UK - Britain is at risk of being “sanitised” of faith because an “aggressive form of secularism” in workplaces and public bodies is forcing Christians to hide their beliefs, a former attorney general has warned. Dominic Grieve said he found it “quite extraordinary” that people were being sacked or disciplined for expressing their beliefs at work. He described Christianity as a “powerful force for good” in modern Britain and warned that Christians should not be “intimidated” and “excluded” for their beliefs. He said that politicians and public figures should not be afraid of “doing God” and that they have a duty to explain how their beliefs inform their decisions.

USA - The US FDA prevents such things as artisanal cheese and butter being imported from Europe, products that have been in use for hundreds of years and don't make people sick, but - speaking of sick - this breathtakingly corrupt agency is allowing big food processors to grow food in the US but then process it in China in facilities with far less stringent regulation, and send it back here for us to eat! Worse, the producers only have to say where it was grown, not where it was processed! There would appear to be no good explanation for this except corruption at the highest levels - not necessarily illegal corruption, but friendly handshaking between the executives of big food processors and FDA administrators. One thing is very clear: of least importance to the FDA is its obligation to protect us and our children. Far more important is to enable big food processors to increase their profits.

UK - Depending on the force of the explosion, minute particles thrust beyond the earth’s atmosphere can trigger DECADES of chaotic weather patterns. Tiny pieces of debris act as billions of shields reflecting the sun’s light away from earth meaning winter temperatures could plunge lower than ever before while summer will be devoid of sunshine. The first effect could be a bitterly cold winter to arrive in weeks with thermometers plunging into minus figures and not rising long before next summer. Weathermen say the effect in the UK could be nothing short of catastrophic if an explosion is strong enough.

UK - Inbuilt GPS is an essential feature of most modern mobile phones, with Google Maps, one of the most widely-downloaded apps on the App Store, a must for pinpointing your location and getting around. But did you know that your iPhone is using that GPS to track your every move, and store data about your whereabouts every time you use your device? Privacy campaigners were outraged in 2011 when two British software developers discovered that Apple had been tracking users' location in a hidden data file. The latest discovery, which most iPhone users will have turned on without thinking, is likely to raise more than a few questions about just why this data is being stored, and who has access to it.

USA - The federal government is spending nearly $1 million to create an online database that will track “misinformation” and hate speech on Twitter. The National Science Foundation is financing the creation of a web service that will monitor “suspicious memes” and what it considers “false and misleading ideas,” with a major focus on political activity online. The “Truthy” database, created by researchers at Indiana University, is designed to “detect political smears, astroturfing, misinformation, and other social pollution.” The government-funded researchers hope that the public will use their tool in the future to report on other Twitter users.

EUROPE - Europe will remain heavily reliant on Russian gas for at least another decade, according to a leading rating agency. Fitch said a lack of alternative sources meant policymakers would have no choice but to continue buying gas from Russia until at least the mid-2020s and "potentially much longer". Europe already buys a quarter of its gas from Russia, and analysts expect consumption to increase by a third by 2030 as economies recover from the debt crisis and gas-fired electricity generation replaces old coal and nuclear power.

UK - The Prime Minister has always refused to say he would campaign to sever ties if he failed to achieve his promised reforms, but he is now poised to issue the warning, according to reports. Mr Cameron has pledged that a Conservative government would hold a referendum on EU membership by the end of 2017 after renegotiating London's relationship with Brussels.

UK - Last week, two men in the world of football lost their jobs and suffered widespread public ridicule for things they said in private conversations. I can’t be the only person who finds this outrageous. I don’t particularly care what was in Malky Mackay and Iain Moody’s text messages; I care about the Enlightenment-era principle that, in the words of the great 17th century jurist Edward Coke, “No man shall be examined upon the secret thoughts of his heart, or of his secret opinion”. In other words, we should never be punished in public for what we think or say or believe in private. That principle, that central ideal of civilised society, has now been breached, and we should be very worried that this has happened. If society now truly believes that it is legitimate to punish people for their private speech, then we need to recognise that no area of life, not a single zone of it, remains safe for letting off steam, for being unguarded, for speaking freely and stupidly and, yes, sometimes wickedly. Are you okay with that?

UK - Britons who travel to Syria and Iraq without informing the authorities should be presumed to be potential terrorists until proved innocent, Boris Johnson says. In an article for The Telegraph, Mr Johnson warns that police are finding it “very difficult” to press charges against suspected jihadists without direct evidence of their “ghastly” activities. He suggests there should be a “swift and minor change in the law” to introduce a new “rebuttable presumption” that those who travel to war zones without notifying the authorities have done so for “terrorist purposes”. Mr Johnson says Britain needs to help to “close down” the Islamic caliphate before it is too late, adding that “doing nothing is surely worst of all”.

GERMANY - While Hamas shoots Iranian-supplied missiles at civilians deep in the heart of Israel, Germany is pushing for increased economic engagement with Iran. The German Near and Middle East Association, or NUMOV, as it is known by its German acronym, backed by high level German businessmen and politicians, is planning a trade mission to Iran in December. With Iran’s continued nuclear activities, its human rights abuses, and its current missile support for Hamas during its attacks on Israel, Jewish and human rights activists are furious.

IRAN - Tehran will "accelerate" arming Palestinians in the occupied West Bank in retaliation for Israel deploying a spy drone over Iran, which was shot down, a military commander said on Monday. "We will accelerate the arming of the West Bank and we reserve the right to give any response," said General Amir-Ali Hajizadeh, commander of aerial forces of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards, in a statement on their official website sepahnews.com. The warning comes a day after the Guards said they had brought down an Israeli stealth drone above the Natanz uranium enrichment site in the centre of the country.

LIBYA - An alliance of Islamist militias said it wrested control of Tripoli’s international airport from a rival force after weeks of fighting that triggered an exodus of foreigners and threatened to plunge Libya deeper into chaos. Libya’s defunct, Islamist-dominated parliament said it would temporarily resume its sessions, the state-run Libya News Agency reported, a move that may set the stage for dueling legislatures amid a leadership vacuum. The fighting has battered Libya, undercut efforts to revive oil output in the OPEC member and dimmed hopes for a transition to democracy. It has sparked concern the nation, led by a largely toothless central government, will descend into anarchy and emerge as little more than a failed state controlled by militias.

EUROPE - NATO officials are considering deploying a long-planned missile defense system - aimed at protecting Europe from attacks from the Middle East - against Russia as well, SPIEGEL has learned. Calls for such an expansion to the system's remit, which is backed by the United States, are growing in Poland as well as in NATO member states Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia. In the run-up to next week's NATO summit, the four countries called for the remaining members to agree on language at the summit that would pave the way for the plan. They feel threatened by Russia's intervention in Ukraine. But the majority of NATO members, especially Germany, are opposed to the proposal, warning that it could result in an unnecessary provocation of Moscow.

NIGERIA- Boko Haram's leader said a town in the north east of Nigeria seized by the insurgents earlier this month has been placed under an Islamic caliphate, in a video obtained by AFP on Sunday. "Thanks be to Allah who gave victory to our brethren in (the town of) Gwoza and made it part of the Islamic caliphate," Abubakar Shekau said in the 52-minute video. The military however rejected the claim, saying in a statement the "sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Nigerian state is still intact". In a July video, Shekau voiced support for the leader of the Islamic State and the Levant (Isil) militant Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who in late June declared himself "the caliph" and "leader of Muslims everywhere".

MIDDLE EAST - The video of James Foley’s execution may have been staged, with the actual murder taking place off-camera, it has emerged. Forensic analysis of the footage of the journalist’s death has suggested that the British jihadist in the film may have been the frontman rather than the killer. The clip, which apparently depicts Mr Foley’s brutal beheading, has been widely seen as a propaganda coup for Islamic State miltant group. But a study of the four-minute 40-second clip, carried out by an international forensic science company which has worked for police forces across Britain, suggested camera trickery and slick post-production techniques appear to have been used.