MIDDLE EAST - Radical Islamic cleric Abu Qatada, who is being tried on terror charges in Jordan, on Tuesday denounced as "void" the declaration of a caliphate by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS). "The announcement of a caliphate by the Islamic State is void and meaningless because it was not approved by jihadists in other parts of the world," Abu Qatada was quoted by AFP as having written in a 21-page document published on jihadist websites. ISIS, which has been fighting in neighboring Syria and Iraq, on June 29 proclaimed a "caliphate" straddling both countries and headed by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who now calls himself Caliph Ibrahim. It is now calling itself Islamic State instead of using the full ISIS name.

UK - The Archbishops of Canterbury and York have signalled they are glad the previous attempts to ordain women bishops collapsed because the new arrangements are more likely to hold the Church together. The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, disclosed that he was “not disappointed” when previous legislation failed to pass the General Synod less than two years ago, despite the fact that it threw the church into its biggest crisis of recent times. The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Justin Welby, said the new deal which relies on trust rather than detailed rules was “much more Christ-like” than what was on the table before. Members of the ruling General Synod gave overwhelming backing to a plan to ordain women as bishops as early as the end of this year, in a historic vote in York on Monday.

USA - White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Monday the Obama administration’s foreign policies in a number of areas have enhanced the world’s “tranquility” – a word that raised eyebrows as reporters pointed to situations in Gaza, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Ukraine and the South China Sea. More than one reporter during Monday’s press briefing referred to a front-page Wall Street Journal article highlighting some of those crises, and citing security strategists as saying “the breadth of global instability now unfolding hasn’t been seen since the late 1970s.” ABC News’ Jon Karl… pointed to “what’s looking like an all-out war” between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, Sunni jihadist successes in “taking over vast territory in Iraq and in Syria,” Russian aggression in Ukraine, and concerns about Chinese handling of territorial disputes in the South China Sea. “It doesn’t seem like a time to be touting tranquility on the international scene,” he told Earnest.

USA - Americans should be worried. The US military has grounded all its new F-35 Joint Strike Fighters following an incident on June 23, when one of the high-tech warplanes caught fire on the runway of a Florida air base. The no-fly order — which affects at least 50 F-35s at training and test bases in Florida, Arizona, California and Maryland — began on the evening of July 3 and continued through July 11. All those F-35s sitting idle could be a preview of a future in which potentially thousands of the Pentagon’s warplanes can’t reliably fly.

USA - Residents of California can now face fines of up to $500 (£300) a day for watering their lawns as the state takes unprecedented action to combat the worst drought in recent history. In one of the most drastic responses yet to tackling the problem, state regulators on Tuesday voted to approve hefty penalties for people who waste water on non-essential uses, such as watering lawns, using sprinklers and washing cars. Last month nearly 80 per cent of the Golden State was considered to be under "extreme" and "exceptional" drought conditions, the highest categories.

UK - British Prime Minister David Cameron named eurosceptic Philip Hammond as his new foreign secretary in a major cabinet reshuffle ahead of next year's general election. Former defence secretary Hammond, who replaces William Hague, supports Britain leaving the European Union unless significant powers are returned to London before a referendum promised for 2017. The prime minister has pledged to hold a referendum on Britain leaving the EU if he is re-elected.

CHINA - China told the United States on Tuesday to stay out of disputes over the South China Sea and leave countries in the region to resolve problems themselves, after Washington said it wanted a freeze on stoking tension. Michael Fuchs, US deputy assistant secretary of state for Strategy and Multilateral Affairs, said no country was solely responsible for escalating tension in the region. But he reiterated the US view that "provocative and unilateral" behaviour by China had raised questions about its willingness to abide by international law.

EUROPE - A majority in the European Parliament has approved former Luxembourg PM Jean-Claude Juncker to be President of the European Commission. He got 422 votes out of the 729 total cast in the secret ballot, despite strong opposition earlier from Britain. He told reporters in Strasbourg he was prepared to discuss repatriating some powers from Brussels to member states. A firm believer in EU integration, he will succeed incumbent Jose Manuel Barroso of Portugal in November. The presidency is the most powerful job in Brussels. The Commission drafts EU laws, oversees national budgets, enforces EU treaties and negotiates international trade deals.

QATAR - Qatar will buy US Patriot missiles for the first time in a major arms deal worth $11 billion, officials said Monday, as Washington awaits a decision by the Gulf state on a lucrative fighter jet contract. The sale will provide Qatar with roughly 10 batteries for Patriot systems designed to knock out incoming missiles, as well as 24 Apache helicopters and 500 Javelin anti-tank missiles, the US officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP. Qatar was investing in missile defense systems to counter what it sees as the threat from Iran across the Gulf, as Tehran has built up its missile arsenal, officials said. Qatar has stepped up weapons purchases as it takes on an increasingly influential role in the region.

USA - Extreme heat from a massive supervolcano underneath Yellowstone National Park is melting a major roadway at the popular summertime tourist attraction. Park officials have closed the area to visitors. Firehole Lake Drive, a 3-mile-plus offshoot of the park’s Grand Loop that connects the Old Faithful geyser and the Madison Junction, is currently off limits. Park operators say the danger of stepping on seemingly solid soil into severely hot water is “high.” “It basically turned the asphalt into soup. It turned the gravel road into oatmeal,” Yellowstone spokesman Dan Hottle said. The affected roadway offers access to the Great Fountain Geyser, White Dome Geyser, and Firehole Lake. While thermal activity under the park often gives way to temperature fluctuations that can soften asphalt throughout Yellowstone, Hottle said the latest wave seems worse than usual.

GERMANY - German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on Friday that cooperation with Washington must be built not just on trust, but also on mutual respect, calling the dismissal of the CIA's top man in the country "a necessary step" in response to US spying. "We want our partnership, our friendship, to be renewed on an honest foundation," Steinmeier told reporters in Berlin. "We are ready for that in any case." The foreign minister called it an "illusion" to believe that Germany could resolve the dispute without US cooperation. Both Steinmeier and US Secretary of State John Kerry are scheduled to attend the latest round of talks on Iran's nuclear program in Vienna this weekend. The German foreign minister said he would express his concerns to his US counterpart when they meet in the Austrian capital.

ISRAEL - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel has "no choice" but to step up its air strikes on Gaza, after an Egyptian truce initiative failed to halt militant rocket attacks on Israel. "When there is no ceasefire, our answer is fire," Mr Netanyahu said. Hamas, which controls Gaza, has not responded officially to the initiative. Its military wing has rejected it. Israel launched its Operation Protective Edge eight days ago to try to halt the rocket attacks. It took six hours for the first attempt to broker a deal between Israel and Hamas to founder. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu had warned that if the rocket fire continued, Israel would hit back hard - and now it has.

ISRAEL - IAF to stop striking Gaza at 9:00 am - despite Hamas's refusal to adhere to the terms and conditions. The Security Cabinet has agreed to Egypt's proposal for a cease-fire with Hamas, beginning at 9:00 am IST - despite the fact that Hamas categorically rejected the offer on Monday night. "The cabinet has decided to accept the Egyptian initiative for a ceasefire starting 9 am today," Ofir Gendelman, spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said on Twitter. The decision came as a surprise to both ministers and political analysts, after Hamas categorically rejected the notion of a ceasefire just hours before. "A ceasefire without reaching an agreement is rejected. In times of war, you don't cease fire and then negotiate," Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum told AFP.

ISRAEL - The Hamas ‘Surprise’ Israel Knocked Out of the Sky – but Its Potential as a Weapon Is Frightening. An aerial drone launched by Hamas was knocked out of Israeli airspace Monday by an Israel Defense Forces Patriot missile battery, marking the first reported use by Hamas of an unmanned aerial vehicle as a weapon and a frightening development for Israel. “It was shot to smithereens,” IDF spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner told the New York Times. Hamas’ military wing the Al Qassam Brigades claimed responsibility for sending a “number of drones” into Israel and described the innovation as one of the “surprises” it has been preparing for Israel, the New York Times reported. “The Hamas group claimed its engineers had manufactured three types of unmanned aircraft, including those that could be armed or used as a guided missile, a kind of suicide drone. The claims of armed drones or overflights of Israeli military installations could not be confirmed,” the Post reported.

LIBYA - Libya is considering a deployment of international force to re-establish security amid a flare-up of violence in Tripoli which saw dozens of rockets destroy most of the civilian aircraft fleet at its international airport. “The government is looking into the possibility of making an appeal for international forces on the ground to re-establish security and help the government impose its authority,” a government spokesman, Ahmed Lamine said in a statement. The statement comes after deadly clashes led to the closing of the main international airport in Tripoli on Sunday, which came under a renewed rocket attack on Monday. According to the country’s government at least seven people have been killed at the airport since Sunday, and around 90 percent of aircraft parked at the hub were destroyed or made inoperable. The control tower was damaged as well as several Grad rockets struck the transit hub.