EUROPE - Chairman of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Alaeddin Boroujerdi said that undoubtedly, the return of terrorists to Europe will create severe crisis in that region. According to reports, some EU intelligence agencies have even held secret meetings with Syrian government officials about their concerns. The talks involve British, French, German and Spanish spy agencies. The International Center for the Study of Radicalization estimated last month that nearly 2,000 militants from western Europe are involved in the conflict in Syria.

CHINA/JAPAN - Anti-Japanese sentiment in China runs deep, fueled by memories of Japan’s brutal invasion and occupation during World War II. These feelings have been strengthened by the Chinese education system and state-controlled media, along with frequent examples over the years of half-hearted and waffling contrition on the part of the Japanese government. They have even been absorbed into the national narrative of China’s rise, such that China will only receive the official stamp of superpowerdom once Japan has been fully eclipsed in East Asia - politically, economically, and militarily.

RUSSIA - Fears of bank runs have escalated with the news that Russian lender ‘My Bank’ has banned all cash withdrawals until next week. “Bloomberg reports that ‘My Bank’ – one of Russia’s top 200 lenders by assets – has introduced a complete ban on cash withdrawals until next week. While the Ruble has been losing ground rapidly recently, we suspect few have been expecting bank runs in Russia. On Saturday it emerged that HSBC was restricting large cash withdrawals for UK customers from £5000 upwards, forcing them to provide documentation of what they plan to spend the money on, a form of capital control that more and more banks are beginning to adopt.

UK - It’s been calculated that it takes about 27,000 bees to make a jar of honey. In a good season a single hive can produce about 60lb of honey. Bees fly about 55,000 miles (that’s the equivalent of one-and-a-half times round the world) to make a single pound. For centuries honey has been said to possess numerous health benefits. Because of honey’s very low water content it’s thought to prevent the growth of harmful micro-organisms, while it also contains hydrogen peroxide which is hostile to bacteria. Recent research has involved using honey to treat wounds and burns and combat MRSA.

EUROPE - Some EU countries that have criticised US cyber surveillance are "hypocritical" as they themselves are failing to protect citizens' private information, the European Union's top justice official said on Tuesday. Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding - a critic of the data gathering exposed by former US spy contractor Edward Snowden - said she was seeking more legal assurances from Washington but urged European countries to improve their own behaviour. "There's been a lot of hypocrisy in the debate," Reding told an audience in Brussels.

USA - A rare blast of snow, sleet and ice hit the US South on Tuesday, prompting three states to declare a state of emergency, closing the New Orleans airport and causing chaos on roads for drivers unaccustomed to the dangerously slick conditions. Louisiana, Mississippi and North Carolina each declared a state of emergency, telling motorists to stay off the roads. Rain and freezing temperatures combined to snarl the morning commute through large parts of central Texas and Louisiana, where roads and bridges were iced over. Police in Austin, Texas, reported more than 150 crashes caused by icy roads but said there had been no fatalities.

GERMANY - The risk is rising that the German constitutional court will severely restrict the eurozone bond rescue scheme for Italy and Spain, and may reignite the euro debt crisis by prohibiting the German Bundesbank from taking part. The Frankfurter Rundschau newspaper reports that the verdict has been delayed until April due to the complexity of the case and "intense differences of opinion" among the eight judges. The longer the case goes on the less likely it is that the court - or Verfassungsgericht - will rubber stamp requests from the German government for a ruling that underpins the agreed bail-out machinery.

CHINA - A shockwave is looming in China’s multi trillion dollar “shadow banking” system, with an unprecedented default only days away on a $500 million investment product sold to hundreds of people. Staff at China’s biggest bank ICBC pushed the “Credit Equals Gold #1 Trust Product” by promising returns of 10 percent a year, far more than traditional deposits, investors say. But the coal company it was supposed to fund never obtained key licences for its activities, state media reported, and now the firm that structured it, China Credit Trust, says it may not be able to repay 3.0 billion yuan ($492 million) due on Friday.

USA - With no end in sight to California’s drought, farmers in the San Joaquin Valley fear federal officials could seize water in the San Luis Reservoir intended for their crops. The Fresno Bee says dropping reservoir levels across the state are leading to struggles over water set aside via the Central Valley Project, a federally-run network of reservoirs, pumping plants and canals. That includes about 340,000 acre-feet of water stored at San Luis Reservoir.

GERMANY - In the run-up to the Munich Security Conference, prominent German foreign policy specialists are calling for "German Leadership" in the EU's foreign and military policy activities.

USA - The worst selloff in emerging-market currencies in five years is beginning to reveal the extent of the fallout from the Federal Reserve’s tapering of monetary stimulus, compounded by political and financial instability. The Turkish lira plunged to a record low and South Africa’s rand fell yesterday to a level weaker than 11 per dollar for the first time since 2008. Investors are losing confidence in some of the biggest developing nations, extending the currency-market rout triggered last year when the Fed first signaled it would scale back stimulus.

USA - As California faces the worst drought in its 163-year history with no hint of relief in sight, some scientists are calling the event a red flag for the future of the nation. Governor Jerry Brown raised the issue in his State of the State address Wednesday, saying “we do not know how much our current problem derives from the build-up of heat-trapping gases, but we can take this drought as a stark warning of things to come.”

UK - Used by millions of Britons every day, they can increase blood pressure by killing off “good” bacteria that help blood vessels relax. Professor Amrita Ahluwalia, of Queen Mary University of London, said: “Killing off all these bugs each day is a disaster when small rises in blood pressure have significant impact on morbidity and mortality from heart disease and stroke.” Corsodyl makers GlaxoSmithKline said their product was for short-term use to stop plaque and prevent gum disease.

BAHRAIN - Unrest has gripped the Persian Gulf kingdom - which hosts the US Navy's Fifth Fleet and participates in US-led military coalitions - since February 2011, when an Arab Spring-inspired uprising launched by the Shiite majority demanded reforms. Protesters have voiced concerns about discrimination from the Sunni minority - an accusation which the government denies. It is now feared that Sunday’s clashes could trigger new tensions between the Shiite opposition and the Sunni-led government, just as efforts to revive reconciliation talks were showing some signs of progress.

USA - Let’s face it: a disturbingly large portion of the American electorate are not-so-knowledgeable about their world. As of 2008, 30% still maintained that Saddam Hussein was stockpiling weapons of mass destruction and 18% think the sun revolves around the earth. So, when our friends in the press ran headlines about how most Americans had heard “nothing at all” about President Obama’s recent surveillance reforms, I would have been surprised by exactly the opposite.