GREECE - “Prolonged economic weakness will persist – especially in the peripheral countries – with further periods of intense financial market stress” is how Citi’s Willem Buiter’s economics team sees the future in Europe. While they continue to believe that the probability of a Greece exit from the Euro is around 90% in the next 12-18 months; but more critically it is increasingly likely in the next six months – conceivably as soon as September/October depending on the TROIKA report.

USA - The big infusion of cash that sent Mark Zuckerberg and his fledgling college enterprise on their way came from Accel Partners, in 2004. Jim Breyer, head of Accel, attached a $13 million rocket to Facebook (NASDAQ: FB), and nothing has ever been the same. Earlier that same year, a man named Gilman Louie joined the board of the National Venture Capital Association of America (NVCA). The chairman of NVCA? Jim Breyer. Gilman Louie happened to be the first CEO of the important CIA start-up, In-Q-Tel. In-Q-Tel was founded in 1999, with the express purpose of funding companies that could develop technology the CIA would use to “gather data.”

IRAN - Iran has accelerated its activities at the Fordo underground nuclear facility near Qom, international diplomats said Thursday. The information is of concern to Israel, which fears Iran is developing a nuclear weapon. The information revealed by the diplomats comes several days before the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog agency, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), is set to publish a new report on Iran’s nuclear program.

ANTARTICA - Whilst the theory of global warming has gained many supporters, an international team of scientists has revealed that the Antarctic had been troubled by warm temperatures centuries before the post-industrial age. To conduct their research polar scientists from Britain, Australia and France have collected a massive ice core from James Ross Island on the northernmost tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. The layers of the 364 meters long core allowed the scientists to trace climate patterns dating back 15,000 years.

USA - The gold standard has returned to mainstream US politics for the first time in 30 years, with a “gold commission” set to become part of official Republican party policy. Drafts of the party platform, which it will adopt at a convention in Tampa Bay, Florida, next week, call for an audit of Federal Reserve monetary policy and a commission to look at restoring the link between the dollar and gold.

LUBBOCK, USA - A Texas leader is warning of what he calls a ‘civil war’ and possible invasion of United Nations troops if President Barack Obama is re-elected. Lubbock County Judge Tom Head is convinced that Mr Obama winning a second term would lead to a revolt by the American people and he’s is pushing a tax increase for the district attorney’s office and the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office.

GERMANY - This weekend marks the 20th anniversary of one of the darkest episodes in the history of postwar Germany, when hundreds of rioting neo-Nazis set ablaze an asylum-seekers' hostel in Rostock. Locals are tired of the onslaught of media attention, but many still live in fear of right-wing violence.

GREECE - Many German politicians accuse Greece of not doing enough to cut spending. But studies show that, measured in relative terms, Athens has carried out the most brutal austerity program in the EU's history. Prime Minister Antonis Samaras is making it clear that he wants to change his country's culture of cronyism.

RUSTENBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - Labor unrest in South Africa's platinum belt spread on Wednesday, raising concerns that anger over low wages and poor living conditions could generate fresh violence after 34 striking miners were shot dead by police last week.

ISRAEL - Israel expressed concern on Wednesday over Egypt's bolstering of its military presence in the Sinai desert in possible violation of the 1979 peace pact. Cairo was reported this week to be deploying troops and tanks in Sinai for the first time since the two countries fought a war in 1973.

EUROPE - Greece was warned last night it has one ‘last chance’ to avoid bankruptcy as allies of Angela Merkel made clear she does not care if the country drops out of the euro. The ultimatum was delivered by eurozone boss Jean-Claude Juncker as a week of crunch talks over the fate of the single currency started. He argued the departure of Greece from the eurozone would not have a ‘great impact’ on the remaining nations, and suggested Mrs Merkel held similar views. ‘If Greece is going to leave, I don’t think it’s going to have a very great impact anymore, because the countries are prepared.

UK - Many now view a Greek exit, or Grexit, as a foregone conclusion. That would come at a heavy cost to the UK, despite our being outside the single currency bloc. The bill for the British taxpayer is likely to be £1 billion, since although we are not exposed to the Eurozone bailout funds, we on the hook for a share of any IMF aid as the UK is a major stakeholder in the Fund. Greece has no future in the single currency – in a sane world, it would never have been allowed to join in the first place. But this is not a sane world. The very existence of the euro is ample proof of that.

USA - Government dependency is on the rise, with more than half of all Americans relying on the government for survival. While the Obama administration is broadening eligibility, US citizens increasingly also say they prefer it this way. Americans’ self-reliability has been decreasing as eligibility for Medicaid, food stamps, earned income tax credit, work pay tax credit and unemployment benefits have broadened since 2009 to allow more US citizens to enjoy them. More than half of the US population – 165 million of 308 million Americans – is now dependent on the state in some form.

USA - Tropical Storm Isaac spun over the Caribbean Sea and could become a hurricane on Thursday as it moves on a track that would put it off the coast of Florida on Monday, the opening day of the Republican National Convention in Tampa. As the center of Isaac moved away from the Leeward Islands, the storm prompted hurricane warnings in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Isaac may also threaten US energy interests in the Gulf of Mexico, weather experts said.

UK - The UK has joined the US in warning Syria that the use or threat of chemical weapons would force them "to revisit their approach". The warning came after a telephone call between Prime Minister David Cameron and US President Barack Obama. The PM also spoke to French President Francois Hollande. The three discussed building support for the opposition. Earlier, Chinese state media accused Mr Obama of using the chemical arms issue as an excuse for military intervention. The UK believes Mr Assad's fall is "inevitable".