United Kingdom

Hoax bomb threats lead to lockdowns and evacuations in dozens of elementary and high schools across both the US and UK on Monday. In the UK thousands of children in at least 21 schools were evacuated after bomb threats were phoned in to police. One anonymous caller said that the resulting shrapnel would “take children’s heads off.” Classes resumed only after police failed to find any explosives or other dangerous items. Today, nine more UK schools in Devon, North Wales, Northern Ireland, South Lanarkshire and across central Scotland were evacuated following malicious phone threats.

The last few weeks have seen 'Project Fear' taken to all new levels by the UK establishment as doom-mongering over a possible Brexit conjure images of post-apocalyptic movies. UK PM Cameron and Chanceller Osborne's latest op-ed tirade warns of 800,000 jobs lost and an "immediate year-long recession" if the Brits exercise their democratic right to vote for sovereignty over tyranny. Judging from the polls, which show Brexit odds tumbling, the fear-mongery is working, however, the markets disagree as forward volatility measures near 2016 highs.

Amnesty International have found banned British manufactured cluster bombs in a Yemeni village which was targeted in Saudi-led coalition airstrikes. This has lead to calls for the UK to come clean on its weapon sales and military support to Saudi Arabia. In a statement on Monday, the UK-based rights group said that  unexploded cluster bombs have turned northern Yemen into “minefields” for civilians. RT reports: The unexploded BL-755 cluster bomb is designed to be dropped from the UK-made Tornado aircraft used by the Saudi Air Force.

• Global stocks see-saw, yields slip as investors get week off to cautious start (Reuters)
• Bayer defies critics with $62 billion Monsanto offer (Reuters)
• Iran has no plans to freeze oil exports, official says ahead of OPEC meeting (Reuters)
• U.S. lifts arms ban on old foe Vietnam as regional tensions simmer (Reuters)
• Anthem, Cigna Privately Bicker as They Seek Merger Approval (WSJ)
• Fed's Bullard sees tight US labor market putting upward pressure on inflation (Reuters)
• A Mystery Deal in Canada Throws Spotlight on Anbang (WSJ)

Science fiction has flooded television and Hollywood in recent decades. Our pop culture has been completely saturated by it—and it has often played a key role in our cultural and political commentary. Films and novels such as Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight or Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games touch upon issues ranging from the War on Terror to the Occupy Wall Street movement.