UK - Bitcoin's price dropped by more than $1,000 in just one hour on Tuesday morning amid reports that governments in China and South Korea are planning further crackdowns on the digital currency. Bitcoin fell to a six-week low of $11,685 (£8,500), dropping from over $13,000 in the space of an hour, a near-instant 10 percent fall. It has now lost 40 percent of its value since its $20,000 high in mid December. Other cryptocurrencies including Ethereum and Ripple suffered much heavier drops, losing over a fifth of their value. The drop comes amid reports that China is preparing to escalate recent measures to discourage use of cryptocurrencies.

USA - The government has been searching electronics like cell phones and laptops at the border since early in the Bush administration. But because the 9/11 attacks were fresh, and because the practice was not widespread, it went largely unnoticed. Fast forward to fiscal year 2015 and the Customs and Border Protection searched 8,503 airline passengers’ electronic devices. In FY 2016 they searched 19,033. And in FY 2017 CBP searched the devices of 30,200 travelers.

USA - This flu season is already off to a record-setting beginning, and many believe that it could ultimately be the worst that we have seen in decades.  In fact, it has been reported that if we stay on this current pace that this could truly be the worst flu season in more than 50 years.  The CDC is reporting widespread flu activity from coast to coast, and the death toll has already crossed 100.  Here in the United States, flu season usually begins in October and ends in May, and so we still have a long way to go before it is over. If you do get sick, please stay home and don’t expose others.  Many of us like to try to battle through an illness, and in the process we can inadvertently share it with others.

TAIWAN - A 5.7 magnitude earthquake has rocked Taipei, the capital city of Taiwan, according to the Central Meteorological Bureau. Local witnesses reported a slight rocking of buildings in the city. The quake’s epicenter was nearly 12km north of Taipei City Hall, at a depth of 140km. Taiwan is located in the Pacific ‘Ring of Fire,’ a zone surrounding the Pacific Ocean where about 90% of the world’s earthquakes occur, according to the US Geological Survey. 

NICARAGUA - An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.8 struck Nicaragua about 50 miles southwest of Rivas on Tuesday, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said. An initial alert from the USGS put the magnitude at 6.0 but it revised it some minutes later. It said the tremor had a depth of 24.4 miles.

PHILIPPINES - More than 21,000 people have now been evacuated from neighborhoods around Mount Mayon, the Philippines, as the volcano’s explosive episode continued into a fourth day. Mount Mayon, a 2,460-meter volcano in the Albay province, began emitting ash plumes into the air on Saturday. An update from the Philippines National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reveals lava flows have now advanced 2km along the Miisi Gully area of the volcano. An increase in lava flows has resulted in the evacuation of more than 21,000 individuals from 30 barangays, or neighborhoods, around Camlig, Guinobatan, Daraga, and Malilipot. In response, refuge centers have been set up in the municipalities of Daraga, Guinobatan, Malilipot, and Santo Domingo, according to government officials.

CANADA - The publicly-funded Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) has published an opinion piece arguing Canadians who have big families should be shamed, and that the country should be importing migrants instead. The crown corporation, which is roughly analogous to Britain’s BBC, ran the article in response to Fixer Upper stars Chip and Joanna Gaines’s announcement that they were expecting a fifth child.

USA - In the latest bombshell video from Project Veritas, Twitter employees have allegedly discussed the reading of users’ DM’s, the storing and viewing of users’ nude pictures and the collection and sale of user data to third-party companies. Twitter has had trouble monetizing their platform almost since the start of the company, but one Twitter software engineer, Mihai Florea, has revealed that one revenue stream allegedly explored by the company has been the sale of user data to advertisers. Florea stated that users are essentially paying to use Twitter with their own personal data which is then sold on to advertisers.

CHINA - A Chinese government spokesman asserted that the communist regime will “firmly safeguard territorial sovereignty” against India, responding on Monday to a top Indian general’s promise to “not allow our territory to be invaded upon” in the disputed Doklam region. Chinese Foreign Ministry Lu Kang, responding to vocal concerns from Indian military leaders, said, plainly, “The Doklam area belongs to China. China will continue to exert its rights in the Doklam area and firmly safeguard territorial sovereignty,” Lu asserted. “We asked the Indian military to learn their lessons and abide by the boundary treaty in an effort to safeguard the peace and stability in the border areas and create a good atmosphere for developing bilateral ties.”

INDIA - India has retaliated to an attack from neighbouring Pakistan by killing troops along the Line of Control (LoC) that separates the two South Asian nations, it has been reported. Seven Pakistani soldiers were killed and four injured in response to a conflict on Saturday that killed one Indian troop. India’s Army Chief General, Bipin Rawat, issued a stark warning to Pakistan and blamed it for helping terrorists “sneak into India”. He declared: “The Pakistan Army has been continuously trying to help terrorists sneak into India along LoC in Jammu and Kashmir. We are using our might to teach them a lesson. If we are forced, then we may resort to other action by stepping up military offensive.”

USA - Do genetically engineered crops and their pesticides make you think of the term “biofortified”? Chances are, the term biofortified makes you think of vitamins in kids’ cereals. Mega corporations are no strangers to propaganda and public relations. Did you know that much of our non-organic crops are grown with human sewage sludge? No? That’s because the practice is called “biosolids” to keep you in the dark. You are probably aware of the sneaky disguises that sweeteners like aspartame and high fructose corn syrup were attempted to be concealed in.

ISRAEL - "The Israeli genius and the Jewish mind found a solution to the terror tunnel problem" said Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, Major General Yoav (Poly) Mordechai on Sunday on the Arabic TV station al-Hara a day after Israel destroyed a Hamas tunnel on the Gaza border. "I want to send a message to all those who dig the tunnels or get close to them, just as you have seen over the past two months, there is nothing in these tunnels other than death: millions are wasted on the tunnels, rather than in the fields of health and education," said Mordechai. 

GREECE - Greece has been rattled by an earthquake, with "strong" tremors felt in Athens, according to people in the city. The tremors were reportedly felt “widely across” the capital and its suburbs, with car alarms across the city being set off by the shocks. Data from the US Geological Survey (USGS) confirmed the 4.3 magnitude quake struck 15 miles northeast of Athens at 8.24pm GMT. The Greek capital is home to more than 3.7 million people.

PHILIPPINES - The Philippines’ most active volcano has awoken again. On Sunday, lava pooled to the surface of the volcano’s crater showing a glowing red hot core just below. By Monday, the crater of the rumbling Philippine volcano was glowing bright red. Coupled with vulcanologists’ warnings it could erupt within days, the glowing crater caused thousands of residents to flee from their homes in search of safety. 

MAURITIUS - Tropical cyclone Berguitta has intensified overnight and is likely to have a major effect on the island paradises of Mauritius and Reunion as the storm’s path is expected to track towards land this week. The storm is currently over open water in the Indian Ocean, with sustained winds of 140 kilometres per hour and wave heights of more than seven metres. But forecasts suggest tropical cyclone Berguitta will track inland toward the southwest this week, hitting Mauritius on Thursday. And as Berguitta continues to feed off the warm waters of Indian Ocean, it will intensify into the equivalent of a Category 3 system, with sustained winds of 185km/h.