TURKEY - The implementation of Mr Erdogan’s long-desired presidential system based on Islamic values is beginning to look inevitable, says Patrick Cockburn. As crowds chant calls for the execution of those involved in the failed coup in Turkey, there are fears that this once-secular country is decisively turning the corner towards full scale Islamisation. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is using the attempted military takeover to justify a purge of state officials and army officers who do not give him total obedience, opening the door for him to establish an all-powerful presidency while seemingly Islamising Turkish society to a degree not seen since the fall of the Ottomans.

TURKEY - Turkey’s state of emergency means temporary suspension of the European Convention on Human Rights, the deputy prime minister has said, adding this is expected to last for a month and a half. The state of emergency in Turkey follows a failed military coup. "We want to end the state of emergency as soon as possible. We believe [it could end within] one to one and a half months. I do not need a second extension,” said Deputy PM Numan Kurtulmus, as cited by Turkish broadcaster NTV. According to Kurtulmus, there were “structural and individual” intelligence failures during the coup attempt. He added that the government is planning to restructure the army. As a result, the European Convention on Human Rights will be “temporarily suspended” due to the state of emergency, he added.

USA - The federal debt moved above $19,400,000,000,000 for the first time as of the close of business on Tuesday, according to the data released today by the US Treasury. At the close of business on Monday, July 18, the total federal debt was $19,391,094,247,028.26, according to the Treasury. By the close of business on Tuesday, July 19, it had risen to $19,402,361,890,929.46. On Friday, October 30, 2015, Congress passed the “Bipartisan Budget Act,” which suspended the legal debt limit until March 15, 2017. President Obama signed that bill into law on Monday, November 2, 2015. At the close of business on October 30, the federal debt stood at $18,152,981,685,747.52. In the less than nine months since then, the federal debt has increased by $1,249,380,205,181.94.

ISRAEL - A conversation between two of the most distinguished rabbis in Israel indicates scholars of the Torah see unmistakable signs of the coming of the Messiah. What’s more, in the Messianic era, Christians will become a source of Torah learning, as believers in Jesus Christ rediscover the source of their beliefs in both Judaism and the Torah.

USA - Many Christians refer to them as “the Jewish feasts or holidays.”

Yet, nowhere in the Bible are they referred to as such. Instead, God refers to them as His “Feasts of the Lord.” They were practiced from the time of Moses, through Jesus, through the Apostles and early church and, according to prophetic scripture, will be practiced in the Kingdom of God after the return of Jesus – by all nations.

AUSTRALIA - Clapping has been banned at a Sydney primary school which has introduced “silent cheering”, “pulling excited faces” and “punching the air” to respect students who are “sensitive to noise”. The school now only allows its pupils “to conduct a silent cheer” when prompted by teachers and says the practice “reduces fidgeting”.

GERMANY - Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump threatens US and world security with his "politics of fear and isolation," German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on Wednesday. Steinmeier, a Social Democrat, told Reuters in a written interview that he was concerned about what he called Trump's ambiguous vows to "make America strong again" while simultaneously reducing its engagement overseas.

UK - When she visits Berlin on Wednesday evening on her first foreign trip since becoming prime minister, the most pressing question Theresa May is likely to face from Angela Merkel will be how and when she intends to extract Britain from the European Union.

TURKEY - Ever since Turkey joined Nato in 1952, its membership has been viewed as a vital bulwark in the defence of Europe against threats emanating from Russia and the Arab world. During the Cold War, the fact that American bombers could be flying over the former Soviet Union within an hour of take-off from their Turkish bases meant the other alliance members were unswerving in the commitment to keep Turkey in Nato.

TURKEY - Around 50,000 people have been suspended or detained and academics have been banned from leaving Turkey, as President Erdogan continues his crackdown in the wake of a failed coup attempt. Soldiers, police, judges and teachers make up the bulk of the people detained since fighting broke out on Friday night in Turkey's capital Ankara, Istanbul and elsewhere. The government has also moved to revoke the licenses of 21,000 teachers at private schools, state run media reports. They have been accused of ties to the plot or suspected of links to a US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen whom authorities accuse of being behind the plot. However, Gulen has denied any involvement in the coup attempt. Turkey will announce emergency measures on Wednesday to try to shore up stability and prevent damage to the economy.

RUSSIA - Russia intends to develop its ties with China in all areas as the two nations share common goals and approaches, and the current historical moment has all prerequisites for this program, Russian Foreign Minister writes in a fresh newspaper article. “Here in Russia, we are persistently aiming at further realization of the potential of the [Russia-China Friendship and Cooperation] Treaty, at deepening of our ties with China in a wide variety of directions. All necessary prerequisites for this already exist, these are the political will, the economic feasibility and matching priorities in the international politics,” Sergey Lavrov wrote in the article published by the Renmin Ribao daily on the 15th anniversary of the signing of the treaty.

USA - In our upside down world, evil has become good and good has become evil. Once upon a time, everyone in society generally knew what was “right” and what was “wrong” even if they didn’t always abide by the rules. But now the rules have been totally flipped on their head. If you choose to live a lifestyle that is morally wrong, you are celebrated by society, and if you choose to speak out against the sexual sin that is exploding everywhere around us then you are considered to be a “hater” and a “bigot”. In fact, governments all over the world are now passing “hate speech” laws that are making it a crime to speak out against sexual sin. With each passing year it gets even worse, and those pushing this agenda forward are never going to be satisfied until those standing up for Biblical truth are locked away in prison.

TURKEY - Turkey is ready to work towards restoration of peace and stability in the region together with Russia and Iran, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a telephone conversation with Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani on Monday. "Today, we are determined more than ever before to contribute to the solution of regional problems hand in hand with Iran and Russia and in cooperation with them," the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) quoted Erdogan as saying. The Turkish president informed Rouhani about the situation in Turkey. "At present, the situation is getting back to normal but it is too early to say that everything is over," Erdogan said. For his part, Hassan Rouhani gave credit to the courage and political maturity of the Turkish people who stood up to defend the legitimate authorities.

GERMANY - Anti-immigration movement PEGIDA has launched the process of founding a political party, the movement's head Lutz Bachmann said in Dresden. The new faction would act as an ally of the far-right AfD. PEGIDA members aim to enter the election arena with the new Popular Party for Freedom and Direct Democracy, Bachmann told his supporters on Monday. The move is also a reaction to authorities considering a ban of the organization, according to Bachman. However, voices within the movement have long speculated about transforming the populist, anti-immigration group into a political party. The populist movement is ideologically close to the far-right AfD party, which is expected to enter the federal parliament in the next election cycle.

ITALY - A long-dormant complex of volcanoes on Rome's doorstep is slowly filling up with liquid magma and will erupt once more, according to scientists at Italy's National Vulcanology and Geophysics Institute (INVG). Scientists made the startling discovery while carrying out research into the historical eruption patterns of the Alban Hills volcanic complex over the last 600,000 years. “The surprising results reveal these volcanoes are anything but extinct,” explained INVG geophysicist Fabrizio Marra, who studied the hills with colleagues from Rome's Sapienza University. “They are moving out of a dormant state and are waking up.”