EUROPE - In a grotesque parody of a ceremony of a nation state, yesterday the European Parliament opened the new session of the assembly with a flag-raising carried out by soldiers of the Eurocorps – sometimes known as the Eurokorps – a 1,000-strong embryo EU army. Eight soldiers marched carrying a giant EU flag, which was raised to a military salute. A military band played what the EU elite want people to believe is “Europe’s national anthem,” but which in fact has no legal standing as an anthem and is merely a theme tune borrowed from Beethoven’s 9th symphony. Once it was raised, the EU flag stood at the front of and dwarfed the smaller flags of the 28 member states.

MIDDLE EAST - Muslims have been called to flock to the 'Islamic State' to gather for a battle against non-believers throughout the world. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the self-proclaimed leader of the 'Islamic State' stretching across Iraq and Syria, has vowed to lead the conquest of Rome as he called on Muslims to immigrate to his new land to fight under its banner around the globe.

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL - Israel is the most contested piece of real estate in the world. And the most contested piece of real estate within Israel is the Temple Mount in the old city of Jerusalem. Nearly every Jew believes that the Muslim Dome of the Rock, which dominates that thirty-six acre site, sits on the spot of all previous Jewish Temples, including the last one destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. Many Jews and Christians believe that the temple must be and will be rebuilt on that spot. Therein lies the problem. Can you think of a faster way to start World War III?

UK - A British jihadist fighting in Syria has signalled that the UK should be afraid of the terror skills he has learnt after posting a photo of apparently homemade bombs. A Twitter account believed to belong to Nasser Muthana, 20, shows an image of a stack of improvised explosive devices in a garage. Alongside it is the stark warning: "So the UK is afraid I come back with the skills I've gained." Muthana, from Cardiff, appeared in a recruitment video for the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (Isis), last month. He describes himself as a "soldier of the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham" on his Twitter profile and explains his beliefs as based on "a book that guides and a sword that supports it".

ARGENTINA - Argentina is poised to miss a bond payment today, putting the country on the brink of its second default in 13 years, after a US court blocked the cash from being distributed until the government settles with creditors from the previous debt debacle. The nation has a 30-day grace period after missing the $539 million debt payment to seek an accord with a group of defaulted bondholders led by billionaire Paul Singer’s NML Capital Ltd and prevent a default on its $28.7 billion of performing global dollar bonds. While both Argentina and NML have said that they’re open to talks, public comments signal little progress has been made so far.

USA - A menacing cloud of dust swirling above a parched field in Oklahoma is a disturbing reminder of the power of drought. All too often here, when the land is baked dry, the winds can strip away an inch of precious topsoil in as little as 24 hours, soil that has taken centuries to form. In the course of the most arid years, each acre of farmland can lose up to 70 tons of soil and then, wherever the dust is dumped, it can smother the crops it lands on. In the Oklahoma Panhandle, the most remote area of the state, recent rainfall has been so meagre that fears have been kindled of a return to the apocalyptic "Dust Bowl" scenes of the 1930s. Back then, agriculture collapsed and thousands of people left. Across many parts of the state, the drought is acknowledged to have started three-and-a-half years ago with between 30-50 inches less rainfall than on average over that time. "This has had a big economic impact on our economy - if you look at agriculture in 2011-12 alone there were $2 billion losses from crops and cattle."

USA - Throughout California's desperately dry Central Valley, those with water to spare are cashing in. As a third parched summer forces farmers to fallow fields and lay off workers, two water districts and a pair of landowners in the heart of the state's farmland are making millions of dollars by auctioning off their private caches. Nearly 40 others also are seeking to sell their surplus water this year, according to state and federal records. Economists say it's been decades since the water market has been this hot. In the last five years alone, the price has grown tenfold to as much as $2,200 an acre-foot — enough to cover a football field with a foot of water. Unlike the previous drought in 2009, the state has been hands-off, letting the market set the price even though severe shortages prompted a statewide drought emergency declaration this year.

USA - A recent article in the Daily Beast, “Pennsylvania. Oregon. Is Gay Marriage Unstoppable?” began with the observation that “The cascade of same-sex marriage rulings is now a torrent, each more quotable and image-ready than the last.” The piece ended with this conclusion:

“It’s no coincidence that the Oregon and Pennsylvania opinions both began with the stirring stories of the plaintiffs, long term gay couples denied the right to marry. On the surface, those stories are extraneous detail. But on close inspection, they are why the marriage tide won’t be turned.”

The author points out that it is images and stories that have driven recent pro-same-sex marriage rulings by state judiciaries — not the Supreme Court’s 2013 Windsor decision. The real story is this: it’s all about marketing and the cultivation of perceptions, coupled with intimidating tactics.

EUROPE - With Jean-Claude Juncker, Germany will have a politician as President of the EU Commission, who has always been a close ally. Juncker says that "since his earliest youth," he has "always felt particularly close" to Germany, an affinity that "grew even stronger" in later years. The former prime minister of Luxemburg is seen as former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl's protégé and as the "mediator" in Germany's interests, wherein he had also won France over to accept Germany's standpoint on an economic and monetary union.

UK - In today’s Telegraph, David Cameron says that he opposed Jean-Claude Juncker as European Commission President because the appointment involved an effective transfer of power: national governments collectively surrendered their veto over who runs the European Commission to the European Parliament (in a process known as Spitzenkandidaten). This, Cameron argues, changes the constitutional and political balance in the EU in a way that the EU treaties didn't envision.

EUROPE - Italy has assumed the EU presidency, taking the reins from Greece, whose presidency ended June 30. The revolving presidency will belong to Italy for the next sixth months. Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi has promised to use his term to push for a "United States of Europe," which will be particularly challenging with the recent rise of Euro-skeptic parties in European elections. Renzi recently launched an appeal to convince European leaders that a unified continent is in all European countries' best interest. "A stronger and more cohesive Europe is the only solution to solve the problems of our time," Renzi said during a speech in Florence. "For my children's future, I dream, think, and work for the United States of Europe."

EUROPE - Nigel Farage has led his fellow UKIP MEPs in a protest against the European Parliament at the opening of its new session in Strasbourg. The UKIP MEPs turned their backs as an orchestra played Beethoven's Ode to Joy, the EU's unofficial anthem. Most of the party's 24 MEPs - the biggest delegation to the Parliament from the UK - are believed to have taken part in the protest. "Don't recognise flag nor anthem," tweeted one newly-elected UKIP member. UKIP deputy leader Paul Nuttall MEP said: "We don't recognise or respect the EU flag or anthem. They are both symbols of our servitude inside a political union which the British people reject. Conservative MEP Daniel Hannan said members of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), which includes David Cameron's party, "sat quietly" during the anthem, while most MEPs stood. "When the UK leaves the EU, I'll happily stand for Ode to Joy as a mark of respect to the anthem of a friendly neighbouring state," he tweeted.

USA - The United States could soon become a large-scale Spain or Greece, teetering on the edge of financial ruin. That’s according to Donald Trump, who painted a very ugly picture of where this country is headed. Trump made the comments during a recent appearance on Fox News’ “On the Record with Greta Van Susteren.” According to Trump, the United States is no longer a rich country. “When you’re not rich, you have to go out and borrow money. We’re borrowing from the Chinese and others. We’re up to $16 trillion in debt.” He goes on to point out that the downgrade of US debt is inevitable.

USA - The US Supreme Court has ruled a Christian-owned company can claim a religious exemption to a law requiring employers to pay for their workers' contraception. The owners of craft chain Hobby Lobby and others argued the mandate in President Barack Obama's healthcare law violated their religious beliefs. This is arguably the biggest victory for opponents of the Affordable Care act since it was signed into law four years ago, and could open the door to challenges on other aspects of the legislation. Hobby Lobby's backers see it as a straightforward case of the oppressive hand of government forcing religious-minded people to do something to which they morally object.

JAPAN - Japan’s conservative government is making the most significant change in interpretation to its pacifist Constitution since the US-written charter went into effect 67 years ago. That is generating a mixed reaction at home and abroad, especially in the countries that suffered from brutal Japanese colonialism in the first half of the 20th century. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is defending his controversial push to reinterpret the war-renouncing Article 9 of the Constitution. Under the new rules approved by the Cabinet Tuesday, Japan's military would be allowed to exercise the right to "collective self-defense."