Jairam Ramesh, the Indian environment minister, accused the developed world of NEEDLESSLY RAISING ALARM OVER MELTING HIMALAYAN GLACIERS. He dismissed scientists' predictions that Himalayan glaciers might disappear within 40 years as a result of global warming. "We have to get out of the preconceived notion, which is based on western media, and invest our scientific research and other capacities to study Himalayan atmosphere," he said.

"Science has its limitation. You cannot substitute the knowledge that has been gained by the people living in cold deserts through everyday experience." Mr Ramesh was also clear that India would not take on targets to cut its emissions, even though developed countries are asking only for curbs in the growth of emissions, rather than absolute cuts.

Seven of the world's greatest rivers , including the Ganges and the Yangtze, are fed by the glaciers of the Himalayas and Tibet. They supply water to about 40 per cent of the world's population. Water supply is likely to become an increasing national security priority for both India and China as they seek to maintain high economic growth rates and sustain large populations dependent on farming.

Some scientists have warned that rivers such as the Ganges, Indus and Brahmaputra could become seasonal rivers as a result of global warming. Mr Ramesh said the rate of retreat of glaciers in the Himalayas varied from a "couple of centimetres a year to a couple of metres", BUT THAT THIS WAS A NATURAL PROCESS THAT HAD TAKEN PLACE OCCURRED OVER THE CENTURIES. SOME WERE, IN FACT, GROWING, HE SAID.

Phoenix police said calls had come in from all over the US offering money, or even to adopt the young girl. The boys, Liberian immigrants aged nine to 14, have been charged with rape. The case has sparked outrage across the US and even drawn condemnation from Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, an outspoken anti-rape campaigner.

"I think that family is wrong. They should help that child who has been traumatised," Mrs Johnson-Sirleaf told CNN. "They too need serious counselling because clearly they are doing something, SOMETHING THAT IS NO LONGER ACCEPTABLE IN OUR SOCIETY HERE," she added.

The outrage over the allegations has intensified when police said the girl's parents criticized her after the attack and BLAMED HER FOR BRINGING SHAME ON THE FAMILY. "THE FATHER TOLD THE CASE WORKER AND AN OFFICER IN HER PRESENCE THAT HE DIDN'T WANT HER BACK. He said 'Take her, I don't want her,'" Hill said. Hill cited the family's (Moslem) background as the reason the family shunned the girl. All five children are refugees from the West African nation of Liberia.

Chief Supt Joanna Young, from the Met's Criminal Justice Policy Unit, said: "If it's a success, I would encourage the other (police) associations to do likewise." The project is intended to help investigate "honour" killings and forced marriages but Metropolitan Police Federation chairman Peter Smyth said: "We're stretched thin enough already. Are Sikh officers going to have their rotas changed so there's always one on duty?

"IT'S POLITICAL CORRECTNESS GONE MAD. We're talking about the creation of a separate force within a force." But Palbinder Singh, chairman of the Metropolitan Police Sikh Association, said: "I DON'T BELIEVE A WHITE OFFICER IS EVER GOING TO BE FULLY CONVERSANT WITH A SIKH."

She said that she had been assured that President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad "have put in place the foundations of a responsible, transparent, accountable government." This had been verified, she said, by the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and internal reviews.

Speaking to reporters via video conference from the Palestinian territories, Fayyad said the transfer was a "huge vote of confidence" which his government appreciates. "In this case, our sense of gratitude is matched, if not even surpassed, by immense pride in what we have accomplished worthy of the confidence of our people," he said.

Clinton said the United States would continue to engage Israel and the Palestinians in peace talks and press for a two-state solution, and called on the rest of the world to help boost the Palestinian economy. "Human progress depends on the human spirit... These fiscal reforms serve a larger purpose. We are seeing the positive impact that responsible government is having on the lives of Palestinians in the West Bank - daily improvements in security, law and order, and economic opportunity," she said.

Media reports, according to which Fatah has recognized Israel and has called on Hamas to do the same, are false, Natsheh said in an interview with the pan-Arab daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi. "It's all media nonsense. WE DON'T ASK OTHER FACTIONS TO RECOGNIZE ISRAEL; WE OURSELVES DO NOT RECOGNIZE ISRAEL," he said.

Fatah controls the PA in Judea and Samaria, and is the party of Abbas. Unlike the rival breakaway PA led by Hamas in Gaza, the Fatah-led PA has agreed to recognize Israel, although it will not recognize Israel as a Jewish state. The PA recognizes Israel because if it did not, it would not be able to "serve the Palestinian people," Natsheh explained. However, Fatah does not have such constraints.

Not only will Fatah never recognize Israel, BUT IT WILL NEVER END ITS CALL FOR ARMED STRUGGLE AGAINST ISRAEL, he said. "LET THOSE WHO ARE DELUDING THEMSELVES HEAR: THIS WILL NEVER HAPPEN," he said. A second senior Fatah member, Azzam el-Ahmed, agreed that Fatah would not drop its call to wage war on Israel.

The CDC's Dr Anne Schuchat said the agency was STRENGTHENING RECOMMENDATIONS for children to get the vaccination against seasonal influenza, especially with fears that the new H1N1 virus will be added to the already expected burden of seasonal flu.

Yet, lenders have been keeping that shoe in the closet - forestalling foreclosures by extending loans, despite rapidly rising mortgage default rates. "In today's environment, it's obviously not very attractive to foreclose on a borrower," said Matthew Anderson, co-founder of real estate consulting services firm Foresight Analytics.

The US commercial real estate sector has been grappling with a credit crisis that has dried up some of its most important sources of lending. That has left many borrowers unable to refinance maturing mortgages. Even when they can obtain financing, borrowers are often obtaining much less than they need.

Postponing foreclosures may compound a bigger problem of loan maturities ahead. SOME $270 BILLION TO $275 BILLION OF LOANS ARE SET TO MATURE NEXT YEAR. Ultimately, the refinancing of the rolled over loans may soak up the available capital at the expense of new loans.

Powerful computers, some housed right next to the machines that drive marketplaces like the New York Stock Exchange, enable high-frequency traders to transmit MILLIONS OF ORDERS AT LIGHTNING SPEED AND, THEIR DETRACTORS CONTEND, REAP BILLIONS AT EVERYONE ELSE'S EXPENSE. These systems are so fast they can outsmart or outrun other investors, humans and computers alike. And after growing in the shadows for years, they are generating lots of talk.

Nearly everyone on Wall Street is wondering how hedge funds and large banks like Goldman Sachs are making so much money so soon after the financial system nearly collapsed. High-frequency trading is one answer. And when a former Goldman Sachs programmer was accused this month of stealing secret computer codes — software that a federal prosecutor said could "manipulate markets in unfair ways" — it only added to the mystery. GOLDMAN ACKNOWLEDGES THAT IT PROFITS FROM HIGH-FREQUENCY TRADING, but disputes that it has an unfair advantage.

Yet high-frequency specialists clearly have an edge over typical traders, let alone ordinary investors. The Securities and Exchange Commission says it is examining certain aspects of the strategy. "It's become a technological arms race, AND WHAT SEPARATES WINNERS AND LOSERS IS HOW FAST THEY CAN MOVE," said Joseph M. Mecane of NYSE Euronext, which operates the New York Stock Exchange. "Markets need liquidity, and high-frequency traders provide opportunities for other investors to buy and sell."

The National Pandemic Flu Service, which offers callers or internet users a prescription code for antiviral drugs if they have symptoms, was experiencing "unprecedented demand", with 9.3 MILLION HITS EVERY HOUR. The website crashed within minutes of going live at 3pm but was later restored. By 5pm it was receiving the equivalent of 2,600 HITS PER SECOND. The Government said that it was increasing capacity for the site.

It also emerged that:

• swine flu is at epidemic levels in many areas, with the under-14s — described as "super-spreaders" by the Chief Medical Officer — the worst hit. About 100,000 people in England were infected with the H1N1 virus in the week to Sunday compared with 55,000 cases the previous week;

• 16 per cent of those with swine flu who have died were described as fully "healthy". A further 17 per cent had conditions regarded as moderate such as diabetes or high blood pressure;

• Vodafone could make millions of pounds by charging 20p a minute for calls to the 0800 hotline number;

• the Church of England issued an unprecedented order to suspend "sharing of the chalice" at Communion.

Town hall leaders will meet today to discuss new measures, such as asking social workers to collect Tamiflu prescriptions for vulnerable people.

While Wall Street has rallied on better-than-expected quarterly results from chipmakers Intel Corp and Texas Instruments Inc this month, Thursday's disappointing batch of earnings underscored the challenges still facing many technology businesses. "The problem is people have been running all stocks up, there's hasn't been any kind of differentiation at all," said Dan Niles, co-Chief Investment Officer of Alpha One Capital Partners.

According to Niles, the financial results of Intel and TI are not a reliable indicator of demand since they were component vendors that sold into the supply chain rather than to customers. Investors have overlooked negative news from companies like Dell Inc, which sells its wares directly to customers and which warned last week of profit margin contraction and weak demand from corporate buyers of PCs. Microsoft was a "reality check" said Niles.

Fellow bellwether Amazon.com Inc, the world's largest online retailer, delivered lackluster results on Thursday, sending its shares down more than 6 percent in after hours trade. "WE HAD A BARRAGE OF BAD NEWS. THAT WILL PROBABLY SET THE MARKET BACK A BIT," said Fred Hickey, editor of the High-Tech Strategist Newsletter.

The FTSE 100 index closed up 66.07 points, or 1.5%, at 4,559.80, also its highest level since January. Traders were buoyed by figures showing a bigger-than-expected jump in US home sales and profits at carmaker Ford. The Dow Jones closed at 9069.29. Elsewhere, France's Cac 40 index rose by 2% while Germany's Dax climbed 2.5%.

TECHNOLOGY GIANT MICROSOFT AND ONLINE RETAILER AMAZON ANNOUNCED DISAPPOINTING RESULTS AFTER THE MARKET CLOSED.

All eyes will now be on Friday's UK GDP figures. If these are worse than expected, then the FTSE will certainly give up some of its recent gains, analysts say. "A weak number has the potential to derail the recent rally and bring things crashing down to earth," said Jimmy Yates at CMC Markets.

Witnesses said the naked girls in Bihar state plowed the fields and chanted ancient hymns after sunset to invoke the gods. They said elderly village women helped the girls drag the plows. "They (villagers) BELIEVE THEIR ACTS WOULD GET THE WEATHER GODS BADLY EMBARRASSED, who in turn would ensure bumper crops by sending rains," Upendra Kumar, a village council official, said from Bihar's remote Banke Bazaar town.

"This is the most trusted social custom in the area and the villagers have vowed to continue this practice until it rains very heavily." India this year suffered its worst start to the vital monsoon rains in eight decades, causing drought in some states.

According to a classified Federal Intelligence Service (BND) study, THE COLLAPSE OF THE WESTERN NATIONAL ECONOMIES, WHOSE RECUPERATION IS UNPREDICTABLE, could lead to a drastic acceleration of China's rise and the decline of West Germany's long-term primary ally, the United States. This intelligence service paper is being currently discussed in Berlin and excerpts have been LEAKED TO THE PRESS TO PREPARE PUBLIC OPINION FOR POSSIBLE CHANGES IN GLOBAL POLICY ORIENTATION.

"A LONG-TERM GLOBAL CRISIS" CANNOT, FOR THE MOMENT, BE EXCLUDED, assesses the BND, who, if this happens, is anticipating "massive unemployment and movements of migration in unprecedented dimensions" as well as an escalation of nationalism and very serious international tensions. An essential question, for the future global conflict constellations, according to this paper, will be IF RUSSIA CAN BE BOUND TO THE WEST OR IF MOSCOW WILL GO OVER TO THE CHINESE ADVERSARY.

On the backdrop of protests from Jordan, the Palestinian Authority and the Muslim Waqf, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently postponed a decisive discussion aimed at setting a date for beginning the construction of the new Mugrabi Gate on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, Ynet has learned.

The official explanation given for the delay was a stormy discussion at the Knesset on Wednesday, in which the Coalition was humiliated. However, security sources have expressed their fear that making such a decision on the eve of the Ramadan fast would set Jerusalem on fire and spark another international row, in addition to the dispute over the construction of a hotel in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah.

The Muslims' fear of the new bridge stems from the possibility of bringing major forces onto the Temple Mount. "You are planning to bring armored personnel carriers to al-Aqsa through this bridge," a senior Muslim official recently told his Israeli colleague during an international conference in Europe. "No," the Israeli responded. "We want this bridge to hold 300 police officers, in case of riots on the mount or an attack on Jewish worshippers at the Western Wall plaza." A senior state official involved in the matter says that the discussion on this issue has been going on for five years.

There are now around 439,000 cocaine users in their late teens and early 20s, up by 1.5 per cent in just a year. Martin Barnes, chief executive of charity DrugScope, said: 'These figures show a marked and worrying increase in the use of cocaine powder, in the adult population as a whole and among 16 to 24-year-olds.'

'While this is not necessarily a surprise given the drug's decrease in price and increase in availability over recent years, it is of significant concern, particularly the rise in use among younger people. Police and their partner agencies are seizing record numbers of drugs and cocaine purity is recorded at an all-time low. When people think they are taking cocaine, in some instances the actual purity is as low as four per cent.'

'Police are increasingly seeing drugs cut with a hazardous cocktail of chemicals which include phenacetin, a known carcinogen. Cocaine can cause serious damage to health and these chemicals can, in themselves, cause significant harm to the user.'