USA - More than 600 small earthquakes have rattled the Mammoth Lakes region in less than 36 hours as ripple effects continued across one of the most seismically active volcanic regions in California, according to the US Geological Survey. The swarm of quakes — ranging from magnitude 1.0 to 3.8 — began just before 5am Thursday, according to the USGS. “This is one of the largest earthquake swarms we’ve seen in the past decade or so,” said David Shelly, a USGS research seismologist who has been studying the volcanic system near Mammoth Lakes. “We’ll be tracking it closely.” Residents reported periodic rattles through the day but said they were used to the shaking given that Mammoth is a seismically active area.

AFGHANISTAN - Taliban fighters have beheaded 15 civilians in battles for control of a key district near Kabul in a chilling echo of the brutality meted out by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. The Ghazni provincial government said it has lost contact with police in the province's western district of Ajrestan after hundreds of insurgents stormed several villages in the area. The attack by an estimated 700 Taliban fighters began about five days ago and early reports were that more than 100 people had been killed, provincial deputy governor Ahmadullah Ahmadi said. At least 15 of those were decapitated, he added.

UK - A couple were thrown off a bus and branded racists after singing the Peppa Pig theme tune to their autistic daughter, it has been claimed. Nick Barnfield and Sarah Cleaves were travelling with their daughter Heidi on a bus from Sheffield to Doncaster when the 15-month-old started crying. The couple, who live in Rotherham, started singing the song in an effort to cheer their daughter up, but say they were branded racists by another passenger and told to get off the bus by its driver. The couple claimed the woman, who they say was wearing a hijab, took offence to the snorting sounds in the song and believed they were a reference to how pork is forbidden in Islam though this has not been confirmed. She complained to the bus's driver, who, it is claimed, then told the couple it would be 'easier' for them to get off two miles from their home.

UK - Tesco faced fresh embarrassment last night after it emerged its cold pork sausages were contaminated with chicken and turkey and its venison burgers contained lamb. The beleaguered supermarket giant admitted its DNA testing had found undeclared meat in five products on its shelves. The discovery comes just days after it emerged that Tesco had inflated its profit by at least £250 million – amid claims it did so to cover up a slump in profits.

RUSSIA - The Constitutional Court of Russia has acknowledged the ban of homosexual propaganda among the under age as lawful and dismissed a complaint by well-known LGBT activists. The ruling was made in response to a complaint lodged by activists Nikolay Alekseev, Yaroslav Evtushenko and Dmitry Isakov. They tried to dispute the law section of Russia’s administrative code that describes how the law defines “propaganda of non-conventional sexual relationships to minors.”

JAPAN - At least 31 hikers have been found lifeless near the peak of Mount Ontake after Saturday's volcanic eruption. The hikers were not breathing and their hearts had stopped, reports said, but there will be no confirmation of death until after a medical assessment.

UK - Britain is to join air strikes against ISIS militants in Iraq after MPs voted overwhelmingly by 524 to 43 to back military action. Six RAF Tornados are expected to join war planes from the US, France and Arab nations after Parliament staged a six-hour emergency debate on UK intervention. David Cameron insisted Britain cannot 'walk on by' in the face of the threat posed by 'psychopathic terrorists'.

USA – Allied with barbaric regional regimes who gestated "Islamic State," Washington's attack on Syria sets dangerous new precedent. Without a UN mandate or even a cohesive narrative, the United States and its regional allies have begun unilaterally bombing targets in Syria. Together with Turkey, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar - the very sponsors of extremist groups fighting inside of Syria, including the Islamic State, its offshoot al Nusra, and other Al Qaeda aligned factions - the US has opened a new chapter on global anarchy.

UK - In total, the government owes its creditors £1.4 trillion as of this year. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has changed the way it measures our public finances, throwing fresh light on the precise state of the nation's coffers. The latest revisions help bring the UK in line with European accounting standards, but they don't make great reading for the Chancellor. According to the figures, Britain's debt mountain is £127 billion bigger that we first thought. In total, the government owes its creditors £1.4 trillion as of this year.

USA - Dr Ezekiel Emanuel, brother of Rahm Emanuel, says that society would be far better off if people quit trying to live past age 75. His new article entitled “Why I Hope To Die At 75” has the following very creepy subtitle: “An argument that society and families — and you — will be better off if nature takes its course swiftly and promptly”. In the article, Emanuel forcefully argues that the quality of life for most people is significantly diminished past the age of 75 and that once we get to that age we should refuse any more medical care that will extend our lifespans. This is quite chilling to read, considering the fact that this is coming from one of the key architects of Obamacare.

EUROPE - From the immigrant enclaves of the Parisian suburbs to the drizzly bureaucratic city of Brussels to the industrial heartland of Germany, Europe’s old demon returned this summer. “Death to the Jews!” shouted protesters at pro-Palestinian rallies in Belgium and France. “Gas the Jews!” yelled marchers at a similar protest in Germany. The ugly threats were surpassed by uglier violence. Four people were fatally shot in May at the Jewish Museum in Brussels. A Jewish-owned pharmacy in a Paris suburb was destroyed in July by youths protesting Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. A synagogue in Wuppertal, Germany, was attacked with firebombs. A Swedish Jew was beaten with iron pipes. The list goes on. The scattered attacks have raised alarm about how Europe is changing and whether it remains a safe place for Jews.

USA - Facebook wants to stalk you around the Web, and soon you won’t be able to throw it off your digital trail even if you switch between your smartphone, tablet, and desktop computer. The Wall Street Journal reports that the company is set to announce a new advertising platform called Atlas later this month, and its most important feature will be the ability to track Facebook users as they browse the Web, view advertisements, and purchase goods on any of their devices. This advertising platform is meant to help Facebook compete with Google for ad revenues, one area where Google continues to dwarf the social network turned Internet juggernaut (Google is said to have made some $14 billion in ad revenues last year; Facebook made around $2 billion).

GERMANY - Key gauges of German manufacturing slumped in September, falling to a 15-month low as ongoing tensions over Ukraine weighed on the sector. Markit’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for the sector dropped to 50.3, from 51.4 a month earlier. The reading is barely above 50, implying that the sector is expanding, but slowly. No analyst polled by Reuters expected a number this bad. The most pessimistic expert forecast that the PMI figure would fall to 51, while the average analyst believed Germany’s PMI would drop to 51.2. Germany’s factories are particularly exposed to any conflict between Russia and its neighbours, as well as the tit-for-tat sanctions exchanged between Russia and the EU.

GERMANY - The stunning rise of Germany’s anti-euro party threatens to paralyse efforts to hold the eurozone together and may undermine any quantitative easing by the European Central Bank, Standard & Poor’s has warned. Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) has swept through Germany like a tornado, winning 12.6 percent of the vote in Brandenburg and 10.6 percent in Thuringia a week ago. The party has broken into three regional assemblies, after gaining its first platform in Strasbourg with seven euro-MPs.

ISRAEL - Greek Orthodox priest Father Gabriel Nadaf, a leader of the Aramaean Christian minority in Israel, spoke before the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on Tuesday in a strong show of support for the Jewish state. Despite speaking before a body that has consistently condemned Israel - recently it appointed a biased committee to investigate claims of "war crimes" against Israel in Gaza, and praised the human rights "achievements" of Hamas and Islamic State (ISIS) supporter Qatar - Nadaf spoke firmly, calling for the world to stand by Israel against terror.