A number of UK bankers and brokers have told the Financial Times they believe Mr Brown and his ministers are too weak and distracted by their domestic political travails to lobby effectively in Europe. Partly as a result, some banking and private equity groups are asking their counterparts elsewhere in Europe to lobby their home governments rather than rely on the UK to deal with the Continent, as they have in the past.

Some City leaders are particularly concerned about the outcome of next week's EU summit, at which Mr Brown will discuss a pan-European financial stability regulator as well as the recently proposed directive on hedge funds and other alternative investment managers .

"You have to be worried about having a politically enfeebled prime minister whose thumbprints are all over the current regulatory system," said Tim Linacre, chief executive of Panmure Gordon, the UK stockbroker. "LONDON COULD END UP BEING SIGNIFICANTLY WEAKENED."

Europe's justice ministers will hold talks on the "domestic security policy" and surveillance network proposals, known in Brussels circles as the "Stockholm programme", on July 15 with the aim of finishing work on the EU's first ever internal security policy by the end of 2009. Jacques Barrot, the European justice and security commissioner, yesterday publicly declared that the aim was to "develop a domestic security strategy for the EU", once regarded as a strictly national "home affairs" area of policy.

"NATIONAL FRONTIERS SHOULD NO LONGER RESTRICT OUR ACTIVITIES," he said. Mark Francois, Conservative spokesman on Europe, has demanded "immediate clarity on where the government stands on this. THESE ARE POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS PROPOSALS WHICH COULD INTERFERE IN BRITAIN'S INTERNAL SECURITY," he said. "The chaos and division in Gordon Brown's government is crippling Britain's ability to make its voice heard in Europe."

Critics of the plans have claimed that moves to create a new "information system architecture" of EUROPE-WIDE POLICE AND SECURITY DATABASES WILL CREATE A "SURVEILLANCE STATE". Tony Bunyan, of the European Civil Liberties Network (ECLN), has warned that EU security officials are seeking to harness a "digital tsunami" of new information technology without asking "political and moral questions first".

The Lisbon Treaty, currently stalled after Ireland's referendum rejection last year, creates a secretive new Standing Committee for Internal Security, known as COSI, to co-ordinate policy between national forces and EU organisations such as Europol, the Frontex borders agency, the European Gendarmerie Force and the Brussels intelligence sharing Joint Situation Centre or Sitcen.

EU officials have told The Daily Telegraph that the radical plans will be controversial and will need powers contained within the Lisbon Treaty, currently awaiting a second Irish vote this autumn. "THE BRITISH AND SOME OTHERS WILL NOT LIKE IT AS IT MOVES POLICY TO THE EU," said an official. "SOME OF THINGS WE WANT TO DO WILL ONLY BE REALISTIC WITH THE LISBON TREATY IN PLACE, SO WE NEED THAT TOO."

They said they have gathered a growing body of evidence to show the compound, also known as BPA, might damage human health. The Endocrine Society issued a scientific statement on Wednesday calling for better studies into its effects. Studies presented at the group's annual meeting show BPA can affect the hearts of women, can permanently damage the DNA of mice, and appear to be pouring into the human body from a variety of unknown sources.

BPA, used to stiffen plastic bottles, line cans and make smooth paper receipts, belongs to a broad class of compounds called endocrine disruptors. The US Food and Drug Administration is examining their safety but there has not been much evidence to show that they are any threat to human health. "We present evidence that endocrine disruptors do have effects on male and female development, prostate cancer, thyroid disease, cardiovascular disease," Dr Robert Carey of the University of Virginia, who is President of the Endocrine Society, told a news conference.

The society issued a lengthy scientific statement about the chemicals in general that admits the evidence is not yet overwhelming, but is worrying. US government toxicologists at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences expressed concern last year that BPA may hurt development of the prostate and brain. A 2008 study by British researchers linked high levels of BPA to heart disease, diabetes and liver-enzyme abnormalities.

THE US IS EXPERIENCING UNUSUAL TENSION IN RELATIONS WITH ISRAEL over its opposition to Palestinian independence. He said meeting both sides' aspirations was the "only viable solution. The President of the United States and Secretary of State have made our policy clear - the only viable resolution to this conflict is for the aspirations of both sides to be met through two states," Mr Mitchell said in a prepared statement.

"As President [Barack] Obama said last week, America will not turn our back on the legitimate Palestinian aspiration for dignity, opportunity and a state of their own," he said. The BBC's Paul Wood in Jerusalem says the Palestinian leadership is feeling a sense of diplomatic momentum, while Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is now under enormous pressure.

On Monday Mr Mitchell met Mr Netanyahu in Jerusalem, where he also called for a two-state solution - which the Israeli leader has refused to endorse. Mr Netanyahu is scheduled to give a major foreign-policy speech on Sunday.

The latest high – from lows of $30 only four months ago – came on the New York Mercantile Exchange, where the cost of July deliveries rose by $1.35 to $71.36. This comes on top of a $2 rise the day before as investors rushed into the market on the back of lower stockpile figures, higher demand estimates and speculation against further falls in the dollar. "I wouldn't be surprised if we're testing $80 in a week or two," said one analyst, while BP's chief executive, Tony Hayward, questioned whether $90 could be the "right" value.

Kuwait's oil minister, Sheikh Ahmad al-Abdullah al-Sabah, put some of the rise down to signs of recovery in Asia but warned that overall demand was still weaker than last year. Opec would not raise supply at current oil prices but did not rule it out "if it reached $100", he said.

Alexei Miller, chairman of the Russian energy group Gazprom, raised the stakes further when he reiterated last year's estimates of $250 a barrel. "This forecast has not become reality yet, given that the [credit] crisis gained momentum and exerted a powerful impact on the global energy market. But does this mean that our forecast was unrealistic? Not at all."

The government commissioned a review to find out whether local councils were monitoring home educated children, or offering parents enough support. It has also been concerned that home education could be a cover for abuse.

The review, conducted by former director of education for Kent, Graham Badman, says that parents who home educate should have to register annually on a scheme administered by local councils. A parent's right to home educate will not be challenged, ministers have said. But parents will have to submit a statement of their intended approach to the child's education.

But home educators say authorities should stop treating them with suspicion and concentrate on giving them support. Ann Newstead, spokeswoman for home education group Education Otherwise, said: "If one thing could come out of this review which would mean it was not a complete waste of public money, it would be that THE DECISION TO HOME EDUCATE IS TREATED WITH RESPECT AND AS A POSITIVE CHOICE." Estimates of how many children are home educated vary from between 20,000 and 80,000 children.

The move does not necessarily mean the virus is causing more severe illness or more deaths. The swine flu (H1N1) virus first emerged in Mexico in April. It has since spread to 74 countries. Official reports say there have been 28,000 CASES GLOBALLY AND 141 DEATHS and figures are rising daily. Hong Kong said it was closing all its nurseries and primary schools for two weeks following 12 school cases. It is the first flu pandemic in 40 years - the last IN 1968 WITH HONG KONG FLU KILLED ABOUT ONE MILLION PEOPLE.

The current pandemic seems to be moderate and causing mild illness in most people. One factor which may have prompted the move to a level six pandemic was that in the southern hemisphere, the virus seems to be crowding out normal seasonal influenza. It is thought the move was not prompted by the situation in any one country but the reports of several pockets of community spread.

The BBC's Imogen Foulkes, in Geneva, says that while the number of cases has made the declaration inevitable, the problem is that the pandemic phase system is designed for a very different type of virus. Flu expert Professor John Oxford, said people should not panic as the outbreak was milder than others seen in the past century. "It is global and fulfilling the requirements of a pandemic but I don't think anyone should worry because nothing drastic has happened between yesterday and today."

Obama referred to "the sweeping change brought by modernity and globalization [that] led many Muslims to view the West as hostile to the traditions of Islam." Yes, the West is hostile to misogyny, honor killings, racism and Jew-hatred. Obama also preached about religious freedom – speaking in a country where there is none. Yet he did find time to mention "civilization's debt to Islam." The president said that Islam "carried the light of learning through so many centuries, paving the way for Europe's Renaissance and Enlightenment," and praised "innovation in Muslim communities that developed the order of algebra; our magnetic compass and tools of navigation; our mastery of pens and printing; our understanding of how disease spreads and how it can be healed."

What is the purpose and end result of all this pandering? Foremost is the throwing of Israel under the bus. MK Aryeh Eldad noted that "OBAMA MAKES A SHOCKING PARALLEL BETWEEN THE DESTRUCTION OF EUROPEAN JEWRY AND THE SUFFERING THAT THE ARABS OF ISRAEL BROUGHT UPON THEMSELVES WHEN THEY DECLARED WAR ON ISRAEL." Caroline Glick lamented that Obama "shares the Arab world's view that there is something basically illegitimate about the Jewish state."

America did not approve the abandonment of Israel. And America increasingly dislikes this Islam-obsessed president. YET THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA CONTINUE TO ADORE HIM. Newsweek editor Evan Thomas brought adulation over Obama's Cairo speech to a whole new level last Friday, declaring on MSNBC: "I MEAN IN A WAY OBAMA'S STANDING ABOVE THE COUNTRY, ABOVE THE WORLD, HE'S SORT OF GOD."

Americans rely on our media to vet our candidates. But the media morphed in 2008. Instead of investigative journalism, the American people were victims of activist propagandizing. Obama was never vetted. His lies were never exposed. AND SO NOW WE HAVE OUR FIRST MUSLIM PRESIDENCY, just eight years after 9/11. The media can spin their subjugation and adulation a million different ways, but America did not vote for a "Muslim presidency," which is what this is. EVERYTHING THIS PRESIDENT HAS DONE SO FAR HAS HELPED FOSTER AMERICA'S SUBMISSION TO ISLAM. The Cairo speech was just the beginning. Imagine what the next three and a half years will bring to what Obama has called "one of the largest Muslim countries in the world."

EU finance ministers yesterday adopted a text endorsing the broad tenets of the Commission's plans for more pan-EU supervision of financial markets. Crucially, there was no change on controversial plans to create three new EU authorities with the power to override national regulators in areas of banking, securities and insurances, despite attempts by the UK to water down the proposal.

The Telegraph notes that the UK only managed to insert a provision in the joint statement saying that "such powers should not impinge in any way on the fiscal responsibility of member states". However, the Telegraph argues that the wording of the statement would still "APPEAR TO REDUCE BRITAIN'S FINANCIAL SERVICES AUTHORITY (FSA) TO A SUBSERVIENT ARM OF THE EU APPARATUS, limited to 'daily oversight'".

European Voice also reports that apart from the UK, only Slovenia, Slovakia and Romania were among the countries raising concerns that the new pan-European authorities will be given too much power.

The Arabic newspaper quotes an unnamed source as saying OBAMA WANTS NETANYAHU TO RESPOND TO HIS PLAN WITHIN SIX WEEKS FROM OBAMA'S FAMOUS ADDRESS IN CAIRO last week. A-Sharq al-Awsat reported that the Egyptian officials - Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul-Gheit and intelligence chief Omar Suleiman – received the impression that Obama was "serious" in his bid to implement the plan. However, Arab sources told the paper that ARABS SEE THE HAMAS-FATAH DISCORD AS THE MAIN OBSTACLE IN PROMOTING THE PLAN.

Professor Ephraim Inbar, of the Begin-Sadat Centre for Strategic Studies (BESA), has come to a similar conclusion. In a paper he issued earlier this year, Inbar wrote that as a result of Israel's unilateral withdrawal from Gaza and the subsequent Hamas takeover of the area, "Israel is stuck with two rival Palestinian entities along its borders – two entities that are not even close to any kind of unity that will enable it to become a responsible partner with Israel. THUS, AS OF NOW, THE TWO-STATE OPTION SIMPLY NO LONGER EXISTS."

The European Jewish Congress (EJC) called on the EU to "immediately engage in issues of tolerance and intercultural dialogue." In a written statement, the group added, "The success of the far-right and nationalistic parties that won seats in the elections on the basis of racist, anti-Semitic and xenophobic platforms POINTS TO A CLEAR EROSION OF TOLERANCE and a clarion call to European officials to immediately engage in intercultural dialogue."

The British right-wing party won two seats in the 736-member EUP, the first time it has won representation. Opponents pelted its leader Nick Griffin with eggs when he called an impromptu press conference after his victory. The party opposes immigration and also wants Britain to withdraw from the EU.

Right-wing gains were widespread. One of the big winners was pro-Israel and anti-Islam Geert Wilders. His Freedom Party came in second place in the Netherlands, only three percent behind the party that governs the country. Wilders has declared himself a friend of Israel in his fight against growing Muslim dominance and has teamed up with National Union Knesset Member Aryeh Eldad to expose violence in the Muslim religion.

The nationalistic Freedom Party in Austria and the Jobbik party in Hungary also scored impressive gains, which the European Jewish Congress said "will sadly only serve to embolden those who espouse the dangerous concepts of extreme nationalism, racism, anti-Semitism and xenophobia."

Danon told Voice of Israel government radio Wednesday morning that THERE IS A LARGE GAP BETWEEN WHAT PRESIDENT OBAMA SAID IN HIS SPEECH IN CAIRO LAST WEEK AND FACTS ON THE GROUND, such as the control of Gaza by the Hamas terrorist organization. Prime Minister Netanyahu might face a rebellion by many Likud Knesset Members if he accepts President Obama's demands. So far he has made it clear that he thinks national security would be jeopardized by a premature acceptance of a PA state.

Prime Minister Netanyahu told US Middle East envoy George Mitchell Tuesday night, in what he called a friendly meeting, that Israel will not agree to the American demand for a total freeze on building for Jews in Judea and Samaria.

Mitchell tried to tone down the acrimony from conflicting positions by the US and Israel and reassured the Prime Minister that the Obama administration is a close friend of Israel. "We come here to talk not as adversaries and in disagreement, but as friends in discussion," he stated. The envoy added, "Let me be clear. THESE ARE NOT DISAGREEMENTS AMONG ADVERSARIES. THE UNITED STATES AND ISRAEL ARE AND WILL REMAIN CLOSE ALLIES AND FRIENDS."

He broached the idea in his meeting Wednesday morning with PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, according to the BBC. The PA has not confirmed or denied the report. US President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu have been at loggerheads over the issue of the Jewish areas, where the president wants a halt to all construction. Israel has maintained that it cannot stop families from growing and prevent their children from marrying and needing homes of their own.

In addition, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said that the Obama government will not honour a promise in a letter to Israel by former President George W Bush that the large population centres would not be included in a future PA country.

The land swap idea originally was proposed by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, chairman of the Yisrael Beiteinu party. Maaleh Adumim, Gush Etzion, Beitar Illit, Ariel and possibly the Karnei-Ginot Shomron communities would be under Israeli sovereignty if the proposal were to be accepted. In return, Israel would surrender to the proposed PA state areas with a concentration of Arabs, most probably the Triangle area between Netanya and Kfar Saba, which is part of Galilee.

Surveys have shown that Arabs living in eastern Jerusalem, which the PA wants as its capital, are opposed to losing their Israeli citizenship, which provides them with financial benefits and services that the PA so far does not provide. ARABS WITH ISRAELI CITIZENSHIP IN OTHER AREAS ENJOY KNESSET REPRESENTATION, AND IT IS ALSO NOT CERTAIN THAT THEY WILL BE ANXIOUS TO BECOME CITIZENS OF AN UNKNOWN PA STATE INSTEAD.

But researchers from Oregon State University found the bone also stops their lung collapsing, allowing the breathing capacity for flight. Every other animal that has walked on land, including humans, elephants, lizards and theropod dinosaurs - a family that includes the T Rex, had a moveable thigh bone. The find may force paleontologists to reconsider their long-held belief that modern birds are direct descendants of ancient, meat-eating dinosaurs.

'IT'S AMAZING WE DIDN'T UNDERSTAND A BASIC ASPECT OF BIRD BIOLOGY,' said US researcher Professor John Ruben. A velociraptor did not just spout feathers at some point and fly off into the sunset. 'Birds probably evolved on a parallel path alongside dinosaurs, starting that process before most dinosaur species even existed.' Characteristics such as feathers, wings and a bird's unique way of moving therefore developed separately.

Mitchell, during a day of meetings that included four hours with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, was told that Israel would not bring all settlement construction to a complete halt, even though this continues to be the US's stated position. One senior official said that there appeared to be some "convergence" between the sides, and they were moving toward a definition of the issues.

Following the evening meeting with Mitchell, which included a two-hour one-on-one conversation, Netanyahu's office issued a statement that the meeting was "friendly and positive and encompassed the whole range of issues on the agenda." Netanyahu, according to the statement, said that "Israel is working to promote peace and security with our Palestinian neighbors and the wider Arab world."

In front of the cameras, Mitchell took pains to stress THE IMPORTANCE OF THE US-ISRAELI RELATIONSHIP, AND WASHINGTON'S COMMITMENT TO ISRAEL'S SECURITY. Mitchell, after a meeting earlier in the day with President Shimon Peres, said he wanted to state again "clearly and emphatically, beyond any doubt, that the United States' commitment to the security of Israel remains unshakeable." He stressed that the current disagreements "are not disagreements among adversaries. THE UNITED STATES AND ISRAEL ARE AND WILL REMAIN CLOSE ALLIES AND FRIENDS."