GERMANY - Europe's biggest economy was plunged into fresh chaos tonight amid warnings a new financial crisis in Germany could destroy the EU. Shares in Germany's two biggest lenders - Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank - fell sharply again as panic gripped global markets. They have now seen their combined market value plummet by more than £14 BILLION in the past three months.
GERMANY - A retired media boss at a major German state broadcaster has admitted his network and others take orders from the government on what — and what not — to report.
UK - Hundreds of British troops who were given a controversial anti-malarial drug by the Ministry of Defence have been diagnosed with mental health problems, it has been disclosed. Mefloquine - known more commonly by its brand name Lariam - is given to British troops stationed in some of the toughest climates to protect them against malaria.
LIBYA - She is back! The daughter of Muammar Gaddafi will lead the resistance against NATO and the other Libyan terrorists. Ayesha stated that she is now the leader of the resistance and she is about to create a new secret government. Ayesha Gaddafi becomes the new leader of the resistance at a crucial moment for the country – on the eve of the new NATO intervention. As a Lieutenant General of the Libyan army she swore loyalty to the order of her legendary father and urged Libyans to wake up in order to win, to be successful and to “return the Jamahiriya government”. Ayesha Gaddafi called on the soldiers of the Libyan armed forces to give her the oath as a Supreme Commander, in order to restore the state.
RUSSIA - A huge volcano has seen a massive eruption of toxic ash and gas just hours after a major earthquake rocked the region, causing shopping centre evacuations. The Karymsky volcano in Russian Kamchatka's eastern volcanic zone spewed ash up to 3 km into the air, according to the Regional Emergencies Ministry.
JORDAN - A startling new study published by the University of Jordan reveals that, contrary to the popular Palestinian narrative, not only do most Muslims outside of Israel not care about the al-Aqsa Mosque, located on the Temple Mount, but many have never even heard of it. The survey, which was conducted among 6,000 Jordanian students, consisted of one question: What is al-Aqsa Mosque? The shocking answer: 60 percent of those surveyed had no idea.
USA - Startup claims lab grown meat will be on shelves within three years and says raising animals to eat will soon be 'unthinkable'. Test-tube meat is getting closer to leaving the lab and being served on our plates.
USA - According to a recent report by the US Geological Survey, male bass are experiencing sex changes due to chemicals that are found in most waterways across Northeast National Wildlife Refuges. Studies have found that up to 85% of male smallmouth bass in the region are demonstrating "characteristics of the opposite sex" – including eggs being located where testes should be.
UK - June referendum on cards as PM forces concession from Donald Tusk for Britain to apply brakes immediately after poll. Migration is putting a strain on public services in the UK, European leaders admitted for the first time on Sunday night as David Cameron won a concession from the EU which could clear the way for a June referendum.
USA - Passage of Senator Mitch McConnell’s authorization for war against ISIS will not only lead to perpetual US wars across the globe, it will also endanger our civil and economic liberties. The measure allows the president to place troops anywhere he determines ISIS is operating. Therefore, it could be used to justify using military force against United States citizens on US territory. It may even be used to justify imposing martial law in America.
USA - As we noted last week, one of the biggest problems for the Central Banks is actual physical cash. The financial system is predominantly comprised of digital money. Actual physical Dollar bills and coins only amount to $1.36 trillion. This is only a little over 10% of the $10 trillion sitting in bank accounts. And it’s a tiny fraction of the $20 trillion in stocks, $38 trillion in bonds and $58 trillion in credit instruments floating around the system.
UK - Executives at the Bank of England have promised to “up our game” to avoid a civil war between different groups of policymakers with conflicting goals. Officials who set interest rates are deliberately keeping rates down to promote lending and to stimulate more economic growth, on the basis that a weak global economy could drag down UK growth. But at the same time a different group of officials wants to rein in lending to some parts of the economy – and the housing sector in particular – to stop those low interest rates from inflating dangerous bubbles. “As we reach this point, coordination becomes more important than it has been to date. That is exactly what we’re doing, we are upping our game,” said Alex Brazier, executive director for financial stability strategy and risk.
BRAZIL - While the Brazilian government rushes to blame the Zika virus for this huge rise in abnormal birth defects, causation remains unclear. Only a small number of babies with birth defects, who died, had the virus in their brain or in the mother’s placenta. This means a large number of the babies who died had no Zika virus in their brain. Hard to blame Zika then, which has been around since before 1948 and has never been known to cause birth defects and/or death. In fact, Zika makes only one in five people get “mildly” sick with flu-like symptoms, with no symptoms at all in 4 out of 5 people. So why are they quick to blame a generally benign Zika virus?
GERMANY - Angela Merkel has warned asylum seekers that they are only in Germany temporarily and cannot stay long-term. In a significant change of tone, the German chancellor said even genuine refugees from Syria and Iraq would have to go home once the conflicts there had ended. “If there is peace in Syria and Isil is defeated in Iraq, we expect you to return to your homelands, with the knowledge of what you have received from us,” she said. Mrs Merkel and senior ministers sought over the weekend to reassure German voters that her government had the refugee crisis under control after a record 1.1 million asylum seekers arrived last year.
CHINA - China has just conducted the third flight test of a hypersonic missile which has the potential of breaching US missile defense systems. The Wu-14 is still in the developmental stage, but China plans to have it ready for deployment by 2020. The hypersonic glide vehicle has the capability of reaching speeds of Mach 10 (10 times the speed of sound) — nearly 8,000 miles per hour.