USA - Wednesday afternoon Breitbart released a report in which William Binney, a former highly placed NSA official turned whistleblower, confirmed that the NSA is spying on President Trump. Asked whether he believes the NSA is tapping Trump, Binney replied: “Absolutely. How did they get the phone call between the president and the president of Australia? Or the one that he made with Mexico? Those are not targeted foreigners.” Binney further contended the NSA may have been behind a data leak that might have revealed that Michael Flynn, Trump’s national security adviser, allegedly misled Vice President Mike Pence and other Trump administration officials about the contents of his phone calls with Russia’s ambassador to Washington.

VATICAN - A prominent Catholic ecumenist has urged a better understanding of the Russian Orthodox Church. "Those suspicious of the Russian Orthodox stance should go and see what's happening," said Barbara Hallensleben, a consultor with the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. "Of course, nationalist and ideological tendencies are always at work. But a lot of people in Russia are promoting Christianity – and by creating relations, we can strengthen church life and proclaim the faith with them," said Hallensleben, who hosted anniversary commemorations of Pope Francis' 2016 meeting with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill. "The Pope said unity means moving together, not just holding talks – and what's amazing is how the style of ecumenism has already changed," said Hallensleben.

VATICAN - The Vatican’s Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin said Monday that the Holy See is concerned over growing populist and nationalist movements, both in Europe and in the United States. In an interview for the Italian evening news on the state-owned RAI network, Cardinal Parolin was asked whether the Vatican is worried about what the interviewer called “the spread of nationalism and populism not only in Europe but also in the United States with Donald Trump.” “I think so, I think so,” Parolin said. “Certainly these closings are not a good sign,” since many of them “are born of fear, which is not a good counsellor.”

GERMANY - An Alternative for Germany (AfD) parliamentary hopeful has shared a photo of Hitler with the words “Missed since 1945.” The scandal comes days after another senior member called Berlin’s Holocaust Memorial “a monument of shame.” Elena Roon, a chairwoman and a parliamentary candidate in the Nuremberg area, shared the image of Adolf Hitler among fellow members in a closed WhatsApp group, local media reported.  The photo came alongside the captions: “Missed since 1945 … Adolf, please get in touch! Germany needs you! The German people!” In another photo of the Fuhrer sent by Roon on the messenger, Hitler is portrayed ruffling his hair, saying “Islamists... I forgot them!”

USA - Human-animal mutant creatures make for great material for science fiction writers, but we aren’t supposed to be creating them in the real world. In so many ways, the technological advancements that we have made as a society are outpacing our ability to handle those advancements, and this field is certainly a glaring example of that reality. Just because we can create human-animal hybrid chimeras does not mean that we should. Genetic modification is a particularly dangerous science, because we are literally tinkering with the future of our planet. And when it comes to humans and animals, those are two things that definitely should not mix. Unfortunately, they are being mixed, and this could have enormous implications as our society plunges into a very uncertain future.

RUSSIA - Russian insiders are fearful that the Washington establishment will attempt to assassinate Donald Trump, according to a magazine with deep ties to the globalist elite. The revelation is buried deep within a Foreign Policy article about how the Kremlin is confused about how to respond to Trump’s role as a “revolutionary insurgent with a mission to dismantle America’s old regime.” From “conversations with Russian policymakers and experts,” the article makes it clear that power players in Moscow are concerned about Trump even being able to see out his first four years in office. “What the Kremlin fears most today is that Trump may be ousted or even killed. His ouster, Kremlin insiders argue, is bound to unleash a virulent and bipartisan anti-Russian campaign in Washington,” states the piece.

USA - Chief Heather Fong, is the first SFPD female, lesbian chief of police. Theresa Sparks, a former male, is president of the San Francisco Police Commission, CEO of a multi-million dollar sex toy retailer, and a transgender woman. Sergeant Stephan Thorne, a former female, is the first transgender male SFPD police officer. Their Representative in Congress is Nancy Pelosi. Any Questions?

FRANCE - French presidential candidates Marine Le Pen and Francois Fillon have lashed out at the “silent” French government which is allowing riots to take over parts of Paris. Desperate police had to resort to tear gas to try and control the violent protest against police brutality in the city of Dijon last night.

GERMANY - An official announcement last week that the Bundesbank had pretty much repatriated half its gold reserves ahead of schedule has once again sent the rumor mill into overdrive. Fans of the precious metal - not shy of a good conspiracy theory - have been deliberating over the move ever since Germany detailed it back in 2013. Initially, there was a sense that trust between central banks had broken down with claims that Berlin was effectively questioning the credentials of New York Federal Reserve. Reporting the news, Reuters said that some argue the world's second-biggest bullion reserve "may be needed to back a new deutsche mark, should the euro zone break up." This seems pretty far-fetched, especially given that the Bretton Woods system of fixed exchange rates ended back in the 1970s. Could Berlin really be prepping for the fall of the euro?

GERMANY - German Chancellor Angela Merkel is viewed by many in Europe as an anchor of liberal stability amid surging support for populist parties, but she faces a major challenge in this year's election from the left not just the far right. On Sunday, former foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier was elected the country's new president by a special assembly. While Steinmeier's role is largely ceremonial, he is a popular figure from a rival party, the center-left Social Democrats, and he has strongly criticized President Trump and right-wing populism. "Let’s be brave, because then we don’t have to be afraid of the future," Steinmeier said in his acceptance speech. "Isn’t it actually wonderful, that this Germany, our difficult fatherland, that this country has become an anchor of hope in the world."

UK - Gluten-free diets have taken off rapidly in the past few years. But new research suggests those choosing to follow the trend are exposed to high levels of two toxic metals. Those going gluten-free have double the amount of arsenic - a known cause of cancer - in their body, scientists found. While traces of mercury - another deadly chemical - are almost 70 per cent greater, experts claim. Study author Dr Maria Argos said: 'These results indicate that there could be unintended consequences of eating a gluten-free diet.' However, she added that further research is needed to determine the health effects of consuming both metals.

RUSSIA - Russia won’t give Crimea back to Ukraine, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in response to White House comments that Donald Trump expects Moscow to “return” the peninsular. “We don’t return our territories. Crimea is a territory of the Russian Federation,” Zakharova said at a weekly news briefing on current foreign policy issues. On Tuesday, White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters that US President Donald Trump has been tough on Russia and expects Moscow to “return” Crimea to Ukraine. “President Trump has made it very clear that he expects the Russian government to de-escalate violence in the Ukraine and return Crimea,” Spicer said. “At the same time, he fully expects to – and wants to – get along with Russia.”

USA - It has been a tireless first three weeks for the Trump Administration; the president’s team continues to be hit from all sides, including federal judges who seek to disrupt the new status quo. But that streak has just ended. Vessel News reports that the 7th US Circuit of Appeals in Chicago has now ruled that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, as well as local law enforcement, now have the legal ability to deport illegal voters. For one of the only times in US history, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in a way that helps America.

USA - What in the world has happened to America? We live in a society where perversion and sexual violence have become essential elements of our entertainment. In fact, these days it seems like we can’t get through a major awards show or a Super Bowl halftime celebration without being forced to see things that would have been absolutely unthinkable in this country just fifty years ago.

GREECE - Greece could be poised to humiliate Brussels by ditching the euro and instead choosing to be tied to the US dollar, Donald Trump’s reported pick as EU ambassador has sensationally claimed. Professor Ted Malloch revealed that senior Greek economists have enquired about the possibility of adopting the greenback if the country crashes out of the single currency. He asserted that Athens is so desperate it is prepared to tie itself to the dollar on the same terms as the likes of Puerto Rico if it means being able to quit the eurozone. And Professor Malloch said German leaders including Angela Merkel were “freaked out” at the humiliating possibility of losing Greece to a rival currency, which would be a devastating blow to the EU project.