The total value of the world's wealthy - people with net assets of more than $1 million excluding their main home and everyday possessions - dropped below 2005 levels to $32.8 trillion, the 13th annual Merrill Lynch/Capgemini World Wealth Report found.

Nearly 35 percent of that wealth belongs to so-called ultra rich people with fortunes of more than $30 million, who account for 0.9 percent of the rich population. In 2008 the number of ultra-rich people and their value dropped by nearly a quarter. "There was really nowhere to hide as an investor in 2008," Dan Sontag, Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management president, told a news conference. "No region ended the year unscathed."

The United States, Japan and Germany are home to 54 percent of the world's rich and this year China surpassed Britain and now has the fourth largest rich population. Rounding out the top 10 are France, Canada, Switzerland, Italy and Brazil. The United States saw an 18.5 percent drop in its rich population, but it still remains No 1 with 29 percent, or 2.5 million, of the world's rich. Japan's rich population fell 10 percent, but Germany lost only 2.7 percent of its wealthy.

First, there's the economy: with the US unemployment rate at 9.4 percent and rising, Bernanke faces the challenge of fostering a recovery from an 18-month-old recession with unconventional policies that some worry will ignite inflation.

Then, there's politics: he must convince Congress the Fed deserves a leading role in a restructured financial oversight system even as he addresses criticism of Fed failings before the financial collapse and some actions since. "He is fighting fires that he does not want to fight, that are way out of his usual domain. I'm sure he'd rather just worry about the fed funds rate," said Torsten Slok, an economist with Deutsche Bank Securities in New York.

O-negative is the universal donor type and anyone can accept it when seconds count. "Anyone that is bleeding, that needs blood in an emergency, that is their first line of defense," Dr Dennis said. Dr Dennis says the reason for the shortage is the high numbers of victims of shootings and other violent crimes who come to Stroger Hospital for life-saving treatment. "WE SEE PROBABLY AN AVERAGE OF BETWEEN 10 AND 15 PEOPLE WHO GET SHOT OR STABBED EVERY NIGHT," Dr Dennis said.

Gay youth advocate Robin McHaelen says the video appears to show abuse. She says she plans to report it to the Connecticut Department of Children and Families. The boy confirms he is 16 but otherwise has declined to comment. The Reverend Patricia McKinney of Manifested Glory Ministries in Bridgeport says he is 18 and came to the church on his own seeking help. She denies the church is prejudiced and says it took care of the youth.

AT LEAST TWO HAD HIGHER QUANTITIES THAN A STANDARD MCDONALD'S MEAL. Others had misleading labels, Which? said. Retailers said they offered a range of clearly labelled salads. Smedleys Atlantic Prawn Marie Rose Salad, sold at Morrisons, was highlighted by the magazine as one of the key offenders on the fat and calories front. Which? said it contained 855 calories and 66.3g of fat - nearly half of a woman's recommended daily energy intake of calories and nearly all of the fat.

OTHERS WERE ACCUSED OF MISLEADING LABELLING. Sainsbury's Tomato & Basil Chicken, Which? claimed, specified it had no mayonnaise but the ingredients list revealed it contained egg yolk, oil and white wine vinegar - the same ingredients as the dressing. Tesco Tuna Layered Salad at a glance appeared to contain 275 calories and 20.5g of fat, but this was for half the pack, Which? said.

At present, just over a third of Londoners of all ages are reckoned to be non-white - but the new figures indicate that this share will grow substantially in the future. They also point to the way recent waves of immigration have made a bigger impact on London than other parts of the country.

The analysis from the Office for National Statistics said that in the West Midlands, the second most multi-racial area of the country after London, just 19 per cent of children and teenagers are non-white. The figures were disclosed in Whitehall's annual Regional Trends report. They drew warnings from migration experts that politicians are taking a risk by ignoring the changing nature of cities and suburbs.

Sir Andrew Green of the Migrationwatch think-tank said: 'THIS ILLUSTRATES THE MASSIVE CHANGE THAT IS TAKING PLACE TO OUR SOCIETY AT A RAPID PACE AND WITHOUT THE INDIGENOUS POPULATION EVER BEING CONSULTED. It is high time that the political class took their heads out of the clouds and responded to the very strong public opinion that wants to bring immigration under control.'

Off China's coast, a US destroyer was tailing a North Korean ship suspected of transporting illicit weapons to Myanmar in what could be the first test of UN sanctions passed to punish the nation for an underground nuclear test last month. The new UN Security Council resolution requires member states to seek permission to inspect suspicious cargo. North Korea has said it would consider interception a declaration of war and on Wednesday accused the US of seeking to provoke another Korean War.

"IF THE US IMPERIALISTS START ANOTHER WAR, THE ARMY AND PEOPLE OF KOREA WILL… WIPE OUT THE AGGRESSORS ON THE GLOBE ONCE AND FOR ALL," the official Korean Central News Agency said. The warning came on the eve of the 59th anniversary of the start of the three-year Korean War, which ended in a truce in 1953, not a peace treaty, leaving the peninsula in a state of war.

The US has 28,500 troops in South Korea to protect against an outbreak of hostilities. Tensions have been high since North Korea launched a long-range rocket in April and then conducted its second underground atomic test on May 25.

The government says there is no need for panic, and that heavy rains in July are likely to avert a drought. A heat wave is sweeping the country and rains are delayed in many parts. Rains usually last from June to September. "It [the monsoon] is late," federal minister Prithviraj Chavan told reporters. North-west India appeared to be worst affected by the slow rains with only 81% rains forecast.

MONSOON RAINS ARE CRITICAL TO INDIA'S FARM PROSPECTS, WHICH ACCOUNT FOR A SIXTH OF ECONOMIC OUTPUT. Up to 70% of Indians are dependent on farm incomes, and about 60% of India's farms depend on rains. Irrigation networks are dismissed by critics as inadequate. The summer rains are crucial to crops such as rice, soybean, sugarcane and cotton. The Indian media has been full of reports about the patchy rains so far.

Economists agree that the delay will cause further stress in a country where food prices are already high. "The delay is not a good signal. FOOD PRICES ARE ALREADY HIGH AND ANY DELAY COULD PUSH FOOD PRICES HIGHER. Food price inflation could emerge as a concern," said DK Joshi, principal economist at credit ratings agency Crisil. Politicians in many states are holding special prayers for the rains - the farm minister in central Chhattisgarh state held a prayer for the state to get rains soon.

Mr Fayyad accused Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu of trying to bypass Israel's commitments in a recent speech. Mr Netanyahu backed a demilitarised Palestinian state, but said IT MUST RECOGNISE ISRAEL AS A JEWISH STATE. "I call on all our people to unite around the project of establishing a state and to strengthen its institutions... so that the Palestinian state becomes, by the end of next year or within two years at most, a reality," said Mr Fayyad.

He was critical of the lack of emphasis on the 2003 "Road Map" peace agreement, in which Israel agreed to halt settlement activity as part of a staged process towards the establishment of a Palestinian state. NO PREVIOUS PEACE AGREEMENTS HAVE MENTIONED THE RECOGNITION OF ISRAEL AS A SPECIFICALLY JEWISH STATE - something the Palestinians see as giving up what they see as the right of Palestinian refugees to return to Israel.

Speaking at al-Quds University in East Jerusalem, he stressed that the eastern side of the city "will be our eternal capital for our independent state". This was a direct counter claim to Mr Netanyahu, who said the city, "Israel's capital" would remain "united". Mr Netanyahu had been under heavy pressure from the administration of US President Barack Obama to back a two-state solution and stop settlement activity.

The ICE said efforts had been made to counter terrorism threats. But the potential effects of climate change and system failures were not being taken seriously enough, it added. The ICE took evidence from more than 70 sources, including regulators, agencies and service providers, and concluded that work to improve utility networks was "piecemeal".

It said when the Atomic Weapons Establishment site at Burghfield, Berkshire, flooded in 2007 all its radiation detection alarms were disabled. Chief author of the report, Alan Stilwell, said: "It was only down to luck that the flood waters didn't lead to the spread of radioactive material that could have affected thousands of people and left the area near the factory uninhabitable for centuries." The ICE said in the same year 350,000 people were left without water for 17 days when Mythe water treatment works in Gloucestershire flooded, while the Ulley reservoir near Rotherham came close to breaching and threatened the M1 motorway.

And last year hundreds of thousands of people were hit by electricity blackouts when Sizewell B nuclear reactor in Suffolk and Longannet coal-fired power station in Fife unexpectedly broke down within minutes of each other. Mr Stilwell said: "WE SHOULD BE UNDER NO ILLUSIONS, THERE ARE DANGEROUS WEAKNESSES IN OUR CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE AND UTILITIES NETWORKS THAT NEED TO BE ADDRESSED. Well-defended critical infrastructure is central to the security and stability of the nation. We must work now to fortify our networks, or pay the economic, social and environmental price in the future."

The al-Shabab group has carried out amputations, floggings and an execution in the port of Kismayo but such punishments are rare in the capital. Al-Shabab and its allies control much of southern Somalia and are battling the UN-backed government. Hundreds of residents attended the hearing in north Mogadishu. Armed al-Shabab militants were on guard, while the accused were chained around their ankles.

The punishments already carried out in Kismayo have shocked many Somalis, who traditionally practise a more tolerant form of Islam. The transitional government says that al-Shabab has links to al-Qaeda and has brought hundreds of foreign fighters to Somalia.

President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, a moderate Islamist, has declared a state of emergency and has appealed to Somalia's neighbours to send troops to help fight the hardliners.

Violence erupted after protesters claimed the elections were rigged. Iran has also said it is "reviewing" whether to downgrade relations with the UK, as diplomatic tensions increase. The UK has moved to expel two Iranian diplomats in response to Tehran's decision to order two UK diplomats to leave Iran, following allegations UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown called "absolutely without foundation".

The British prime minister's spokesman said Downing Street was monitoring the situation. "Iran's decision to try to turn what are clearly internal matters for Iran into a conflict with the UK and others is deeply regrettable and without foundation," he said. Severe reporting restrictions placed on the BBC and other foreign media in Iran mean reports from the country cannot be verified independently.

Amid the restrictions, Western media outlets reported that 25 journalists and other staff at a newspaper owned by Mr Mousavi had been arrested.

The fiscal deficit is expected to rise to 14 per cent of economic output in 2010, compared to an average of 8.75 per cent in the 30 most developed markets, it says in a report. The OECD warned that "public finances have deteriorated sharply" since the beginning of the recession and called on the UK to continue to develop "a strong and credible" framework for reducing the ratio of debt to output.

"To improve stability, the government should continue to develop a concrete and comprehensive plan to ensure that debt is on a declining path once recovery takes hold," the OECD said. The organisation said the state of the UK's balance sheet meant the possibility of extra stimulus to the economy was curtailed. Ireland, the US and Spain are all expected to have fiscal deficits above the average figure next year, the report said.

It also said the UK economy was likely to recover "only mildly" in 2010, with any return to health dependent on an upturn in the housing market and credit availability.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) "reports that LOCUST SWARMS HAVE BEEN CONFIRMED IN SEVEN REGIONS IN THE COUNTRY, including in areas where there is no previous record of infestation," a statement said. "The government is expected to present a response plan specifying immediate and medium-term actions to be taken during the week," OCHA said.

It added that 1,390 hectares of land in several regions, mainly in southeastern Ethiopia had been sprayed in ground and air operations. The vast majority of Ethiopia's 77 million inhabitants depend on subsistence agriculture and have been badly hit by successive infestations of voracious locusts that destroy every plant in their path.

He replied saying: "We had polls in different European countries and the question was 'would you prefer a national army or a European army?' and the outcome was about two-thirds for a European army. In Germany it's quite clear, WE DON'T WANT THE USE OF HUMANITARIAN FORCE UNILATERALLY, ONLY TOGETHER WITH OUR PARTNERS."

When asked about potential British opposition to such an army, he said "We have to have respect for this, it's quite clear. But the United Kingdom, it's a pity but it's the truth, has never been in the lead of European integration. GERMANY HAS TO BE IN THE LEAD OF EUROPEAN INTEGRATION... the general direction is undisputed in Germany... No major party has ever tried to get support by a eurosceptic general direction."