EUROPE - The future of the eurozone was thrown into new confusion last night after the sudden resignation of Germany's top financial official from the executive board of the Frankfurt based European Central Bank.
VATICAN - The Pope yesterday blamed the riots that swept Britain last month on a loss of awareness of what is right and wrong. Benedict XVI said that 'moral relativism' had permeated British society to such a degree that many people no longer held shared values and were confused about what constituted wrongful actions.
UK - Britain could 'get ahead' by loosening its ties with Europe, William Hague has revealed. The Foreign Secretary voiced support for increasingly vocal Tory Eurosceptics who want a shift in the UK's relationship with Brussels.
USA - Feeding a supercomputer with news stories could help predict major world events, according to US research. A study, based on millions of articles, charted deteriorating national sentiment ahead of the recent revolutions in Libya and Egypt. While the analysis was carried out retrospectively, scientists say the same processes could be used to anticipate upcoming conflict.
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - A US military reconnaissance plane came under electronic attack from North Korea and had to make an emergency landing during a major military exercise in March, a political aide said Friday.
USA - The US Senate, in an unusual procedure, cleared the way Thursday for the US to lift its borrowing authority by $500 billion to $15.19 trillion, enough to keep the support federal government borrowing through late January or early February.
EUROPE - Germany and Holland have threatened to block rescue payments to Greece unless the country complies to the letter with bail-out terms, raising the spectre of default and a chain-reaction through southern Europe.
UK - Currently more than 800,000 home owners - 7.3% of all households with a home loan - have a mortgage that is bigger than the market value of their property. But thanks to lax lending during the credit boom, and several years of house price falls, this number could double if property prices dip a further 10%.
LONDON, UK - PPR Estates said it had seen rising number of inquiries from property owners in London looking for a quick sale below the current market price. It said rising unemployment, an increase in the number of company liquidations and a collapse in buyer interest - particularly in areas hit by the recent riots - were to blame.
UK - Millions of public sector workers, including teachers and Customs officials, could strike in November in the row over pensions, a union claimed yesterday. Leaders of the Public and Commercial Services union have agreed to call a second strike, following a 24-hour walkout by civil servants and teachers in June.
CHINA - China's top official newspaper warned on Friday that "madmen" on Capitol Hill who want the United States to sell advanced weapons to Taiwan were playing with fire and could pay a "disastrous price," as the Obama administration nears a decision on a sale.
USA - The US has warned of a "specific, credible threat" ahead of the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, possibly in New York or Washington DC. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the threat was "uncorroborated", but security would be boosted at bridges, tunnels and on public transport.
USA - A massive power cut has caused blackouts in the US states of California and Arizona, and in Mexico. Five million people were without power on Thursday, with many likely to remain out of service for another day or two.
WILKES-BARRE, PENNSYLVANIA, USA - Nearly 100,000 people from New York to Maryland were ordered to flee the rising Susquehanna River on Thursday as the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee dumped more rain across the Northeast, closing major highways and socking areas still recovering from Hurricane Irene.
BASTROP, TEXAS, USA - A huge wildfire raging near Austin, Texas, has destroyed nearly 1,400 homes and is still spreading, officials said Thursday.