USA - James Dobson, the founder of the James Dobson Family Institute and the host of the "Family Talk" radio program, several times has warned of the threat to America from the presidency of Joe Biden. That would be because of the plans made clear by Biden's Democrat party for a rollback in religious rights, promotion of abortion and a requirement that taxpayers fund it and other "radical" campaign points. Since Biden has taken office the nation has been divided on topics including race, sexual orientation, politics, spending, socialism, rioting, police and even what is a crime. Dobson previously described the current administration's plans as "lunacy" and warned of the "moral depravity" that they would bring.

CANADA - How sincere was Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s crocodile tear apology for the Covid clampdown that sees Canada’s most populous province tottering on bankruptcy when just three days later, his henchmen are back ticketing in-person church goers at Kitchener’s Trinity Bible Chapel?

USA - [William Rnadolph Hearst] built a chain of nearly 30 newspapers across America, then expanded into magazines, creating the largest newspaper and magazine business in the world. He said: “News is what people don't want you to print. Everything thing else is advertising.” American historian and journalist Frank Luther Mott described this type of journalism as having little or no legitimate well researched news and instead using eye-catching headlines and sensationalised stories to sell more newspapers. Which sometimes also deceives the audience it is intended for.

RUSSIA - Vladimir Putin’s multi-year push to reduce Russia’s exposure to the dollar hit a major milestone as the share of exports sold in the US currency fell below 50% for the first time. Most of the slump in dollar use came from Russia’s trade with China, more than three-quarters of which is now conducted in euros, according to central bank data published late Monday. The common currency’s share in total exports jumped more than 10 percentage points to 36%, the data for the fourth quarter show. Multiple rounds of sanctions and the constant threat of more to come have pushed Russia to find ways to isolate its economy from US interference. The central bank has also stripped back its holdings of Treasuries in its international reserves, loading up on gold and euros instead.

VATICAN - Persecution of faith groups has drastically increased in more than 95 percent of the world’s worst-offending countries, according to the latest Religious Freedom in the World report. The report, by international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need, shows how the latest technologies are being used to crush religious freedom. Over the past two years, oppression against vulnerable faith communities has increased in all but one of the 26 countries listed in the survey’s worst or “red” category.

USA - President Biden announced last week that he planned to remove all combat troops from Afghanistan by September, which he says will mark the end of what is now a twenty-year war in the central Asian country. A week earlier, the US and Iraq reaffirmed a deal to withdraw “any remaining combat forces” from Iraq, and to further wind down the US involvement there, which dates back to the 2003 invasion.

ISRAEL - Residents of Eilat and the Arava have woken up in recent days to the sight of huge swarms of locusts spreading over their gardens and public areas. The Israel Hayom newspaper reported that the swarm of yellow locusts had spread over all the fields and crops. In Moshav Hatzeva residents managed to capture some of the locusts in net traps before the pests could raid the fields and crops. Kibbutz Samar and Kibbutz Elifaz in the southern Arava are also worried about the future of the crop. In Eilat, the locusts settled in the area of ​​a field school close to the sea, and parts of the swarm were seen all over the city and in private gardens. According to Amir Balaban, director of urban nature at the Society for the Protection of Nature, the locusts are an important food source for local wildlife. "Hundreds of bee-eater birds were seen in the Kibbutz Lotan area, making their way from Africa to Europe. They climb over the fences of the settlement and hunt the migratory locust that lands in the area. For the desert wildlife, too, it's a crazy protein festival, and like them, a lot of other migratory birds feed on locusts as they migrate north during this season."

USA - According to a recent poll, 51% of Americans think Joe Biden cheated to get into the White House. The breakdown is 74% Republicans and an astounding 30% Democrats think cheating played at least a part of the 2020 Election outcome. In Arizona, the 2020 Election ballots are finally being audited as court battles to stop it continue. Legendary financial and geopolitical cycle analyst Martin Armstrong is predicting an election “panic in 2022.” Armstrong explains, “It means extremely high volatility. Despite whatever they want to say, there is a large proportion of the population that do not believe the election. Polls are saying it’s at 51%, but it’s probably close to 60% or 70%. You are also seeing that 60% of Americans want a third party, and you are talking about Democrats and Republicans… I think because we have such a high number of people who do not trust the election results, I don’t think they are going to be able to get away with rigging the elections again. It’s going to turn into violence. There is no question about that.”

USA - Last week, Comedian Bill Maher used his HBO show to highlight some awkward 'facts' and ask some uncomfortable questions about media and politicians' approach to COVID. This week, he has taken aim at the heart of the problem - American Millennials and Gen Z and their total ignorance of history. "In India, young people touch old people's feet to show reverence. In Japan, there's a national 'respect for the aged' day. You know the reason why advertisers in this country love the 18-34 demographic... because it's the most gullible.

VATICAN - A report by the Vatican's own newspaper reveals Pope Francis recently hung an image behind his desk depicting a naked Jesus Christ caressing his dead apostle Judas Iscariot. In an article titled "Judas and the Scandal of Mercy," L'Osservatore Romano dedicated the first three pages of its edition the day before Good Friday to a makeover of the disciple who betrayed the Son of God at the Passover.

FRANCE - “Marine Le Pen does not have to say anything,” said Alain Frachon, a former editor of the French daily Le Monde. “Each time France is hit by terrorism, the extreme right benefits.” Mr Frachon was reflecting on the fatal stabbing Friday of a police officer by a Tunisian immigrant who had been in France for a decade without legal status before securing authorization to stay in 2019 and a temporary residence permit last year. In fact, Ms Le Pen, the leader of the far-right National Rally, did say something. She told the BFM-TV news network that France needs “to expel hundreds of thousands of illegals in France. We need to return to reason. Support our police, expel the illegals, eradicate Islamism.”

UK - Scientists have created the space junk map, AstriaGraph, which shows where thousands of human-made objects are located. The technology can track and predict its behaviour. A mind-blowing space junk map shows '200 ticking time bombs' in orbit around the Earth. The huge pieces of space debris are large rocket bodies which have the potential to break into thousands of pieces. They are shown on AstriaGraph, a map which shows where each human-made object is located in space. Experts have warned space junk is becoming a growing problem as more satellites and rockets are released into orbit.

ISRAEL - In his new book on the "eternal struggle" for Jerusalem's holy sites, Al Aqsa oder Tempelberg (Al-Aqsa or Temple Mount), the German-Israeli historian and journalist Joseph Croitoru warns right at the outset that "a storm is brewing" in the Temple Mount conflict and that the signs are more ominous than ever before. In short, Croitoru is not very optimistic about this struggle, which is one of the key flashpoints in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Indeed, what goes on in the area between the Wailing Wall and the Dome of the Rock is like the Middle East Conflict in miniature.

USA - It’s been a big month for sci-fi primates. On April 8, Elon Musk’s start-up Neuralink announced they created a cyborg monkey who can play MindPong using a brain chip. The following week, scientists at the Salk Institute in California revealed they successfully grew human-macaque embryos in test tubes. These hybrid babies were aborted at 20 days. The ethical implications of such experiments are now debated with a resigned shrug. There’s a sense of inevitability to it all. Powerful humans will indulge in any behavior that’s both pleasurable and possible. What could be more pleasurable than playing God?

EUROPE - Just in time for the beginning of the large-scale Defender Europe 21 maneuvers, a retired senior US general presented a Twelve-Step Program aimed at weakening Russia at the Black Sea. The Black Sea region is the focus of this year's Defender Europe exercise, with also German Bundeswehr participation. As former Commanding General of the United States Army Europe, Lieutenant General Ben Hodges writes in a current strategy paper, NATO's attaining "sea control" of the Black Sea is not feasible given Russia's strength there. NATO should aim for making the Russian Black Sea Fleet "vulnerable." At present, some 28,000 soldiers from 21 NATO countries and from five countries affiliated with the alliance are practicing the deployment of large contingencies of forces to the Black Sea within the framework of Defender Europe 21. Last year the exercise was focused on the Baltic region, which is gaining geostrategic significance because of the growing tensions between the West and Russia. The exercise has escalated these tensions. The Black Sea region will be faced with a similar problem.