The 62-year-old also knew Tom Cruise in a former incarnation – when he was Japanese – and is now looking forward to making a Hollywood movie with him. "I believe he'd get it if I said to him, 'Long time no see', when we meet," she said in a recent interview. But it is her claim in a book entitled "Very Strange Things I've Encountered" that SHE WAS ABDUCTED BY ALIENS while she slept one night 20 years ago, that has suddenly drawn attention following last Sunday's poll. "While my body was asleep, I think my soul rode on a triangular-shaped UFO and went to Venus," she explains in the tome she published last year. "It was a very beautiful place, and it was very green."

Though Mr Hatoyama is a multi-millionaire and the fourth generation of his family to rise to the top of the Japanese political world, his appearance is unconventional by rigid Japanese standards: his hair is unruly and he rejects the navy uniform of the political world in favour of suits of brown and moss green.

It is this refusal to bow to convention, as well as his tendency to drop conversation-stopping remarks – like his call, during the election campaign, for a "politics full of love" – that long ago led other Japanese politicians to dismiss him as an uchujin, an alien. Though not, presumably, the one who took Miyuki to Venus.

But Mr Darling told the Independent: "The biggest single risk to recovery is that people think the job is done." Britain also says a French plan to cap banker bonuses would be "unworkable". Removing government stimulus packages is expected to be on the agenda when G20 finance ministers meet in London from Friday, ahead of the G20 leaders' summit in Pittsburgh later this month.

Mr Darling told the newspaper: "There is a real risk that either governments or people generally think 'We have done that, we are on the path to recovery'. A lot of obstacles" remained to be negotiated on the path to recovery, including rising oil prices and unemployment, Mr Darling said. "We are at a critical stage," he added.

In comments ahead of the finance ministers meeting, being held in London, Sweden's Anders Borg said it was "VERY IMPORTANT THAT WE AS POLITICIANS GIVE A CLEAR MESSAGE THAT OLD BONUSES MUST COME TO AN END. THE BANKERS ARE PARTYING LIKE IT'S 1999, AND IT'S 2009. The bonus culture must come to an end and it must come to an end in Pittsburgh," he said, calling for finance ministers to have a "common message" on bonuses.

The BBC quotes Johnson saying that the Directive was "open to people to construe it as a naked attempt BY PARIS AND BERLIN TO ATTACK THE COMPETITIVENESS OF THE CITY OF LONDON... those suspicions in my view are not wholly unfounded." In City AM, Johnson argues that "If we allow this directive to go ahead unamended, these alternate investment funds will not migrate to Paris or Frankfurt, they will go to New York, Shanghai or Singapore."

PA quotes Johnson saying, "In London alone, the private equity and venture capital industry directly employs around 7,000 people and we estimate a further 35,000 people are employed directly and indirectly by hedge fund managers."

Writing in the FT, Director of Investment Affairs at the Association of British Insurers Peter Montagnon argues that "The restrictions on access to the European market that [the Directive] would place on fund managers in 'third countries' that do not adopt equivalent regulations are protectionist. The compliance burden is enormous and will stifle choice, while the purported protections are not particularly helpful to professional investors. Some of those managers the directive will hit are about as remote as you can get from the origins of the financial crisis."

Meanwhile, former Green Party MEP and Chairwoman of the People's Movement Patricia McKenna is considering a legal challenge against the Referendum Commission, claiming an information booklet on the Lisbon Treaty from the body is "EVASIVE", "INACCURATE" AND "MISLEADING" and must be changed or withdrawn immediately. The Irish Times quotes her saying, "This document which the voters believe to be balanced and non-partisan is one of the most disturbing aspects of the campaign to date".

The Irish Times reports that John Burke, an Irish cattleman, has told the High Court that he intends to challenge the legality of the second referendum on the Treaty on the grounds that no means no and that no written evidence of legal changes to the Treaty had been put before the electorate. He told the Court, "That vote [the first referendum] still stands and the Taoiseach has since told the electorate they have been misinformed and that they will have to vote until such time as they decide to vote the opposite".

Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Department of Health and Human Services called this a "historic settlement," which "will return nearly $1 billion to Medicare, Medicaid, and other government insurance programs." Meanwhile, Mike Loucks, acting US Attorney for the District of Massachusetts crowed "The size and seriousness of this resolution... reflects the seriousness and scope of Pfizer's crimes."

What exactly has Pfizer done that has officials basking in their success? Well, once again it has been charged with promoting off-label uses for its drugs and for "certain payments to healthcare professionals." In other words, representatives of the company were PROMOTING THE DRUGS FOR CONDITIONS THAT THEY HAVEN'T BEEN APPROVED for and giving doctors kickbacks to encourage them to prescribe the meds.

This is the largest such settlement in the US for claims of off-label drug promotion, topping the $1.42 billion Eli Lilly (LLY) agreed to pay earlier this year for off-label sales of its Zyprexa schizophrenia drug. Moreover, the $1.3 billion criminal penalty related only to Bextra is "the largest criminal fine ever imposed in the United States for any matter," according to the US Department of Justice.

The $1.0 billion in civil payments for infractions that Pfizer "expressly denies" except in the case of certain improper actions related to the promotion of Zyvox - break to approximately $503 million related to Bextra, $301 million for Geodon, $98 million for Zyvox, and $50 million for Lyrica. It also includes a civil payment of approximately $48 million to resolve allegations of kickbacks to healthcare professionals involving nine other Pfizer medicines.

THE COMPANY IS NO STRANGER TO SUCH ALLEGATIONS. In 2004, Warner-Lambert (which Pfizer acquired in 2000) paid a $430 million fine for promoting Neurontin off-label as a painkiller. 1,200 cases are still pending in the matter.

The survey found that many parents gave out 'breakfast money' so their children could buy food on the way to school instead of eating at home. However, a substantial slice of that went on unhealthy snacks. Children spend £646million a year on biscuits and cake as well as Peperami meat snacks, pasties and burgers as they travel to classes, the report said.

Nutritionist Kathy Cowbrough has warned that children's performance in the classroom will suffer as a result of their diet as they lose concentration and cause disruption. 'How often have we all seen young children not wanting to co-operate with harassed parents, or school children unable to stay alert for valuable lessons at school?' she said. 'This is because missing a decent breakfast means we can be saying goodbye to up to a quarter of the nutrients and energy we need for the day, making us more tired, irritable and less able to concentrate in the morning.'

Hospitals quickly filled with scores of injured people after the magnitude 7.0 quake struck off the southern coast of the main island of Java, where most of Indonesia's 235 million people live. The death toll was expected to rise. Disaster officials said homes and buildings had collapsed in three districts in densely populated West Java. About 30 people were trapped under rocks and dirt in one village, the official Antara news agency reported.

In the capital, Jakarta, 120 miles from the epicenter, panicked office workers ran onto the streets. The quake was felt as far away as Surabaya, Indonesia's second-largest city, about 300 miles northeast of Tasikmalaya, and on the resort island of Bali, about 435 miles to the east. The US Geological Survey said the underwater quake was magnitude 7.0 and had a depth of about 30 miles.

Indonesia, a vast archipelago, straddles continental plates and is prone to seismic activity along what is known as the Pacific Ring of Fire. A huge quake off western Indonesia caused a powerful tsunami in December 2004 that killed around 230,000 people in a dozen countries.

Scottish Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill released Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi from prison last Thursday after doctors said he had prostate cancer and has only months to live. Faced with mounting domestic and international pressure, the Scottish Parliament was recalled on Monday to discuss the matter. Opposition politicians strongly criticised Mr MacAskill's decision, and President Barack Obama also called it a "mistake".

Archbishop Conti, however, said that he, and many other Scottish Catholics, "admired the decision to release Abdelbaset al-Megrahi on grounds of compassion", as this was "one of the principles inscribed on the mace of the Scottish Parliament by which Scotland's government should operate". The Archbishop said: "The showing of mercy is not a sign of weakness. Indeed, in this situation, with the pressures and circumstances of the case, it seemed to me a sign of manifest strength."

Despite the barrage of criticism justice minister Kenny MacAskill has received, the Archbishop said he believed the decision ultimately to release Mr Megrahi would "be respected in the international community". "I have been impressed by the expressions of understanding and insight from Dr Jim Swire and other relatives who lost loved ones on the Pan Am flight who have acknowledged both the rightness of the gesture of compassion and THEIR DOUBTS AS TO THE SAFETY OF THE ORIGINAL CONVICTION," the Archbishop said.

Like them, the Archbishop said, HE DID NOT BELIEVE THE FULL TRUTH OF THE LOCKERBIE BOMBING HAD EMERGED. "I would welcome any move which would try to find clearer answers as to what happened and why," he added.

That Caldwell is so mainstream, well-respected and analytical makes his conclusion all the more devastating - that the mass migration of Africans and Asians into Europe since the Second World War was an unprecedented, economically unnecessary and ill-thought-out plan that has had a profoundly negative impact on our way of life.

Enoch Powell was right, at least in accuracy if not morality. His 1968 prediction about a non-white population of 4.5 million by 2002 was mocked - IN REALITY IT WAS 4.6 MILLION BY 2001. In 1970 he was again scorned for suggesting that Wolverhampton, Birmingham and Inner London would be between a fifth and a quarter non-white by the turn of the century. The figures were 22.2 per cent, 29.6 per cent and 34.4 per cent and rising.

Furthermore, he says, the mass importation of Muslims at a time WHEN EUROPE HAS LOST ITS OWN FAITH and Islam has developed a dangerous and powerful radicalism threatens the very freedom of Europe. The collapse of Christianity, and THE INTRODUCTION OF NOVEL MORALS such as the belief in sexual freedom and gay equality, totally at odds with both Muslim culture AND EUROPEAN CULTURE OF ONLY HALF A CENTURY AGO, has made conflict between Europe and the new Europeans even harder. That is why surveys consistently show Muslims and non-Muslims thinking the other side are "disrespectful" to women, or why a large minority of young British Muslims advocate the death penalty for apostasy or homosexuality.

Christopher Caldwell's new book - 'Reflections on the Revolution in Europe'

Following in the wake of a similar announcement by the American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM) on May 19, 2009, which can be viewed at www.aaemonline.org, the LIA Foundation has cited a growing number of animal studies which suggest that GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS MAY BE CONTRIBUTING TO THE RISE OF DISEASE IN THE AMERICAN POPULATION as well. In addition, Genetically Modified (GM) foods may create an extra burden for those already suffering with chronic illnesses such as Lyme disease and Autism.

Genetically modified foods were introduced into the American food supply in 1996 by Monsanto corporation and others WITHOUT ANY INDEPENDENT STUDIES FOR NEGATIVE ANIMAL OR HUMAN HEALTH EFFECTS because of the FDA's notion of "substantial equivalence." This says that, "if a new food is found to be substantially equivalent in the composition and nutritional characteristics to an existing food, it can be regarded as safe as the conventional food."

These genetically modified foods consist of 5 major US crops: soybeans (currently 91% of all soy produced in US), corn (88%), canola(80-85%), cotton (85% - cottonseed oil and other derivatives being the foodstuff), and sugar beets (90%) according the USDA. In addition, there are 3 minor US crops which are genetically modified: papaya from Hawaii, zucchini, and crooked neck squash. All eight of these major and minor US crops are genetically MODIFIED SPECIFICALLY TO RESIST HEAVY QUANTITIES OF MONSANTO CORPORATION'S OTHER PRODUCT, ROUND-UP HERBICIDE, so that farmers can spray in massive quantities by air or automated equipment over the enormous crop fields without having their crops die while they eradicate weeds.

Biotech industries claim that they are having more productive crop yields with this farming method, however, according to R Lofstedt, "the several thousand field trials over the last 20 years for genes aimed at increasing operational or intrinsic yield of crops indicate a significant undertaking. Yet, NONE OF THESE FIELD TRIALS HAVE RESULTED IN INCREASED YIELD in commercialized major food/feed crops, with the exception of Bt corn." It was further stated that the increase in corn yields was likely due to traditional breeding improvements and not the genetic modification process.

So, incredible amounts of Round-up are on these food sources, and therefore, being ingested by the American public. And, there is RESIDUE IN OUR LAND which can affect our water supplies and runoff into lakes, streams, rivers, and eventually the Gulf and oceans. The Mississippi Delta already has A DEAD SPOT THE SIZE OF THE STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS caused by runoff pollutants from Midwestern farms. There are no large, double blind, independent scientific studies that show that Round-up, nor any other herbicide, is safe for human or animal consumption.

Americans and the safety of their food supply should come first, not lobbying dollars or political favors. And when the doctor tells you that the cause of your illness may in fact be genetic, well, he might not at all be referring to Mom, Dad or any other family ancestor, but rather, the genetically modified foods you eat.

Reuters broke the story on Monday, saying the Hamas terrorist movement, which currently controls the Gaza Strip, demands that UNRWA – the UN organization that controls many aspects of the lives of Arab refugees and their millions of descendants - withdraw plans for a new history book in UN schools in Gaza.

In an open letter to John Ging, who heads the Gaza chapter of UNRWA (the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East), Hamas wrote that it had learned that UNRWA was about to start using a text for 13-year-olds that included a chapter on the Holocaust. "WE REFUSE TO LET OUR CHILDREN STUDY A LIE INVENTED BY THE ZIONISTS," the letter stated.

Hamas's official spokesman in Gaza, Sami Abu Zuhri, did not say the Holocaust was a "lie," but told Reuters that Hamas opposes "forcing the issue of the so-called Holocaust onto the syllabus, because it aims to reinforce acceptance of the occupation of Palestinian land."

Mr Blair and Gordon Brown, who was Chancellor at the time, had hoped that the review "covering all aspects of EU spending, including the CAP [Common Agricultural Policy]" would lead to promises of reductions in farm spending, providing political justification for cutting the UK's rebate.

However, a source inside the European Commission said that officials are wary of triggering a heated debate between Britain and France over the CAP just when Europe's leaders must agree on appointing a new European Commission, the EU's first "foreign minister" and its first permanent president - all required under the Lisbon Treaty if it comes into effect from next year.

Shadow Europe Minister Mark Francois said that the Government's "main justification for giving up billions of our rebate was that the whole EU budget, including the CAP, would be reviewed. If this review is dropped it would be further proof of this Labour GOVERNMENT'S INCOMPETENCE IN DEFENDING BRITAIN'S INTERESTS IN EUROPE."

Robert Mueller, the head of the FBI, said that the release of the man convicted of murdering 270 people on Pan Am Flight 103 made a "mockery of justice" and would give "comfort to terrorists around the world". There was a widespread assumption in Washington all along that the decision was linked to a trade deal.

For the Americans, this is not just about justice IT IS ALSO ABOUT TRUST — the White House sees the release of al-Megrahi as a blatant breach of an agreement given by the British Government that he would serve out his sentence in Scotland. It is impossible to sustain a relationship, let alone a special one, if one partner can no longer believe what the other one says. IN WHITEHALL THERE ARE ALREADY NERVOUS MUTTERINGS ABOUT WHETHER INTELLIGENCE-SHARING AND MILITARY CO-OPERATION WILL BE ABLE TO CONTINUE IN THE SAME WAY.

THERE IS A GROWING PERCEPTION IN THE US THAT THE UK IS LOSING ITS WAY — with MPs who have been caught fiddling their expenses, a recession deeper than anywhere else and a leader who has become a lame duck. Newsweek, the magazine that hailed Cool Britannia in the 1990s, recently redefined us as "LITTLE BRITAIN", a nation struggling to keep a foothold in a rapidly changing world. It used to be said that we punched above our weight — but now we have become the global punch bag as China and India rise.

The new dawn is over, replaced by a gloomy dusk. There was always an inequality between Britain and America, but the US used to respect the UK because it was reliable. With the release of al-Megrahi the bond of trust has been destroyed. THE SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP IS OVER.

THE SERIOUSNESS OF THIS CANNOT BE OVERESTIMATED. Cosy images of candlelit Britain in the Seventies are all very well, but since then we have been through A REVOLUTION WHICH MAKES OUR SOCIETY ALMOST WHOLLY DEPENDENT ON COMPUTERS. It is no longer just our lights, cookers, fridges and televisions for which we rely on electricity, but pretty well our entire working lives, from offices, banks, petrol pumps and supermarket tills to traffic lights, railway signals and virtually all our transport system.

Almost the only politician who realised this was John Hutton, the former energy minister, who last year reversed Government policy by announcing that we needed at least a dozen new nuclear and coal-fired power stations to fill the gap. As he starkly declared to the 2008 Labour conference: 'No coal and no nuclear means no power, no future.'

TWO WEEKS LATER, HOWEVER, HUTTON WAS MOVED TO ANOTHER DEPARTMENT, and Britain's energy policy was handed over to Ed Miliband, a 'green' zealot in charge of a new ministry ominously named the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC). Mr Miliband proposing that we should spend £7 billion on fitting every home in the country with what are called 'smart meters'. These are two-way devices, connected electronically to our supply company, which would not only allow us to see how much electricity we ourselves are using BUT WOULD ENABLE THE FIRMS TO 'MANAGE DEMAND' BY CONTROLLING HOW MUCH POWER WE RECEIVE.

"For well over a billion Muslims, Ramadan is a time of intense devotion and reflection," Mr Obama said, in remarks welcoming his guests in the State Dining Room of the White House. "Tonight's Iftar is a ritual that is being carried out this Ramadan at kitchen tables and mosques in all 50 states," he said. "ISLAM AS WE KNOW IS PART OF AMERICA. Like the broader American citizenry, the American Muslim community is one of extraordinary dynamism and diversity."

"On this occasion, we celebrate the holy month of Ramadan and we also celebrate how much Muslims have enriched America and its culture in ways both large and small," the President said. The President also recognized the first two Muslim lawmakers in the US Congress, Keith Ellison and Andre Carson.

In a message marking Ramadan last week, he pledged "concrete actions" TO RENEW TIES WITH ISLAMIC COUNTRIES, less than three months after his historic address to the Muslim world in Cairo. "I want to reiterate my commitment to a new beginning between America and Muslims around the world," Mr Obama said in a video address posted as the world's estimated 1.5 billion Muslims prepared for a month of fasting and reflection. The President, WHO HAS MUSLIM HERITAGE ON HIS FATHER'S SIDE OF HIS FAMILY, also pledged "unyielding" support for a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and to "responsibly end the war in Iraq."