ISRAEL - Israel used unmanned drones to attack clandestine Iranian convoys in Sudan that were attempting to smuggle rockets into Gaza, Britain's Sunday Times newspaper reported.
UK - Our country's policy on contraception devalues the sex act. This ought to be an immensely private and intimate thing. It should be reserved for people wholly committed to each other and prepared to become parents. Separated by 'safety' devices from its true purpose, it turns into a casual, often impersonal recreation, rather less serious than tennis – which is at least played according to fairly strict rules.
GERMANY - What can a cattle farmer do when he sees blood running from his calves like water, when they become lethargic and febrile and, by the next morning, are lying dead on the floor, their coats covered in blood? "Our calves from last summer looked like they had been beaten," says farmer Robert Meyboom, "the animals' bodies were covered with drops of blood, and their eyes were bloodshot."
CHINA - After trials of the mobile execution service were launched quietly three years ago - then hushed up to prevent an international row about the abuse of human rights before the Olympics last summer - these vehicles are now being deployed across China.
UK - Passengers on ferries to the Isle of Wight and Scottish islands such as Mull and Skye will soon have to carry identity papers to comply with new police anti-terror powers. And travellers flying between British cities or to Northern Ireland face having their personal data logged when booking tickets and checking in.
USA - Heavy rains swamped the Gulf Coast and a blizzard dumped more than 2 feet of snow in parts of the Plains on Saturday. The blizzard cut power, stranding drivers and prompting governors in Kansas and Oklahoma to issue disaster declarations.
JEFFERSON CITY, USA — The Missouri Highway Patrol this week retracted a controversial report on militia activity and will change how such reports are reviewed before being distributed to law enforcement agencies. The Highway Patrol also will open an investigation into the origin of the report, WHICH LINKED CONSERVATIVE GROUPS WITH DOMESTIC TERRORISM and named former presidential candidates Ron Paul, Bob Barr and Chuck Baldwin.
EUROPE - GORDON BROWN'S carefully laid plans for a G20 deal on worldwide tax cuts have been scuppered by an eve-of-summit ambush by European leaders. Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, last night led the assault on the prime minister's "global new deal" for a $2 trillion-plus fiscal stimulus to end the recession.
HOLLAND - Christian influence on everyday life is one thing, but in the Dutch Bible belt it also matters what kind of Christianity it is.
UK - John Hunt was baptised in the parish church of St Jude with St Aidan in Thornton Heath in south-east London. But 50 years later he stands outside and regards its brick façade without much affection. "I reject all its creeds and other such superstitions, in particular the perfidious belief that any baby needs to be cleansed of original sin," he said.
UK - The High Court is being asked to rule on the legality of open air funeral pyres. If Davender Ghai gets his way in the case due to be heard on Tuesday, traditional Hindu cremations could become commonplace across England and Wales.
LONDON - Thousands of people are marching through London demanding action on poverty, climate change and jobs, ahead of next week's G20 summit. The Put People First alliance of 150 charities and unions is walking from Embankment to Hyde Park for a rally.
FARGO, NORTH DAKOTA - North Dakota and Minnesota girded up for the worst flooding in years, which could prompt farmers to cut spring wheat plantings by as much as 500,000 acres in the four main wheat-producing U.S. states. Fargo, N.D. was expecting a 41-foot crest on the Red River by Saturday that would break a 112-year-old record.
BRUSSELS - A video of MEP Daniel Hannan delivering a withering assessment of the Prime Minister's handling of the economic crisis has become a surprise hit on the internet. More than 730,000 users have viewed it on YouTube, making it the most popular clip on the site two days in a row.
UK - Britain may have to go to the IMF for a huge financial bailout, the influential investor George Soros warns today. The man who made $1 billion on Black Wednesday in 1992 told The Times that Britain was particularly vulnerable to the economic crisis.