UK - Social media is causing a global mental health crisis among young people, according to the chief of a university hit by suicides among students. Hugh Brady, vice-chancellor of Bristol, said the pressure to appear ‘perfect’ all the time online was causing anxiety and depression. He said social media sites such as Facebook and Instagram have become a ‘burden’ for youngsters, who feel they have to pretend to be ‘happy’ all the time. Seven students at Bristol have killed themselves in less than 18 months – with three doing so within weeks of each other.

EUROPE - The European Central Bank has expressed alarm over the surging euro, accusing the Trump administration of driving down the dollar to gain trade advantage in breach of global accords. Minutes from the ECB’s policy meeting in January flagged concerns that the overly-strong exchange rate had become unhealthy and “required monitoring”, with doves on the Governing Council clearly worried that the eurozone is still caught in a low inflation trap with no safety buffer against fresh deflation shocks. “They are desperate to see inflation rising so that they don’t have to continue quantitative easing, which is the last thing they want,” said professor Charles Wyplosz from Geneva University.

ISRAEL - The US embassy will move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem by May 14, in honor of the 70th anniversary of Israel's declaration of  independence, according to Minister of Transportation and Intelligence Israel Katz. Katz tweeted on Friday saying, "I would like to congratulate Donald Trump, the President of the US @POTUS on his decision to transfer the US Embassy to our capital on Israel's 70th Independence Day. There is no greater gift than that! The most just and correct move."

EUROPE - The EU finance ministers' decision to appoint the Spaniard Luis de Guindos to be vice president of the European Central Bank (ECB), will boost the chances of German Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann to become its next president. Subsequent to his designation as vice-president, a northern European is expected to be given the post of ECB president, due to the EU's proportional regional representation. According to observers, a conceivable deal may be reached with Germany's Weidmann at the helm of the ECB and the post of EU Commission President going to France. With Weidmann as ECB president, Germany would further tighten its grip on the euro zone's financial institutions.

USA - In 1971, Gary Allen published his book, None Dare Call it Conspiracy. It quickly became an unofficial best seller. Over the years, several million copies have been sold. Allen’s thesis was stark: super-rich American capitalists were financing socialism. This bizarre paradox was resolved when socialism was properly understood — not as “power to the people” — but as elite power over the people. In other words, as a hoax. These days, the socialist hoax is still unknown to most of the population: Cloak a global power grab as progress for all of humanity.

UK - Shocking figures show there have been 21 earthquakes in the UK in the last 50 days, including the biggest in ten years, with the majority striking Wales. The news that Brits are living on shaky ground comes after a 4.6 quake struck in Wales last week, and was reported to be the strongest to have hit the UK in 10 years.  The British Geological Survey has registered the specific location of the quake to be the village of Cwmllynfell near Swansea. BGS figures show that four others struck in Cwmllynfell the same day. UK earthquakes are usually very weak, with the BGS saying 20 to 30 are felt by British people each year.

USA - President Trump has accelerated his diplomatic efforts to broker peace among quarreling Arab monarchies, starting with an upcoming series of White House visits by leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, Axios has learned.

USA - The United States said on Friday it will open its embassy to Israel in Jerusalem in May, a move from Tel Aviv that reverses decades of US policy and is bound to trouble US allies who have already objected. US President Donald Trump announced last December that the United States recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, infuriating even Washington’s Arab allies and dismaying Palestinians who want the eastern part of the city as their capital. No other country has recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and Trump’s decision has sown discord between the United States and the European Union over Middle East peace efforts.

USA - With each passing day, the official story of the Parkland, Florida high school shooting continues to unravel. In its place is emerging an increasingly horrifying conspiracy involving Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel, whose four deputies appear to have been ordered to stand down and allow the shooting to unfold in order to achieve a higher body count (for political gain).

AUSTRALIA - Australian nurses and midwives who dare to speak out against the dangers of vaccinations on social media or in person will be prosecuted, the Australian government has warned, urging members of the public to report vaccine skeptics to the authorities.

RUSSIA - Two fifth-generation Sukhoi-57 stealth fighters landed Monday, February 19 at Russia’s Syrian air base, along with 4 Su-35 fighters, 4 Su-25 strike aircraft and an A-50U radar command-and-control platform. This top-performance fleet raises Russia’s air strike and defense capabilities in Syria to the highest standards of any air force in the world, with enough power to take on superior US and Israeli air might in the Syrian arena.

HUNGARY - A Hungarian city’s bid to become the European Union’s next “Capital of Culture” was allegedly rejected by EU officials because its video entry showed too many smiling, dancing, white Christians, the city’s mayor says. Székesfehérvár, Hungary’s ninth-largest city, submitted a short video as part of its entry for the 2023 European Capitals of Culture contest, a competition designed to “celebrate the cultural features Europeans share.” Featuring folk dancers, young couples, mothers, babies and even two elderly gentlemen playing chess in a park, the video was rejected. The EU panel of “independent experts in the field of culture” felt it had too many happy white people and not enough migrants, the city’s mayor Dr András Cser-Palkovics has claimed.

USA - Where are all the grown-ups in times of crisis and grief? Don't bother searching America's prestigious law schools. Two adult men, occupying lofty perches as law professors, argued this week that the voting age in the US should be lowered to 16 because some high school survivors of the Parkland, Florida, shooting who want gun control "are proving how important it is to include young people's voices in political debate."

USA - Private companies such as Coca-Cola and Nestlé are allegedly in the process of privatizing the largest reserve of water, known as the Guarani Aquifer, in South America. The aquifer is located beneath the surface of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay and is the second largest-known aquifer system in the world.

USA - A cluster of small earthquakes continued to shake the Danville, California, area into Friday afternoon, measuring as strong as magnitude 3.5, slowing BART trains, but causing no significant damage, authorities said. As of 1 pm, the US Geological Survey had reported 16 quakes in the area, with five of them above magnitude 2.5. The 3.5-magnitude temblor happened at 12:19 pm Friday near Diablo, a wealthy community northeast of Danville. “Looking in that general region, I’m counting 55 quakes just in the last week,” said Amy Vaughan, a geophysicist with the Geological Survey.