SYRIA - Witnesses of the alleged chemical attack in Douma, including 11-year-old Hassan Diab and hospital staff, told reporters at The Hague that the White Helmets video used as a pretext for a US-led strike on Syria was, in fact, staged. “We were at the basement and we heard people shouting that we needed to go to a hospital. At the hospital they started pouring cold water on me,” the boy told the press conference, gathered by Russia’s mission at the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague. “There were people unknown to us who were filming the emergency care, and were filming people being doused with water. That happened for about an hour, we provided help to them and sent them home. No one has died. No one suffered from chemical exposure.”

IRAN - Iran recently announced it is dropping the US dollar in foreign trade. Just as Iraq did shortly before it was invaded by the US, or Libya planned to before it was bombed by NATO-led allies. Lee Camp is starting to see a pattern. The US is gearing up to abandon the Iran nuclear deal, which has all but killed Tehran's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief, because it's not restrictive enough. With Iran already saying it won't accept more demands or more sanctions, it's anyone's guess what kind of chain reaction might ensue.

IRAN - Iran's supreme leader called on Muslim nations to unite against the United States, saying Tehran would never yield to "bullying," state television reported on Thursday. "The Iranian nation has successfully resisted bullying attempts by America and other arrogant powers and we will continue to resist. All Muslim nations should stand united against America and other enemies," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said. Iran's top authority criticized Trump for saying on Tuesday some countries in the Middle East "wouldn't last a week" without US protection. "Such remarks are humiliation for Muslims. Unfortunately there is war in our region between Muslim countries. The backward governments of some Muslim countries are fighting with other countries," Khamenei said.

IRAN - President Donald Trump ...said Iran would have "bigger problems than they have ever had before" if the country's leadership dared to restart its nuclear program... And today, a top Iranian general hit back at Trump with an aggressive threat to sink US Navy ships, while warning that the US would find itself in a "catastrophic situation" if it withdraws from the deal and reimposes sanctions. "The actual information that the Americans have about us is much less than what they think they have. When will they figure this out? When it is too late," Admiral Ali Fadavim, told Iranian television on Saturday. "They will definitely figure it out when their ships are sunk, or when they find themselves in a catastrophic situation," Fadavi threatened..

CHINA - China warned Taiwanese separatists through its state media Friday to prepare for further military drills amid increased calls for full independence, warning that the US “cannot protect them.” An editorial in the state propaganda outlet Global Times warns that if “Taiwan independence forces continue to wantonly take rash actions, the PLA will take further steps.” Despite being administered by an independent, democratically-elected government, growing calls for full Taiwanese independence have angered authorities in Beijing, who continue to respond with military exercises. China considered Taiwan a rogue province, not a sovereign state.

USA - The withdrawal of some 28,000 US troops stationed in South Korea may be on the table in future negotiations between the US and North Korea, US Defense Secretary James Mattis said on the heels of a landmark inter-Korean summit. Asked if US forces will remain in South Korea provided Seoul and Pyongyang replace their 1953 truce with a formal peace treaty, Mattis indicated that the continued US military presence in South Korea may become a part of the bargain with the North.

USA - The secretary of state has commenced a three-day tour designed to rally American allies in the Middle East, as new sanctions against Iran loom and the nuclear deal with Tehran hangs in the balance. “We are urging nations around the world to sanction any individuals and entities associated with Iran’s missile program, and it has also been a big part of discussions with Europeans,” Brian Hook, a senior policy advisor on Pompeo’s team, told journalists shortly after landing in the Saudi capital of Riyadh on Saturday evening. Hook also accused Iran of supplying the rocket that Riyadh said was launched by the Houthis from Yemen into Saudi Arabia on Saturday, which killed one man. “Iran’s missiles prolong war and suffering in the Middle East, they threaten our security and economic interests and they especially threaten Saudi Arabia and Israel,” Hook said.

USA - The European Union was formed to rip off the US, President Donald Trump said during a rally, as he vowed to “take on” the bloc and China, saying that the days of “disastrous trade deals” are over.

Trump unleashed a tirade aimed at the European Union at a campaign-style rally in Michigan on Saturday. Taking aim at the EU's trade policies, Trump said that the bloc “was put there to take advantage of the United States.” "Not anymore, we told them that yesterday, actually the exact same words, not anymore, those days are over,” Trump said to a round of cheers. The US leader hinted that he would stop at nothing to fix the trade imbalance, warning the crowd that they should expect some temporary setbacks on the way to a bright future for the US economy.

USA - There has always been some suspicion that pharmaceutical companies would rather keep people sick and on drugs than cure them... with the industry bringing in over $453 billion in the United States alone in 2017, many people have a hard time considering that these companies don’t have their customers’ best interest at heart. The idea that these companies would want to keep us sick is dismissed by many as a “conspiracy theory,” but let’s not forget that these companies and their high-level investors are here to sell drugs, not save lives. Goldman Sachs analyst Richter estimated the market size for gene therapies could be as large as $4.8 trillion... However, he has some concerns about how the ability to cure diseases could negatively impact the industry’s bottom line.

NORTH KOREA - Kim Jong-un has pledged a "new history" in relations with his neighbour as he became the first North Korean leader to set foot in South Korea since the end of the Korean War in 1953. In a moment rich with symbolism and pomp, South Korean leader Moon Jae-in and Mr Kim shook hands at the border. Mr Kim said it was the "starting point" for peace, after crossing the military line that divides the peninsula. It comes just months after warlike rhetoric from North Korea. Much of what the summit will focus on has been agreed in advance, but many analysts remain sceptical about the North's apparent enthusiasm for engagement. The meeting - the first between Korean leaders in more than a decade - is seen as a step toward possible peace on the peninsula and marks the first summit of its kind for Mr Kim.

NORTH KOREA - Chinese scientists have concluded that North Korea's nuclear test site has partially collapsed, potentially rendering it unusable. The test site at Punggye-ri has been used for six nuclear tests since 2006. After the last, in September, a series of aftershocks hit the site, which seismologists believe collapsed part of the mountain's interior. It concluded that eight and a half minutes after September's test, there was "a near-vertical on-site collapse towards the nuclear test centre". On Saturday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un announced he was suspending his country's nuclear and missile tests. The surprise declaration came ahead of historic talks with South Korea and the US.

USA - The US media has taken a negative view of the possibility of peace on the Korean Peninsula - afraid perhaps, of what the US government also fears, that Seoul will conclude that “the problem is not the North Koreans; the problem is the United States,“ journalist Steve Gowans told Radio Sputnik’s Loud & Clear. "I think there's a fear that the South Koreans could drift into the Chinese orbit and out of the US orbit," Gowans said. "The South Koreans may agree to what the United States doesn't want and the US media doesn't want under any circumstances and that's the withdrawal of US troops from the peninsula," Gowans said.

USA - The US Secretary of War James Mattis is prepared to lead the US military into war with Russia based on nothing more than his belief that the Syrian government used chlorine gas against civilians, while admitting there’s no evidence that this is what happened. Syria would not, within a few hours of its liberation of the Syrian people of Douma, have used chemical weapons against the civilian population for which its soldiers were dying in order to liberate. I remember when a person who claimed to believe something for which there was no evidence was either a religious fanatic or an ideologue. No serious person would express a conviction when there was no evidence to support it. This raises questions as to Mattis’ fitness for office. He is prepared to lead the US into war with Russia based on nothing but his belief. This is insanity.

USA - How much money is in your checking account? Here’s why it matters — and what it might say about you. Markets are experiencing another period of volatility this week, and new research suggests checking account customers are doing something that indicates they don’t feel as secure as they would like about the economy. They’re not feeling as safe as some economists would have expected. “The consumer ...keeps warehousing more checking dollars,” said Michael Moebs, economist and Chief Executive of Moebs Services. “The average Joe and Jane still are very leery of the economy.”

USA - On April 11, 2018, AE911Truth added a new piece to our library of technical articles titled, “Documenting the Destruction of Physical Evidence at the World Trade Center.” The purpose of publishing the article on that date was to provide well-sourced information supporting the claim that New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani’s role in destroying the WTC evidence was “well-documented” — a claim we made in an accompanying news article, “Lawyers and Victims’ Families File Petition for Federal Grand Jury Investigation,” on the same day.