CHINA - Anyone who has listened to me in the past decade knows that I think China’s going to take the greatest economic fall of any major country. They’re the only emerging country that has continually declining demographics. The top-down Chinese mafia-like government has overbuilt everything (decades ahead) in the name of job growth in cities to leverage steroid-like GDP growth. But I’ve also considered another proven principle: it’s younger people that move and migrate, but they also revolt and drive unrest, much more than older people.

EUROPE - The most important task for Europe in the upcoming years is to show its people that it can protect them. EPP Group’s Chairman Manfred Weber lays out his ambitious political plans for a Europe that protects its people, preserves its unique way of life, and that is fit for the future.

RUSSIA - The dry spell of Russia’s diplomacy in Europe that set in after the outbreak of the Ukraine crisis in 2014 also appears to be the opening of a new chapter. Germany has had more engagements with Russia than unaligned, historically pro-Russia Serbia this year.

GERMANY - Germany is outraged. Only hours after right-wing media outlet Breitbart released an interview with the new US ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, some are calling for his expulsion. In it, the Donald Trump appointee expressed his desire to empower conservative, anti-establishment movements in Europe. Many of his talking points would have roused applause from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party: the passages referencing a silent majority, the welfare of the average worker, as well as those criticizing Germany's current refugee policies and describing an out of touch political elite. As difficult as it is to accept: the EU's former ally has become a danger to its internal unity. It is unheard of that an ambassador would so explicitly interfere with the internal affairs of his host country...

EUROPE - Following massive pressure from Berlin, Italy's new government has renounced on appointing a well-known euroskeptic to become economy and finance minister. The renowned economist Paolo Savona must accept a less prominent post as Minister for European Affairs - above all because he criticizes Germany's blatant policy of domination at the expense of the other euro zone countries. The far right Lega Nord is now almost as strongly represented in Rome's government as the 5-Star Movement: Due to Germany's open interference, Lega's poll ratings have soared, thereby significantly increasing its political clout. According to German media with wide circulation, Italy's policy "concerns all of us" - "Interfere!"

AUSTRIA - The Russian president is heading to Austria, where he’s sure to get a warm welcome. Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz [said] “We want to be a bridge between East and West and keep the lines of communication to Russia open”. The visit is full of symbolic importance for both sides. Fifty years ago this month, Austria became the first Western European country to sign a natural gas deal with the Soviet Union, a commercial arrangement that survives to this day. Next month, Austria takes over the rotating EU presidency, just as Russia has begun making signals that it wants to engage more with Europe. It sees Vienna as an important ally.  “The bilateral relations between Russia and Austria are developing very well,” Dmitri Ljubinski, Russia’s ambassador to Vienna, told Austrian radio. “We have a very good dialogue …”

USA - The world's push towards de-dollarization continues to accelerate as Americans go about their daily lives worrying more about blasphemous comedians, participation trophies, and Kim and Kanye's traitorous behavior.

ISRAEL - Hamas commanders and Palestinians who launch incendiary kites against Israel from the Gaza Strip should be dealt with using targeted killings, said Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan on Tuesday, as fires continued to spread in the south as a result of the burning projectiles. As for other threats from the Gaza Strip, Erdan said: “Today there are other threats: Tunnels, rockets – every time they find a new weapon to try to hurt us. Our enemies are trying to damage the civilian resilience because they know they cannot harm the IDF, but they won’t succeed at this either,” he added.  On Monday, Haaretz reported that Israeli military officials believe they will no longer be able to show restraint in the face of burning kites launched from the Gaza Strip, which have caused extensive damage to Israeli agricultural fields and forests near the border.

AUSTRIA - It’s time to respond to US President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs and lift EU sanctions against Russia, Austrian Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache said ahead of President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Vienna. Rethinking EU sanctions policy towards Russia is “desirable” because the measures are damaging the national economy, Strache told the Austrian newspaper Osterreich in an interview published on Saturday. “I have always warned against pushing Russia into the arms of China. It is high time to put an end to these annoying sanctions and normalize political and economic relations with Russia,” he said.

GERMANY - One of the leaders of Germany's far-right AfD party sparked outrage Saturday by downplaying the crimes of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis, saying they were "just a speck of bird s**t in over 1,000 years of successful German history." The Alternative for Germany (AfD) is the biggest opposition party in Germany's lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, with more than 90 deputies.

USA - A perfect storm of murder, addiction and carelessness has fueled a recent and troubling increase in deaths among US children and teens, a new government report shows. The total death rate for those aged 10 to 19 rose 12 percent between 2013 and 2016, mostly due to an increase in deaths from accidental injury, homicide and suicide, researchers from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found. In short, the United States is becoming less safe for teenagers. The primary causes of injury deaths were motor vehicle accidents, suicide, firearms-related murders and drug overdoses, the report discovered.

GUATEMALA - The death toll is mounting after an explosive eruption of one of Central America's most active volcanoes. Guatemala's Volcan de Fuego, Spanish for "volcano of fire," exploded shortly before noon on Sunday, blasting ash and molten rock high into the air. Hours later, around 4 pm, lava began flowing down the side of the mountain. Guatemala's disaster agency said early Monday that at least 25 people had been killed as a towering cloud of smoke blanketed nearby villages in heavy ash and pyroclastic flows inundated villages below the volcano. An undetermined number of people were missing and authorities feared the death toll could rise. The conical Volcan de Fuego reaches an altitude of 12,346 feet above sea level at its peak.

USA - June is here and the heat is on across many areas of the southern US, including the Four Corner states. Despite some recent precipitation, which helped lower drought numbers in some counties, overall conditions continue to intensify and expand. Rivers and watering holes across different areas of Utah, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico are drying up, forcing the closure of popular mountain recreation areas. Water restrictions are becoming the norm across the region.

USA - Mother Nature is bringing good news to the firefighters battling wild blazes in the US states of New Mexico and Colorado: rain, and lots of it. Downpours are expected by early Sunday afternoon, said Brian Hurley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland. "It's good news for them," he said. "We're talking about an average of 1.4 inches of rain in New Mexico. We're even putting out a warning for some spots of flash flooding, because the ground is so hard, there'll be a lot of run-off."

USA - The heat is on across the Southwest once again, as temperatures climb toward the 110 degree mark, and extremely dry conditions a concern, with 6 wildfires listed as active/uncontained in California, including one that forced the evacuation of 2,000 homes in Orange County. Unfortunately for those battling the blazes, the forecast features no rain in the near future, but plenty of above-average temperatures. Excessive heat warnings are in effect through Monday for parts of southeastern California and southwestern Arizona, while closer to the coast wildfires have forced evacuations.