ARGENTINA - Argentina has defaulted on its debt - for the second time in 13 years - after last-minute talks in New York with a group of bond-holders ended in failure. So-called "vulture fund" investors were demanding a full pay-out of $1.3 billion (£766 million) on bonds they hold. Argentina has said it cannot afford to do so, and has accused them of using its debt problems to make a big profit. The fresh default is not expected to affect Argentina's economy in the same way it did in 2001, when dozens were killed in street protests and the authorities froze savers' accounts to halt a run on the banks. "The full consequences of default are not predictable, but they certainly are not positive", the court appointed mediator said.

ISRAEL - Hamas does not only use schools to store weapons and launch rockets, as the IDF discovered. Gaza’s Hamas terrorist rulers do not only use schools to store weapons and launch rockets towards Israel. On Wednesday, a joint IDF task force uncovered a tunnel entrance on the ground floor of a mosque that had been used by Hamas terrorists to attack Israeli soldiers.

FRANCE - In the suburbs of Paris, a Jewish family gathers to read the Torah. But soon they will be gone. They're part of a growing number of French Jews and leaving their country because the future simply looks too dangerous. In January, demonstrators in Paris shouted, "We don't want Jews" and gave the Nazi salute. It was a chilling reminder of France's World War II past when Jews were deported to concentration camps. Before the war, European Jews waited too long to leave and ended up trapped. French Jews don't want to make the same mistake again. CBN News interviewed a French family under the condition that they not be identified because they fear a backlash from French society. In a few months the family will leave for Israel. They told us they preferred to go while they could leave on their terms instead of someday having to flee for their lives.

UK - Britain is not going to start World War Three over Russia’s involvement in Ukraine, David Cameron has said. The Prime Minister compared Russia’s behaviour in Ukraine to Germany’s before the break out of both the First and Second world wars. Mr Cameron said then that Britain was “not about to launch a European war, we are not about to send the fleet to the Black Sea”. But Mr Cameron said the West had to draw a line or Russia would start to put similar pressure on European Union countries on the eastern fringes of the Continent like Romania. He said that fresh sanctions against Russia were part of an effort by the West to ratchet up the pressure on President Vladimir Putin and force him to change course.

SPAIN - Spain’s government announced on Tuesday it planned to introduce a “fast lane” for workers resident in Spain with jobs in Gibraltar in a bid to reduce traffic queues at the border to the tiny British Overseas Territory. The measure, which follows the EU recommending both sides work to ease traffic flow at the frontier, is designed to limit disruption for commuters who travel to Gibraltar each day for employment. Spain’s Tax Administration Agency said it would spend 5.3 million euros to establish the “fast lane” using bar code readers and turnstiles to check passes issued by those who could prove they are resident in Spain but have regular work in Gibraltar. An estimated 6,000 workers cross the border into Gibraltar each day. Gibraltar’s government immediately criticised the plans as not going far enough, claiming freedom of movement should be a privilege enjoyed by all.

UK - Deadly foreign diseases like Ebola are a 'potential major threat’ to Britain, the government’s chief scientist has warned, as public health officials urged doctors to watch for signs that the virus has spread to the UK. The disease, which can be fatal for up to 90 per cent of infected victims, has now killed more than 670 people across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Public Health England has issued an urgent warning to doctors to watch for signs of the lethal disease after an infected man was allowed to travel through an international hub. They said the virus was ‘clearly not under control.’ In an interview with The Telegraph Sir Mark Walport, the government’s Chief Scientific Advisor, said that the increasingly ‘interconnected’ world was placing Britons at risk.

UK - Fears of a global Ebola pandemic are 'justified' an expert has said as Nigerian health officials try to trace 30,000 people at risk of contracting the deadly disease following the death of Patrick Sawyer. The US citizen boarded a flight in Liberia carrying the disease to Nigeria, potentially infecting 'anyone on the same plane'. It comes as Nigerian actor Jim Lyke sparked outrage, posting a picture of himself wearing an Ebola mask while sitting in a first class airport lounge as he fled Liberia. The 'Nollywood' star posted a message on his Instagram page saying he had cut short a business trip to Monrovia in Liberia - where at least 600 people have already died from the disease. The death toll for this, the worst outbreak recorded since the Ebola virus was discovered in 1976, stands at 672, while more than 1,200 people have been infected.

ISRAEL - An organization based in Jerusalem is working on a detailed architectural blueprint for the Third Jewish Temple on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount — and has turned to the internet for help with the controversial project. The Temple Institute, which has recreated 60 vessels to be used in a Third Temple and which sponsors educational programs about the temple worldwide, has created a $100,000 Indiegogo campaign to draft plans for a Third Temple. Building the temple, says the Indiegogo campaign statement, would “usher in a new era of universal harmony and peace,” as prophesied in the Bible.

USA - The Obama administration pushed back strongly Monday at a torrent of Israeli criticism over Secretary of State John Kerry's latest bid to secure a cease-fire with Hamas, accusing some in Israel of launching a "misinformation campaign" against the top American diplomat. "It's simply not the way partners and allies treat each other," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said. Her comments were echoed by the White House, where National Security Adviser Susan Rice said the US was "dismayed" by mischaracterizations of Kerry's efforts. Israeli media reports have cast Kerry as seeking a cease-fire that is more favorable to Hamas and being dismissive of key Israeli concerns.

USA/ISRAEL - Secretary of State John Kerry has made a significant mistake in how he’s pursuing a Gaza cease-fire — and it’s not surprising that he has upset both the Israelis and some moderate Palestinians. Kerry’s error has been to put so much emphasis on achieving a quick halt to the bloodshed that he has solidified the role of Hamas, the intractable, unpopular Islamist group that leads Gaza, along with the two hard-line Islamist nations that are its key supporters, Qatar and Turkey. In the process, he has undercut not simply the Israelis but also the Egyptians and the Fatah movement that runs the Palestinian Authority, all of which want to see an end to Hamas rule in Gaza.

ISRAEL - No More Tears! Now we shall build our Holy Temple! To my Jewish brothers around the world and to all who yearn to connect to the One True God of Israel and the world - THE DEBATE IS OVER! This period of mourning, this coming 9th of Av, shall be different from all others! During this time all of the Jewish People will surely unite in helping to lay the floor plans for the Holy Temple that we have been waiting for 1,947 years to build! Rabbi Chaim Richman, International Director of the Temple Institute in Jerusalem has announced an amazing plan to complete all architectural preparations for the actual construction of the Holy Temple!

MIDDLE EAST - Mosab Hassan Yousef, the son of one of Hamas's founders Sheikh Hassan Yousef, has said that the current conflict illustrates how the Islamist group's disregard for human life is central to its ideology. "Hamas does not care about the lives of Palestinians, does not care about the lives of Israelis or Americans - they don't care about their own lives," he said in an interview with CNN. "They consider dying for the sake of their ideology as a way of worship."

MIDDLE EAST - The United Nations Relief & Works Agency For Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) announced Tuesday that another rocket stockpile has been found at one of its schools in Gaza. This instance marks the third time since the beginning of Operation Protective Edge that a weapons arsenal has been found at an UNRWA school in Gaza. UNRWA has yet to place blame on any individuals or organizations for placing the weapons stockpile within a children’s school. The UN body refused to do so on the past two previous occasions as well. The UN body, after both previous findings, has handed the rockets it had found back into the possession of “the local police," otherwise known as the terrorist group Hamas. This week, UNRWA supplies and building materials had been found in Hamas’s tunnel infrastructure, which has been used to smuggle weapons and carry out attacks on the State of Israel.

USA - On Sunday, President Obama and First Lady Michelle released a statement thanking Muslim Americans for their many “achievements and contributions… to building the very fabric of our nation and strengthening the core of our democracy.” The comments were made to mark the celebration of Eid-al-Fitr, a time of spiritual renewal for Muslims which comes at the end of the month-long fast of Ramadan. The Obamas said in their statement that Eid “celebrates the common values that unite us in our humanity” and “welcomed their commitment to giving back to their communities.” The International Business Times reports that during Eid, Muslims join in Islamic prayer, while saying "Allahu Akbar," or "God is Great," and feasting. The statement further reads that the administration “wishes Muslims in the United States and around the world a blessed and joyous celebration.” The letter ended with salutation of “Eid Mubarak,” which roughly means “blessed celebration.”

UK - Another day, another banking disgrace. This week it is the turn of Lloyds, once a cosy and even beloved high street institution. Its management has reached a settlement with British and American regulators whereby it pays fines of £218 million to atone for its share in the 2006-09 Libor interest rate-fixing scandal, in which some of the biggest names in banking have been engaged right up to their dirty little white collars.