Admiral Michael Mullen said China had the right to meet its security needs, but the build-up would require the United States to work with its Pacific allies to respond to increasing Chinese military capabilities. "They are developing capabilities that are very maritime focused, maritime and air focused, and in many ways, very much focused on us," he told a conference of the Navy League, a nonprofit seamen's support group, in Washington."They seem very focused on the United States Navy and our bases that are in that part of the world."

China in March unveiled its official military budget for 2009 of $70.24 billion, the latest in nearly two decades of double-digit rises in declared defense spending. Beijing bristles at criticism, saying its spending is line with economic growth and defense needs, and its budget remains a fraction of the Pentagon's. Mullen's comments followed remarks by President Barack Obama's top adviser on Asia on Friday calling for high-level talks with the Chinese military to reduce mistrust.

"Both Jewish and Muslim ideologues are determined to stop the Pope crossing that bridge," wrote Catholic religion journalist Damian Thompson in his blog for the UK Telegraph, "either by smearing him as an anti-Semite or by making his visit to a Palestinian refugee camp look like a politically motivated reproach to Israel." The German-born pontiff leaves for the Middle East on May 8; he will spend three days in Jordan before flying to Israel.

The trip is the first by a Pope to Israel since the 2000 pilgrimage by Benedict's predecessor, Pope John Paul II. John Paul was a historic trailblazer who made promoting Vatican-Jewish relations a central policy goal. Inevitably, Benedict's words and actions are sure to be compared - and contrasted - with John Paul's. "It's unfair, but John Paul's warmth will be compared to the theological coldness of Benedict," Israeli political scientist Shlomo Avineri told JTA. "The fact that he was in the Hitler Youth, though involuntarily, will make everyone look at every move and turn of phrase."

Meanwhile, Arab and Muslim sentiment ahead of the visit appears to be mixed. One possible problem could be the Pope's last day in the region, MAY 15, which coincides with the day Palestinians commemorate as the Nakba - THE "CATASTROPHE" OF ISRAEL'S BIRTH IN MAY 1948. "The Pope's Palestinian hosts will certainly 'instrumentalize' this," Avineri said.

In Nazareth near the Church of the Annunciation, which the Pope is to visit, radical Muslims have hung a banner apparently aimed at Benedict that quotes a passage from the Koran: 'Those who harm God and His Messenger - God has cursed them in this world and in the hereafter, and has prepared for them a humiliating punishment'. "Everyone is crossing their fingers" that things go well, Avineri said.

The Communist Party has always had a surprisingly large role in Japan, the world's second biggest economy. But while it had been fading towards irrelevance, now as the recession bites it is on the rise again. The party already has more than 400,000 members and people are joining at the rate of 1,000 a month.

In comparison, the membership of the Liberal Democratic Party, the largest member of the governing coalition, is twice the size. But its numbers are declining. "Many people are beginning to think: 'Is Japanese capitalism OK as it is?'" said Akira Kasai, a Communist member of the Diet's House of Representatives. "Living standards are going down. The gap between rich and poor is growing."

Now Japan's economy, which relies for growth on sales abroad of cars, electronics and machinery, is struggling again. Exports have fallen by nearly half compared to a year ago, and industrial production has dived. The traditional Japanese dream of a job for life has been further undermined by reforms of the labour market in 2004 that allowed manufacturers to take on temporary workers. About a third of the workforce is now on short-term contracts and their jobs are the most threatened.

That's astonishing to hear because the world is full of anti-viral medicine found in tens of thousands of different plants. Culinary herbs like thyme, sage and rosemary are anti-viral. Berries and sprouts are anti-viral. Garlic, ginger and onions are anti-viral. You can't walk through a grocery store without walking past a hundred or more anti-viral medicines made by Mother Nature. And yet how many does the mainstream media mention? Zero. The totality of influenza preparedness is defined by the mainstream media as the number of doses of Tamiflu a nation has stockpiled.

Where do you think Tamiflu comes from, by the way? It's extracted from the Traditional Chinese Medicine herb called STAR ANISE. It's one of hundreds of different anti-viral herbs found in Chinese Medicine, not to even mention anti-viral herbs from South America, North America, Australia, Africa and other regions.

I find it downright comedic that Big Pharma and the world's health authorities extract their "champion" anti-viral drug Tamiflu from a Chinese Medicine herb, and then they go out of their way to announce to people that herbs and natural remedies are useless against influenza. If that's the case then why are they using herbs to make their own medicine?

The president on Monday continued to pressure the government to give up control of six sites including the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth, the Coenaculum on Mount Zion and the Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, and the Church of the Multiplication on the Kinneret.

"If we were sure that this present to the Christian world would bring millions of Christian pilgrims here, then we would have a good reason to think about it," Tourism Minister Stas Meseznikov was quoted as saying. "But since we're not sure that it will happen, why should we give out gifts?"

The Army Radio report also quoted the president's office as saying that the negotiations had been going on for long enough, and that the time had come to compromise with the Vatican and come to an agreement. Pope Benedict XVI is scheduled to arrive for a visit to the Holy Land on May 11.

The company has recently gone mainstream with a new promotional campaign, reaching AN EXPANDED AUDIENCE OF POTENTIAL ADULTERERS with light-hearted television advertisements placed on peak-viewing daytime slots. Membership has soared from one million to 3.6 million in just 12 months, and the company expects another surge after it launched a service allowing members to access the site from their mobile phones. The innovation is aimed at would-be cheaters who are nervous about leaving evidence of their infidelity on their computer at home or work.

Mr Biderman said that many couples who would otherwise have divorced were seeking affairs at the moment because of the cost of hiring lawyers and the difficulty of selling the marital home. "We're not just recession-proof, we're booming," declared Mr Biderman, 37, a happily married father-of-two who set up the business in his home city of Toronto in 2001.

The Telegraph spoke to three women, all of whom gave pseudonyms, about why they had signed up. Tamara, 32, who works in the film business in Hollywood, said: "I got married too young to the wrong man seven years ago and everything has been downhill for the last five years. I can see the moral ambiguity of this service and I understand why some will criticise it. But life is not black and white and sometimes you find yourself doing things you would never have dreamed of. And I feel happy and hopeful again for the first time in a long time."

"It is a bit dynamic right now," said Stephanie Prejean, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey at the Alaska Volcano Observatory. Prejean said the day began with more continuous ash emissions. In the afternoon, there was an ash and steam plume that went to 18,000 feet.

The volcano has been in what is called a dome-building phase as it grows a lava dome in its crater. The dome has grown considerably in recent weeks, observatory scientists said. A tongue of lava now has advanced about 550 yards down the Drift Glacier Gorge.

The volcano had its last major explosion on April 4. Since then, the dome has been growing. It first erupted on March 22. That was followed by numerous large explosions, some sending ash plumes more than 50,000 feet into the air.

The officials emphasized that there was no reason to believe that the arsenal, most of which is south of the capital, Islamabad, faced an imminent threat. President Obama said last week that he remained confident that keeping the country's nuclear infrastructure secure was the top priority of Pakistan's armed forces.

But the United States does not know where all of Pakistan's nuclear sites are located, and its concerns have intensified in the last two weeks since the Taliban entered Buner, a district 60 miles from the capital. The spread of the insurgency has left American officials less willing to accept blanket assurances from Pakistan that the weapons are safe.

Pakistani officials have continued to deflect American requests for more details about the location and security of the country's nuclear sites, the officials said. Some of the Pakistani reluctance, they said, stemmed from longstanding concern that the United States might be tempted to seize or destroy Pakistan's arsenal if the insurgency appeared about to engulf areas near Pakistan's nuclear sites.

In the Normandy town of Cambremer, there is a celebration of all the good things the region produces. Up and down the winding streets of the town stalls are heavy with cheese, calvados, more cheese, cider, sausage and more cheese. At one rare non-cheese stand Didier Bedu stands behind a wall of calvados bottles.

How, I ask him, does France feel towards the EU? "Maybe more enthusiastic than the British," he laughs, "but more and more sceptical. THEY [THE EU] WANT TO MANAGE AND CONTROL EVERYTHING, IN ALL THE SMALL DETAILS OF LIFE, AND THIS IS NOT THE ROLE OF THE EU. THIS IS THE ROLE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT."

You can put growing French doubts down to a national insecurity, to concern about having to share the EU stage with so many others, or to economic worries that may yet resolve themselves - as fears over competition with Spain and Portugal did in the 1980s. But doubts there are, and they will continue to grow. And who knows, just as in the referendum four years ago - when the French rejected the EU constitution - come the June elections they may surprise their leaders once again.

European Parliament elections :- 4-7 June.

"The Pope's visit to the region should reflect collaboration of Muslims and Christians throughout history, but sticking to provocative attitudes will not serve this message." Abu Bakr urged the pontiff to "apologise to Muslims for his remarks against Islam and the Prophet Muhammad. Ignoring Muslims' sentiments by Pope Benedict XVI will only block the healing of wounds his statements caused," he said without specifying the statements made previously by the Pope against Muslims.

During a 2006 lecture at the University of Regensburg in Germany, where he once taught theology, Benedict quoted a 14th-century Byzantine emperor, one of the last Christian rulers before the fall of Constantinople to the Muslim Ottoman Empire, "Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."

Abu Bakr expressed Islamists' objection to the Pope's scheduled visit to the Holocaust memorial in Israel, saying the visit "will take place only a short time after the Zionist entity killed hundreds of Palestinian children, women and old men in the Gaza Strip. We ask if the Pope of the Vatican will visit Gaza to explore how humanity is being violated, or this does not deserve his visit?"

Father Lombardi clarified that it is "above all a journey of faith," EVEN IF EVENTS IN THE MIDDLE EAST ARE ALWAYS INTERPRETED IN A POLITICAL KEY. The spiritual desire of every Christian has become a spontaneous priority for the Pontiffs ever since their international trips have become a concrete possibility," Father Lombardi contended.

"John Paul II," he added, "had to wait a lot of time before fulfilling the desire for this pilgrimage, but afterward he had the joy of making it with serenity, in the heart of the Great Jubilee, the true culmination of his grand pontificate, with moments of sublimely intense prayer and with memorable gestures of friendship and closeness with the Jewish and Palestinian people and with their past and present sufferings."

Now that it is Benedict XVI's turn, the spokesman acknowledged, the "political situation in the area is very uncertain, and also the possibilities of peace are fragile. But the Pope all the same sets out, with an admirable courage that is based on faith, TO SPEAK OF RECONCILIATION AND PEACE. All of us," he affirmed, "should accompany him not only with ordinary prayer, but also with that spiritual movement that John Paul II called the 'great prayer' - so that the Church is renewed in its sources, SO THAT THE UNION BETWEEN CHRISTIANS GROWS CLOSER, AND SO THAT HATE FINALLY GIVES WAY TO RECONCILIATION."

In a statement released from Jerusalem, the Bilateral Permanent Working Commission Between the State of Israel and the Holy See informed on the results of last Thursday's meeting. The commission periodically meets in an attempt to advance negotiations regarding the 1993 Fundamental Agreement.

"The plenary meeting of the commission took place in an atmosphere of great friendship and a spirit of cooperation and good will," the statement reported. "The plenary noted that the Working Level Commission achieved significant progress, on the eve of the upcoming important visit of the Pope in Jerusalem.

"It was agreed to hold the next plenary meeting on December 10, 2009, at the Vatican. In the meantime, the working-level commission will hold meetings in furtherance of both delegations' pledge to accelerate the talks and conclude the agreement at the earliest opportunity."

The [Pope] noted that he will be following in the footsteps of Paul VI and John Paul II, who also made pilgrimages to the Holy Land. He expressed that he hopes "to confirm and encourage the Christians of the Holy Land, who must daily confront many difficulties. As a successor of the Apostle Peter, I will show the closeness and support of the whole body of the Church."

"Moreover, I WILL BE A PILGRIM OF PEACE, in the name of the one God, Father of all," the Bishop of Rome continued. "I will give witness to the Catholic Church's commitment in favor of those who work to practice dialogue and reconciliation, to arrive to a stable and lasting peace in justice and mutual respect."

As well, the Pontiff noted, "this trip will necessarily HAVE NOTABLE ECUMENICAL AND INTERRELIGIOUS SIGNIFICANCE. Jerusalem is, from this point of view, the symbolic city par excellence: There Christ died so as to reunite all of the dispersed children of God."

The British Pest Control Association said that in two towns in Berkshire, most rats have become resistant to the most widely used poisons. The association is due to meet with Department of Health experts this week to call for changes to the law on pesticides. Richard Moseley, of the BPCA, said: 'In certain areas we believe there is resistance to rodenticides that we have been using. Just as rats built up resistance to the first generation of poisons, such as warfarin, they are now developing resistance to the current generation.'

The BPCA wants powerful poisons that are currently banned outdoors to be used in gardens and public spaces. The chemicals are allowed to be used outside in parts of Europe. Although they are more toxic than existing poisons, they would be used in much smaller doses.

Parts of the UK have recorded alarming rises in rat infestations in the past year, with Exeter reporting a 66 per cent increase. In York the number of call-outs doubled, while Salford reported a 40 per cent rise. Earlier this year the East Yorkshire coastal village of Flamborough was nicknamed 'Ratville' after an infestation of thousands of vermin. In other parts of the country, the scale of the problem may be hidden.

Some experts believe shuttered, abandoned shops and building sites left half finished due to the credit crunch are providing new, safe homes for vermin. Most problems are caused by the brown or common rat. They are able to breed by the time they reach six weeks old, typically have litters of four to six young and a pair can produce a family of 200 in a lifetime.

The survey of more than 100 foods marketed for babies and toddlers found that many are high in saturated fat, salt and sugar. Critics say this sets children up for a lifetime of demanding food that is unhealthy and laden with calories. The Children's Food Campaign lobby group says Farley's Original Rusks from Heinz contain more sugar per gram than McVities Dark Chocolate Digestives. Toddler's Own Mini Cheese Biscuits from Heinz had more saturated fat per gram than a McDonald's quarter pounder with cheese. And Cow & Gate Baby Balance Bear Biscuits contained trans-fats, which are linked to high cholesterol and clogged arteries.

Christine Haigh, of the Children's Food Campaign, said: "Many foods marketed for babies and young children are often advertised as 'healthy'. IN REALITY, IN TERMS OF SUGAR AND SATURATED FAT CONTENT, SOME ARE WORSE THAN JUNK FOOD. In particular, failing to correctly label products that contain dangerous trans fats is outrageous."

SHE SAID THE MANUFACTURERS WERE SOMETIMES SECRETIVE ABOUT THEIR INGREDIENTS. For example, Cow & Gate failed to provide a requested summary of the nutritional information for all its foods marketed for babies and young children. She called for the Department of Health to obtain a commitment from companies to reformulate their products to remove transfats and reduce the amount of saturated fat, salt and sugar.