NEW YORK, USA - Deep inside the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the $600 billion man is fast at work. In a spare, government-issue office in Lower Manhattan, behind a bank of cubicles and a scruffy copy machine, Josh Frost and a band of market specialists are making the Fed's ultimate Wall Street trade.
PHILIPPINES - Seven more deaths in heavy flooding in the Philippines have brought the toll from a fortnight of heavy rains to 40. Disaster officials said that more than one million people have been affected by heavy monsoon rains across the country. The latest deaths occurred when flash floods hit Samar Island on Tuesday.
WALES, UK - A Teacher was sacked for taking a sledge to school for children to use in the snow. Technology teacher Richard Tremelling, 37, took the racing sledge in to class as a teaching aid for his class of 15-year-old pupils at Cefn Hengoed school. A disciplinary hearing was told Mr Tremelling later took some of his pupils to see it in action.
VATICAN CITY - The Holy See is reporting that it presently enjoys full diplomatic relations with 178 states worldwide. The Vatican press office reported today that in addition to these states are added relations with "the European Union and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta and a mission with a special character: the office of the Organization for the Liberation of Palestine (OLP)."
BELGIUM - Belgium could become the next country to be dragged into the eurozone crisis. Political uncertainty means it has not pressed ahead with an austerity package despite having the third-highest debt burden in Europe. Belgium has been without a permanent government since April when a fragile coalition between Dutch-speaking and French-speaking parties collapsed.
NEW YORK, USA - The long-term decline in the US abortion rate stalled as the recession took hold, according to the latest comprehensive survey of America's abortion providers. The Guttmacher Institute, which periodically surveys US abortion providers, reported Tuesday that there were 1.21 million abortions in 2008 and a rate of 19.6 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44.
AUSTRALIA - The authorities are urging people to leave parts of Australia's third largest city, Brisbane, which is facing its worst flooding in decades. The city's mayor has warned that 6,500 homes and businesses are set to flood. Flash floods have left nine dead and at least 70 missing nearby.
CHINA - The technology and firepower of the People's Liberation Army are growing so fast that observers are no longer curious but concerned, says Malcolm Moore. Weapons that could challenge the military supremacy of the United States and provide the firepower to underline China's superpower status.
IRAQ - Sadr has been a powerful figure in Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein. Athough the situation has changed in the country since the radical Shia cleric went into self-imposed exile in Iran in 2007, he appears to have lost none of his influence and has maintained his wide support among many of Iraq's impoverished Shia Muslims.
JERUSALEM, ISRAEL - Peace talks between the Palestinians and Israelis have reached an impasse over the thorny issue of Jewish settlements. As Washington searches for a way forward, the Palestinians are taking things into their own hands by pursuing a "Plan B", asking countries to recognise an independent Palestinian state. The BBC's Yolande Knell reports from Jerusalem.
JERUSALEM, ISRAEL - EU envoys in the Middle East are urging Brussels to treat East Jerusalem as the future capital of a Palestinian state. The recommendation comes in a leaked report by the heads of 25 European missions in Jerusalem and Ramallah.
VATICAN - Pakistan must repeal its anti-blasphemy law because it acts as a "pretext for acts of injustice and violence against religious minorities", the pope said today as he urged world leaders to ensure Christians are protected from attack and discrimination.
USA - The US is drifting from a financial crisis to a deeper and more insidious social crisis. Self-congratulation by the US authorities that they have this time avoided a repeat of the 1930s is premature. There is a telling detail in the US retail chain store data for December. Stephen Lewis from Monument Securities points out that luxury outlets saw an 8.1 per cent rise from a year ago, but discount stores catering to America's poorer half rose just 1.2 per cent.
UNITED NATIONS - The world's biggest economies are working to find ways to bring down soaring food prices, a G20 official said on Friday, as top exporter Thailand vowed to keep rice supply steady and avert a repeat of the 2008 food crisis.
USA - A sinister shrine reveals a chilling occult dimension in the mind of the deranged gunman accused of shooting a member of Congress and 19 others. Hidden within a camouflage tent behind Jared Lee Loughner's home sits an alarming altar with a skull sitting atop a pot filled with shriveled oranges.