USA - When it comes to spying on people, the government has competition. The Chinese government is currently implementing a social credit system to monitor its 1.3 billion citizens (China already has 200 million public surveillance cameras). Facial recognition technology and personal data from cell phones and digital transactions are being used to collect intimate details about people’s lives, including their purchasing habits and whom they socialize with.

USA - So far in 2019, more than 3,400 drugs have boosted their prices, a 17% increase compared with the roughly 2,900 drug price increases at the same time in 2018, according to a new analysis by Rx Savings Solutions, a consultant to health plans and employers. The average price hike for those 3,400 drugs stands at 10.5%, or about 5 times the rate of inflation, the study found. About 41 drugs have boosted their prices by more than 100%, including one version of the antidepressant fluoxetine, also known as Prozac, whose cost has surged 879%, Rx Savings Solutions said.

USA - If you go visit Japan, I guarantee that you won’t see a single person defecating on the sidewalk. It just doesn’t happen over there, or in most other highly civilized nations on the planet. But here in the United States, we have such a problem with human waste on our city streets that even the president of the United States is talking about it on national television. Trump sat for an interview with Tucker Carlson during his trip to South Korea over the weekend. The Fox News host observed that cities in Japan, host of the Group of 20 summit, had “no graffiti” and “no one going to the bathroom on the streets,” and said New York City and Los Angeles had a “major problem with filth.” In response, President Trump blamed the liberals that are running those big cities for the current conditions, and he described what some homeless people are going through as “living in hell”…

ISRAEL - The US has raised alarm over concerns that Israel could soon drag the country into a war with Iran, after the Islamic Republic breached the limit on its uranium stockpiles. Last night, Israeli jets targeted Iranian-linked military bases from Lebanese airspace. According to Syrian state media, four civilians were killed and 21 injured in Israeli missile strikes near the Syrian cities of Damascus and Homs. Israel has refused to comment on the strikes, but has previously said it will not allow Iran to entrench itself in Syria. The facilities hit were linked to Iranian forces, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a Britain-based monitoring group. Prior to this intervention, Republican Senator, and key Trump ally, Lindsey Graham told CBS: “Israel cannot tolerate a nuclear armed Iran. The world should not tolerate a nuclear armed Iran."

USA - The US is eyeing tariffs on $4 billion more in European products, citing vague “additional analysis” ostensibly in a row over aircraft subsidies. The decision comes days after the EU restarted trade in essential goods with Iran. The US trade representative has released a list of 89 categories of goods featuring an array of European foods and liquor to be added to April’s compendium of products subject to proposed import duties, which is already worth some $21 billion, claiming the additional tariffs are “in response to public comments and following initial analysis.” Frozen pig meat, fermented and curdled milk products, Gouda, Edam, and an array of Italian cheeses, olives, coffee, pasta, whisky, certain chemicals and metals appear on the USTR's list of additional products. A public hearing will be held in August to discuss the measures. 

EUROPE - The European Union signed a trade deal with Vietnam, underscoring the bloc’s commitment to opening up its market and trading freely in the face of rising protectionism and trade tensions around the world. The latest deal would eliminate 99 percent of the tariffs on goods and services between the European and Vietnamese markets. Some tariffs would progressively be cut over a decade, and some agricultural products would be limited by quotas.

Global picture: After EU-US trade talks broke down and President Trump vowed to protect American workers and goods, the EU decided to become more assertive in reaching free trade agreements, EU officials have said. Latin America trade deal: The Vietnam deal came just two days after the EU agreed to another, much bigger deal with Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. It took two decades of negotiations, and it is the largest trade agreement ever concluded by the European bloc.

ISRAEL - Javid met with Director General of the Western Wall Heritage Foundation, Mordechai Eliav, who told Javid about the history of the place and its importance as the center of Jewish longing for Jerusalem throughout the generations. Javid, who comes from a Muslim family, said that his father believed in the connection between Jews and Muslims, and that his brother visited the Western Wall here as a child, inspiring Javid to visit. He also spent his honeymoon in Israel. The Home Secretary is known as one of the staunchest supporters of Israel in the UK Conservative Party. The minister added that one can sense the spiritual power in the place, and that he is impressed by the fact that the Western Wall is open 24 hours a day throughout the year. ...Rabbi Rabinowitz told Javid that "Your visit here is evidence that in this small place Jews and Muslims can live together without harming each other". The minister concluded his visit by saying, “We love Jewish heritage very much and appreciate it.”

ISRAEL - US Ambassador David Friedman and US Middle East special envoy Jason Greenblatt attended the inauguration of Pilgrimage Road in the City of David on Sunday, triggering angry denunciations from Palestinian and left-wing circles for taking part in a “settler project.” “The City of David brings biblical Jerusalem back to life," Friedman said at the event. "It enables every one of us to stroll the corridors where the ancient prophets of Israel gave voice to revolutionary ideals of freedom, liberty and human dignity." Earlier Friedman and Greenblatt slammed the activists who had protested their cooperation in the event, with Friedman saying that discovery “brings truth and science to a debate that has been marred too long by myths” ...and claimed that “peace can only be built on truth.” Greenblatt and Friedman’s presence “sends a clear message to the entire world that they recognize the connection of Jews and Christians to the holy sites in the Old City and the eternal connection of Jews to the Old City and the City of David,” Danon said.

IRAN - What if what you have been told over and over again is not really the truth? For weeks, the mainstream media has been telling us that Iran is getting dangerously close to having nuclear weapons. And now that the Iranians have publicly admitted that their uranium stockpile has exceeded the limit set by the nuclear deal, there is a lot of buzz that either the United States or Israel may soon strike Iran in order to prevent their nuclear program from proceeding even further. But of course once the missiles start flying, it is going to be just about impossible to stop a major war from erupting in the Middle East. Before we get involved in such a war, we better make absolutely certain that Iran does not already have nuclear weapons, because a war with a nuclear-armed Iran could be absolutely cataclysmic. If the Iranians felt that the survival of their regime was on the line, they would not hesitate to throw everything that they have at Israel and at US forces in the region.

EUROPE - Angela Merkel today warned EU leaders that their shambolic effort to replace Jean-Claude Juncker risks leaving the bloc exposed and divided ahead of Brexit talks with Boris Johnson. Ms Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron last night saw their compromise candidate, Dutch socialist Frans Timmermans, dismantled by the EU’s leaders during fraught talks lasting nearly 20 hours. Speaking after the all-night standoff, Ms Merkel said she is preparing to organise a bloc to outvote any opponents to her plans. She said: “It should not lead to tensions that will determine years and years to come. Brexit is looming on the horizon, other important issues are on the table, I think we need to treat each other with care.”

GERMANY - Samy Chaar, chief economist of renowned private bank Lombard Odier, said he fears German Eurosceptics have the power to destroy the EU more than Italy does, due to it being the biggest funder of the bloc. Mr Chaar said should an anti-establishment Germany elect a leader with the same mindset, or even follow Britain’s Brexit lead, the EU would be finished. Speaking to German publication Watson, he was asked his thoughts on Italy being a “ticking time bomb”. He replied: “Honestly, I'm more worried about Germany than about Italy.” He added: “Europe needs Germany more than ever, a strong Germany, and a Germany ready to carry out reforms. The French want that, the Germans show them the cold shoulder. If we do not reform Europe, the Eurosceptics will take over - and destroy the EU. At some point, the Germans will also have to realise that they have to change something.”

EUROPE - EU leaders this morning find themselves no closer to replacing Jean-Claude Juncker as European Commission president despite holding through-the-night talks for the last 15 hours. During the all-night standoff, Guiseppe Conte, the Italian prime minister, ventured into the press room to air his frustrations with the process. He claimed talks had been “difficult” and Mr Timmermans, a former Dutch foreign minister, lacks the credentials to become Commission president. Diplomats believe the top jobs package, which includes the Commission and Council presidencies, the head of the European Central Bank, and the EU’s foreign affairs boss, is about to be rejigged. One diplomat familiar with the talks said: “It’s possible to split the package, it’s possible to be creative but let’s really find out if there is a creative solution.”

NORTH KOREA - North Korea on Monday hailed the weekend meeting between leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump in the Demilitarized Zone as "historic", as analysts said Pyongyang was looking to shape the narrative to its own agenda. After a Twitter invitation by the US president on Saturday, the two men met a day later in the strip of land that has divided the peninsula for 66 years since the end of the Korean War, when the two countries and their allies fought each other to a standstill. Kim and Trump shook hands over the concrete slabs dividing North and South before Trump walked a few paces into Pyongyang's territory -- the first US president ever to set foot on North Korean soil.

USA - If what some experts are telling us is true, a global food crisis appears to be inevitable. Even during good years we have a really difficult time feeding everyone on the planet, and now a major climate shift appears to be happening. Our sun has become exceedingly quiet, and many experts believe that this is a sign that a solar minimum is now upon us. Some parts of our planet are dealing with horrific drought, but in the middle of the United States it just won’t stop raining. In some areas of the world it is too cold, while others are experiencing record heat. Everywhere we look we see extremes, and the behavior of our sun is the primary reason this is happening. Without a doubt, our planet is behaving very strangely right now, and reports of crop failures are regularly coming in from all over the planet.

USA - How many people are LGBT in the United States? It turns out that perception and reality are two very different things. According to a Gallup survey released Thursday, adults in the United States believe that 23.6 percent of their countrymen are LGBT. That’s nearly one in four — almost five times the actual number. “Americans’ estimate of the proportion of gay people in the US is more than five times Gallup’s more encompassing 2017 estimate that 4.5% [approx 15 million] of Americans are LGBT, based on respondents’ self-identification as being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender,” the study said. Part of the reason for the disparity, the pollsters felt, was an overrepresentation of LGBT individuals in the media.