According to documents provided to the daily by a judges' union, the plan would extend the period police can keep a suspect IN DETENTION WITHOUT CHARGE OR A HEARING BEFORE A JUDGE TO UP TO SIX MONTHS. Suspects would ALSO NOT BE ABLE TO CONTACT A LAWYER UNTIL AFTER SPENDING 24 HOURS IN CUSTODY. Under the plan children could be tried in adult courts and more trials held behind closed doors.

The Syndicat de la Magistrature called the measures "revolting" and said they would amount to "liberticide," and called on Justice Minister Michele Alliot-Marie to abandon the plan. The union was due to release on Tuesday the text of the government plan, which it said was provided to heads of courts in great secrecy in July, the newspaper reported. Swine flu, or the A(H1N1) virus, the first pandemic to be declared by the World Health Organization in this century, has so far claimed 15 lives in France, out of at least 2,837 worldwide.

In a radical report, the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has said the system of currencies and capital rules which binds the world economy is not working properly, and was largely responsible for the financial and economic crises. It added that the present system, under which the dollar acts as the world's reserve currency , should be subject to a wholesale reconsideration.

Although a number of countries, including China and Russia, have suggested replacing the dollar as the world's reserve currency, the UNCTAD REPORT IS THE FIRST TIME A MAJOR MULTINATIONAL INSTITUTION HAS POSITED SUCH A SUGGESTION. In essence, the report calls for a new Bretton Woods-style system of managed international exchange rates, meaning central banks would be forced to intervene and either support or push down their currencies depending on how the rest of the world economy is behaving.

Among Conservatives the figure is 82 per cent – putting more pressure on party leader David Cameron to clarify his position on Europe. Despite campaigning against the Lisbon Treaty – the rehashed EU constitution – the Tories will not say whether they will tear it up in power. But the furore over the treaty will be re-ignited next month when Ireland holds a second referendum, despite voting against it last year.

Labour has denied British voters the chance to vote on the treaty, but today's survey by Opinium Research suggests BRITAIN COULD DELIVER A HUGE BLOW TO BRUSSELS IF EVER GIVEN THE CHANCE TO VOTE ON EU MEMBERSHIP. Anger has been fuelled after the Treasury admitted Britain's net EU contribution will rise by almost 60 per cent to £6.4billion in 2010 – equal to a £260 levy on every British home.

Ukip leader Nigel Farage said: "The Irish referendum will put Europe back at the heart of the debate. The question the Tories would rather not face is coming back."

Former US President George W Bush made the promise in a letter to former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. The Obama administration has stated it is not bound by the letter because it is not part of a formal and signed agreement.

Lieberman, speaking during a tour in Africa on the "It's All Talk" programme on Voice of Israel government radio, said that acceptance of the understandings is one of three "red lines" he is placing on the government's proposed freeze on new building in Judea and Samaria.

However, he added that he will not threaten to leave the coalition and instead will remain in the government to influence its policies. The Foreign Minister's second red line is that there be no government limits on building in eastern Jerusalem, where US President Barack Obama has demanded that Israel halt all new construction for Jews. The US government does not recognize Israeli sovereignty over eastern Jerusalem and has not suggested restrictions on Arab building, much of which is illegal under zoning and planning laws.

Immediate-delivery metal rose to $1,002.73 an ounce. Gold is set for a ninth yearly gain. The contract for December delivery surged to $1,004.70 on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, taking this year's rise to about 14 percent. Governments have cut interest rates and boosted spending to fight the worst recession since World War II, spurring investors to buy bullion AS A HEDGE AGAINST POTENTIAL INFLATION AND DEBASEMENT OF CURRENCIES.

The Dollar Index has lost 4.2 percent this year. Gold typically moves inversely to the US currency. "There's not many good options for investors to hedge against a declining dollar and rising inflation," Hwang Il Doo, head of trading with KEB Futures Co, said today from Seoul. "Gold will rise to $1,100 an ounce by the end of the year, once physical demand from China and India adds fuel to the rally."

"The reasons to own gold as an investment make sense," Sydney-based Greg Gibbs, a Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc strategist, said in advance of the metal's gain to $1,000 today. "IT IS A HEDGE AGAINST POLICY MAKERS LOSING CONTROL OF FISCAL AND QUANTITATIVE MONETARY POLICIES."

"MONEY HAS BEEN PRINTED MASSIVELY," said investor Jim Slater, who was deputy chairman of Galahad Gold Plc before it liquidated in 2008. "INFLATION WILL FOLLOW FAIRLY SOON" and there may be "A HINT OF HYPERINFLATION. Even a hint will be very good news for gold," said Slater.

He says there is a real risk of "judges arrogating to themselves greater power than they have at the moment". The new court president's Lord Phillips said such an outcome was "a possibility", but was "unlikely". Lord Neuberger has stepped down from the Law Lords and returns to the Court of Appeal next month as head of its civil division with the title of Master of the Rolls.

Lord Neuberger's fears were dismissed by Lord Turnbull, who was one of Tony Blair's most senior advisers when the then prime minister announced wide-ranging constitutional reforms. "It has been alleged that this was all thought up on the back of a fag packet," the former Cabinet Secretary told the programme. "This is entirely wrong." Even so, Lord Turnbull accepted that the Supreme Court justices might become more assertive and more difficult for a future government in their new home across Parliament Square.

Lord Falconer, the Lord Chancellor, who saw the reforms through Parliament, agreed that the new court would strengthen the judiciary. "The Supreme Court will be bolder in vindicating both the freedoms of individuals and, coupled with that, being willing to take on the executive," he said.

Richard Johnson, 54, had been given painkillers for what doctors thought was arthritis. But when it was realised that he had the infection necrotising fasciitis surgeons amputated his left leg in a bid to save him. They then watched in horror as BLACK AREAS SPREAD TO HIS ABDOMEN WHILE THEY WERE OPERATING, an inquest heard.

Mr Johnson, a shop manager from Crediton, Devon, died just a week after he complained of a sore throat. A coroner has urged family doctors to be given more information necrotising fasciitis as a result of the case. THE DISEASE, WHICH IS BECOMING MORE COMMON, is an infection which sweeps through the body, internally and externally, so quickly that IT CAN ACTUALLY BE SEEN SPREADING.

Despite being known as a 'flesh-eating' bug, the bacteria do not actually eat the tissue. They cause the destruction of skin and muscle by releasing toxins. Mortality rates have been noted as high as 73 per cent if left untreated.

Three British Islamic extremists were today found guilty of conspiring to murder thousands in an unprecedented airline bomb plot. Abdulla Ahmed Ali was responsible for the most complex and daring UK-based terrorist conspiracy of modern times.

The 28-year-old, along with two other men, had planned to detonate home-made liquid bombs in suicide attacks on transatlantic aircraft bound for major North American cities. With thousands killed in the air and on the ground, the explosions would have exceeded the carnage of the September 11 attacks. All three will be sentenced on Monday after being found guilty by a jury at Woolwich Crown Court.

British-born Abdulla Ahmed Ali, of Walthamstow, was inspired by the July 7 bombers and Osama Bin Laden and considered taking his baby son on his suicide mission. He planned to smuggle homemade bombs disguised as soft drinks on to passenger jets run by United Airlines, American Airlines and Air Canada. The hydrogen peroxide devices would have been assembled and detonated in mid-air by a team of suicide bombers. He singled out seven flights to San Francisco, Toronto, Montreal, Washington, New York and Chicago that departed within two-and-a-half hours of each other. Authorities on both sides of the Atlantic would have been left powerless to stop the destruction once the first bomb exploded.

The liquids ban is likely to stay in place until there is a machine that can not only monitor all liquids, but do so without causing lengthy delays, which experts predict will take five years. THE BOMB PLOT HAS COST THE AVIATION INDUSTRY AN ESTIMATED £200MILLION, WITH BAA ALONE SPENDING £75MILLION ON A FURTHER 2,500 SECURITY GUARDS.

Researchers at Imperial College London have found evidence a chemical in broccoli and other green leafy vegetables could boost a natural defense mechanism that protects arteries from the clogging that can cause heart attacks.

In a study funded by the British Heart Foundation charity and conducted on mice, the researchers found that sulforaphane - a compound occurring naturally in broccoli and other brassicas - could "switch on" a protective protein which is inactive in parts of the arteries vulnerable to clogging.

"We know that vegetables are clearly good for you, but surprisingly the molecular mechanisms of why they are good for you have remained unknown for many years," said Paul Evans of the National Heart and Lung Institute at Imperial College. "This study provides a possible explanation for how green vegetable consumption can promote a healthy heart."

Despite signs that an economic recovery is taking shape, a soft job market and flat incomes could hinder a sustained recovery, Mohamed El-Erian, Pimco's CEO, told Reuters in an interview. He spoke after the Labor Department reported that US unemployment jumped to a 26-year high in August of 9.7 percent, although the pace of job losses slowed. Employers cut 216,000 jobs from payrolls in August, fewer than forecast, and down from a 276,000 drop in July.

"THE RISK OF A DOUBLE DIP FOR US ECONOMIC GROWTH IN 2010 IS INCREASING," with a 50 percent chance of such a scenario next year, said El-Erian, who oversees $850 billion in assets for Pacific Investment Management Co, known as Pimco. "This challenges equity markets that are currently pricing a V-like recovery in corporate revenues and credit availability."

The summer rally in equity markets and lower-quality bonds has outpaced what is warranted on the basis of forward-looking indicators for demand, revenue, profits and credit flows, El-Erian said. He also cited lingering concerns about the banking system, with investors still nervous about the condition of regional banks in the United States and some European banks. That's one factor behind a huge upward move in gold prices, which has just broken through the $1000 per ounce barrier. DEMAND FOR GOLD IS ALSO BEING DRIVEN BY INFLATION EXPECTATIONS, as well as tighter regulation on financial commodity-based products.

Cheng Siwei, former vice-chairman of the Standing Committee and now head of China's green energy drive, said Beijing was dismayed by the Fed's recourse to credit easing. "We hope there will be a change in monetary policy as soon as they have positive growth again," he said at the Ambrosetti Workshop, a policy gathering on Lake Como.

"If they keep printing money to buy bonds it will lead to inflation, and after a year or two the dollar will fall hard. Most of our foreign reserves are in US bonds and this is very difficult to change, so we will diversify incremental reserves into euros, yen, and other currencies," he said. CHINA'S RESERVES ARE MORE THAN $2 TRILLION, THE WORLD'S LARGEST.

"GOLD IS DEFINITELY AN ALTERNATIVE, but when we buy, the price goes up. We have to do it carefully so as not to stimulate the markets," he added. The comments suggest that China has become the driving force in the gold market and can be counted on to buy whenever there is a price dip, putting a floor under any correction. Mr Cheng said the Fed's loose monetary policy was stoking an unstable asset boom in China. "If we raise interest rates, we will be flooded with hot money. We have to wait for them. If they raise, we raise. CREDIT IN CHINA IS TOO LOOSE. WE HAVE A BUBBLE IN THE HOUSING MARKET AND IN STOCKS so we have to be very careful, because THIS COULD FALL DOWN."

Sheikh Salman al-Awda said such prayers were against Islamic sharia. But he added they were permissible if the interests of Muslims were harmed, so his words may have little effect on radicals who oppose the US or Israel. IT IS VERY COMMON FOR THE FRIDAY PRAYER IN ARAB SOCIETIES TO END WITH THE IMAM CALLING FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF THE "KUFFAR", THE UN-BELIEVERS, to which the worshippers respond "Amen".

Such public display of hostility to other cultures was picked up by critics as an example of how mainstream Islamic preaching contributes, perhaps inadvertently, to the radicalisation of Muslim youths. The question of reform is more urgent for Saudi society, where a puritanical interpretation of Islamic faith encourages hostility to other faiths, including even Muslim sects, such as the Shias, who complain of severe discrimination in the predominantly conservative Sunni kingdom.

However, he added that praying for their destruction should be allowed only if they were harming the interests of Muslims. But in a climate where Muslims are widely perceived to be under attack in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Palestinian territories, Sheikh Salman's appeal will have little or no impact on those who think that jihad against the Americans or the Israelis is a perfectly legitimate exercise.

Last month there were also clashes when the English Defence League - formed after British soldiers were abused by Islamic radicals at a homecoming parade in Luton - held a rally on the same day as the Unite Against Fascism group.

The English Defence League has claimed it is not racist, even saying it did not want any violence to happen at the pre-planned protest. One protester from the league, Leisha Brookes, 42, said: 'We are simply protesting about the fact that IF PEOPLE COME TO OUR COUNTRY, THEY SHOULD RESPECT OUR LAWS. If an English person went to an Arab country they would be expected to dress appropriately, and all we are asking is for them to do the same.'

The bill for the schools IS JUST ONE ELEMENT of the impact on taxpayers and families of 'uncontrolled immigration', the Cross Party Group on Balanced Migration said. It warned health, housing and other services will face similar pressures and bills. The figures on the demand for primary school places created by the migrant baby boom were calculated for the MPs by experts at the Migrationwatch think-tank.

They come after latest official figures showed that the population of the country is now more than 61million and the rise is increasingly driven by numbers of babies born to immigrants. The breakdown showed there are now 607,000 five-year-olds but 703,000 babies under one year old. Of the extra 96,000 children who will require primary school places in 2013, 54,000 have two parents who were born abroad, and 67,000 have one foreign-born parent.

Former Labour minister Frank Field and Tory elder statesman Nicholas Soames, who head the Balanced Migration group, said: 'This research illustrates how uncontrolled immigration is directly affecting ordinary families. The Government have clearly failed to plan for the consequences of the mass immigration they have permitted.'

Mr Roberts, who has close links to the Royal Family, said the Duke of Edinburgh and Prince Charles had also complained to Mr Brown about the shoddy way in which troops have been treated. The allegation threatened to derail Mr Brown's latest attempt to seize the initiative on Afghanistan by announcing an international conference on the future of the war-torn country.

Mr Roberts said: 'The Queen, Prince Philip and Prince Charles are all furious with Gordon Brown over sub-standard equipment in Helmand, principally the under-armoured armoured cars and the lack of helicopters, and have been making their views known to him no uncertain terms.'

Shadow defence spokesman Gerald Howarth last night said there was 'real anger' among serving soldiers about the lack of helicopters. He added: 'It is a very serious indictment of Gordon Brown. He cut £1.4billion out of the helicopter budget as Chancellor and that is why we have a shortage today. The truth is he has never shown any interest in the Armed Forces unless there is a picture opportunity to be had.' The row came as Mr Brown made fresh attempts to win support for the mission in Afghanistan.