USA - For issuers of debt (borrowers), interest rates are the cost to borrow funds; for buyers of debt (lenders), it is the rate of return they get for lending money. After the 2008 financial crisis, central banks dropped interest rates to the lowest levels in recorded history. This was great for overleveraged entities that borrowed too much since they could now refinance their high debts at cheaper rates; however, for a large class of lenders — especially global pension funds — this made it nearly impossible to meet their rate of return requirements. Since then, the Fed now realizes that it needs to normalize not because the economy is heating up, Armstrong said, but for a very simple reason: pension funds are going to go bust. “That’s the next crisis,” he said. “You can see it coming. It’s like a train coming down the tracks.”

USA - President Donald Trump called out the mainstream media for negative bias, questioning whether the “corrupt” journalists should have media credentials at the White House. “The Fake News is working overtime,” Trump wrote on Twitter on Wednesday. He pointed to a Media Research Center report that 90 percent of media coverage of the president was negative. “Why do we work so hard in working with the media when it is corrupt?” he asked. “Take away credentials?”

UK - Britain’s foreign secretary Boris Johnson on Monday declared that the proposal by Prime Minister Theresa May to resolve Brexit issues was “crazy.” This has caused quite a sensation because a high-level cabinet minister is not supposed to openly criticize a major policy of the prime minister unless he wants to be fired. The policy in question, called a “Customs Partnership,” is indeed delusional, but in today’s highly polarized world, where a man can lose his career for saying the wrong thing about whether he supports Trump, then you have to be willing to support even delusional policies if you want to keep your job. In this case, however, May’s spokesman said that the prime minister had “full confidence” in Johnson, and told officials “to do more work” on the proposal.

YEMEN - The US and UK can stop Yemen war today, but they love Saudi money. The US should be held accountable for the death of civilians in Saudi-led coalition airstrikes in Yemen, Yemeni journalist Hussain Albukhaiti told RT. As he spoke, he held up a US-made cluster bomb he said was found by children. It is within the power of the West to stop the Saudi bombing campaign, which has claimed the lives of hundreds of civilians, has brought the war-ravaged country to the brink of a famine and led to outbreaks of cholera and malaria, Albukhaiti said. But that's unlikely to happen because it would mean ending the massive cash flow from American and British weapons sales.

USA - The US House of Representatives has proposed a bill that includes $10 million in NASA funding for the next two years “to search for technosignatures, such as radio transmissions, in order to meet the NASA objective to search for life’s origin, evolution, distribution, and future in the universe.” Such technosignatures would come in the form of radio waves that have the telltale features of being produced by TV- or radio-type technologies. An intelligent civilization could also produce those signals intentionally to communicate with other civilizations like ours.

UK - A secret document, which remained locked away for 30 years, advised the British Government to COVER-UP the realities of EU membership so that by the time the public realised what was happening it would be too late. Almost all of the shocking predictions – from the loss of British sovereignty, to monetary union and the over-arching powers of European courts – have come true.

ARGENTINA - Argentina has turned to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a multi-billion pound rescue package, prompting fears throughout South America that the country’s economy is once again in crisis. The talks come 17 years after Argentina defaulted on its debts and 12 years since it severed ties with the IMF. Last week the country’s central bank announced interest rates were being raised from 33.25 percent to 40 percent - as the 12-month inflation rate hit 25.4 percent, above its 15 percent target. Yesterday, the peso traded at 22.4 against the dollar, down by two percent, after falling to an all-time low of 23.1. However, since the start of the year, it has slumped by a fifth against the US currency.

AFGHANISTAN - A magnitude 6.2 earthquake rocked Afghanistan and various parts of Pakistan on Wednesday, sending people racing out of buildings in the two capitals and injuring at least 13 people and damaging dozens of homes in both countries. The US Geological Survey said the temblor was centered just across the border, in a remote part of Tajikistan. Omer Mohammadi, a spokesman for Afghanistan’s disaster management authority, said two small children were injured when their home collapsed and one of them was listed in critical condition.

HAWAII – Hawaii Volcanoes National Park has decided to shut down on Friday because an explosion at Mount Kilauea could be imminent. Fears have grown that there could be further volcanic activity in the region after last week saw 1,700 people evacuated and more than two dozen properties evacuated. The National Park Service announced on Wednesday it plans to close on Friday - claiming that a “steam-induced explosion” at the summit could cause further damage. Molten lava and toxic steam have emerged in the area around Mount Kilauea.

CANARY ISLANDS - Scientists play down Mount Teide concerns after 270 earthquakes. Fears increased geological activity in the region of Mount Teide in the Canary Islands is evidence that the active volcano is about to blow, have been played down by experts. Concerns have been sparked after Spain’s Instituto Geografico Nacional, or National Geographic Institute, recorded a total of 270 mini-earthquakes across the Canary Islands over the course of the last 10 days.

USA - A magnitude 4.2 earthquake has struck Northern California above San Francisco but there are no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The US Geological Survey says the quake hit at 7:58 pm Wednesday and was centered about a mile (2 kilometers) from The Geysers. It was one of at least five earthquakes that hit the area within a few minutes of each other, although the others were smaller. The Geysers is a seismically active area that contains the world’s largest complex of geothermal power plants. Nearly two dozen plants that draw steam and use it to produce electricity.

INDONESIA - Indonesian authorities ordered a widespread evacuation order earlier today after Mount Merapi volcano erupted back into life, spewing a monstrous column of steam and ash 5,500 metres into the sky. The fiery mountain on the border between Central Java and Yogyakarta forced Yogyakarta airport to closed down due to the ash threat. Gunung Merapi, or Mount Merpai, is one of Indonesia’s most active and deadliest volcanoes found on Indonesia’s central island. The erupting volcano resides in a densely populated area and locals living within a 5km (3 mile) radius of Merai were ordered to flee. In 2010 a series of intense Merapi eruptions killed more than 350 people on the island of Java.

ISRAEL - Following an Iranian rocket barrage Wednesday night, the Israeli Defense Forces pounded Syria with significant airstrikes, obliterating dozens of targets associated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. Overnight Wednesday, Iran lobbed 20 Grad and Fajr-5 rockets into Israel from the suburbs of Damascus. Four of the rockets were neutralized by the Iron Dome missile defense system, with the other 16 landing in Syrian territory. In retaliation, Israel struck the rocket launching site.

MIDDLE EAST - British, US and Turkish-allied forces have put on a brutal show of military force in Turkey as tensions in the Middle East soar after Iran directly attacked Israel for the first time. Combat helicopters, warboats and Turkish armoured vehicles smashed their targets during a daytime Efes-2018 Combined Joint Live Fire Exercise at the Seferihisar district of Izmir, Turkey. Fears of eruption of Middle East violence which could bring the world closer to war are growing after Syria said Israel carried out an attack on a military base which was used by Iranian forces south of Damascus.

EUROPE - French President Emmanuel Macron has offered a jaw-dropping admission that the European Union dream is nearing its demise as Angela Merkel drags her feet over a series of reforms for the bloc. Mr Macron’s plans are seemingly at odds with EU boss Jean-Claude Juncker who admits there is no future in the “United States of Europe” vision being chased by the Frenchman. Before accepting his prize, Mr Macron wrote on Twitter: “The European dream is now gnawed by doubt. It’s up to us to decide whether we want to live it or let it die.” His comments will come as a blow to Ms Merkel, who heaped praise on her French counterpart during her own speech at a prize-giving ceremony in Aachen, Germany.