USA - They are called zombies, companies so laden with debt that they are just stumbling by on the brink of survival, barely able to pay even the interest on their loans and often just a bad business hit away from dying off for good. An Associated Press analysis found their numbers have soared to nearly 7,000 publicly traded companies around the world — 2,000 in the United States alone — whiplashed by years of piling up cheap debt followed by stubborn inflation that has pushed borrowing costs to decade highs. And now many of these mostly small and mid-sized walking wounded could soon be facing their day of reckoning, with due dates looming on hundreds of billions of dollars of loans they may not be able to pay back.

USA - From 2014 to 2024, average menu prices have risen between 39% and 100% — all increases that outpace inflation during the given time period (31%). McDonald’s menu prices have doubled (100% increase) since 2014 across popular items — the highest of any chain we analyzed. Popeyes follows McDonald’s with an 86% increase, and Taco Bell is third at +81%. Menu prices at Subway and Starbucks have risen by “just” 39% since 2014 — the lowest among chains we studied. These are also the only restaurants where prices have risen by less than 50%. The restaurants we evaluated raised prices by 60% on average between 2014 and 2024. That means they’ve raised prices at a rate nearly double the national rate of inflation. Five different restaurants — McDonald’s, Popeyes, Taco Bell, Chipotle, and Jimmy John’s — raised their prices at more than double the actual inflation rate. McDonald’s raised prices so much that their average menu prices increased more than three times the national rate of inflation.

GERMANY - The German government has finalized new plans for a potential war, including reinstatement of compulsory military service and deployment of NATO troops on its eastern flank, citing rising concerns over perceived threats from Russia. The country’s new defense framework was approved by Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s cabinet on Wednesday, replacing guidelines that dated back to 1989. “As a result of Russian aggression, we have a completely changed security situation in Europe,” Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said in a statement.

RUSSIA - Just two decades ago, for the first time ever, the great continent of Eurasia was dominated by one power – which, as it happened, wasn’t even Eurasian itself. Indeed, in the continent’s West, NATO, led by the US, was going through a Big Bang expansion, admitting seven new members between the Baltic, the Black Sea, and the Adriatic. US-inspired and -supported color revolutions, first in Georgia and then in Ukraine, were pointing to the next candidates to join the alliance. In the south of Eurasia, the United States, having invaded Iraq, was ruling the region supreme from Baghdad. Having routed the Afghan Taliban, US forces were also entrenched in Kabul, supported as they were by military bases in the neighboring Central Asian nations, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.

RUSSIA - Russian President Putin addressed the annual economic forum in St Petersburg on Wednesday, where he took the opportunity to put the US and NATO on notice concerning Kiev being given the greenlight to use Western weapons to attack Russian territory. He suggested that he's mulling the option of providing adversaries of the West with Russian long-range missiles. Below is what he said: “That would mark their direct involvement in the war against the Russian Federation, and we reserve the right to act the same way,” Mr Putin told a three-hour meeting with the senior editors of international news agencies.

USA - Retail stores are being shut down at a staggering rate all over the country. If we stay on the pace that we are on, the total number of stores closed in 2024 will be nearly 40 percent higher than the total number of stores closed in 2023. That is what you call a crisis! Meanwhile, banks are shuttering hundreds of branches from coast to coast, and a “restaurant apocalypse” is sweeping across the nation. Everywhere around us, “space available” signs are going up on buildings that were once considered to be prime commercial real estate. If someone tries to convince you that the US economy is in good shape, just show them this article and ask them why so many once prosperous businesses are closing. Needless to say, they will not be able to win the argument after that. If the US economy is heading in the right direction, why are many of the largest retail chains in the US shutting down stores?

USA - More Americans may be struggling to make ends meet. A majority, 65%, say they live paycheck to paycheck, according to CNBC and SurveyMonkey’s recent Your Money International Financial Security Survey, which polled 498 US adults. That’s a slight increase from last year’s results, which found that 58% of Americans considered themselves to be living paycheck to paycheck. A recent Bankrate survey reveals 44 percent of Americans can’t cover a $1,000 emergency expense from savings, pointing to inherent challenges in saving habits. Behavioral finance expert Brad Klontz attributes this to human instincts prioritizing immediate needs over saving, suggesting emotional reframing to encourage saving habits.

USA - Planned Parenthood’s recent expansion to supply mail-order drugs for on-demand abortions allows women to request the pills via app and have them shipped to their homes. With no appointment necessary, women in Illinois, Washington, Maryland, and Hawaii can submit a request for mifepristone and misoprostol, the two components of a chemical abortion, and within 24 hours the abortion facility mails out the drugs. The disturbing reality is that abortions carried out by Planned Parenthood are the fourth-leading cause of death in the United States, and the group is a vast organization intent on bringing abortion to every corner of the globe.

UNITED NATIONS - Fertility rates are declining in most places. According to the UN, in 1990, the average number of births per woman globally was 3.2. By 2019, this had fallen to 2.5 births per woman; by 2050, it is expected to decline further to 2.2 births. Notably, a fertility level of 2.1 births per woman is necessary to avoid a national population decline over the long run (not including net immigration). The US registered 11.1 annual births per 1,000 people in 2021, compared to 16.7 in 1990 and 22.8 in 1950. It’s worth noting, however, that the US also adds people to its population through net immigration each year, unlike some other countries in the above dataset. Nigeria, with the highest birth rate on our list, registered 37.1 annual births per 1,000 people in 2021, compared to 43.8 in 1990 and 45.6 in 1950.

MIDDLE EAST - The din around Palestinian statehood feels as uncomfortable as it does familiar. Not simply because statehood has been negotiated for so unbelievably long by so unbelievably many. But because the circumstances surrounding this latest stab at Arab sovereignty were born from circumstances of unimaginable violence and moral failure. Think of what it took to get to this point. The hundreds of Israelis dead and kidnapped; the thousands displaced from their homes. Or is statehood the prize for reframing this entire nightmare, so that Palestinians are positioned as aggrieved and entitled, much like the college protestors chanting on behalf of their disputed homeland. Far removed from any real achievement – and armed with last week’s facade of officialdom – Palestinian statehood is now emerging as the global equivalent of diplomatic DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion)

EUROPE - As tensions rise between Russia and Ukraine, European leaders are being urged to take decisive action. Former European Parliament's chief Brexit negotiator, Guy Verhofstadt, has reiterated his call for a European Defence Union with its own resources and political structures to lead it, dismissing Europe's efforts as "backward thinking" and "dangerous". He added: "Europe is so backward thinking about national sovereignty that it criminally neglects our common security." Verhofstadt's comments come as NATO has been expanding its military presence in Europe, with plans to deploy American troops to the continent in the event of a potential conflict with Russia.

ISRAEL - The north of Israel is "on fire" after Hezbollah fired 40 rockets over the border. Israel is plotting a huge attack on Lebanon in order to take on Hezbollah, sources close to the terror group have claimed. Al-Akhbar, a Lebanese newspaper with close links to Hezbollah, reported on Tuesday that Beirut had recently received diplomatic messages warning of the threat of an impending Israeli attack. Sources reported that international delegations raised the alarm, while Britain is reportedly expecting Israel to launch the attack in June, according to Israel's most popular newspaper, Israel Hayom.

EUROPE - NATO is drawing up plans to send American troops to the frontlines of Europe in the event of an all-out conflict with Russia, it has been revealed. New 'land corridors' are being carved out to quickly funnel soldiers through central Europe without local bureaucratic impediments, allowing NATO forces to pounce in an instant should Putin's devastating war in Ukraine move further west. The plans are said to include contingencies in case of Russian bombardment, letting troops sweep into the Balkans via corridors in Italy, Greece and Turkey, or towards Russia's northern border via Scandinavia, officials told The Telegraph.

CHINA - China's top defence boss delivered a speech "full of veiled threats" to the US and its Indo-Pacific allies during a heated meeting of regional actors. The United States has been warned its China policy is "too weak" to deter Beijing from pushing its hostile rhetoric further. The People's Republic of China (PRC) has intensified aggressive action against US allies in the Indo-Pacific regions, namely the Philippines and Taiwan despite repeated warnings from Washington. Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun renewed threats against unspecified external forces offering both Manila and Taipei support against Beijing in a not-so-subtle swipe at the US.

UK - A cyber attack has crippled three major London hospitals, causing operations, blood tests and transfusions to be delayed for weeks. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) is investigating the source of the ransomware attack, which led to chaos in A&E departments on Tuesday. NHS leaders said there had been a “significant impact” on King’s College Hospital, Guy’s and St Thomas’ and GP services in south-east London. Patients awaiting operations and other tests have been hit by last-minute cancellations or redirected to other NHS providers as hospital bosses try to establish what work can be carried out safely. It is understood that blood tests and transfusions have been most severely impacted.