President Bush has never been known for his eloquence, but his comment earlier this month that INDIA'S GROWING MIDDLE CLASS was demanding "BETTER NUTRITION AND BETTER FOOD, AND SO DEMAND IS HIGH, AND THAT CAUSES THE PRICE TO GO UP" was neither particularly mangled nor, at first flush, offensive. In the days since, though, India's most nationalistic politicians, newspapers and television pundits have expressed outrage, calling Bush's comment rude and insensitive because it suggests Indians are to blame for recent global food price increases and implies they should eat less. "U.S. EATS 5 TIMES MORE THAN INDIA PER CAPITA" blared a headline in the Times of India above a typical story outlining the massive disparities between the amount of grains, meat and vegetables the average American and average Indian consumes.

There's no doubt that China and India's growing middle classes are consuming more and different types of food. As people get richer they tend to eat more meat and dairy products, for instance, and that's exactly what's happening in China and India. That growing demand will naturally push up prices over the long term. But it's debatable whether the huge price run-ups in the past few months for staples such as rice and corn can be pinned on China and India alone.

Short-term factors - such as the huge BOOM IN BIOFUEL production and the skyrocketing COST OF FUEL that has pushed up FERTILIZER AND TRANSPORT PRICES - play a big part too. But to pretend that tens of millions of Chinese and Indians who are joining the middle class every year have no impact on demand for food is silly. Many Americans overeat, but a growing number of Indians do as well (even if the national calorie intake is still relatively small). That's a problem for both countries' general well-being and health, but it's not the main issue in rising food prices.

THE KEY IS NOT DEMAND, BUT SUPPLY. Agricultural production in places such as India has not kept up with the incredible social changes under way in the country's cities and towns. The green revolution of three decades ago helped keep the country from starvation, but since then PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH IN INDIAN AGRICULTURE HAS HARDLY MOVED.

Dan Toole, the South Asia regional director for the United Nations Children's Fund, said "WHAT'S NEEDED IS MASSIVE INVESTMENT IN FARMING, more assistance for the hundreds of millions of Indians who are malnourished, and for the government "to somehow get beyond the policy and into the implementation."

And if the commercials seem more pervasive than ever, that's because they are. DRUG MAKERS SPEND NEARLY $5 BILLION A YEAR TO MAKE SURE YOU'RE HEARING ABOUT THEIR PRODUCTS ? a sound investment considering that every $1,000 they spend translates to 24 new prescriptions, according to the House Commerce Committee. Drug ads are, not surprisingly, meant to sell products, not scare consumers off, SO THEY'RE NOTORIOUS FOR CAREENING QUICKLY THROUGH THE OBLIGATORY LIST OF THE MEDICATION'S RISKS.

The FDA states that DTC commercials must present a "fair balance" of the benefits and side effects of a drug, but it's obvious most don't. It's commonly understood by psychologists ? and ad makers ? that if a person is presented with a list of things, HE OR SHE IS MORE LIKELY TO REMEMBER ITEMS AT THE BEGINNING AND AT THE END OF THE LIST THAN ITEMS JUST PAST THE MIDDLE.

While drug makers abide by the law and present important side effect information, it's no surprise that they NEARLY ALL FOLLOW THE SAME FORMAT: putting benefit information in the first half of the commercial, side effect information just past the middle, then benefit information again at the end. THAT'S A FEATURE COMMON TO MOST DRUG ADS: THEY LEAVE YOU CONFUSED ABOUT THE INFORMATION.

THE SYSTEM BURNS AS FORECLOSURES MOUNT, INVENTORY BLOATS, AND HOME PRICES DROP, GUARANTEEING ANOTHER UGLY STORM OF BANK LOSSES IN MORTGAGE BONDS. The ultimate determining factor right now is home prices, which are accelerating down. WALL STREET SEEMS UNWILLING EVEN TO MENTION HOME PRICES, preferring to talk about bank liquidity concerns having been addressed. EXCEPT THAT BANK CAPITAL IS STILL NEGATIVE.

THE INSOLVENT US$-BASED ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL SYSTEM has a long way to go before any recovery can be claimed. The four primary pillars of the federal budget deficit, the trade and current account deficit, the bank insolvency, and the rising tide of negative equity homeowners, these scream of ongoing need for remedy. All forms of remedy involve monetary inflation.

The current approach has been careful and directed. The next steps will be much more broad and systemic IN THE FACE OF DESPERATION TO AVERT COLLAPSE. BEWARE OF CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE toward mortgages. BEWARE OF CIVIL DISTURBANCES. Beware of open scuffles at gasoline stations. Beware of POSSIBLY FOOD RIOTS IN POOR NEIGHBORHOODS.

Being the newest Third World nation, the UNTIED STATES will see food riots similar elsewhere in the world. THE SYSTEM INSIDE THE US IS MOVING TOWARD CHAOS. An inflationary recession does that. Job loss and rising prices make for a nasty cauldron for emotions. The only known plan will be to produce enough inflation to keep the system running. THE IMPLEMENTED CURE WILL PLANT SEEDS FOR FURTHER CRISIS ONE YEAR FROM NOW, AND GUARANTEE A SEVERE CHANGE VIA DISRUPTION.

ANYONE SELLING AIR WEAPONS IN NORTH WALES MUST REGISTER WITH POLICE BY NEXT MONDAY or face the consequences under tough new laws. Calls were made for a crack down on airguns after a series of incidents across the region in recent years where people and animals were hurt or killed. But one gun shop owner said he had not been told of the changes to the law, despite requests to the government for clarification. Ian Okell, owner of Dragon Field Sports in Wrexham, said THE REGULATION OF GUN SHOPS WOULD NOT TACKLE THE REAL PROBLEM - THAT OF THE ILLEGAL GUN TRADE.

From October 1, anyone selling air weapons by way of a trade or business must be registered with the police as a firearms dealer, under changes to the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006. Gun traders must buy a £150 registration, lasting three years, from the Firearms Licensing Department of North Wales Police. Anyone failing to do so may face a maximum £5,000 or 12 months' imprisonment.

Mr Okell said he was sent a consultation document outlining proposed changes to the law 18 months ago, but had not heard anything since. He said: "It was full of ridiculous suggestions, saying things like all gun shops must have blacked-out windows, as if we were porn shops. It's been a shambles."

With a top speed of 125mph, it's a roadster that could put a smile on the face of any hardcore petrol-head. Which is ironic, really, since the one thing this car doesn't need is petrol. This sports car is, in fact, the world's first high-performance electric vehicle. It can accelarate from 0 to 60mph in 3.9 seconds, making it faster off the mark than a Lotus and almost on a par with a Ferrari. The "Tesla" is styled on a Lotus Elise.

Designed in California, funded by a gang of dotcom billionaires, and already the most eagerly sought-after car among image-conscious Hollywood stars, it has been hailed as a true automotive landmark. The batteries have a lifespan of 100,000 miles, and their components are able to be recycled or reconditioned. The Tesla will take you 200 miles or more at a cost of 1p per mile.

In the U.S., the Tesla is retailing for $100,000 (£50,000); but over here, you'll have to fork out 99,000 euros (£78,000). Their designers are already working on a four-door sedan, followed by a smaller version which will sell for a distinctly more affordable $30,000 (£15,000). It's sobering to think that while oil prices today are hovering around $120 a barrel, futures traders in New York are already doing deals on the basis that the price will have reached $200 a barrel by December.

"We are absolutely committed to the ratification of this treaty. It is fundamental to how we think, what our philosophy is. And if there were to be anyone - and I don't know of anybody, but take it hypothetically - who had a conscientious problem, they would have to consider that outside the context of my parliamentary party."

Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan warned yesterday that a No vote on the Lisbon Treaty would be a "step into isolation for Ireland." Lenihan, who made the comments after a meeting of EU finance ministers in Brussels, said a No vote would damage the Irish economy.

As US President George W. Bush lavished praise this week on Palestinian Authority (PA) and Fatah Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, the latter broadcast on the TV station which he controls a stinging message: the US is "the greatest Satan in the world" - Palestinian Legislative Council Member Najat Abu-Bakr (Fatah), PA TV, March 3, 2008. The full 30-page PMW report examines statements made in the PA media over the past several years regarding the PA's affinity for countries such as North Korea, Cuba, and Venezuela, which are all openly anti-American.

"Significantly," the report warns, "the affinity that is felt for such geographically distant non-Muslim countries is precisely because these states publicly challenge and express loathing for the US." The report also examined statements showing PA officials' loathing for the United States, such as a Fatah legislator's recent claim that the US is "the greatest Satan in the world."

Among the statements quoted in the report:- "Allah, take hold of the Americans and their allies - Allah, count them and kill them to the last one and don't leave even one." - Ahmed Bahar, speaker of the PA legislative council, on PA TV in April 2007.

The Youth Justice Board (YJB), which oversees juvenile offenders in England and Wales, said it has commissioned a study to investigate the reasons. Commentators ascribed the increase partly to a rise in the total number of girls aged under 17 and partly to the police being more willing to take action against girls accused of crimes such as school fights. Boys still commit most youth crime but the YJB said offences by males fell two percent over the same period.

In its annual Workload Data research, the YJB reported that since 2006 young females - some as young as 10 - committed almost 60,000 crimes including theft, criminal damage, violent attacks, criminal damage and public order crimes. This was a 25 percent increase from 2003/2004, when more than 47,000 offences by girls were committed.

Research from the Design Council meanwhile, revealed that one in three of the young "hot product" victims were listening to music on headphones, talking, texting or playing on a games console when their property was snatched.

Britain's third-biggest bank said on Thursday the writedown for its investment bank arm Barclays Capital was net of a 700 million pound gain on the fair valuation of debt it carries on its own books. The bank had already said last month its first quarter profits would fall from a year ago as earnings at BarCap and its Barclays Global Investors fund management unit had been hit by financial market turmoil, but it has not disclosed the extent of the fall. The bank's profits in April, excluding BarCap, were above a year ago, it said

The initiative would punish water wasters and limit such activities as watering lawns and washing vehicles. And it would revive a controversial effort to recycle sewage water. The aggressive, multiyear proposal could do much to catch the city up to other Southern California communities that have launched advanced recycling programs. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's effort could cost up to $2 billion.

Just to meet a 15% increase in demand by 2030, officials say 32 billion gallons a year will have to be saved or recaptured - enough to cover the San Fernando Valley with a foot of water. Prohibitions during the 1990s drought - banning residents from washing driveways and sidewalks, letting sprinklers flood into gutters and watering grass in midday - would be enforced again, with additional restrictions. Other cities facing the same challenges, including Long Beach, have already moved to curtail residential and commercial water usage and punish waste. Orange County and other Southern California agencies are also recycling treated sewage water back into the drinking supply.

David Coffin, a Westchester Neighborhood Council member who tracks water issues, said the plan misses a larger point: controlling growth. "I don't think they're going to make any headway. They're adding 14,000 to 16,000 housing units a year in the face of water shortages. How are they going to supply all those people?"

"Pythons are likely to colonize anywhere alligators live, including north Florida, Georgia and Louisiana," said Frank Mazzotti, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences professor, in his two-year study.

The pythons thriving in Florida are mostly Burmese pythons from Myanmar that were brought over as pets and then turned loose in the wild. From 2002-2005, 201 of the beasts were caught by state authorities, but in the last two years the number has more than doubled to 418, Mazzotti said in his study published on the university website. The largest python caught so far in Florida measured five meters (16.4 feet) and weighed 70 kilograms (154 pounds).

Mazzotti said the serpents, despite their awesome size, are not poisonous, but are excellent swimmers and able to cover great distances in little time. Some, trapped and released with radio transmitters, swam 60 kilometers (37 miles) in a few hours. Highly adaptable, pythons prey on cats, dogs, hares, foxes, squirrels, raccoons and even alligators, allowing them to thrive in a variety of environments. After populating the Florida Everglades - a vast marshland - where it is estimated they number 30,000, the giant python is now spreading across the rest of the peninsula.

The previous highest denomination note was for Z$250m, issued 10 days ago. Meanwhile, the opposition has rejected the move to delay the presidential run-off, possibly until July, saying it was a government ploy to stay in power. It called for an emergency regional summit, urging neighbouring countries to take "firm resolutions".

Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai gained more votes than President Robert Mugabe in the first round on 29 March, but did not pass the 50% threshold to be elected, according to the official results.

Zimbabwe's annual inflation rate is 165,000% and one economist said prices now double every week. "Prices are now doubling every week instead of every month and it is hard to see how we can survive to the end of June or how an election will be feasible at all if things continue to deteriorate at this pace," said Harare economist John Robertson, according to the AP news agency.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, who has been in the area since the earthquake struck, said the focus remained on getting to survivors. "Saving lives is still our top priority, as long as hope of survival still exists," he said. But the task remains huge. More than 200,000 houses have collapsed in Sichuan province, while more than four million have been damaged in some way, Xinhua said.

Tens of thousands of Chinese troops and police are in the region to help with relief efforts but damage to roads is still hampering their mobility. Some soldiers have parachuted into the remotest areas, and essential supplies have been dropped from planes.

Populations of land-based species fell by 25%, marine by 28% and freshwater by 29%, it says. Humans are wiping out about 1% of all other species every year, and one of the "great extinction episodes" in the Earth's history is under way, it says. Pollution, farming and urban expansion, over-fishing and hunting are blamed.

The Living Planet Index, compiled by the society in partnership with the wildlife group WWF, tracks the fortunes of more than 1,400 species of fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals, using scientific publications and online databases. It said numbers had declined by 27% in the 35 years from 1970 to 2005. Some of the worst hit are marine species which saw their numbers plummet by 28% in just 10 years, between 1995 and 2005.

Colin Butfield, head of campaigns at WWF UK, said: "Biodiversity underpins the health of the planet and has a direct impact on all our lives, so it is alarming that despite an increased awareness of environmental issues we continue to see a downward trend." Director general James Leape said: "Reduced biodiversity means millions of people face a future where food supplies are more vulnerable to pests and disease and where water is in irregular or short supply. No-one can escape the impact of biodiversity loss because reduced global diversity translates quite clearly into fewer new medicines, greater vulnerability to natural disasters and greater effects from global warming."

"THE ALLIANCE BETWEEN OUR GOVERNMENTS IS UNBREAKABLE," Bush said in remarks prepared for an address to the Israeli parliament marking the 60th anniversary of the creation of Israel, an event the Palestinians regard as a "catastrophe." "Israel's population may be just over seven million. But when you confront terror and evil, you are 307 million strong, because America stands with you."

Bush planned to tell Israel's Knesset that the United States and its allies will keep up the battle against extremist groups, including Al-Qaeda, the Lebanese Hezbollah militia and Hamas, which runs the Gaza Strip. "The president will reiterate that the United States is Israel's closest friend and ally," said US national security spokesman Gordon Johndroe. Bush, who is in Israel at the start of a five-day visit to the region, also WARNED THAT ALLOWING ARCHFOE IRAN TO OBTAIN NUCLEAR WEAPONS WOULD BE "AN UNFORGIVABLE BETRAYAL OF FUTURE GENERATIONS."