USA - Experts say a bigger earthquake along the lesser-known fault that gave Southern California a moderate shake could do more damage to the region than the long-dreaded "Big One" from the more famous San Andreas Fault. The Puente Hills thrust fault, which brought Friday night's magnitude 5.1 quake centered in La Habra and well over 100 aftershocks by Sunday, stretches from northern Orange County under downtown Los Angeles into Hollywood — a heavily populated swath of the Los Angeles area.

USA - Yellowstone National Park, which sits atop one of the world's largest super-volcanoes, was struck on Sunday by a magnitude 4.8 earthquake, the biggest recorded there since February 1980, but no damage or injuries were immediately reported. The tremor, a relatively light event by seismic standards, struck the northwest corner of the park and capped a flurry of smaller quakes at Yellowstone since Thursday, geologists at the University of Utah Seismograph Stations said in a statement. The latest earthquake struck at 6:34 am near the Norris Geyser Basin and was felt about 23 miles away in two small Montana towns adjacent to year-around entrances to the park - Gardiner and West Yellowstone.

INDIA - The moon is all set to be painted red on April 14-15 as total lunar eclipse 2014 becomes the most talked about thing in the world. The lunar eclipse is already a talking point across the world more than a fortnight before it will be a reality. Sky watchers and astronomers are certainly excited with the prospect of watching the eclipse when the Earth will come between the sun and the moon. This time it is going to be a rather interesting and long lunar eclipse that will begin with partial eclipse. The partial eclipse will begin when the moon enters Earth’s umbral shadow.

KOREA - North and South Korea fired hundreds of artillery shells into each other's waters Monday in a flare-up of animosity that forced residents of five front-line South Korean islands to evacuate to shelters for several hours, South Korean officials said. The exchange of fire into the Yellow Sea followed Pyongyang's sudden announcement that it would conduct live-fire drills in seven areas north of the Koreas' disputed maritime boundary. North Korea routinely test-fires artillery and missiles into the ocean but rarely discloses those plans in advance. The announcement was seen as an expression of Pyongyang's frustration at making little progress in its recent push to win outside aid.

UK - Chauffeurs, photographers and caterers will break the law if they do not provide services to same-sex couples getting married on conscience grounds, the government's equality watchdog has said. In accordance with new rules introduced yesterday, businesses such as florists, hoteliers and wedding planners could have to pay thousands of pounds in damages to same-sex couples if they refuse to work on a gay wedding. The guidance, drawn up by the Equality and Human Rights Commission and civil servants, makes it clear that "refusal to provide services to customers" is in breach of equality laws and all weddings must be catered for on an equal basis. Tory MP David Burrowes, Tory MP for Enfield Southgate, in north London, said the guidelines were in breach of assurances given by ministers that people's employment rights would not be affected by their views. He said a "chill wind" was passing that would lead to greater intolerance.

CHINA - China is considering a plan to cover the entire world with a network of surveillance satellites. If it went ahead the plan could see more than 50 observation satellites in orbit within two years, The South China Morning Post reported. This would put the country’s satellite surveillance capabilities on a par, or greater than, the US. The paper said support for the massive upscale was fuelled by China’s frustration over the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight 370. After a three-week search satellites have been unable to locate for certain debris from the disappeared plane, which was carrying mainly Chinese passengers on a scheduled flight to Beijing.

FRANCE - France's anti-immigrant Front National was on track to win at least 14 towns in local elections, exit polls showed on Sunday, beating its previous record amid public dissatisfaction with President Francois Hollande's Socialists. After winning the northern town of Henin-Beaumont in round one, the FN took at least 13 more towns, including Béziers in the southwest and Fréjus, population 84,000, on the Riviera. Its best ever previous score was just three, in 1995. The Front National scored a major victory by claiming the mayorship of the 7th sector of Marseille, putting it in charge of 150,000 people. “We have moved onto a new level,” Marine Le Pen, FN leader, claimed. “There is now a third major political force in our country.”

TEMPLE MOUNT, ISRAEL - A wide ranging group of rabbis from the National Religious camp have written a letter to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu advocating the construction of a synagogue on the Temple Mount, Judaism's holiest site. Among the rabbis are those considered religiously “conservative” and who have avoided making public calls for prayers on the Temple Mount until now – including Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu – as well as those considered more “liberal,” including Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, Rabbi She'ar Yashuv-Cohen, Rabbi Menachem Borstein, and Rabbi Daniel Shilo. Many of the latter have also avoided calling for prayers on the Mount as well.

VATICAN - President Obama’s first meeting with Pope Francis produced a little schism of its own. The Vatican and White House gave starkly different versions Thursday of Mr Obama’s meeting with Francis. The president’s account downplayed the Catholic Church’s concerns about religious freedom in the United States and Obamacare’s mandate to pay for contraception.

USA - A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck suburban Los Angeles on Friday evening, rattling a wide swath of Southern California, breaking water mains in a nearby community and prompting Disneyland to shut down rides. There were no reports of injury or substantial structural damage from the quake, which was centered outside the city of La Habra, about 20 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, and hit at 9:09 pm on Friday (12:09 am EDT on Saturday), according to the US Geological Survey. "Tonight's earthquake is the second in two weeks, and reminds us to be prepared," Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said in a written statement released about an hour after the shaking stopped.

SAUDI ARABIA - US President Barack Obama reportedly promised Saudi King Abdullah that the United States would not accept a “bad deal” with Iran, an American official said Friday. According to Reuters, the official said that Obama and the King discussed "tactical differences" in their approach to some issues during a meeting in Riyadh on Friday, but agreed both sides remain strategically aligned. The US and Saudi Arabia had a falling out in recent months over the Obama administration's foreign policy, particularly over Syria and Iran.

UK - David Cameron has hailed the first same-sex marriages in England and Wales as sending a "powerful message" about equality in Britain. The law changed at midnight, with a number of gay couples vying to claim the title of being the first to be married in Britain by trying to time it perfectly so their vows were said just seconds after the clock struck midnight. The prime minister said the reform was necessary because "when people's love is divided by law, it is that law that needs to change". Writing in Pink News he said "this weekend is an important moment" because "we will at last have equal marriage in our country".

EUROPE - Venice just held a 'non-binding' referendum on whether the city should once again become an independent city-state and secede from Italy. An astonishing 89% voted 'yes' (which makes the outcome of the Crimea referendum no longer look 'strangely one-sided'). This happens just as Scotland's vote whether to remain part of the UK is approaching and Catalonia is preparing to vote whether to remain with Spain. And while the Scottish and Catalan pro-independence forces are toying with the idea of joining the EU, there is another part of Italy that wants to secede as well and wants to definitely get out of the EU – in fact, this goal appears to be one of its motives. The island of Sardinia – which contrary to Venice is actually quite a poor place – wants to leave Italy and join Switzerland instead.

USA - NCIS and its sibling NCIS: Los Angeles are the top-rated dramas on television, a distinction they have held for several years. But what exactly are so many Americans watching — and rooting for — when they tune in for these TV shows? A closer look reveals that both series are uncomfortably akin to a cheering section for the NSA: The shows depict a world in which terrorists planning mass slaughter are under every bed, in which viewers root for the good-looking, wisecracking agents to smash down doors without warrants; in which super-advanced electronic surveillance is used exclusively to protect the public. In the NCIS version of reality, we’ll all die unless powerful government agencies treat the United States Constitution like a big joke.

GERMANY - Since their partial Ukrainian success in the power struggle over the ring of countries separating Russia's borders from those of the EU, Berlin and Brussels have been stepping up their efforts to integrate Georgia into their hegemonic system. The EU is calling on Georgia - a country geostrategists accord great importance not only for Russia's encirclement, but for European access to Asia - to sign the EU Association Agreement in June, ahead of schedule.