NATO - The head of Nato has warned that the deep divisions between the US under Donald Trump and its European allies are not going away and there is no certainty that the transatlantic relationship and its military alliance will survive. Against a backdrop of Trump’s open baiting of the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, over immigration and her domestic difficulties, Jens Stoltenberg has called for all Nato members to work to avoid a disastrous breakdown in western unity. Writing in the Guardian, Nato’s secretary general admits that “political storm clouds” are putting a strain on the ties that bind the Nato allies. But, in an appeal to leaders before the military alliance’s summit in July, the former prime minister of Norway says that “where differences persist, we must limit any negative impact on our security cooperation”.

USA - The United States was on Tuesday expected to pull out of the United Nations Human Rights Council, which it has accused of anti-Israel bias. Any suspension or withdrawal would be the latest US rejection of multilateral engagement after it pulled out of the Paris climate agreement and the Iran nuclear deal.  Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state, and Nikki Haley, US ambassador to the UN, were due to address the Geneva-based organisation on Tuesday. Ms Haley announced last year that Washington was reviewing its membership of the 47-country body.

USA - Father’s Day is time set aside to celebrate fathers and what they do for their family all year long. But for some 24 million American children — or one in three — there is no father in the home to honor on Sunday. These statistics come from the United States Census Bureau, federal agencies, advocacy organizations and studies compiled by the National Fatherhood Initiative (NFI), which works to promote the importance of fathers in children’s lives and the harm that can result from growing up without one’s biological dad.

USA - Bishop Edward Weisenburger of Tucson, Arizona, made a bolder suggestion, raising the possibility of implementing canonical penalties for Catholics “who are involved in this,” referring to children being separated from their families at the border. The Catholic Bishops Conference in Florida has produced some intense results so far, not the least of which was calling for massive civil disobedience against our duly-elected president’s immigration policies. Not only that, the bishops also suggested that Catholics who don’t disobey the president’s policies should be harshly punished with Catholic ‘canonical penalties’… The Catholic Church is very much for open borders, except for Vatican City, that has a massive wall that goes completely around it. Pope Francis, tear down that wall! 

SOUTH AFRICA - Former anti-apartheid stalwart and Rivonia Treason triallist Andrew Mlangeni has warned that the land reform project would be a disaster if not handled well… “If the government is not very careful with this problem, it will get problems. Farmers, especially the Afrikaners, are not going to give up this land issue very easily”.

CHINA - Two meetings of considerable geopolitical significance took place last weekend. They could not have been more different in tone and outcome. Each in their way were representative of the fundamental realignment that is taking place in the world order, and each points to a very different future.

EUROPE - A new era in global affairs has begun, says former German foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel: Germany and Europe must seize the moment. The world has entered a new epoch. In recent weeks, three separate events have made this abundantly clear.

GERMANY - In a dangerous swipe at Chancellor Angela Merkel, her own interior minister is siding with the Austrian and Italian governments to forge a right-wing “axis of the willing” to curb immigration. Conservative lawmakers threaten with a vote on refugee policy in the Bundestag.

NIGERIA - In the fertile grasslands of central Nigeria the roar of a motorcycle is enough to instill fear in the Christian cattle herders stalked by an increasingly bloody conflict. The rev of an engine is the first warning sign that gangs of kidnappers have emerged from the forest for their latest sortie in a battle over diminishing farmland that appears to be drawn along sectarian lines. Across Africa’s most populous country, an undeclared war, triggered in part by climate change and fought over cattle, has turned Muslims and Christians against each other in a confrontation so bitter it threatens to tear Nigeria apart. Warring over cattle is almost as old as human history in parts of Africa. But across a swath of the continent, cattle-related violence is unleashing more bloodshed than at any time in living memory.

USA - A global shortage of sand is prompting black-market gangs to steal large amounts from rivers and beaches. Scientists are warning that the global supply of sand is slipping through our fingers. Statistics show that worldwide, we go through 50 billion tons of sand every year – twice the amount produced by every river in the world during the same period. According to writer and journalist Vince Beiser, who wrote a book on the subject, “Sand is the essential ingredient that makes modern life possible. And we are starting to run out.” That’s mainly because the number and size of cities is exploding, especially in the developing world, Beiser told Business Insider. “We're on track to be a planet of at least nine billion people in the next 20 years. Most of them are going to want to consume resources the way we do in the Western world, and that is just physically impossible,” said Beiser.

EUROPE - The President of the European Parliament Antoni Tajani issued a shock warning to European leaders ahead of a crucial European Council summit at the end of June. Speaking at the Parliament in Strasbourg this week, Mr Tajani said the current migrant debacle encompassing Europe could be the final nail in the coffin for the bloc. A migration crisis has hit the EU this week, after Italy has stood by its decision to block migrant rescue ships from docking at the country's ports. At the same time, Germany faces shock uncertainty amid calls for Chancellor Angela Merkel to stand down following a coalition argument.

EUROPE - The biggest threat to the EU is the imminent collapse of Angela Merkel's fragile coalition, which would lead to a Europe-wide breakup "in an uncontrollable way" according to a leading left-wing and pro-EU commentator. The political instability that has rocked the German government could set in motion the breakup of the European Union, according to Paul Mason, a left-wing commentator. Angela Merkel faces a make-or-break week as German Chancellor, after leading figures in her sister party, the Christian Social Union, gave her a stark ultimatum. In an unprecedented challenge to Mrs Merkel's authority, the CSU will give Chancellor Angela Merkel a two-week deadline to meet its demands for overhauling asylum policy, according to German paper Bild.

CHINA - The Chinese State Council's commission on tariffs and customs said in an online statement that a 25 percent tariff will take effect July 6 on agriculture products, automobiles and "aquatic products." The tariffs counter the United States Trade Representative's announcement earlier on Friday that the US will initially impose an additional 25 percent tariff on 818 Chinese imports worth about $34 billion on July 6.

INDIA - India will suspend trade concessions and raise import duties on 30 products from the United States by up to 50 percent, in a mirror response to Washington’s impetuous move to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. New Delhi has drawn up a list of 30 American products it now wants to target with increased import duties. The new measures will see a 50 percent tariff increase on motorcycles with engine capacities of over 800cc, while apple imports would be charged with a 25 percent levy. Imports of almonds and walnuts would see a 20 percent levy.

GERMANY - As Chancellor Merkel's grip on power continues to look more and more fragile, Bild Zeitung reports that Germany’s Christian Social Union party will give her a two-week deadline to meet its demands for overhauling asylum policy. If true, the reports would be an unprecedented challenge to Merkel's authority and risks plunging the nation further into chaos, as Der Spiegel pulls no punches in explaining: "The German question… How do we deal with migrants? Endangers Merkel's chancellorship." However it ends, the spat has laid bare the limits of Merkel's authority in a fractious government that took office in March after nearly six months of post-election haggling.