US intelligence channels earlier this year identified a website CALLING ON MUSLIMS IN AUSTRALIA, THE US, EUROPE AND RUSSIA TO "START FOREST FIRES", claiming "scholars have justified chopping down and burning the infidels' forests when they do the same to our lands". The website, posted by a group called the Al-Ikhlas Islamic Network, argues in Arabic that lighting fires is an effective form of terrorism justified in Islamic law under the "eye for an eye" doctrine.

The posting — which instructs jihadis to remember "forest jihad" in summer months — says fires cause economic damage and pollution, tie up security agencies and can take months to extinguish so that "this terror will haunt them for an extended period of time. Imagine if, after all the losses caused by such an event, a jihadist organisation were to claim responsibility for the forest fires," the website says. "You can hardly begin to imagine the level of fear that would take hold of people in the United States, in Europe, in Russia and in Australia."

Dr Dolnik said he had observed an increase in traffic on jihadi websites calling for a simplification of terrorist attacks because the more complex operations had been failing.

The Federal Reserve, Treasury Department and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation have lent or spent almost $3 trillion over the past two years and pledged to provide up to $5.7 trillion more if needed. The total already tapped has decreased about 1 percent since November, mostly because foreign central banks are using fewer dollars in currency-exchange agreements called swaps. The Senate is to vote early this week on a stimulus package totaling at least $780 billion that President Barack Obama says is needed to avert a deeper recession. That measure would need to be reconciled with an $819 billion plan the House approved last month.

Only the stimulus package to be approved this week, the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program passed four months ago and $168 billion in tax cuts and rebates approved in 2008 have been voted on by lawmakers. The remaining $8 trillion in commitments are lending programs and guarantees, almost all under the authority of the Fed and the FDIC. The recipients' names have not been disclosed.

"We've seen money go out the back door of this government unlike any time in the history of our country," Senator Byron Dorgan, a North Dakota Democrat, said on the Senate floor February 3. "NOBODY KNOWS WHAT WENT OUT OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, TO WHOM AND FOR WHAT PURPOSE. HOW MUCH FROM THE FDIC? HOW MUCH FROM TARP? WHEN? WHY?"

Police believe some of the fires were started deliberately - actions which Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said amounted to "mass murder". Survivors have recounted how they fled walls of flames. Some people died in their cars trying to escape the fires. Some rural towns have been completely destroyed. Police have sealed off a number of sites, including the devastated small town of Maryville, as possible crime scenes.

Victoria State Premier John Brumby said: "We have had whole communities just completely wiped out, completely obliterated, by what people would describe as literally a fireball that just came over the hills and devoured everything before them. It's the largest natural disaster in our state's history and Australia's history."
Scorching temperatures, drought, tinder-dry bush and constantly-changing wind directions on Saturday helped fan the blazes, affecting an area of some 3,000 sq km (1,200 sq miles).

An emotional Mr Rudd described as "numbing" the numbers of dead, and warned: "I fear they will rise further." Asked about suspicions that arsonists were responsible for at least some of the fires, he said: "There are no words to describe it other than mass murder."

The great 18th Century astronomer William Herschel would have been astonished by the silver sensation that now bears his name. The European Space Agency (Esa) is certainly very proud of its new observatory. It has been working on the venture for more than 20 years. This week, the finished observatory will be flown to Europe's Kourou spaceport in South America. There, it will be bolted to an Ariane rocket and hurled into orbit. It will take up a vantage point a million-and-a-half kilometres from Earth, to open up what scientists expect to be an utterly fascinating new vista on the Universe.

Unlike Hubble, which is tuned to see the cosmos in the same light that is visible to our eyes, Herschel will go after much longer wavelength radiation - in the far-infrared and sub-millimetre range. It will permit Herschel to see past the dust that scatters Hubble's visible wavelengths, and to gaze at really cold places and objects in the Universe - from the birthing clouds of new stars to the icy comets that live far out in the Solar System.

Herschel's launch will be doubly significant because it sees Esa loft two major science missions on a single rocket. The other passenger on the Ariane will be the Planck telescope, which will look at even longer wavelength (microwave) radiation. At a combined value for Hershel and Planck of approximately 1.7 billion euros, you get an idea of just how risky this strategy is. If the rocket fails, both missions are lost. One is tempted to say "good luck"; but as Göran Pilbratt points out, when you have put as much effort into these missions as Esa has over the past 20 years, "luck doesn't come into it".

But his opinion-poll lead has been clawed back in recent weeks by Tzipi Livni, who heads the centrist Kadima, the largest party in the government. The BBC's Tim Franks, in Jerusalem, says opinion polls suggest the far-right will make the biggest gains. He says the popularity of Israel Our Home Party led by Avogdor Lieberman is on the increase.

The party advocates annexing Israel's settlements on the West Bank, and redrawing the borders so that Israel's large Arab minority comes under the control of the Palestinian Authority. But our correspondent says the apparent resurgence of Foreign Minister Ms Livni makes the outcome of the election difficult to predict.

Campaigning has taken place against a backdrop of continuing violence between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip. Despite there being vital issues facing Israel - including the fallout from the recent conflict in Gaza - observers say the current campaign has been surprisingly low key.

Intelligence briefings for Mr Obama have detailed a dramatic escalation in American espionage in Britain, where the CIA has recruited record numbers of informants in the Pakistani community to monitor the 2,000 terrorist suspects identified by MI5, the British security service. A British intelligence source revealed that a staggering FOUR OUT OF 10 CIA OPERATIONS designed to thwart direct attacks on the US ARE NOW CONDUCTED AGAINST TARGETS IN BRITAIN.

And a former CIA officer who has advised Mr Obama told The Sunday Telegraph that the CIA has stepped up its efforts in the last month after the Mumbai massacre laid bare the threat from Lashkar-e-Taiba, the militant group behind the attacks, which has an extensive web of supporters in the UK. The CIA has already spent 18 months developing a network of agents in Britain to combat al-Qaeda, unprecedented in size within the borders of such a close ally, according to intelligence sources in both London and Washington.

Bruce Riedel, a former CIA officer who has advised Mr Obama, told The Sunday Telegraph: "The British Pakistani community is recognised as probably al-Qaeda's best mechanism for launching an attack against North America." Mr Riedel added: "The partnership between the two intelligence communities is dynamic; it is one of great intimacy. We overuse the term special relationship, but this is an extraordinarily special relationship."

"It may be unpopular and unpleasant," says David Larlham, the assistant general secretary of London's Trinitarian Bible Society, a group that distributes bibles worldwide, "but there is a whole lot of truth in the bible that people need to get to grips with." His organization has paid $50,000 to display posters on 125 of London's red double-decker buses that quote PSALM 53: "THE FOOL HATH SAID IN HIS HEART, THERE IS NO GOD."

The move follows a month-long campaign by atheists, agnostics and other non-believers that saw 800 London buses plastered with a less God-fearing slogan: "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life." Ariane Sherine, a London-based atheist and comedy writer, devised the scheme after seeing a Christian bus advertisement. "It basically said that unless you believe this you're going to end up suffering," she says of the pro-Jesus poster, which featured what she describes as a "fiery apocalyptic sunset. Our campaign provides reassurance for people who might be agnostic and don't quite believe, and worry what will happen to them if they don't."

Similar atheist campaigns have run in Barcelona, Madrid and Washington, DC But since its January 6 launch, the London scheme has been credited with inspiring atheist bus campaigns in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany and Italy, where next month posters IN GENOA WILL READ: "THE BAD NEWS IS THAT GOD DOES NOT EXIST. THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT WE DO NOT NEED HIM." The Genoa campaign prompted Father Gianfranco Calabrese, a spokesman for the Archbishop of Genoa, to speak out against what many opponents call blasphemy. "There are some methods which promote dialogue and others which feed intolerance," he said. "Head-on opposition always demonstrates intolerance."

In terms not heard in Washington since the late 1970s under President Jimmy Carter's watch, the new president has sought to terrify Americans into supporting the $800 billion-plus bailout bill. While President Bush was accused shortly after taking office in 2001 of "talking down the economy" - and for saying the economy was "slowing down" - Mr Obama is using ever-heightening hyperbole to hammer home his message. But the strategy brings great risk for the "YES, WE CAN" MAN, who just three weeks ago told America in his inaugural address that despite "a sapping of confidence across our land," his election meant AMERICANS HAD "CHOSEN HOPE OVER FEAR."

"MR HOPE HAS TO BE CAREFUL NOT TO BECOME DR DOOM," said Frank Luntz, a political consultant and author of the book 'Words That Work: It's Not What You Say, It's What People Hear.' Mr Luntz said, "The danger for him is using the Jimmy Carter malaise rhetoric, particularly for Mr Obama, who was elected because people thought he was the solution. There's only so much negativity they will tolerate from him before they will feel betrayed."

Brad Blakeman, a senior aide to Mr Bush from 2001 to 2004, said the new president's language is immature. "It's not presidential. An American leader needs to be hopeful and optimistic - and truthful. Everything he says is parsed; everything he says is searched for deep meaning. When he goes to 'DefCon 5' on the economy and says that we're on the brink of catastrophe, it's absolutely insane." With his fiery rhetoric, the new president runs the risk of terrifying consumers and investors, which could depress the economy even further. WHILE THE ECONOMY IS BAD, IT IS A FAR CRY FROM GREAT DEPRESSION LEVELS, WHEN AS MANY AS 30 PERCENT OF AMERICANS WERE UNEMPLOYED, COMPARED WITH THE 7.6 PERCENT NOW.

The report was conducted by senior editors and lawyers for the Media Standards Trust, which aims to foster high standards in the news media. These included the former Lord Chief Justice Lord Woolf and editor in chief of the Independent, Simon Kelner. The report says THE PUBLIC'S ALREADY LOW TRUST IN NATIONAL NEWSPAPERS IS GETTING WORSE as newsrooms cut costs, putting journalists under greater pressure and increasing inaccuracy.

Sir David Bell, chairman of the Media Standards Trust said the current system of press self-regulation was "fundamentally flawed" and in urgent need of reform. "The system needs to be brought into the 21st century or it runs the risk of greater government intervention and a further accumulation of legal privacy protection," he said. "This is not in the interests of the public or the press and has the potential to constrain press freedom."

The foster mother said she had recently bought a larger car and had been renting a farmhouse, with a pony in a field, so that she could provide more disadvantaged children with a new life. 'That was always my dream and then suddenly, bang, it was gone. I am now in a one-bedroom flat,' she added.

Mike Judge, a spokesman for the Christian Institute, a pressure group which is funding her case, said: 'I cannot imagine that an atheist foster carer would be struck off if a Christian child in her care stopped believing in God. This is the sort of double standard which Christians are facing in modern Britain. In recent months, we have seen grandparents, a nurse, adoption agencies, firemen, registrars, elderly care homes and now a foster carer BEING PUNISHED BECAUSE OF THE CHRISTIAN BELIEFS THEY HOLD. It has got to stop.'

The carer's solicitor Nigel Priestley said: 'There is no doubt that the event that provoked the council was the decision by the girl to be baptised. THIS GIRL WAS 16 AND HAS THE RIGHT TO MAKE THIS CHOICE, so for the council to react in this way is totally disproportionate. Even at this late hour, we hope that the council will resolve the issue.'

A senior aide to President Sarkozy told a private gathering of senior British and French politicians that HE IS TO TELL FELLOW EU LEADERS THAT MR BLAIR IS THE ONLY MAN WHO CAN HELP EUROPE STAND UP TO THE REST OF THE WORLD. The remark by Alain Minc, a key member of Mr Sarkozy's inner circle, is the second French blow to Gordon Brown's standing in two days, coming after Mr Sarkozy said Mr Brown's decision to combat the recession by cutting VAT was a 'mistake'.

Mr Minc, a political wheeler-dealer, entrepreneur and TV show host, was attending a meeting last month of the Franco British Colloque, a high-powered discussion group of British and French politicians, civil servants and opinion-formers. Members are under orders not to reveal the confidential discussions, but The Mail on Sunday has established that Mr Minc used the meeting to win support for Mr Sarkozy's campaign to ensure Mr Blair becomes the President of Europe.

The role is due to be created next year – but only if the EU's controversial Lisbon Treaty is ratified in the autumn by Ireland and the Czech Republic, the two EU countries which have so far refused to do so. Mr Minc told the gathering, which was also attended by French Prime Minister Francois Fillon: 'When the Lisbon Treaty is ratified, Europe will move into a new phase. EUROPE WILL NEED A STRONG LEADER and Nicolas Sarkozy will nominate Tony Blair for the position.'

He said: 'We have to unite and say to Mrs Merkel that we cannot afford not to have Tony Blair, who will be a strong figurehead. He is entirely respected around the world and will be a commanding leader at the helm of Europe.'

Around the UK, thousands of students have occupied lecture theatres, offices and other buildings at more than 20 universities in sit-down protests. IT SEEMS THAT THE SPIRIT OF 1968 HAS RETURNED TO THE CAMPUS. While it was the situation in Gaza that triggered this mass protest, the beginnings of political enthusiasm have already spread to other issues.

John Rose, one of the original London School of Economics (LSE) students to mount the barricades alongside Tariq Ali in 1968, spent last week giving lectures on the situation in Gaza at 12 of the occupations. "This is something different to anything we've seen for a long time," he said. "There is genuine fury at what Israel did. I think it's highly likely that this year will see more student action. What's interesting is the nervousness of vice chancellors and their willingness to concede demands; it indicates this is something that could well turn into another '68."

TECHNOLOGY HAS SET THESE ACTIONS APART FROM THOSE OF PREVIOUS GENERATIONS, allowing a national momentum to grow with incredible speed. THROUGH THE LINKING UP OF INTERNET BLOGS, NEWS OF SUCCESSES SPREAD QUICKLY AND PROTESTS GREW NATIONWIDE.

Levine, who ran the group's American investment bank RBS Greenwich Capital, received the bumper pay deals over 2005, 2006 and 2007, according to sources close to the bank. His pay has never been disclosed since he was not a main-board director. The pay deals came as the bank ramped up its exposures to sub-prime mortgages, asset-backed securities and collateralised debt obligations (CDOs).

Levine became co-head of Greenwich in 2000 after RBS acquired the business as part of its takeover of NatWest. In 2004 he was promoted to a larger role that also saw him head up corporate banking for the group across North America. RBS has unveiled about £12 billion of write-downs since the credit crunch began and is poised to unveil full-year losses of up to £28 billion – the biggest loss in UK corporate history.

There are now six class-action lawsuits that have been filed against the group in the Southern District Court of New York, alleging that RBS misled investors on the true state of its accounts in a series of filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Other suits allege that RBS was "negligent" in due diligence on its acquisition of ABN Amro, or that it misled investors at the time of its £12 billion rights issue last April. RBS said it was aware of the actions and that they would be "defended vigorously".

Russia and China have been identified as having the most active spy networks operating in the UK but it is understood that some European countries are also involved in espionage attacks against Britain. Details of the spy plots were revealed in a government security document obtained by The Sunday Telegraph which states that Britain is a "high priority espionage target" for 20 foreign intelligence agencies.

Security sources have revealed that the list of foreign agencies operating within the UK includes Iran, Syria, North Korea and Serbia, as well as some members of the European Union, such as France and Germany, who have traditionally been regarded as allies. The document, marked "restricted", warns that foreign spies are trying to steal secrets related to the military, optics, communications, genetics and aviation industries.

The source said: "If a country, such as Russia or Iran, can steal a piece of software that will save it seven years in research and development then it will do so without any hesitation. Russian agents will target anybody that they believe could be useful to them. Spying is hard-wired into the country's DNA. They have been at it for centuries and they are simply not going to stop because the Cold War has ended." The source added that Britain's European neighbours, including Germany and France, were also engaged in industrial and political espionage within the UK.

So far, eight states have introduced resolutions declaring state sovereignty under the Ninth and Tenth Amendment to the Constitution, including Arizona, Hawaii, Montana, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, Oklahoma and Washington. Analysts expect that in addition, another 20 states may see similar measures introduced this year, including Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Nevada, Maine and Pennsylvania.

"WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO DO IS TO GET THE U.S. CONGRESS OUT OF THE STATE'S BUSINESS," Oklahoma Republican state Sen. Randy Brogdon told WND. "Congress is completely out of line spending trillions of dollars over the last 10 years putting the nation into a debt crisis like we've never seen before," Brogdon said, arguing that the Obama stimulus plan is the last straw taxing state patience in the brewing sovereignty dispute. "This particular 111th Congress is the biggest bunch of over-reachers and underachievers we've ever had in Congress," he said.

"A sixth-grader should realize you can't borrow money to pay off your debt, and that is the Obama administration's answer for a stimulus package," he added. THE NINTH AMENDMENT READS, "The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people." THE TENTH AMENDMENT SPECIFICALLY PROVIDES, "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."