MIDDLE EAST - A large ‘dead zone’ in the Gulf of Oman is increasing in size, according to scientists who warn the oxygen-scarce area is worse than previously thought and poses a threat to the environment. But what does that mean? The dead zone in the Arabian Sea is now the world’s biggest Oxygen Minimum Zone (OMZ). About the size of Scotland or Florida, the dead zone almost covers the entire Gulf of Oman, which borders Iran, Oman, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates. A dead zone is an area of the sea or a large body of water that’s almost entirely devoid of oxygen. The low-oxygen areas are called dead zones as they can’t sustain marine life. Fish, animals and plant life in the zones suffocate as a result of low oxygen levels, while some marine life manages to swim away from the area, leaving it empty.

SWITZERLAND - More than 90 percent of the global population is breathing in high levels of pollutants, the World Health Organization said Wednesday, blaming poor air quality for some seven million deaths annually. Fresh data from the UN health body showed that every corner of the globe is dealing with air pollution, although the problem is far worse in poorer countries. "Air pollution threatens us all, but the poorest and most marginalised people bear the brunt of the burden," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement.

HAWAII - A Hawaiian volcano could be set to erupt after hundreds of earthquakes and the collapse of a crater floor. Lava may burst through the ground east of Kilauea, the most active of the five volcanoes that form the state’s main island, geologists have warned.  Authorities urged the public to be on alert after scientists noted underground magma flowing beneath a main road near houses in the district of Puna. Spokeswoman Kanani Aton said the agency was “planning ahead for a worst-case scenario” by reviewing emergency plans and monitoring the activity. 

USA - The world is now 12 percent of GDP deeper in debt than it was at the peak of the financial crisis in 2009, says the International Monetary Fund (IMF). China was described as a “driving force” behind the new debt levels. According to its Fiscal Monitor report, global debt is at a historical high, reaching the equivalent of 225 percent of GDP. “One hundred and sixty-four trillion is a huge number,” said Vitor Gaspar, head of the IMF’s fiscal affairs department. “When we talk about the risks looming on the horizon, one of the risks has to do with the high level of public and private debt.” The ballooning debt could make it harder for countries to respond to the next recession and pay off debts if financing conditions tighten, according to the fund.

USA - Controlling your gadgets by talking to them is so 2018. In the future, you won’t even have to move your lips. A prototype device called AlterEgo, created by MIT Media Lab graduate student Arnav Kapur, is already making this possible. With Kapur’s device — a 3-D-printed plastic doodad that looks kind of like a skinny white banana attached to the side of his head — he can flip through TV channels, change the colors of lightbulbs, make expert chess moves, solve complicated arithmetic problems, and, as he recently showed a 60 Minutes crew, order a pizza, all without saying a word or lifting a finger. It can be used to let people communicate silently and unobtrusively with each other, too. “I do feel like a cyborg, but in the best sense possible,” he says of his experience with the device, which he built as a research project.

USA - At a meeting with Jewish leaders in New York last month, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman castigated the Palestinian leadership for rejecting opportunities for peace with Israel for decades, and said they should either start accepting peace proposals or “shut up.” “For the past 40 years, the Palestinian leadership has missed opportunities again and again, and rejected all the offers it was given,” the Saudi leader reportedly said. “It’s about time that the Palestinians accept the offers, and agree to come to the negotiating table — or they should shut up and stop complaining,” he reportedly went on.

USA - President Donald Trump will unveil his long-gestating peace plan after the US opens its new embassy in Jerusalem, an Israeli source stated on Saturday. Media reports have indicated that Trump’s plan is finished, but until now there have been no indications as to when it might be made public. Israel’s Channel Two cites a “senior political source” saying that the US will put forward its peace plan after the opening of the new embassy in Jerusalem. The official date for the opening is May 14, to coincide with Israel’s 70th Independence Day. It was previously believed that President Trump would not attend the opening ceremonies, but he recently indicated that he might do so.

USA - Sixty-five percent of the eighth graders in American public schools in 2017 were not proficient in reading and 67 percent were not proficient in mathematics, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress test results released by the US Department of Education. The results are far worse for students enrolled in some urban districts. Among the 27 large urban districts for which the Department of Education published 2017 NAEP test scores, the Detroit public schools had the lowest percentage of students who scored proficient or better in math and the lowest percentage who scored proficient or better in reading. Only 5 percent of Detroit public-school eighth graders were proficient or better in math. Only 7 percent were proficient or better in reading.

USA - President Donald Trump indicated he believed North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un was sincere about pushing for peace and announcing his interest in denuclearizing the Korean peninsula. “No. I don’t think he’s playing,” Trump said, praising the progress made in the North and South Korea peace process so far. Trump said he understood skepticism about Jong-un’s intentions, pointing to the history of American presidents failing to deliver lasting peace in the region. “Yeah I agree, the United States has been played beautifully like a fiddle, because you’ve had a different kind of a leader,” he said. “We’re not going to be played OK? We’re going to hopefully make a deal, if we don’t that’s fine.” “This isn’t like past administrations – we don’t play games,” Trump said.

SYRIA - Witnesses of the alleged chemical attack in Douma, including 11-year-old Hassan Diab and hospital staff, told reporters at The Hague that the White Helmets video used as a pretext for a US-led strike on Syria was, in fact, staged. “We were at the basement and we heard people shouting that we needed to go to a hospital. At the hospital they started pouring cold water on me,” the boy told the press conference, gathered by Russia’s mission at the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague. “There were people unknown to us who were filming the emergency care, and were filming people being doused with water. That happened for about an hour, we provided help to them and sent them home. No one has died. No one suffered from chemical exposure.”

IRAN - Iran recently announced it is dropping the US dollar in foreign trade. Just as Iraq did shortly before it was invaded by the US, or Libya planned to before it was bombed by NATO-led allies. Lee Camp is starting to see a pattern. The US is gearing up to abandon the Iran nuclear deal, which has all but killed Tehran's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief, because it's not restrictive enough. With Iran already saying it won't accept more demands or more sanctions, it's anyone's guess what kind of chain reaction might ensue.

IRAN - Iran's supreme leader called on Muslim nations to unite against the United States, saying Tehran would never yield to "bullying," state television reported on Thursday. "The Iranian nation has successfully resisted bullying attempts by America and other arrogant powers and we will continue to resist. All Muslim nations should stand united against America and other enemies," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said. Iran's top authority criticized Trump for saying on Tuesday some countries in the Middle East "wouldn't last a week" without US protection. "Such remarks are humiliation for Muslims. Unfortunately there is war in our region between Muslim countries. The backward governments of some Muslim countries are fighting with other countries," Khamenei said.

IRAN - President Donald Trump ...said Iran would have "bigger problems than they have ever had before" if the country's leadership dared to restart its nuclear program... And today, a top Iranian general hit back at Trump with an aggressive threat to sink US Navy ships, while warning that the US would find itself in a "catastrophic situation" if it withdraws from the deal and reimposes sanctions. "The actual information that the Americans have about us is much less than what they think they have. When will they figure this out? When it is too late," Admiral Ali Fadavim, told Iranian television on Saturday. "They will definitely figure it out when their ships are sunk, or when they find themselves in a catastrophic situation," Fadavi threatened..

CHINA - China warned Taiwanese separatists through its state media Friday to prepare for further military drills amid increased calls for full independence, warning that the US “cannot protect them.” An editorial in the state propaganda outlet Global Times warns that if “Taiwan independence forces continue to wantonly take rash actions, the PLA will take further steps.” Despite being administered by an independent, democratically-elected government, growing calls for full Taiwanese independence have angered authorities in Beijing, who continue to respond with military exercises. China considered Taiwan a rogue province, not a sovereign state.

USA - The withdrawal of some 28,000 US troops stationed in South Korea may be on the table in future negotiations between the US and North Korea, US Defense Secretary James Mattis said on the heels of a landmark inter-Korean summit. Asked if US forces will remain in South Korea provided Seoul and Pyongyang replace their 1953 truce with a formal peace treaty, Mattis indicated that the continued US military presence in South Korea may become a part of the bargain with the North.