Zhong Nanshan, director of the Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Diseases in China's southern Guangdong province, said the presence of both viruses in China meant they could mix and become a monstrous hybrid - A BUG PACKED WITH STRONG KILLING POWER THAT CAN TRANSMIT EFFICIENTLY AMONG PEOPLE. "China, as you know, is different from other countries. Inside China, H5N1 has been existing for some time, so if there is really a reassortment between H1N1 and H5N1, it will be a disaster," Zhong said in an interview with Reuters Television.

"This is something we need to monitor, the change, the mutation of the virus. This is why reporting of the death rate must be really transparent." The World Health Organization warned on Tuesday that H5N1 had erupted in poultry in Egypt, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, posing once again a threat to humans.

"First, it places those in direct contact with birds - usually rural folk and farm workers - at risk of catching the often-fatal disease. Second, the virus could undergo a process of 'reassortment' with another influenza virus and produce a completely new strain," it said. "The most obvious risk is of H5N1 combining with the pandemic... (H1N1) virus, PRODUCING A FLU VIRUS THAT IS AS DEADLY AS THE FORMER AND AS CONTAGIOUS AS THE LATTER."

The US earlier announced that President Obama would pledge to cut greenhouse gas emissions in several stages, beginning with a 17% cut by 2020. However, BBC North America editor Mark Mardell says many environmentalists regard the US targets as disappointing.

UN climate chief Yvo de Boer said Mr Obama's presence in Copenhagen would "be critical to a good outcome". Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen said that Mr Obama's visit "emphasises the president's will to contribute to an ambitious global deal in Copenhagen". President Obama will arrive at the summit on 9 December, two days after it opens. But he will not stay for the end of the 12-day meeting, when delegates are hoping to pull together a deal.

The UN summit aims to draw up a new treaty to supplant the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, although OBSERVERS SAY THIS IS UNLIKELY. Hu Jintao, president of the world's largest polluter, China, is yet to commit to attending. The US is the second largest polluter after China.

THE STATEMENT ROCKED CREDIT MARKETS AROUND THE WORLD and prompted analysts to question whether Dubai, the most populous of the United Arab Emirates, will be able to meet its obligations. The concern is that Nakheel will be unable to continue developing the Palm and neighbouring projects, leaving Dubai and its coastal waters an ugly, unfinished construction site.

When the 2,000 villas and townhouses on the Palm went on sale in 2002, they sold out in a month. Passing through en route to the World Cup in Japan and Korea were the England football team, and several players stopped off to sign up for £1 million properties on the artificial island, with Michael Owen, David James, Joe Cole, Andy Cole and Kieron Dyer, it was reported, joining Beckham on the beaches. Pitt and Angelina Jolie are also said to have bought homes.

Joe Cole was one of the few who got out in time. The Chelsea player sold his villa for about $3.5 million (£2.1 million) last summer as Dubai's property bubble approached bursting point. Altogether, THE DUBAI GOVERNMENT AND ITS COMPANIES HAVE MORE THAN $80 BILLION OF DEBT. The emirate, which has A POPULATION OF ONLY TWO MILLION, has been forced twice to approach its oil-rich neighbour in Abu Dhabi for the funds to bail it out. The federal Government has approved $15 billion in bonds and more will have to follow if Dubai's state-owned businesses are to survive until an economic recovery can take hold.

The study published as the Government embarks on a major review of the current restrictions on GM crops, suggests opponents are motivated by "ideological" considerations while others take a "pragmatic" line. It portrays those against the controversial technology as being sceptical about science in general, relying on "emotive language" to make their case, often drawn from "popular press slogans".

Campaigners dismissed the report as "patronising" and an attempt to "pigeonhole" opposition. But the study, carried out by a research group on behalf of the agency, is set to play a key role in a major national consultation exercise on possible changes to the current laws on GM crops. Opponents fear that the so-called "GM Dialogue" will be an attempt to soften up public opinion to efforts to lift restrictions on the technology. The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said that the findings would inform the Government's food strategy although rules on labelling and approving GM crops are set at European level.

Peter Melchett, policy director of the Soil Association, said: "This Government-ordered exercise is a huge waste of public money designed to keep the GM industry quiet." Emma Hockridge, the group's policy manager, added: "THE LAST TIME THE PUBLIC WERE CONSULTED ON GM, THE MESSAGE WAS A LOUD AND CLEAR NO. THIS RESEARCH CLEARLY SHOWS THAT PEOPLE'S FEARS OVER THE TECHNOLOGY ARE STILL THERE, AND FOR GOOD REASON."

Parties also face demands to ensure at least half the MPs leaving Parliament at the next election - in what is expected to be the biggest exodus since 1945 - are replaced by women. The proposals have emerged from a crossparty review set up by former Commons Speaker Michael Martin - and taken forward by his successor, Mr Bercow - on how to make the chamber more representative.

In an interim report published yesterday, the panel said parties must be made to be more transparent about the people putting themselves forward as would-be MPs. The report said: 'The fact remains that, at present, the House of Commons continues to be largely white, male, middle-aged and middle-class: people from under-represented groups who are putting themselves forward for selection are still proportionately less likely to be selected.' The report goes on to call for half of the MPs leaving Parliament at next year's election to be replaced by women and to support a big increase in black, Asian, disabled and gay MPs.

But the proposals were condemned by Miss Widdecombe. She said: 'THE CONCEPT OF MERIT IS GOING OUT OF THE WINDOW. I don't care whether an MP is male or female, black or white, rich or poor, old or young. It doesn't matter. IT'S FRANKLY INSULTING BECAUSE IT SUGGESTS WOMEN AND ETHNIC MINORITIES CANNOT GET THERE ON THEIR OWN MERIT.'

The three, all members of the Navy's elite commando unit, have refused non-judicial punishment — called an admiral's mast — and have requested a trial by court-martial. Ahmed Hashim Abed, whom the military code-named "Objective Amber," told investigators he was punched by his captors — and he had the bloody lip to prove it. Now, instead of being lauded for bringing to justice a high-value target, three of the SEAL commandos, all enlisted, face assault charges and have retained lawyers.

United States Central Command declined to discuss the detainee, but a legal source told FoxNews.com that the detainee was turned over to Iraqi authorities, to whom he made the abuse complaints. He was then returned to American custody. The SEAL leader reported the charge up the chain of command, and an investigation ensued.

They found that advertising aimed at consumers did not actually increase the use of the drug. However, because of the increased expenditure for advertising, the price of the drug increased, and so did the reimbursement cost of Plavix for Medicaid patients.

The researchers examined data from Medicaid programs in 27 states. Despite all of that advertising, the use of Plavix by patients in those states' programs did not change. More precisely, since Plavix sales were growing, THE AD CAMPAIGN DID NOT ACCELERATE THAT GROWTH.

HOWEVER, THE PRICE OF A PLAVIX PILL INCREASED BY 40 CENTS, OR 12%, AFTER THE AD CAMPAIGN BEGAN.

WORRIED ABOUT SOURING MORTGAGES AND OTHER TOXIC ASSETS, the more than 8,000 banks with deposits backed by the FDIC sharply raised the amount they set aside to cover loan losses, dampening their profitability. The agency keeps the names of banks on this list under wraps to protect them from debilitating runs by depositors, which could destabilize them further. However, the FDIC does publish aggregate figures derived from its examinations of their books.

Tough credit conditions persisted, with charge-offs and past-due loans reaching record highs, "and we expect that it will be at least a couple of more quarters before we see a meaningful improvement in that trend," said Chairman Sheila Bair in a statement. In response, banks are cutting back on making new loans, the FDIC said. Total loans and leases on their books fell 2.8% during the quarter.

The troubled bank list represents 6.8% of all banks covered by the FDIC's deposit insurance fund, which safeguards accounts with $250,000 or less. REGULATORS HAVE ALREADY CLOSED 124 BANKS THIS YEAR, including Colonial Bank, taken over by BB&T in August, which, with $25 billion in assets, RANKS AMONG THE BIGGEST BANKS' FAILURES IN US HISTORY.

It says much about BRITAIN'S RAPIDLY DISAPPEARING 'SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP' WITH AMERICA that when I happened to mention to some of our senior military officers that I was visiting Washington, they begged me to find out what the Obama administration was thinking about Afghanistan. It is not just that the transatlantic lines of communication, so strong just a few years ago, have fallen into disuse. There is now a feeling that, even if we reached the Oval Office, there would be no one willing to take Britain's call.

Why is it that the Foreign Office and our senior military commanders are as much in the dark as anyone else as to what the strategy for Afghanistan is to be? WE DON'T KNOW, BECAUSE MR OBAMA IS TOO BUSY COSYING UP TO HIS NEW CHUMS IN MOSCOW AND BEIJING TO TELL US. And as we stumble around in the policy darkness, there is the inevitable tendency to make it up as we go along.

There will, though, inevitably come a time when Obama discovers who America's true friends really are. Sooner or later he will have to deal with the considerably more taxing issues of Islamist militancy, rogue nuclear states and other tangible threats to the West's security. At that point, Obama will discover a simple but essential truth. The world divides between those who support American values of freedom and democracy, and those who seek to destroy them.

Few nations have been more committed to supporting those values with both blood and treasure than Britain. THIS COUNTRY, AND ESPECIALLY THOSE BRITISH TROOPS FIGHTING ALONGSIDE THEIR AMERICAN COUNTERPARTS, DESERVE FAR BETTER THAN THIS PRESIDENT'S DISREGARD.

The HSLDA (Home School Legal Defense Association) said reports confirm the judge in the case has been trying to reach a compromise, but Mueller has vowed to appeal any sentence that does not include jail time. During the previous trial, the prosecutor told the family, "You don't have to worry about the fine, because I will send you to jail."

"All those Nazi laws have been suspended, and this one is democratic, and you've got to accept it, and that's it," Mueller argued loudly, reports said. Dudek said the facts don't support the claim. "The 'Schulpflicht' – the laws that require school attendance – are on the books in the German states," he said, "and have been traced back to the 'Reichsschulpflicht Gesetz' [federal compulsory attendance laws] which was passed in 1938. Except for the removal of references to the Nazi party, THESE LAWS ARE IDENTICAL OR SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME AS THE LAWS PASSED BY HITLER'S GOVERNMENT, CRIMINALIZING PARENTS WHO KEEP THEIR CHILDREN HOME FOR SCHOOL."

Practical Homeschool Magazine has noted ONE OF THE FIRST ACTS BY HITLER WHEN HE MOVED INTO POWER was to create the governmental Ministry of Education and give it control of all schools and school-related issues. In 1937, the dictator said, "The youth of today is ever the people of tomorrow. For this reason we have set before ourselves the task of inoculating our youth with the spirit of this community of the people at a very early age, at an age when human beings are still unperverted and therefore unspoiled. This Reich stands, and it is building itself up for the future, upon its youth. And this new Reich will give its youth to no one, but will itself take youth and give to youth its own education and its own upbringing."

The Bank of England revealed the details for the first time yesterday. It said it has waited until now to disclose them because it feared THE REVELATION COULD TRIGGER PANIC. Officials believe the aid can be safely revealed now because the two firms have shored up their finances via a series of taxpayer-backed fundraisings. Total use of the Emergency Liquidity Assistance by the two firms peaked at £61.6 billion, secured on £100 billion of mortgage and other assets. HBOS's borrowing hit more than £25 billion, while RBS's peaked at more than £36 billion.

The loans were repaid a few months later by the banks, which are now partly owned by the taxpayer. But MPs expressed disbelief that such a vast sum could be offered to two private sector institutions WITHOUT ANY PARLIAMENTARY SANCTION. The revelations lay bare the state of near collapse in Britain's banking system in the autumn of 2008. Officials feared that if they failed to intervene, cashpoints could run out of money, CHEQUES WOULD FAIL TO CLEAR, AND THE ENTIRE FINANCIAL SYSTEM COULD IMPLODE, TRIGGERING CHAOS ON THE STREETS.

The disclosures will provoke fury among Lloyds shareholders, who were asked to support a takeover of HBOS in November 2008 without being informed of the undercover loans it had racked up. Dr Ros Altmann, a former Downing Street adviser, said last night: 'This is a silent coup d'etat. OUR NATIONAL WEALTH IS BEING TRANSFERRED TO THE BANKING SECTOR. It is deeply worrying.' Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman Vince Cable said: 'Given the sheer size of the support these two banks were receiving, it is astonishing that this was kept secret for over a year.'

The Environment Agency said Tuesday's heaviest rain fell between 2100 GMT and midnight, with rivers peaking later on Wednesday, although it was hard to predict where any new flooding would occur. A spokesman said: "If it had just come by itself it wouldn't cause us too much concern but because it's falling on saturated ground there's the likelihood of further flooding, but not as extreme as last week.

The public has been warned to stay away from flood water and rivers and to follow local advice on road diversions. Six bridges have already collapsed since last week's deluge, causing widespread transport and logistical problems, and a safety review of all 1,800 crossings is under way. Road and foot bridges across the River Derwent in Workington remain closed. A temporary railway station is being built on the north side of the river to reconnect the two halves of the town via the existing station on the south side. The two-platform station, linked by a footbridge, should be ready by the weekend.

Bus operator Stagecoach will provide 10 vehicles to take up to 350 children from Seaton, Flimby and Maryport to school in Workington on Wednesday. Dr John Howarth, a Cockermouth GP, said the community was under a great amount of stress and needed plenty of support to help people avoid illnesses such as depression. "These pressures actually affect people's health, not just psychologically but physically as well," he said.

The Environment Agency has 21 flood warnings and 75 flood watches in place in England and Wales. There are 12 flood warnings in north-west England, four in Wales, two each in the Midlands and north-east England and one in the South West. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency said there were six flood warnings and 19 flood watches in place in the country. LAST WEEK'S FLOODING MAY COST INSURANCE COMPANIES AS MUCH AS 100 MILLION POUNDS...

These days, you can get soy versions of just about any meat - from hot dogs to buffalo wings. If you're lactose-intolerant you can still enjoy soy ice-cream and soy milk on your cereal. If you're out for a hike and need a quick boost of energy, you can nibble on soy candy bars. Soy is a lucrative industry. According to Soyfoods Association of North America, from 1992 to 2008, SALES OF SOY FOODS HAVE INCREASED FROM $300 MILLION TO $4 BILLION. From sales numbers to medical endorsements, it would seem that soy has reached a kind of miracle food status.

In 2000 the American Heart Association gave soy the thumbs up and the FDA proclaimed: "Diets low in saturated fat and cholesterol that include 25 grams of soy protein a day may reduce the risk of heart disease." But soy's glory days may be coming to an end. NEW RESEARCH IS QUESTIONING ITS HEALTH BENEFITS AND EVEN POINTING OUT SOME POTENTIAL RISKS. Some are waging an all-out war, warning that soy can lead to certain kinds of cancers, lowered testosterone levels, and early-onset puberty in girls. MOST OF THE SOY EATEN TODAY IS ALSO GENETICALLY MODIFIED, which may pose another set of health risks.

The environmental implications of soy production, including massive deforestation, increased use of pesticides and threats to water and soil, are providing more fodder for soy's detractors. Raj Patel, author of Stuffed and Starved, explains that SOY IS NOW AN INGREDIENT IN THREE-QUARTERS OF PROCESSED FOOD ON THE MARKET AND JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING YOU'D FIND IN A FAST FOOD RESTAURANT. It's used as filler in hamburgers, as vegetable oil and an emulsifier. It's in salad dressing, macaroni and cheese, and chicken nuggets.

"Even if you read every label and avoid cardboard boxes, you are likely to find soy in your supplements and vitamins (look out for vitamin E derived from soy oil), in foods such as canned tuna, soups, sauces, breads, meats (injected under poultry skin), and chocolate, and in pet food and body-care products," wrote Mary Vance for Terrain Magazine. "It hides in tofu dogs under aliases such as textured vegetable protein, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, and lecithin - which is troubling, since the processing required to hydrolyze soy protein into vegetable protein produces excitotoxins such as glutamate (think MSG) and aspartate (a component of aspartame), which cause brain-cell death."

The study will surely be accompanied by more alarms bells set off by small farmers, environmentalists and organic supporters. And it will be one more battle in THE WAR AGAINST SOY THAT'S BEING FOUGHT ON BOTH HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL FRONTS.

The orders were issued as troops, using shovels and their bare hands, dug up hastily covered graves on a grassy hillside in Maguindanao to recover the victims of Monday's massacre. Police spokesman Leonardo Espina said 46 bodies had been found. A Reuters photographer at the scene saw many of the bodies with bullet and machete wounds. Some of the dead men had their hands tied behind their backs and one of the women was pregnant.

"This atrocity leaves a deep wound in our national psyche," said Ralph Recto, a former senator. "It is as if each one of us has been stabbed." President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ordered extra troops to the region and sacked the Maguindanao provincial police chief. "No effort will be spared to bring justice to the victims and hold the perpetrators accountable to the full limit of the law," she said.

The Mangudadatus, accompanied by lawyers and journalists, were on their way to file the nomination of one of their clan in elections next May. No men from the family were present, since they believed that women would not be attacked by rivals. But the convoy was held up by about 100 armed men, who herded the group away from the highway and then attacked them with M-16 rifles and machetes.

This the bleak picture drawn from an annual survey on "household food security" compiled by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and released in mid-November. It showed THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF FOOD INSECURITY since the government started the survey, in 1995, and provided a graphic illustration of the effect of sharply rising unemployment.

This year's picture will be even bleaker - the unemployment rate more than doubled from the beginning of 2008 to now, at 10.2 percent the highest in a quarter century. It is still climbing, and for many the distance between losing a job and lack of food security is very short. In keeping with the American predilection for euphemisms, the word "hunger" does not appear in the report which classes food security into several categories, from "marginal" and "low" to "very low."

Marginal food security means, in the lexicon of the USDA, "anxiety over food shortages or shortage of food in the house." The second category, low, means "reduced quality, variety or desirability of diet," but not necessarily less food. The most severe category, "very low," used to be labeled "food insecurity with hunger" and is defined as "disrupted eating patterns and reduced food intake." That applied to around 17 million people, up from 12 million in 2007. Black and Hispanic families and single-parent households are the most affected.