UK - The Bank of England cut Britain's growth forecast from a predicted 0.8 per cent for 2012 to around zero today as it warned the country's economy would grind to a halt. Bank of England Governor Mervyn King said that the threat from the eurozone, tough austerity measures and tight lending conditions have dragged on the British economy and stopped growth. In reaction to the comments, Jason Conibear, Sales & Trading Director at forex specialists, Cambridge Mercantile, said: "The wheels of the economy are well and truly off." The Bank of England hasn't got the foggiest how things might pan out in the economy, just that it's likely to be a long and slow process — something we all know anyway.

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL - M K (Member of Knesset) Zevulun Orlev of the Jewish Home party has called for massive reforms, including new Basic Laws, in order to establish a Third Temple in Jerusalem.

VATICAN - The Vatican is alarmed at what it sees as the erosion of religious freedom in the United States, warning of a threat of “unprecedented gravity” to the Catholic Church’s “liberty and public moral witness.”

GERMANY - The tone in the euro debate is becoming more aggressive. Bavarian Finance Minister Markus Söder said on Sunday that Greece must be 'made an example of.' Politicians in other countries are resorting to similarly provocative rhetoric. Ten populists are whipping up sentiment - and thereby worsening the crisis.

ROME, ITALY - In happier times, ice-cream seller Antonio Siracusa would have considered turning to relatives for help when he lost his job in a cinema in Rome. But these are not happy times. So Siracusa chooses to go to a free canteen run by Christians in the district of Trastevere for dinner, and picks up free food parcels for other meals.

RUSSIA - Britain could be hit by a hike in food prices as large swathes of the world suffer from dry weather. Farmers in Russia are being crippled by severe drought, which has caused a potentially devastating drop in the country's grain production. Fears are mounting that the country, which exports the cheapest wheat, will impose an export ban, pushing up the price of food globally. Russia is forecast to produce 75 million tons of grain this year – a 30 per cent drop in the country’s usual yield. Global wheat prices have already soared this summer after the worst drought in more than half a century hit Midwest America.

UK - A virus which causes newborn lambs and calves to be born dead or with serious deformities could spread across Britain by the end of year. Experts warned today that the Schmallenberg virus – found on 276 British farms since it first entered this country last year – has not died out as hoped. It has already killed hundreds of animals in southern and eastern England, and could spread north and west and into Wales and Scotland in the coming months.

NASA - In 2010, NASA scientists discovered four stars which absolutely dwarf anything that comes before them - they are 300 times as massive as the Sun, and twice as large as it was predicted stars could ever be. Now researchers at the Bonn University in Germany, say the stars, part of the giant star cluster R136 in the Large Magellanic Cloud, which is about 160,000 light years from Earth, could be the size they are thanks to a few mergers and acquisitions.

USA - Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy knows firsthand that defending traditional marriage is a dangerous business proposition. After saying he was "guilty as charged" for being a man of faith, calls for boycotts began. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel criticized Cathy while embracing Louis Farrakhan. Boston Mayor Tom Menino called for a ban on the restaurant chain. Even the Muppets got involved. The message was clear: MODERN-DAY LIBERALISM IS AT WAR WITH AMERICAN VALUES.

USA - The US leading drug maker Pfizer Inc will pay total $60.2 million to settle a federal investigation on alleged bribing of overseas doctors and other health officials to prescribe medicines. The US Securities and Exchange Commission announced that the company will pay a $45 million fine to resolve charges of bribery in more than a dozen countries in Asia and Eastern Europe. Separately, Pfizer agreed to pay another $15 million under the deal with the Justice Department to settle similar charges, although it neither admitted to nor denied the allegations.

USA - A massive trove of gold kept under lock and key five stories below Manhattan at the New York Federal Reserve has been undergoing its first audit in history. It could put conspiracy theories - for example, that the gold is a sham - to sleep for good. According to the official record, the US government keeps billions of dollars in gold stored beneath the New York Fed's Italian Renaissance fortress around the block from Wall Street. But conspiracy theorists claim that the gold stock may have been stolen years back in a dramatic caper, that it's been used for backdoor deals with foreign governments, or even that it's been removed and replaced with gold-painted metal bars.

USA - A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that the government is immune to wireless wiretapping lawsuits in a decision that the plaintiff’s attorney says releases Washington and the White House from ever being held accountable for spying on citizens. A three-judge panel serving the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in California canceled an attempt from the attorney representing the now-defunct al-Haramain Islamic Foundation to hold the federal government accountable for wiretapping his clients without a warrant, despite previously winning a federal case on the argument that the interception of phone records occurred illegally.

FRANCE - President François Hollande is vowing to impose a 75 percent tax on the portion of anyone’s income above a million euros ($1.24 million) a year. But because there are relatively few people in France whose income would incur such a tax — perhaps no more than 30,000 in a country of 65 million — the gains might contribute but a small fraction of the €33 billion in new revenue the government wants to raise next year to help balance the budget.

USA - The worst drought in half a century is slashing US crop and livestock production, President Obama said on Tuesday as he called on Congress to pass a farm bill that will send disaster aid to more farmers and ranchers. During a meeting of [Mr] Obama's rural council at the White House, he said the administration will do all it can to alleviate the impact of the drought. "It is a historic drought and it is having a profound impact on farmers and ranchers all across many states," [Mr] Obama said.

MANILA, PHILIPPINES - At least 16 people have died in severe floods in the Philippine capital, Manila, officials say. More than 80,000 people are in emergency shelters, as torrential rain left low-lying areas under water. The flooding - neck-deep in some parts of the city - forced the closure of offices and schools around the city. More than half the amount of rain normally seen in August has fallen in the capital in 24 hours, reports say. The current rain and floods are said to be the worst to hit the country since 2009.