LyrArc Article Gist
This visual in The Guardian shows how the center of gravity for carbon emissions has moved from Britain, to the US, and now to China.

LyrArc Article Gist

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says of the talks with Iran in Feb 2026 - “I won’t speculate how far away they are, but they are certainly trying to achieve intercontinental ballistic missiles. And I would say that the Iranian insistence on not discussing ballistic missiles, it’s a big, big problem. And I’ll leave it at that.”

LyrArc Article Gist
The total government expenditure of the US including the individual states spending is 37% of US GDP (IMF). Musk $2 trillion cuts is 92% of the 2.17 trillion excluding defense, veterans benefits, interest on debt, Social Security, Medicare. The simple math means he plans to shut down the government. US  37.5%  Germany 48% France 57% UK and Canada 43% Japan 42% This shows that the US that has no universal health insurance and  subsidized public transportation, spends less than the developed OECD countries as a percentage of its GDP. Of the Budget of $6.75 trillion in 2024 Social Security $1.46 trillion   22% Medicare            $874 billion   13% Interest on Debt  $880 billion    13% Trump plans to remove tax on Social Security which would take this from 48% to over 50% meaning half of the Budget is off limits. If defense spending goes up not down then $874 and $325 for Veterans benefits are $1.2 trillion also off limits.  This means cuts of $2 trillion on $2.17 trillion or 92%. Do the simple math and this would shut down the government. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Government aid in the US played a critical role in helping workers and families cope with the pandemic in 2020 and 2021. Government aid played a similar role in Europe and India.

LyrArc Article Gist
Kristi Noem's handling of the situation in Venezuela defeated the overall purpose of correcting unlimited migration and open borders with use of aggressive approach in Minnesota that was not consistent with standards set at Homeland Security. It took a great deal of effort from Tom Homan, head of the overall effort on migration control and border security to restore public confidence in immigration approach in Minnesota. The US president was ill served by the use of these aggressive tactics which did not have support even from many Republicans in Congress. The president had showed his dissatisfaction at this and has now moved to correct this by bringing in Markwayne Mullin whom he called "highly respected"  from Oklahoma, who can talk to all sides as the immigration actions take place to get the largest degree of support from the American people along with Tom Homan in many diverse and different states in the Nation.

LyrArc Article Gist
This exceptional report by Chulov in the Guardian shows the changes in the war in Iraq and Syria in 2015-2016 since the downing of a Russian jet by Turkey in late 2015. It says that the Syrian government's future was uncertain in late 2015 with Turkish support for rebel forces in the north. During this period Russia curtailed trade and tourism relations with Turkey, and improved relations with the Kurds. Russia intervened in northern Syria directly to prevent a collapse of Syrian government forces in the north. Kurdish forces were already controlling large parts of the Syrian territory adjoining Turkey, and Turkey was concerned about the support to Kurds within Turkey from Kurds in Syria and a historical movement for  Kurdish independence. In April 2016 Russia made a move to win Turkish support by saying it would support the territorial integrity of Syria, so that no support would be given to the Kurds. As the U.S. consistently supported the Kurds in the fight against ISIS, Turkey under prime minister Erdogan changed its policy of support for rebel forces in Syria to focus on what it perceived as the threat fom Kudish control of the region at its Syrian borders. Rebel forces were told to focus not on the Syrian government forces but on ISIS, leading to withdrawal of support in Aleppo. What remains now of the war in Syria and Iraq is Iranian influence in Iraq, the Russian influence from support of the Syrian government in Damascus, and for the first time U.S. ground forces in the north with 900 troops supported by artillery on the side of the Kurds. The next stage in the war to take ISIS controlled Raqqa is being negotiated between Russia, Turkey and the U.S., according to this report.  ...

LyrArc Article Gist
DW.com sees "back paddling" in Trump's latest foreign policy speech, replacing bigotry against immigrants with the idea of a ban on Muslims entering the U.S. with "extreme vetting" of new immigrants, including an ideological screening test. Trump it says repeated his claim that he opposed the Iraq war from the beginning, which it says is false. Trump's statement that he would reduce the current nation building strategy pursued under president Bush, it says doesn't make sense because the current situation in the Middle East ( rise of ISIS and chaos in Syria) arises from American retrenchment reversing in the opposite direction the policies of president George W. Bush. It is also true that Bush started his presidency with no intention of nation building, it was only after 9/11 that he adopted this policy. The elder Bush, George W. Bush's father, is reported to have said that his son as president was ill served by bad advisors in the invasion of Iraq over weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Obama's retrenchment has also led to differences in policy, with Leon Panetta and Hillary Clinton believing the pendulum has swung too far in the opposite direction, as shown in LyrArc's coverage. The speech was read using a teleprompter to avoid the frequent gaffes in previous speeches. Clearly an effort to make immigration and terrorism issues to win voter support, after previous efforts resembling bigotry and intolerance. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
July 4th for the 250th of America was celebrated in the Badlands of North Dakota under Mount Rushmore and the carvings of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt, the presidents who defined this Nation. "There is a silence over the Badlands and the whole universe over Kansas was still by the whisper of a prayer," these are the opening lines of the Song of the Badlands by Rich Mullins. Senator Cramer of North Dakota said these lines with much emotion as he opened the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Meduro, North Dakota for America 250th on July 4th. This is the region under God's skies, land stretching out forever under the sky in stillness, almost desolate till the sun rises and it all comes to life. The region Teddy Roosevelt went to as a young person for healing in the 1880's  (1884-1887) after the loss of his mother and first wife within days. Relevant Magazine shows in this description of the North Dakota territory what the place does in inviting prayer. TR then took this silence and this prayer into the vast project of building America as the leader of the nations of the world by 1900 and the turn of the century. This is the inspiration for America on the 250th, this July 4th. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Indian finance minister Sitharaman discusses Gati Shakti master plan for India's infrastructure development with CEO's of American companies including IBM's Arvind Krishna, and the head of Fedex, after discussions at the IMF, World Bank meetings in the US.

LyrArc Article Gist
The U.S. and Australia setup naval cooperation in the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean with ships of both countries in naval exercises.

LyrArc Article Gist
US economy posts strong growth of 2.8% in the second quarter 2024, after 1.4% in the first quarter. This gives room for the Fed to decide if it needs to cut rates. The growth was broad based with consumer spending, business investment and government infrastructure spending aiding growth.

LyrArc Article Gist
A chaotic return of school children to school in September 2021 in most of Europe and America, because of a lack of clear statement on the rules to be followed for mask use, social distancing, and testing. Most children are also returning to school without vaccination.  It is also happening at this time in September when the Delta variant is spreading. US president Biden's decision for vaccine mandate for 100 million or two thirds of American workers comes at this time of uncertainty in schools about the future and coronavirus variant. In the US rules are being set school district by school district, at a time when vaccines are not approved for children under 12 years. One leading school administrator in the US says "it's as chaotic as you can get."

LyrArc Article Gist
About one third of people in America are living in areas where there is a critical shortage of ICU beds. Deaths in America are averaging 2200 a day on December 8, 2020.

LyrArc Article Gist
Antonia Romeo new UK Cabinet Secretary Feb 2026-  precocious yet "warm and forthright"  in civil service interactions active as Consul General and at Home Ministry. After Westminster school and Oxford University, and a stint working at Oliver Wyman in management consulting, she joined the civil service. Becoming permanent secretary at the Department for International Development and the MoJ, and spent time as consul general in New York. She spent time with immigration and boat migrant issues at the Home Ministry, and is now keenly aware of the issues facing Britain. That bit of precociousness is needed at this time to set out a plan of action and get results for Starmer and his team. Based on what Labour stands for building on the skills of everyone in Labour not just those who go by labels as centrists, left and right, false labels that ignore that common sense means something else entirely. Getting results means addressing tough issues for the economy, cost of living, housing, through honesty, resilience, hard work and dedication. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Greenland was originally explored by both the US and European explorers. It is sparsely populated only on the shores in one part of the island and Denmark has laid claim on it and now handles foreign affairs for the country and security. With its location near the Arctic and Chinese ships increasingly found near the Arctic, the US feels it is important for security in the Arctic. The US and Denmark now both lay claim to the island of Greenland.

LyrArc Article Gist
Russia's escalating attacks on Kviv May 27 2026 and the tense situation in the Baltic republics and Sweden. Drone manufacturers in Ukraine are working with European Union arms manufacturers. Drone warfare by Ukraine has lead to stalling Russian advances in eastern Ukraine. Ukraine has increased attacks on the Russian border regions with drones. In this situation Russia has escalated its attack on Kviv.  Other reports say EU is looking for other mediators to address the war and negotiations for a settlement as the US has withdrawn saying the two sides are too far apart.

LyrArc Article Gist
The suddenness and severity of floods in Germany are just one more indication of climate change crisis that is happening much faster than campaigners or scientists expected. The Times looks at this from events of the last 2 years with drought conditions, wild fires, in places that range from the western US to Australia. 

LyrArc Article Gist
US had jobs growth of 336,000 in September 2023. The unemployment rate remained at 3.8%. It is below 4% for 2 years and this is the 33rd month of jobs growth. As jobs growth takes place under president Biden, 13.9 million jobs created, the inflation rate is also declining. Americans had $4 trillion in checkable deposits (checking, savings and money market accounts) in 2023 compared to about $1 trillion in 2019. Hiring numbers were updated by the Labor Department showing 119,000 more jobs added in July and August 2023. 

LyrArc Article Gist
China high speed rail- how it was done with help of Kawasaki  of Japan, Alstom/Siemens of France/Germany over 2008 to 2025, with borrowed technologies, the largest network of high speed  trains built in 17 years. India is starting the same journey with Japanese assistance and capital. The first leg is the Mumbai to Ahmedabad high speed rail. In a decade a similar rail high speed network will connect all major cities in India. India is working with the same speed as China and will have a new generation technologies high speed rail network by 2035 using Japan's latest technological advances.

LyrArc Article Gist
The global economic map is rapidly redrawing bringing US and Europe closer. The US has imported more goods from Europe this year than from China. In September alone says WSJ Germany exported 50% more goods to the US year over year with the weaker euro increasing the momentum. European FDI foreign direct investment in the US increased by 13.5% in 2021 to $3.2 trillion. US FDI to Europe increased by 10% to $4 trillion. There is a push on both sides of the Atlantic to increase local manufacturing, and to increase trade, and shift supply chains away from the overdependence on China.