Spain's government has a new strategy to tackle the spread of online disinformation. The procedure was approved last month and a special government commission should combat the issue. Madrid said the ongoing coronavirus pandemic is accompanied by an ‘unprecedented infodemic’. Spanish authorities will monitor the internet for disinformation campaigns, investigate their origin, and implement a ‘policy response’ if necessary. This response may take the form of a diplomatic warning if a foreign state is behind such a campaign. The Madrid press association has accepted the government's wish to combat disinformation, but have noted a ‘clear risk’ that the government will act ‘as a censor rather than a guarantor of the truth’.

In Brussels a high-stakes disagreement has emerged with a jackpot worth the total value of the EU budget until 2027 plus its €750bn Coronavirus Recovery fund. 24 member states and a majority in the EU Parliament are in opposition to Hungary, Poland, and Slovenia over the division of EU funds between member states being linked to the behaviour and the values of individual governments. The EU wants to pass a law that if a member state pursues policies that the EU feels are in conflict with its core values, it will lose access to the funds. Poland and Hungary emerged as democracies from communist dictatorship and both have gone on to elect right-wing nationalist governments, heavily dependent on EU funds. Political opposition and economic reliance has introduced a strain of toxicity into their Brussels relations.

Category 4 Hurricane Iota began devastating Nicaragua on 16 November. It is the strongest storm on record to reach Nicaragua ‘We are in the hands of God. If I have to climb up trees, I’ll do it’, said a farmer in Guatemala. ‘We don’t have food, but we are going to wait here for the hurricane that we’re asking God to stop from coming.’ It came. Swollen rivers burst their banks, roofs flipped onto the streets and electricity poles have been downed. In Honduras the mayor of Wampusirpi said, ‘We are flooded everywhere, we need food and water. We lost crops when hurricane Eta struck two weeks ago.’ Pray for the residents of Central America which is still partly flooded, farms destroyed and debris from Eta everywhere. The wind tore the roof off a makeshift hospital. Patients were evacuated, including intensive care and two women giving birth during the first rainstorm.

A series of sackings and appointments - with rumours of more to come - has created a sense of deep uncertainty around the US intelligence and national security community. Some believe this is part of an attempt by Trump to hold on to power; many others see it driven by a desire for personal revenge. But there remain fears that the uncertainty of a divisive transition could hold real dangers. The sacking of a number of top civilian leaders at the Pentagon, including the secretary of defence, was, many believe, just the start. Trump wants to achieve specific policy goals during his final days, like removing troops from Afghanistan. America's national security is accused of being in a ‘deep state’ of conspiring against him. In recent months, he has declassified information which he wrongly thinks supports his case. The head of cybersecurity is in trouble because he proved vote rigging was false.