IRAN - Iran is moving ahead with a nuclear program that US officials said would be frozen, and it is now clear the USA and other world powers are willing to accept an Iranian enrichment program that Iran refuses to abandon, say analysts. Iran has continued research and development on new, far more efficient machines for producing uranium fuel that could power reactors or bombs, and its stockpile of low enriched uranium has actually grown, according to a report by Institute for Science and International Security. The Iranian regime has also trumpeted recent tests of new ballistic missiles that could be used to deliver a future warhead while its pariah economy has begun a modest recovery.

RUSSIA - Russia's upper house of parliament has approved President Putin's request for Russian forces to be used in Ukraine. He had asked that Russian forces be used "until the normalisation of the political situation in the country". Russia's Black Sea Fleet is based in the Ukrainian region of Crimea, where many ethnic Russians live. Kiev has reacted angrily to days of military movements in Crimea, accusing Moscow of trying to provoke the new government into an armed conflict. Russia's Vladimir Putin submitted the request for troops "in connection with the extraordinary situation in Ukraine and the threat to the lives of Russian citizens", the Kremlin said.

UK - Savers have lost more than £300 billion due to the Bank of England’s decision to cut interest rates to the lowest level in history, research reveals today. As the fifth anniversary of the 0.5 per cent base rate approaches on Wednesday, critics attacked the treatment of savers, the devastating impact on their lives and the erosion of the country’s savings culture. The study, by campaign group Save our Savers (SoS), looked at Britain’s £1.2 trillion balance of cash savings, held in everything from ordinary bank accounts to tax-free cash Isas. Simon Rose, from SoS, said: ‘Who could possibly believe that five years on, savers are still being punished? It is foolish in the extreme.’ The Bank has said rates could start rising again from spring next year.

UK - A 'whole generation' of first-time buyers faces a financial squeeze when interest rates rise, an expert has warned. Graham Beale, the chief executive of Nationwide, said around one million people have bought a property since interest rates fell to 0.5 per cent in March 2009. This means they have never had to experience an increase in the cost of mortgages. Mr Beale added that a rise in interest rates could see the cost of the average mortgage soar by a staggering £230 a month. He added that research by the Bank of England suggests that if mortgage rates were to increase by 2.5 per cent, bringing them back to 2007 levels, the cost of a typical mortgage would rise by an estimated £230 a month.

UK - Former Olympic champion Jonathan Edwards has revealed he no longer believes in God – but is happier than he’s ever been. His Christian faith was so important to him as a young man that he refused to compete on a Sunday and famously gave up the chance to take part in the 1991 World Athletics Championships as a result. ‘I just stopped believing in God,’ said Edwards, ‘I don’t go to church any more. Not at all. I don’t miss my faith. In many ways I feel more settled and happier in myself without it. I think I was probably quite narrow-minded and fundamental in my views and a bit of a scary person. I believed that what I believed was the truth. Some of those extremes I feel slightly embarrassed about now, but overall no regrets.’

GERMANY - One of the most prominent conservatives in the German church is retiring as archbishop of Cologne — opening up a prestigious vacancy for Pope Francis to fill. The Vatican said Friday that Francis had accepted the resignation of Cardinal Joachim Meisner for age reasons. Meisner has been an outspoken and sometimes controversial conservative figure in liberally minded Germany. He opposed plans to build a large mosque in Cologne and once urged Chancellor Angela Merkel to apologize for criticizing the Vatican's handling of the case of a Holocaust-denying bishop.

UK - Labour has been plunged into further controversy after new evidence suggested one of its former Cabinet ministers once defended a policy calling for the legalisation of sex with children as young as 10. The allegations were the latest to centre on the role of senior Labour figures in the National Council for Civil Liberties (NCCL) during the Seventies, a time when the organisation had links to a paedophile group. New details have emerged showing how Patricia Hewitt, then the body’s general secretary, tried to defend a policy that would have legalised sex with 10-year-olds. The evidence was disclosed in a letter in which Mrs Hewitt — later health secretary in Tony Blair’s government —argued in favour of a reduction in the age of consent, despite a senior teacher pointing out that such a move could only be promoted by “some very twisted minds”.

USA - A thunderstorm that brought sorely-needed rain to drought-plagued California is winding down after sending mudslides down foothill communities, flooding roadways and opening up sinkholes. Evacuation orders remained in effect for hundreds of homes in Los Angeles County foothill communities where recent wildfires have burned away vegetation that holds soil in place, and bursts of rain caused occasional debris flows.

The storm marked a sharp departure from many months of drought that has grown to crisis proportions for the state's vast farming industry. However, such storms would have to be much more frequent to make major headway against the drought, weather forecasters say. The storm was so volatile that a tornado warning was issued early Saturday for suburbs east of Los Angeles.

CHINA - A knife-wielding gang carried out an attack Saturday evening at a rail station in the south China city of Kunming, killing at least 29 and injuring more than 100, Chinese state media reported Sunday. It was one of the deadliest attacks in China in years, and Chinese President Xi Jinping issued an unusual directive, distributed by the state news agency Xinhua, calling for authorities to “severely punish” what he called “violent terrorists.” Xinhua reported that four of the attackers had been killed, but it provided no information on when they died. “Resolutely crack down on those who have been swollen with arrogance,” Xi's directive said, according to Xinhua. “Understand the serious and complex nature of combating terrorism. Go all out to maintain social stability.”

TEMPLE MOUNT, JERUSALEM, ISRAEL - Israeli police have announced they will limit access for Muslim men to Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque compound during Friday prayers to prevent possible clashes following services, AFP reported Thursday.

UK/USA - I do hope that GCHQ is monitoring my computer. That’s not something you hear every day – especially since Edward Snowden. But anyone who, like me, has been searching for "DNA synthesisers" and "type H botulinum toxin" might be worth checking out. Whenever we debate security and privacy online, both sides have their go-to staples: terrorists/paedophiles versus Orwell/Stasi.

USA - Today, the US Food and Drug Administration held day one of a public meeting outlining the creation of genetically modified humans. These experiments won’t take place in the distant future. In fact, GMO embryos have already been created via in vitro experiments.

UK - Two days ago the FT released a clear, informative and fact-based article, titled simply enough “Gold price rigging fears put investors on alert” in which author Madison Marriage, citing a report by the Fideres consultancy, revealed that global gold prices may have been manipulated on 50 per cent of occasions between January 2010 and December 2013.

EUROPE - If you are anxiously awaiting the arrival of the "economic collapse", just open up your eyes and look at what is happening in Europe. The entire continent is a giant economic mess right now. Unemployment and poverty levels are setting record highs, car sales are setting record lows, and there is an ocean of bad loans and red ink everywhere you look.

SYRIA - A militant Islamist group has demanded Christians living in the north-east of Syria pay it a tax in return for protection as it seeks to build a traditional "Caliphate" in areas it controls. The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) published the terms under which minorities could live under its rule in a statement on the internet. "Christians are obligated to pay Jizya tax on every adult male to the value of four golden dinars for the wealthy, half of that for middle-income citizens and half of that for the poor," their decree said. "They must not hide their status, and can pay in two instalments per year." Four dinars would amount to just over half an ounce of gold, worth £435 at current prices.