But Mr Obama took them on, not with threats to "smoke them out" or warnings that "you are with us or against us", but with eloquence, authority, a deep grasp of Muslim history and an understanding of Muslim grievances. Opening with a broad smile and the Muslim greeting of "Assalum Alaykum" (peace be upon you), MR OBAMA DREW ON HIS FAMILY TIES TO ISLAM (mentioning his middle name Hussein) and his respect for Islamic civilisation to present himself as a credible interlocutor eager to end the "cycle of suspicion and discord".

Rarely, if ever, has an American leader drawn so much applause from an audience in the Muslim world, or dared to quote the Koran so often. The audience, selected by the US to include friends and foes of America, gave Mr Obama a standing ovation.

Throughout the speech his message was the US was neither weak nor looking to appease its enemies but would act with fairness and on the basis of mutual respect. But the speech also poses risks for Mr Obama. While he addressed masterfully the conflicting pressures the US faces in the region, he will find translating them into coherent policies far more challenging, if not impossible.

Mr Obama called for a joint effort to create a world where extremists no longer threatened Americans, US troops returned home, Israelis and Palestinians lived in secure states of their own, and nuclear energy was used only for peaceful purposes. IT IS AN AMBITIOUS VISION THAT WOULD TRANSFORM THE MIDDLE EAST, BUT IT RAISES EXPECTATIONS FAR BEYOND THE US'S ABILITY TO DELIVER.

"The moment is now, to act on what both sides know to be truth," he said. Mr Obama also plans to visit the Nazi concentration camp in Buchenwald and then a US Army hospital. His visit to Buchenwald has a personal significance. He discovered during the presidential election campaign that a maternal great-uncle, Charles Payne, had been one of the US servicemen present at the liberation of Auschwitz, the Nazi death camp.

At the US military hosptial, he will meet troops injured on active duty in Afghanistan and Iraq. Mr Obama flew to Germany from Egypt, where he said the "cycle of suspicion and discord" between the United States and the Muslim world must end. The German chancellor said she and Mr Obama had discussed a timeframe for diplomatic action in the Middle East and pledged to offer whatever help Germany could provide.

The UK, along with the Netherlands, will kick off voting in the European elections and local elections on Thursday (4 June), with the governing Labour party facing the prospect of its worst electoral defeat in history.

The beleaguered Labour prime minister, Gordon Brown, charged with reacting too slowly and then inadequately to the unfolding scandal, has been buffeted further in recent days by announcements that four members of his government, including two ministers, are leaving.

The weakened government has emboldened the opposition Conservatives, who feel 10 Downing Street is within their grasp sooner rather than later. Conservative leader David Cameron on Wednesday in a rowdy parliamentary question time renewed his call for an early general election, saying the "government was collapsing before our eyes. Get down to the palace. Ask for a dissolution, call an election," he told Mr Brown.

Katz called on Christian and Jewish supporters of Israel to get tough with President Obama and tell the administration that they will not accept such policies. The American people must stand up and say that A PRESIDENT WHO SAYS THESE THINGS IS ANTI-SEMITIC. They must not be silent – and the fact that they are silent is what's scaring me!

"Ever since we liberated Jerusalem, the Golan and the other Biblical Jewish areas over 40 years ago," Katz said, "American administrations have always been pushing us and trying to stunt our growth in Judea and Samaria; what the Obama Administration is trying to do is not new. I would just like to add that for the Obama Administration, there is no difference between Jerusalem and the rest of Judea and Samaria. In the Jerusalem neighbourhoods that were liberated in 1967, we have close to 300,000 Jews, and we have another 350,000 Jews in Judea and Samaria. For the Americans, all 650,000 are the same; they are all to be boycotted, discriminated against and told to stop building and stop growing. There is no difference for them."

"There is one other difference [between past US administrations and this one]. In the past, other administrations have also pressured us – but this is the very first time that THEY ARE ACTUALLY SAYING THAT THE JEWISH PEOPLE HAVE NO RIGHT TO GIVE BIRTH, OR TO BUILD KINDERGARTENS, OR TO GROW. President Barack Hussein Obama is the first one to say that a population of 650,000 Jews in Israel is not allowed to build even one square metre. He is bringing us back to the Middle Ages, with Jews facing discrimination simply because they are Jews."

"This is the first time," Katz continued with fervour, "that Americans – Christians and Jews – hear a President saying that the Biblical areas, areas that they believe and know are completely Jewish – must be sterilized of Jews. They hear him saying, just like King Pharaoh decreed so many years ago, that Jews must not give birth!"

"We have to ask the American people – Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Senators and Congressmen of both parties, and others – to stand up and say: We refuse to fight against the Biblical nation in the Biblical land, and we have to stop this President from discriminating against the Jewish people. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME SINCE THE HOLOCAUST THAT A WESTERN LEADER HAS SAID JEWS HAVE NO RIGHT TO GIVE BIRTH. I repeat this – because [Secretary of State] Hillary Clinton said that even natural growth will not be allowed. They don't say this about dogs or cats; only Jews in the Holy Land, a population of 650,000 Jews, has no right to grow and develop!"

MK Dr Michael Ben-Ari (National Union) said: "The Zionist vision of the rebuilding of the Land of Israel is stronger than any President or government. WE OUTLASTED PHARAOH, AND WE WILL OUTLAST OBAMA." Obama said, "The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements. It is time for these settlements to stop." Ben-Ari said, "Everyone can now see that Obama is not interested in Maoz Esther, but in Jerusalem.

MK Zevulun Orlev (Jewish Home): "The speech arouses fears and concerns regarding the future of American relations towards Israel. I fear an erosion of the traditional American commitment to Israel's security needs and its very existence and independence. Our response must not be to cave in, but rather to have dialogue with, and persuade the Administration, while waging an emergency call-up of all the resources of Israel and the Jewish nation."

Colonel(retired) Moti Yogev told Channel One television news, "Obama's speech was very professional and peace-seeking. But he quoted our Sages, which he attributed to the Quran, and the same Sages and sources have spoken of the Jewish People's right to this Land. Just as he said that the State of Israel will not disappear, the same is true about the settlements in Judea and Samaria."

Yogev added, "Though the speech was not inflammatory, I am sure that it will give a push to the settlement effort throughout Judea and Samaria, and we will grow even stronger than the five percent growth rate we already enjoy."

Some of the plotters say the final straw was Mr Brown's response to the Daily Telegraph's revelations over MPs' expenses. Four ministers, including Hazel Blears, the Communities Secretary, have said they are resigning from the Government, and some MPs believe more could follow them. A letter is circulating among Labour MPs seeking support for a message to Mr Brown asking him to step down for the good of the party and the country.

The organisers say they will not launch their attempted coup unless they get 50 signatures and the outcome of today's elections will be vital to determining whether enough MPs are prepared to sign on. Amid signs that the election results – which will be announced tomorrow and Sunday – will be dismal for Labour, Lord Mandelson, the Business Secretary, has urged Labour MPs to stick with Mr Brown.

"We either live under the light of Islam or we die with dignity... BRACE YOURSELVES FOR A LONG WAR AGAINST THE WORLD'S INFIDELS AND THEIR AGENTS," the militant leader said in an audio tape that was posted on an Islamist website on Thursday. Parts of the tape were aired on Wednesday in which he accused US President Barack Obama of planting the seeds of hatred towards the United States among Muslims.

Speakers at the event included MK Michael Ben-Ari (National Union) and Esther Pollard, the wife of convicted spy Jonathan Pollard. All brought a similar message - THAT THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT DOES NOT HAVE THE RIGHT TO DICTATE WHERE JEWS MAY OR MAY NOT LIVE WITHIN THE LAND OF ISRAEL.

"Mr Obama, we started demonstrating 16 years ago," said Rabbi Shalom Gold, the founder of Kehillat Zichron Ya'acov in Jerusalem's Har Nof neighborhood, alluding to the early days of the Oslo Accords. "You were in your '30s and you probably didn't know the first thing about Eretz Yisrael... BUT WE'RE PART OF GOD'S DIVINE PLAN, we're here and we're staying here!"

"Be a friend of Israel, but even if you won't be, we have the greatest ally in the world," he said, pointing to the heavens. Esther Pollard followed, telling the crowd that her message to the US President was that "your problem isn't with Prime Minister Netanyahu, nor is it with the People of Israel. Your problem, Mr President, is with the Almighty God of Israel!"

Over the coming days, activists plan to hang posters throughout the country of Obama wearing a keffiyeh, flanked by the words, "Anti-Semite," and "Jew-hater," written in red in both English and Hebrew. Another poster published by the campaign shows Obama shaking hands with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad against a background of a mushroom cloud from a nuclear explosion.

He told the huge crowd at the mausoleum of his predecessor, Ayatollah Khomenei, that action was needed not words. He also demanded calmer exchanges between presidential candidates after a fiery televised debate on Wednesday. Incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused his rivals of corruption, while his leading opponent, Mir-Hossein Mousavi, said Mr Ahmadinejad's foreign policy was undermining the dignity of the Iranian nation.

The Ayatollah's speech came just hours before US President Barack Obama was to deliver a speech in Cairo aimed at establishing a new relationship with the Muslim world after years of tense relations under the Bush administration. "In the past few years, American governments, especially the government of the foolish former President... have occupied two Islamic countries, Iraq and Afghanistan, under the pretext of the fight against terrorism," he said.

"You witness that in Afghanistan, American warplanes bomb people and kill some 150 not once, but 10 and 100 times. THEY KILL PEOPLE CONTINUALLY. SO, TERRORIST GROUPS, DO WHAT YOU ARE DOING THERE," he added. "If the new President of America wants a change of face, America should change this behaviour. Words and talk will not result in change."

He admitted there had been "years of distrust" and said both sides needed to make a "sustained effort... to respect one another and seek common ground". MR OBAMA SAID THE US BOND WITH ISRAEL WAS UNBREAKABLE BUT described the Palestinians' plight as "intolerable". The president made a number of references to the Koran and called on all faiths to live together in peace.

He received a standing ovation at the end of his speech at Cairo University. White House officials had said the speech was intended to start a process to "re-energise the dialogue with the Muslim world". Mr Obama said: "I have come here to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world; one based upon mutual interest and mutual respect."

On the Israeli-Palestinian issue, Mr Obama said the bond with Israel was "unbreakable". He said: "Palestinians must abandon violence. Resistance through violence and killing is wrong." But he also said the "situation for the Palestinian people is intolerable. ISRAELIS MUST ACKNOWLEDGE THAT JUST AS ISRAEL'S RIGHT TO EXIST CANNOT BE DENIED, NEITHER CAN PALESTINE'S," Mr Obama said.

The statement said the Israeli government hoped the speech "will indeed lead to a new era of reconciliation between the Arab and Muslim world and Israel". A spokesman for Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said the speech was a "good start and an important step towards a new American policy".

UK voters will elect 72 MEPs and the Dutch 25 for the 736-member parliament. The rest of the EU's 27 states will vote in the coming days. The first results are expected late on Sunday, the day the bulk of countries go to the polls. But this is the first big electoral test across Europe since the region has been hit by economic meltdown, the BBC's Dominic Hughes in Brussels says.

In Britain, the European election, held at the same time as local elections, follows weeks of scandal over what some MPs have been charging to their expense accounts. Correspondents say no one quite knows how the public will respond.

More than 375 million people are eligible to vote for the 736 seats up for grabs under various forms of proportional representation. Germany, with the biggest population, gets the most seats - 99 - while Malta will have just five. The newly elected MEPs will take their seats in one of Europe's most powerful political institutions, scrutinising and shaping legislation that covers everything from air quality to the cost of mobile phone calls.

Despite all this, in the past Europeans have failed to be moved by the elections, our correspondent says. Last time around in 2004, turnout in the UK was 38% and in the Netherlands 39%.

Some of the pages are marked "highly confidential safeguards sensitive." While there is security at the facilities, the list could presumably be useful for terrorists or anyone else who would like to harm the United States.

The publication of the list was first reported in an online secrecy newsletter Monday. The document details the location of the nuclear sites and what is being done there. For instance, there are nuclear reactors at the Westinghouse Electric Company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This facility is currently working on research into what happens when there are accidents with the nuclear reactors. The project started in 2006 and is expected to end in 2012, according to the document.

Boddington's Berries, which produces 200-tons of fruit each season, was told the farm had to install walkways and bridges between each row of strawberries, cordon off potholes in the fields and install handrails near open ditches.

Phil Boddington, 45, who owns the farm in Mevagissey, Cornwall, said: 'When we tell people why we stopped doing pick-your-own, there is a lot of eye-rolling. To us it's a pick-your-own farm but to the insurers and the health and safety people it's a strawberry factory. The insurers want us to cotton wool the place by adding walkways and bridges, and making restricted zones with cordons. They even wanted us to put handrails in. It is a sad day when a pick-your-own farm is closing because of heath and safety fears.'

Ian Johnson, spokesman for the National Farmers' Union, said: 'It's a very sad and unfortunate incident at Boddington's. After such a long time of letting people enjoy coming to pick fruit, they won't be able to do that any more. We live in a very litigious age.'

The swindle was only detected by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) using new scientific techniques because the non-chicken material had been so highly processed it passed standard DNA tests. Thousands of restaurateurs and café owners are likely to have been conned into buying chicken containing the powder – which binds water into chicken breasts – while diners have been unwittingly consuming traces of other animals when eating out.

Britain's two million Muslims, Jews and Hindus are forbidden from eating either pork or beef. Muslims would ordinarily eat halal chicken and Jews kosher chicken sold through approved caterers and butchers.

The Hindu Forum of Britain described news of the adulteration, which will be confirmed publicly today, as "shocking and potentially very distressing". Its secretary general, Bharti Tailor, said: "Eating beef is expressly forbidden because cows are considered to be sacred as they are a representation of the bounty of the gods, even unknowingly. The fact that the protein powders injected into chickens served in restaurants and cafes contain even traces of beef or pork is horrific. And [the fact] that Hindus will have been eating beef contaminated chickens will be mentally agonising. Many will feel that they have broken their religious code of conduct."

The food regulator acknowledged the serious consequences of its findings. "Use of these proteins does not make chicken products unsafe, but it is important that people are given accurate information about their food," the FSA said. The fraud has been taking place for at least the past two years, and still continues because of inaction by the authorities in three EU states, believed to be Germany, Netherlands and Spain.

"We do not intend to bomb Iran, and nobody will solve their problems with our hands," Lieberman told journalists. "We don't need that. Israel is a strong country; we can protect ourselves," Lieberman told reporters. "This is not an Israeli problem."

"But the world should understand that Iran's entrance into the nuclear club would prompt a whole arms race, a crazy race of unconventional weaponry across the Mideast that is a threat to the entire world order, a challenge to the whole international community. So we do not want a global problem to be solved with our hands."

According to a statement by Israel's Foreign Ministry, Lieberman and his hosts agreed to continue promoting economic ties between the two states and cooperation in the realms of space technology and hi-tech, cultural cooperation, and the international law for the protection of investments. Ministers Liberman and Lavrov also signed a Protocol on Consultation between the two foreign ministries for 2010.

Israel, as well as the US and other Western nations are convinced that Iran is developing a nuclear weapon. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has often referred to the Jewish State as a "malignant growth" that must "vanish from the pages of history."