INDIA - Floods and landslides across southern and western Indian states have killed nearly 200 people over the past week as the Indian Army intensifies its relief operations to help thousands stranded in desperate need of rescue. Extreme weather conditions that have been battering the Indian states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala and Gujarat since last week forced hundreds of thousands of people to seek temporary shelters. The heavy rains also impacted travel in the region, disrupting train and airport connections.

USA - Parents' fury after science teacher handed out gender-identity graphic to explain to a 7th grade class wanting to be addressed as 'Mx' instead of 'Mr'. Northern California parents are furious after a seventh and eight grade science teacher introduced the topic of gender identity and sexuality to students in an effort to explain the teacher's preferred honorific. Luis Davila Alvarado, who teaches at Denair Middle School in California's San Joaquin Valley, used a 'Gender Unicorn' graphic from Trans Student Education Resources on Wednesday to explain the choice of 'Mx.' over 'Mr.' before being stopped by the principal. 'Mx.' is a gender-neutral honorific typically used by individuals who do not identify as a specific gender, or for people who simply don't want to be referred to by gender.

CANADA - Chase Bank is forgiving all outstanding debt owed by customers of its two Canadian credit cards as it exits the country’s market. Customers using the Amazon.ca Rewards Visa and the Marriott Rewards Premier Visa were pleasantly surprised to find the balance on their credit cards had been wiped clean. The US-based bank, part of the firm JPMorgan Chase & Co, announced in March 2018 that it was closing its two Visa cards and leaving the Canadian credit card market after 13 years. It confirmed on Thursday that it was forgiving all outstanding debt owed by customers of its two Canadian credit cards.

UK - More opposite-sex couples are choosing not to marry, but same-sex marriages increasing. The traditional household of a married couple with children is giving way to cohabiting couples and people living on their own, research reveals. The overall number of families in the UK rose by 8% between 2008 and 2018, from 17.7 million to 19.1 million, accompanied by a marked change in the ways people are choosing to live. “While married couple families remain the most common, cohabiting couples are the fastest-growing family type as people increasingly choose to live together before or without getting married.”

GERMANY - The US must take its nukes off German soil if it is serious about relocating troops to Poland, a top opposition MP said in a tongue-in-cheek response to a veiled ultimatum from the American envoy. German lawmakers have reacted to threats made by the US envoy to Berlin, Richard Grenell, saying that Berlin may use the ultimatum as an opportunity to push for the withdrawal of all American assets from Germany.

MIDDLE EAST - In a potentially catastrophic escalation of tensions in the Persian Gulf, Russia plans to use Iran’s ports in Bandar-e-Bushehr and Chabahar as forward military bases for warships and nuclear submarines, guarded by hundreds of Special Forces troops under the guise of ‘military advisers’, and an airbase near Bandar-e-Bushehr as a hub for 35 Sukhoi Su-57 fighter planes OilPrice.com has exclusively been told by senior sources close to the Iranian regime. The next round of joint military exercises in the Indian Ocean and the Strait of Hormuz will mark the onset of this in-situ military expansion in Iran, as the Russian ships involved will be allowed by Iran to use the facilities in Bandar-e-Bushehr and Chabahar. Depending on the practical strength of domestic and international reaction to this, these ships and Spetsntaz will remain in place and will be expanded in numbers over the next 50 years.

UK - Millions of people were affected by major blackouts after power cuts paralysed the nation causing chaos as homes, airports, traffic lights and trains were all left without electricity due to a 'failure of the National Grid'. Areas including London and the South East, as well as the Midlands and the North West were all left without power in scenes described as a 'nightmare' by those caught up in the confusion. The National Grid Electricity System Operator has revealed the outage was caused by a problem with two generators, but is still investigating. It is in touch with the National Cyber Security Centre which has said 'there is no evidence the issue was related to a cyber incident'. Although the issue has now been 'resolved', there is still major disruption across the country. Those affected by the outages have described scenes of 'total and utter chaos' with one saying 'it was like witnessing something out of an apocalyptic film.'

USA - Renowned geopolitical and financial cycle expert Charles Nenner thinks the probability for war and civil unrest is coming around in an intense cycle not seen for decades. Nenner says, “Years ago when we talked about my war cycles, I said I am more worried about internal social war in the United States than outside wars." "I think there is a bigger chance in the United States than in Europe. They say it’s Trump’s fault... I say it’s the other way around. If the Democrats would just get things organized and people would not get that angry...The media will always take the other side, so they will never solve it. I think it is the Democrats whose fault it is that all these killings are there and not the Republicans... So, there is a cycle of social unrest in the United States, which is 60 years old. So, you go back to what happened in the 1960’s. It could explode, and I think it is going to explode, and there is going to be a major problem..."

USA - The numbers are mind-boggling: $70,000 per minute, $4 million per hour, $100 million per day. That’s how quickly the fortune of the Waltons, the clan behind Walmart Inc, has been growing since last year’s Bloomberg ranking of the world’s richest families. At that rate, their wealth would’ve expanded about $23,000 since you began reading this. A new Walmart associate in the US would’ve made about 6 cents in that time, on the way to an $11 hourly minimum.

VATICAN - Pope Francis on Friday said he was “concerned” about recent political rhetoric, cautioning against nationalism and saying that recent political speeches he’s heard “resemble those of Hitler in 1934.” “Us first. We … We … These are frightening thoughts.” The pope’s comments come after Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini called for the parliament to be dissolved and asked President Sergio Mattarella to institute snap elections as an attempt to push the country’s government further right politically, The Washington Post reported. Mattarella hasn’t said whether he’ll act on Salvini’s request. But the Post reported that the request comes as Italy grapples with months-long tensions within its coalition government.

USA - There’s going to be a thousand conspiracy theories for decades to come about what happened to Epstein. Hours after he was found dead, theories are popping up faster than weeds in a garden after a spring rain. Which “theories” have substance and which end up in the conspiracy theory bin will be sorted out over time. Since this story could end up being huge since it is linked to Trump and several other powerful people, any legitimate investigation will have to come from a House committee and not the DOJ.

USA - The following account is from a former inmate of the Metropolitan Correction Center in lower Manhattan, where Jeffrey Epstein was found unresponsive Saturday, and declared dead at a hospital of an apparent suicide. The ex-convict, who spoke to The Post’s Brad Hamilton and Bruce Golding on the condition of anonymity, spent several months in the 9 South special housing unit for high-profile prisoners awaiting trial — like Epstein.

USA - Is it even remotely possible pedo trafficker for the elite, Jeffrey Epstein, killed himself in a suicide-watch, ligature-resistant Manhattan jail cell? Epstein didn’t kill himself. He was killed so there wouldn’t be a trial and the perverse crimes of a psychopathic elite wouldn’t be revealed to the commoners. I predicted this on the day he was arrested. Jeffrey Epstein’s days are numbered. If the state and its corporate media want me to believe Epstein is in fact truly dead, they will have to show the body and allow a neutral party to take a DNA sample. We will have to see the CCTV footage of what happened in that cell. I no longer believe what the state, its institutions, its “correctional facilities,” and a propaganda media tell us. Everything must be independently verified. Meanwhile, the seat warmers in Congress are demanding an investigation. No doubt this will stop short of actually finding anything out.

CHINA - With Pakistan’s foreign minister in Beijing to discuss the Kashmir crisis, and his Indian counterpart following on Sunday, China looks set to involve itself in the high-stakes standoff between its two nuclear neighbors. The Kashmir dispute is one that has remained impervious to foreign mediation for decades. US President Donald Trump’s casual offer to step in last month was dismissed, and Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan’s efforts to get Gulf states on his country’s side fell on deaf ears, with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates all considering the issue an internal matter, well aware of the can of worms they could open up by involving themselves. Beijing, however, doesn’t have that luxury, China strategist Andrew Leung told RT. “Staying out of this dispute will see the powder keg being ignited,” he said. “China cannot just stay out with folded arms.”

GERMANY - The non-existent evidence behind the claim that livestock produce more emissions globally than do automobiles is driving attacks on the meat industry with taxes being levied to discourage consumption. [TN Editor]

German legislators have proposed raising the sales tax on meat from seven percent to 19 percent to fight climate change and improve animal welfare. Research has shown that greenhouse gas emissions from livestock account for a higher percentage of total global emissions than the world’s 1.2 billion automobiles, a fact underscored by some German Greens who are pushing for higher meat taxes. A United Nations report from 2012 found that the earth’s cattle population generates more carbon dioxide than automobiles, planes, and all other forms of transport combined. Moreover, the cow pies they deposit and the wind they break produce a third of the world’s methane emissions, considered 20 times more detrimental to the environment.