Up to 13,500 military personnel will contribute to security at the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Ministry of Defence has revealed.

Reservists will make up 2,100 of the force, after the MoD made an order under the Reserve Forces Act enabling reservists to be called out for permanent service to provide safety and security at the event.

In a Written Ministerial Statement, Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said the reservists would play "an enhanced role".

He said the overall Defence contribution is "on a similar scale" to that deployed by other nations at recent Olympic Games, and will contribute to "ensuring a safe, secure and enjoyable 2012 Olympics".

Mr Hammond will face questions from MPs this afternoon on the Olympics and the security of the Falkland Islands.

Eurozone finance ministers have been meeting this evening in Brussels to discuss a £108bn bailout for Greece.

The Greek government needs the money to avoid going bankrupt in mid-March, and the country’s finance minister said he expected the “long period of uncertainty” to come to an end today.

Evangelos Venizelos said in a statement from the Greek finance ministry: "We expect today the long period of uncertainty - which was in the interest of neither the Greek economy nor the eurozone as a whole - to end."

David Cameron has called on the international community to “get behind Somalia” to build a “stronger, safer, more prosperous country”.

The Prime Minister was speaking following a round-table meeting today with the members of the Somali communities at Downing Street.

He will also host an international summit on the problems facing the country on Thursday.

International Atomic Energy Agency officials are in Iran to assess the country's nuclear development. The visit - described by both sides as a "meeting" rather than an inspection - comes after the Iranian regime said it would halt its oil sales to Britain and France, in a move pre-empting a European boycott of Iranian oil due to begin in July. Writing for PoliticsHome, Conservative MP Robert Halfon warns that Iran is "at crisis point" and is the "Soviet Union of the Middle East".

William Hague has warned that if Iran continues with attempts to develop a nuclear weapon it is "entirely possible" it will come under attack, but said the UK Government is not currently planning for such action.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5Live, the Foreign Secretary warned that we should not "underestimate the downsides" of taking military action, which could lead to "very serious" consequences.

"It is not a time for military action, it is a time for intense diplomacy and economic pressure," Mr Hague said.

However he insisted the UK could not take any option off the table and rule out such action, if Iran does not take negotiations seriously.

Speaking earlier on the Andrew Marr Show, the Foreign Secretary said Iran was "increasingly willing" to sponsor terrorist attacks on its political enemies, and suggested that it may have been involved in recent attacks on Israeli diplomats.

In a move likely to heighten political tensions, Iran today announced it was stopping oil sales to British and French companies, four months ahead of the European Union embargo coming into effect on July 1.

Jim Murphy called on the Government to step up the pressure on Iran, warning that a nuclear Iran was "the worst possible option".

The Shadow Defence Secretary told Murnaghan: "Let’s tighten the noose, squeeze, squeeze, squeeze again on economic and diplomatic sanctions and let’s see where that gets us. But nothing’s off the table when dealing with the threat of Iran except they should not be allowed to get a nuclear bomb.”

Iran is expanding its nuclear programme by instaling thousands of news centrifluges near the city of Qom, according to a diplomat who has spoken to the BBC.

Ed Balls has strongly criticised Germany over its handling of the euro crisis, saying it is not "pulling its weight".

Speaking to the Andrew Marr Show this morning the Shadow Chancellor also warned of a "very dangerous" situation in the eurozone with the possibility of a Greek default increasing instability in Spain and Italy.

Mr Balls said: "Germany and the European Central Bank are not able to face up to the common obligations you need in a single currency - that could lead to a crisis in the eurozone which would be very dangerous indeed."

Eurozone leaders are considering demanding that Greece postpones its elections – currently due for April – as one of the conditions of a €130bn bailout. Ministers will meet in Brussels tomorrow to finalise the details of the bailout, and the condition is believed to be supported by Germany, Holland, Finland, and Italy.

Nick Clegg says the UK must "lead the way" in international efforts to regulate all arms, including small firearms. Wrting in the Independent on Sunday, the Deputy Prime Minister also praises former foreign secretary David Miliband for putting Britain at the forefront of the drive to curb the sale of arms.

The Ministry of Defence has paid out £40m in bonuses to 55,000 civil servants since April last year, despite armed forces personnel facing a two-year pay freeze. The Department for Work and Pensions paid out the highest amount in bonuses, giving £51m to employees.

Meanwhile Defence Secretary Philip Hammond was “furious” that the Defence Select Committee’s visit to the Falkland Islands was announced in advance, according to the Mail on Sunday.

A number of Europhile Conservatives have formed a new group inside the Conservative Party. The group, Nucleus, has been set up by a number of former Conservative candidates, and believes in the UK maximising its influence, which it says is the best strategy to "defend the single market from protectionism".

China has increased the pressure on the Syrian regime, with the country's envoy to Syria calling on all sides to cease the violence.

Zhai Jun is also quoted as saying on Syrian TV that he backed President Assad's plans for a referendum.

Nicolas Sarkozy and David Cameron yesterday called for the Syrian opposition to put aside its differences and concentrate on the overthrow of President Assad.

President Sarkozy said the lack of unity among opposition groups was a greater threat to the overthrow of Assad than the UN Security Council's failure to reach a consensus on the issue.

William Hague has expressed his concern that Iran's nuclear ambitions could plunge the Middle East into a new cold war.

In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, the Foreign Secretary said that if Iran developed nuclear weapon capability, other nations would want to as well.

Mr Hague warned of a "crisis coming down the tracks" which could lead to a "disaster in world affairs".

Shadow Defence Secretary Douglas Alexander accused Mr Hague of "raising the rhetoric", and urged the Government to be "focused on redoubling their efforts to increase the diplomatic pressure on Iran".

The Greek government is close to reaching a deal on the £110bn rescue package that would enable to pay its creditors and avoid default. There has been widespread anger at the package inside Greece, which includes conditions that put large sections of Greece's economic policy under the control of Europe in return for the cash.

The Shadow Defence Secretary, Jim Murphy has dismissed the "triumphalism within the MoD" for balancing their books. He claimed the wholes that exister were ones "Ministers themselves had created" and the Government's defence policy has seen Britain's "reach and firepower" shrink.

The criticism comes as Philip Hammond is expected to announce that the Ministry of Defence has balanced its books for the first time in nearly forty years. The Defence Secretary will say that the £38 billion “black hole” in MoD finances has been “dealt with” and the department's “hand to mouth existence will come to an end".

Mr Murphy insisted that transparency was needed if these figures are to be believed. He argued: "If the Department won’t publish their figures people will conclude that this is nothing more than fiscal hubris."

German President Christian Wulff has stepped down after prosecutors asked the federal parliament to waive his immunity over a home loan scandal.

In his resignation speech, Mr Wulff said he was sure he would be "totally exonerated", but that Germany needed a President "who enjoys the confidence and trust of the overwhelming majority of the wider population".

Chancellor Angela Merkel said: "With this resignation, the President Mr Wulff has decided he is going to step back and push there interests of the general public to the forefront."

MEPs are said to be looking for a pay increase of up to 3%, totalling £2,500. The salary boost would mean an extra £45m a year being added to the parliamentary budget. Criticising the move, Tory MP Philip Davies said "It is totally unacceptable to ask for any kind of budget increase while European nations are struggling as they are".

Greece risks being "utterly destroyed" by infighting in the European Union, Lord Howell has warned. He told peers that the UK was urging a "realistic and sustainable" solution to Greece's debt crisis, which is having a "chilling effect" on the British economy. Lord Howell's comments come against mounting anger in Greece at the austerity measures demanded by Germany in return for the second £110m bailout from the eurozone.

William Hague has welcomed the UN General Assembly resolution condemning the violence in Syria, saying it sends a "clear signal" to President Assad's regime. The non-binding motion was carried with 137 votes in favour, 12 opposing, and 17 abstaining. The Foreign Secretary said: "President Assad and the Syrian regime must heed the call of the international community and allow a peaceful political transition to resolve the crisis."

The Government has said it is proud the role UK forces played in over-throwing Libya's Colonel Gaddafi. Speaking on the anniversary of the start of the Libyan revolution, David Cameron said Britain shared the "ambitions of Libyans" for a "stable, prosperous country based on fundamental freedoms and human rights". Foreign Secretary William Hague earlier "reaffirmed UK commitment to supporting Libyans".

The United Nations General Assembly has overwhelmingly passed a resolution condemning the violence in Syria. The non-binding motion was carried with 137 votes in favour, 12 opposing, and 17 abstaining.

William Hague welcomed the vote, saying it sent a "clear signal" of the international community's condemnation of the violence.

The Foreign Secretary added: "President Assad and the Syrian regime must heed the call of the international community and allow a peaceful political transition to resolve the crisis"

Ahead of the vote, the Russian deputy foreign minister warned that his country would oppose the “unbalanced” Arab League-backed initiative, while Venezuela also opposed the resolution. The initiative also calls for Bashar al-Assad to stand down from power in Syria, where up to 7,000 civilians are reported to have been killed since the uprising began in May.

Greece has made "substantial progress" in persuading the eurozone nations to release the next tranche of bailout funds, the Euro Group President has said. But Jean-Claude Juncker said there was unlikely to be a decision from the eurozone until Monday. Greek finance minister and Socialist leader, Evangelos Venizelos, accused the eurozone of deliberately changing the terms of the proposed €130bn (£110bn) bailout to force the country out of the single currency.

Buenos Aires has attacked the decision by the UK to send MPs from the defence select committee to the Falkland Islands. A statement from the country’s foreign ministry accused the UK of transforming the ‘Malvinas into the cornerstone of a system of military bases’.

Armed militias remaining in Libya after the revolution are threatening the country's security and stability, Amnesty International has warned. Experts say the interim government has largely failed to rein in the groups, who are believed to still be holding about 8,000 Gaddafi supporters.