CHINA - China has stepped up its campaign against the EU after it emerged Beijing had threatened to gag Brussels over its criticism of the handling of the coronavirus crisis. Beijing has accelerated its propaganda battle after the Union was accused of pandering to China over a report alleging the superpower was deliberately spreading disinformation about the coronavirus outbreak. It comes after German officials claimed Chinese diplomats had pressured Germany to speak positively about China's handling of the COVID-19 outbreak.

USA - A rancher who raises cattle in Texas and Colorado sounded the alarm that the US government is importing what he considered inferior beef from Namibia while American ranchers are facing the possible “depopulation” of their herds.

USA - More than 26 million Americans have lost their jobs during these coronavirus lockdowns so far, and this has created unprecedented demand at food banks all over the nation. In many cities, vehicles start lining up at the food banks at the crack of dawn, and in some instances the lines have literally stretched for miles.

NORTH KOREA - Kim Jong-un's control of information is so secretive and tight the West will never truly know what is happening in North Korea, a former US intelligence analyst has warned. Kim recently missed the celebration of his grandfather’s birthday on April 15. The North Korean leader has never missed the event which prompted claims he had become unwell or may have even died. Despite the claims, a former CIA analyst who advised both the George Bush and Barack Obama administrations on North Korea, Sue Mi Terry insisted no country will know what is going on in the rogue state.

EGYPT - Israel’s Foreign Ministry on Sunday condemned a new Egyptian TV drama set in the year 2120 that predicts the Jewish state’s destruction, as well as the breakup of the United States. The Foreign Ministry statement said the series “is completely unacceptable especially because the two states have had a peace treaty for the past 41 years.” Israel and Egypt have worked closely on security issues since the 1979 treaty, especially near their shared border in the Sinai Peninsula, in a shared effort against Islamic jihadists. However, public opinion in Egypt has remained largely against normalized relations with Israel.

UK - The death toll from coronavirus may be almost 60 per cent higher than reported in official counts, according to an FT analysis of overall fatalities during the pandemic in 14 countries. Mortality statistics show 122,000 deaths in excess of normal levels across these locations, considerably higher than the 77,000 official Covid-19 deaths reported for the same places and time periods. If the same level of under-reporting observed in these countries was happening worldwide, the global Covid-19 death toll would rise from the current official total of 201,000 to as high as 318,000.

PHILIPPINES - The Chinese embassy in Manila released a propaganda music video this weekend depicting China and the Philippines as working together toward a “shared future” in “one sea” or “Iisang Dagat,” in the Philippine language, referring to the disputed South China Sea.

USA - For those of you that were expecting just a “deep recession”, I am afraid that you are going to be very disappointed. It took years for the US economy to fully unravel in the 1930s, but now we have witnessed a similar level of economic devastation in just a matter of weeks. More than 26 million Americans have already lost their jobs, economic activity has come to a standstill, people are lining up for miles at food banks all over the nation, and businesses are being permanently shuttered at a staggering pace.

ISRAEL - Professor Meyer said: "The ancient Sanhedrin functioned until the Roman Empire officially dismantled it in the early Byzantine Period - 358 AD. There have been several attempts to renew the Sanhedrin in modern history. Unlike the other attempts to resurrect the Sanhedrin which failed, this current group of 70 scholars and rabbis has been growing in popularity and influence."

VATICAN - The world has becoming a frightening place in the past few months and many people have even speculated that the end of the world is nigh. And Pope Francis, the leader of the Catholic Church, did not help to assuage those fears when, on Earth Day, he advised the billions of Catholics around the world to ask forgiveness from the earth in a screed that sounded more akin to a New Age movement speech than a Christian one. “Because of our selfishness we have failed in our responsibility to be guardians and stewards of the earth,” he said. This pope, as he often does, used his speech to make a political statement that aligns with the leftists of the world.

USA - When meat processing facilities started shutting down because of the coronavirus pandemic, we were initially told not to worry because the facilities that were still operating normally would be able to make up the difference. But now all of that has changed. Even the mainstream media is beginning to use the phrase “meat shortages”, and we are being told to brace for supply chain disruptions all over America. Hopefully any “shortages” will only last for a few months, and hopefully supply chain disruptions will disappear later this year as the pandemic fades. But this is yet another example that shows how exceedingly vulnerable our system has become, and it makes one wonder what will happen once a crisis even worse than this pandemic comes along.

NORTH KOREA - Kim Jong-Un, North Korea's Supreme Leader is dead - according to multiple sources coming out of North Korea and the Far East, though due to the hyper-secretive nature of the pariah state the exact picture remains unclear tonight. It was being reported as fact by media outlets in China and Japan that the 36-year-old dictator was dead. Other sources said he was on his death bed in a vegetative state with no hope of resuscitation after botched heart surgery. Because of the nature of the ultra secret regime in North Korea claims of Kim Jong-un's death are very difficult to verify before an official state announcement.

PHILIPPINES - At least eight people have been killed and dozens more injured after two earthquakes struck a province in the Philippines. The earthquakes, magnitudes 5.4 and 5.9, hit the province of Batanes, an archipelago in the north of the country early on Saturday. Mayor Raul de Sagon said around 60 people were hurt. Many people were in their homes when the earthquakes struck. No tsunami warnings have been issued.

USA - The National Weather Service (NWS) has rated the tornado that struck Mississippi over the weekend as EF-4. This is the third violent tornado in the area within just a week, and the fourth EF-4 tornado in 2020, making this year one with the most EF-4 tornadoes since 2014. The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) has released its initial storm reports, confirming one fatality and more than 80 properties partially or totally damaged. So far this year, tornadoes in the United States caused 67 fatalities, making it the most fatal individual tornado year since 2012.

EUROPE - Worries are mounting about the ability of Europe’s financial system, in particular its fragile banks, to make it through the coronavirus crisis unscathed. Funding costs rose Friday. Ratings companies downgraded several banks. And policy makers are worried about weaker lenders in hard-hit Southern European economies and Germany. Germany’s banking system is seen as particularly fragile because it is overcrowded with more than 1,500 lenders, and Germans have little appetite for investments and big borrowings, which means most leave their money sitting in their bank accounts.