USA - The Denver Post published a letter to the editor suggesting President Donald Trump should be executed for treason. The letter criticized the president and Senator Cory Gardner (Republican for Colorado) following Trump's summit with Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Finland, and said Soviet spies Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who passed atomic bomb secrets to Moscow, were executed for "far less." The letter, written by Suzanne Gagnon of Lakewood, was in response to the paper's editorial last week, which gave tepid praise of Gardner. The editorial argued the Republican senator "deserves credit" for taking a tough stance against Russia and sponsoring legislation to add Russia to the state sponsor of terror list.

GERMANY - The majority of Germans support Nord Stream 2, a poll revealed Monday. It also showed that most dismissed Donald Trump’s negative comments on the pipeline as a tactic to promote US liquefied gas in Europe. Two thirds of respondents support the Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea pipeline because it would help provide Germany with a more reliable supply of natural gas, according to the the Forsa poll, which surveyed 1,004 Germans. Nord Stream 2 is a project to expand the existing Nord Stream main gas pipeline linking Russia and Germany along the bottom of the Baltic Sea. The poll showed 92 percent were even more cynical, saying that they suspected that Trump's motive for making the comments was primarily to promote the sale of US liquefied gas in Europe and Germany.

UK - The longest lunar eclipse of the 21st century and the chance to see Mars up close is almost upon us, here’s everything you need to know to catch the mesmerizing event. On Friday July 27 the lunar eclipse will stretch across most of Europe and Asia, Australia, Africa and part of South America. North and central Americans won’t be able to see the eclipse in their skies, but truly-committed astronomers can catch the livestream online from 6pm UTC.  This new total lunar eclipse is projected to last one hour and 43 minutes - four hours all together for the overall eclipse - making it the longest lunar eclipse of this century.

UK - The total lunar eclipse this week will paint the July full moon a brilliant blood-red colour. An expert astronomer revealed to Express.co.uk the best time to see the Blood Moon. Dr Klus said: “Look at the horizon in the southeast on July 27. About 8.50pm BST the moon will start rising in London and it’s 9.26pm BST if you are in Glasgow. It will be about an hour for the maximum eclipse which is about 9.21pm BST if you are in London and then there will be another half-hour or so before the eclipse ends.” Viewers in North America will miss out on the lunar eclipse for the second time this year.

GERMANY - More than half of Germans think Europe can defend itself without military backing from the United States, a poll showed on Monday, less than two weeks after US President Donald Trump said he could withdraw support. Only 37 percent of respondents said they believed Europe depended on US military help, the Forsa poll showed. The survey found no significant difference between eastern German regions and western areas, which have stronger historical ties to the United States. In the east, 60 percent thought Europe did not need Washington, and in the west, 55 percent. Trump gave an ultimatum to European allies on July 12, warning a NATO summit the United States could withdraw its support if Europe did not share more of what he called an unfair burden on US taxpayers in funding the alliance.

UK - The British public is overwhelmingly opposed to the Prime Minister’s plan for a “soft” Brexit and almost a third of voters are prepared to back a new, right-wing party committed to a clean Brexit, a poll shows. Theresa May’s Chequers Brexit plan will keep the United Kingdom tied to all the bloc’s goods rules, severely limiting the nation’s ability to control trade policy, and reports suggest she could also retreat on migration, allowing “Free Movement by another name”.

ISRAEL - In an interview with the Arabic Facebook page of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman appealed to the residents of the Gaza Strip and said: "We can be your best partners in the effort to turn refugee camps into the Singapore of the Middle East, and all we need is the recognition of Israel's right to exist in peace, a solution the POWs and MIAs issues, and demilitarization. If your leaders are not ready for that, then replace the leadership," Lieberman said.

ISRAEL - Israel said it shot down a Syrian warplane that crossed into the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Tuesday, but Damascus said the jet was fired on as it took part in operations against rebels on Syrian territory. The incident added new fuel to weeks of tensions over the Golan, a strategic plateau between the two old enemies and where Israel has been on high alert as Syrian government forces, supported by Russia, close in to regain rebel-held ground.

EUROPE - The US president's branding of European allies as "foes" while slapping them with tariffs is "inappropriate," EU finance chief said at the G20 summit, which saw European countries upping their criticism of Trump's trade onslaught. European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs Pierre Moscovici argued that the EU has done nothing to become the target of constant attacks, both economic and verbal, by US President Donald Trump. 

GERMANY - Despite having one of the toughest gun export laws in the world, Germany enjoys a comfy place among the top weapon exporters. How is that possible? A newly released Redfish documentary has some of the answers. “The laws are very strict and the practice is very-very leisure and very easy. Everyone was wondering how could it be that Germany has one of the strictest laws and always, depending on the ranking, is number three, in small arms is even number two of the biggest world arms trades and weapon producers?

UK - The Snapchat generation doesn’t seem to love the outdoors — at least not as much as doing other things. The average child between 6 and 16 years old spends only an hour a day outside, playing video games over twice as long, a new study finds. Researchers at Decathlon, a sports retailer in the United Kingdom, recently surveyed more than 2,000 British parents and children, hoping to learn more about the recreational attitudes of society’s youngest generation. The researchers’ findings shed light on a number of phenomena.

USA - More than a decade and a half after the septic holding tank was overturned in Boston, the unfathomable noxious waste of sexual abuse by Catholic priests in this country is still seeping out in fetid drips. As a Catholic, I believe that the Church was founded by the apostle St Peter at the behest of Christ Himself. I also believe that it was for many years and will for many more still remain a cesspool.

SOUTH AFRICA - The 10th annual Brics Leaders’ Summit will take place in Sandton, Johannesburg, and will see international heads of state, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Chinese leader President Xi Jinping and business leaders, civil society organisations and academics descend on South Africa. The five member states - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - account for approximately a fifth of the world’s economic output and 40% of its population.

USA - Some 13.5 percent of the US population - 44 million - is foreign born, the highest level ever, and many are not proficient in English, choosing to speak Spanish at home instead. A report from the Migration Policy Institute found that 22 percent of the US population does not speak English at home. The share was highest in Nevada at 31 percent and Florida at 29 percent. The report revealed a new trend in migration to the US where immigrants are dispersed throughout the nation instead of clustering in a few states and cities.

GREECE - Greece's prime minister told of the "unspeakable tragedy" the country faced after at least 74 [now 80+] people were killed by wildfires that swept through a resort, trapping people in cars and on the edge of cliffs as others were forced to jump off to survive. The scale of Monday night's devastation in Mati became apparent at first light on Tuesday. Scores of gutted cars lined streets in the coastal town, east of Athens, melted by the intensity of the heat. Bodies lay on roadsides, and in one area, a group of 26 people were found dead - some locked in an embrace as the flames closed in. The group, which included children, were found near the top of a cliff overlooking a beach. They had ended up there after apparently searching for an escape route. The lucky ones were able to leap off the cliffs to survive, or rush into the sea from the beach.