United States

Britain along with the US, France and Australia are about to start war games in the Persian Gulf where they will be simulating a confrontation with Iran. The British Royal Navy will be leading the drill called exercise Unified Trident. The show of force will involve the Royal Navy flagship HMS Ocean and Type 45 destroyer HMS Daring,  along with the US warships USS Hopper and USS Mahan, French anti-aircraft frigate FS Forbin, and Australian forces. Sputnik news reports: It will be held off the coast of Bahrain from January 31 to February 2.

Under assault from foreign governments, domestic CEOs, and thousands of protesters across the nation, members of the Trump administration were stern in their refusal to budge, and were unified in their support of the president's sweeping executive order that bars refugees and people from seven nations from entering the U.S. 

Submitted by Jeffrey Snider via Alhambra Investment Partners,

An online petition to prevent US President Donald Trump making an official state visit to the UK has generated enough signatures to warrant it being considered for debate in British parliament.

The petition was initially opened in the immediate aftermath of Trump’s election in November 2016 but, as RT reports, following Trump’s ‘Muslim ban’ executive order on Friday, it has garnered huge support online.

Less than 48 hours after announcing his executive order on refugees, global opposition to Trump intensified on Sunday as world leaders, US (mostly tech) companies and civil rights groups condemned the move to temporarily limit entry from predominantly Muslim countries.

Here are the latest updates in the ongoing saga as of noon on Sunday: