USA - Fifteen times more troops were discharged from the US Army this year due to obesity than five years prior. With scores of recruits unfit to serve due to the extra pounds, the country’s top brass have deemed it a national security concern. The American Army is discharging servicemen in an attempt to cut its budget, and the first to be given their walking papers are those who have failed fitness tests because of obesity. During the last 10 months alone, 1,625 troops were dismissed from the US army due to being overweight, the Washington Post reported.

SERBIA - Hotels at the base of a supposedly mystical mountain in Serbia are being inundated with booking requests from people who are convinced that the end of a Mayan calendar heralds the destruction of the world on December 21.

USA - Demand for gold coins in the US has soared since the presidential election, as small investors fret about the lack of action to address America’s ballooning debt. The US Mint’s sales of American Eagles, one of the most popular gold coins, leapt 131 per cent in November, hitting their highest level in more than two years. The Royal Canadian Mint also had its strongest month of sales this year. Terry Hanlon, president of metals at Dillon Gage, one of the largest bullion dealers in the country, said sales had risen sharply “within a day or two” of the election. “They don’t believe in Uncle Sam any more,” said the head of precious metals at a large bank.

ISRAEL/PALESTINE - The UN delivers a “One Arab State Solution” through an art exhibit that shows all of Israel as Palestine, mirroring Mahmoud Abbas’ “peace process map.” The exhibit is displayed at the public entrance of the United Nations, where the Palestinian Authority chairman two weeks ago delivered a speech before the General Assembly vote that granted the PA Non-Member Observer status.

ITALY - Italy's former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has launched a pre-election attack on his successor, Mario Monti, saying the country is now worse off. He accused Mr Monti of following policies which benefited Berlin, saying Germany had lowered its own borrowing costs at the expense of other states. Mr Monti is due to resign after Mr Berlusconi's party withdrew its support for his government on Thursday. The sudden political uncertainty in Italy, the third-biggest economy in the eurozone, has unsettled financial markets.

NORWAY - More than 50 organizations plan to march in Oslo on Sunday to protest the Nobel Committee's award of the 2012 Peace Prize to the EU at a time of debt crisis. Norwegian Nobel Committee Chairman Thorbjoern Jagland announced the European Union as the recipients of the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo two months ago. Many Norwegians are critical of the EU receiving the award, and a protest march is planned for the day before the award ceremony. Since the decision this October to give the Nobel Peace Prize to the European Union, many have questioned its worthiness, given the current social and economic turmoil there.

BRUSSELS, EUROPE - EU leaders will collect the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo on Monday (10 December) claiming that the bloc will survive its current political and economic difficulties. Speaking at a press conference on Sunday (9 December), Barroso said that the award was "for the European project - the people and the institutions - that day after day, for the last sixty years, have built a new Europe."

BRUSSELS, EUROPE - Catherine Ashton's mandate is to provide leadership on foreign policy and human rights. She has failed, however, to ensure a collective EU voice for bringing the crimes in Syria before the International Criminal Court (ICC). Continued failure to make a case for an EU position is an embarrassment to the EU, to its stated commitment to both the ICC and to justice for serious crimes, and is an inexcusable affront to the victims of the horrendous crimes being committed in Syria.

EUROPE/ITALY - Voices across Europe warned on Monday that the euro crisis could return to Italy after the resignation announcement by Prime Minister Mario Monti was followed by news that his predecessor Silvio Berlusconi would attempt a comeback. Italy must stick to its economic reforms, critics say. German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle told Siegel Online on Monday that the situation in Italy threatened to spark renewed financial problems in the euro zone. "Italy can't stall at two-thirds of the reform process," he said. "That wouldn't cause turbulence for just Italy, but also for Europe."

ITALY - European partners heaped praise on outgoing Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti on Monday, and called for the next government to stick to his reform agenda after his surprise decision to resign rattled financial markets. Monti's weekend announcement that he would step down early - made after former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's PDL party withdrew its support for his technocrat government - pushed up Italy's borrowing costs and prompted a stock market sell-off. Whoever wins will have to confront a severe recession, record unemployment and a ballooning public debt expected to surpass 126 percent of gross domestic product this year.

CYPRUS - Cyprus wants help from the European Union's bailout fund. But the price for the billions in emergency aid money is high. The country will effectively lose its sovereignty. Dimitris Christofias had a serious look on his face as he turned to the cameras and spoke of what a "gut-wrenching" decision it was, but added that it was also a "necessary evil." The Cypriot president was not giving his people good news. It is already clear that in return for billions of euros for the debt-ridden country from the European bailout fund, the "troika," made up of the European Commission, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will essentially take control of the Mediterranean island.

UK - Traditional remedies such as tea and honey are being deployed in the fight against superbugs as scientists have warned antibiotics are becoming increasingly redundant. The more the drugs that are used, the more likely it is that any bacteria will build up a resistance to them, leading to what one expert called an “arms race” that he feared was being lost.

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL - The rising confidence and bellicosity of Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip, combined with rapidly deteriorating relations with Israel's would-be peace partner in the West Bank, are raising jitters in Israel that a new Palestinian uprising could be near.

IRAN/TURKEY - Trade between Iran and Turkey has risen nearly 50 percent this year, according to the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA). The monetary value of Iran-Turkey trade reached $20 billion in a 10-month period ending in November, the news agency reported.

UK - Senior Tories including Boris Johnson and Michael Gove have defied party traditionalists by launching a new group to campaign for gay marriage. The London mayor and education secretary are among more than a dozen senior figures backing moves to allow same-sex weddings to be held in places of worship.