JAPAN - The Nankai Trough, a 600-mile (900 km) deep ocean trench, is a region where the Philippine Sea Plate is subducting beneath the Eurasian Plate. This tectonic boundary has historically produced megaquakes every 100 to 200 years. The last major event occurred in 1946. The Japanese government's latest estimates, updated for the first time since 2013, account for inflationary pressures and advanced topographical data, which have expanded the anticipated flood areas.

HAWAII - Scientists were bracing for high lava fountains Tuesday during the latest episode of an ongoing eruption of Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano. Lava fountains have reached heights of 1,000 feet (305 meters) during recent eruptive episodes, drawing visitors to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park to marvel at the fiery glow. Kilauea, located on the southeastern part of the Big Island, is one of the world’s most active volcanoes. Kilauea’s latest eruption began December 23 and has been in an [active] state since.

USA - Absolutely gigantic dust storms are “triggering massive highway pileups” in the middle of the country, virtually the entire Southwest is currently experiencing at least some level of drought, and dust storms and soil erosion are now costing our economy more than 100 billion dollars every year. If you think that what we are witnessing is “normal”, you simply are not being rational. The same conditions that prevailed during the Dust Bowl years of the 1930s are returning, and scientists have warned us that the megadrought that has now begun could continue for a long time to come.

VATICAN - King Charles has met with Pope Francis privately while on a State Visit to Italy, Buckingham Palace said today. The meeting took place at the Vatican after the Pope invited the King for a private audience in light of an official State Visit being postponed due to the Pope’s health. “Their Majesties King Charles and Queen Camilla this afternoon had a private meeting with His Holiness Pope Francis at the Vatican,” the Palace said today. “Their Majesties were delighted The Pope was well enough to host them — and to have had the opportunity to share their best wishes in person.”

USA - Billionaire CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk, on Tuesday savaged President Donald Trump's trade advisor Peter Navarro after he criticized the DOGE advisor's car company. Navarro described Musk as a 'car assembler,' as his Tesla vehicles made in the United States required parts manufactured in foreign countries such as China, Japan, and Taiwan. 'When it comes to tariffs and trade, we all understand in the White House - and the American people understand - that Elon is a car manufacturer, but he's not a car manufacturer. He's a car assembler,' Navarro said in an interview.

USA - President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have unveiled plans for a record-breaking $1 trillion defense budget. This landmark proposal signifies the administration’s unwavering commitment to national defense and global leadership. During a press conference alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Trump emphasized the necessity of this substantial investment. Trump: “We have great things happening with our military. We also essentially approved a budget, which is in the facility — you’ll like to hear this — of a trillion dollars. One trillion dollars. And nobody’s seen anything like it. We have to build our military, and we’re very cost-conscious. But the military is something that we have to build, and we have to be strong because you’ve got a lot of bad forces out there now. The message to our adversaries is clear: America’s awake, armed, and ready to lead again."

UK - Thousands of people in the UK have been detained and questioned by police over online posts deemed threatening or offensive, The Times has reported, citing custody data. In 2023 alone, officers from 37 police forces made 12,183 arrests – around 33 per day. The Times said this marks a 58% increase from 2019, when 7,734 arrests were recorded. The statistics have sparked public outcry, with civil liberties groups accusing the authorities of overpolicing the internet and undermining free speech through the use of “vague” communications laws.

UK - At the height of lockdown madness, Matt Hancock casually announced the introduction of ten year jail terms for breaching certain Covid regulations. The then health secretary’s proclamation was greeted with a combination of derision and disbelief. The idea that anyone would ever be incarcerated for a decade for some harmless muddle over the ludicrously complex, ever changing and often arbitrary rules and regulations seemed totally outlandish. Behind the scenes however, the then Tory government was plotting to “get heavy with the police,” to ensure anyone who stepped an inch out of line felt the full force of the law.

UK - A Christian nurse in England who had been punished for saying “Mister” to a transgender prisoner has been suspended without explanation on a vague allegation of potential “gross misconduct,” according to a Christian rights group. Jennifer Melle last week was summoned to meet with the chief nurse of Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust in England, where the Ugandan-born resident of Croydon was told there had been a “potential data breach” after Melle shared her story with media that could amount to “gross conduct,” rights group Christian Concern reported. “Pushed on what the grounds for suspension were for a nurse with an unblemished record, the Chief Nurse refused to state the specifics of the allegations pending a full investigation,” Christian Concern stated. Suspended with full pay and banned from the hospital premises, Melle was told to collect her belongings and was escorted “in tears” from the hospital premises.

GERMANY - Far-Right politicians in Germany could be banned from running for office under plans by the incoming government, echoing a decision in France to block Marine Le Pen from a presidential bid. Germany’s centre-Right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party and the centre-Left Social Democrats (SPD), which are holding coalition talks, have proposed a law that will block people with multiple extremism convictions from standing in elections. “To strengthen the resilience of our democracy, we are withdrawing passive suffrage [the right to contest elections] in cases of multiple convictions of incitement to hatred,” states an extract of the two parties’ draft agreement, according to German newspaper Die Welt. The paper adds that the reforms, which could ban convicted extremists from parties such as the far-Right Alternative for Germany (AfD), are part of efforts to tackle “terrorism, anti-Semitism, hatred and incitement... to hatred”. It comes after Ms Le Pen, the leader of the far-Right National Rally party in France, was banned from politics for five years after a court convicted her of embezzling EU funds.

USA - Let’s be honest — anytime the word “tariff” shows up in the news, most folks either glaze over or get caught up in the shouting matches about trade wars. But if you strip away the noise, something pretty interesting is happening. President Trump’s approach to tariffs isn’t just some off-the-cuff political move; it’s part of a much bigger strategy aimed at resetting the economic playing field. Let’s walk through it. Why are these tariffs happening? The simple answer is leverage.

USA - President Trump just threatened China with a massive new tariff, on top of the new tariff enacted last week, if they don’t back down from their retaliatory 34% tariff they just imposed on the US. He explains: "Yesterday, China issued Retaliatory Tariffs of 34%, on top of their already record setting Tariffs, Non-Monetary Tariffs, Illegal Subsidization of companies, and massive long term Currency Manipulation, despite my warning that any country that Retaliates against the US by issuing additional Tariffs, above and beyond their already existing long term Tariff abuse of our Nation, will be immediately met with new and substantially higher Tariffs, over and above those initially set. Therefore, if China does not withdraw its 34% increase above their already long term trading abuses by tomorrow, April 8th, 2025, the United States will impose ADDITIONAL Tariffs on China of 50%, effective April 9th. Additionally, all talks with China concerning their requested meetings with us will be terminated! Negotiations with other countries, which have also requested meetings, will begin taking place immediately. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"

USA - President Donald Trump has escalated his trade policy by announcing that he will not negotiate with Europe to lift recently imposed tariffs unless they pay “ a large amount of money annually, both for the present and the past.” Trump emphasized his strategy, stating that Europe has “taken advantage” of the United States for decades and that it's now time to level the trade playing field. The president also noted that there will be no talks with China until the $295 billion trade deficit is addressed, while Beijing responded with a 34% tariff on US goods. In a recent post on Truth Social, President Trump defended his trade strategy, declaring: "We have massive financial deficits with China, the European Union, and many others. The only way to fix this problem is through tariffs, which are now bringing tens of billions of dollars into the US. Someday people will realize that tariffs, for the United States of America, are a very beautiful thing!"

EUROPE - The globalist European Union has made a bold move in response to President Trump’s efforts to reshape the global trade order, though the commander-in-chief may not be entirely satisfied. As The Gateway Pundit reported, Trump has escalated his trade policy by announcing that he will not negotiate with the EU to lift recently imposed tariffs and make a deal with the bloc unless they pay “a large amount of money annually, both for the present and the past.” Trump went on to note that the EU has taken advantage of America for years and that it is time to finally level the playing field.

USA - President Trump insisted there would be no pause in his tariffs as he demanded China back down in a trade war or face a further charge of 50 per cent. Trump refused to negotiate with Beijing over previous demands for it to scrap 34 per cent retaliatory tariffs due on Tuesday. His extra tariffs would take US costs on Chinese imports to 104 per cent. Despite some of the worst market turmoil under any new US president, and calls from key allies to rethink the policy, Trump told reporters he was “not looking” at pausing the tariffs. Speaking alongside Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister who was visiting the White House, Trump said: “We can’t be the stupid people anymore. We’ve been ripped off and taken advantage of by many countries over the years, and can’t do it anymore. Just can’t do it anymore.” He rejected an offer from the EU of “zero for zero” tariffs on industrial goods, claiming the bloc had been “formed to damage America” and attacking Brussels’ regulations, “which are just designed for one reason — that you can’t sell your product”.