"That is something on our agenda," Munter told a gathering of top Pakistani military brass, analysts and academics Monday at an event that was billed by the local US Embassy as a major policy announcement. The US military and the State Department rarely comment on drones. Munter's comment did not come from his prepared speech, but during a question-and-answer session in response to a question from a member of the audience demanding to know when drone strikes would cease permanently. Fearing a hostile reception that would embarrass the State Department and stoke further local anti-US sentiment, television cameras were ordered to leave the room for the question-and-answer session.

"We have habits and tendencies that don't work for us and get in the way [of our relationship with Pakistan]," Munter said, a reference to drones and undercover CIA operations on Pakistani soil that have enraged Pakistan's powerful spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence. The ambassador gave no timeline on when a review of drone policy would be conducted, but Washington will likely want to make it a priority as it attempts to rebuild frayed relations with Pakistan, its most important ally in the war on terror.

Dealings between the US and Islamabad hit rock bottom after Pakistan lost patience with relentless pressure from America to eradicate militants who use Pakistan's tribal border regions as sanctuaries and training bases from which to launch attacks on NATO troops. January's killing of two Pakistanis by a CIA contractor in Lahore invoked the wrath of all sections of Pakistani society, including the ISI, politicians, the religious establishment and an increasingly anti-American public.

The collapse of Portugal's government and the success of a hitherto unknown populist in Sunday's Finnish elections may seem unrelated. But Timo Soini, head of the anti-EU True Finns party, was quick to the make the connection in an interview with the Financial Times earlier this year. "If the Portuguese thing comes before the Finnish elections, that will mean quite a fierce discussion and protest," said Mr Soini. True Finns were last week only narrowly behind the centre-right National Coalition party, according to most polls, and that was before Lisbon appealed for a rescue. "People just don't get it, don't want it."

It is a sentiment that appears to be spreading. Popular anger at bail-outs, austerity and general economic uncertainty has already toppled leaders on the eurozone's periphery: first in Ireland, then Portugal and arguably Spain, where Jose Luis Zapatero has said he will not seek a third term as prime minister. Now, anger is beginning to infect Europe's prosperous core, where mainstream parties are losing ground to populist outsiders PLAYING ON RESENTMENT AND FRUSTRATION TRIGGERED BY AUSTERITY AND FALLING LIVING STANDARDS.

In France, President Nicolas Sarkozy's centre-right UMP party took a drubbing in regional elections last month amid a strong showing by the far-right National Front. In Belgium, Flemish nationalists have prevented the formation of a government for a year and, observers say, are likely to emerge even stronger if forced into another election. The minority Dutch government has relied on the anti-EU party of nationalist Geert Wilders to keep it in power for six months.

Even in Germany - where the idea of a right-wing populist party feeding on economic discontent is the subject of whispered concerns - anger over mainstream handling of the economy led the traditional parties to lose ground in the state of Baden-Wurttemberg last month. Resentment, fuelled by the tabloid press, grew so intense that one mainstream party, the liberal Free Democrats, appeared to toy with an openly anti-EU platform ahead of the vote.

We are witnessing Europe's own Tea Party moment. Like Barack Obama, US president, leaders of European nations with the might to rescue a continent from crisis are hamstrung by voters who have had enough bailing out others.

The rebels' interim ruling council met an AU delegation from five countries - led by three presidents and two foreign ministers - the day after Gaddafi endorsed the African "roadmap to peace", which included an immediate ceasefire, the suspension of NATO air strikes and talks towards a political settlement. But Mustafa Abdul Jalil, the revolutionary council chairman, said the rebels had told the AU its proposal had been outdated by events, including the UN security council resolution authorising air strikes, and was in any case unacceptable because it left Gaddafi in power while both sides negotiated.

"From the very beginning we have been asking that the exit of Gaddafi and his sons take place immediately. We cannot consider this or any future proposal that does not include this peoples' requirement," said Jalil. "He leaves on his own or the march of the people will be at his doorstep." That view was strongly backed by thousands of demonstrators outside the Benghazi hotel where the talks were held. They waved revolutionary flags and carried signs saying: "No solution with Gaddafi staying".

In an interview with the Financial Times, Kishor Chaukar, executive director of Tata Sons, the holding group of the Tata Group, said civil society's growing frustration with widespread corruption threatened to lead to nationwide protests inspired by the recent popular uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.

Mr Chaukar's comments come days after Ratan Tata, the chairman of the Tata Group, appeared before parliament to face questions about his group's participation in the controversial award of 2G telecoms licences three years ago. The mishandling of the auction was estimated by an official audit to have cost the national exchequer $39 billion in lost revenues. Mr Tata denies wrongdoing. "The dimensions of this [corruption scandal] are so large. The wrongdoing is being brought into focus in such a large manner," Mr Chaukar said. "A large number of youth are saying: 'This is enough'. To crony capitalism, they are saying: 'Let's get rid of it.'"

"It will lead to something that is big for India's economic and political system... What's happened in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt is giving people encouragement. [They are saying] if we can demonstrate and network and we are unified then things can change." Others too have drawn parallels between the activist mood in the world's largest democracy and the Middle East. Justice Santosh Hegde, a former Supreme Court judge, warned of an Egypt-like revolt if a public campaign against graft went unheeded

Protesters chanted slogans against Saudi and Bahraini leaders, both followers of Sunni Islam. Iran, predominantly Shiite Muslim, has denounced the deployment of a Saudi-led force to help prop up Bahrain's monarchy. A government crackdown against Bahrain's Shiite-led protests has killed at least 27 people. Authorities say they see Iran's influence among the opposition, though there are no visible links.

The AU says Colonel Muammar Gaddafi has accepted the plan, but on Monday his forces attacked the city of Misrata. After eight weeks of fighting, pro-Gaddafi forces have recently pushed rebels back towards the east along Libya's northern coast, but NATO has thwarted their advance. Mr Koussa was Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's foreign minister until 12 days ago, when he fled to London.

BBC's security correspondent Gordon Corera said he was told Mr Koussa was not ready to be interviewed, but would give a prepared statement. "I ask everybody to avoid taking Libya into civil war," Mr Koussa said. "This would lead to so much blood and Libya would be a new Somalia. More than that, we refuse to divide Libya. The unity of Libya is essential to any solution and settlement for Libya."

Libya's Minister for Social Affairs, Ibrahim Zarouk al-Sharif, said he could not comment on Mr Koussa's statement while the former foreign minister was "captured" in a hostile country.

Most parents said music videos and celebrity were encouraging children to act older than they were. Mr Bailey is due to publish a full report in May. Of the 1,025 parents of five- to 16-year-olds surveyed, 40% said they had seen things in public places, such as shop window displays and advertising hoardings, that they felt were inappropriate for children to see because of their sexual content. And 41% of parents said they had seen programmes or adverts on television before 9pm that they felt were unsuitable for similar reasons.

The review is also conducting focus groups, and Mr Bailey said emerging areas of concern included adult-style clothing aimed at young children, as well as toys and games they felt were inappropriate. Parents were "struggling against the slow creep of an increasingly commercial and sexualised culture and behaviour, which they say prevents them from parenting the way they want", he said.

He said parents "had little faith in regulators or businesses taking their concerns seriously", but also were put off complaining by fears they would be seen as "prudish or out of touch". The review is exploring whether there should be restrictions on retailers selling sexualised products aimed at children - such as "Porn star" T-shirts or padded bras. A code of conduct on "age appropriate" marketing and a new watchdog are among plans being considered by the review. Items that have been criticised include pencil cases and other products with the Playboy logo.

It came as Japan said it was extending the evacuation zone around the nuclear plant because of radiation concerns. The cooling systems at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant were damaged in last month's disaster. Workers have been struggling to prevent several reactors from overheating, and avert a large-scale release of radiation.

The plant's operator, Tepco, said power used to pump water to cool three damaged reactors had been cut briefly but early indications suggested the plant had not sustained any further damage. The zone around it will be widened to encompass five communities beyond the existing 20-km (12-mile) radius, following new data about accumulated radiation levels, officials said.

The latest tremor struck shortly after the country stopped to observe a minute's silence to remember the nearly 28,000 dead or missing in the 11 March disaster. Survivors in shelters marked the moment the quake and tsunami hit at 1446 (0546 GMT) with bowed heads. Prime Minister Naoto Kan thanked people around the world for their support.

The official death toll from the disaster is 13,130, while 13,718 remain unaccounted for. More than 150,000 people have been made homeless. Many have lost their jobs.

The media consider Jones easy to ignore. The pastor of a small Florida congregation, Jones has been regarded by the elite as a right-wing, red-necked, raving, evangelical kook ever since last year when he announced he planned to burn a Quran on the anniversary of 9/11. He was acknowledging that the people who flew those four planes into the Twin Towers, the Pentagon and the field in Pennsylvania were believers in the rules of that book - and because of those rules, 3,000 people were murdered.

Jones (and he isn't alone) sees there's been no justice for those dead innocents and that despite what we euphemistically called the "war on terror," what has resulted is that too many politicians, from the president on down, as well as the media and much of society, ARE SO AFRAID OF MUSLIMS THAT THEY CAPITULATE AT EVERY TURN.

When Jones announced the intended 9/11 burning, he was denounced and ridiculed, and frightened politicians tried to talk him out of it. The secretary of defense called; the secretary of state spoke out and so did the president. No doubt they were stimulated by the fact that when word of what Jones planned to do got to the Middle East, rioting broke out almost instantaneously. At least 19 were killed and scores injured, with much property damage. But we expect that. There were injuries and deaths everywhere, but the worst was the massacre in Mazar-i-Sharif where rioters stormed a UN aid compound. The victims were there to help Afghans.

Four Gurkha guards were killed; they were under orders not to use their weapons offensively. Other victims included Norwegian women aid workers and Swedish and Romanian administrators. Some of these people weren't just killed, they were beheaded. It's the signature killing of insulted Muslims. Others were shot or had their throats slit. Islam doesn't have a "short fuse" when it comes to the Quran or Muhammad; it has no fuse at all. It's instant ignition and grisly deaths and mayhem.

Pastor Jones, he isn't giving up. He plans a demonstration April 22 in Dearborn, Michigan, in front of the country's largest mosque, to protest Shariah, jihad and Islam's oppression and violence. The West is playing Islam's game. They deal with a stacked deck, and we expect the result will be peace. Perhaps, but only if you consider a world ruled by Islam, peace.

Three Kassam and Grad missile attacks that were followed by Israel Air Force retaliation, made it clear the so-called "ceasefire" was unlikely to become reality. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu warned Gaza's ruling Hamas terrorist organization that Israel will not tolerate continued attacks. This did not prevent the firing of a fourth Grad Katyusha missile, also aimed at Ashkelon, which missed the mark at midday and exploded in an open area.

Hamas is testing the revolutionary Israeli anti-rocket system, Iron Dome, to learn how it works and find its weak spots, security sources estimated Sunday, as terrorists continued to fire rockets at Be'er Sheva and Ashkelon. IDF sources told Arutz Sheva's Haggai Huberman that by massive firing of rockets Hamas is trying to determine which areas are protected by Iron Dome and how effective the system is. It will also be gauging the angle at which Iron Dome fires its anti-missile missiles, and more. Both Ashkelon and Be'er Sheva are protected by Iron Dome batteries, which have intercepted at least eight terrorist rockets in the past few days.

On Friday night (Sabbath eve), the Iron Dome battery at Be'er Sheva blocked two rockets that had been fired at the city. The second Iron Dome battery currently deployed has thus far intercepted six missiles that were on their way to hit Ashkelon. The Iron Dome system currently protects the municipal centers near which it is stationed. It does not fire at missiles that its computer identifies as being en route to more sparsely populated regions.

The controversial theory could help explain why church attendances are falling in many western nations, including the UK, and why the elderly make up such a large proportion of many congregations. In Britain, only 15 per cent of people go to church at least once a month - and with over-65s accounting for more than a quarter of regular churchgoers, churches are desperately trying to reach a younger audience.

The Church of England, for example, has in the past resorted to radio adverts featuring rap-style poems and using a slogan that described Christmas as a 'bad hair day' for the Virgin Mary. But the researchers behind the latest study say that rather than putting all their energy into trying to make religion trendy, churches would do better to try to recruit more pensioners, who have more to gain from religion.

The theory comes from a team at St Andrews University and the University of East Anglia who applied some of the principles of economics to the psychology of churchgoing. Costs, such as impact on social life and bank balance, were weighed against benefits, such as a ticket to the afterlife, at different stages in life. The results of this cost-benefit analysis led the researchers to conclude that as living conditions improve and lives get longer, young people simply have too much to lose by going to church year after year.

The promise of life after death, however, leaves the elderly with a lot to gain. Researcher Dr Elissaios Papyrakis said: 'We show that higher life expectancy discounts expected benefits in the afterlife and is therefore likely to lead to postponement of religiosity, without necessarily jeopardising benefits in the afterlife. For this reason, religious organisations should be prepared to accept and attract a "greying church", with membership skewed towards the older generation, particularly in countries which have high life expectancy.'

The agreement will reduce government spending by $38.5 billion over the next few months - and by hundreds of billions of dollars in the coming decade. This is real money. And as Stanford University economics professor John B Taylor observed, "Reducing discretionary spending in 2011... will help establish credibility and show that government can actually take needed actions, not just promise to take them."

But the agreement is far from perfect, and we need to do much more if we're serious about creating new jobs, fixing our spending-driven debt crisis, and ending the uncertainty that continues to plague our economy. That's why this week, we'll advance our fight from saving billions of dollars to saving trillions of dollars as we turn our full attention to the GOP budget outlined by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, Republican for Wisconsin, aptly titled "The Path to Prosperity."

His comments will be seized upon by the Conservatives as proof that Labour played a part in the economic meltdown. They come as the Treasury prepares to receive a review into how Britain's banks should operate in the future. The Independent Commission on Banking (ICB), led by Sir John Vickers, is expected to recommend significant reforms to make it less likely that banks take unnecessary risks and to encourage greater competition.

Mr Brown, who has been criticised for no longer attending the Commons to take part in economic debates, made his remarks while addressing a conference in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, at the weekend. It was the first time he had commented explicitly on the system of regulation that he masterminded during Labour's first term in power. He focused on the Financial Services Authority (FSA), which he established in a surprise move on his first day as chancellor in 1997. It was widely criticised during the financial crisis for failing to predict and manage the turmoil.

The tornado destroyed 12 to 15 blocks in the southwest corner of Mapleton when it struck about 7:20 pm Saturday, Monona County Sheriff Jeff Pratt said. The tornado destroyed about 100 homes beyond repair, and has displaced an estimated 500 to 600 residents, he said. The tornado was on the ground for three and a half miles and measured three-quarters of a mile wide at one point, according to the National Weather Service office in Valley, Neb. The twister was measured to be on the lower end of an EF3, which carries wind speeds of 136 to 165 mph.

The tornado was one of several reported in Iowa. The weather service said it had confirmed a total of four smaller twisters that touched down near Early and Nemaha, damaging several homes. In Mapleton, the roof was blown off a high school, power lines were downed and homes and buildings were destroyed. Utilities also were damaged, and gas fumes filled the town, prompting officials to shut off service. Pratt said the gas service will remain off for the next two weeks, but electricity should be restored in the next day or so.

There has been no great boom and bust in Portugal. What has done the damage is a gradual process of loss of competitiveness in the country as wages have risen and tariffs on cheap exports from Asia into Europe have been reduced. Low growth in the economy has meant that the government has struggled to raise enough money through taxation to fund its spending.

Government spending has been relatively high, partly due to a succession of expensive projects, especially improvements to transport links intended to strengthen competitiveness. It meant that when the financial crisis came, Portugal had a great deal of debt, which suddenly became more expensive to finance. On Wednesday, Portugal held a bond auction to raise money for the government. It ended up having to pay such a lot to borrow money, even for only one year, that the government finally had to accept that it could not afford to pay its debts and ask for help.