ITALY - Last week, following documentation from Deutsche Bank (and Nomura), it became clear that Italy's Monte Paschi (BMPS) bank (the oldest in the world) has engaged in derivatives with the German and Japanese banks in order to save itself during the financial crisis.

INDIA - Residents of embattled Kashmir - over which Pakistan and India have been fighting for years - are being warned to prepare for a possible nuclear war, according to a report published locally. Indian officials reportedly told residents Monday in an advisory published in the Greater Kashmir newspaper to build “basements where the whole family can stay for a fortnight” and stock up on food and water. Ample candles and battery-operated lights should be among the items in the shelter. For those without basements, the advisory suggested building shelters in open spaces in front of houses. “Some protection is better than no protection,” the notice said.

NORTH KOREA - North Korea has announced it's about to carry out a third nuclear test and more long-range rocket launches, which it says are designed to target the United States. "We are not disguising the fact that the various satellites and long-range rockets that we will fire and the high-level nuclear test we will carry out are aimed at the United States," North Korea's National Defense Commission says. Pyongyang now threatens to wage a “fully-fledged confrontation” against the US for what they call continued hostility.

UK - Britain's most senior medical adviser has warned MPs that the rise in drug-resistant diseases could trigger a national emergency comparable to a catastrophic terrorist attack, pandemic flu or major coastal flooding.

USA - I have been writing for several years now that the global elite are planning to implement a Technocracy-oriented economic system that will turn our existing capitalistic economic system upside-down. Why? Because it will be based on ENERGY instead of MONEY.

LONDON, UK - The speech [by British Prime Minister David Cameron on Britain's future in Europe] received broad backing by Conservative MPs, while it was criticised by Labour and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg for creating “uncertainty”. Simon Walker, director general of the Institute of Directors, described Cameron's approach as "realistic and pragmatic”. The British Chamber of Commerce said “many British businesses will support the principle of re-negotiation.”

UK - Broadcaster David Bellamy told yesterday how his television career was cut short by the BBC after he dismissed climate change. The botanist and environmental campaigner said his scepticism over manmade global warming signalled an end to his screen presence. Furthermore, all other work dried up, he was shunned by colleagues and vilified by green zealots.

WASHINGTON, USA - President Barack Obama's inaugural address on Monday marked the first time a president used the occasion to praise progress on gay rights, an indication of shifting public attitudes on the issue. In the speech marking the start of his second term, Obama placed the struggle for gay rights squarely in the pantheon of two other defining civil rights movements in American history: those for blacks and women. "The most evident of truths - that all of us are created equal - is the star that guides us still," he said. "Just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall."

UK - Voters were warned yesterday to brace themselves for more austerity cuts in election year as George Osborne ordered talks on future spending limits. Only overseas aid, health and schools remain protected. But those departments are expected to share in the Whitehall efficiency drive for the Government to do “more with less”. The Chancellor’s grim reminder came as figures revealed another leap in state borrowing, sparking new fears for Britain’s coveted AAA credit rating, which helps keep UK interest rates low.

USA - It's what we expect as shoppers — what's in the food will be displayed on the label. But a new scientific examination by the non-profit food fraud detectives the US Pharmacopeial Convention (USP), discovered rising numbers of fake ingredients in products from olive oil to spices to fruit juice. "Food products are not always what they purport to be," Markus Lipp, senior director for Food Standards for the independent lab in Maryland, told ABC News. In a new database to be released Wednesday, and obtained exclusively by ABC News today, USP warns consumers, the FDA and manufacturers that the amount of food fraud they found is up by 60 percent this year.

UK - New laws passed last year paved the way for many of the intrusive powers of entry to be repealed as part of a Government drive to limit the occasions an official can enter a home. But so far only 15 have been scrapped including several historic ones such as the power to search for and seize German enemy property and prevent illegal hypnotism displays. Other powers such as a right to enter to ensure pot plants do not have pests or to check the height of a hedge remain in force. Public bodies face having many more powers taken off them as part of an ongoing review but it could be several years before they are repealed.

USA - The man in charge of America’s drone wars will face Senate questioning about perhaps their most controversial aspect: when the president can target American citizens for death. Senator Ron Wyden (Democrat for Oregon) sent a letter on Monday to John Brennan, the White House’s counterterrorism adviser and nominee to be head of the CIA, asking for an outline of the legal and practical rules that underpin the US government’s targeted killing of American citizens suspected of working with al-Qaida. The Obama administration has repeatedly resisted disclosing any such information about its so-called “disposition matrix” targeting terrorists, especially where it concerns possible American targets.

UK - US, Britain and France focused on securing anti-aircraft missiles but neglected other weapons, Human Rights Watch says. The US, working with Britain and France, focused on securing shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles, known as Manpads (man-operated portable air defense systems). Britain’s Ministry of Defence said last year it had located 5,000 of an estimated 20,000 in Libya. Peter Bouckaert, of Human Rights Watch, said his organisation had warned of the risks if Libya’s conventional weapons were looted.

EUROPE - Brussels was accused last night of a plot to set up curbs on Press freedom. A document calls for each European Union state to install media watchdogs with powers to strip journalists of their professional credentials and impose swingeing fines – all co-ordinated by Brussels. The proposals are from a “high-level group on media freedom and pluralism” set up by European Commission vice president Neelie Kroes. Tory MP Philip Davies said: “The EU hates a free Press.” Ukip leader Nigel Farage said: “Commissioner Neelie Kroes wants to send out the thought police.”

LONDON, UK - If you’ve just moved into a newly built apartment in central London, don’t be perplexed if your neighbors speak mostly Chinese. Market-cooling measures in Asia have helped fuel interest in London’s real estate market — long a popular destination for property buyers on the prowl, says property consultancy Knight Frank. Last year, overseas buyers spent $3.5 billion on apartments undergoing construction in central London, up 22% from the year earlier. Together, buyers from Singapore and Hong Kong snapped up nearly 40% of all such apartments in central London. Adding in buyers from Malaysia and mainland China, Asian buyers accounted for roughly half of all purchases.