GERMANY - Dusseldorf, the neighbouring city to migrant sex attack capital Cologne is the first German city to see a new citizen protection league since the new year’s attacks, with thousands signing up to do their part. Declaring “one for all, and all for one”, the motto of Sweden and a saying commonly associated with the Three Musketeers, the new ‘Dusseldorf is Watching’ group already had 2,300 members after it was launched on Facebook last night. The group intends to provide protection at major events and in city centres at weekends to ensure the safety of their fellow Germans, reports the Rheinische Post.
CHINA - Chinese shares jumped higher on the first day of trade after a "circuit breaker" mechanism introduced to prevent sharp falls was lifted. Regulators have stepped in after big losses in the mainland markets led trade to be suspended early on two occasions this week. The central bank also set the yuan guidance rate higher to calm markets.
UK - UK Prime Minister David Cameron appealed to Germany on Thursday (7 January) to support his proposed changes to the EU, arguing they would help to persuade Britons to stay in the bloc.
CHINA - Markets have taken fright at the prospect of a new round of currency wars. But the Chinese say they want a "stable" exchange rate. So what's really going on? Since the summer, investors have been keeping an uneasy eye on the value of the Chinese currency.
USA - Some 63% of people can’t deal with a $500 emergency. Most households struggle to cope with financial surprises. Americans are starting 2016 with more job security, but most are still theoretically only one paycheck away from the street. Approximately 63% of Americans have no emergency savings for things such as a $1,000 emergency room visit or a $500 car repair, according to a survey released Wednesday of 1,000 adults by personal finance website Bankrate.com, up slightly from 62% last year. Faced with an emergency, they say they would raise the money by reducing spending elsewhere (23%), borrowing from family and/or friends (15%) or using credit cards to bridge the gap (15%).
NATO - The North Atlantic bloc has “categorically” denied it poses a security threat to Russia despite the alliance’s significant expansion in the Baltics and Eastern Europe, where it stages massive military drills.
"We categorically reject totally unfounded claims that NATO and its policies constitute a security threat” to Moscow, NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu said on Tuesday. "NATO's enlargement is not directed against anyone," Lungescu said and each sovereign nation "has the right to choose for itself whether it joins any treaty or alliance." She was apparently referring to the recent decision of the alliance to invite Montenegro to join NATO. However, the document also said Russia is still interested in a fair dialogue and good relations with NATO, the US and the EU.
NORTH KOREA - While North Korea on Wednesday was hyperbolically bragging about having exploded a test hydrogen bomb, some nuclear weapons experts were downplaying the event because of its low-kiloton yield and relatively small seismic wave.
QATAR - Qatar has recalled its ambassador to Tehran, becoming the latest contributor to a growing Saudi-Iranian rift over the killing of Saudi Shiite leader Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr in the kingdom’s latest mass executions and subsequent violent protests in Iran. “Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs recalled today Qatar's Ambassador to Tehran following the attacks on the Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Tehran and general consulate in Mashhad,” said Director of Asian affairs department at the Qatari foreign ministry, Khalid bin Ibrahim Al Hamar. Qatar has also handed over a protest note to the Iranian embassy in Doha, over the attacks that according to a foreign ministry statement constitute a “violation of the international charters and norms that emphasize the protection of diplomatic missions and their staff.”
USA - Scientists have warned the world is in "volcano season" and there is up to a 10% chance of an eruption soon killing millions of people and devastating the planet.
USA - Obama asks doctors to help deal with guns, and here is the key language in this. "Preserve the rights of health care providers" ie, doctors "to protect their patients and communities from gun violence. We should never ask doctors and other health care providers to turn a blind eye to the risks posed by guns in the wrong hands."
CHINA - Beijing calls time on its stock market brake after suffering its shortest ever day of trading - just 29 minutes long. European markets have all closed for the day.
CHINA - The tumbling and eventual halt of trading of Chinese shares for the second time in four days has global investors holding their breath. Stock markets in Asia and Europe have all followed suit and fallen sharply. The question is how trading in China will resume on Friday morning.
UK - From the Middle East to US elections, the UK's role in Europe to British wages; here are five of the most important issues that will affect stock markets this year. A not so happy new year to Britain’s investors: that, at least, seemed to be the not so subtle message from the stock market on Monday. The FTSE 100 rang in the new year by recording its second worst opening day ever, with equities tumbling 2.4 percent. The reasons were all too familiar: bad news from China, and rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
GERMANY - The cover-up of New Year’s Eve sex mobs of Arabic and North African migrants in Germany continues to grow. Cologne Mayor Henriette Reker said Wednesday that women should adopt a “code of conduct” to discourage men from committing sexual assault. Gangs of migrants went on a crime spree last Friday night, which overwhelmed police and left scores of women at their attackers’ mercy.
USA - Americans critical of government could have their Second Amendment rights restricted if psychologists diagnose them with “Oppositional Defiant Disorder” or a similar diagnosis as a result of Obama’s new gun control executive action.