IRAN - As RedState reported, Iran launched a large-scale air attack on Israel using drones and ballistic missiles. It represented the biggest escalation from the Islamic Republic against the Jewish state in history, which has long used proxy militias in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen to do its dirty work. This is different, and the response from Israel and possibly the United States will be different, with reports circulating that Israel will retaliate against Iran regardless of whether lives are lost in the current attack. How will all of this unfold? Those with a heavy isolationist bent are already predicting doom and shouting "World War III" at the top of their lungs. Yet, there's every reason to believe that Iran has severely overplayed its hand.

VENEZUELA - The world's 'next war' that nobody is talking about as two countries 'on the brink'. Tensions between Venezuela and its neighbour Guyana are reaching boiling point, as fears grow of an imminent outbreak of war between the two South American nations. Last December, the Venezuelan government held a referendum on whether to annex two-thirds of oil rich Guyanese territory, known as Essequibo. According to Venezuelan officials, more than ten-and-a-half million voters or more than one third of the country' population, took part in the plebiscite. They claimed as many as 95 percent had voted in favour of annexation, although many independent observers dispute this figure. Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro declared the people had spoken loud and clear.

ISRAEL - The night sky above Jerusalem is being lit up by the more than 150 drones and missiles sent by Iran in response to a drone strike at the beginning of April in Syria that killed 12 Iranians, including two top generals. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said via state media: 'The aerospace unit of the Revolutionary Guards has attacked targets in Israel with dozens of drones and missiles in reaction to the Zionist regime's crimes, including the attack on the consulate section of Iran's embassy in Damascus and martyring our commanders and military advisers in Syria.' Missiles have begun to enter Israeli airspace, with video shared with MailOnline showing them being intercepted by the Iron Dome system above Jerusalem, in Israel's east.

MIDDLE EAST - Iranians celebrate attack despite Israel and US shooting down ‘vast majority’ of 300 drones, missiles. Israel shot down the “vast majority” of drones and missiles shot at them by Iran after the Jewish state was attacked in a vicious Saturday barrage, officials said. Iran launched some 300 drones and missiles from within the Islamic Republic — as well as from proxies in Yemen, Iraq, and Lebanon.The “vast majority” of the missiles were intercepted outside of Israeli air space, the Israeli Defense Forces said in a statement.

IRAN - Iranian commandos stormed a container ship linked to Israel as it travelled through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most important marine passages. Special forces from the naval branch of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) boarded the MSC Aries roughly 50 miles off the coast of the United Arab Emirates early on Saturday. Footage of the mission taken by a member of the crew shows at least three commandos rappelling down a rope from a helicopter onto the vessel, a container ship sailing under the flag of Portugal and linked to Israeli maritime magnate Eyal Ofer. The 1,201ft long and 168ft wide ship left the UAE port of Khalifa and was due to arrive in the Indian city of Nhava Sheva before the attack... Iran's state news agency said that Iranian commandos were involved in the boarding, and said the vessel was being transported to Iranian waters, though Iranian officials are yet to comment on the seizure.

NORTH KOREA - The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea needs to be ready to fight and win a war, the nation’s leader Kim Jong-un said during a visit to an elite military academy, the state news agency KCNA reported on Thursday. Kim visited the Military and Political Academy in Pyongyang named after his father, Kim Jong-Il. The institution was established in 2020 to educate the most promising army officers. “Now is the time to be more thoroughly prepared for a war than ever before,” Kim told students and staff during Wednesday’s tour of the facility. “The DPRK should be more firmly and perfectly prepared for an actual war – which should be won without fail – and not just a possible war,” he added. Kim noted the unstable military and political situation in North Korea’s neighborhood and described the international situation as being “seriously aggravated due to ever-escalating violence and armed conflicts.”

GIBRALTAR - Officials in Gibraltar have reportedly expressed concerns about the mounting cancellation of British events in the territory in recent years amid growing tensions over its status. Amid Brexit negotiations over Gibraltar, a Red Arrows aerobatics display scheduled for last September was cancelled after a Spanish official warned it would be a 'hostile act' and that its response would likely 'not be mild', according to leaked diplomatic cables seen by The Telegraph. The official allegedly deemed the display 'unnecessary, unconstructive and provocative', with the British Embassy in Spain suggesting it was 'clear that Spain is deeply opposed to the activity'.

UK - Britain is at war. We have been since 2001 - and we are losing. We lost in Afghanistan; we lost in Iraq; and unless we step up, we will lose in Ukraine. The time has come to get serious. Defence spending must go up - to at least 3.5 per cent of GDP, ideally more. It's time to stop the endless prevarication and rearm. When Osama bin Laden struck the Twin Towers on 9/11, President Bush launched a war on terror. But I believe 9/11 also sparked a broader war - against the West and its allies - one that has never been officially declared nor necessarily fought by state armies on traditional battlefields. Two things are clear. First, that our enemies in this war, while often at odds with each other, are united in their desire to overthrow the Western-led status quo; and second, that they have finally congealed into a recognisable axis led by China, Russia and Iran.

USA - According to a Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia report, US credit card delinquency rates were the highest on record in the fourth quarter. The Philadelphia Fed said that as of the end of December, almost 3.5% of card balances were at least 30 days past due. That’s the highest figure in the data series going back to 2012 and up by about 30 basis points from the previous quarter. The share of debts that are 60 and 90 days late also climbed. “Stress among cardholders was further underscored in payment behavior, as the share of accounts making minimum payments rose 34 basis points to a series high,” according to the report.

IRAN - Iran has launched waves of drones to attack Israel that are set to hit within hours, after Israel announced it was closing all schools amid fears of an upcoming attack from the rogue state. Dozens of drones were seen flying from Iran over neighbouring Iraq's Sulaymaniya province, according to three security sources. US officials have also confirmed the attack, which is expected to hit at around 2am local time. Israel said tonight that its airspace was shutting down at 12:30am local time. Iraq also announced it was shutting down its airspace and suspending all air traffic on Saturday.

ISRAEL - The United States general in command of the Middle East headed to Israel on Thursday to coordinate with Israeli defense officials after Iran threatened retaliation against the country for an attack in Syria. General Michael 'Erik' Kurilla's expected meeting with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and other senior Israel Defense Forces officials was first reported by Axios. Kurilla is commander of US Central Command. It comes after an Israeli strike on an embassy complex in Damascus killed Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi and several others last week.

ISRAEL - The outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas following the October 7 attacks rocked the already precarious security landscape in the Middle East and stoked fears that violence could spread throughout the region. Now that prospect seems increasingly likely, with the Islamic Republic vowing revenge on what it calls the 'evil Zionist regime' after a suspected IDF strike on Iran's consulate in Syria killed 13 people, including two Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds force generals. Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei vowed retribution in the wake of the attack, to which Tel-Aviv - yet to take responsibility for the strike on Damascus - retorted swiftly.

ISRAEL - With Iran and Israel neither willing nor able to send ground forces of their own to battle the other, the options for a conventional war are limited. But Iran, while removed from Israel's border by hundreds of miles, has a series of well-armed, well-funded and ferocious proxy forces under its thumb besides Hamas that surround Israel on all sides. Hezbollah, the political and military group in Lebanon - has in recent years emerged as a potent force in the Middle East, boasting a multifaceted arsenal and diverse military capabilities that pose a considerable threat to Israel. In addition to the array of small arms, machine guns and hundreds of thousands of rockets at its disposal, Hezbollah boasts a range of anti-tank and anti-air systems, a fleet of thousands of drones, and dozens of tanks and armoured vehicles. An express order from Tehran could see Hezbollah's leaders dramatically step up aggressive operations against Israel.

MIDDLE EAST - CIA-Led ceasefire breaks down after Hamas admits it can’t release hostages. The CIA’s hope of negotiating a ceasefire in Israel’s military strike on Gaza ground to a halt after the terrorist group Hamas suggested that many of the remaining hostages taken during its October 7 massacre were already dead, the Israeli news site Walla reported. “Hamas breached the understandings that were reached in Paris and which stipulated that 40 hostages would be released, and is claiming that it knows the location of less than 40 hostages who are alive,” said Israeli broadcaster Arutz Sheva, citing recent reports from the country’s N12 news channel. With Hamas unable to furnish the 40 hostages needed to negotiate, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he planned to launch another major military strike, Reuters reported.

USA - California is overdue for a 7.8 magnitude quake which occurs every 150 years. A major earthquake in California could cause hundreds of billions of dollars in damage and kill thousands. If the Big One did strike, 'it would be a matter of a few tens of seconds before the shaking from a San Andreas event that ruptures the segments closest to Los Angeles reach our urban areas,' Jonathan Stewart with the University of California, Los Angeles told DailyMail.com. According to the California Earthquake Authority, the natural disaster would cause destruction in a 100-mile radius of the fault line, which starts near Eureka and ends below Palm Springs, killing at least 1,800 people, crumble millions of homes and cause more than $290 billion in damages. California's last 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit San Francisco in 1906 and left 3,000 people dead and $524 million in property damages in 1906 - which amounts to $117 billion in 2024.