as “civilian goods with a military purpose”. Some £1.6 billion worth were authorised in 2020, compared to £526 million in 2019. The increase coincided with the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in early 2020. The exports have been approved while China is identified by the British government as “an increasing risk to UK interests” and “the biggest state-based threat to the UK’s economic security”. “The fact that China is an authoritarian state, with different values to ours, presents challenges for the UK and our allies”, it adds.

USA - Did you know that a billion sea creatures were just wiped out on the west coast? And they did not die pleasantly. The historic “heat dome” that hit the Northwest like a freight train literally cooked them to death. Needless to say, this is not normal. In fact, we have never, ever seen anything like this before. Weather patterns all over the planet are going absolutely nuts, and this is having a devastating impact on many highly vulnerable ecosystems. I knew that the recent heat wave was really bad, but I didn’t know that it had caused this much destruction. According to NPR, it is being estimated that the record high temperatures along the west coast killed at least a billion sea creatures…

USA - Governments should exclude parents who oppose the hormonal and surgical transformation of their children, according to an article published in the establishment Journal of Medical Ethics. When parents reject their childrens’ claim to be transgender, “parents should lose veto power over most transition-related paediatric care,” wrote author Maura Priest, a candidate professor at Arizona State University. Trained medical scientists should defer to the childrens’ wishes once they decide that the children are “informed and competent” to make a lifetime decision over their medical health, sexual relations, and reproductive choices, Priest argues…

USA - One of the worst natural disasters in the history of our country is unfolding right in front of our eyes. In the entire history of the United States, we have never seen heat in the western third of the nation like we have in 2021. Needless to say, countless numbers of farmers and ranchers are deeply suffering because of the heat and drought, and it is being projected that this is going to be one of the worst years for wildfires that we have ever experienced. As you will see below, this crisis is being compared to Hurricane Katrina, but Hurricane Katrina only lasted for a few days. The crisis that we are now facing has already stretched on for many months, and there is no end in sight. Yet another heat wave is baking the western third of the nation right now, and it is being reported that the high temperature in Death Valley actually reached 130 degrees on Friday… If you don’t live in the western third of the nation, it is going to be difficult for you to grasp how desperate things are becoming. This isn’t just a drought. What we are witnessing right now is a mega-disaster of epic proportions, and scientists are telling us not to expect relief for the foreseeable future.

HUNGARY - Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is fighting back against Transgender activism: Orbán said the European Parliament (EP) and the European Commission (EC) are trying to get Hungary to allow LGBTQ activists into its kindergartens and schools, but Hungary won’t allow this. The prime minister told reporters in Belgrade that Wednesday’s European Parliament plenary debate on Hungary’s new child protection law had been useful because it clearly revealed the positions. The EP and the EC want LGBTQ activists and organizations to gain entry to schools and kindergartens but “Hungary does not want this”. PM Orbán said the debate concerns who should decide about how to raise children, he added. PM Orbán said the European basic treaties clearly show that it is an issue that belongs in national authority, adding that “Brussels bureaucrats have no business here”. “No matter what they’ll do, we will not allow LGBTQ activists to enter our kindergartens and schools,” Orbán said.

USA - A test of a new feature that asks users to report friends they suspect may be becoming an extremist has been greeted with horror from Facebook users. It’s a bizarre precedent that we should all be concerned about. Over the past few days, some Facebook users have reported seeing prompts asking them if they are concerned that someone they know might be becoming an extremist. Other users are being notified they may have been exposed to extremist content as they were naively reading political articles or watching videos on the platform. Ultimately, what this means is that if the policy is implemented, Facebook is quite literally going to encourage people to report their friends for committing thought crimes. Even worse, Facebook will punish its own users who may have potentially committed wrongthink.

USA - Tens of thousands of people who say they were sexually abused while scouts and filed suit against the Boy Scouts of America have reached an $850 million settlement, the largest in a child sexual abuse case in United States history. More than 84,000 people are part of the lawsuit against the 110-year-old organization, which has been plagued with claims of abuse from volunteers and leaders since the 1960s. The Boy Scouts of America filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year as it faced mounting legal costs to defend itself against claims of sexual abuse against boys. Boy Scouts leadership has insisted that scouting “is safer now than ever before” and 90 percent of the claims against the organization “occurred more than 30 years ago.”

USA - The Western US is preparing for blistering, dangerous heat next week as the heat wave continues that set record high temperatures and left at least 500 dead. Last month earned the title of the hottest June on record, with eight states recording new highs of well over 100 degrees. But the worst is yet to come, as the NWS has issued excessive heat warnings for next week to areas in California, Arizona, Utah, Oregon, Washington, and Idaho that will affect over 31million residents. Several cities in California could climb even higher, with Sacramento predicted to reach 114 degrees, Fresno an all-time high of 115 degrees, and Redding a shocking 117 degrees on Sunday. Other cities further from the coast will not be spared, with Las Vegas expected to peak at 117 degrees this weekend. Several states are voicing concerns of power outages, with one California power grid operator begging residents to conserve power in preparation for next week's unrelenting temperatures. Last week already saw temperatures in the Pacific Northwest reach heat levels previously known only to Death Valley.

USA - Large numbers of birds are dropping dead from a “mystery disease” throughout much of the eastern half of the country, and scientists still have absolutely no idea why this is happening. They have tested the dead birds for a whole host of known illnesses, but those tests have not revealed the cause of this plague. We are being told that a lot of the affected birds appear to develop neurological problems, and many of them go completely blind before they finally die. The “mystery disease” has spread to more states since I first wrote about this plague, and at this point the list of affected areas includes Washington DC, Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Kentucky, Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana. If authorities are unable to find a solution, will this plague eventually spread across the entire nation? I don’t know why the mainstream media is not giving this story more coverage, because this is quickly turning into a major crisis.

USA - The US says there is an 'increased potential' for nuclear conflict with the country's main enemies because they are stockpiling nuclear weapons. Russia and China have been modernizing and expanding their respective arsenals over the last decade, according to a recently disclosed 2020 report from the Pentagon on nuclear operations. And North Korea has accelerated testing of missiles capable of reaching America's homeland, and Iran has the technology to create a nuclear weapon within a year of deciding to do so. It says the US has tried to negotiate reductions in nuclear weapons capabilities since since 2010, but 'no potential adversary has reduced either the role of nuclear weapons in its national security strategy or the number of nuclear weapons it fields. Rather, they have moved decidedly in the opposite direction,' according to the report, which was released on Tuesday and specifically mentions Russia, China, North Korea and Iran.

CHINA - Chinese leader Xi Jinping could soon be toppled and the Chinese Communist Party could "collapse," according to a senior China analyst Paul Monk. Speaking to Sky News Australia, Mr Monk revealed that China's economy is "more fragile than it lets on" in spite of the facade the regime projects about itself. The issue of Taiwan is also a major source of tension between China and the US. However, Cai Xia, a leading Chinese dissident and scholar, recently said the Communist regime is much weaker than it looks. She said: “I recommend that the US be fully prepared for the possible sudden disintegration of the CCP. Xi Jinping’s overly suspicious and narrow-minded personality has led to continuous purges inside the party, which have brought extreme dissatisfaction among the middle and high-level officials. Everyone feels unsafe."

USA - The San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus has released, and then deplatformed, a new video with a threat to many American parents:

"You think we're sinful, you fight against our right, you say we all lead lives you can’t respect. But you’re just frightened, you think that we’ll corrupt your kids if our agenda goes unchecked. Fine, just this once, you’re correct," the lyrics go.

"We’ll convert your children, happens bit by bit, quietly and subtlety and you will barely notice it, you can keep them from disco, warn about San Francisco, make them wear pleated pants, we don’t care."

"We're coming for them, we’re coming for your children! We’re coming for them, we’re coming for them, WE'RE COMING FOR YOUR CHILDREN!!!"

USA - Storm Elsa has been tearing through New York City, with heavy rains flooding subways and submerging cars. Even before Storm Elsa hit New York, heavy rains pummelled parts of the city on Thursday, July 8. The heavy downpour left parts of the city’s major roads and subway stations submerged on Thursday evening. While Tropical Storm Elsa brought with it heavy rain, it even triggered tornadoes in North Carolina and Georgia. Commuters had to wade through waist-deep waters in parts of the city such as in Upper Manhattan.