USA - The sun released another powerful stream of energized particles toward Earth early Tuesday, causing blackouts over the US. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) showed disruptions over all of North America at about 12:51pm ET. The solar flare, classified as an X8.8, was the the strongest to come from this cycle which started in 2017 - NOAA said it was a radio blackout level 3 (R3) on a scale from one to five. The stream launched from a sunspot that has been pummeling our planet for the last few days, which NOAA had said is the size of the spot that caused the worst solar storm in history. The sunspot causing chaos in space is AR 3664, which grew to the size of the one that caused the 1859 Carrington event, which set telegraph stations on fire and cut communications worldwide.

ISRAEL - With all the criticism that is being directed at Israel over its conduct of the war in Gaza, one essential fact is constantly overlooked: Hamas, the terrorist group responsible for provoking this conflict in the first place, is on the brink of suffering a catastrophic defeat. When, back in October, Hamas launched the most devastating terrorist attack in Israel’s history, it had around 24 battalions of trained militants. Equipped with hundreds of thousands of weapons, which were predominantly supplied by Iran and included advanced rocket launchers, explosive drones and heavy machine guns, the organisation had developed into a fully fledged terrorist army.

UK - One in five young people aren’t aware of what D-Day is and its significance. New data from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission found that one in five young Brits "don't know" what the significance is of the historic event. That’s according to shocking new data that has been revealed by Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) which has pleaded for better education on the topic. The D-Day landings remain the largest invasion by sea in history. Allied forces landed on the beaches of Normandy in occupied France on June 6, 1944 and it marked the beginning of the liberation of Europe from the Nazis during World War 2.

CANARY ISLANDS - A volcano that last erupted in 2021 and destroyed more than 3,000 properties has magma underneath it much bigger than previously thought. When the Cumbre Vieja volcano, on the Canary Island of La Palma, erupted more than 7,000 people were forced to leave their homes as the lava closed in. It was the first eruption on the island since 1971 and the longest-ever recorded on the island. Now a study has shown that the amount of magma under the volcano - that is also known as ‘Tajogaite’ - has been underestimated. “Our study is important to understand volcanic activity in its geodynamic context better. The last eruption occurred in the Cumbre Vieja volcanic complex on La Palma Island (2021) and had an unexpected magnitude in terms of lava volume, explosivity, and a significant impact on the economy and society of the island.”

GERMANY - A court in Germany has approved the intelligence monitoring of the Alternative for Germany (AFD) political party on the grounds that it poses a “threat to democracy.” As the party’s popularity continues to rise as Germans rise up against the globalist regime that rules them, particulary over the issue of mass immigration, the government has now found an excuse to monitor them by classifying them as an extremist organization.

EUROPE - In light of the downward spiral of East-West relations - not to mention the alarming escalation of tensions further afield in the Middle East and Indo-Pacific - the UK and its European partners could soon be forced to contend with any number of major military threats. As a result, many countries are reversing decades of peacetime policy to reignite their war engines. Others never stopped and are only consolidating efforts to ensure they are fit for conflict. But there is little doubt that all Europe is now scrambling to prepare in anticipation of what may lie over the horizon. …Britain and its continental allies are [readying] their armed forces, economies and citizens for the prospect of war.

EUROPE - The European Union’s defense industry has partially switched to a war economy, European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton has said. Kiev could face a “dangerous period” this year as the focus of Western politicians backing it has now turned to the European Parliament elections on June 6-9 and US presidential election on November 5, Breton explained in an interview with French broadcaster BFMTV on Monday.

USA - Former US State Department Middle East negotiator Aaron Miller warned of a Hamas resurgence as Israel's Gaza strategy falters. A former US Middle East negotiator has given a stark warning regarding Hamas, suggesting that Israel's strategy in the region has "broken down". In a chilling three-word warning, Mr Miller told France24 that, in some form: "Hamas will survive." He emphasised the group's resilience and its potential to shape Palestinian politics both in Gaza and beyond. "[Hamas] is likely to continue to play a critical role in the formation of Palestinian politics, both in Gaza and perhaps even beyond that given the weakness of the Palestinian Authority."

VATICAN - Pope Francis has denounced “arguing” about liturgical details as contrary to the Christian faith not long after drastically restricting the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass. “Showing a grave lack of respect for the Blessed Sacrament – the Sacrament of charity and unity – by arguing about the details of how to celebrate the Eucharist, the pinnacle of his presence among us, is incompatible with the Christian faith,” the pontiff told members of the Syro-Malabar Church, an Eastern Catholic Church based in Kerala, India. In his address, the pope underscored the importance of holding onto liturgical traditions in the face of a rapidly changing world, advice that may seem ironic and perhaps a little cruel to those who love the Traditional Latin Mass.

MIDDLE EAST - A Palestinian columnist writing in Arabic in a Qatai newspaper declared this week: “We do not want a ceasefire, we want ongoing war. Victory is at hand.” Palestinian journalist Samir Al-Barghouti, writing in the Qatari daily Al-Watan, as translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), made the case for war to continue as a means to highlight the Palestinian cause. Al-Barghouti argued that the world had forgotten about the Palestinians until the October 7 terror attack, but now — thanks to the spectacular violence, and to protests in the west, the “free world” is united behind the Palestinians:

USA - Illegal immigration that has exploded under President Joe Biden has driven the biggest surge in the foreign population in America ever recorded. According to the Census Bureau, 15.6% of the US population is now foreign-born. A Center for Immigration Studies analysis of the new census numbers said Biden’s open border policies have fed the increase. “In March 2024, the foreign-born population reached 51.6 million, 5.1 million more than in March 2022 — the largest two-year increase ever recorded in American history,” the report said. It added that nearly 60% of the increase is from illegal immigration. And significantly, less than half of those who crossed the border over the past two years have jobs, greatly raising the likelihood that taxpayers are footing the bill for them to be in the country. “The current scale of immigration (legal and illegal) into the United States is without any precedent in the nation’s history,” the new CIS report said.

UNITED NATIONS - The United Nations has seemingly revised the estimated number of women and children it believes have been killed in Gaza during Israel’s war on Hamas, blaming the “fog of war” for the mistake. In a graphic featured within OCHA’s recent daily briefing on May 6th, it was claimed that approximately 9,500 women had lost their lives in the ongoing conflict. The organization also cited data sourced from the Hamas-administered Ministry of Health in Gaza asserting that since hostilities began last October, roughly 14,500 children had been killed. Yet just two days later, the UN agency appeared to revise these figures significantly downward in its subsequent report. The updated data indicated that approximately 4,959 women and 7,797 children had lost their lives.

SAUDI ARABIA - Saudis are keen to end their engagement in Yemen and US needs Saudi support to end Gaza conflict. US determination to keep Saudi Arabia engaged in a peace process with Israel has led Washington to give Riyadh an informal green light to try to revive a peace deal with the Houthis, the Yemen-based rebels who have been attacking commercial shipping in the Red Sea since November. The proposed Yemen UN roadmap for peace was agreed in outline in early December but progress was immediately frozen as the Houthis escalated their campaign of attacks in the Red Sea in what they billed as an act of solidarity with Palestine.

UK - “Protecting Our Democracy From Coercion” is the title of a report which should appear next week, by Lord Walney, the Government’s independent adviser on political violence and disruption. His project is complementary to the Prime Minister’s remarks about insecurity, which he made at Policy Exchange yesterday. I am glad the word “coercion” is in the report’s title. That is what the public hate. Few want protests banned: they accept demonstrations as part of free speech. But many feel that the recent extremist protests – often large, repeated and borderline violent – have an intentionally coercive effect. The most significant example is the Gaza marches, which have been pretty much weekly in London since October, and the related campus protests.

USA - Concerns are growing among energy analysts, executives, and media outlets covering the energy space about the feasibility of the Biden administration’s efforts to subsidize an energy transition from fossil fuels to renewables into reality. Big power demands to supply electric vehicle (EV) recharging, crypto mining operations, and renewable industrial growth needs were already straining the capacities of America’s regional power grids. But now, the explosive growth of AI and its insatiable thirst for electricity threatens to overwhelm them. Grid managers and state regulators are already working to extend permits to extend the lives of these reliable baseload plants to accommodate the growth of AI-related data centers in their jurisdictions.