JERUSALEM, ISRAEL - Is a Moslem cleric lighting one match too many? Jerusalem Mufti Muhammad Hussein says Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem, Hevron could start a religious war. Muhammad Hussein, known as the "Mufti of Jerusalem and Palestine," calls on all Moslems to take action to save the "holy places" and to support the Palestinian intifada.
USA - George Soros has slashed the amount of money he is willing to gamble on the fortunes of the US stock market in the second quarter as market volatility increased. The legendary investor's Soros Fund Management - which has approximately $25 billion (16 billion pounds) under management - reduced its equity investments by 42 percent to $5.1 billion by the end of June, down from $8.8 billion at the end of March.
USA - The Great Recession has dramatically shrunk the time left for the big AAA states to prevent a full-blown sovereign debt crisis as their demographic time-bomb threatens, US rating agency Moody's has warned. "Genuinely adverse debt dynamics were only expected to materialise in 15 to 20 years. The crisis has 'fast-forwarded' history, eroding all the time available to adjust," said the group's quarterly Sovereign Monitor.
UK - Bees are better off in the town than the country, according to new National Trust research that found the insects thrive in urban areas. Researchers at the University of Worcester analysed the pollen collected by bees from 45 hives on National Trust property around the country. They found that bees in towns and cities have a much more "varied diet", taking pollen from different flowers.
WASHINGTON, USA - A long-standing deadline for sealing the ruptured Gulf of Mexico well deep below the seabed will be missed as US officials and BP tackle concerns about debris lodged in the well. BP and US government representatives had hoped to complete a "bottom kill" procedure and officially pronounce the well dead by mid-August, but the US pointman on the oil spill response said Monday the bid was on hold.
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA, USA - Four Florida residents have died from a mosquito-borne disease that normally afflicts horses, health officials reported on Tuesday as the swampy state enters peak season for mosquito-borne illnesses.
IRAN - Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi said on Tuesday that Iran will unveil next week an array of weapons, including missiles, speedboats and a long range drone, the ISNA news agency reported. Two missiles, Qiam (Rising) and the third generation Fateh 110 (Conqueror) would be tested next week when Iran marks the annual government week, Vahidi said in reference to the Iranian week which starts on Saturday.
NEW YORK, USA - There was a possible resolution in the works Tuesday night in the debate surrounding the proposed mosque and Islamic cultural center near ground zero. CBS 2's Marcia Kramer has learned it looks as if the developers of the mosque may be willing to budge and move away from the Park 51 location where they originally planned the construction. So will the mosque be moving?
UK - Around the country bales have been stolen from the side of the road, barns, outhouses and even from occupied stables. Farmers said cost of hay has risen from the usual 2.50 pounds per bale to 4.50 pounds or even 6 pounds in some parts of the country.
SAUDI ARABIA - Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula urged soldiers to help topple the Saudi monarchy and kill Christians and government officials in the kingdom, said someone purporting to be a leader of the group in a recording.
CHINA - China, whose $2.45 trillion in foreign-exchange reserves are the world's largest, is turning bullish on Europe and Japan at the expense of the US. The nation has been buying "quite a lot" of European bonds, said Yu Yongding, a former adviser to the People's Bank of China who was part of a foreign-policy advisory committee that visited France, Spain and Germany from June 20 to July 2.
AFRICA - Development aid to Africa has been flowing for decades, but the results have been paltry. Instead, recipients have merely become dependent and initiative has been snuffed out. It is time to reform the system.
PAKISTAN - The devastating flooding in Pakistan has spurred a macabre race between extremist Taliban Islamists and the West. Both sides are competing to arrive first with aid and thus win the hearts of locals in remote regions who have felt neglected or abandoned by their government for decades. The flooding has exacerbated those sentiments.
USA - Opticians say American teenagers are risking their eyesight by wearing a controversial contact lens to make their eyes look bigger. The trend started after Lady Gaga's music video, Bad Romance, hit screens last year. In the video, the singer's eyes have been digitally altered to make them look bigger and bolder.
IRAN - Iran will start building a new uranium enrichment plant early next year, the country's top nuclear official says. The plant is one of 10 new uranium enrichment facilities Iran has said it is planning. Vice-President Ali Akbar Salehi said Iran has now found sites for all the new plants.