ISRAEL - Yoram Ettinger, the former Israeli consul in Washington, DC, is unfazed by Mahmoud Abbas's threats to dismantle the Palestinian Authority (PA) if negotiations with Israel are discontinued. Ambassador Ettinger told Arutz Sheva that Abbas is well aware of Israel's fear of taking control of Judea and Samaria. “He knows that the Israeli leadership gets weak-kneed when faced with such declarations, and he estimates that Israel will lose its cool and announce that it cannot rule the territory, and then carry out concessions that it is not willing to carry out at present.”

USA - The US Supreme Court Monday decided to hear the case of an American born in Jerusalem, once again taking up the sensitive issue of the status of the contested city, according to AFP. The justices will hear arguments in the case in the fall before deciding on the constitutionality of a 2002 law that directs the State Department to give Israel as the country of birth in passports of Americans born in Jerusalem. At the center of the struggle between the Congress and the presidency is Menachem Zivotofsky, who was born in Jerusalem in 2002 to two American parents. His passport says "born in Jerusalem" but his parents want Israel added to the place of birth, putting them at odds with the State Department. Jerusalem is Israel's capital, but the international community repeatedly refuses to recognize it as such.

ISRAEL - Deputy Minister Ofir Akunis (Likud) criticized Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas's demands on Tuesday, by which Israel would have to freeze building in Judea and Samaria for three months to continue peace talks. "Abbas is (former PA Chairman Yasser) Arafat in disguise," declared Akunis. "The Palestinian leadership under Abbas just changed its tone and not its essence," he argued. "Under the honey-coated words and diplomacy is hiding an extremist leadership which is not interested in peace or an agreement, but rather in endless extortion of terrorist releases, concessions and withdrawals by Israel - just as a condition to have peace talks."

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL - The Palestinian Authority (PA) government met on Tuesday and blamed Israel for paving the road to a "religious war," while calling on the "Palestinian public" to block Jews from the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism. The statement summarizing the meeting in Ramallah called on Arab residents under the PA to defend their holy sites by coming to Al-Aqsa Mosque and opposing Jewish presence on the Temple Mount. In particular, the statement called on Arab visitors to Al-Aqsa to block "the attacks of the radicals and to prevent (MK Moshe) Feiglin and his aides from continuing to defile the Al-Aqsa Mosque."

UK - Christians are increasingly reluctant to express their religious views because they are being “turned off” by the “disturbing” and “very damaging” rise of religious fundamentalism, the Attorney General has said. Dominic Grieve said that atheists who claim that Britain is no longer a Christian nation are “deluding themselves” and must accept that faith has shaped this country’s laws and ethics. He said that 1,500 years of Christian values are “not going to disappear overnight” and said that many people remain believers even if they choose not to go to Church. However, he warned people are being discouraged from openly declaring their beliefs because of the “deep intolerance” of religious extremists of all faiths, including Islam and Christianity.

UK - Tony Blair has warned Western leaders they must put aside their differences with Russia over Ukraine to focus on the threat of Islamic extremism. In a speech the former UK prime minister - now a Middle East envoy - said powerful nations must "take sides" and back "open-minded" groups. Ahead of the speech, Mr Blair also warned the West would pay a "very heavy price" for not intervening in Syria. He said the opportunity to create "an optimistic solution" had been missed. The former PM - now envoy for the quartet of the UN, EU, US and Russia - said in his speech that Western leaders must "elevate the issue of religious extremism to the top of the agenda".

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL - Thousands of Christians have gathered in Jerusalem to light torches and candles from a holy flame that 'miraculously' emerged from the tomb of Jesus in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on the eve of Orthodox Easter. The Holy Fire ignites, apparently of its own accord, from the tomb of Jesus Christ at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. It has been descending on the church for more than 1,500 years and it is believed that the year in which it doesn’t light will be the last year in the history of man. The fire descends on Jerusalem during a prayer by the Patriarch of Jerusalem and All Palestine, who then passes the flame to pilgrims. The pilgrims light 33 candles –that have all been tied together - from the fire to symbolize every year of Christ’s life. As the fire doesn’t burn during the first moments after its appearance, pilgrims wash their faces and heads in it, apparently suffering no injury.

UK - Some were more powerful – in one case, dozens of times stronger – than the atom bomb blast that destroyed Hiroshima in 1945 with an energy yield equivalent to 16 kilotons of TNT. Most occurred too high in the atmosphere to cause any serious damage on the ground. But the evidence was a sobering reminder of how vulnerable the Earth was to the threat from space, scientists said. The impacts were recorded by the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organisation, which operates a global network of sensors set up to detect nuclear weapon detonations. None of the asteroids were picked up or tracked in advance by any space or Earth based observatory.

EUROPE - 'The EU: The Truth About The Fourth Reich - How Hitler Won The Second World War' argues the single currency, the free market and even the phrase "United States of Europe" were all dreamt up by high ranking Nazis, including the Fuhrer himself. It also claims the only country which benefits from the EU is Germany - just as Hitler planned.

GERMANY - If there are two qualities prized by modern Germans, they surely are Ruhe (peace and quiet) and Ordnung (order). So the past few months have been profoundly unsettling. First, the United States — the very power that helped Germany to its feet after 1945 and instilled democracy in the ruins of Hitler’s Reich — was found to be a less than transparent ally. The National Security Agency, riding roughshod over concepts of privacy and individual freedom treasured by Germans, had collected huge amounts of electronic data from ordinary citizens and had even spied on the chancellor, Angela Merkel.

USA - Boasting more back channels and revolving doors with national and regional governments than most other companies on the planet, Monsanto is used to getting its way. With the direct assistance of the US government and diplomatic services, the company goes from strength to strength, regardless of its myriad scandals. Present in more than 80 countries around the world, Monsanto is now the world’s leading manufacturer of GM seeds. Its main competitors include the German agribusiness and chemical behemoths Bayer, Syngenta and BASF, and US chemicals titan Dow.

USA - Man-made air pollution kills millions of people every year, but a new study suggests that poor air quality in India and China could be contributing to extreme weather patterns in the US and Canada. The study by researchers at Texas A&M, the first of its kind to focus on smog in Asia, found that air pollution originating in the region almost certainly affects global weather patterns.

USA - Clean and affordable water is the basis of life. Skyrocketing water prices, unsafe supply, failing infrastructure — these problems fall disproportionately on the most vulnerable among us. This is why public institutions, not private corporations, must lead the development of water systems and delivery. The World Bank Group is uniquely positioned to increase access to clean water for the billions who need it. Instead of using its position to line the pockets of water companies, it should support what is most needed: affordable and clean — and public — water for all.

EUROPE - On Sunday, 4 March, thirteen European countries joined with the European Sunday Alliance, made up of various types of unions, associations of civil society, together with Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox communities, all together to confirm the special and fundamental characteristic of Sunday.

VATICAN - Easter services today are expected to kick off a record-breaking week at the Vatican. Two beloved modern popes — John Paul II and John XXIII — are to be canonized at the Vatican next Sunday by Pope Francis. There will be services all week, which could draw the most pilgrims ever to the Catholic capital. John Paul II is remembered for helping to bring down communism and for inspiring a generation of Catholics. Many now call him “The Great,” only the fourth pope to have earned the moniker.