GERMANY - Far-right extremists in Germany are joining forces with like-minded groups across Europe and even the United States as they prepare to carry out more attacks, the country's intelligence chief has warned. Hans-Georg Maassen, the head of the Verfassungsschutz, said the agency had been forced to step up its efforts to foil plots by neo-Nazi and fascist groups following a surge in extremist violence in 2015. "This is not just purely a German phenomenon," he told Reuters, "the Right-extremist scene is networking on a European level, and in some cases, with connections in the United States."

GERMANY - Party bigwigs making up the German coalition (the Christian Democratic Union/CDU - Christian Social Union/CSU bloc and the Social Democratic Party of Germany) on Wednesday nominated German Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier for president. Angela Merkel, the head of the Christian Democratic Union, described Steinmeier as an ideal candidate whom most Germans trust. "He is a person who can be trusted. His experience and knowledge of the world will make him a good presidential candidate," she explained.

USA - The surprise victory by Donald Trump on November 8th has spawned a series of violent protests and riots all over the nation as stunned leftists continue to throw the largest post-election temper tantrum in US history. Protesters in large cities all across America have been disrupting public transportation, looting stores, hurling objects at the police and burning Trump in effigy.

USA - George Soros and other rich liberals who spent tens of millions of dollars trying to elect Hillary Clinton are gathering in Washington for a three-day, closed door meeting to retool the big-money left to fight back against Donald Trump. The conference, which kicked off Sunday night at Washington’s pricey Mandarin Oriental hotel, is sponsored by the influential Democracy Alliance donor club, and will include appearances by leaders of most leading unions and liberal groups, as well as darlings of the left such as House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, Senator Elizabeth Warren and Congressional Progressive Caucus co-chairman Keith Ellison, according to an agenda and other documents obtained by Politico.

USA - President Obama warned Tuesday that Americans and people around the world “are going to have to guard against a rise in a crude sort of nationalism, or ethnic identity, or tribalism” taking root amid the populist movements that are gaining currency around the world. Speaking at a joint news conference with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras by his side, Obama refrained from criticizing President-elect Donald Trump directly as he discussed the impact of his electoral victory last week. But the president made it clear that he sees a dark side to the kind of populist movements Trump's campaign embodied — ideals that other conservative leaders are advocating in Europe and elsewhere.

ISRAEL - Palestine's UN envoy promised to make life “miserable” for the White House if it transfers the US Embassy to Jerusalem, following Donald Trump’s remarks suggesting an appeasement to Israel’s land claims in the West Bank. Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations, said in Washington on Friday that the move would represent a blatant defiance of Palestine’s rights over occupied Jerusalem. Palestinians would fire back, he said, according to Haaretz.

USA - Congress reconvened amid a new world order Monday, opening a lame-duck session shadowed by Donald Trump’s election, with perilous new opportunities and risks confronting the GOP. House Speaker Paul Ryan began the day affirming that the Republican congressional majority is strongly aligned with the new president-elect, whom Ryan had initially refused to endorse and some congressional Republicans never backed. Ryan enjoined colleagues to “hit the ground running as we join forces with the new Trump administration.” “We need to seize this moment, and come together like never before,” the Wisconsin Republican wrote in a letter to the House GOP. “We cannot be timid about this: the country has voted for change, and we must deliver.”

GERMANY - German police have carried out a large-scale operation targeting Islamists across ten German federal states, the country’s Interior Ministry (Bundesministeriums des Innern) reported on Tuesday. The raids took place in 60 cities, including capital Berlin.

USA - Trump promised an “America First” foreign policy rooted in the national interest, not in nostalgia. The neocons insist that every Cold War and post-Cold War commitment be maintained, in perpetuity. On Sunday’s “60 Minutes,” Trump said: “You know, we’ve been fighting this war for 15 years. … We’ve spent $6 trillion in the Middle East, $6 trillion – we could have rebuilt our country twice. And you look at our roads and our bridges and our tunnels … and our airports are … obsolete.”

VATICAN - Four conservative Roman Catholic cardinals on Monday made a rare public challenge to Pope Francis over some of his teachings in a major document on the family, accusing him of sowing confusion on important moral issues. The cardinals - two Germans, an Italian, and an American - said they had gone public with their letter to the pope because he had not responded. The pope has clashed before with conservatives who worry he is weakening Roman Catholic rules on moral issues such as homosexuality and divorce while focusing on social problems such as climate change and economic inequality.

USA - If you are an illegal immigrant in America with a criminal record your days are numbered, according to President-elect Donald Trump. Following up on his campaign promise to build a security wall on the southern border and deport any undocumented immigrants with criminal records immediately upon taking office, Trump sat down with 60 Minutes on Sunday to reiterate his plans. President-elect Donald Trump has said he plans to deport two to three million undocumented immigrants with criminal records from the country immediately.

EUROPE - Angela Merkel and nearly every other national leader in Europe are in a panic because of Trump’s unexpected win in the Presidential election. Why? Because, money, of course. The US money that props up NATO may be coming to an end. During his election campaign, President-Elect Trump described NATO as obsolete. “NATO is something that at the time was excellent. Today, it has to be changed. It has to be changed to include terror. It has to be changed from the standpoint of cost because the United States bears far too much of the cost of NATO. American money makes up a disproportionate 73% of NATO defense expenditures.” That is something that Trump says he intends to reduce...

GERMANY - Even history sometimes leans toward pathos. In January 2017, when Donald Trump is sworn in as the 45th president of the United States, the American Age will celebrate its 100th birthday - and its funeral.

USA - President-elect of the United States Donald Trump said he will try and achieve peace between Israel and the Palestinians in order to bring an end to what he called "the war that never ends."

USA - In a new interview with the Wall Street Journal, President-elect Donald Trump said that he is likely to end the US support of “moderate” Syrian rebel groups, saying that “we have no idea who these people are” and that the US needs to focus on defeating ISIS.