UK - Philip Hammond has announced that hundreds of troops could be sent to Mali as MPs raised fears that “mission creep” could turn the African operation into Britain’s Vietnam. The Defence Secretary said he knew of the risks that the UK could become involved in a lengthy conflict but insisted the government had placed strict limits on deploying forces to help the Malian government repel fighters linked to al Qaeda. There are no plans for British troops to take on a “combat” role on the front-line but up to 40 will be deployed inside Mali itself as part of a European Union force to train Malian troops. A former Labour Cabinet minister suggested that Mali could become Britain's "Vietnam". Frank Dobson, health secretary under Tony Blair, said: "The American catastrophe in Vietnam started off with American troops in a training capacity."

UK - It is named after the Celtic god of thunder, can fly faster than the speed of sound and evades enemy radar with its single-wing stealth design. This is Taranis, Britain’s latest pilotless combat aircraft, which is even capable of selecting its own targets. The revolutionary superdrone is due to make its maiden flight in the next few weeks and could spearhead the fight against terrorism in Africa. Military chiefs believe Taranis’s ground-breaking technology will allow a powerful new generation of drones equipped with deadly payloads to fly from British bases to attack targets worldwide. But the new developments in pilotless aircraft are controversial as they allow the possibility of autonomous computers targeting and killing enemy combatants outside human control.

CAIRO, EGYPT – The head of the Egyptian military warned political conflict could lead to the collapse of the state and said protecting the Suez Canal was one of the main objectives of the army deployment to nearby cities shaken by violence. Protesters defied a curfew in towns along the Suez Canal overnight, attacking police stations after President Mohamed Morsi imposed emergency rule to end days of clashes that have killed at least 52 people.

UK - As British jihadists venture abroad to capitalise on the aftermath of the Arab Spring and then return to the UK, they are likely to bring a greater level of violence back home, Maajid Nawaz, the chairman of the Quilliam Foundation, suggested.

IRAN - Contradictory reports of an explosion at Iran’s uranium enrichment site have been emerging. Iran denies it ever happened, calling it “Western propaganda” while Israel confirms it, putting tensions around upcoming nuclear talks.

FRANCE - France's labour minister sent the country into a state of shock on Monday after he described the nation as “totally bankrupt”. Michel Sapin made the gaffe in a radio interview, which left French President Francois Hollande battling to undo the potential reputational damage. “There is a state but it is a totally bankrupt state,” Mr Sapin said. “That is why we had to put a deficit reduction plan in place, and nothing should make us turn away from that objective.” The comments come as President Hollande attempts to improve the image of the French economy after pledging to reduce the country’s deficit by cutting spending by €60 billion (£51.5 billion) over the next five years and increasing taxes by €20 billion.

USA - A recent appointment of Rothschild as “financial advisor” by the Board of Directors of gold exploration company Spanish Mountain Gold is yet another unmistakable indication that the ancient family is moving the world’s gold supply to both “emerging markets” and Central Banks worldwide, strengthening the family’s monopoly position when the fiat-based house of cards comes crashing down in the West.

ISRAEL - Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu says his nation must prepare for the threat of a chemical attack from Syria, amid concern at enemy efforts to test a post-election coalition Israel, and, as Bloomberg reports, has deployed its new Iron Dome anti-missile system near the border with its northern neighbor. Along with this concern, as many have perhaps suspected, the Israeli Defense Minister confirmed yesterday that the US has prepared plans for a 'surgical' military operation to delay Iran's nuclear program.

UK - Grant Shapps has indicated that Britain may leave the European Union if David Cameron’s strategy to renegotiate the terms of the country’s membership fails. Grant Shapps, the Conservative Party chairman, said “we will be in a different position” over Britain’s EU membership “if we can’t get any powers back”. Yesterday, when asked whether the Government would back Britain leaving the EU if renegotiation failed, Mr Shapps said: “I think that most people in this country agree that Europe isn’t what we originally signed up for. It has changed dramatically and so let’s see if we can get some of those powers back.”

FRANCE/NIGER - Barely two weeks after invading Mali with over 2,000 troops of the Foreign Legion, France has dispatched special forces troops to neighboring Niger to secure uranium mines run by the French state-owned nuclear power company Areva.

USA - The US Government took some enormous steps and continues to take enormous steps to right the economy. In his 2013 outlook, KKR's Henry McVey points to the $7.66 trillion worth of stimulus as a reason to be bullish on real assets like real estate and commodities.

From McVey: “In the US alone, monetary and fiscal stimulus as a percentage of GDP has breached the 40% threshold, nearly 5 times what was put into the system after the great depression. Moreover, the latest round of quantitative easing is tied to unemployment, which we do not see changing quickly, given that new business formation is still running 35% below the historical average.”

USA - Many government officials around the world are concerned that massive monetary easing in numerous nations is sparking a global currency war. Governments from Germany, to Russia, to Brazil, to Thailand have expressed worry that the world is plunging into a currency war, Bloomberg Businessweek reports. The current focus is on Japan, where the central bank this week announced it would increase its quantitative easing and also set a target of 2 percent for inflation. Governments frequently pursue a weaker currency in times of economic stress to boost exports. But one country’s devaluation often begets another, raising fears of a currency war.

USA - Brominated vegetable oil, a synthetic chemical that has been patented in Europe as a flame retardant, will no longer double as an ingredient in Gatorade sports drinks. Molly Carter, a spokeswoman for Gatorade owner PepsiCo Inc, said the company has been considering the move for more than a year, working on a way to take out the ingredient without affecting the flavor of the drink. A recent petition on Change.org to drop the chemical – which has more than 200,000 supporters – did not inspire the decision, Carter said, though she acknowledged that consumer feedback was the main impetus.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI presided over an ecumenical service of Vespers at the Basilica of St Peter Outside the Walls in Rome on Friday. The celebration marked the conclusion of the XLVI Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which focused on the theme "What Does the Lord Require From Us." The occasion also marked the Solemnity of the Conversion of St Paul.

CAIRO, EGYPT/BERLIN, GERMANY - Mass protests with numerous casualties are casting a shadow over Egyptian President Muhammad Mursi's visit to Berlin, which begins tomorrow. Already last week, while preparations for the upcoming talks were being made in the German capital, hundreds of thousands took to the streets in Egypt, against Mursi's Islamist government.