USA - International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde has insisted the eurozone economy is 'improving' as latest figures show a third consecutive month of falling factory output. Ms Lagarde said it was "clearly the case" investors were returning to the eurozone, a message at odds with bleak figures released on Monday showing industrial output across the single currency bloc fell 0.3 per cent in November from October. Her words will likely provoke disbelief in the markets.

CHINA - China is the world's second-largest economy and the world's largest exporter. It is also the world's second largest recipient of foreign direct investment (FDI) and it holds the largest share of foreign exchange reserves. Yet, despite these superlatives, its currency, the renminbi, lags far behind others in playing a role internationally. Recent moves, however, show that China has now embarked on the slow and gradual process of internationalizing the renminbi and promoting its role as one of the key global reserve currencies. China is the first developing country to attempt the internationalization of its currency, and it is the first country to do so in the era of true fiat money, when there is no link, even residual, between the reserve currency and gold.

CHINA - People refused to venture outdoors and buildings disappeared into Beijing's murky skyline on Sunday as the capital's air quality went off the index. The Beijing Municipal Environmental Monitoring Center said on its website that the density of PM2.5 particulates had surpassed 700 micrograms per cubic meter in many parts of the city. The World Health Organization considers a safe daily level to be 25 micrograms per cubic meter.

EGALEO, GREECE - While patrolling on a recent cold night, environmentalist Grigoris Gourdomichalis caught a young man illegally chopping down a tree on public land in the mountains above Athens. When confronted, the man broke down in tears, saying he was unemployed and needed the wood to warm the home he shares with his wife and four small children, because he could no longer afford heating oil. Tens of thousands of trees have disappeared from parks and woodlands this winter across Greece, authorities said, in a worsening problem that has had tragic consequences as the crisis-hit country's impoverished residents, too broke to pay for electricity or fuel, turn to fireplaces and wood stoves for heat.

MIDDLE EAST - Britain and France are spearheading a new peace proposal for the Middle East that could put Israel's leaders on the defensive by pushing them to resolve the conflict with the Palestinians within a year, Israeli officials reportedly said on Sunday. The initiative is expected to be tabled by March following the formation of a new Israeli government after next week's general election. It will include a provision for a Palestinian state with its capital in east Jerusalem – a major sticking point in past negotiations.

USA - In your standard dictatorship, activists are brought out back and shot. In the United States' crypto-dictatorship, activists are bullied by the state until they go bankrupt, are buried under a mountain of legal woes, are publicly discredited or humiliated, or as in the case of activist and Reddit co-founder Aaron Swartz, made to crack under the constant pressure, and commit suicide. While superficially the United States may seem more progressive, a dead activist bullied to death for his political views, is a dead activist - whether it was a bullet in the back of the head by SS officers, or a mountain of litigation dumped upon someone by the US Department of Justice.

CHICAGO, USA - A thorny question is emerging in the health care world as hospitals increasingly crack down on employees who won't get flu shots. Patients can refuse, so why not doctors and nurses? Affected workers, hospital authorities and published reports say that in the past two months, at least 15 nurses and other hospital staffers in four states have been fired for refusing, and several have resigned. Dr. Carolyn Bridges of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says there's a need for stronger data on whether it helps.

UK - David Cameron's long-awaited speech on the UK and Europe will take place on Friday (18th). He is expected to announce plans for a future referendum on Britain's relationship with the EU. The prime minister told BBC Radio 4's Today that he wants a "fresh settlement" with Europe and would then seek "consent" from Britons.

FRANCE/MALI - France has rushed to help Mali block a push south by Islamist rebels from its desert north but a UN-backed intervention plan to dislodge al Qaeda and its allies faces a tough enemy and terrain and could still take months - if it succeeds at all. The original timetable for the AFISMA intervention force of 3,300 West African troops with western logistical, financial and intelligence backing did not foresee deployment before September, to allow time for full preparation. But this has now been accelerated by the rushed French response to a plea for help by Mali's government, after mobile columns of Islamist fighters last week threatened the central garrison towns of Mopti and Sevare, with its key airport.

USA - The United States said Sunday it played a limited support role in France's botched bid to rescue a kidnapped secret agent in Somalia. "United States forces provided limited technical support to the French forces in that operation, but took no direct part in the assault on the compound where it was believed the French citizen was being held hostage," President Barack Obama said in a letter to Congress.

UK - David Cameron today defended being the 'first out of the blocks' to offer help to France in fighting Al Qaeda-linked militants in Mali amid claims it puts Britain at risk of a terror strike. The Prime Minister insisted it was in Britain's interests to provide two RAF C-17 Globemaster cargo planes to the French forces. He has been warned that the decision to transport foreign troops and equipment to the war zone could provoke reprisals on UK streets. Mr Cameron insisted that British combat troops would not join the military mission to the West African nation.

UK - A series of military options are being considered by UK defense chiefs as tension mounts between Britain and Argentina over the Falkland Islands, a report by the Sunday Telegraph claims. Extra troops, warships and Typhoon combat aircraft could be dispatched to the islands if needed, ahead of the March 11 referendum on the island’s future, the newspaper claims, citing sources in Britain’s military. The Permanent Joint Headquarters in Northwood, north-west London is also reportedly considering a ‘show of force’, including conducting naval exercises in the South Atlantic. These could include the deployment of the Royal Navy’s Response Task Force Group, a flotilla of destroyers, a frigate, a submarine and Royal Marine commandos.

IRAN - Iran claims its capability to defend itself is growing and the Islamic republic is “prepared for any threat”. The statement follows tests of “modern warfare” capabilities and exercises to hone battle tactics in the strategic Strait of Hormuz. The naval force of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which is in charge of maintaining security in the Persian Gulf area, held exercises near the port city of Bandar Abbas, which holds a strategic position on the Strait of Hormuz. The main aim was to boost its forces combat readiness, familiarize them with the latest drills, and increase their response time.

USA/CHINA - The United States is concerned about China's expanding ability to disrupt the most sensitive US military and intelligence satellites, as Beijing pursues its expanded ambitions in space, according to multiple sources in the US government and outside space experts. A classified US intelligence assessment completed late last year analyzed China's increasing activities in space and mapped out the growing vulnerability of US satellites that provide secure military communications, warn about enemy missile launches and provide precise targeting coordinates, said the sources, who were not authorized to speak publicly.

USA - New York Governor Andrew Cuomo declared a public health emergency Saturday, as the flu epidemic rocked the nation and hospitals and urgent care centers saw huge crowds. The declaration allows pharmacists to administer flu shots to anyone between the ages of 6 months and 18 years. Dr Mary O'Brien of Columbia University added that the governor’s declaration will also raise awareness, and some more people will get the flu shot. “It’s a very safe shot. It’s an inactive shot,” she said. “It’s not a live vaccine, so it has very few side effects.”