USA - Even though many in the scientific community are loudly warning about the potential health effects that 5G technology could have on the general population, Verizon and AT&T are starting to put up their 5G networks in major cities all across the nation. Today, the total number of cell phones exceeds the entire population of the world, and the big cell phone companies are making a crazy amount of money providing service to all of those phones.

NIGERIA - Cardinal John Onaiyekan, the archbishop of Abuja, has sharply criticized Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari this week over the country’s notorious lack of security. “Is it until the President himself or a member of his immediate family is kidnapped before the government will do something about kidnapping?” the cardinal asked. “How come kidnapping is going on consistently on specific roads and the security agents can’t do anything?” he added. “Does it mean there are collaborators among them and the people at the top levels of government?” Another Nigerian Christian leader, Pastor Tunde Bakare, said, “The terrorists are in charge, They have even extended their regime to these areas. They now kidnap lecturers; doctors are no longer safe. The whole nation is under the control of terrorists.”

USA - As Iran girds for possible war with the United States, President Donald Trump may turn out to be the best friend it has. Despite the saber-rattling of senior aides and Trump’s own tweets, when push has come to shove over the past two years, the president has repeatedly backed away from the threatened use of military force.

USA - There are many indications that the United States and China are creeping towards a potential conflict in the South China Sea. When the motivations behind this war become clear the stakes become that much more serious. While the world is drumming up a potential maritime showdown between the US and Iran (yet again), Western media is conveniently ignoring a potential looming conflict in the South China Sea, one that has been building up for years. Just last week, naval vessels from Japan, the US, India, and the Philippines sailed through the South China Sea in an almost week-long military drill aimed at containing China’s expanding influence in the region. Furthermore, the US Navy’s operations chief, Admiral John Richardson, just went on the record to state that he would like to see Australian and Indonesian maritime forces have a greater naval presence in the South China Sea, encouraging the two nations to take part in what the US calls “freedom of navigation” operations.

USA - President Trump threatened to destroy Iran in a tweet sent in the wake of reports that a rocket was fired into Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone less than a mile away from the US Embassy. “If Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran. Never threaten the United States again!,” Trump tweeted Sunday afternoon. Trump has employed such bluster before including when he was negotiating with North Korea to ditch its nuclear weapons program. Responding to reports that North Korea had succeeded in attaching nuclear warheads to ballistic missiles, Trump warned leader Kim Jong-un not to threaten the US. “North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States,” Trump told reporters in August 2017. “They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen.” It’s unclear exactly what promoted Trump’s posting, but news outlets reported explosions in Iraq’s capital and that a rocket launcher was discovered in eastern Baghdad, an area that is home to Iranian-backed Shiite militias.

CHINA - Beijing has warned the US against selling F-16 fighter jets to Taiwan, urging Washington to respect its sovereignty when it comes to the One China policy, to avoid seriously damaging bilateral relations. “China resolutely opposes US arms sales to Taiwan, and this position remains consistent and firm,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters on Friday, after Bloomberg reported that Donald Trump was contemplating selling more than 60 F-16 units to Taipei. Stressing that arms sales to the island will “seriously damage” the Sino-American ties, Beijing urged the US to “stop arms sales to and military contact with Taiwan.” Taiwan has become one of the most sensitive issues fueling the US-China spat since US President Donald Trump signaled his support of Taiwan’s president and deepened ties with the island

GERMANY - It is the biggest rise in the German military budget since the end of the Cold War, but will still leave the country far short of meeting Nato’s target of spending 2 per cent of GDP on defence. The increase comes after months of US pressure for Germany and other European members to contribute more towards the cost of the alliance, and will be seen as a victory for Donald Trump.

ITALY - Italy’s anti-migration Interior Minister Matteo Salvini led a rally of right-wing populist leaders Saturday seeking historic results in next week’s European Parliament elections in their bid to transform European politics. Salvini, the head of Italy’s right-wing League party, has positioned himself at the forefront of a growing movement of nationalist leaders seeking to free the European Union’s 28 nations from what he called Brussels’ “illegal occupation.” He pledged to close Europe’s borders to migrants if the League wins not just the most votes of any party in Italy, but also of Europe. Salvini was joined by 10 other nationalist leaders, including Marine Le Pen of France’s National Rally party and Joerg Meuthen of the Alternative for Germany party. It was a major tour de force for the expanding movement ahead of the May 23-26 vote that will take place in all 28 EU nations.

USA - Texas is asserting its sovereign immunity against Congress, telling Democrats on two congressional committees this week that the state has no obligation to comply with their investigative demands. Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office says that as a state with sovereign powers under the Constitution, Texas can’t be treated like a federal agency or Cabinet secretary who can be compelled to comply. “Texas does not draw its authority from the United States or the United States Constitution, but from its status as a dual sovereign within the union,” Jeffrey C Mateer, first assistant attorney general, wrote in a letter Monday to the House Oversight and Reform Committee. Mr Mateer fired off a similar letter Wednesday to the House Ways and Means Committee rebuffing its attempts, saying the state wouldn’t stand to be treated like a “subdivision of the federal government or a private citizen.” The clash could break new legal ground.

GERMANY - Relations between the two allies, the US and the EU, particularly with Germany, have deteriorated since Washington withdrew from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, threatening the European firms there with sanctions and imposing higher import tariffs. Angela Merkel’s latest call to close ranks comes just ahead of Donald Trump’s decision on new duties. In an interview with the German daily Zueddeutche Zeitung ahead of the European elections Chancellor Angela Merkel has urged Europe to unite and stand up to the US, Russia, and China. Amid the ongoing tussle with Washington over higher import tariffs and the US pulling out of the Iran deal, one of Europe’s most powerful politicians stated that “the old certainties of the postwar order no longer apply” expressing confidence that “Europe needs to reposition itself in a changed world”.

USA - The US military industrial complex has grown into a self-sustaining organism with an immune system that attacks and smothers any threat to its food supply – the taxpayers' money, writes renowned defense analyst Andrew Cockburn. Cockburn outlines the process that allows US defense contractors to thrive despite repeatedly missing deadlines and producing overpriced, subpar equipment. The system has evolved to be very good at defending itself – while leaving the country, “in reality so poorly defended,” he writes in his latest think piece for Harper's Magazine….

USA - The escalation of the trade fight with China appears to have bought the European Union and Japan some time to negotiate with the US in an effort to avoid tariff hikes on cars and auto parts. The Trump administration said Friday it would delay tariffs on cars and auto parts imports for up to six months. US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, who is leading trade talks with China alongside Treasury Secretary Robert Lighthizer, will take the lead in trade negotiations with the EU and Japan.

SAUDI ARABIA - Riyadh will confront Tehran with “all strength and determination” if need be, the Kingdom’s FM warned after the crown prince received a call from Washington in which the sides discussed ways to ensure regional “security.” Tehran seeks to destabilize the entire region, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir stated, urging the international community to intervene and stop it before it is too late. Claiming that Riyadh wants nothing but peace, the minister announced that the Kingdom stands ready to respond with full force against its arch rival if "the other side chooses war." Four commercial ships were damaged off the coast of the United Arab Emirates last Sunday, while several days later oil installations in Saudi Arabia were allegedly targeted by drones. The US used the incident as a convenient pretext to deploy warships and strategic bombers in the region, citing an imminent threat from Tehran to American interests.

USA - The Federal Aviation Administration has warned US airlines flying over the Gulf to exercise caution "due to heightened military activities and increased political tensions in the region." The advisory, which also covers airspace over the Gulf of Oman, comes amid rising tensions between the US and Iran. Increased tensions in the region "present an increasing inadvertent risk to US civil aviation operations due to the potential for miscalculation or miss-identification, said the FAA advisory released late Thursday. The regulator also warned that aircraft flying in the area could encounter "inadvertent GPS interference and communications jamming, which could occur with little to no warning." Washington has deployed an aircraft carrier group and B-52 bombers to the region against what it claims is an imminent threat from Tehran.

IRAN - Iran's top diplomat dismissed the possibility of war erupting in the region at a time of escalating confrontation with the United States, saying Tehran did not want conflict and no country had the "illusion it can confront Iran". Tensions between Washington and Tehran have increased in recent days, raising concerns about a potential US-Iran conflict. Earlier this week the United States pulled some diplomatic staff from its embassy in neighboring Iraq following attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf. Trump has said publicly he wants to pursue a diplomatic route with Iran after ratcheting pressure on Tehran.