GERMANY - In 2020, the German government signed off on weapons exports to countries involved in the deadly conflicts in Yemen and Libya. Germany is among the world's top five weapons exporters. The German government approved a total of €1.16 billion ($1.41 billion) in arms exports during 2020 to countries involved in both the Yemen and Libya conflicts, reported news agency dpa citing the country's Economy Ministry. Germany, by December 17, had signed off on permissions to export weapons and military equipment worth €752 million to Egypt. Permission was also granted to German arms companies for deals worth over €305.1 million to Qatar, over €51 million to the United Arab Emirates, €23.4 million for Kuwait and around €22.9 million to Turkey. Licenses were granted to Jordan totalling €1.7 million and Bahrain amounting to €1.5 million. The breakdown was provided by the ministry in response to a request from lower house parliament member Omid Nouripour from Germany's Green Party. Ties to Yemen, Libya: The countries mentioned are all involved in either or both of the years-long conflicts in Yemen and Libya.

With vaccine rollouts underway, humanity looks set to win the fight against the coronavirus. But some elites planning a post-coronavirus ‘Great Reset’ don’t want to go back to normal. Here’s what they have planned instead. Overdue liberalization, or technocratic New World Order? Opinion on the plan is divided between those who think it’s the shot in the arm the world needs, and those who think it will make Cyberpunk 2077 look like a utopian dreamworld. Whatever your opinion, here’s a look at the ‘New Normal’ that awaits in 2021 and beyond.

USA - Usually it’s a president’s first midterm election that reorders a White House’s political approach and priorities. For President-elect Joe Biden, his most defining congressional election is coming before he takes office. Two runoffs Tuesday in Georgia will decide which party controls the Senate and, thus, how far the new president can reach legislatively on issues such as the pandemic, health care, taxation, energy and the environment. For a politician who sold himself to Americans as a uniter and a seasoned legislative broker, the Georgia elections will help determine whether he’s able to live up to his billing. Both Georgia Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock must win Tuesday to split the Senate 50-50. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, as president of the Senate, would provide the tiebreaker needed to determine control.

SWITZERLAND - With global lockdowns, international stripping of freedoms, and the decimation of small businesses and the economy on the whole, it is difficult to imagine how it could get any worse. Yet the WHO is predicting that could very well be the case. The head of the WHO emergencies program, Dr Mike Ryan, said during a media briefing that “this pandemic has been very severe … it has affected every corner of this planet. But this is not necessarily the big one.” “This is a wake-up call. We are learning, now, how to do things better: science, logistics, training and governance, how to communicate better. But the planet is fragile,” Ryan added. “We live in an increasingly complex global society. The study revealed that 61 per cent of countries have used restrictions “that were concerning from a democracy and human rights perspective.” ‘These [restrictions] violated democratic standards because they were either disproportionate, illegal, indefinite or unnecessary in relation to the health threat,” the group declared in its report.

EUROPE - The European Union likes to pose as the avatar of tolerance, freedom and all civilized values. Now it has ripped off its own disguise to reveal something rather more ugly. At present, European regulations ban slaughtering animals without pre-stunning, though exceptions to this have been permitted for religious slaughter. Some European countries, however, have forbidden such exceptions and thus banned kosher and halal slaughtering practices. These countries include Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Denmark and Slovenia.

UK - Prime Minister Boris Johnson has dashed hopes that 2021 will be any better than 2020 by tweeting his support of the Great Reset. “Proud that the UK is taking over the 2021 Presidency of the G7 today. Hosting both the G7 Summit and @COP26 will make this a hugely important year for Global Britain and I look forward to welcoming our friends and allies as we beat COVID and build back better from the pandemic.” — Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) January 1, 2021.

‘Build back better’ is, as Johnson is perfectly well aware, the slogan of the World Economic Forum’s deeply sinister Fourth Industrial Revolution — aka ‘the Great Reset‘ – whose aims include the deliberate crashing of the world economy, the crushing and destruction of small businesses, and the creation of a new cash-free society in which no one (save the technocratic elite) owns private property. Unfortunately for Johnson, people have started wising up to what Build Back Better actually means.

EUROPE - Britain's departure from the European Union has sparked fears of an immediate power grab by Germany and France. Smaller member states said they were already missing the UK's influence in Brussels amid signs that Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron plan to waste no time in imposing their dominance over the bloc. Angry officials said Ms Merkel had showed she was willing to flexing her muscles in Britain's absence by pushing through a trade deal with China before Germany's six-month presidency of the EU comes to an end. Brussels and Beijing have struck an investment deal which the German chancellor insists will give European companies greater access to Chinese markets and help redress unbalanced economic ties. But the treaty is already threatening to spark a rift across the EU just days after Britain finally left the bloc's orbit. “Is this the way the EU will work post-Brexit? The Brits are just out and we’re already missing their open market-oriented approach. If Germany weighs in too much, smaller EU countries have nothing to say."

FRANCE - Emmanuel Macron has been warned France must be next to create its own 'Frexit' to enable the nation to Take Back Control and leave the "harmful, paralysing and ruinous" European Union. But ultimately, it will seal the UK's full departure from the EU and free the nation from the bloc's laws and regulations - four-and-a-half years after the historic Brexit referendum. The French Government and in particular President Macron have been huge vocal critics of Brexit, often threatening to vote down agreements if the terms did not adhere their red lines.

CHINA - China has "fully deployed" air support to its troops along the tense Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh, an Indian military official has said. India and China have experienced tensions this year after a fatal clash between forces on either side occurred in the Ladakh region in June. Military deployments currently remain along the LAC boundary that separates them as officials engage in talks to ease tensions. Now, India’s Air Chief Marshal R K S Bhadauria has claimed India’s “most important national security challenge” is to understand China. Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria also called China’s air force deployment “very strong”, but insisted India has “enough” to match it. The official referred to South Asia as a “hotbed of contest between dominant powers” and said “rapidly-evolving uncertainties” had provided China with “an opportunity to demonstrate its growing power,” The Indian Express reported. He also claimed Pakistan was “becoming a pawn in Chinese policy”.

USA - The endless chaos in our streets is directly related to how we have been raising our children for the past couple of decades. Bad beliefs lead to bad actions, and we have been teaching our kids values that are fundamentally flawed. In particular, our children are endlessly taught that life has no value in a multitude of ways. They view thousands of murders on television and in the movies as they grow up, the news glorifies politicians that tell them that it is a good thing to slaughter the unborn, and western nations are increasingly embracing the idea that older people should be willing to ask for the “plug to be pulled” once their “usefulness” is over. Throughout their lives, our kids are trained to believe that they evolved from animals and that there is nothingness after they die, and the logical conclusion of such a worldview is that the period of time between birth and death is rather meaningless.

USA - A year like no other. Like 1968, 1945, 1918 and so many other landmark years, we won’t have to work hard to remember, in the decades to come, what year COVID-19 struck. It was in 2020 — a year to remember, whether you like it or not. A branded logo to rubber-stamp this slow-motion train wreck: COVID-19 pandemic meets civic unrest meets economic disruption. Our locked-down society of shuttered schools and struggling restaurants, all playing out against a political clown show that veers from farcical to frightening, sometimes within the same hour.

USA - Donald Trump has hit back with tariffs against France and Germany amid the battle over aircraft subsidies. Due to the EU imposing “unfair” tariffs on US products, the Trump administration has announced it will strike back with similar measures on French and German imports. The US government stated Brussels had imposed tariffs on “substantially” more American products following the result of WTO litigation. Although the WTO authorised the tariffs, the US has stated Brussels had unfairly raised levies. In a document released by the US Trade Representative, the tariffs affected $4 billion (£2.9 billion) in US trade products. In a further warning to Brussels, Washington has demanded the bloc must take additional measures to compensate the unfair tariff restrictions. Brussels increased tariffs on US aviation parts in September as the longstanding trade dispute continues.

EUROPE - The European Union has been warned that its own failings will lead to the bloc's demise as trust among citizens wanes. The EU is facing a battle to preserve its very existence as some fear Brexit could spark a surge in euroscepticism. German philosopher and historian Ulrike Guerot, who has previously worked with former EU Commission President, Jacques Delors, believes the bloc is in crisis. Professor Guerot, who published a 'Manifesto for a European Republic', has warned that Brussels' current failings are not being addressed. She argued that one day the EU's lack of action will mean "we will wake up one day and Europe will be gone".

EUROPE - The European Union's demise "cannot be ruled out", German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier warned as the EU faces growing threats. Germany, led by Chancellor Angela Merkel, has become the EU's major player with its dominant economy and significant influence within the bloc. However, even senior politicians in Berlin could be beginning to acknowledge that the bloc's future is by no means guaranteed. This was highlighted by German philosopher Ulrike Guerot, an advocate for a 'European Republic' who has been critical of Brussels in recent years. She said: "Europe isn't in a good state, a lot of people are saying that. Nationalist, authoritarian, xenophobic and even racist tones are unmistakable. Some actors seem to have a strange desire to see Europe self-destruct. And that is not merely polemical talk on their part – there is a very real risk that relations between European countries will be poisoned." Mr Steinmeier appeared to be hitting out eurosceptics within the EU.

UK - MPs have overwhelmingly approved the UK's post-Brexit trade deal with the EU in a parliamentary vote. A bill bringing the deal into UK law was backed by the Commons by 521 to 73 votes after Parliament was recalled. The majority of Labour MPs are thought to have voted for the agreement after leader Sir Keir Starmer said a "thin deal was better than no deal". The UK will sever its ties with the EU at 23.00 GMT on Thursday, four and a half years after the Brexit referendum. The agreement hammered out with Brussels over nine months sets out a new business and security relationship between the UK and its biggest trading partner. Mr Johnson will sign the international treaty ratifying the deal shortly in Downing Street after it was flown across the Channel in an RAF plane. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel signed the document earlier in Brussels.