UK/FALKLAND ISLANDS - The Royal Navy’s most sophisticated warship is being sent to the South Atlantic in a move that will send a powerful message to Argentina.
GERMANY - Antibiotics were once the wonder drug. Now, however, an increasing number of highly resistant - and deadly - bacteria are spreading around the world. The killer bugs often originate in factory farms, where animals are treated whether they are sick or not.
INDIA - India said Monday it may use its own currency, the rupee, to pay for oil imports from Iran in the face of a US-led sanctions campaign aimed at forcing Tehran to abandon its nuclear programme.
CHINA - This month, the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department reported that China imported 102,779 kilograms of gold from Hong Kong in November, an increase from October’s 86,299 kilograms. Beijing does not release gold trade figures, so for this and other reasons the Hong Kong numbers are considered the best indication of China’s gold imports.
USA - Catholic Leaders Distribute Letter Slamming Obama Admin Contraceptive Mandate. The Church’s vocal arguments against the Obama administration are centered upon a Health and Human Services Department requirement that employers must include contraception and abortion-inducing drugs in health-care coverage.
EUROPE - Twenty-five of the European Union’s 27 countries have signed up to a German-inspired treaty enshrining tougher fiscal rules to help underpin the euro. But Berlin was warned that there were limits to how much sovereignty governments could be expected to surrender for the sake of fiscal discipline.
UK - David Cameron faces a double revolt over Europe today with Tory MPs demanding a referendum on the EU and threatening a backbench rebellion over the new treaty. The Prime Minister heads to a summit in Brussels with senior Tories warning him not to cave in to demands from eurozone countries to use the EU institutions funded by Britain to prop up the single currency.
RUSSIA - The military build-up and economic sanctions against Iran are designed to unleash a global war from the Mediterranean to China with unpredictable consequences, warns Michel Chossudovsky, Director of the Centre for Research on Globalization.
DAVOS, SWITZERLAND - Despite attempts by political and business leaders to suggest the eurozone has turned a corner, the prevailing view of pundits is things can only get worse and a "perfect storm" is brewing.
GREECE - Greece’s finance minister angrily rejected a German plan for the eurozone to impose a budget overseer onto Athens in return for a new €130 billion bail-out, saying it would improperly force his country to choose between “financial assistance” and “national dignity”.
SYRIA - Syrian security forces attempted to smuggle Syrian President Bashar Assad's family out of the country, sources from the Syrian opposition told Al-Masry-Al-Youm Sunday evening, according to a report published by the Egyptian daily.
BAGHDAD, IRAQ - A month after the last American troops left Iraq, the State Department is operating a small fleet of surveillance drones here to help protect the United States Embassy and consulates, as well as American personnel. Some senior Iraqi officials expressed outrage at the program, saying the unarmed aircraft are an affront to Iraqi sovereignty.
EUROPE - The euro edged back from six week highs and global stocks were lower on Monday as investors turned cautious after US growth figures on Friday that fell just short of expectations and ahead of more crisis talks among EU leaders.
EUROPE - EU leaders will sign off on a permanent rescue fund for the euro zone at a summit on Monday and are expected to agree on a balanced budget rule in national legislation, with unresolved problems in Greece casting a shadow on the discussions.
ETHIOPIA - As the African heads of state meet for the African Union summit in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, they find themselves in new surroundings.