GREECE - Over the past decade, Greece has become the major gateway into the European Union for illegal immigrants and asylum-seekers from Asia and Africa. Experts estimate that between 800,000 and 1 million undocumented migrants now live in Greece, a country with a population of nearly 11 million.

GREECE - Just when it seems things couldn't get any worse for Greece, the exhausted and indebted country has a new threat to deal with: mosquito-borne diseases. Species of the blood-sucking insects that can carry exotic-sounding tropical infections like malaria, West Nile Virus, chikungunya and dengue fever are enjoying the extra bit of warmth climate change is bringing to parts of southern Europe.

VATICAN - Veronica Scarisbrick asks the the Under Secretary of the Pontifical Council for the New Evangelisation, Monsignor Graham Bell why the 13th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for the New Evangelisation currently taking place in the Vatican this month of October has such a strong ecumenical slant to it : "The (Pope) teaches that Ecumenism is a vital part of the New Evangelisation, and it is often the case that non -Catholic Churches and ecclesial communities have to face the same difficulties as Catholics in announcing the Gospel and living their faith in a a secularised world."

MIDDLE EAST - Around 100 protesters and 11 policemen were hurt on Sunday as Kuwaiti riot police used tear gas and rubber bullets in clashes with tens of thousands of demonstrators, witnesses and officials said. "The number of wounded protesters in hospital has exceeded 100 after riot police attacked them," director of the Kuwait Society for Human Rights Mohammad al-Humaidi said on his Twitter account. Barghash and other activists put the number of protesters at more than 100,000, which would be the largest gathering in the history of the Gulf state.

USA - So there is a magic wand after all. A revolutionary paper by the International Monetary Fund claims that one could eliminate the net public debt of the US at a stroke, and by implication do the same for Britain, Germany, Italy, or Japan.

GERMANY - Germany, the main funder of the eurozone's many bailouts, may see its economy shrink by the end of the year as the crisis bites, the central bank has warned. Europe's largest economy will grow in the third quarter, but may experience a "slight contraction" in the last three months, the Bundesbank said. Germany has so far continued to grow while many of its neighbours shrink. Meanwhile, Greece's deficit last year was higher than previously expected.

EUROPE - After the Euro created artificial booms and busts in the eurozone, as well as a competitiveness problem for the South, Europe is simultaneously saving and pushing a hugely expansionary monetary policy, which will not work, Professor Max Otte told RT. Otte envisions some countries leaving the Euro, including Greece and at some point Spain and Portugal. As for Greece, it should leave today rather than tomorrow, Otte said, though the Greeks will be in for three to five years of hardship. Doctor Max Otte is a professor for the general and international business administration and the author of the books “Investing Rather Than Saving” and “The Crisis is Coming”, covering the current situation in Europe.

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL - Several people were arrested over the course of the holiday for allegedly praying at the Temple Mount. 'This morning, close to 9:40, the respondent was detained... after, during the course of his visit...he began to pray... he was even seen and heard praying... and this was against the regulations and instructions of the police which he was aware of...."

UK - Support for Britain pulling out of the European Union is at its highest level for 30 years, a Mail on Sunday poll has found. If a referendum on leaving the EU was held tomorrow, 51 per cent say they would vote to leave, while just 34 per cent would opt to stay. It means support for a pullout is at its most buoyant since the early Eighties, during Margaret Thatcher’s first term in Government, when nearly two thirds of voters wanted to leave the Common Market.

BERLIN, GERMANY - The once-divided city of Berlin now has the task of holding Europe together and, for Chancellor Angela Merkel, this will require a difficult balancing act. For 50 Cold-War years, Germany itself was divided and therefore politically weak. But history has moved on. Berlin is now the capital of a united country that has emerged from the Eurozone crisis as - indisputably - Europe's predominant power.

UK - Women can now buy a morning-after pill that works for up to five days after sex – without having to see a GP. From today, any woman aged 18 or over will for the first time be able to buy the powerful medication – called EllaOne – from certain branches of the Co-operative Pharmacy. But campaigners say that because it can be taken so long after conception it is an early form of abortion.

UK - The UK has experienced its "weirdest" weather on record in the past few months, scientists say. The driest spring for over a century gave way to the wettest recorded April to June in a dramatic turnaround never documented before. Experts from three bodies warned the UK must plan for periodic swings of drought conditions and flooding. The warning came from the Environment Agency, Met Office and Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) at a joint briefing in London.

IRAN - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad predicted the impending downfall of the "US Empire," blaming the collapse on a combination of the country's massive debt and its loss of legitimacy within the international community, Iran's official news agency IRNA reported Thursday.

LONDON, UK - The "worst may still be ahead" for the banking system, the Bank of England's deputy governor has told a gathering of leading bankers. Paul Tucker said reserves held by banks were still not calibrated for the "end-of-the-world risks" that remained a possibility. (Meanwhile) the Bank of England's policy-setting committee decided unanimously to keep interest rates on hold for another month and keep the quantitative easing programme unchanged at £375 billion.

UK - Withdrawal from the EU has changed from being a fringe view to mainstream opinion. It is clear that the Conservative Party has reached a turning point. Mr Cameron has resolved to risk detonating the European bomb, in the full knowledge of the consequences. Many Conservative ministers now believe within their heart of hearts that Britain’s future is outside the European Union. They are not making anti-European noises just because of tactical reasons to do with Ukip, parliamentary management, or to enhance their personal popularity. They are doing so out of deeply felt belief.