JAPAN - Japan’s Sakurajima volcano has erupted continuously for several hours, sending a towering ash plume into the sky and prompting authorities to issue warnings for nearby residents. The eruption, which began early in the morning, has produced a 3,000-meter-high ash cloud, covering parts of Kagoshima Prefecture and beyond. The Japan Meteorological Agency has maintained a Level 3 volcanic alert, advising people to stay away from the volcano as activity remains unpredictable.

PHILIPPINES - Bulusan Volcano just lost its chill and exploded ash 4,500 meters high like it was showing off. Scientists raised the alert to Level 1, meaning “don’t freak out yet, but maybe keep your shoes by the door.” Ash blanketed several communities near the volcano, including Barangay Puting Sapa, with authorities urging residents to stay cautious. Sitting 400 km from Manila, Bulusan clearly woke up today and chose chaos.

UK - Critics have accused Britain's biggest teaching union of spreading pro-Palestine propaganda after coaching members on how to bring the 'Palestinian struggle' into schools. The National Education Union (NEU) encouraged teachers to hold a day of action at schools on Thursday to highlight 'the Palestinian struggle for freedom'. They are also holding a workshop next month to train members in how to 'advocate for Palestine in our schools'. However, critics have warned that the events could breach legislation banning the promotion of biased political views in schools.

TURKEY - The site where Jones and others are exploring is in this area, he said. The shape of the site reportedly first caught the attention of a Turkish military official decades ago. “In a remote corner of Turkey, a unique geological formation, unearthed on September 11, 1959, by Turkish Army Captain Ilhan Durupinar, is raising eyebrows and piquing the interest of biblical scholars and geologists alike,” Noah’s Ark Scans writes in a description. “This boat-shaped geological curiosity, commonly referred to as the Durupinar formation, is considered by some to be the final resting place of Noah’s Ark.”

USA - Matt Thurmond seems like a poster child for tech-forward millennials. He runs an AI-assisted platform for mortgage professionals. He leads a nonprofit that connects longevity researchers, investors, and startups. He was the copresident of a technology conference at Harvard, where he got his MBA. So it's a little surprising that Thurmond is almost never on his phone. Count him among the "appstinent" — one of a growing number of Americans, mostly millennials and Zoomers, vowing to live a life free of endless scrolling. "Screen time was just crowding out other things," says Thurmond, who's 41. "That's not where I want to get my entertainment, and it's not really where I want to have any substantive conversation. I prefer to do that kind of stuff in the analog world." "I was more relaxed, because I didn't have all this stuff rattling around in my brain," he says. "I was just more fulfilled by things in day-to-day life."

MIDDLE EAST - The Royal Navy is braced for one of its flagship aircraft carriers to be attacked as it travels near territory run by Iran's allies in Yemen. Plans have been drawn up for F-35 fighter jets to launch strikes against Houthi camps should HMS Prince of Wales come under a bombardment as it passes through a choke point in the Red Sea. Downing Street has also given the elite Special Boat Service and Royal Marines permission to launch a rescue mission if any fighter pilot is shot down, according to Whitehall sources. HMS Prince of Wales will shortly pass through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, on its way to a deployment in the Pacific. It is understood to have 18 F-35 planes on board.

USA - Moody’s has stripped the US of its last AAA credit rating, downgrading sovereign debt to Aa1 for the first time in history. The downgrade follows Fitch’s move in 2023 and S&P’s decision in 2011, cementing growing fears over America’s long-term fiscal health. Moody’s cited rising debt levels, widening deficits, and soaring interest costs as key drivers behind its decision, forecasting that federal debt will reach 134 percent of GDP by 2035.

USA - The American consumer is maxed out: loan delinquencies surge 700%. Student loan delinquencies are skyrocketing, but it's just the tip of the iceberg. With household debt now sitting at a record $18.2 trillion and credit card balances surpassing $1 trillion, the American consumer is maxed out. Auto loan delinquencies have hit their highest levels in decades, and 1 in 4 student loan borrowers is already struggling to make payments just months after the pause ended. "This isn’t just about mispayments. This is a systemwide warning," warns Taylor Kenney. The foundation of US consumer spending is crumbling, and the ripple effects could be catastrophic — jobs, credit, lending, and even trust in the financial system itself are at risk. If Americans can’t keep up with their payments, what happens when the debt avalanche truly begins? Are we witnessing the slow-motion collapse of the American middle class?

USA - The United States plans to begin discussions with European allies later this year about reducing its military presence on the continent, US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker said on May 16. Speaking at a security conference in Estonia, Whitaker confirmed that while no decisions have been made, the Trump administration is preparing to move forward with plans that have long been under consideration. “Nothing has been determined,” Whitaker said in response to a question about reports that Washington is weighing a troop withdrawal, Reuters reported. “But as soon as we do, we are going to have these conversations on the structure of NATO.” He added that the talks would take place after the NATO summit in The Hague in June. “It will be certainly after the summit, sometime later in the year, we are going to start those conversations… All our allies are ready to do it.”

UK - Tariq Hussain admits he knew nothing about Keir Starmer's plans to get tough on immigration, mainly because he's been preoccupied with more pressing concerns lately. His day job selling traditional Asian female clothes takes up a lot of his time and business has been slow. And when he gets home, he is on the phone to relatives and friends in Pakistan to check on their safety following recent tensions between the country and neighbouring India, which almost led to war. But there is another more troubling reason why Mr Hussain was completely oblivious to Sir Keir's pledge to overhaul a 'broken' immigration system, despite the fact that it could directly affect him and his family.

UK - British mothers are now outnumbered by foreign-born mums at nearly one in seven maternity units, analysis shows. At Northwick Park Hospital, in London's Harrow borough, a staggering 84.2 per cent of live births in 2023 were to non-UK mothers. Behind Northwick Park was Newham's University Hospital (77.1 per cent) Hillingdon Hospital (72.1 per cent) and North Middlesex Hospital (71.2 per cent). Nearly one-third of all births in England and Wales are now to mothers born abroad, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) says. In 2003, before immigration spiralled to all-time highs, that figure stood just shy of a fifth. India is the most common country of origin for non-UK born mothers, just ahead of Pakistan, Romania, Nigeria and Poland.

UK - Censorship is the enemy of Free speech and Privacy and seeks to control every area of our lives. We find ourselves in a new era of totalitarianism, characterized by the words that can be uttered. Hate Speech is a concept that has been forced on us under two guises: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion [and] Multiculturalism. Cultural Marxism has taken hold of our institutions and removed truth as the standard and replaced it with subjective thought.

GERMANY - Christine Anderson is a Member of the European Parliament representing the right-wing, anti-globalist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, known for her outspoken criticism of EU bureaucracy, globalism, and what she views as creeping authoritarianism in Western democracies. Since entering the European Parliament in 2019, she has become a prominent voice within the AfD, frequently challenging mainstream narratives on immigration, civil liberties, and pandemic policy. "Right now in Germany, we’re seeing an average of two brutal gang rapes every single day. These aren’t minor assaults — we’re talking about women being viciously beaten, suffering broken skulls, shattered jawbones — attacks that leave them barely clinging to life. And that doesn’t even include the rapes committed by individual perpetrators.

USA - At least 28 people have died and dozens more were injured after a devastating wave of severe weather swept across the central United States late Friday into Saturday, leaving a trail of catastrophic destruction. Large tornadoes have been reported in Missouri, Kentucky, Illinois and Indiana with hard-hit southeastern Kentucky reporting a majority of the fatalities. According to Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, there were 18 confirmed deaths in the state connected to the severe weather. The fatalities include 17 people in Laurel County and one in Pulaski County. Emergency crews were still searching the wreckage for survivors and assessing the full extent of the damage on Saturday morning.

GERMANY - Germany must have a stronger army than Britain, its chancellor has said, as he committed to spending 5 per cent of annual GDP on defence. In his first major address to the German parliament, Friedrich Merz said: “We must make all the means available that the Bundeswehr needs so that it can become the strongest conventional army in Europe.” His comments suggest that Germany, which for decades has been deeply reluctant to rearm owing to its Nazi past, now hopes to eclipse the leading armies of Europe: Britain, Poland and France. Johann Wadephul, Mr Merz’s foreign minister, said Berlin was ready to commit to spending 5 per cent of annual GDP on defence as demanded by Donald Trump, the US president. He said Germany would “follow him there”. His government is also considering a return to conscription, which was abandoned by Germany in 2011, if a new voluntary scheme of military service for young people does not draw enough recruits.