EUROPE - Europe has barely even seen the start of the migrant influx, Germany’s Development Minister has warned. Gerd Müller said only 10 per cent of Syrian and Iraqi migrants have reached Europe so far and “eight to ten million are still on the way”, with even more to come from Africa.
SAUDI ARABIA - Investors are betting the kingdom's dollar peg will soon collapse, but oil giant should deploy the full force of firepower to protect riyal, say World Bank. Saudi Arabia should use its massive foreign exchange reserves to defend the riyal, amid fears the world is descending into a new phase of global currency wars, the World Bank has said. The kingdom’s shaky currency peg with the dollar has come under record pressure this week as the price of oil has plummeted to near 12-year lows at $32-a-barrel. With the global stock markets in turmoil, analysts fear a Saudi devaluation could spark a new wave of deflation and competitive “beggar-thy-neighbour” policies in a fragile global economy.
CHINA - China's largest bank is buying the lease on Deutsche Bank's huge London gold and silver vault, enlarging its footprint in the city's bullion market, according to reports. ICBC Standard Bank, which took a controlling stake in London-based Global Markets business last year, has also applied to become a clearing member of the London gold and silver over-the-counter business. The Chinese and South African lender is aiming to fill the gap left by Western banks, which are retreating from commodities to cut costs and reduce regulatory burden. Currently, five banks - JP Morgan, HSBC, Bank of Nova Scotia, Barclays and UBS - settle daily bullion transactions between dealers, amounting to more than $5 trillion-worth of metal each year in the London over-the-counter market.
UK - Two-thirds of Conservative MPs now support Britain’s exit from the European Union, despite David Cameron’s clear preference for staying in, according to senior sources within the party. Key figures in Tory high command say analysis of public statements and private views expressed by their 330 MPs shows that at least 210 now believe that the UK would be better off “out”. The surge in support within the parliamentary party for leaving will greatly encourage “out” campaigners, who believe many people will take their lead from local MPs when they decide which way to vote.
GERMANY - In view of the NATO Summit scheduled this year in Warsaw, the deployment of nuclear arms against Russia is being discussed within the German military and think-tanks.
USA - Continuing conflict in the Middle East, which recently reached new heights with an eruption of Saudi-Iranian rancor, will continue driving political and military choices in the US and across the Gulf region. How to confront the Islamic State group will be an inescapable theme in the US presidential election, and inevitably influence military funding decisions.
USA - In 2016, the US Navy could face a shortage of aircraft carriers. The contributing reasons for this are likely to be the increasing tensions in the disputed waters of China, and the development of the conflict against ISIS with the anti-terrorist coalition. This was written by The National Interest with reference to the statement of retired Admiral John Harvey.
USA - When you finally realize that mainstream food companies are basically selling us food full of chemicals and devoid of nutrients, you may, like many others, start to become a little fanatic about reading ingredients lists, seeking out GMO-free products, supplementing with superfoods, and actually paying attention to what goes into your body.
GERMANY - Police clash with far-right PEGIDA supporters in Cologne, after German Chancellor says it should be easier to deport migrants who commit serious crimes. Angela Merkel for the first time signalled a change in her “open-door” refugee policy on Saturday, as police admitted that a "majority" of those suspected of sex attacks in Cologne were asylum-seekers or illegal immigrants.
GERMANY - Mass migrant attacks on German women that took place in Cologne on the New Year night will aggravate the migrant crisis in the European Union, Bernd Rigert, an observer for the Deutsche Welle media company, said on Saturday.
EUROPE - Europe is gradually turning away from the US, and soon the Old world and New world will break up. A consulting company, Eurasia Group, has published its forecast for the current year.
NORTH KOREA - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un looked Monday to milk his country's recent nuclear test as a propaganda victory, praising his scientists and vowing more nuclear bombs a day after the US flew a powerful nuclear-capable warplane close to the North in a show of force.
SOUTH KOREA - South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo has instructed the military's missile command to ready itself to retaliate "speedily and accurately" if North Korea makes any provocations in the aftermath of the communist country's recent nuclear test, the Ministry of National Defense said Sunday.
USA - A pair of moderate earthquakes shook northwest Oklahoma late Wednesday night, part of a swarm of Sooner State temblors that has produced more than two dozen quakes in less than 24 hours.
CHINA - In a stunning move, China has suspended some banks from Foreign Exchange markets and ordered other banks to stop buying Dollars. China's foreign exchange regulator has ordered banks in some of the country's major import and export centers to limit purchases of US dollars this month, three people with direct knowledge said, in the latest attempt to stem capital outflows.