The government declared a "STATE OF CALAMITY" in metropolitan Manila and 25 storm-hit provinces on Saturday, said Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, who heads the National Disaster Coordinating Council. That allows officials to withdraw emergency money for relief and rescue. A landslide and flash flooding in nearby Rizal province killed 35 people, said provincial government spokesman Tony Mateo. Most of the fatalities in Rizal drowned, said Loel Malonzo, chairman of the Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council.

Three people were also reported killed in Manila's southern suburb of Muntinglupa and two others in Quezon city, said Anthony Golez, deputy presidential spokesman and acting head of the Office of Civil Defense. Mateo said that 27 people were missing.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo had to take an elevated commuter train to the disaster council office to preside over a meeting because roads were clogged by vehicles stuck in the floodwaters. The mayor of Cainta, also in Rizal, who was stranded atop a dump truck on a road that was neck-deep in water, told ABS-CBN television by phone that many residents climbed onto roofs to escape. "The whole town is almost 100 percent underwater," Mayor Mon Ilagan said.

ABOUT 16.7 INCHES (42.4 CENTIMETERS) OF RAIN FELL ON METROPOLITAN MANILA IN JUST 12 HOURS ON SATURDAY, exceeding the 15.4-inch (39.2-centimeter) average for September, said chief government weather forecaster Nathaniel Cruz.

According to an annual report released by the four federal bank-regulatory agencies on Thursday, credit quality deteriorated to record levels this year. The report said total identified losses of $53.3 billion in 2009 surpassed last year's total of $26 billion, and nearly tripled the previous peak in 2002, when losses totaled $19.1 billion.

"While we expected a year-over-year increase in problem assets, given the weak economic environment, declining (commercial real estate) values, and previously weak underwriting, we were surprised by the magnitude of the increase," wrote FBR Capital Markets analyst Scott Valentin in a research note to clients on Friday.

Since 2007, banks have been crushed by mounting losses tied to real estate. Rising mortgage defaults since have helped push the US into a recession. While the economic downturn was first pegged to residential mortgage loans, BANKS AND LENDERS ARE NOW HAVING PROBLEMS WITH COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE.

The details emerged with the publication of the annual report of the Government's Pesticides Residues Committee, which reports the results of tests on more than 4,000 samples of food and drink. This found that some 1.2per cent of all the samples contained pesticides at above the recommended safety limit. The levels of pesticides varied considerably, with IMPORTED FRUIT AND VEGETABLES TENDING TO HAVE HIGHER LEVELS. ALL OF THE FRUIT AND VEGETABLES supplied to schools contained pesticides within allowed levels.

The committee and the Food Standards Agency insist that the levels are so low as to not be a cause for concern. Committee chairman, Dr Ian Brown, said: 'I understand that people are concerned about pesticide residues in their food, but as a doctor I cannot state too strongly the importance of eating at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day. 'SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE SHOWS that the health benefits are far greater than the risk from pesticide residues.'

The Soil Association, which represents organic farmers, said while the chemical residues were within safety limits, this was still a cause for concern. A spokesman said: 'Unbelievably we learn yet again that PESTICIDES ARE TURNING UP IN FRUIT AND VEGETABLES SUPPLIED TO SCHOOLCHILDREN. Yet again the government tells us this is nothing to be worried about.'

'Yet we know that children's exposure and susceptibility to pesticides is likely to be higher as per body weight they ingest more food and drink than adults and their bodies' ability to process and excrete any such residues is different to that of adults. It is unacceptable that 94 per cent of apples, and 100 per cent of bananas tested contained pesticides.' SHE SAID THAT THE 'COCKTAIL' EFFECT OF DIFFERENT PESTICIDES HAD NEVER BEEN TESTED PROPERLY. 'Powerful new evidence is emerging that suggests the combined effect of pesticide 'mixtures' may be more significant than previously realised, especially with regard to endocrine disruptors.'

Violators could be charged with a misdemeanor and could face up to A YEAR IN JAIL OR A $25,000 PENALTY, Barthold wrote on JCT letterhead. He signed it "Sincerely, Thomas A Barthold." The note was a follow-up to Ensign's questioning at the markup.

"IT'S ALMOST ARMAGEDDON IF THE JAPANESE AND CHINESE DON'T BUY OUR DEBT," Robertson said in an interview. "I don't know where we could get the money. I think WE'VE LET OURSELVES GET IN A TERRIBLE SITUATION and I think we ought to try and get out of it." Robertson said inflation is a big risk if foreign countries were to stop buying bonds.

"If the Chinese and Japanese stop buying our bonds, WE COULD EASILY SEE INFLATION GO TO 15 TO 20 PERCENT," he said. "It's not a question of the economy. It's a question of who will lend us the money if they don't. Imagine us getting ourselves in a situation where WE'RE TOTALLY DEPENDENT ON THOSE TWO COUNTRIES. It's crazy."

The only way to avoid the problem, he said, is to "grow and save our way out of it. The US has to quit spending, cut back, start saving, and scale backward," Robertson said. "Until that happens, I don't think we're anywhere near out of the woods." Robertson is not very optimistic about the short-term.

Using unusually harsh terminology, OBAMA CALLED TO "END THE OCCUPATION THAT BEGAN IN 1967" - referring to Israel's control of Judea and Samaria. Obama also stated that the US must put more pressure on Israel to accept Arab demands. "The United States does Israel no favours when we fail to couple an unwavering commitment to its security with an insistence that Israel respect THE LEGITIMATE CLAIMS AND RIGHTS OF THE PALESTINIANS," he said.

The US president had demands for Israel's opponents as well, and called on UN member states to avoid "vitriolic" attacks on Israel and recognize Israel's legitimacy. In addition, he called on the Palestinian Authority to "end incitement against Israel." In his speech, Obama reported that progress had been made in a meeting the day before with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.

Regarding Iran, Obama expressed support for both diplomacy and consequences. Iran and North Korea should be offered "greater prosperity and a more secure peace" if they agree to abide by international guidelines, but "must be held accountable" if they insist on pursuing nuclear weapons, he said.

The New York encounter he arranged between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas this week produced no more than a schedule of lower-level meetings this week and next, which has only deepened skepticism. Aaron David Miller, Mideast counsel to six US secretaries of state, writes in Politico that "to all but the terminally obtuse," THE CHANCES OF A DEAL RIGHT NOW ARE ABOUT ZERO.

Even if Obama could deliver a freeze on Israeli settlement building in the West Bank that Abbas has again demanded and Netanyahu has again refused, Miller says, the fact remains that the Palestinian national movement is divided and Israel "still doesn't know what price it's prepared to pay" for peace. Obama may soon have to decide "whether to get out of the serious peacemaking business... or get more deeply involved and consider an unprecedented American effort to bridge the gaps."

"Al-Qaeda recently released a video specifically warning Germany of attacks," a State Department advisory said, "German authorities are taking the threat seriously and have taken measures to enhance the level of security throughout the country." Earlier this month a video purporting to be from Al-Qaeda emerged, threatening attacks against Europe's most populous country if voters do not elect an new government in September 27 polls.

Footage showed a man identified as Abu Talha the German, warning, in German, that if Angela Merkel is re-elected as chancellor, "bitter times await the Germans," according to two intelligence monitoring services. "The Department of State urges US citizens to... maintain a heightened situational awareness and a low profile," the State Department said. "Americans are advised to monitor news reports and consider the level of security present when visiting public places or choosing hotels, restaurants, and entertainment and recreation venues."

Bullets, especially for handguns, have been scarce for months because gun enthusiasts are stocking up on ammo, in part because they fear President Barack Obama and the Democratic-controlled Congress will pass antigun legislation — even though nothing specific has been proposed and the President last month signed a law allowing people to carry loaded guns in national parks.

Gun sales spiked when it became clear Obama would be elected a year ago and purchases continued to rise in his first few months of office. The FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System reported that 6.1 million background checks for gun sales were issued from January to May, an increase of 25.6 percent from the same period the year before.

"That is going to cause an upswing in ammunition sales," said Larry Keane, senior vice president of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, a trade association representing about 5,000 members. "Without bullets a gun is just a paper weight." With demand, prices have also risen. "Used to be gold, but now lead is the most expensive metal," said Donald Richards, 37, who was stocking up at the Jefferson store. "And worth every penny."

The Bank will host a seminar of all London's major economists next Tuesday – the first time it has invited them en masse in recent memory – IN WHAT HAS BEEN CONSTRUED AS A SIGN THAT IT FEARS MARKET PARTICIPANTS ARE STARTING TO LOSE FAITH in its efforts to pump cash into the economy. The move has also sparked speculation that it is poised to announce a major change to the monetary policy framework, although insiders dismissed such suggestions.

It came after the minutes from the Bank's latest Monetary Policy Committee meeting revealed that the idea of cutting the interest rate banks are paid on the reserves they hold there was not discussed this month. The pound has lurched lower in recent weeks, thanks in part to speculation that the Bank will impose charges on banks for holding excessive amounts of cash in reserve at its vaults. Under QE, it is pumping £175bn into the economy, but MUCH OF THIS CASH IS SITTING IN BANKS' RESERVE ACCOUNTS rather than being recycled and flowing around the broader economy.

It sparked anticipation in the City not merely because the Bank has a reputation for extreme secrecy, but because some suspect it may come alongside an announcement over the Bank's reserves policy. Others suspect the Bank is concerned that many think either that QE amounts to printing money, much as Zimbabwe and Weimar Germany did, or that it simply is not working.

"And then on that Monday [October 6] and Tuesday it was not possible even for THOSE TWO BANKS REALLY TO BE CONFIDENT THEY COULD GET TO THE END OF THE DAY." Their liquidity problems, which brought the UK financial system close to collapse, resulted in a £50bn bank bailout by the British taxpayer.

Mr King describes the consequences of letting the banks fail. "Individuals would not have had access to the money in that bank. Their deposits would have been frozen. The accounts would have not been there for salaries to be paid in to, so many people would not have been paid their salary. In turn, they wouldn't have been able to pay bills to businesses so the businesses would have found that their flow of payments would have come to an end."

Baroness Shriti Vadera, the Business Minister who called a meeting of bankers on October 7 last year to advise the government on a bailout, told the programme: "IT DOES MAKE MY BLOOD RUN COLD TO THINK OF HOW CLOSE THE WHOLE GLOBAL SYSTEM WAS TO COLLAPSE." David Soanes, managing director of UBS Bank, who was part of the group brought together by Baroness Vadera, describes the desperate struggle to keep banks from going bankrupt on Tuesday, October 7, 2008.

"We only really knew by probably about seven o'clock at night, that we, that everyone was going to get through to the next day", he said. Ed Lazear, chairman of President Bush's council of economic advisers, says in the programme: "We literally thought that we were on the verge of the great depression and I, looking back I think we probably were".

"The dollar looks awfully like sterling after the First World War," said David Bloom, the bank's currency chief. "The whole picture of risk-reward for emerging market currencies has changed. It is not so much that they have risen to our standards, it is that we have fallen to theirs. It used to be that sovereign risk was mainly an emerging market issue but the events of the last year have shown that this is no longer the case. Look at the UK – debt is racing up to 100pc of GDP," he said.

Crucially, China and rising Asia have reached the point where they can no longer keep holding down their currencies to boost exports because this is causing mayhem to their own economies, stoking asset bubbles. Asia's "mercantilist mindset" of recent decades is about to be broken by the spectre of an inflation spiral.

The policy headache was already becoming clear in the final phase of the global credit boom but the financial crisis temporarily masked the effect. The PRESSURES WILL RETURN WITH A VENGEANCE AS THESE COUNTRIES ROAR BACK TO LIFE, leaving the US and other laggards of the old world far behind.

Brzezinski's payoff after Carter was swept into power was being named national security adviser. HE PRESIDED OVER ONE FOREIGN-POLICY FIASCO AFTER ANOTHER – the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the Iranian revolution, the US Embassy takeover in Tehran, the failed rescue of the hostages in the embassy and so on. Now Brzezinski is back with more advice. HE SUGGESTS THE US MILITARY SHOOT DOWN ANY ISRAELI JETS HEADED TO ATTACK IRAN'S NUCLEAR FACILITIES. What's so bizarre about this advice is that the US has abdicated its own responsibility to protect its own civilians from the strong possibility of a nuclear attack by Iran or its proxy terrorist armies.

Remember, Iran's mullah leadership has long stated their simple view of the world and their enemies: ISRAEL IS THE "LITTLE SATAN." AMERICA IS THE "GREAT SATAN." While it's true that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has made clear over and over again his determination to destroy Israel, to wipe it off the face of the earth, MANY HAVE MISSED HIS STATED GOALS OF BRINGING DOWN AMERICA AS WELL. It isn't just a world without Zionism and Israel that Ahmadinejad and his friends in Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad and other terrorist groups are envisioning. IT IS A WORLD WITHOUT THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

"Is it possible for us to witness a world without America and Zionism?" he asked. "But you had best know that this slogan and this goal are attainable, and surely can be achieved." I am convinced Ahmadinejad hasn't changed. I think he represents the view of the ayatollahs who have run Iran since 1979. THEY DON'T SIMPLY WANT TO DESTROY ISRAEL. THEY WANT TO DESTROY AMERICA. I'm not even sure Iran would ever use nuclear weapons on Israel. If it did, it would surely kill nearly as many Muslims, including some of its closest allies in Hamas and Hezbollah, as Jews. Of course, if I were the prime minister of Israel, I wouldn't bet my life on that.

BUT I'VE ALWAYS BELIEVED IRAN WANTED NUCLEAR WEAPONS TO TAKE ON THE US – not necessarily to deliver with intercontinental ballistic missiles, but, more likely, on the backs of terrorist mules entering the US covertly or fired from a cheap Scud just offshore and detonated at high altitude, creating a devastating electro-magnetic pulse that could cripple America's infrastructure.

However there is no rail link between the mine and the Brecon Mountain Railway, so the local coal cannot be used. The Siberian coal is shipped to the UK, then moved in containers to Hull, after which it is transported by road to Merthyr Tydfil.

Jayne Hills, the tourist railway's owner, told The Telegraph the regulations were particularly annoying as the local coal would be ideal for use in the newly converted steam locomotive. 'IT SEEMS LUDICROUS THAT WE COULD GET COAL FROM THREE MILES AWAY BUT INSTEAD ARE BEING FORCED TO IMPORT IT FROM 3000 MILES AWAY. Being from Merthyr, where everyone has a relative who was a coal miner, or knew somebody who was a miner, this seems just crazy.'

According to The Telegraph, planning permission for the mine had stipulated coal could only be transported by rail after residents voiced concerns about noise and dust coming from the mine. Up to 20,000 tonnes of coal is dug every week at the mine, with most of it going to the Abethaw power station in the Vale of Glamorgan. The mine's operator is now applying to change the planning conditions so that five per cent of its coal can be taken out on lorries.

"I told Abu Mazen I believe peace hinges first on his readiness to stand before his people and say, 'We are committed to recognizing Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people'," Netanyahu told Israel Radio in an interview aired Thursday, referring to President Mahmoud Abbas.

"I WILL NOT DROP THIS SUBJECT AND OTHER IMPORTANT ISSUES UNDER ANY FINAL PEACE AGREEMENT," Netanyahu said. US President Barack Obama Tuesday brought the Israeli and Palestinian leaders together for the first time since Netanyahu came to power in March and urged them to revive stalled peace negotiations soon. THE PALESTINIANS HAVE REJECTED ISRAEL'S DEMAND THAT THEY RECOGNIZE IT AS A JEWISH STATE. They say Israel should meet its previous commitments to fully halt settlement activity in the occupied West Bank before talks can resume.

Netanyahu will address the United Nations General Assembly in New York Thursday and Israeli officials say his speech will focus on Iran's disputed nuclear program, which Israel deems as a threat to its existence.