CHINA - The new faces contain no surprises - as all of them are from the list of favourite names widely mentioned by the media. The new line-up shows that 86-year old former leader Jiang Zemin still has important influence, because at least four out of seven new members are widely seen as his allies. Meanwhile the outgoing leader Hu Jintao's three allies - Li Yuanchao, Liu Yuandong and Wang Yang - did not make it into the Standing Committee. Mr Hu has also given up his post as the chairman of the Central Military Commission, indicating he will fully retire from his political posts and stay away from political life too. The prospect of political reform now looks more unlikely as most of the new leaders are regarded as political conservatives.

ISRAEL - Hamas says that it is now in a state of "open war" indefinitely with Israel after the killing of the Hamas commander Ahmed Jabari by an Israeli airstrike. The assassination has "opened the gates of hell," the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, were quoted by AFP as saying. They vowed to "continue the path of resistance."

GERMANY - Beyond the banking world, a parallel universe of shadow banks has grown in the form of hedge funds and money market funds. They're outside the reach of conventional financial regulation, prompting authorities to plan introducing new rules to prevent the obscure sector from triggering a new financial crisis. But in doing so they risk drying up an important source of funding to banks and firms. Within a few years, the volume of financial transactions in the world of shadow banks grew from $27 trillion to $60 trillion today. Now regulators finally want to clamp down and set up a regulatory framework that has so far been conspicuous by its absence for this sector.

EUROPE - Workers across the European Union are staging a series of protests and strikes against rising unemployment and austerity measures. General strikes in Spain and Portugal halted transport, businesses and schools and led to clashes between police and protesters in Madrid. Smaller strikes were reported in Greece, Italy and Belgium, and rallies were planned in other countries.

UK - Travellers flying into and out of the UK were facing disruption today as workers across Europe prepared to stage a series of strikes against rising unemployment and austerity measures. The ETUC said in a statement: ''The ETUC strongly opposes the austerity measures which are plunging Europe into economic stagnation, recession, and dismantling the European social model. These measures, far from restoring confidence, are only aggravating imbalances and creating injustices.''

BRUSSELS, EUROPE - Eurozone leaders met for the umpteenth time in October in their latest attempt to shore up the faltering economies of Europe and restore confidence in the euro. Since the onset of the financial crisis in 2008, there has been an almost constant string of meetings among top policymakers in a concerted effort to resolve the debt crisis that has decimated the Greek economy and dragged the eurozone to the brink of its second recession in three years.

GERMANY/FRANCE - Given their self-appointed role as the European Union’s austerity enforcers, German leaders aren’t exactly troubled by being among the least popular figures within the crisis-rocked euro zone. That’s doubly good, given the German penchant of wrapping tough love within even tougher language — a combo now raising hackles in France after months of it ticking off the debt-laden nations of southern Europe.

USA - Both sides in the US "fiscal cliff" debate stood their ground on Tuesday as they gathered in Washington for the first time since the elections, with a fundamental tax dispute preventing a broader compromise on deficit reduction. The White House made clear it was ready to negotiate with Republicans on taxes and spending, but a spokesman for Democratic President Barack Obama said he will not budge on insisting that tax rates for the wealthy must rise in 2013.

WASHINGTON, USA - The budget deficit rose in October, the first month of fiscal year 2013, as looming negotiations over expiring tax cuts and imminent spending reductions dominated the post-election political landscape. The Treasury said on Tuesday the October deficit was $120 billion, larger than economist forecasts for a $114 billion gap and up from $98 billion in October of 2011. The United States had reported a budget surplus for September, the final month of the 2012 fiscal year, but the tiny bump in revenues did not prevent the country's deficit from exceeding $1 trillion for the fourth year in a row.

GOLAN HEIGHTS, MIDDLE EAST - At least two hundred rebel soldiers had taken over Beerajam and Bariqa, two isolated villages nestled in the buffer zone established between the two countries following the Yom Kippur war in 1973. "The rebels are employing a clear tactic of drawing the regime forces to fight in these demilitarised areas because of the limitations on the Syrian armed forces," a military intelligence source from Israel's northern command said yesterday. The group, made up largely of foreign fighters, including al-Qaeda militants from Iraq, boasts that that once it has ousted the Assad regime, it will focus its attention on Israel.

UK/EUROPE - Talks on the EU budget for next year dramatically stalled yesterday – while Britain stood fast against yet more increases in the union’s bloated finances. Efforts to secure a deal for next year were left in disarray after MEPs refused to turn up for talks with finance ministers from the member states. The European Parliament wants a 6.8 per cent increase in spending, despite the economic crisis. It also wants an even bigger 11 per cent rise for the seven-year budget beyond that – despite countries adopting domestic austerity measures. David Cameron has signalled his refusal to approve the €9 billion (£7.2 billion) increase, insisting the EU should live within its means like families at home.

ITALY - Italian prosecutors have filed charges against Deven Sharma, the former president of Standard & Poor’s, and six other credit rating officials for issuing downgrades that destablised the country and fuelled the debt crisis. Prosecutor Michele Ruggiero has asked a court in Trani, Italy to indict five S&P employees and two from Fitch Ratings for market manipulation, in a move that could trigger a raft of similar claims against rating setters around the world.

USA - For many of the wealthy, 2012 is becoming a good year to sell. They're worried about the "fiscal cliff," which is when tax cuts expire and spending cuts are set to go into effect at the end of the year. Fearing an increase in capital gains and dividend taxes, many of the rich are unloading stocks, businesses and homes before the end of the year. Wealth advisors say that with capital-gains taxes potentially going to 25 percent from 15 percent, and other possible increases in the dividend tax, estate tax and other taxes, many clients are selling now to save millions in taxes.

UK - 8 million children recorded on massive secret database. A newly uncovered clandestine computer network, known as the ‘One System,’ can reportedly share children’s personal details across different UK agencies, including age, sex, address and their school behavior records – all without parents ever knowing.

USA - The markets are going to go into meltdown soon, so expect stocks to lose 20 percent of their value, Marc Faber, author of the Gloom, Boom and Doom report told CNBC on Tuesday. “I don’t think markets are going down because of Greece, I don’t think markets are going down because of the ‘fiscal cliff’ — because there won’t be a ‘fiscal cliff’,” Faber told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “The market is going down because corporate profits will begin to disappoint, the global economy will hardly grow next year or even contract, and that is the reason why stocks, from the highs of September of 1,470 on the S&P, will drop at least 20 percent, in my view.”