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.

NASA - Earth is essentially defenseless in the face of comets and asteroids that bring little warning, a NASA scientist has warned. The researcher believes building an interceptor rocket and an observer spacecraft could avert such a catastrophe, however. “The biggest problem, basically, is there’s not a ...lot we can do about it at the moment,” Dr Joseph Nuth, a researcher with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, said at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) in San Francisco on Monday. 

EUROPE - The European Union’s political and financial arms could be on the brink of collapse and the world should prepare for its implosion in order to avoid disaster, a top economic expert has claimed. Roger Bootle believes Italy is edging closer to the EU exit door and France’s impending election could see Marine Le Pen surging to power, raising serious questions about how the Brussels bloc could continue to exist.

ISRAEL - Jacob sheep are seen returning to Israel and the balm of Gilead is being cultivated again after thousands of years. Could these be signs that Israel is preparing to build the third temple? Jacob sheep, named after the “streaked, speckled and spotted” sheep chosen by Jacob as his wages for years of service for his father-in-law Laban, have returned home to Israel.

AUSTRALIA - Australia looks set to follow in the footsteps of Venezuela and India by abolishing the country’s highest-denomination banknote in a bid to crack down on the “black economy”. Speaking to ABC radio on Wednesday, Revenue and Financial Services Minister Kelly O’Dwyer flagged a review of the $100 note and cash payments over certain limits as the government looks to recoup billions in unpaid tax. Monday’s midyear budget update will include the appointment of former KPMG global chairman Michael Andrew to oversee a black economy taskforce. The black economy accounts for 1.5 per cent of GDP, given many cash payments are untaxed. There are currently 300 million $100 notes in circulation, and 92 per cent of all currency by value is in $50 and $100 notes.

RUSSIA - Western governments’ efforts to spread Russophobia are “obvious,” Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told RT. He, however, believes the attempts to fuel anti-Russian sentiments for certain political interests are failing to bear fruit. Russia is well aware of the fact that the western elites are waging a “carefully orchestrated” propaganda campaign to maintain a “high degree of Russophobia with the western community” without giving it “a slightest chance to go down,” Peskov said in an interview with RT. Peskov called Russia’s alleged interference into the US elections “nothing but nonsense” and described all reports about alleged Kremlin hackers’ activities in the US “a fake.”