USA - San Francisco is a city of extremes. It has more billionaires per capita than anywhere else in the world, but it also has a homeless problem so severe that it rivals some third-world nations. On any given day you can see souped-up Lamborghinis and blinged-out trophy wives in one part of the city, then walk over a few blocks and see piles of human feces, puddles of urine and vomit caked on the sidewalks. The misery of homelessness, mental illness and drug addiction hits deep in San Francisco and has turned parts of a beautiful city into a public toilet. As the problem grows, residents are finding themselves at a crossroads. The compassion for those struggling is constantly being challenged by a fear for their own safety and quality of life. It never had to get this bad, say critics, who are appalled that it's getting worse every day.

USA - The Left is the most dangerous ideological phenomenon in the history of mankind. It glorifies poverty, the total state, and mass death. The Left wants to destroy Western civilization, based on Christianity, the traditional family, and the free market. It’s no coincidence that Communists killed more than 100 million people, not including their wars.

TAIWAN - Despite extreme objections voiced by Beijing, the State Department has approved the sale of dozens of F-16 fighter planes to Taiwan, openly admitting that the move serves US economic and national security interests in the region. The approval of the $8 billion sale by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DCPA) came just days after plans to supply 66 fighter jets to Taipei were greenlighted by the White House. In approving the proposed deliveries, the DCPA reasoned that additional arms will help maintain “political stability, military balance, and economic progress” in the region. The prospects of yet another weapons sale by the Trump administration to Taiwan, which still has to be approved by Congress, drew ire from Beijing, which repeatedly slammed all US attempts to arm the enclave, that China considers an integral part of the mainland.

EUROPE - The 45th G7 summit will take place later this year, bringing together the “Group of 7”. But when exactly is the summit, who is in the G7 group and why is the European Union invited? This year, the G7 summit will take place from August 24 to 26 in Biarritz, France.

GERMANY - According to the German media, China’s alleged raw material monopoly is like a "super weapon." German authorities and business agencies are calling for drastic measures to attain national independence from Chinese raw materials. Particularly in the case of so-called rare earths, "the entire Chinese-controlled value chain must be broken," the Federal Academy for Security Policy (BAKS) explains. If this fails, the "EU's military autonomy" would be compromised, since the metals in question are "indispensable" for arms production, according to the German government's think tank on military policy. This view is shared by the Federal Agency for Geological Studies and Natural Resources (BGR). In a recent paper it warned of serious "disadvantages" for "Germany, as an economic base of operations," should China's "supremacy" in exporting mining products not be countered with appropriate "alternative strategies."

USA - The American ransomware epidemic shows no signs of slowing, as the confluence of underinvestment in IT and information security and the NSA's reckless stockpiling of computer vulnerabilities means that petty criminals can extort vast sums from distant municipalities by seizing their entire networked infrastructure. Currently, more than 20 towns and cities in Texas are being held ransom by criminals. The state believes all of the hijackings - which all landed Saturday morning - are the work of a single "threat actor."

UK - British pharmaceutical companies will be ready to cope with a no deal Brexit scenario despite warnings from a leaked Government document suggesting there will be medicine shortages in the event the UK will leave the EU without a deal. The reassurance comes from the former president of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society Ash Soni who told the BBC's Radio 4 Today Programme he believed the appropriate infrastructure to ensure a smooth supply of medicines in the event of a no deal Brexit is already in place. Asked whether he believed the Government was ready to employ relevant mechanisms to cope with the no deal eventuality, Mr Soni replied: “From what we’ve been told, yes. We believe that’s the case. It comes after a sensitive Government document on no deal Brexit preparations was leaked to the Sunday Times yesterday. The leaked dossier warned Britain will face shortages of fuel, food and medicine under a no deal Brexit.

EUROPE - Brussels is "less prepared" than the UK for a no deal Brexit scenario on October 31, CBI director-general Carolyn Fairbairn claimed as she urged both sides to "compromise" and reach a deal. The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) chief told BBC Radio 4 Today Programme that avoiding a no deal Brexit outcome must be the "number one priority" for the Government. But she admitted the UK is now more prepared than the EU to leave without a formal agreement on October 31. Asked whether the Brussels bloc was conducting an "Operation Yellowhammer" of its own, Ms Fairbairn said: “The work that the CBI did a few months ago and published last month shows that if anything the EU is less prepared than the UK. There are costs very much on both sides. And we would hope that these conversations this week are productive and are focused on getting a deal and that there is a compromise on both sides.”

GERMANY - Deutsche Bank AG has hit bottom, again. Two months after rebounding from its previous low, buoyed by optimism about Chief Executive Officer Christian Sewing’s strategy reboot, Germany’s largest lender fell to a fresh record in Frankfurt trading. The stock is now down 94% from its peak in 2007. But while there’s plenty of blame to go around the German lender’s boardroom for its past performance, the former investment banking giant is hardly alone in Europe in this latest rout.

CHINA - The global food crisis is slowly ramping up…China’s July food prices jumped 9.1% from a year ago, as the country battles soaring pork prices amid the spread of African swine fever. In particular, pork prices rose 27% from a year ago in July while fresh fruit prices rose 39.1%, the data showed. Chinese fruit supply has been hurt by severe weather that hurt crop production this year, sending prices of apples up sharply. China is the world’s largest producer and a major consumer of the staple fruit. The official inflation data came after China confirmed Tuesday it will be suspending imports of agricultural products from the US in response to President Donald Trump’s new tariffs. This is really not a good sign of the oncoming financial and food crisis.

USA - Major cities all over America are being transformed into rotting, decaying, disease-infested hellholes, and it doesn’t exactly take a genius to figure out why this is happening. Our actions are the product of our belief systems, and the major US cities where the conditions are the worst are always dominated by a particular political ideology. If the citizens of those major cities like the results that they are currently getting, then they should just continue to do what they have been doing. But if they want real change, then those citizens are going to have to be willing to make fundamentally different choices than they have been making in the past.

GERMANY - The two leaders have met as part of the commemorations of the symbolic event that led to an exodus of East Germans to the West. Merkel thanked Hungary for its role in bringing down the Iron Curtain. The symbolic event 30 years ago was a show of support for a united Europe that led to the first exodus from behind the Iron Curtain. "The picnic was the biggest mass exodus from the GDR since the construction of the wall in 1961. The picnic turned into a world event" and reflected the values of "solidarity, freedom and a humane Europe" Merkel said, thanking Hungary for playing its part in opening the borders. What began as a political, symbolic gathering by the border fence, ended up seeing several hundred East Germans crossing over from Hungary to the West. They stormed the flimsy wooden gate at the border and stumbled to freedom in the Austrian town of Sankt Margarethen im Burgenland.

EUROPE - A picnic in a meadow on the Hungarian-Austrian border: That was the plan. But the symbolic event, a show of support for a united Europe, enabled the first exodus from behind the Iron Curtain. Unintentionally — or not? History's great moments sometimes start out small — like on August 19, 1989. The day certainly didn't seem promising: Heavy, gray clouds filled the sky near the Hungarian town of Sopron, just a short walk from the Austrian border. A picnic had been planned — but not any ordinary picnic.

UK - Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay has signed the 'commencement order' formally starting the process that will take Britain out of the EU on October 31. Senior Tory Brexiteers previously said the signing of the document was 'totemic' and a 'do-or-die' pledge confirming the UK will be leaving the EU. Theresa May had angered Brexiteers by refusing to sign the order and instead agreeing to delay Brexit until October 31. But now Mr Barclay has signed the document, as reported by The Sunday Telegraph. In a tweet posted today, he said: 'I have signed the legislation setting in stone the repeal of the European Communities Act 1972. This is a landmark moment in taking back control of our law. It underlines that we are leaving the EU on October 31.'

UK - Secret British government documents have warned of serious disruptions across the country in the event that the UK leaves the European Union without a trade deal on October 31, according to a report. The Sunday Times newspaper published what it said was what the British government expects in the case of a sudden, “no-deal” Brexit. Among the most serious: “significant” disruptions to the supply of drugs and medicine, a decrease in the availability of fresh food and even potential fresh water shortages due to possible interruptions of imported water treatment chemicals.