"A necessary condition to getting a true solution [to the Israeli-Palestinian] conflict was and remains clear as the sun: ending the refusal to recognize the right of the Jews to a homeland of their own in the land of their fathers," Netanyahu said. "That is the most important key to solving the conflict."

Netanyahu's words came at the start of a conference marking 20 years since the founding of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, the site of Netanyahu's famous "Bar-Ilan speech" from four years ago, where he stated his willingness for a two-state solution. Those who anticipated that Netanyahu might use the same venue to again break new-ground on the Palestinians issue were disappointed.

Rather then present a "vision" speech of where he thought the negotiations with the Palestinians were headed, Netanyahu used the opportunity to emphasize that a Palestinian recognition of Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people was a necessary condition to any agreement. He said that since the first Arab attack on a home housing Jewish immigrants in Jaffa in 1921, the root of the conflict has not been the "occupation," the "territories" or the settlements, but rather an Arab refusal to recognize the Jews' right to a sovereign state in their historic homeland.

The nation has been at the debt limit since May 17. Since then, the Treasury Department has undertaken what it calls "extraordinary measures," which include delaying pension fund payments and drawing down an emergency fund.

Once those measures are exhausted, the government would have only enough money to pay its bills as it has revenue on any given day. As of October 17, the Treasury expects its cash-on-hand will be reduced to $30 billion. The government typically spends $60 billion every day.

It's unclear exactly how Treasury would juggle those payments. During the last debt-limit crisis in 2011, the Treasury Department ruled out many stopgap measures to maintain spending and pay its debts, such as selling off assets. The United States has more than $350 billion in gold reserves on its balance sheet, for example, but Treasury officials said a "fire sale" on gold would hurt the dollar and the economy, according to a 2012 report from the Treasury Office of the Inspector General.

The Treasury has no practical way of reducing payments by an across-the-board percentage to stay under the debt limit. "If we have insufficient cash on hand, it would be impossible for the United States of America to meet all of its obligations for the first time in our history," Lew said.

An Associated Press analysis of households in the 10 biggest economies shows that families continue to spend cautiously and have pulled hundreds of billions of dollars out of stocks, cut borrowing for the first time in decades and poured money into savings and bonds that offer puny interest payments, often too low to keep up with inflation.

"It doesn't take very much to destroy confidence, but it takes an awful lot to build it back," says Ian Bright, senior economist at ING, a global bank based in Amsterdam. "The attitude toward risk is permanently reset."

A flight to safety on such a global scale is unprecedented since the end of World War II.

The implications are huge: Shunning debt and spending less can be good for one family's finances. When hundreds of millions do it together, it can starve the global economy.

MasterCard will be the first major payment network to join FIDO. The Alliance is developing an open industry standard for biometric data such as fingerprints to be used for identification online. The goal is to replace clunky passwords and take friction out of logging on and purchasing using mobile devices.

Instead all those giving evidence in court would make a secular pledge which it is thought would make it fairer and more relevant for people to help them understand the importance of what they are saying. The proposals are to be debated this month by the Magistrates’ Association, and if agreed will be put forward to the Ministry of Justice.

Ian Abrahams, a magistrate from Bristol, said he had often seen people shrug their shoulders when presented with the religious oath, not caring that they are being asked to swear on the bible.

Under his proposals all holy books of all religions would be removed and people would instead read an affirmation promising “very sincerely” to tell the truth.

Backed by Tory and Labour Eurosceptics, he is set to force a Commons vote on the issue in five weeks’ time.

If he wins, it would mean Parliament will rule that the referendum should be fast-forwarded to next October. Mr Cameron reacted with fury when he learned of the proposal last night – and immediately vowed to stop it at all costs. Downing Street made it clear the Prime Minister will refuse point-blank to accelerate the referendum.

In a defiant response, a No 10 spokesman said: ‘We will not allow this amendment to be passed under any circumstances. The PM will not let it stand.’ Aides would not say how the PM intended to veto the amendment but he is prepared to withdraw the entire legislation if Mr Afriyie wins. And he may simply defy the parliamentary vote. It sets the scene for an extraordinary confrontation when MPs vote on the issue on November 8.

A senior Government source said: ‘This is a deliberate attempt to sabotage the Prime Minister’s referendum plan. It is simply not possible to renegotiate our membership of the EU in under 12 months.’ Windsor MP Mr Afriyie, who earlier this year was accused of plotting a Tory leadership bid, has even named the exact date he wants the referendum: October 23 – the anniversary of the Battle of El Alamein, the turning point in the Second World War.

Mr Afriyie, a self-made millionaire, will tomorrow table an amendment to the legislation which paves the way for the 2017 vote in an attempt to bring it forward to 2014. The rebel, who says Britain should cut its ties with Brussels unless key powers are returned, claims he has ‘widespread support’ from Tory and Labour MPs.

It is therefore right to ask, “Is Germany taking its responsibilities seriously for its neighbors in the East, the Middle East and the southern Mediterranean? What contribution should Germany make to winning the emerging powers as partners in the international order? And if we seek a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, what role are we prepared to play in crises in far-off regions?”

Behind his myriad phrases about “freedom”, “peace” and “prosperity”, Gauck made his real concerns abundantly clear. In future, Germany should participate far more actively in military interventions. “Our main interest,” according to Gauck, is “to preserve the political and military order and make them fit for the future, especially in confusing times.” Gauck’s speech emphasized that the next government — regardless of its eventual composition — will pursue a much more aggressive foreign policy.

What is the political significance of Gauck’s speech? It shows that the period of Germany’s relative foreign policy reserve after the Second World War is over. Against the background of a return of the euro crisis and the intensification of class antagonisms in Germany and internationally, Gauck is committing the ruling elite to pursue Germany’s geo-strategic and economic interests by military means once again.

According to personnel in charge, "Combined Endeavor" serves as a "blueprint" for "real missions" - such as the one in Afghanistan. A mobile IT network was deployed that can link the military bases of the occupation forces in any war zone and ensure battlefield "Information Dominance." New software, allowing the NATO countries' artillery units to share data in "combating enemy targets," was also tested.

The training included not only NATO members, but also nations, such as Austria and Ireland, which are formally neutral, as well as East European and Asian countries of the "Partnership for Peace" coalition. By including so-called outposts via satellite, "Combined Endeavor" stretched from Iceland all the way to Georgia - thus revealing its anti-Russian orientation.

Up to 160,000 new jobs could be created in Germany, should a planned free trade zone between the US and the 28-member European Union become a reality, the Bertelsmann study claimed Friday. The survey, which was compiled together with the Munich-based Ifo economic research institute, suggested almost all industries would experience a boost due to the zone, which would cancel many current trade restrictions.

Negotiations on the transatlantic free trade zone will resume on October 7, but experts have warned talks may last for several years because of the complexity of the issues involved. The US and the EU together account for over a third of the global annual trade volume and 45 percent of the world's total economic output.

Germans are ruled by a central, democratic federal government, use one currency and have a unified, capitalist, free-market economy. After two decades of the richer west pumping money into the five states which once made up East Germany, some positive results are being felt there. Life expectancy, for example, is now approaching that of the west and the eastern states have recently experienced a modest economic upswing.

Yet major clefts remain between the Ossis and Wessis, particularly in terms of living standards, employment and income. Government figures show families living in the east still have a long way to go before they reach the living standards normal in the west of the country. According to last year's annual government report into the state of German unity, average household incomes are a fifth lower than those in the west, with the former divide also evident in figures comparing growth, GDP and productivity.

Many Germans still feel the scars of over four decades spent living and working under radically different systems. Politicians are still calling for a process of “inner reunification” aimed at not only addressing the economic differences between east and west, but also mutual understanding between Germany's two halves. Studies in 2009 to mark twenty years since reunification showed that a third of all West Germans had still never visited the east and 10 percent of East Germans had still never set foot in the west.

According to a paper recently published by the foundation, the meeting - the first of its kind since 2003 - should assist in significantly enhancing the military clout of European countries. Given the fact that European military budgets are continuing to shrink and the previous rudiments of closer cooperation ("pooling and sharing") have not really taken hold, new measures must be introduced.

Under the slogan, "Insular Solutions," the foundation pleads for the integration of the armed forces of a few states, first, at the regional level, to then make further attempts to consolidate these at the EU level. This concept is not only aimed at wearing down existing national resistance to the possible weakening of national arms industries, but also to weaken the British-French military alliance founded in November 2011 - seen as an obstacle to German military predominance in the EU.

Referring to US President Barack Obama’s statement that “America is exceptional” because it stands up not only for its own “narrow self interest, but for the interests of all," Correa said: “Does not this remind you of the Nazis’ rhetoric before and during World War II? They considered themselves the chosen race, the superior race, etc. Such words and ideas pose extreme danger,” President Correa said on RT Spanish’ Entrevista program.

As for cases of espionage in Latin America and the subsequent criticism from regional leaders, Obama said the US will try to respect the sovereignty of those countries “in cases where it will be possible.” At the recent UN General Assembly, Brazil launched a blistering attack on US espionage, saying it “is a breach of international law.” President Correa said the US will keep violating other countries’ sovereignty, but this will eventually change.

“What Plato wrote in his [Socratic] dialogues more than 2,000 years ago is true. Justice is nothing other than the advantage of the stronger. They are strong, that’s why they will continue lying, violating other states’ sovereignty, and breaching international law. But one day this unjust world will have to change,” Correa said.

Last week, in an act of symbolism that will not be lost on the world’s 483 million Catholics, Pope Francis visited the shrine to his namesake, St Francis of Assisi, and said he wanted a church more in the image of the humble saint. “Eight hundred years have passed and times have changed but the ideal of a missionary and poor Church is still more than valid,” he said.

Francis was accompanied by eight cardinals, with whom he spent three days last week discussing a radical programme of reform for the Vatican. This first Jesuit Pope, and first Latin American pontiff, has said the Roman Catholic Church is too focused on preaching about abortion, gay people and contraception and needs to become more merciful. He wants a less hierarchical church and one that is less centred on the Vatican.

He has also appointed a glamorous PR adviser, Francesca Chaouqui, a former management consultant with Ernst and Young, to represent a papal committee charged with overhauling financial administration.

According to a report on Friday in the Maariv daily newspaper, Netanyahu made the comments in closed meetings with the heads of American Jewish organizations. Netanyahu reportedly repeated his position and that he is ready for a historic compromise with the Palestinian Authority, but added that “the problem was, and still is, their refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish state.”

The Prime Minister, according to Maariv, also said that the Palestinian Authority’s ongoing incitement against Israel was another significant obstacle to the possibility of reaching an agreement. The comments indicated that the parties have so far only discussed the possibility of reaching a permanent settlement to the conflict, while the possibility of an interim agreement is not on the agenda.

The peace talks between Israel and the PA resumed this past summer following US Secretary of State John Kerry’s shuttle diplomacy. Kerry asked both sides to keep the details of the negotiations secret in order to give the process a chance to work and, while Israeli officials have remain tight-lipped about the talks, PA officials have made several leaks to the press.

Yet even as he spoke these words, José Manuel Barroso, the President of European Commission, was asked by the Telegraph in Brussels about the possibility of renegotiation of competences at EU level. Barroso’s response was a straightforward snub to Mr Cameron and a wholesale rejection of the very idea. Any fundamental discussion about the renationalisation of EU competence “was doomed to failure”, Barroso said. "What is difficult, or even impossible, is if we go for the exercise of repatriation of competences because that means revising the treaties and revision means unanimity. From my experience of 10 years, I don't believe it will work."

I admire Mr Barroso’s frank honesty. Yet again, we see European politicians telling the truth about the realities of the EU while the Prime Minister tries to mislead. Which part of "No" does Mr Cameron not understand?

The Prime Minister thinks he is on an EU ship heading west, but in fact he is strolling westwards on board a ship that is heading east to "ever closer union". And it is Mr Barroso who is the captain, while Mr Cameron remains a muttering deckhand.