UK - Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-serving British monarch, has died at the age of 96 after reigning for 70 years. “Her affection for the Jewish people ran deep, and her respect for our values was palpable. In life she was rightly admired and loved the word over; in death may her memory and legacy be for an everlasting blessing.” According to the office of the late Rabbi Jonathan Sacks OBM, former Chief Rabbi of the Commonwealth, Queen Elizabeth was a defender and supporter of Britain’s Jewish community. “In England, almost uniquely, the Church stood alongside the Jewish community in its fight against antisemitism,” the office said in a statement in 2012. “Every week in synagogue, we have prayed for her welfare, wellbeing and wisdom, and she never let us down,” Chief Rabbi of England Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis said in a statement. The Queen also embodied many Jewish values, he said. “The quiet heroism of service, and in an age of self-obsession she has been a role model of duty, selflessly and graciously fulfilled.” “She has been a blessing to us, the nation and the world.”

UK - She was Queen of the United Kingdom and Head the Commonwealth, but in truth Elizabeth II belonged to the world - a fact on full display today as countries and people around the globe marked her passing at the age of 96. In Paris and Prague, from Benidorm to Beijing, across Sydney and Singapore - flowers were laid, sports stadiums fell silent, and monuments were illuminated as a mark of respect for a monarch who meant so much to so many. The Empire State Building lit up purple and silver, the Eiffel Tower went dark, and Christ the Redeemer - overlooking the city of Rio de Janiero - shone in red, blue and white in tribute to her record reign. It came after Her Majesty died at Balmoral Castle on Thursday with son Charles - now King Charles III - and daughter Anne at her bedside, as her seven decades on the throne came to its peaceful conclusion.

USA - Last week, in one of the darkest moments of his abysmal presidency, Joe Biden made it clearer than ever: The Democratic Party is coming for Christians and anyone else who contradicts the left’s radical abortion and LGBT agendas. In a primetime speech on Thursday at Philadelphia’s Independence Hall, Biden doubled down on Democrats’ latest attack line, declaring his political opponents an intolerable “threat” to America.

USA - Wells Fargo, Target, Hewlett-Packard, and CitiBank are sponsoring an event in Boise, Idaho, that will feature child drag performers. The Boise Pride Festival will have an event called “Drag Kids on Stage.” The description reads, “You have watched the queens and kings, now it’s time to see the kids.” It goes on to call the performances “a drag show like none other” and notes that those between the ages of 11 and 18 will be performing. “Come and cheer them on as they bring drag to the younger generation,” the description reads. The festival will also include a drag queen story hour and will host at least four different events with drag performers. The Boise Pride Festival, which takes place September 9-11, is sponsored by several notable companies, including Wells Fargo, Target, Hewlett-Packard, and CitiBank. Various other corporations, including T-Mobile, the Blue Cross of Idaho, Gilead, Albertsons, and Intuit, also sponsored the Boise Pride Festival. Several alcohol companies, including Tito’s, Jack Daniel’s, Smirnoff, Mike’s Hard Lemonade, and Rey Azul, a tequila company, are all sponsoring the event as well.

USA - Public health agencies are facing perhaps the most serious threats to their control over information since the COVID-19 pandemic started, playing defense in lawsuits that have already exposed substantial federal involvement in censorship and could next uncloak alleged manipulation of data that has driven COVID policy from the start. A federal judge ordered White House COVID adviser Anthony Fauci and Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre to respond to document requests in a First Amendment lawsuit alleging the feds coerced social media companies to stamp out dissenting COVID claims, some of which the feds now acknowledge have merit. Because of an untimely sick dog, the Justice Department is behind the eight ball in resisting a "special grand jury" to investigate federal officials for decisions that "significantly compromise[d] the accuracy and integrity of COVID-related data." Answers are due by the end of September, meaning they could be used by Republicans to hammer Democrats a full month before midterm elections.

SWITZERLAND - WEF's AI to decide what industries to liquidate to "stop economic growth". A brand new video from the World Economic Forum’s agenda article! The agenda is to stop growth and decide what industries to shut down. Some very juicy quotes from the video (with timestamps):

USA - After multiple rooftop fires between 2020-2021, Amazon temporarily took all solar panels offline to complete inspections of each of its systems. The e-commerce giant did so quietly without mentioning the problems in its sustainability report. The first reported solar panel fire at an Amazon warehouse occurred on April 14, 2020, in Fresno, California, CNBC reported. The warehouse was called FAT1, and the three-alarm fire damaged about 220 solar panels along with other equipment. In a report, Fresno fire investigator Leland Wilding wrote the blaze started from “an undetermined electrical event within the solar system mounted on top of the roof,” CNBC reported. In another internal document obtained by CNBC, an Amazon employee said the fire incidents stemming from solar panels cost the company an average of $2.7 million each. In addition, the employee said Amazon would lose $20,000 per month for each of the 47 sites that took its solar installations offline. Again, this information was left off the 2021 sustainability report.

UK - A pub said to have been serving customers for 1,200 years is fighting for survival because of soaring energy costs. Ye Olde Fighting Cocks survived world wars and recessions but co-owner Sam Walker says winter will be a test. His general manager, Ronan Gaffney, added: “It’s outrageously more expensive. It’s not like at home where you can turn everything off but the fridge and freezer. We can’t cut down on energy bills but are being charged double. Our light bill is 10 times more than what it is in a house because at home you can turn off all the lights except the one you're in. But you can't do that in a pub.” He called on the Government to offer help so pubs like his — in St Albans, Herts — survive.

WALES - The whole of Wales has now moved to drought status, Natural Resources Wales (NRW) has confirmed. Heavy rainfall over recent days and weeks has not been enough to compensate for the impacts of the heatwaves and dry weather over the summer, data has shown. South west, south east and parts of mid Wales were already in drought before the announcement, which now includes north Wales. It comes after the Wales Drought Liaison Group met on Thursday to consider the latest impacts that months of insufficient rain has had on the environment and people in the region. “While essential water supplies remain safe, the public and businesses right across Wales areas are being urged to use water wisely and manage this precious resource at this time.” Natalie Hall added: “Each drought is different in its extent, severity and impact. As such, it is difficult to predict when we will see the environment, our water supplies and the agricultural sector move into recovery.”

UK - Queen Elizabeth II, the UK's longest-serving monarch, has died at Balmoral aged 96, after reigning for 70 years. She died peacefully on Thursday afternoon at her Scottish estate, where she had spent much of the summer. The Queen came to the throne in 1952 and witnessed enormous social change.

RUSSIA - Russia and China’s growing partnership with the Islamic world spells trouble for the West. The traditional Anglo-American strategy of playing “divide and conquer” with Muslim states may have run its course. With Covid quarantines no longer a hindrance, summits have returned to the diplomatic agenda. First, the West returned to face-to-face meetings – EU and NATO summits have been taking place for some time now – and now it is the turn of the East.

RUSSIA - Russia's economy was predicted to collapse after Western countries imposed unprecedented sanctions on Moscow over the war in Ukraine. But this week, the Russian statistics bureau Rosstat said gross domestic product (GDP) in the first six months of the year had fallen by just 0.4%.

UK - If you’re hungry you’ll eat anything to survive. This basic premise is being tested in hunger-stricken African nations where UK aid agencies are trialling insect diets for those suffering starvation in countries once able to feed themselves. UK spending on pushing the theory of insect consumption – a proposition long linked with climate activists – is targeting the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Zimbabwe, the Guardian newspaper reports. The outlet says a £50,000 (US $57,000) UK aid project in the DRC is putting African caterpillars, migratory locusts and black soldier flies on the menu. The researchers cooked mealworms, or beetle larvae, along with sugar to create “meat” — and they claim it tastes authentic as an acceptable alternative nutrition source, although “image problems” remain in some nations used to more sophisticated daily fare.

UK - Rising living costs could prompt an increase in burglary and blackmail, police chiefs have reportedly warned. UK police fear a sharp rise in certain categories of crime and a risk of civil unrest this winter amid a cost of living and energy crisis, the Sunday Times reports, citing a leaked national strategy paper. The document compiled by police chiefs warns that “economic turmoil and financial instability” may lead to an increase in offenses such as shoplifting, burglary, vehicle theft, online fraud and blackmail. More children are likely to join drug gangs and more women may become subject to sexual exploitation. Contingency planning is reportedly underway to deal with the possible fallout from the cost of living crisis.

CHINA - The AP reported: Chinese cities rushed to lock down in show of loyalty to the Chinese Communist leaders. China has locked down 65 million of its citizens under tough COVID-19 restrictions and is discouraging domestic travel during upcoming national holidays. Across the country, 33 cities including seven provincial capitals are under full or partial lockdown covering more than 65 million people, according to a tally published late Sunday by the Chinese business magazine Caixin. It said that outbreaks have been reported in 103 cities, the highest since the early days of the pandemic in early 2020. Despite a relatively low number of infections, authorities have adhered to a “zero-COVID” policy requiring lockdowns, quarantines and the confining of people suspected of being in close contact with any confirmed case. China recorded 1,552 new cases in the latest 24-hour period across a nation of 1.4 billion people, the National Health Commission reported Monday.