GREECE - Greece hasn’t outright asked Russia for a loan, but Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said Moscow wouldn't rule it out. His statement comes days after Greece openly opposed further economic sanctions against Russia. "Well, we can imagine any situation, so if such [a] petition is submitted to the Russian government, we will definitely consider it, but we will take into account all the factors of our bilateral relationships between Russia and Greece, so that is all I can say. If it is submitted we will consider it," Siluanov told CNBC in an interview in Moscow on Thursday. The new left-wing Syriza government in Greece won a majority at last Sunday’s election on the promise to renegotiate the country’s €317 billion debt and end austerity.

MIDDLE EAST - Thousands of recruits as young as 15 learned how to kidnap soldiers, use weapons, and infiltrate into Israel though tunnels at a Hamas paramilitary training camp in Gaza. On Thursday, some 15,000 Gazan teenagers and young men graduated from the week-long training camps, called the “Pioneers of Liberation.” The 15-21-year-olds underwent military training for the armed wing of Hamas, Izaddin al-Qassam, six months after Hamas and other Gaza terror groups fought a 50-day war against Israel. Portraits of Israeli leaders were used in target practice for sniper training. “We are participating in the camp so that we will know how to fight the Zionist enemy and regain our ancestral home of Palestine,” one teenager said, in footage from the training camps screened on Israel’s Channel 2 TV on Thursday night.

JORDAN - Jordan has threatened to fast-track the execution of a would-be suicide bomber the Islamic State is trying to free if the terror group kills its captured pilot, it was reported today. The government has apparently warned that Sajida al-Rishawi and other jailed ISIS commanders would be 'quickly judged and sentenced' in revenge for Muath al-Kaseasbeh's death. It comes after a deadline for a possible prisoner swap allegedly set by ISIS passed yesterday with no clue over the fate of al-Kaseasbeh or fellow Japanese hostage Kenji Goto. Intelligence sources said ISIS's refusal to prove that al-Kaseasbeh was alive meant any deal with the militants was doomed. Now Jordan has reportedly stepped up its rhetoric by warning of its intent to retaliate if the negotiations end in bloodshed.

UK - A hedge fund manager who made millions after correctly predicting the credit crunch has warned major economies are entering a recession that will be ‘remembered in a hundred years’. In a letter to his well-heeled customers, Crispin Odey predicted that ‘equity markets will get devastated’ and described it as the best time to bet on shares slumping in value since the recent financial crisis. Citing the current turmoil in the markets, including a dramatic slump in the oil price and a ‘faltering Chinese economy’, he said: ‘This downcycle is likely to be remembered in a hundred years, when we hope it won’t be rated for “How good it looks for its age!”’ Mr Odey, 55, was one of the earliest to forecast that the borrowing binge that fuelled the economy would trigger a financial crisis.

ISRAEL - A little known collection of more than 100 clay tablets in Cuneiform script, dating back to the Babylon Exile some 2,500 years ago, was unveiled this week, allowing a glimpse into the everyday life of one of the most ancient exile communities in the world. Professor Wayne Horowitz, one of the archaeologists who studied the tablets, says this is the most important ancient Jewish archive since the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

UKRAINE - Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian rebels are exchanging heavy tank and artillery fire in and around Debaltseve, a strategic town in eastern Ukraine. There are reports - not independently confirmed - that the rebels have seized the nearby town of Vuhlehirsk. Many civilians remain trapped in Debaltseve, while others - including people with shrapnel wounds - have managed to reach the town of Artemivsk. Russian media say shellfire has killed seven people in the city of Donetsk. The recent heavy fighting has left a ceasefire agreed in September in tatters.

NIGERIA - Boko Haram Islamist militants have launched a fresh assault on the strategically important Nigerian city of Maiduguri, eyewitnesses say. Gunfire was reported on the streets of the northern city after an attack that began in the early hours of Sunday. It comes a week after Boko Haram's last attempt to capture the capital of Borno state was repelled by the Nigerian army with heavy loss of life. The conflict has displaced at least 1.5 million people, while more than 2,000 were killed last year. Boko Haram's last attempt to take over Maiduguri a week ago was stopped by the military. But the militants did succeed in capturing the town of Monguno - 125km (80 miles) outside the city and took over a military base.

GREECE - In his first act as prime minister on Monday, Alexis Tsipras visited the war memorial in Kaisariani where 200 Greek resistance fighters were slaughtered by the Nazis in 1944. The move did not go unnoticed in Berlin. Nor did Tsipras's decision hours later to receive the Russian ambassador before meeting any other foreign official.

EUROPE - It’s time for Greece to leave the euro, default on its debt and move on. I write this with a heavy heart as the short-term consequences for ordinary Greeks could be disastrous, but there is now no other practical way out. Syriza is serious about change and simply will not honour the country’s debts or stick to international agreements. Germany is equally serious about not accepting a debt write-off. A N24/TNS poll shows that 43 percent of Germans are unwilling to negotiate debt relief or a longer loan repayment schedule with Greece. As to Brussels, the European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker has said that “there’s no question of writing down Greek debt”. The stand-off will escalate, and escalate further. Neither side will blink, which means that a Grexit and default is now almost inevitable.

USA - The United States has been at war since 2001, and America must not let down its guard. One of the newer threats to national security is economic warfare. Its goal is to cripple a country's economy, rendering it weak and ineffective. When you think of war, images from the battlefield or troops scouring city streets in search of terrorists probably come to mind. Another arena is the financial front. In economic warfare, enemies use financial markets as weapons to attack national interests.

DAVOS, SWITZERLAND - The recent decision by the European Central Bank to open the monetary floodgates has weakened the euro and is boosting the German economy. But the move increases the threat of turbulence on the financial markets and could trigger a currency war. The concern could be felt everywhere at this year's World Economic Forum in Davos, the annual meeting of the rich and powerful.

UK - Islamic Sharia law is on the rise in Great Britain as members of the UK parliament are seeking to ban self-established Muslim courts in the nation. There are approximately 85 Sharia tribunals throughout Great Britain, all of which are run by Islamic judges who rule according to the Koran. There are no appeals following judgment and sentencing.

UK - Two seats may for first time be decided by migrants, who make up majority of voters, with parties warned not to ignore this electorate. A record number of people who were born outside the UK will be able to vote in this year’s general election and are likely to hold the balance of power in several key constituencies, according to the first comprehensive analysis of the migrant vote. Almost 4 million voters – about one in 10 of the entire electorate in England and Wales - are predicted to have been born overseas come May and, for the first time, it is predicted that more than 50% of voters of the eligible electorate will have been born abroad in two seats.

USA - A White House spokesperson preferred to talk of the Taliban as “an armed insurgency” rather than a terrorist organization during a press briefing, when a reporter pressed him about Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl’s release. Responding to a question posed by ABC’s chief White House correspondent Jonathan Karl, deputy press secretary Eric Schultz argued the US can swap prisoners with the Taliban because the group is not a terrorist organization but “an armed insurgency.” Senator Ted Cruz also worried about the precedent the swap might set. “What does this tell terrorists? First, that if you capture a US soldier you can trade that soldier for five terrorist prisoners? That’s a very dangerous precedent,” Cruz told ABC.

USA - The entirely preventable California measles outbreak has now sickened more than 70 people. With perhaps hundreds more exposed, the outbreak will likely continue. As the disease spreads, experts will debate how we respond and what to do about the anti-vaccine movement that's partly to blame for this mess. Likely, all we'll agree on is better outreach to parents. That's not enough. Parents who do not vaccinate their children should go to jail. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that before widespread vaccination began in 1980, 2.6 million people a year died from measles. About 400 people a day still do. Put simply, no person has the right to threaten the safety of his community.