USA - The top 10 US firms are Lockheed Martin ($64 billion), Raytheon Technologies ($42 billion), Boeing ($35 billion), Northrop Grumman ($31 billion), General Dynamics ($31 billion), L3Harris Technologies ($15 billion), HII ($9 billion), Leidos ($8 billion), Amentum ($6 billion) and Booz Allen Hamilton ($6 billion). Lockheed, whose revenue represents nearly 11% of the total, topped the list for the 23rd year in a row. China again had seven firms on the list, all in the top quarter and with a combined $117 billion in defense revenue. That’s more than the combined defense revenue for firms from NATO countries (excluding the US) — $110 billion — and far more than that of the other Asia-Pacific firms (excluding Russia) on the list, at $23 billion.

ISRAEL - Over 2,000 Jews visited the Old City of Jerusalem’s Temple Mount on Sunday morning to mark the Jewish day of mourning Tisha B’Av, which commemorates the destruction of the two Jewish temples, amid deadly fighting between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group in the Gaza Strip. Among the pilgrims was firebrand far-right Knesset member Itamar Ben Gvir who regularly makes highly publicized trips to the holy site at times of heightened tensions, in what is widely seen as a deliberately provocative gesture. Many Jews traditionally visit the Western Wall and Jerusalem’s Old City on Tisha B’Av, a fast day that began on Saturday night and lasts through Sunday evening, in order to mourn the destruction of the two temples in 586 BCE and 70 CE, respectively. On Tisha B’Av, the Book of Lamentations is also traditionally read…

UK - More babies were born outside of marriage in England and Wales last year than to wedded couples for the first time on record, official figures show. The latest Office for National Statistics data shows around 625,000 live births were logged in the two nations in 2021. But 321,000 of these were outside of marriage or a civil partnership, while 304,000 were within one. It means just 48.7 per cent of newborns were to a legal couple, falling below the 50 per cent threshold for the first time since records began in 1845. The rate has been trending downwards for the last century.

USA - The murder rate per capita in Chicago is higher than the civilian death rate per capita from the Ukraine-Russia War. The narratives we're being sold about the Ukraine Wars and gun control in America do not jibe when we look at the actual statistics. What is the real purpose of our billions of "aid" dollars?

USA - Leftists left aghast by the loss, through a Supreme Court ruling, of their cherished federal "right" to abortion now are turning to marriage as the next battleground on which they plan to "drive Christians out of the public square," according to a Republican senator. A recent episode of "Washington Watch with Tony Perkins" featured Senator James Lankford, Republican for Oklahoma, and a report at Washington Stand explained his decision to oppose a Democrat agenda point to redefine marriage nationwide. That will be used, he warned, as a weapon to take Christians out of any position of influence. The Democrats' HR 8404 is called the "Respect for Marriage" law but Lankford said what will happen if Schumer gets his way is that religious Americans would be prevented from speaking about their beliefs and any organization that affirms biblical marriage – that being between one man and one woman – would become a "target of this federal government marriage" law but Lankford said the scheme imposes a top-down demand for every state to recognize any "marriage between two individuals."

SWEDEN - Rainwater almost everywhere on Earth has unsafe levels of ‘forever chemicals’, according to new research. Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a large family of human-made chemicals that don’t occur in nature. They are known as ‘forever chemicals’ because they don’t break down in the environment. They have non-stick or stain repellent properties so can be found in household items like food packaging, electronics, cosmetics and cookware. But now researchers at the University of Stockholm have found them in rainwater in most locations on the planet - including Antarctica. There is no safe space to escape them.

USA - Firefighters carry several children and a baby through chest-high flood waters in Denver after their minivan became submerged - amid historic rainfall across the West that devastated Death Valley in rare '1,000 year rainfall event'. Firefighters in Denver placed children onto their backs and shoulders as part of a heroic rescue effort as parts of the Mile High City were deluged by floods.

EUROPE - Europe is facing a drought emergency as dry weather is causing crops to fail, villages to go without drinking water, and further wildfires erupting in parts of the European Union. The Continent has faced unusually dry weather this year followed by intense heatwaves in the summer that have caused a severe drought to sweep the continent. The European Drought Observatory (EDO) has new research to show that 45% of the European Union’s land is under drought “warning” conditions which means the soil has been impaired due to dry weather. Approximately 15 percent of the land is under the “alert” category which means crops have been damaged due to low rain and dry land. The EDO warns that the dry weather is likely to continue throughout August and into September.

UK - Desert-parched Britain faces up to another fortnight without rain as the drought crisis approaches the 100-day mark. Southern Britain will desiccate into the final stretch of summer as downpours swerve the region and head to Scotland and northern England. Parts of the UK, specifically the South and East, have entered their fourth month of below-average rainfall, according to Met Office records. Meteorologists warn ‘no significant rain’ will arrive until at least the final week of August as hosepipe bans loom in Kent, Sussex, Hampshire, Pembrokeshire and the Isle of Wight. August marks the fourth month that parts of Britain have seen little to no rain, according to government rainfall logs. Government forecasters warn of ‘little meaningful’ wet weather as Britain heads into another heatwave with only sustained rainfall able to replenish reserves. Provisional Met Office data reveals southern England has had its driest July on record, while overall the country has seen its driest period since 1935.

USA - Steve Bannon spoke at the Texas CPAC Convention and broadcast The War Room from Dallas, Texas this weekend. Of course, Steve also delivered a blistering speech at the convention on Friday. Steve, a former investment banker at Goldman Sachs, called for the end of the Federal Reserve before they are able to destroy the US Dollar. Ending the Fed was once promoted by the media as a conspiracy theory by the likes of Ron Paul. Maybe Ron Paul was right? “Steve Bannon: 0.5% of the citizens in this country own more assets than the bottom 90%. That’s all happened in the last ten years since 2008. The Federal Reserve, by the way, is not owned by the America people, a central bank that is owned by 24 prime brokers, being JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. How does that work?… We don’t need to audit the Fed, we need to end the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve has usurped its power and the power of the American people and our elected representatives. And, no, they do not have the consent of the governed. We will not comply. We will not submit. And it must be ended.”

BOSNIA - Bosnia and Herzegovina's Serb state has lashed out at Muslims and supported Vladimir Putin, amid fears a new crisis could break out in the Balkans. Republika Srpska is one of two entities in Bosnia and Herzegovina and was formed in 1992 at the outset of the Bosnian War. The three-year war, with a death toll over 100,000, saw a majority of Croats and Bosniaks expelled from the republic’s claimed territory. It achieved international recognition as an entity within Bosnia and Herzegovina after the Dayton Agreement of 1995. Mr Pavlovic then told Sky News: “There will be no peace in this area as long as the international community represents and defends and protects only one side. That one side is the side of Muslims."

USA - The Russian President attacked Ukraine on February 24 hoping to regain control of the country's territory. NATO and EU nations have since ramped up their efforts to stop Russia's invasion but a new geopolitical landscape could soon prove disastrous for the entire world. According to Dr Yuri Felshtinsky, author of forthcoming book 'Blowing up Ukraine: The Return of Russian Terror and the Threat of World War III', the world's political landscape could soon change if Donald Trump was re-elected President of the United States in 2024. Dr Felshtinsky warned the former US leader would withdraw the US from NATO, leaving Europe completely alone against Russia. "And this will be a completely new political game for everybody."

USA - Rev Al Sharpton argued this week that the Bible endorses abortion because the Bible is about choice. Rev Al: “The Bible, if you’re using this as a religious argument, the Bible is about choice”. Murder is about choice too, but that doesn’t mean the Bible condones it. It’s not clear which Bible Rev Al Sharpton is referring to but it’s not the Christian Bible. Life News reported: “President of National Action Network and MSNBC Politics Nation host Al Sharpton joined Chris Jansing Reports on Thursday to discuss abortion and religion. Sharpton didn’t understand how one could be a good Christian and be pro-life because, according to him, “the Bible is about choice.” Jansing led Sharpton with some polling data, “there was a Gallup poll back, I think it was the fall of 2020 showing the black community has slowly become more accepting of abortion over the past couple of decades, but there are deeply held religious beliefs playing into this, especially with older black voters who are incredibly reliable and incredibly important to Democrats. So, how should Democrats be thinking about this? Because obviously they want and need to hold onto those voters.”

USA - Nigel Farage has told a packed US Conservative rally that America is the "battleground" in a political struggle to save "Western civilization." In a speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Saturday, the former Brexit Party leader declared that "If America falls, we all fall." Nigel Farage was at the event to speak with conservative US voters and received a standing ovation with a rousing address on the special role the USA holds in "standing up for the free world."

USA - President Joe Biden is proposing to spend roughly $37 billion for fighting and preventing crime, including $13 billion to help communities hire and train 100,000 police officers over five years. Biden will outline his anti-crime program, dubbed the Safer America Plan, on Thursday during a visit to Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. As part of Biden's plans, $3 billion would be geared toward clearing court backlogs, resolving cases involving murders and guns and setting up task forces to share intelligence, with an eye toward reducing gun violence. His plan would also impose tougher penalties for fentanyl trafficking amid an epidemic of drug overdoses. Los Angeles, meanwhile, has arguably been hurt the most by woke politicians, with its District Attorney George Gascon now almost certain to face a recall election for soft policies. The City of Angels has seen more people killed by guns during the first six months of 2022 than during the same period in any of the past 15 years, police say - while robberies are also rife, due to lax punishments on repeat offenders.