UK - Addressing the issue, chief of Britain's defence staff General Sir Nicholas Carter noted earlier that the British Armed Forces were making "sensible" contingency plans for Brexit and other matters. "There are contingency plans being made, there are discussions being held behind the scenes as to what support our armed forces will do," British Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Defence People and Veterans Tobias Ellwood said on the 'Ridge on Sunday' TV show. "With the transition from Brexit, if there is a requirement to provide assistance we're looking right across the full spectrum of requirements to make sure that we are prepared," he added.

EUROPE - World leaders with the power to make war but a duty to preserve peace solemnly marked the end of World War I’s slaughter 100 years ago at commemorations Sunday that drove home the message “never again” but also exposed the globe’s new political fault lines. As Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and dozens of other heads of state and government listened in silence, French President Emmanuel Macron used the occasion, as its host, to sound a powerful and sobering warning about the fragility of peace and the dangers of nationalism and of nations that put themselves first, above the collective good. “The old demons are rising again, ready to complete their task of chaos and of death,” Macron said.

USA - Del Bigtree, founder of Informed Consent Action Network (ICAN), teamed up with Robert F Kennedy Jr to take on the US government by filing a suit against the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) for vaccine safety violations — and they won. This is big news for all concerned with the topic of vaccine safety. It turns out the federal agency has been neglecting their vaccine safety obligations for over 30 years. The lawsuit brought by RFK Jr is evidence that “vaccine safety” as we know it is nothing more than a sham. Government agencies charged with protecting the public are not doing their part to ensure and improve the safety of immunizations, but will they be held accountable? Will the DHHS finally be held accountable for their failure, or will the vaccine industry continue to spread its toxic injections without fear of government scrutiny?

UK - Humanity is under threat. At least according to Sir Martin Rees, one of Britain's most esteemed astronomers. In his new book, "On the Future," Rees turns his focus closer to home, examining the existential threats that face humanity over the next century. From cyberattacks to advances in biotechnology to artificial intelligence to climate change, Rees, Britain's Astronomer Royal, says we are living at a critical juncture — one that could define how the human species fares.

EUROPE - The operational preparation for future military missions is influenced by a fierce power struggle between Germany and France. According to the German ministry of defense, the military union is not only aimed at reaching more "independence" from the United States, but also at advancing EU "integration," which is difficult to achieve with civilian means. The idea of forcing the unification of the empire through war, reflects far back in German history, when in 1871, Prussia forged the German Empire - through its war with France.

USA - According to officials, the fire has destroyed at least 6,713 homes, businesses and other structures, while killing multiple people. Both the property count and death toll are likely to rise as officials comb through the wreckage. This fire surpasses the damage from the previous record-holder, which was the deadly Tubbs Fire, which devastated Santa Rosa in the state's wine country just 13 months ago.  The fire now measures well over 100,000 acres in size and has been fueled by a combination of unusually dry weather and powerful, desiccating Santa Ana winds, at times blowing at hurricane force (75 miles per hour). The winds made the flames impossible to anticipate and control, giving firefighters no choice but to help residents flee, rather than beat the flames back to save the community.  

UNITED NATIONS - The “right-to-life” clause in an important UN human rights treaty must now include a right to abortion. So says a committee of experts charged with monitoring compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which most states have ratified. The committee says governments must decriminalize abortion in all circumstances and “remove existing barriers that deny effective access by women and girls to safe and legal abortion including barriers caused as a result of the exercise of conscientious objection by individual medical providers,” according to the committee that monitors the implementation of the UN treaty on civil and political rights, ratified by the United States in 1991.

USA - Voters in Alabama and West Virginia Tuesday approved “trigger” measures that could lead to state abortion bans if the US Supreme Court overturns Roe vs Wade — a possibility raised by the appointment of Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the court. Even while Roe’s constitutional right to abortion remains in place, abortion has become so hard to get in many parts of the country that an online service called Aid Access launched in the summer to provide prescription abortion pills by mail to women in the US. Founder Rebecca Gomperts, a Dutch physician and activist, has for years run Women on Web, which ships abortion pills to women in countries where abortion is illegal. Americans United for Life, an anti-abortion law firm, contends that the Aid Access model is not only unsafe, but also in violation of US postal and other regulations.

USA - Thousands of transgenders who drastically altered their physical attributes in an attempt to become the opposite sex are now having buyers’ remorse, according to one of the world’s top genital reconstructive surgeons. So-called “sex change regret,” says Dr Miroslav Djordjevic, also a professor, is now reaching epic proportions, as many of those who were sold a bill of goods about “becoming themselves” are coming to the shocking realization that mutilating their sexual organs and dressing in the stereotypical garb of the opposite gender isn’t the cure for their gender dysphoria.

USA - If you’ve ever taken the time to look over the ingredients label on food products, there’s a good chance you’ve found some words you aren’t familiar with. While many people look out for the bad ingredients that grab a lot of headlines, like high-fructose corn syrup and nitrates, there are a lot of others that seem to slip under most people’s radar. If an unfamiliar ingredient is near the bottom of the ingredients list, many people simply shrug it off and assume the product contains so little of the ingredient in question that it won’t make a big difference.

USA - It is difficult not to admire the relentless optimism on Wall Street. A divided Congress is going to guarantee two years of gridlock and political turmoil in Washington, but many in the financial community are choosing to interpret the election results as a positive sign. They remember the “gridlock” during the Obama years, and they are hopeful that the next couple of years will be at least somewhat similar. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shot up 545 points on Wednesday, and that was the largest post-midterm rally that we have seen in 36 years.

USA - Growth forecasts for the global economy have been slashed by ratings agency Moody’s who say the ongoing trade war between the US and China will cause shocks around the world. Germany, Japan, South Korea, the US and China are among those who will be hit hardest next year, according to the Moody’s report. Global economic growth will slow in 2019 and 2020 to just under 2.9 percent, down from an estimated 3.3 percent in 2018 and 2019, Moody’s said. And the analysis has also suggested there is no end in sight to the disagreement, which could continue “for some time”...

USA - The federal government is set to reinstate its borrowing limit, and a new analysis indicates that it will be a record-high $22 trillion — and then, it won’t provide enough money to fund the government past summer. The shocking number, however, is only slightly higher than the current actual debt of some $21 trillion. The ceiling has been in suspension and the debt has grown under President Trump. It is set to be reinstated on March 2, 2019. The analysis warned of troubles with the growing debt.

USA - Tens of thousands of people fled a fast-moving wildfire Thursday in Northern California, some clutching babies and pets as they abandoned vehicles and struck out on foot ahead of the flames that forced the evacuation of an entire town and destroyed hundreds of structures. "Pretty much the community of Paradise is destroyed, it's that kind of devastation," said Cal Fire Captain Scott McLean late Thursday. "The wind that was predicted came and just wiped it out." McLean estimated that a couple of thousand structures were destroyed in the town of 27,000 residents about 180 miles (290 kilometers) northeast of San Francisco, where residents scrambled to flee. The wildfire was reported around daybreak. Within six hours, it had grown to more than 26 square miles (69 square kilometers), Gaddie said.

USA - As an FBI agent for 29 years, Philip Scala led the operation that jailed John Gotti of Cosa Nostra and raided an al-Qaeda bomb factory. Mr Scala, now a private investigator, took on Hells Angels, rioting prisoners and Russian mobsters. Next on his list? The cardinals of the Roman Catholic church.