UK - My feeling that we are in a pre-war era, and are being prepared for that war almost every day, grows. I am not feeling especially well at the moment, and my days are tinged with a certain darkness anyway, despite the arrival of spring, but I cannot at any point in my life ever recall being gripped by such a feeling of impending, unavoidable disaster.

JAPAN - The world is dependent on a steady supply of rare-earth elements such as yttrium, europium, terbium, dysprosium. They go into computers, phones, electric cars, solar panels, batteries, and electronic equipment. China is the world's biggest supplier of rare-earth elements, and uses its monopoly position as an effective bargaining chip. But Japan just announced that it has discovered a massive lode of rare earth materials that could satisfy the world's requirements on a "semi-infinite basis".

USA - It is said that when a preacher doesn’t have a point to make, he must yell louder. Such is the plight of half-baked science that has no point – they must yell louder to make people think they DO have a point. It’s always the same play-book, and it is always some impending catastrophe that only they can save us from. (TN Editor)

USA - VICE is reporting on a new study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology that it claims proves that no person is 100 percent “straight,” and that all people fall somewhere along a lengthy sexuality “spectrum.” But there’s only one problem: The study says no such thing.

UK - Human cells make up only 43% of the body's total cell count. The rest are microscopic colonists. Understanding this hidden half of ourselves - our microbiome - is rapidly transforming understanding of diseases from allergy to Parkinson's. "They are essential to your health," says Professor Ruth Ley, the director of the department of microbiome science at the Max Planck Institute, "your body isn't just you". No matter how well you wash, nearly every nook and cranny of your body is covered in microscopic creatures. This includes bacteria, viruses, fungi and archaea (organisms originally misclassified as bacteria). The greatest concentration of this microscopic life is in the dark murky depths of our oxygen-deprived bowels.

USA - It’s the second chemical weapons attack to happen in Syria since President Donald Trump took office; and once again the attack seems to be convenient, as Russia and the US both announced a withdrawal of troops from Syria. Why would Syrian President Bashar al-Assad gas his own people as two foreign countries are readying to leave its territory? None of this makes sense.

ISRAEL - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone Wednesday and reportedly told him that Israel won't allow Iran to become entrenched in Syria. Putin urged Netanyahu not to authorize further military action in Syria - but Netanyahu was adamant about Israel not permitting Iran to gain a foothold in the embattled state.

HUNGARY - Hungary will continue its anti-immigrant stance and will pursue a vision of the EU as a union of nations instead of the “United States of Europe,” PM Viktor Orban said after his party’s parliamentary elections victory. Orban believes the re-election triumph has given him a “strong mandate” to tackle the problems that concern Hungarians the most, he said on Tuesday. “The Hungarian people have defined the most important issues: these are the questions of immigration and national sovereignty,” the prime minister said. “It is entirely clear... from the election result that Hungarians have decided that only they can decide with whom they want to live in Hungary, and the government will stick to this position.”

UK - One of Britain’s top fund managers, who correctly predicted the recent share sell off, has said that it was only a taster, and that he is confident an “earthquake” will hit markets “within months”. Jonathan Ruffer, who oversees billions of pounds of savers’ cash and has a personal fortune of around £400 million, was last year revealed to be the mysterious buyer of $200 million worth of insurance to protect his portfolio from a rise in the volatility of American shares. When the US stock market began falling earlier this year, these contracts started to net Ruffer substantial gains, cancelling out losses from other investments.

USA - A new early warning satellite system reveals countries where shrinking reservoirs could lead to the taps completely drying up. Shrinking reservoirs in Morocco, India, Iraq and Spain could spark the next “day zero” water crisis, according to the developers of a satellite early warning system for the world’s 500,000 dams. Cape Town recently grabbed global headlines by launching a countdown to the day when taps would be cut off to millions of residents as a result of a three-year drought. Drastic conservation measures have forestalled that moment in South Africa, but dozens of other countries face similar risks from rising demand, mismanagement and climate change, say the World Resources Institute (WRI).

GERMANY - Over the last decade, German filmmakers have begun churning out lavishly produced movies and television series dealing with the dark side of Germany’s recent history. The latest, most expensive, and internationally most successful example is Babylon Berlin, a crime series set in the dying days of the Weimar Republic, now streaming on Netflix in Australia, Canada, and the United States.

USA - We are in the midst of watching the subprime auto lending bubble burst in its entirety. Smaller subprime auto lenders are starting to implode, and we all know what comes next: the larger companies go bust, inciting real capitulation ...smaller subprime lenders are starting to simply implode after being faced with losses and defaults. In addition to losses and defaults, Bloomberg reported this morning that there have been allegations of fraud and under reporting losses… The continued focus on borrowing and spending, instead of saving and underconsumption, will ensure not only that these bubbles continue to happen going forward, but they will get larger in size as time progresses.

RUSSIA - Russian Energy Minister Aleksandr Novak said the country is considering an option of payments for oil in national currencies, in particular with Turkey and Iran. According to him, both countries are interested but there is also a matter of conversion of currencies and their further use. “There is a common understanding that we need to move towards the use of national currencies in our settlements. There is a need for this, as well as the wish of the parties,” Novak said.

ISRAEL - Beyond the confrontation between Russia and the United States, the main story in the northern arena is the direct confrontation between Israel and Iran on Syrian soil. There is no more shadow war or contest through agents. The confrontation between Israel and Iran, it seems, is turning into a limited direct military confrontation. Israel has decided to remove the gloves. In the coming days, preparedness in the north of Israel is likely to be particularly high, given the possibility of retaliatory action from the Syrian side, and the chance of an American strike on Syria following their use of chemical weapons. At the same time, it has to be remembered that in less than a month, the US may withdraw from the nuclear agreement with Iran, making it irrelevant.

CHINA - China will not be easily cowed in a trade dispute... it’s worth noting China has a nuclear option. I’m referring to rare earth metals. These are elements like dysprosium, neodymium, gadolinium, and ytterbium. They aren’t actually rare, but they do play crucial roles in everything from smart phones to electric car motors, hard drives, wind turbines, military radar, smart bombs, laser guidance, and more. They’re also quite difficult to mine and process.