USA - On Monday, 538 people will meet to determine who will be the next president. These meetings of the Electoral College, convened in every state and the District of Columbia just shy of six weeks after Election Day, have long been little more than a formality. But the victory of President-elect Donald J Trump, who lost the popular vote but is projected to win the most electoral votes, has thrust the Electoral College into the spotlight once more. The conclusion of American intelligence agencies that Russia tried to intervene in the election to harm Hillary Clinton’s campaign has only intensified the focus in recent days.

EUROPE - The collapse of the euro is accelerating, and it looks like we could be staring a major European financial crisis right in the face early in 2017.  On Thursday, the EUR/USD fell all the way to $1.0366 at one point before rebounding slightly.  That represents the lowest that the euro has been relative to the US dollar since January 2003.  Ever since 2011, I have been relentlessly warning that the euro is heading for parity with the US dollar. 

USA - US President-elect Donald Trump has chosen right-winger David Friedman as America's next ambassador to Israel. The 57-year-old lawyer is strongly critical of the long-held US goal of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He also supports Jewish settlement building in the occupied West Bank and moving the US embassy to Jerusalem. A senior Palestinian official warned that such moves "will be the destruction of the peace process". Mr Friedman said earlier he looked forward to working "from the US Embassy in Israel's eternal capital, Jerusalem". The United Nations does not recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital, and the US embassy has been located in Tel Aviv for decades.

USA - A years-long forensics investigation into the computer image of the long-form Hawaiian birth certificate image that Barack Obama released during a White House news conference during his first term and presented to the American people as an official government document concluded it is “fake.” The probe also confirms that those who were subjected to the derogatory “birther” label from many media outlets and Democrats were right – at least regarding the document used to establish Obama’s eligibility to be president.

ITALY - A national poll in Italy among 138,000 secondary schools and 3.5 million students has found that Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf is one of their top ten favorite reading materials. The finding shocked the liberal establishment in Italy, particularly in light of the fact that Hitler’s book came out tops among some 10,000 different titles nominated. According to a report in RAI news, a survey launched by Italy’s Ministry for Education to promote reading and discover which books are “most beloved” by schoolchildren, showed that several secondary schools included Mein Kampf in their top ten lists.

USA - Late breaking developments have emerged in the case of Georgia vs The Department of Homeland Security. As Claire Bernish of The Free Thought Project reported on December 9th, Georgia’s secretary of State Brian Kemp penned a letter to DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson, asking the director if he was aware that DHS had attempted to hack into the server hosting the state’s voter registration database, and if so, why was DHS doing so.

PAPUA NEW GUINEA - A huge earthquake struck 100 miles off the coast of Papua New Guinea sparking a tsunami warning for the region as tsunami waves hit the Solomon Islands. The 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck 97.5 miles east of Rabaul, Papua New Guinea this morning causing tsunami waves to hit the Solomon Islands. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said widespread hazardous tsunami waves reaching up to nine feet were possible along the coast of Papua New Guinea. The earthquake triggered a widespread tsunami warning for the Pacific region with tsunami waves possible along the coasts of Indonesia, the Solomon Islands, Pohnpei, Chuuk, Nauru, Kosrae and Vanuatu. New Zealand’s Civil Defence also issued a tsunami warning.

USA - Second Amendment patriots may be called on to defend the Republic against left-wing terrorists. The anti-American, communist-leaning website DisruptJ20.org is openly organizing a popular uprising against the legitimate new administration of the United States of America. January 20, 2017 — Inauguration Day — is being targeted as a day for people to “block, obstruct, disrupt, and do whatever they can to prevent the onslaught that is going to happen with Donald Trump,” said “alt-left” organizer Michael Moore.

UK - More than 1000 Muslims took to the streets of London last night chanting Allahu Akbar and demanding an Islamic caliphate. The street outside the empty embassy in Belgrave Square, London, was closed off as it filled with protestors and Islamic leaders chanting loudly and calling for America to be punished over Aleppo. The demonstration became an alternative to an official rally calling for an end to the bloodshed in Syria outside Downing Street. During the speeches which lasted almost an hour the crowd chanted Allahu Akbar 'God is the greatest' and cheered for those calling for a global caliphate.

SAUDI ARABIA - Germany’s defence minister has sparked fury in Saudi Arabia after she willingly refused to wear a hijab during an official visit to the Kingdom. Ursula von der Leyen and her entourage did not wear the hijab head coverings or the full length Abaya garment during her visit, despite adamantly claiming that she “respected” the country’s customs and traditions. According to an Iranian newspaper, Von der Leyen said: “No woman in my delegation will be required to wear the abaya, as the right to choose one’s attire is a right shared by men and women equally.” Shortly after her meeting with the Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman al Saud, Saudis took to twitter to express their disdain for her actions. One translated tweet said: “The German Defence Minister: not wearing the hijab in Saudi was deliberate. This is an insult to Saudi Arabia!”

GREECE - Greece's creditors have suspended a debt relief deal for Athens after the country's leftist prime minister announced a series of spending increases in defiance of Brussels' austerity demands. Just days after eurozone finance ministers agreed measures designed to shave 20 percentage points off the country's debt share by 2060, the group reversed its decision, citing concerns that recent spending measures announced by the Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras would hamper agreed budget targets. A spokesman for Eurogroup president Jeroen Dijsselbloem said: "The institutions have concluded that the actions of the Greek government appear to not be in line with our agreements."

ISRAEL - In the latest spat between Tel Aviv and Tehran, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has warned the Islamic Republic that it will endanger itself if it threatens Israel. It comes after Iran’s supreme leader said that the “Zionist regime” wouldn’t exist in 25 years. During a visit with Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev on Wednesday, Netanyahu was asked by the Kazakh leader if he wanted to send a message to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who is scheduled to visit Kazakhstan next week. In response, Netanyahu said: “Don't threaten us, we are not a rabbit, we are a tiger. If you threaten us, you endanger yourself.” Netanyahu went on to state that if Iran changes its policy toward Israel, “we will change ours.”

USA - In a surprise move, the United States has announced that they will halt certain munitions sales to Saudi Arabia yesterday, citing growing concerns about “flaws” in Saudi targeting in the Yemen war, which is leading to a huge number of civilian deaths.

ITALY - Rome is on the verge of war as friction grows between poor Italians and and an increasing number of migrants, the city’s mayor has warned. Virginia Raggi told an immigration summit of European city leaders that mayors need to be the first to welcome refugees with “warmth, shelter and accommodation”. She was speaking just days after a Moroccan family was prevented from moving into a council flat given to them by the authorities after neighbours shouted: “We do not want these n*****s.” Italy has seen the largest increase in migrant arrivals to Europe this year after the European Union (EU) made a deal with Turkey which meant migrants headed to Italy instead of Greece.

GERMANY - Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar are supporting extremist Islamic groups in Germany, according to a leaked intelligence report. A brief seen by the Süddeutsche Zeitung and broadcasters NDR and WDR raised concern over a reported increase in support for fundamentalist Salafism in Germany, warning that the ideology already has 10,000 followers and is growing. The report, by Germany’s BfV domestic intelligence agency and Federal Intelligence Service (BND) reportedly accused Gulf groups of funding mosques, religious schools, hardline preachers and conversion or “dawah” groups to spread the ideology. Tensions have risen following the arrival of almost 900,000 refugees in the country last year, driving support for right-wing groups and a national debate on Islam and integration.