JERUSALEM, ISRAEL - Standing on Israeli soil, US presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Sunday declared Jerusalem to be the capital of the Jewish state and said the United States has "a solemn duty and a moral imperative" to block Iran from achieving nuclear weapons capability. Romney's declaration that Jerusalem is Israel's capital was matter-of-fact and in keeping with claims made by Israeli governments for decades, even though the United States, like other nations, maintains its embassy in Tel Aviv.

BRUSSELS, EUROPE - Eurogroup chief Jean-Claude Juncker has said there is "no time to lose," as the world talks about a eurozone breakup, with joint action by the European Central Bank and the eurozone bailout funds expected in the coming days. "We have come to a crucial point. There is no more time to lose," [Mr] Juncker said in an interview published both in Le Figaro and Sueddeutsche Zeitung on Monday (30 July). Meanwhile, over 71 percent of Germans want Greece to leave the euro... and over 50 percent of Germans also think their country would be better off outside the euro.

UK - Lloyds banking Group set aside another £700 million to deal with compensation claims for mis-selling insurance products yesterday, while the chief executive admitted the industry is in deep crisis. The banking giant that owns HBOS, the merged Halifax and Bank of Scotland business that collapsed in the financial crisis and was rescued by Lloyds, fell to a half-year loss of £439 million and predicted further trouble. It also revealed it has received subpoenas from governments as part of an investigation into a global interest-rate rigging scandal.

USA - Wayne LaPierre, vice president of the NRA, has called out [Mr] Obama as being part of a “conspiracy to ensure re-election by lulling gun owners to sleep. All that first term, lip service to gun owners is just part of a massive [Mr] Obama conspiracy to deceive voters and hide his true intentions to destroy the Second Amendment during his second term.” LaPierre states that upon re-election, [Mr] Obama will be “busy dismantling and destroying our firearms freedom, erase the 2nd Amendment from the Bill of Rights and excise it from the US Constitution.”

USA - The Department of Homeland Security has ordered masses of riot gear equipment to prepare for potential significant domestic riots at the Republican National Convention, Democratic National Convention and next year’s presidential inauguration. The DHS submitted a rushed solicitation to the Federal Business Opportunities site on Wednesday, which is a portal for Federal government procurement requisitions over $25,000. The request gave the potential suppliers only one day to submit their proposals and a 15-day delivery requirement to Alexandria, Virginia.

EUROPE - Over the past couple of years, Europe has muddled through a long series of crunch moments in its debt crisis, but this September is shaping up as a "make-or-break" month as policymakers run desperately short of options to save the common currency. Crisis or no crisis, many European policymakers will take their summer holidays in August. When they return, a number of crucial events, decisions and deadlines will be waiting. "September will undoubtedly be the crunch time," one senior euro zone policymaker said.

USA - The Pentagon’s DARPA lab has announced a milestone, but it doesn’t involve drones or death missiles. Scientists at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency say they’ve produced 10 million doses of an influenza vaccine in only one month. Scientists with DARPA say they’ve reached an important step in being able to combat a flu pandemic that might someday decimate the Earth’s population. By working with the Medicago Inc vaccine company, the Pentagon’s cutting edge research lab says that they’ve used a massive harvest of tobacco plants to help produce a plethora of flu-fighting vaccines.

USA - The US government is indirectly contributing to the nation’s obesity problem, according to one consumer advocacy group, by providing billions of dollars in agricultural subsidies that help produce junk food. A recent study by the US Public Interest Research Group, says the US Department of Agriculture gave out $18.2 billion from 1995 to 2011 to subsidize four common food additives: corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, corn starch and soy oils (hydrogenated vegetable oil). These additives “provide a cheap dose of sweetness and fat to a wide variety of junk food products,” the research group reported.

USA - The Pentagon said yesterday it plans to send a US air force detachment to Poland to support fighter jets and transport planes, marking the first time that US soldiers have been stationed there. The announcement was made at the end of talks between US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and his Polish counterpart Tomasz Siemoniak. The detachment “will arrive this fall to support quarterly F-16 and C-130 deployments beginning in 2013 and will be the first US forces stationed on Polish soil,” Pentagon spokesman George Little said in a statement.

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL - As Tisha B’Av (the 9th of the Jewish month of Av) arrives, and with it, the mourning caused by the absence of the Holy Temple which would serve as the center of spiritual life for the Jewish people – and according to the tradition, all the nations of the world – a renewed outcry for "Temple consciousness" has arisen with a flurry of activity.

TEMPLE MOUNT, ISRAEL - As Jews fast and mourn the Temple, Muslim Brotherhood members in Egypt will be protesting about their “holiest site” on Temple Mount. The Arab League has released a statement warning Israel to stay away from the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The mosque is located on the Temple Mount, which Judaism teaches is the holiest site in the world.

UK/EUROPE - The Fresh Start group of Conservative MPs launched its green paper on EU reform last week which sets out a range of options to either reform or repatriate EU policy areas. The launch was attended by Foreign Secretary William Hague.

USA - New details from court documents and sources close to the Libor scandal investigation suggest that groups of traders working at three major European banks were heavily involved in rigging global benchmark interest rates.

USA - After setting sights on creating a heavily modified apple that ‘never browns’ and doing their very best to hide the fact that they are indeed genetically altered, a biotech corporation known as Okanagan Specialty Fruits is now pushing for their new genetically modified apples to hit the market.

TOLEDO, OHIO, USA - There are 100 days left in what, at times, has seemed like an endless presidential election. And these are the bewildered sounds of the Undecided American, trying to decide. “I’m definitely not voting for [Mr] Obama. Our country’s in the worst mess ever, and certainly he needs to take some responsibility,” said Bobbie Hodge, 71, a retired nurse from Iron County, Missouri. “And yet, I’m not sure about Romney.” In these next 100 days, President Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney and their political allies will spend hundreds of millions of dollars trying to sway uncommitted voters in a few key states. These are the people they’re after.