International and Bilateral Issues:

The Taliban have said they are prepared to open a political office in Qatar for the negotiations “with the international community” in what could be the most significant breakthrough towards a peaceful end in 10 years of war in Afghanistan.
Secret discussions between American and Taliban officials have been under way for months about taking confidence-building measures including the establishment of a political office outside the immediate region and the release of Taliban prisoners.
Western diplomats hoped it would also lessen Pakistan's control of the Taliban. Pakistan plays host to most of the Taliban leadership, which it sees as an important bargaining counter in negotiations over the future of the region.
The other advantage of having a Taliban office is that it should reduce the risk of impostors presenting themselves as Taliban negotiators.
- impostor fooled Afghan, British and the U.S. intelligence in 2010, pocketing thousands of dollars in cash incentives for coming to peace talks before he was revealed not to be the high-ranking Taliban official he claimed.

Tens of thousands of Hungarians have taken to the streets in protest at the new constitution, which came into force on New Year's Day.
Demonstrators say it harms democracy and and removes the checks and balances set up in 1989 when Communism fell.
The EU and US have also asked for the law to be withdrawn.

Oil prices on Tuesday jumped 4.2 per cent to over $102 a barrel as tension has peaked between the US and Iran after Iran warned the United States not to return a US aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf region.
Iranian Army Commander Maj Gen Salehi hinted at using newly tested surface-to sea missiles in order to prevent re-entry of the US aircraft carrier.
- Iran test-fired two missiles on Monday, the final day of its naval exercises in the Strait of Hormuz
The US has hit back and dismissed Iran's warning as a ploy to deflect attention from the fact that Iran is facing the heat from the sanctions imposed.
Iran insists that the naval drills were partly to demonstrate its power over the Straight of Hormuz, which is a critical shipping channel and is now threatening to shut it.
- The Strait of Hormuz is a critical shipping lane, with 17 million barrels of oil per day passing through in 2011
- That's about one sixth of global oil production and nearly 20 per cent of all the oil traded worldwide.
- Just last week, Iran issued its initial threat to shut the shipping lane linking the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman. Iran's southern coast borders that entire area.