GERMANY - As a pretext for the rearmament program, government spokesmen are citing the civil war in Ukraine, which was set in motion by the support of the US and Germany for the fascist-led coup that overthrew the elected pro-Russian government and installed a Western puppet regime last February.

UK - Britain's ageing population has created a "debt timebomb" that can only be defused through a combination of significant spending cuts, faster increases in the state pension age and ending universal free healthcare, according to a respected think-tank.

UK - The tax that has seen the biggest rise in contributions to the Exchequer is air passenger duty with an increase of almost 300 percent. The amount of tax revenue the Government has collected through indirect or "stealth" taxes has risen by 50 percent over the past 10 years, research has found. The amount collected by HMRC [Revenue & Customs] in indirect taxes grew from £93 billion in 2003-04 to £138 billion in the last tax year (2013-14), research from Bloomsbury Professional, a specialist tax publisher, found. This is a 50 percent increase. In second place is landfill tax, where the tax take rose from £610 million to £1.2 billion, followed by betting and gaming taxes, which increased from £1.4 billion to £2.1 billion. VAT receipts stood at £69.1 billion a decade ago, but the figure has now climbed to £104.7 billion, while the income from customs duties increased from £1.9 billion to £2.9 billion.

UK - The controversy was recently documented in the film Citizenfour, and consciously or not, Schneier’s sentiments echo Snowden’s own words in an early email to the film’s director Laura Poitras: “Every cell phone tower you pass, friend you keep, article you write, site you visit, subject line you type, and packet you route, is in the hands of a system whose reach is unlimited but whose safeguards are not.” Indeed, pretty much everything you do can be tracked now, says Schneier.

USA - How does it feel to live under a government that is getting even more paranoid with each passing day? Yes, we live in a world that is becoming increasingly unstable, but that is no excuse for how ultra-paranoid the federal government has become. Today, every single one of us is viewed as a “potential threat” by the government. As a result, the government feels the need to intercept our emails, record our phone calls and track our expenditures. But they aren’t just spying on individuals. The government keeps tabs on thousands of organizations all over the planet, it spies on our enemies and our allies, and it even spies on itself. The American people are told that the emerging Big Brother police state is for our safety, but the truth is that it isn’t there to protect us. It is there to protect them. Our government has become kind of like a crazy rich uncle that is constantly spying on everyone else in the family because he believes that they are “out to get him”.

SWITZERLAND - The Swiss will head to the polls on the 30th November to vote in a referendum on gold. The “Save Our Swiss Gold” initiative will ask the Swiss population to vote on the following three measures.

1. To repatriate all Swiss gold vaulted in London and Canada.

2. Stop all future sales of Swiss Central Bank gold.

3. Mandate the Central Bank of Switzerland to hold 20% of their total reserves in gold bullion.

Results from the first opinion poll confirmed that 45% of Swiss intend to vote “Yes” with 39% indicating they will vote “No”. The Swiss Central Bank is against the initiative as it would stop their ability to print money. If the Swiss vote “yes” the Central Bank would need to spend $50 billion to bring the reserve ratio up to 20%, which equates to a staggering 1,000 tons of gold.

UK - Most of us have no idea a glass of seemingly healthy apple juice contains almost as much sugar as three Krispy Kreme donuts or a bar of Dairy Milk, a survey has found. With almost seven teaspoons of sugar in a single serving, apple juice contains more than the recommended daily amount for adults who want to stay healthy. According to the World Health Organisation, this should be six teaspoons of 'added' sugar - ie not that found naturally in products such as milk. A glass of apple juice contains almost seven teaspoons of sugar, and the average fat-free yogurt contains five. The World Health Organisation recommends no more than six teaspoons of sugar a day. Similarly, a fat-free yogurt - a food also often marketed as a natural, healthy choice - contains five teaspoons of sugar - the same as in three scoops of ice cream. The high levels of sugar found in everyday – often so-called ‘healthy items’ - were revealed as part of a survey by Bupa.

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL - Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas's call to prevent Jews from entering the Temple Mount - the holiest site in Judaism - using "all means necessary" two weeks ago has gone viral on PA TV. The remarks inciting violence in the midst of daily Arab riots on the site were broadcast 19 times in just three days on PA TV, focusing on the part of the speech where he called for violence against Jews who "defile" the site. Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) exposed the propaganda campaign - and noted that it bears uncanny similarity to the calls of former PA Chairman Yasser Arafat, who slammed then-MK Ariel Sharon for "defiling" the site in 2000 and thereby instigated the Second Intifada. The five-year terror campaign to "defend Al-Aqsa Mosque" murdered 1,200 Israelis.

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL - Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat visited the Temple Mount Tuesday amid simmering tensions in the capital. Barkat wrote on Twitter he made the trip with police in order to “gain a better understanding of issues and challenges.” The visit came as tensions around the site have flared with Palestinians claiming that Israelis intend to change the status quo and allow Jewish prayer at the holy site. Clashes have broken out between police and rioters over the past several months during visits by Jews to the site and officials have at times banned Muslim males under the age of 50 or 60 from the site.

USA/ISRAEL - US and Arab officials reveal Obama administration's about-face, including backdoor communication and intelligence cooperation. The same Tuesday night that a senior official in US President Barack Obama's administration was quoted calling Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu "chickens**t," yet more officials indicated the US is warming up to cooperation with Iran - the Islamic regime seeking nuclear weapons that has repeatedly declared its desire to destroy Israel.

UK - Armed soldiers have been stationed in Whitehall amid fears that terrorists will try to attack ceremonial guards in the wake of a shooting in Canada. The soldiers, who are carrying assault rifles, have been deployed at the entrance to Horse Guards Parade, where thousands of tourists gather each day to witness the Changing of the Guard. The decision follows a review after a soldier on ceremonial duty in Canada was shot dead last week in a suspected terrorist attack. There are growing concerns that British jihadists fighting in Syria and Iraq will return to this country and carry out acts of terrorism.

GERMANY - Radical Islam poses a critical security threat to Germany, Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere warned on Tuesday, saying the number of people capable of staging attacks in the country stood at an all-time high. Besides the risk posed by German jihadists returning from Syria, there was also the danger of violent clashes on German streets as rival extremist groups turn on each other - mirroring the conflicts of the Middle East, he told a security conference. De Maiziere said security forces believed the greatest danger came from radicals striking out alone, as happened in Canada last week, when two soldiers were killed in attacks that police said were carried out by recent converts to Islam. "The situation is critical. The number of threatening individuals has never been as high as now," he said. "We represent freedom, and are therefore an object of hate."

USA - Federal law enforcement has increasingly used a key provision of the Patriot Act to pry into people’s lives without having to tell them. This practice has been justified under the guise of counterterrorism, but government statistics show that less than 1% of all “sneak and peek” actions involve suspected terrorists. Under section 213 of the Patriot Act, law enforcement agencies can carry out sneak-and-peek warrants, which allow agents to “secretly enter, either physically or virtually; conduct a search, observe, take measurements, conduct examinations, smell, take pictures, copy documents, download or transmit computer files, and the like; and depart without taking any tangible evidence or leaving notice of their presence.” Suspects can be informed of the search later. The provision was added to the Patriot Act because, the FBI claimed, it was important not to tip off terrorism suspects during cases.

UK - David Cameron's bid to enshrine an EU referendum in law has been dramatically blocked by Nick Clegg in a major blow to his efforts to renegotiate Britain's terms of membership. The Prime Minister was forced to drop legislation tying the next government to holding an in-out EU vote after Mr Clegg demanded reform of the so-called Bedroom Tax as his price for support. The collapse of the Tory backbench legislation threatens to weaken Mr Cameron's hand as he attempts to convince European bureaucrats only serious reform can keep Britain from voting to leave the EU.

GERMANY - Last week, the German Bundeswehr launched a new recruitment propaganda campaign. The advertising campaign includes three prime time commercials on public and commercial TV channels. The thirty-second video clips depict soldiers in civilian dress going about their off-duty activities with the objective of portraying soldiers as "everyday people," "with a private life like anyone else." The spoken texts emphasize the soldier's camaraderie, patriotism, and orientation on the common good - all reference to their use of violence is obscured. This new propaganda offensive is part of the "Attractiveness Agenda," announced by German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen (CDU) aimed at presenting the Bundeswehr as a modern, "people oriented" employer. The agenda also promotes the "embedding" of the Armed Forces in German society.