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.

GERMANY/UK - Europe won the Nobel Peace Prize last week, but it comes at a time when the threat of the European Union splitting is considerable. Great Britain is turning away from the EU and the German government is allowing it to do so. In the future, Chancellor Merkel wants to forge ahead with projects London opposes.

JAPAN - China condemned a visit by two Japanese ministers to a controversial shrine for war dead on Thursday, further straining already tense relations between Asia's two largest economies. Sino-Japanese relations have soured sharply in the past month when a row over disputed islands led to violent anti-Japanese protests across China and badly hurt trade.

GREECE - Greece is braced for a general strike in protest against the next round of spending cuts, required in return for another bailout instalment. It will be the country's 20th national stoppage since the debt crisis erupted two years ago and comes as EU leaders meet in Brussels. Taxi drivers, ferry workers, doctors, teachers and air traffic controllers are among those taking part. Protests, which often turn violent, are also planned across the country.

GAZA, PALESTINE/BERLIN, GERMANY - Berlin's foreign policy politicians do not rule out a German military mission to the Gaza Strip. The Chairman of the Foreign Policy Committee of the German Parliament (Bundestag) demands that under certain circumstances, Germany should furnish soldiers to a multi-national Gaza Force.

UK - More people believe in aliens than God, according to new research. Nearly 60 per cent of people believe we are not alone in the universe and that alien life-forms exist, a new poll has found. While a report carried out by the University of Chicago claims that just 37 per cent of us believe in God.

UK - A record number of people received emergency food from UK food banks in the last six months, a charity says. The Trussell Trust said its food bank network had fed almost 110,000 people since April, compared with a total of 128,697 in the whole of 2011-12. Its food banks provide at least three days' worth of nutritionally-balanced food for local people in crisis.

UK - Mr Gove, a close confidant of Prime Minister David Cameron, reportedly said he would vote to quit the EU if there was an immediate referendum on Britain’s membership. Mr Cable said: “I think we need to take stock that if the eurozone were to unravel in a way that destroyed the European project – and there is a risk that could happen – the consequences would be absolutely incalculable. We tend to forget, until we were reminded last week of that Nobel Prize, the European project was constructed in order to rescue Europe from extreme nationalism and conflict. There is no automatic guarantee that won’t return.”

USA - The global debt crisis has reached a dangerous new phase. Unfortunately, most Americans are not taking notice of it yet because most of the action is taking place overseas, and because US financial markets are riding high. But just because the global economic crisis is unfolding at the pace of a “slow-motion train wreck” right now does not mean that it isn’t incredibly dangerous.

USA - The latest executive order (EO) emanating from the White House October 9 now claims the power to freeze all bank accounts and stop any related financial transactions that a “sanctioned person” may own or try to perform — all in the name of “Iran Sanctions.” The EO expands its authority by making the account holder unable to use any third party such as “a partnership, association, trust, joint venture, corporation, subgroup or other organization” that might wish to help them or allow them to obtain access to their funds. And if the individual so “sanctioned” decides that the ruling is unfair, they are not allowed to sue. In two words, the individual has successfully been robbed blind.

UK - The chances of Britain leaving the EU rose dramatically last night after it emerged that one of David Cameron’s closest Cabinet allies believes it is time to tell Brussels bluntly: ‘We are ready to quit.’ Education Secretary Michael Gove has told friends that, if there was a referendum today on whether the UK should cut its ties with Brussels, he would vote to leave.