USA - Since the end of the Cold War, most US policymakers have been beguiled by a set of illusions about the world order. On critical issues, they have seen the world as they wish it were and not how it really is. President Donald Trump, who is not a product of the American foreign policy community, does not labor under these illusions. Trump has been a disrupter, and his policies, informed by his heterodox perspective, have set in motion a series of long-overdue corrections. Many of these necessary adjustments have been misrepresented or misunderstood in today’s vitriolic, partisan debates. But the changes Trump has initiated will help ensure that the international order remains favorable to US interests and values and to those of other free and open societies.

IRAQ - The United States military is expected to reduce its troop presence in Iraq by one-third, or down to about 3,500, over the next two or three months, an official told Reuters Friday. Currently, 5,200 troops are stationed in the Middle Eastern country as a part of an effort to fight the Islamic State's (ISIS) presence there, but the Trump administration is now confident that Iraqi forces are able handle the terrorist organization on their own. The move was largely expected after President Trump recommitted to a reduction in the number of troops stationed in the Middle Eastern country during Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi's visit to the White House last week.

USA - The drought in Iowa has caused severe headaches for farmers ahead of harvest, following high winds that flattened cornfields and destroyed silos in early August. Iowa, the biggest US corn-producing state, is facing lower crop yields and deteriorating grain quality due to the recent volatility in the weather. This comes at an inopportune time as China increases purchases of US farm goods. "The challenge here, and what's unique, is that we're dealing with adverse weather conditions over such a wide area in the state of Iowa," Naig said. He said, "this is the largest area of coverage of multiple problems that I've seen," adding that crop yields could be much lower than estimates from months back. Reuters noted the powerful windstorm on August 10, impacted 14 million crop acres, or about 57% of the state's farms.

CHINA - China’s official manufacturing data, released on Monday, showed a decline in manufacturing linked to widespread flooding in August. The Chinese government insisted consumer spending is increasing, while the production decline was modest and limited to a few of the hardest-hit areas. China has been hit by very severe floods this summer, affecting millions of people, washing away roads and forcing the closure of some tourist sites and transport links. The August PMI [Purchasing Managers’ Index] was also below analyst expectations reflected in a Bloomberg poll, which forecast a climb to 51.2. Any figure above the 50-point mark represents growth rather than contraction. In February, the index plunged to 35.7 points after the coronavirus brought much of China to a standstill.

GERMANY - Germans are rising up against Bill Gates, demanding humanity wake up and reject the self-styled “world health dictator“, as well as corrupt Big Pharma and the elite who are driving the world towards “global totalitarianism” and “slavery.” Robert F Kennedy Jr spoke to an enormous crowd in Berlin on Saturday, as tens of thousands of Germans joined forces to protest what Kennedy Jr referred to as Bill Gates’ “bio-security agenda, the rise of the authoritarian surveillance state and the Big Pharma sponsored coup d’etat against liberal democracy.”

GERMANY - Top German politicians have been venting their fury after Saturday’s massive anti-lockdown rally in Berlin ended with the surreal scenes of protesters trying to storm the Reichstag building – the seat of the national parliament. Many were baffled after footage showed one of the groups of protesters rallying against anti-coronavirus restrictions in the German capital breaking through police cordons with flags and banners and literally trying to take the Reichstag by storm. Politicians all across the political spectrum have been left furious at the security lapse, but most of all at the Covid-sceptic protesters. President Frank-Walter Steinmeier slammed the incident as an “intolerable attack on the heart of our democracy” that Germany would “never put up with.”

VATICAN – On the March day that Italy recorded its single biggest jump in coronavirus fatalities, Pope Francis emerged from lockdown to offer an extraordinary prayer and plea to his flock to reassess their priorities, arguing the virus had proved they needed one another. Francis’ words from the rain-slicked promenade of St Peter’s Basilica encapsulated the core messages he has emphasized during his seven-year pontificate: solidarity, social justice and care for the most vulnerable. The pandemic, he said in an interview, had given “a whole new impetus to the papacy” to double down on its core message, articulated most comprehensively in Francis’ 2015 encyclical “Praised Be.” In the document, Francis demanded political leaders correct the “perverse” structural inequalities of the global economy that had turned Earth into an “immense pile of filth.” “It is his conviction that this is a turning point, and that what the church can offer humanity could be very helpful,” Ivereigh said.

USA - It has been heartbreaking to watch what has been transpiring on the streets of America in recent months. Our founders intended for us to be united by a common set of values, but now our differences are literally tearing our nation to pieces. Americans are fighting other Americans in the streets, and that should make all of us incredibly sad. Does anyone out there actually believe that all of this violence will be resolved by the upcoming election? If anything, rising political tensions are likely to make the violence even worse, and if the result of the presidential election is contested by either side that could easily take things to an even higher level.

ISRAEL - Tel Aviv is in talks with “many” Arab nations that are “in line” to establish relations with Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed in the wake of the UAE having ended its economic boycott of the Jewish state. “There are many more unpublicized meetings with Arab and Muslim leaders to normalize relations with the state of Israel,” Netanyahu said at a joint press conference with US National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien and Jared Kushner, the White House senior adviser. The prime minister did not name any particular Arab nations with which Israel is supposedly in talks, but said other Muslim leaders have now lined up to make peace with his country. The UAE’s decision to normalize relations with Israel has deprived Palestine of its “veto” on peace between the Jewish state and the Arab world. “If we’d have to wait for the Palestinians, we’d have to wait forever. No longer,” he added.

SCOTLAND - A leading atheist in Scotland has hailed the SNP’s proposed Hate Crime Bill as an opportunity to target Christians for prosecution. The left-separatist Scottish National Party (SNP) administration’s proposed Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill is set to criminalise speech that is “likely” to “stir up hatred” against supposedly marginalised groups. As written the law would not require police or prosecutors to demonstrate malicious intent behind the statements.

UK - “Why the Germans do it better” — the title of a new book by John Kampfner, a respected journalist — speaks volumes about the current state of the British psyche. The government is replacing Public Health England, the body that was supposed to stop Britons from dying of covid-19, with a new outfit modelled on the Robert Koch Institute, the body at the centre of Germany’s public-health system. James Kirkup, head of the centrist Social Market Foundation, says his aim is to “make Britain more like Germany”. Other thinkers are less explicit, but pore over the details of Germany’s technical-education system or social-insurance market.

UK - London and Seoul are about the same size — big cities, with busy streets, crowded public transport and a racy nightlife. South Korea’s capital is the home of K-Pop music and the Oscar-winning film Parasite. Both cities were surprised by the Coronavirus earlier this year. Both coped as best they could. But the results could hardly have been more different. London has lost 6,000 people. In one four-week stretch in April, more Londoners died than during the worst four weeks of the Blitz. By contrast, in Seoul, barely 20 people have died of the virus. Korean politicians reacted far more quickly than Britain’s — and far more smartly. Seoul soon returned to its normal bustling self while London remained — and remains — a ghost town.

SWEDEN - A group of activists burned a copy of the Islamic holy book and uploaded the video, depicting it online after police arrested a leader of "Hard Line" political party. Mass riots hit Malmo, Sweden after a public Koran burning. At least three hundred enraged people rallied in the Muslim-majority neighbourhoods, with a crowd torching cars and throwing stones at the police officers, who tried to ease the tensions. "We have ongoing and violent riots right now that we have no control over", police spokesman Rickard Lundqvist told journalists.

USA - Civil rights attorney Leo Terrell ripped the leaders of the Democratic Party on "Hannity" Friday, saying that it is insulting and disingenuous for Joe Biden and others to suddenly claim they are the protectors of law and order after months of unrest. "This is the reason why I am voting Republican for the first time," Terrell said in response to violent demonstrations outside the White House on the final night of the Republican National Convention.

UK - Among many similar globalist states, The UK State is a public-private partnership between government, financial institutions, multinational corporations, global think tanks, and well funded third sector organisations, such as so called non governmental organisations (NGO’s) and large international charities. Through a labyrinthine structure of direct funding, grant making and philanthropy, the UK State is a cohesive globalist organisation that works with selected academics, scientific institutions and mainstream media (MSM) outlets to advance a tightly controlled, predetermined narrative.