TAIWAN - Taiwan, on Friday, detected up to eighteen Chinese military planes crossing the Formosa Strait dividing line and responded with the deployment of several fighters, in an increase in tensions between Taipei and Beijing due to the visit to the island of a high US official. In a statement posted on his Twitter account, the Taiwanese Minister of National Defense reported that several aircraft from the Air Forces of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) had entered the island's air defense identification zone today. The official island news agency CNA pointed out that the spokesman for the Presidency, Xavier Chang, asked China to "contain itself" and assured that these "military provocations" are not favorable to the international image of Beijing, whom he demanded to collaborate with peace in the region "instead of becoming a unilateral provocateur."

UK - Secondary schools which fail to teach pupils LGBT lessons will be penalised by inspectors, it has been revealed. Ofsted, the British schools regulator, said that schools will no longer be able to secure a rating better than “requires improvement” if they neglect to inform pupils about LGBT lifestyles and about “all the protected characteristics”, the Daily Mail reports. An Ofsted spokesman commented: “The Department for Education’s guidance makes it clear that secondary schools must teach about LGBT issues. “Therefore, from next summer, if secondary schools do not teach about all the protected characteristics, they will receive a judgment of ‘requires improvement’ for leadership and management.

USA - Chances are that by the time you get to the end of this article, there will be news of another information operation targeting Donald Trump. There’s one a day now — each trumpeting a new mortal threat to the republic or some dastardly revelation based on sources that are usually anonymous. Whatever it is, it will serve the same purpose as the hundreds of similar sallies launched over the last four years — namely, to preserve and protect the position and privileges of America’s ruling elite.

USA - The Golden State has been trying to contain the surge of coronavirus cases that started in the summer while dozens of wildfires are burning and smoke is making it hard to breathe. Then, as if not enough crises had collided, Southern California was caught in the clutches of yet another hazard -- an earthquake.

USA - With parts of the Alabama coast and Florida Panhandle still reeling from Hurricane Sally, a hurricane watch was in effect Saturday for a 300-mile stretch of Texas coast as Tropical Storm Beta slowly strengthens in the Gulf of Mexico and drifts toward the northeast. At least two deaths were blamed on Sally, which roared ashore on Wednesday morning, and hundreds of thousands of people were still without power Saturday. "On the forecast track, the center of Beta will slowly approach the Texas coast Sunday and Monday," according to the National Hurricane Center. At 7 pm CDT, Beta was about 330 miles east-southeast of Corpus Christi, Texas, where it was standing still with sustained winds of 60 mph. Both the city of Galveston and Galveston County on Saturday issued voluntary evacuation orders ahead of Tropical Storm Beta.

USA - From within and from without. Before our very eyes, we are seeing actions taking place both within the US domestically and outside of it. The scripted plans were set into motion decades ago, and are seeing fruition now, with increases in activities leading toward the planned downfall of the US. The architects follow a very “Orwellian” pattern: it isn’t important who takes the reins of power, if that power is used to promulgate the continually leftward-moving paradigm shift and the continuance of power.

USA - The images were stark. In one part of town, marching in columns through the leafy streets, some 250 African-American men and women — dressed head-to-toe in black combat clothes and clutching assault rifles and pump-action shotguns — were making their presence felt. A couple of miles away, so too was a white militia of Trump-supporting 'patriots' wearing khaki camouflage gear and equally armed to the teeth.

USA - In the wake of the Fed’s promise of 23 March to print money without limit in order to rescue the covid-stricken US economy, China changed its policy of importing industrial materials to a more aggressive stance. In examining the rationale behind this move, this article concludes that while there are sound geopolitical reasons behind it the monetary effect will be to drive down the dollar’s purchasing power, and that this is already happening.

HORN OF AFRICA - Relations in the Horn of Africa are complex and complicated. They are characterised by deeply ingrained rivalries between Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia in a conflict-ridden region. For decades, it has been known for civil war, conflict, and poor economic development. Somalia is a textbook example for state collapse and the most fragile state in the world. During the 1990s, the state had disintegrated to a degree that the basic conditions and responsibilities of its government no longer functioned properly. Eritrea and Ethiopia were at war for years. Ethiopia and Somalia also share a history of violent confrontation.

MIDDLE EAST - Islamist extremists were not enthusiastic about the Abraham Accords peace deal between Israel, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Bahrain, this week. The world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, Iran, issued an implicitly violent rejection of the accord, while Iran-backed terrorist organizations were even less subtle. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani claimed at a meeting of his cabinet on Wednesday that Israel is “committing more crimes in Palestine every day,” so nations that make peace with Israel fail to understand the Muslim religion or their “debt to the nation of Palestine.” “How could you reach out your hands to Israel? And then you want to give them bases in the region? All the severe consequences that would arise from this are on you,” Rouhani threatened.

USA - Tropical Storm Beta formed in the Gulf of Mexico on Friday night right after Tropical Storm Wilfred and Subtropical Storm Alpha in the Atlantic, marking the first time since certainly 1953 — when storms were first named — and possibly 1893 that three new storms were named in one day. There have been 23 named storms during the 2020 hurricane season. Because the World Meteorological Organization skips the letters Q, U, X, Y, and Z, forecasters officially ran out of planned names for the season with Wilfred, forcing them to turn to the Greek alphabet. It's only the second time that the Atlantic hurricane season has made it through the alphabet and the earliest that has happened as well, underscoring this year's hyperactivity. Wilfred is expected to fizzle out before hitting land, Alpha is headed toward Europe, and Beta could become a Hurricane that poses a serious threat to the Texas coast.

ISRAEL - Palestinian protests against the normalization agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain could lead to an intifada, Palestinian activists warned on Tuesday. The warning came as Palestinians held protests against the “treacherous” agreements in some parts of the West Bank. The protests, organized by several Palestinian factions that are part of a new group called the Unified Leadership of the Popular Resistance, were held under the banner: “Normalization is a crime.” “We are on the brink of a third intifada,” a Fatah activist told The Jerusalem Post. “The Palestinian people feels betrayed by the Arabs and will show the world that the Palestinian issue remains the central issue of all Arabs and Muslims.”

USA - Attorney General William Barr told the nation’s federal prosecutors to be aggressive when charging violent demonstrators with crimes, including potentially prosecuting them for plotting to overthrow the US government, people familiar with the conversation said. In a conference call with US attorneys across the country last week, Mr. Barr warned that sometimes violent demonstrations across the US could worsen as the November presidential election approaches. To bring a sedition case, prosecutors would have to prove there was a conspiracy to attack government agents or officials that posed an imminent danger.

MIDDLE EAST - The deals to normalize relations between Israel and the UAE and Bahrain are significant for several reasons. First, they represent a common regional front against the Iranian threat. They also signal that Arab-Muslim regimes are less concerned with domestic, Islamist opposition to their outreach to Israel. Equally important, they show that the Palestinian Authority no longer holds a veto over fellow Muslims' relations with Israel. This was seen last week when the Arab League refused to condemn the UAE for its accord with Israel.

USA - University of North Texas College Democrats Vice President Brett Davis took to Twitter to tell incoming freshmen which student organizations they should join and which to avoid. “Hey incoming politically left UNT students, here is a thread of clubs on campus and around Denton that you can meet like-minded people and have a safe space to express your views,” the tweet read. Included on the list is Antifa DFW. Davis tweeted that the group, “rallies the Dallas/Fort Worth area together against fascism either in office or in uniform. It’s important to strongly reject authoritarianism from both sides of the political spectrum.”