EUROPE - In 1977, a couple of years after British voters decided to “continue” membership in the European Economic Community or Common Market, the Eagles released a song called “Hotel California.” Its famous line, “You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave,” was, on one account, about the Church of Satan or more generally the clutches of Satan. Once having embraced him, you can no longer escape, even if you repent.

MIDDLE EAST - A carrier strike group led by the Nimitz-class supercarrier USS John C. Stennis has arrived in the Middle East, ending an eight month period without a US carrier based in the region, the US Navy has reported. The carrier group will be based with the 5th Fleet, whose zone of responsibility includes the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf, and will be stationed in the region for at least two months. According to the US government-funded news service Voice of America, the carrier strike group is being deployed to “help in the fight against the Islamic State terror group in Iraq and Syria and the war in Afghanistan.” Furthermore, a defense official confirmed earlier reports that the US was beefing up its presence in the region as a “message” to Tehran, telling VOA that “just being there is a show of force to Iran.”

USA - US forces must remain in the bogged-down Afghanistan campaign, or terrorists might get back on their feet and launch another 9/11-scale attack on American people, General Dunford, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said. Speaking at an event organized by the Washington Post, Dunford said that the American military presence in Afghanistan is essential to contain terrorists who otherwise would regroup and take revenge on the US. Dunford stressed that his top priority is not to ensure security and stability in Afghanistan, which has been lying in shambles as a result of the 17-year-long war, but to "make recommendations for the deployment of military force that protects the American people, the homeland and our allies."

EUROPE – Emmanuel Macron earlier voiced the idea of building a European military so that fellow EU nations could defend themselves from wide-ranging threats. The French leader subsequently came under fire from the White House, which called on him to pay his fair share of NATO membership. "The idea of a European Military didn't work out too well in WWI or WWII. But the US was there for you, and always will be. All we ask is that you pay your fair share of NATO," he added. "Germany is paying 1% while the US pays 4.3% of a much larger GDP - to protect Europe. Fairness!”

INDIA - New Delhi and Abu Dhabi have inked a currency swap agreement to boost trade and investment without involvement of a third currency like the US dollar. The swap is for an amount of two billion UAE dirham or 35 billion Indian rupees (US$495 million), according to the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi. “The bilateral currency swap agreement between India and UAE is expected to reduce the dependency on hard currencies like the US dollar,” the embassy said.

USA - Nearly half (45 percent) of all American adults have an immediate family member who has been incarcerated, according to a new report. That amounts to roughly 113 million people who have been touched by mass incarceration in the United States, according to the survey of 4,041 Americans. The research was done by FWD.us, a non-profit established by American business and tech leaders advocating for criminal justice and immigration reform, in partnership with Cornell University. Right now, an estimated 6.5 million Americans have an immediate family member in jail or prison. And US jail and prison populations have swelled to four times what they were in 1980, with about 1.5 million people in state and federal prisons on any given day in America.

USA - A new study by the center for immigration studies (cis) found that, in spite of “barriers designed to prevent welfare use” by non-citizens, as many as 63% of non-US citizen households in america have received some form of government welfare “often receiving benefits on behalf of US-born children.” In contrast, only 35% of US citizen households accessed welfare.

EUROPE - The European Union could soon face collapse because of the "weak and vulnerable" position the volatility of the euro and clashes with member states have created, European affairs expert Ian Kearns claimed. Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk, Mr Kearns said: "The EU is in a weak and vulnerable state. If there were, for example, a new financial crisis which lots of people are speculating might be on the horizon I think that would be enough to destroy the single currency.

EUROPE - When anyone mentions Europe, the focus is almost always on the UK and Brexit. That is true whether it be in day-to-day conversation, on television and radio programmes, or in newspapers. It has been true since the people’s vote in 2016 and it is certainly true today, with Parliament debating Theresa May’s Brexit deal.

UK - Nigel Farage called on Theresa May to "resign immediately" as he lashed out at the Prime Minister for being the "most dishonest" leader of the UK during his lifetime. Asked to reveal what his advice to the Prime Minister would be ahead of the crucial vote she faces in Parliament on December 11, he replied: “Resign. Immediately. Resign and not just resign. Stay in hiding for the rest of your life. What she’s done is an absolute disgrace.” He added: “She never believed in it. We spent the last three or four decades trying to opt out of bits of the European Union and she gave a speech in Florence saying she wanted to opt back in whole chunks of it. The whole thing has been a disaster run by the civil service. She’s not just the worst Prime Minister I’ve seen in my lifetime but the most dishonest too.”

GERMANY - Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, the conservative CDU's secretary general and a long-time ally of Angela Merkel, has won a run-off vote to succeed the German chancellor as the head of the party. Of the 999 votes cast at a party conference in Hamburg, 517 were in favour of Kramp-Karrenbauer, while 482 were in favour of Friedrich Merz, a millionaire corporate lawyer who had been attempting a comeback after being sidelined by Merkel nearly a decade ago. Securing the CDU top job represents a major step by the winner towards becoming chancellor once Merkel bows out of power in 2021. 

GERMANY - The German army will be strengthened with a sixth tank battalion in response to rising security concerns in Europe, Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen announced on Thursday. "With this, the German army will grow for the first time in decades," von der Leyen said at a military base near the western city of Münster. The formation of the 500 soldier-strong battalion comes as Germany increases its defense spending in response to security threats from Russia and pressure from the United States to meet NATO defense budget targets.

USA - Amidst the Christmas trees and Hanukkah menorahs, the Illinois capitol is decked out with an unusual decoration this festive season: a black snake sculpture from the Chicago branch of The Satanic Temple. The sculpture, named ‘Snaketivity,’ depicts a coiled snake wrapped around an arm holding an apple, a symbol of knowledge. A plaque under the piece bears the inverted pentagram of the Temple of Satan, and the text: “Knowledge is the greatest gift.” The installation was crowdfunded by The Satanic Temple, with the GoFundMe page reading “please consider what you may do to help us bring Satan to Springfield!”

UK - The overwhelming majority of adults in England are so unhealthy they put their lives at risk, a survey suggests. The data from the Health Survey for England showed nearly nine in 10 had at least one unhealthy trait. That was classed as those who smoke, drink more than 14 units of alcohol, eat fewer than five portions of fruit and vegetables, are obese or have low rates of physical activity. Half of adults have two or more of these risk factors. In 2017, nearly 7,700 people died in the UK from alcohol -specific causes - where the death was wholly attributable. Caroline Cerny, of the Obesity Health Alliance, said the findings highlighted the need to tackle the "increasingly obesogenic environments". "Children today are bombarded by promotions for unhealthy food and drinks in stores and on the high street and exposed to countless junk food adverts online and during the TV programmes they watch most."

USA - God the Father fell under scrutiny Monday when Minnesota State University associate professor Eric Sprankle accused the creator of the universe of impregnating the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus, without consent. Of course, a plain reading of the Biblical text refutes this interpretation of Jesus’ birth. And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy — the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her (Luke 1:38). Sprankle describes himself as a “secularist” and regularly promotes Satanism.