IRAN - What if what you have been told over and over again is not really the truth? For weeks, the mainstream media has been telling us that Iran is getting dangerously close to having nuclear weapons. And now that the Iranians have publicly admitted that their uranium stockpile has exceeded the limit set by the nuclear deal, there is a lot of buzz that either the United States or Israel may soon strike Iran in order to prevent their nuclear program from proceeding even further. But of course once the missiles start flying, it is going to be just about impossible to stop a major war from erupting in the Middle East. Before we get involved in such a war, we better make absolutely certain that Iran does not already have nuclear weapons, because a war with a nuclear-armed Iran could be absolutely cataclysmic. If the Iranians felt that the survival of their regime was on the line, they would not hesitate to throw everything that they have at Israel and at US forces in the region.

EUROPE - Angela Merkel today warned EU leaders that their shambolic effort to replace Jean-Claude Juncker risks leaving the bloc exposed and divided ahead of Brexit talks with Boris Johnson. Ms Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron last night saw their compromise candidate, Dutch socialist Frans Timmermans, dismantled by the EU’s leaders during fraught talks lasting nearly 20 hours. Speaking after the all-night standoff, Ms Merkel said she is preparing to organise a bloc to outvote any opponents to her plans. She said: “It should not lead to tensions that will determine years and years to come. Brexit is looming on the horizon, other important issues are on the table, I think we need to treat each other with care.”

GERMANY - Samy Chaar, chief economist of renowned private bank Lombard Odier, said he fears German Eurosceptics have the power to destroy the EU more than Italy does, due to it being the biggest funder of the bloc. Mr Chaar said should an anti-establishment Germany elect a leader with the same mindset, or even follow Britain’s Brexit lead, the EU would be finished. Speaking to German publication Watson, he was asked his thoughts on Italy being a “ticking time bomb”. He replied: “Honestly, I'm more worried about Germany than about Italy.” He added: “Europe needs Germany more than ever, a strong Germany, and a Germany ready to carry out reforms. The French want that, the Germans show them the cold shoulder. If we do not reform Europe, the Eurosceptics will take over - and destroy the EU. At some point, the Germans will also have to realise that they have to change something.”

EUROPE - EU leaders this morning find themselves no closer to replacing Jean-Claude Juncker as European Commission president despite holding through-the-night talks for the last 15 hours. During the all-night standoff, Guiseppe Conte, the Italian prime minister, ventured into the press room to air his frustrations with the process. He claimed talks had been “difficult” and Mr Timmermans, a former Dutch foreign minister, lacks the credentials to become Commission president. Diplomats believe the top jobs package, which includes the Commission and Council presidencies, the head of the European Central Bank, and the EU’s foreign affairs boss, is about to be rejigged. One diplomat familiar with the talks said: “It’s possible to split the package, it’s possible to be creative but let’s really find out if there is a creative solution.”

NORTH KOREA - North Korea on Monday hailed the weekend meeting between leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump in the Demilitarized Zone as "historic", as analysts said Pyongyang was looking to shape the narrative to its own agenda. After a Twitter invitation by the US president on Saturday, the two men met a day later in the strip of land that has divided the peninsula for 66 years since the end of the Korean War, when the two countries and their allies fought each other to a standstill. Kim and Trump shook hands over the concrete slabs dividing North and South before Trump walked a few paces into Pyongyang's territory -- the first US president ever to set foot on North Korean soil.

USA - If what some experts are telling us is true, a global food crisis appears to be inevitable. Even during good years we have a really difficult time feeding everyone on the planet, and now a major climate shift appears to be happening. Our sun has become exceedingly quiet, and many experts believe that this is a sign that a solar minimum is now upon us. Some parts of our planet are dealing with horrific drought, but in the middle of the United States it just won’t stop raining. In some areas of the world it is too cold, while others are experiencing record heat. Everywhere we look we see extremes, and the behavior of our sun is the primary reason this is happening. Without a doubt, our planet is behaving very strangely right now, and reports of crop failures are regularly coming in from all over the planet.

USA - How many people are LGBT in the United States? It turns out that perception and reality are two very different things. According to a Gallup survey released Thursday, adults in the United States believe that 23.6 percent of their countrymen are LGBT. That’s nearly one in four — almost five times the actual number. “Americans’ estimate of the proportion of gay people in the US is more than five times Gallup’s more encompassing 2017 estimate that 4.5% [approx 15 million] of Americans are LGBT, based on respondents’ self-identification as being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender,” the study said. Part of the reason for the disparity, the pollsters felt, was an overrepresentation of LGBT individuals in the media.

MEXICO - A freak storm left the city of Guadalajara in Mexico more than six feet deep in hailstones. Guadalajara is north of Mexico City and has a population of around five million. Approximately 200 homes and businesses have reported damage from hail according to authorities. State governor, Enrique Alfaro said: “I’ve never seen such scenes in Guadalajara." Jarring images show ice burying cars and covering streets as residents stand by in t-shirts and shorts. Despite the ice-covered ground, today temperatures in Guadalajara are expected to rise to 28C (82F).

UK - If you thought the EU’s demand for £39 billion of British taxpayers’ money was off the scale then be prepared for a shock. There’s a further huge contingent liability to the EU in the event of a Eurozone crisis of hundreds of billions pounds more, that Theresa May agreed to keep us on the hook for and which Jeremy Hunt and Boris Johnson have not yet commented on. The secret has been revealed, however, in a new 40-page report written by City banking specialist Bob Lyddon and published by the economic think tank Global Britain. The unpalatable truth that Remainers don’t want to acknowledge – and which you’ll never hear on the BBC or broadcast news channels – is that huge financial liabilities associated with EU membership cannot be avoided without a quick, clean Brexit. Surely one of the candidates for Prime Minister must recognise that the UK cannot be left in a position where we could be liable for hundreds of billions of debt that we had no part in creating and sustaining?

USA - US President Donald Trump, during the conclusion of the G20 summit in Japan, said that if a peace deal between the Israelis and the Palestinians is not reached during his presidency, then it will never happen. "With me being president, if you don't get that deal done, it will never happen," Trump said. This comes exactly one week after the "Peace to Prosperity" economic plan for the "Deal of the Century" was released to the public. The plan was released ahead of the Bahrain summit hosted throughout the past week by Jared Kushner, which focused on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. During the Bahrain summit, Kushner said that he will reveal the political portion of the peace plan "soon." He also said that the plan will go forth when "both sides will be ready to say yes," but admitted that such an occurrence may never happen.

EUROPE - The European Union announced that its INSTEX mechanism to facilitate trade with Iran was up and running on Friday. "France, Germany, and the United Kingdom informed participants that INSTEX had been made operational and available to all EU member states, and that the first transactions are being processed," said an EU statement. INSTEX, which stands for Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges, is a payment system that will allow companies to trade with Iran despite harsh US sanctions. It will function as a diplomatic shield allowing the exchange of goods without requiring direct transfers of money between Iran and EU companies.

BAHRAIN - In a stunning admission, Sheikh Khaled Bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa, Foreign Minister of Bahrain, acknowledged the historical legitimacy of the state Israel, telling Israeli interviewer Barak Ravid, “Israel is a country in the Middle East. It is part of the heritage of this region. The Jewish people has a place amongst us.” Raphael Ahren of The Times of Israel noted the unprecedented hospitality of Bahrain toward the Israeli journalists at the conference, writing, “The exceedingly warm way in which Israelis are being received here is a remarkable testament to how times have changed. The last time Israeli journalists were officially invited to Bahrain was a quarter century ago.”

USA - Anti-conservative forces of many different stripes are waging asymmetric warfare against all conservative elements of society to completely silence them. Mastercard has already crippled several conservative groups by withdrawing their ability to receive donations. TN Editor

On Tuesday, leftist activists targeted Mastercard’s shareholder meeting, demanding the Board of Directors adopt a “human rights committee” dedicated to blacklisting organizations unfairly accused of being “hate groups” by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). Activists with the group SumOfUs pestered the board with spurious questions about “doing business with criminals” in pursuit of its “blood money” campaign.

JAPAN - World leaders have warned Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping MUST reach a trade deal or risk wrecking the global economy, as they gathered in Japan for the G20 summit. Russian president Vladimir Putin, Indian prime minister Narendra Modi and European president Jean-Claude Juncker heaped pressure on the two superpowers to settle their differences when they meet on the sidelines of the Osaka summit tomorrow. But financial markets fell across Asia today amid growing fears the talks will fail to break the stalemate and see the US president carry out his threat to slap more tariffs on Chinese goods. Vladmir Putin launched a scathing attack on Western views on gay rights and multiculturalism by claiming Liberalism has “outlived its purpose”. The Russian President said gay rights, immigration and multiculturalism were an attack on “traditional family values” at the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, yesterday.

RUSSIA - In a lengthy interview with the UK-based Financial Times on Wednesday, Putin candidly addressed questions about the Russian intervention in Syria – and lack thereof in Venezuela – as well as nuclear proliferation, North Korea, immigration policies in the US and Europe, Russian economy, relations with the UK, and the failure of what he called the “liberal idea” to provide for the people’s well-being. While the Cold War was bad, Putin told FT’s Lionel Barber and Henry Foy, “there were at least some rules that all participants in international communication more or less adhered to or tried to follow. Now, it seems that there are no rules at all. ”So, the liberal idea has become obsolete. It has come into conflict with the interests of the overwhelming majority of the population. The same thing is happening in Europe", the Russian president said, noting that other leaders he spoke with saying nothing can be done because there are laws. “Well, change the laws!” he said.