UK - Private security guards have been recruited to support police patrols in a seaside town in an attempt to stop children from terrorising residents during the school holidays. Businesses in Herne Bay, Kent, say groups of children have been stealing from shops, shouting abuse and using catapults against animals in the park. Akon Security has been given an £8,500 contract, funded by the Kent Police and Crime Commissioner’s office, to help council enforcement officers crack down on antisocial behaviour. Two security guards will work five days a week to patrol the streets, while police increase their presence on Fridays and Saturdays. Akon workers cannot arrest anyone, but will act as a deterrent, assisting officers and reporting crimes straight to police.

UK - Britain’s legal profession – once a byword for rigour, intellect and integrity – now finds itself the latest battleground in the war against excellence. A cohort of aspiring solicitors has taken to petitioning for the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) to be made easier. Their complaint? The exams are “too hard, disproportionately challenging”, and, of course, “biased towards certain backgrounds and learning styles”. In other words: “We didn’t do well, and it must be someone else’s fault.” There could hardly be a more telling parable of our times.

USA - President Trump has claimed that JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America refused to do business with him for political reasons. Trump said that two of America’s largest investment banks rejected his business, forcing him to go to “small banks all over the place”. In an interview with CNBC he said: “They totally discriminate against, I think, me maybe even more, but they discriminate against many conservatives. I think the word might be Trump supporters more than conservatives.”

ISRAEL - 'Entire attack livestreamed on Facebook': October 7 victim relatives file lawsuit against Meta. Relatives of October 7 victims are suing Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Threads, for livestreams of Hamas's massacre, broadcasting footage of their relatives' murder. A motion for certification of a class action lawsuit for more than NIS four billion ($1.15 billion) was filed on Monday by October 7 victims, their families, and users on Facebook and Instagram against corporate parent giant Meta.

UK - The collapse of human civilization is now 'inevitable', according to a scholar who's combed through 5,000 years of history. Dr Luke Kemp of the University of Cambridge has exposed clear and alarming patterns of inequality, environmental damage, reckless leadership and fragile systems that lead to ancient collapse in the modern world. 'We can't put a date on Doomsday, but by looking at the 5,000 years of [civilization], we can understand the trajectories we face today, and self-termination is most likely,' he told the Guardian.

RUSSIA - Last week, Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula was hit by a magnitude 8.8 earthquake – the sixth largest ever recorded. The tremor released enormous amounts of destructive energy, triggering tsunami warnings as far away as Chile and the western United States. But when the activity had subsided, scientists from the Russian Academy of Sciences were baffled to find that the peninsula had actually moved away from the mainland. In some places towards the peninsula's southern tip, the landmass had drifted as much as 6.5ft (two metres) to the southeast. That is similar to the movement caused by Japan's 9 magnitude Tohoku earthquake in 2011 – the fifth largest earthquake ever recorded. Scientists believe that the flurry of activity following the initial earthquake has now also triggered two volcanic eruptions in the region.

RUSSIA - The massive magnitude 8.8 earthquake that struck off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula last week has triggered the activity of seven volcanoes in the area, according to the Institute of Volcanology and Seismology of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS). The RAS said this is the first time in almost 300 years that seven volcanoes erupted at once in the region. The director of the institute, Alexey Ozerov, described the situation as an “extremely rare phenomenon that can be described as a parade of volcanic eruptions.”

USA - Why have there been so many large earthquakes in recent weeks? This is something that people on social media are really buzzing about right now. And I am certainly glad that they are buzzing about it, because what we have been witnessing is not even close to normal. We really are in the early chapters of an extremely apocalyptic chapter in human history, and people need to hear the truth. I wanted to independently verify that this figure was accurate.

ISRAEL - Will construction of the Third Temple soon begin? For years, the Temple Institute has been preparing for the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem, and now it appears that they believe that the time has come. Needless to say, any effort to rebuild the Temple would create a firestorm of controversy all over the globe. But there is clearly a tremendous amount of momentum inside Israel to allow construction to commence, and someone has been putting up road signs that literally point people in the direction of the coming Temple…

USA - Less than two weeks ago, legendary financial and geopolitical cycle analyst Martin Armstrong warned his “Socrates” predictive computer program showed a “100% Chance of Nuclear War.” Since then, a war of words has flared up between President Trump and Russia, and he said Russia “has entered very dangerous territory.” President Trump then, “Orders US nuclear subs repositioned over statements from ex-Russian leader Medvedev.” “After Trump sends nuclear subs near Russia, Putin responds with hypersonic threat — what Oreshnik missiles can do.”

USA - Texas Governor Greg Abbott (Republican) on Monday ordered the arrest of the Democrats who fled the Lone Star State in an effort to halt the advancement of new congressional maps that could benefit Republicans in next year’s midterms. “Texas House Democrats abandoned their duty to Texans,” Abbott said in a statement. “By fleeing the state, Texas House Democrats are holding hostage critical legislation to aid flood victims and advance property tax relief. There are consequences for dereliction of duty."

ISRAEL - Associates of Ben-Gvir hailed the moment as “a monumental change that hasn’t happened in a thousand years,” adding that his policy is to ensure freedom of worship for Jews. On the Jewish fast day of Tisha B’Av, which mourns the destruction of the First and Second Temples, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir ascended the Temple Mount, joining thousands of Jewish visitors expected to visit and pray throughout the day.

ISRAEL - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reached a decision for the full occupation of the Gaza Strip, including operations in areas where hostages are held, a source in the Prime Minister's Office told The Jerusalem Post on Monday. The Prime Minister's Office conveyed the message to IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant-General Eyal Zamir: If this does not suit you, then you should resign.

USA - Substandard repairs and a slow bureaucracy have caused US Navy ships to sit in repair yards for years without being used, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday. Between one- and two-thirds of US surface ship maintenance has lagged behind schedule in recent years, US officials have said, according to The Wall Street Journal. The delays exacerbate America’s problem of failing to build ships as swiftly as China, a top adversary working to expand its presence in the Indo-Pacific region and threaten US interests. Repairs of Navy ships continue to fall behind schedule despite millions of dollars spent, with US destroyers taking a combined 2,633 extra days to repair than expected in 2024, The Wall Street Journal reported. A Navy official told the outlet that the number of delay days actually marked an improvement. A lack of experienced repair workers contributes to the problem, as many individuals with the needed skills are not attracted by the low pay offered, the report said.

USA - The United States is expanding its military footprint on the Korean Peninsula by establishing another elite air unit near the demilitarized zone, which is apparently in response to Pyongyang's last week announcement that it will only enter negotiations if the US abandons its demand for denuclearization. The Department of Defense confirmed the US recently transferred 31 F-16 fighter jets from Kunsan Air Base to Osan Air Base, with a purpose to "consolidate air power and enhance combat readiness" in the region. The Pentagon indicated this marks the second such "super squadron" the US has stationed in South Korea. Osan lies several dozen miles north of Kunsan, closer to the demilitarized zone with North Korea, and so the Kim Jong Un government will no doubt see this as a serious provocation.