UNITED NATIONS - United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the Iranian leadership’s “offensive and inflammatory” recent statements on Israel and called on the international community to condemn such provocations.

TEHRAN, IRAN – Israel's existence is an "insult to all humanity," Iran's president said Friday in one of his sharpest attacks yet against the Jewish state, as Israel openly debates whether to attack Iran over its nuclear program. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said confronting Israel is an effort to "protect the dignity of all human beings”.

IRAN - A senior Iranian commander said a possible Israeli airstrike against his country’s nuclear facilities is “welcome” because it would give Iran a reason to retaliate and “get rid of” the Jewish state “forever. The remarks by General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, head of the Revolutionary Guard’s air force, were reported Saturday by the official IRNA news agency. Hajizadeh said in the event of an Israeli strike, Iran’s response would be “swift, decisive and destructive.”

JAPAN - At least 10 Japanese nationalist activists have landed on a group of disputed islands, amid an escalating territorial row with China. The activists swam ashore after a flotilla carrying about 150 people reached Japan's controlled Senkaku islands, called Diaoyu in China. Japan's coast guard is now questioning the activists, who had earlier been denied permission to visit the islands. The move triggered protests in China and strong condemnation from Beijing.

UK - Lord Rothschild has taken a near-£130 million bet against the euro as fears continue to grow that the single currency will break up. The fact that the former investment banker, a senior member of the Rothschild family, has taken such a view will be seen as a further negative for the currency. The latest omen follows news in The Daily Telegraph late last week that the government of Finland is already preparing for the euro’s break-up.

GREECE - Greece's debt has soared by nearly £20 billion in three months, as European leaders were given fresh warnings to brace themselves for the break-up of the Eurozone. The crisis-hit country now has central government debts of £238 billion. This is £18 billion more than the £220 billion owed at the end of the first quarter of this year. German officials have made it clear that they have no intention of giving extra money to Athens since taxpayers are furious about bailing out a nation where workers are less productive and retire earlier.

USA - A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck off the coast of the US West Coast state of Washington on Sunday, the United States Geological Survey said. The depth was reported at 6.3 miles and the quake was located 190 miles west of Neah Bay, the USGS said. There was no immediate statement from the US Pacific Tsunami Warning Center based in Hawaii on the quake.

UK - British schools are increasingly dropping the Jewish Holocaust from history lessons to avoid offending Muslim pupils, according to a report entitled, Teaching Emotive and Controversial History, commissioned by the Department for Education and Skills. British teachers are also reluctant to discuss the medieval Crusades, in which Christians fought Muslim armies for control of Jerusalem: lessons often contradict what is taught in local mosques.

SAUDI ARABIA - Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah shakes hands with Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the opening ceremony of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) summit in Mecca August 14, 2012. Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah seated Ahmadinejad at his side to welcome leaders to a summit on Wednesday, an apparent conciliatory gesture before the OOIC suspends the membership of Iran's ally Syria.

USA - Activists in California are fighting to pass Proposition 37, a law that would legally require genetically modified foods to be labeled as such. Biotech giant Monsanto doesn’t like that idea, though, and has donated over $4.2 million to oppose it.

IRAN - Many thousands of Iranians shouted "Death to America, death to Israel" during state-organized protests on Friday and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told them there was no place for the Jewish state in a future Middle East.

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL - Israel should have hit Iran’s nuclear program already, says longtime activist Dr Joseph Frager, speaking to Arutz Sheva. Now that the ideal time has passed, Israel’s best chance is to strike before the US elections, he said. “This is the time when [Mr] Obama really can’t apply too much pressure back,” he explained. US officials have sought to reassure Israel in recent weeks, emphasizing their inside knowledge of Iran’s nuclear program and stating that America will not allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon.

USA - The money the US government owes to foreign entities rose to a record $5.2923 trillion in June, according to data released by the US Treasury Wednesday afternoon. In May, the US Treasury had owed $5.2581 trillion to foreign entities. On net, in June, the US government borrowed an additional $34.2 billion from foreign entities in order to fund US government operations. The US government’s indebtedness to foreign interests has grown by 72.3 percent during President Barack Obama’s term in office.

SAUDI ARABIA - There was little unity on display at an Islamic summit in Mecca earlier this week when the 57-member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation suspended Syria despite Iran's objections. Speaking at the emergency summit, Ahmadinejad said Western powers could never be a role model for the Islamic world. "Freedom and democracy will not come from the barrels of NATO guns and the interference of Western nations," he said. Shi'ite Iran has watched in dismay as rebels drawn mainly from Syria's Sunni Muslim majority try to oust Assad, whose country has been a vital part of Iran's "axis of resistance" against Israel, Sunni-ruled Arab states and the West.

AFRICA - It's a reference to the fact that some metals used to make smartphones and other electronic gadgets are sourced from war-torn areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Experts say these "conflict minerals" help fuel one of the world's deadliest conflicts. An estimated 5.4 million people have died there from war-related causes, including disease and malnutrition, since 1998, according to the International Rescue Committee.