USA - Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel has unveiled plans to shrink the US Army to its smallest size since before World War Two. Outlining his budget plan, the Pentagon chief proposed trimming the active-duty Army to 440,000-450,000 personnel, down from 520,000 currently. Cold War-era Air Force fleets - the U-2 spy plane and the A-10 attack jet - will also be retired. However, the plan requires approval from Congress, which could change it. The US military is under pressure to downsize after two costly foreign wars.

USA - Liberal internationalists, including people like Chase CEO David Rockefeller and former Undersecretary of State and an architect of 1960s American trade policies George Ball, began pressing for reductions in non-tariff barriers, which they perceived as the next set of trade impediments to pull down. But the idea behind getting rid of these barriers wasn’t about free trade; it was about reorganizing the world so that corporations could manage resources for “the benefit of mankind”. These agreements are about getting rid of national sovereignty, and the people who first pressed for NAFTA were explicit about it.

UKRAINE - Ukraine borders the Russian Federation to the east and northeast, Belarus to the northwest, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary to the west, Romania and Moldova to the southwest, and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south and southeast, respectively. It has an area of 603,628 km2 (233,062 sq miles), making it the largest country entirely within Europe. Ukraine has long been a global breadbasket due to its fertile conditions. As of 2011, it was the world's third-largest grain exporter with that year's harvest being much larger than average. Ukraine is one of ten most attractive agricultural land acquisition regions. Additionally, the country has a well-developed manufacturing sector, particularly in the area of aerospace and industrial equipment. The country is home to 44.6 million people.

UK - Britain has offered to help fund an international financial rescue package for Ukraine amid mounting fears that Russia may intervene following the country’s revolution. George Osborne, the Chancellor, said that Britain and other countries will be ready “with a chequebook” to help “rebuild” Ukraine following the bloody violence that has seen 88 killed and hundreds more injured. Amid growing fears that Russia could send troops into the country and mystery over the whereabouts of Viktor Yanukovych, the ousted president, Mr Osborne joined American and European leaders in pledging financial support to Ukraine.

UKRAINE - And they win the award by having a much larger crisis overall. Russia has suspended financial aid to Ukraine. There are rumours of runs on banks and long queues at ATMs. There are rumours of Ukraine possibly splitting into two countries.

RUSSIA - Russia sees merit in the advice against use of force in Ukraine which US National Security Adviser Susan Rice voiced, but believes it was wrongly directed towards Moscow. Washington would be a more appropriate recipient of the piece of wisdom. “We have noted the expert assessment of Susan Rice based on multiple cases when American troops were sent to various places of the world, especially those where the US administration believed the norms of Western democracy were in danger, or where the local regimes were getting out of hand,” a Russian Foreign Ministry source told news agencies on Monday. The source added that, “We expect that national security adviser would be giving to the US leadership the same advice on the mistaken path of the use of force if it decides to conduct a new intervention.”

UKRAINE - A senior Obama administration official warned Russian leaders Sunday not to send armed forces into Ukraine to restore what they see as a compliant government, urging them to reject a Cold War view of the tumult in Ukraine as a struggle between East and West. “That would be a grave mistake,” President Barack Obama’s National Security Adviser, Susan Rice, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “It’s not in the interests of the Ukraine or of Russia or of Europe or of the United States to see the country split. It’s in nobody’s interest to see violence return and the situation escalate. This is not about the US and Russia. This is about whether the people of Ukraine have the opportunity to fulfil their aspirations and be democratic and be part of Europe, which they choose to be.”

UKRAINE - "There is no money in Ukraine's Treasury account," exclaimed 'Interim President' Oleksandr Turchynov to the Ukrainian parliament; adding that the Ukraine economy is in a "catastrophic state." Hardly surprising given the months of protest; but with Russia 'conditionally' postponing its EUR 2 billion 'loan', the Europeans are riding to the nation's aid with promises of EUR 20 billion (if Ukrainian authorities meet certain conditions). But a great deal of the nation's wealth lies in the eastern (pro-Russia) region.

EUROPE - Unremarked, the EU is about to hold its first federal elections. The European Parliament has been quietly sucking in more power for decades, but has so far lacked the supreme attribute of a federal legislature, namely the right to appoint a federal government.

BRUSSELS, EUROPE - A leader of a movement for a United States of Europe says that a member of the European Parliament who opposes his group is closed minded.

AUSTRALIA - Apparently all it takes to kick the world out of a secular recession and back into growth mode, is for several dozen finance ministers and central bankers to sit down and sign on the dotted line, agreeing it has to be done. That is the take home message from the just concluded latest G-20 meeting in Syndey, where said leaders agreed that it is time to finally grow the world economy by 2% over the next 5 years.

ETHIOPIA - Urban hyenas are becoming a dangerous problem in the Ethiopian capital, where they attack rough sleepers. "Hyenas," says Stephen Brend, a zoologist with the Born Free Foundation, “are some of the fiercest predators on earth.”

USA - Over the last decade, America has quietly expanded its military presence throughout Africa in an attempt to counter Chinese and other emerging nations’ influence, while consolidating control over critical strategic resources and trade routes. The United States, like its allies Britain and France, has long maintained influence and indirect control in Africa through financial institutions such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and African Development Bank. It has exerted political influence using aid organizations such as USAID and NGOs like the National Endowment for Democracy, Freedom House and others. However, recent years have seen an unprecedented military expansion which has gone almost entirely unnoticed by the US public.

VATICAN - Pope Francis has appointed 19 new cardinals at a ceremony in Rome - the first such appointments of his papacy. The BBC's David Willey in Rome says the appointments are being seen as a clear attempt to share decision-making in the church. The Pope is encouraging cardinals - old and new - to think outside the box in formulating new policies for the Catholic Church, our correspondent adds. The new recruits will join the more than 100-strong College of Cardinals, which has been meeting in plenary session behind closed doors at the Vatican.

USA - Today the American people, whether they know it or not, are mired in a silent war. It threatens the fabric of our communities, the health of our public square, and the endurance of our constitutional governance. It is a war against the propositions in the Declaration of Independence. It is a war against the spirit that motivated abolitionism. It is a war against the faith that motivated the Civil Rights struggle. It is a war against the soul of countless acts of charity. It is a war against the conscience that drives social change. It is a war against the heart that binds our neighborhoods together. It is a war against America’s best self, at America’s best moments. It is a war — a silent war — against religious liberty.