JERUSALEM, ISRAEL - Christian leaders reportedly pressured Israel to turn over control of Mount Zion in Jerusalem during a clandestine meeting of senior city officials. The meeting took place Tuesday in the office of Attorney Amnon Merhav, the director-general of the Jerusalem municipality. It was attended by officials from the Prime Minister’s Office, President’s Office, Tourism Ministry, Police, Kotel Rabbi’s Office, and more. During the meeting, representatives of Christian groups in the capital pushed Jerusalem leaders to give the Catholic Church control over the Mount Zion area that includes the “Hall of the Last Supper.” There have been reports that Israel’s government is planning to turn the building in question over to the Vatican prior to the Pope’s expected visit in May.

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL - Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's Office (PMO) released a statement Thursday affirming that Israel will not, despite earlier reports, give away Mount Zion - including King David's tomb - to the Vatican. "All publications claiming that Israel was considering giving away all or part of Mount Zion to the Catholic Church are not true and are fundamental lies," the PMO stated. "The Israeli government does not have and has never had any intention of doing so."

UKRAINE - At least 75 people have been killed in violent riots in Kiev, the Ukrainian Health Department has stated. Doctors working in Kiev’s Independence Square, however, claimed that as many as 70 people were killed on the rioters’ side alone on Thursday. The death toll in the most violent wave of clashes between the rioters and the police in Kiev is likely to increase, as there are conflicting figures coming from the Health Department, city officials and the opposition. As many as 550 people have been injured, according to official estimates.

UK - The people of Switzerland have just voted to end Freedom of Movement from 28 EU member states. This brought an immediate response from within the EU Commission, offering threats and consequences. The EU doesn’t have any time for democracy. It gets in the way of the grand plan for a United States of Europe.

USA - During California's worst drought on record, some farmers are using precious water to grow hay that is then shipped to China. While historic winter storms have battered much of the US, California is suffering its worst drought on record. So why is America's most valuable farming state using billions of gallons of water to grow hay - specifically alfalfa - which is then shipped to China?

BRAZIL - Did you know that the drought in Brazil is so bad that some neighbourhoods are only being allowed to get water once every three days? At this point, 142 Brazilian cities are rationing water and there does not appear to be much hope that this crippling drought is going to end any time soon.

GERMANY - It is a disastrous start for Angela Merkel's new government: After details of a child pornography investigation were leaked, a cabinet member was forced to resign. Now, the chancellor's new cabinet is consumed by backbiting and mistrust. Over the weekend, Merkel was forced into an unwanted cabinet shuffle and her government is quickly sinking into a morass of mistrust, suspicion and backbiting. An investigation into recently resigned SPD parliamentarian Sebastian Edathy on suspicions that he possesses child pornography has reached the highest levels in Berlin - and it is driving a wedge between Merkel's coalition partners.

GERMANY - Yesterday, the day after the German Chancellor held deliberations with two leaders of the Ukrainian opposition, protests in Kiev escalated into bloody confrontations. Demonstrators, unconditionally sponsored by Germany and other western countries for months, began, over the past few days, to arm themselves with firearms and ammunition.

RUSSIA - An American diplomat has said that “the USA holds Yanukovich responsible” for the escalation of crisis in the country. Russia believes that this kind of stance actually encourages radicals on the streets of Kiev to provoke violence. “From this moment on, the USA holds Yanukovich responsible for everything that happens in Ukraine,” US Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey R Pyatt told the Zerkalo Nedeli newspaper. The comment came after diplomats in Ukraine met with Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara. Moscow believes that this accusatory position of the US could have, in fact, contributed to the escalation of violence Kiev has been witnessing, and, holding the president solely responsible for the crisis, is giving carte blanche to extremist radical forces out on the streets.

USA - It is only a matter of time before the stock market plunges by 50% or more, according to several reputable experts. “We have no right to be surprised by a severe and imminent stock market crash,” explains Mark Spitznagel, a hedge fund manager who is notorious for his hugely profitable billion-dollar bet on the 2008 crisis. “In fact, we must absolutely expect it.” Unfortunately Spitznagel isn’t alone. “We are in a gigantic financial asset bubble,” warns Swiss adviser and fund manager Marc Faber. “It could burst any day.” Billion-dollar investor Warren Buffett is rumored to be preparing for a crash as well. The “Warren Buffett Indicator,” also known as the “Total-Market-Cap to GDP Ratio,” is breaching sell-alert status and a collapse may happen at any moment.

USA - Policymakers around the world risk catastrophe unless they turn off the electronic printing presses and accept the pain of rebalancing their budgets, investor and author Jim Rogers has warned. What Rogers sees as a competitive devaluation of currencies runs the risk of turning into trade protectionism and even armed conflict – unless central banks and politicians change tack or the markets force the issue. The latter, Rogers believes, will happen by the end of 2015. “For the first time in recorded history, every major central bank is devaluing their currency by printing an unlimited amount of money,” said Rogers after addressing the audience at the RBS Macro Conference in London. “It is a fools’ paradise; they are living in Neverland.”

GIBRALTAR - Britain is making a formal protest in Madrid after a Spanish warship entered the waters around Gibraltar and disrupted a British forces parachute training exercise. As diplomatic relations over the disputed territory increase yet further the UK's ambassador in the Spanish capital will raise the incursion at "a high level". Military chiefs were forced to temporarily suspend training of the Submarine Parachute Assistance Group while the Gibraltar Squadron's patrol boat, HMS Sabre, shadowed the Spanish navy ship.

EUROPE - France and Germany will send parts of a joint military brigade to Mali in its first deployment to Africa, a statement said Wednesday. "France and Germany have decided to send elements of the Franco-German Brigade to Mali: the first deployment under the aegis of the EU and in an African location," a joint statement said after a security and defence meeting in Paris between the two countries. It said the troops sent would integrate into a European mission in Mali to train soldiers. The mission was launched in February last year and has already trained nearly 3,000 Malian forces.

CHINA - China has long trained for an amphibious invasion of Taiwan during military exercises but has expanded its training to include a similar attack on Japanese holdings in the East China Sea, according to the chief of intelligence of the US Pacific Fleet (PACFLEET). As part of China’s Mission Action 2013 exercise — a massive exercise between all the branches of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) — the military trained for taking the Senkaku Islands, said Captain James Fannell, deputy chief of staff intelligence and information operations for PACFLEET. In the last year, China has increased military activity and additionally increased provocative military actions in the South China Sea around the so-called Nine Dash Line — China’s expansive claim into the region in conflict with several other international claims.

USA - Surprised by how tough this winter has been? You’re in good company: Last fall the Climate Prediction Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted that temperatures would be above normal from November through January across much of the Lower 48 states. “Not one of our better forecasts,” admits Mike Halpert, the Climate Prediction Center’s acting director.