USA - If only George Orwell could see us today. When he wrote “1984” back in 1948, he probably never imagined that the “totalitarian, bureaucratic world” that he imagined would ever actually become a reality. But that is precisely what is happening. We live at a time when the government monitors billions of our phone calls and emails and hardly anyone gets upset about it.

UK - Well David Cameron, perhaps learning a lesson from his stockbroker father, got his timing right. On the morning that he warns (in the Guardian) that red lights are flashing on the dashboard of the global economy, Japan announces that it has unexpectedly crashed into recession. Japan is still the world's third biggest economy. And its economic contraction, which caught markets by surprise, coincides with the prolonged flatlining of the eurozone (which was confirmed on Friday) and what looks like a long-term deceleration of growth in China. Apart from India and Mexico, most of the rest of the developing world and the so-called Brics - notably Brazil and Russia - are finding the going much tougher. Having pored over the 20 national action plans of the G20 members, including Britain's, I could not see any spending, investment, job creation or trade initiatives of size that looked brand spanking new.

JAPAN - Data showing Japan slipped into recession in the third quarter raised concerns on Monday about global economic health, hitting stocks and the price of oil. European shares fell and Wall Street looked set to open lower, according to index futures ESc1 1YNc1. Tokyo's Nikkei index N225 lost 3 percent, its biggest one-day drop since August, after the news that the world's third-largest economy unexpectedly shrank by an annualized 1.6 percent in July-September.

CHINA/USA - A flood of Chinese steel being dumped on to international metal markets is threatening to pitch the world’s two largest economies into a bitter all-out trade war. The US fired the first shots last week when the Department of Commerce imposed duties on the imports of carbon and alloy steel wire from China after complaints of dumping made by several North American producers. According to the ruling, some Chinese exporters of steel wire to the US will face anti-dumping duties of as much as 110.25 percent. In response to such anti-dumping rulings, China’s ministry of commerce has repeatedly warned the US authorities to resist protectionist policies and abide by their country’s global commitments to maintain free trade. However, as more and more Chinese metal floods on to global markets, the scene is being set for a broader breakdown in trade relations between Washington and Beijing.

VATICAN - On Tuesday the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity begins a four day plenary session which will include an ecumenical celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council document ‘Unitatis Redintegratio’. To celebrate the progress of the past half century, participants will attend ecumenical Vespers at the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls on Thursday and a public commemorative session at the Pontifical Gregorian University on Friday morning. The decree, published on November 21st 1964 marked a major change in the Catholic Church’s relations with other Christians and led to the establishment of many different dialogue groups to try and overcome the deep divisions between the different Churches and communities.

UK - Christmas turkey suppliers could be at risk from the bird flu outbreak which has hit a duck breeding farm in Yorkshire. Thousands of birds have already been slaughtered at the farm in the Driffield area of East Yorkshire following the outbreak, the first of its kind in six years. Separate cases have been reported in Germany and the Netherlands. The risk to humans from the outbreak is virtually non-existent, experts have said, but if the disease spreads to turkey farms, it could lead to a shortage for Christmas. There are a number of turkey farms near to the outbreak.

USA - California is poised to rewrite its rules governing the use of agricultural pesticides that could subject organic farmers to mandatory use without much recourse. The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) closed public comment on October 31 on its Statewide Plant Pest Prevention and Management Program’s Environmental Impact Report (EIR), a 500-page-plus document that would give the agency authority to spray toxic chemicals avoided, for the most part, by the organic community if the agency decides that a pest is threatening economically important crops.

ISRAEL - At least four Israelis have been killed and eight injured as two men armed with a pistol, knives and axes attacked a West Jerusalem synagogue, police say. The attackers - Palestinians from East Jerusalem - were shot dead, police say. There have been several deadly attacks and clashes in Jerusalem recently amid tension over a disputed holy site. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to respond "with a heavy hand" to the attack - the deadliest in Jerusalem in six years. Hamas and another Palestinian Islamist militant group, Islamic Jihad, praised the attack. Israel has designated both groups as terrorist organisations. Visiting London, US Secretary of State John Kerry said the act of "pure terror… simply has no place in human behaviour".

EUROPE - Several decades following the rise of the European Union, questions still linger concerning the military role of the European supranational organization. The gross domestic product of the EU is second to that only of the United States. Yet, there have only been talks, plans and rough arrangements of coordination, usually though NATO. There is no great European army. Most countries that had armies before joining the EU have not changed. This has large implications both in the further integration of the EU and internal fiscal debates within EU member countries.

AUSTRALIA - David Cameron may have hailed the G20 meetings in Brisbane over the weekend as a success for the global economy. But in reality, the gathering of the world’s most powerful leaders will be remembered only for the abrupt departure of President Vladimir Putin.

UK - David Cameron warned last night that the global economy risked another crash and claimed Labour could not be trusted to guide Britain through any future crises. He said in an article that 'red warning lights' were 'flashing on the dashboard of the global economy' and the eurozone was 'teetering on the brink' of another recession. The Prime Minister added that, six years on from the financial crisis of 2008, it was more important than ever to maintain a firm hand on the country's finances. Mr Cameron's warning follows a claim by Bank of England governor Mark Carney that a 'spectre' of economic stagnation was haunting Europe. Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, has also expressed fears that a diet of high debt, low growth and unemployment may yet become 'the new normal in Europe'.

ITALY - Italy was hit by strikes, violent demonstrations and protests against refugees on Friday as anger and frustration towards soaring unemployment and the enduring economic crisis exploded onto the streets. Riot police clashed with protesters, students and unionists in Milan and Padua, in the north of the country, while in Rome a group of demonstrators scaled the Colosseum to protest against the labour reforms proposed by the government of Matteo Renzi, the 39-year-old prime minister.

UK - The Islamic State militant known as Jihadi John has threatened to bring slaughter to the streets of Britain and the West in a new video announcing the murder of an American aid worker. The video, featuring the masked militant, marks the group’s most explicit threats yet to attack the UK and America and dismisses David Cameron as a puppet of Barack Obama. It endorses the Prime Minister’s earlier warnings of terrorist attacks in the UK and says the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) will soon begin attacks against the West.

ISRAEL - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's YouTube page uploaded on Sunday a new video entitled: "The Temple Mount: The Truth About the Status Quo." The video makes short statements such as, "Status quo for decades: Muslims can pray, others can visit" and provides statistics showing that annually 3,000,000 Muslims visit the holy site, as compared to 10,000 Jews. The video accuses Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and extreme Islamists of making "false accusations." It also declares that Israel has reaffirmed its commitment to the status quo. Temple Mount has been the site of recent unrest, with tensions relaxing this past Friday, when Israel dropped restrictions on the minimum age of Muslims ascending the mount to pray at al-Aqsa Mosque.

ISRAEL - Balad leader MK Jamal Zahalka said at a protest in Kafr Qara that Israeli Arabs would no longer suffer attempts "to harm Al-Aqsa mosque or other [Muslim] holy places. The [Jewish] temple is a myth and nothing more, while Al-Aqsa mosque exists in the here and now." Zahalka participated in the protest with about 150 people, some of whom were masked, burned tires and clashed with police. The Kafr Qara demonstration was one of many protests that took place on Friday all over the country, in memory of Kafr Kanna resident Kheir Hamdan, who a week earlier threatened police with a knife and was shot dead.