Spain has been the worst hit and thousands of villagers, including hundreds of British tourists, have had to be evacuated to escape wildfires that have killed five firefighters. Thousands of police and soldiers had been drafted in to help combat seven serious fires in the south and east of Spain. However, one of the most damaging blazes that raged for more than 36 hours in Mojacar, in the southern Andalusia region, has been stabilised, authorities said.

Around 1,500 people spent the night in makeshift shelters, while others spent the night on the beach, as local authorities battled flames circling the hilltop town. On the French island of Corsica, some 10,000 acres of scrub and bush has burnt in 12 separate blazes over the past 24 hours, with temperatures of above 40C and strong winds fanning the flames.

Police said arsonists might be behind eight of the fires. 'Efforts are always centred on the tourist sites and we are forgotten,' said mayor Pierre Castellani. On the Italian island of Sardinia, just to the south of Corsica, two people were killed by flash fires on Thursday and the blazes continued on Friday in seven different places.

Documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show millions of homes have already been secretly assessed by Labour in preparation for council tax hikes expected to target the middle class after the Election. Homes have been given 'value significant codes' which will make virtually every desirable feature taxable.

Although not every home has been assessed, so far nearly 100,000 householders face being penalised simply for having a scenic view from their windows. Even those who have a mere glimpse of a river, hill or park - or any other pleasing outlook - stand to pay more under a special category for 'partial scenic views'. Worst hit among the 11 types of view are likely to be the 26,346 assessed so far as enjoying a full sea view and the 21,709 who overlook a golf course or farmland.

Shadow Local Government Secretary Caroline Spelman said: 'Gordon Brown's council tax inspectors have been caught red-handed preparing the way for massive tax rises on middle England after the Election, to fill the black hole in Britain's ruined public finances. There is now cast-iron proof of a council tax revaluation by stealth.

The Church of England, it is said, CAST ASIDE 2,000 YEARS OF HISTORY LAST WEEK, by inviting couples who have already had children together to get married in church – and while they're at it, to get the godless sprogs baptised. There are some in the press – paragons of chastity themselves, no doubt – who see this as a betrayal of the Christian injunction against sex before marriage. At the very least, they say, the bride and groom should be forced to repent publicly their untimely fornication.

It is strange, too, that the people resisting this change – social conservatives and devout Christians – are those who should most approve of its twin aims: to sign up more young souls for the Church, and to encourage cohabiting couples to tie the knot.

Heaven knows they need a bit of coaxing. The most recent figures from the Office for National Statistics show that the proportion of the population getting married has dropped to its lowest level since records began, in 1862. WOMEN UNDER 25 ARE, FOR THE FIRST TIME, MORE LIKELY TO HAVE HAD A BABY THAN TO BE MARRIED; AND 44 PER CENT OF BRITISH CHILDREN ARE NOW BORN OUT OF WEDLOCK.

A Church of England book published this week says they should be regarded as worshippers with "special needs" alongside the blind, the deaf, breast-feeding mothers, very short people and readers of tabloid newspapers. The advice is part of an initiative launched this week to make churches more friendly and less intimidating to newcomers in an attempt to increase attendance at services.

Among those considered to warrant particular attention are people who are blind, deaf or in wheelchairs. However, it also warns that bald people could be "in trouble from those overhead radiant heaters some churches have unwittingly installed" and that special arrangements may need to be made for people who are overweight. "Some pew spaces and chairs are embarrassingly inadequate for what is known in church circles as 'the wider community'," the book says.

Consideration should be given to recovering alcoholics who want to receive communion wine, it suggests, and for those who "find loud noises from organs or music groups distressing". The book, called Everybody Welcome, claims that only one in ten church visitors return because existing worshippers tend to be so unwelcoming. It urges churches to become more professional in their attitude to attracting newcomers and suggests they follow the example of department stores in appointing customer-care managers.

The Taliban has become so powerful in Pakistan that it can afford internecine battles for dominance. At the same time, the Pakistani army, fired up by the US government, is waging a war against the religious militants in the rugged, inhospitable and hard-to-control border region in the northwest. Islamabad's military offensive has prompted the Taliban to withdraw, and yet it is also expanding its radius deep into the country's interior, reaching as far as major cities like Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad.

Day after day, they attack and kill police officers and soldiers, and day after day suicide bombers blow themselves up in markets and mosques. They have committed 218 attacks in the North West Frontier Province this year alone. The death toll from terrorist attacks in Pakistan is now higher than the number of civilian deaths in the war across the border in Afghanistan.

Pakistan has become synonymous with the threat of terrorism to the world. Americans like Admiral Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are urging the government in Islamabad to practice "aggressive leadership," and they want the Pakistani army to crush and kill the extremists on Pakistani soil. The Taliban is expanding the combat zone, leaving a trail of blood with attacks across the entire country, from Kashmir in the north to Karachi in the south. PAKISTAN IS NOT COLLAPSING, BUT IT IS BEING CONSUMED BY VIOLENCE AND UNDERMINED BY THE FEAR that anyone, at any time, can fall victim to the next attack.

The US State Department says he will be looking at ways to promote peace talks between Syria and Israel. Correspondents say the visit is not expected to bring a breakthrough, but Syrian officials are encouraged by Washington's new willingness to listen. Several other high-ranking US officials will also be in the Middle East in the next few days.

Last month, Mr Mitchell became the highest-level US official to visit Damascus since 2005. After meeting the Syrian president, he will travel to Israel as part of efforts to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations. Damascus is a major player in the region, because of its support for the Palestinian militant group Hamas, its backing for Hezbollah in Lebanon, and its close links with Iran.

Washington is a long way away from getting Damascus on its side, but for now at least, the atmosphere of hostility which dominated during the Bush administration seems to be a thing of the past, our correspondent says.

If you read the actual federal budget for 2009, it's an astonishing $3.1 trillion. The size of the number itself is mind-boggling, but it's even more disturbing when you realize just how much of the federal budget is spent on these three things:

WAR – DISEASE - DEBT - Of course, if you actually work in Washington, you won't even describe these as "War, Disease and Debt." Instead, you call them: DEFENSE – HEALTH - THE ECONOMY

It all sounds much nicer when phrased that way. But these terms are intentionally deceptive. We're not really "defending" our way into Iraq, Afghanistan and seventy-five other countries where we have a military presence. Spending on "health care" doesn't have anything to do with health (it's all about disease). And people who say spending more debt money to "help the economy" are mathematical retards. You can't get yourself out of debt by spending more money (even though Vide President Joe Biden insists you can...).

Total US Federal Budget for 2009: $3.1 trillion

1) WAR: Department of Defense ($515.4 billion) + War on Terror ($145.2 billion) + Department of Veterans Affairs ($44.8 billion) + Department of Homeland Security ($37.6 billion) = $743 billion

2) DISEASE: Medicare ($408 billion) + Medicaid ($224 billion) + Department of Health and Human Services ($70 billion) = $702 billion

3) DEBT: Debt to the people: Social Security ($644 billion), Social Security Administration ($8.4 billion), Welfare ($360 billion) and Interest on National Debt ($260 billion) = $1,272 billion

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."