The "Iranian threat" stands beyond the logic of traditional policy. It is similar to "classical Greek tragedies," which "as a rule, end in a slaughter." Berlin should not refuse participating in the military campaign and must prepare the population for possible consequences, such as terror attacks on European targets or higher costs of gasoline.

These demands are explicitly directed against a second tendency in Berlin's foreign policy, which sees Germany's interests better served by using cooperative means to gain influence (change through rapprochement). This viewpoint is primarily held by business circles interested in expanding, and do not appreciate having to forgo this business with Iran. As the circles promoting military engagement in the media are going on the offensive, tensions are rising at the Persian Gulf. "The crisis over the Iranian nuclear program" according to a recent article in the specialized journal "Internationale Politik," could "possibly be approaching its decisive stage." The "storming of the British Embassy" in Teheran as well as the "news of Israel's military preparations" point clearly toward escalation.

"The truth of the matter is," according to the journal, the conflict has already become openly violent. The author reminds of the "conspicuous frequency of explosions in Iranian military installations" over the past few months as well as the "attempts on the lives of leading representatives of the Iranian nuclear weapons and missile programs. Whoever is responsible for the planning and execution of these attacks - whether secret services or Iranian oppositional forces, or even a coalition of the two - is parting from the assumption that these programs can be interrupted, retarded or stopped with force." It is not out of the question that western countries will resort to "forms of official intervention using military means" most probably using "limited aerial attacks" or a "maritime blockade."

"The 'Iranian threat'," writes the current edition of Internationale Politik, "has little in common with the Soviet threat; it resembles more the classical Greek tragedies. They begin with the protagonist's selfish activities and usually end in a slaughter." The approaching weeks and months will be "marked by appeals for tougher sanctions and deployment of military force." But it must be "verified, whether the inherent risks of escalation can be controlled." It is "certain" that "such considerations preoccupy the US chiefs of staff and those of the other countries." Berlin should, under no circumstances, "break ranks from the international" - meaning Western - "consensus." The author predicts "hard times."

The agreement seeks to establish a legal framework to strengthen scientific, technological and economic cooperation between Riyadh and Beijing, while the two sides reaffirmed their desire to place the highest priority on nuclear safety and environmental protection, the Arab News reported quoting officials. Another agreement to expand cooperation in the field of academics and library affairs was signed by the Riyadh-based King Abdulaziz Public Library (KAPL) and Beijing University. The pact will broaden the scope of cooperation between the two premier institutions and allow KAPL to open its branch in the Chinese capital.

Asked about details of the talks Wen had with King Abdullah, Chinese Embassy spokesman Li Lianghua said the talks with the monarch was preceded by Wen's meetings with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretary-General Abdullatif al-Zayani and Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu. The talks with King Abdullah covered the whole gamut of bilateral issues and regional development, said another Chinese official. He said the two countries pledged to work together to promote political and commercial relations as well as boost links in energy, trade, infrastructure, culture, press and security fields.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the UK Treasury on Monday agreed to launch a private-sector forum to strengthen links between Hong Kong and London in such areas as clearing and settlement, market liquidity and the development of new yuan-denominated products, the HKMA said in a news release. The forum will have representatives from financial institutions in Hong Kong and London, including HSBC Holdings PLC, Standard Chartered PLC, Bank of China Ltd, Deutsche Bank AG and Barclays PLC. It will meet twice a year, and the first meeting will be held in Hong Kong in May, it said.

China and Britain agreed in September to cooperate on the development of the offshore yuan business and develop London into an offshore yuan market. UK Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said in Hong Kong on Monday that the intention was to "establish London as a new hub" for the yuan. "It's clear that there is scope for a substantial expansion of the yuan market in the coming years," he told a meeting of Asian finance officials and executives.

He added that London was perfectly placed to be a gateway for Asian investment and banking to Europe and as a bridge to the United States. Mr Osborne said establishing London as an offshore center for yuan-denominated settlements will benefit China's economic development as well as Britain's.

The Social Democrat said that in addition to representing European Parliament in public, he would strengthen parliament by actively communicating the concerns of MEPs to the European Commission, the Council of Ministers - comprised of government officials from member states - as well as national leaders themselves.

As president of the European Parliament, Schulz will preside over plenary sessions and set the daily agenda in consultation with the leaders of the parliamentary factions. He will also sign regulations and directives together with the chairman of the Council of the European Union while overseeing the parliament's administration and budget.

Schulz has vowed to defend the powers of the parliament and reduce the union's "democratic deficit". "The European Parliament is the only directly elected institution in the European Union," he said in a recent newspaper interview. "From this I derive a broad responsibility for policy in the EU - even in those areas that national leaders claim for themselves." He added that he was planning on joining the 27 heads of state and government at the next EU Summit - whether he was invited or not.

Schulz shot to prominence in 2003, when he started asking questions about alleged conflicts of interest surrounding then-Italian president Silvio Berlusconi and his multi-billion euro media empire. Berlusconi told parliamentarians the bearded, bespectacled German politician would be perfect in the film role of a "kapo" - a prisoner who worked for the Nazis in concentration camps. "Mr Schulz has Lenin's face and speaks like Hitler," French far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen said after Schulz successfully blocked him from presiding over the parliament's inaugural session in July 2009 as the assembly's oldest member.

At first glance, it would appear that Germany emerged unscathed from Standard & Poor's blanket downgrades of nine euro-zone member states on Friday. Germany's triple-A rating was left intact and the country was even taken off the watch list, with its outlook upgraded from "negative" to "stable."

But a closer look reveals that one of the biggest losers is Chancellor Angela Merkel herself. S&P, after all, cited Europe's debt-crisis management as a significant factor in the downgrades. It is, the ratings agency wrote, "our view that the effectiveness, stability, and predictability of European policymaking and political institutions have not been as strong as we believe are called for by the severity of a broadening and deepening financial crisis in the euro zone."

Economy Minister Philipp Rosler, who is head of Merkel's junior coalition partner, the Free Democratic Party, complained that "the euro is under attack." Senior CDU parliamentarian Michael Fuchs said that the ratings agencies use different criteria in Europe than they do in the US and Britain. Elmar Brok, a leading CDU politician in European Parliament, said the downgrades "are almost the equivalent of a currency war."

The implosion in 2008 of the financial system in the US and Europe and last year's European sovereign debt crisis have accelerated the shift of economic momentum to Asia. In 2012, the US and Europe are likely to be flirting with recession for much of the time. Barring a hard landing in China, Asia-ex Japan should continue to clip along nicely at around 7 per cent, according to most economists.

The dramatic change in fortunes has spawned a degree of triumphalism among some Asians. "There's no crisis of capitalism," says Meghnad Desai, emeritus professor at the London School of Economics. "There's a crisis of western capitalism, which has gone geriatric. The dynamic capitalism, with its energy, innovation and sheer greed for growth has moved east."

In the absence of anything better, Asian governments that want to raise their people's income will have to fall back on some flavour of capitalism. "If you look at China, this really shows the power of capitalism, the power of market mechanisms and incentives," says Mr Rhee. "Some elements of capitalism are clearly necessary."

Certainly, within the broad definition of capitalism, the state can be bigger or smaller, it can intervene more or plan less. These policy alternatives are up for discussion in many Asian countries. But when push comes to shove, most are convinced by capitalism. For them it remains the worst possible economic system - except for all the others.

"Our wish and hope is we can stabilise this oil price and keep it at a level around $100 [a barrel]," Mr Naimi told CNN. "If we were able as producers and consumers to average $100 I think the world economy would be in better shape." Brent crude oil prices rose 56 cents on Monday to $111 a barrel amid rising tension between western nations and Iran over Tehran's nuclear programme.

The new favoured price - a de facto target - is a third higher than the $75-a-barrel level that King Abdullah said was a "fair price" in November 2008. Riyadh is traditionally seen as a price moderate within the Opec oil cartel. But Mr Naimi's comments put the kingdom in line with price hawks such as Venezuela. The revised target is in part a reflection of rising public spending in the wake of the Arab spring. "The Saudis need to spend more money to keep their citizens quiet and prevent protests," said Carsten Fritsch, oil analyst at Commerzbank.

Bill Farren-Price of consultants Petroleum Policy Intelligence added that there was a "consensus" within Opec that $100 a barrel was the appropriate price level for its members' fiscal requirements and the need to invest to boost supply. "The context is an industry where a lot of new investment is predicated on that kind of price level."

"The state of Israel is required to strengthen its defence and attack capabilities immediately, which costs a lot of money," he said. "Libyan arms continue to flow into Gaza through Sinai," he said, indicating that there were "more than 10,000 missiles" in the coastal enclave, some of which had a range "surpassing 40 kilometres (24 miles)."

The ongoing reconciliation process between Fatah and Hamas would force Israel to demand that the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip would be under similar terms as Fatah-controlled West Bank, Netanyahu said. "Fatah-Hamas unity would force us to demand that the Gaza Strip be demilitarised," he said. He accused Iran of using the Egyptian Sinai as a staging area for launching attacks on Israel.

"The peace with Egypt has been and is valuable to both countries, but under the surface, the civilian grudge against Israel on the street has become a political asset," Netanyahu continued. In September, the Muslim Brotherhood, whose rise followed president Hosni Mubarak's overthrow in February, demanded a "revision" of ties with Israel but did not call for scrapping the treaty, the first between Israel and an Arab country.

The disapproval rating for Congress inched up two percentage points since October and reflects a year of lows for Congress that ended in a battle over a temporary extension of the payroll tax cuts for 160 million Americans. Democrats and Republicans fought all last year over the best way to control the country's debt and annual budget deficit, as the two parties tried to position themselves for the 2012 elections.

A vitriolic debate leading up to an agreement last summer to allow President Barack Obama to raise the debt ceiling fueled public disgust with Congress and prompted Standard & Poor's credit rating agency to strip the United States of its stellar AAA rating. When the parties are considered individually, Democrats in Congress have a 33 percent approval rate, while Republicans have a 21 percent approval rate, the poll found. The 84 percent disapproval rate is the highest for Congress in nearly 40 years of polling.

Britain has already set aside 30 billion pounds for the IMF but it could be set to add a further 10 billion pounds to the eurozone coffers. A spokesman said: "He said if there were a strong case for additional resources, then he would be willing to take that case to Parliament. At the moment, there is a limit of 40 billion pounds, of which 30 billion pounds has already been subscribed. There is a headroom of 10 billion pounds."

Osborne claimed that the eurozone countries had not been doing enough to remedy the situation and the crisis in Greece would destabilise the entire situation if leaders were not careful. Speaking during a visit to China, he said: "If I felt it was a decent request by the IMF, then, of course, I would be willing to go to Parliament and make that request. But let me be very clear, I would not do that with Britain acting alone, like other big G20 countries, and we are very clear this is not a substitute for the eurozone providing money for dealing with its own currency."

"I think what the euro needs to do is show convincingly that it can stand behind its currency." The news came as President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy said an anti-recession strategy was urgently needed to be put in place. The crisis in Europe reached new levels after credit ratings agency Standard and Poor downgraded some of the key members of the eurozone, including France and Austria. Mr Osborne hit back at the eurozone leaders, including Merkel and Sarkozy that not enough had been done to act on the Greek debt crisis.

The poll by ISPO, published in an Italian newspaper said 65 percent thought the introduction of the euro had been more damaging than beneficial for the Italian economy. Confidence in the European Union dropped to 51 per cent, the lowest level for more than three years. The news will add to the discontent in the eurozone over whether the single currency will survive.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Mario Monti hit back at pressure tactics placed on Italy by both Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy. The Italian PM warned that his country would need to see more concrete support from both France and Germany in return for agreeing to painful austerity measures by the two leaders.

As the standoff with Greece's creditors continued, Mario Monti, the Italian prime minister, pleaded for Germany and other creditor countries to help lower his country's borrowing costs. He warned there would be a "powerful backlash" among voters in smaller EU countries if they did not. S&P said the EFSF's rating would be cut again if member states' creditworthiness eroded further. Leaders appeared to abandon hopes for the EFSF and turned their focus on the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) instead. Herman van Rompuy, co-president of the European Union, said he would assess the size of the ESM "without delay" and ensure it is operational by July.

Klaus Regling, chief executive of the EFSF, said the fund would have "sufficient means to fulfil its commitments under current and potential future adjustment programmes until the ESM becomes operational in July 2012". S&P was severely criticised across the eurozone, even before the EFSF decision was announced. Olli Rehn, an EU Commissioner, said ratings agencies are the tools of "American financial capitalism".

Wolfgang Schauble, Germany's finance minister, said rating agencies' influence should be curbed and insisted German guarantees for the EFSF were sufficient. The governor of the Bank of France, Christian Noyer, said S&P's mass downgrades "constitutes an additional challenge". A bigger hurdle was emerging as Greece's international creditors warned that crucial talks would not resume without "progress" from Athens and the troika, made up of the nternational Monetary Fund (IMF), European Central Bank (ECB) and EU.

The drill, originally set for April, was intended to create a high level of interoperability between the two countries' missile defense systems. Thousands of US troops would be deployed in Israel to be joined by an equal number of Israeli soldiers. It would also be the first time a top US commander (Admiral James Stavridis of the US European Command) has been assigned to participate in the simulations.

The maneuvers had been scheduled to take place at a time of spiraling tensions around Iran. Moreover, the probability loomed they would coincide with Iran's own large-scale naval war games. Israel denies any link between "Austere Challenge 12" and the political build-up in the Gulf, saying their joint drill with the US was "routine," "planned in advance" and "not in response to any real-world event," reports Agence France Presse. Despite the claims, the drill, unique in its size and scope, has sparked concerns in the region that Israel may be bolstering its defense with US troops for an imminent strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.

Now the drill has been postponed due to "technical and logistical" reasons, or, as Israeli public radio puts it, "budgetary constraints." Analysts suggest Washington does not want to put a burning match close to Iran's tinderbox. Moreover, there is also major disagreement between Israel and the US on the red lines for a strike on Iran. This, according to the Associated Press, is likely to head the agenda that General Martin Dempsey, a top US military chief, is taking to Israel for next weekend's discussions with Israel's defense minister, Ehud Barak, and the chief of staff, Benny Gantz. Israeli media speculate Dempsey's visit is a part of the US effort to avoid any "surprise" on Iran coming from Israel.

Experts say Iran could block the strait using mines, armed speed boats or anti-ship cruise missiles, but, according to Michael Connell at the Center for Naval Analysis, "the immediate issue [for the US military] is to get the mines."

Cue the dolphins.

"We've got dolphins," retired Admiral Tim Keating said in an interview last week with NPR. Keating, who commanded the US 5th Fleet in Bahrain during the run-up to the Iraq war, said in a situation like the standoff in Hormuz, Navy-trained dolphins would come in handy. "They are astounding in their ability to detect underwater objects," Keating told the station.

The invasion of Iraq was the last time the mine-sweeping capability of dolphins was widely-touted. "Dolphins - which possess sonar so keen they can discern a quarter from a dime when blindfolded and spot a 3-inch metal sphere from 370 feet away - are invaluable mine sweepers," reported The San Francisco Chronicle. In 2010, the Seattle Times reported that the Navy has 80 bottlenose dolphins in the San Diego Bay. They are taught to hunt for mines and drop acoustic transponders nearby. According to a report in 2003, the dolphins only detect the mines. Destroying them is left up to the Navy's human divers.

That is because, in the wake of Standard & Poor's Exocet, the EFSF also could be downgraded. So the fund, too, would pay more to borrow, just as credit becomes more expensive for the newly downgraded countries it might need to bail out. The likelihood the EFSF can do its job will fall, then, as the chances it will be needed, rise. The question of whether the fund can "lever-up" from its existing 440 billion euros (364 billion pounds) (public money pledged, not delivered) to the 1,000 billion-plus euros that may be needed if Europe's banks endure "another Lehman", is now under serious scrutiny.

Just five eurozone countries - Italy, Spain, Ireland, Portugal and Greece - have around 200 billion euros of debt maturing between now and April. Can they refinance, pulling back from the brink of insolvency? Their chances just got worse. Before we Brits gloat, let us remember that the main reason the UK remains triple-A status is that we're "printing money" and using it to roll over our debts, the Bank of England creating new credits ex nihilo, then buying gilts from existing investors.

What Britain also has going for it, of course, is that the Coalition has forged a "credible" deficit-reduction plan. What "credible" means in today's wacky world of Western government finance is that the UK's plan is more realistic than total fantasy. The question is, how much more? And the cost, so far, of Britain's bank bail-outs, or "financial interventions" in the Whitehall vernacular? A cool 2,270 billion pounds, more than twice our on-the-books national debt. How much of that will the Government recoup when, if at all, these bankrupt institutions are sold off?

Consider that, before getting too smug about what's happening in the eurozone.