The proposed rules are contained in a document circulated by the California Energy Commission, which for more than three decades has set state energy efficiency standards for home appliances, like water heaters, air conditioners and refrigerators.

The changes would allow utilities to adjust customers' preset temperatures when the price of electricity is soaring. Customers could override the utilities' suggested temperatures. But in emergencies, the utilities could override customers' wishes.

Final approval is expected next month. "This is an outrage," one Californian said in an e-mail message to Rosenfeld. "We need to build new facilities to handle the growth in this state, not become Big Brother to the citizens of California."

Under the proposal being discussed, the bulk of the money - roughly $9bn - would be most likely to come from China, people familiar with the negotiations say. The Kuwait Investment Authority would contribute about $1bn, while $2bn to $4bn would be raised through a public placement of shares.

The norovirus season began a month earlier than normal this winter. Cases of the bug increased rapidly, with more than 200,000 people a week now catching the infection, official figures claim. Hospitals struggling to cope have closed hundreds of wards to new patients. Three hospitals have been put on red alert because of a critical shortage of beds caused by people falling ill with the bug. Some schools are sending letters to parents telling them of norovirus symptoms to look out for and asking them to keep children at home for 48 hours after the infection has cleared. Others have installed alcohol gel dispensers for children to clean their hands before lunch.

The latest figures came in an agency update released yesterday, which said: "This season we have seen an increase in reports of noro-virus cases, almost double the number reported for the same period last year. The self-limiting infection usually only lasts a few days hence the majority of cases are not reported to the clinician." Anyone with symptoms of norovirus is advised to stay at home, drink plenty of fluids, not prepare food for others and wash their hands thoroughly and regularly with soap and water.

"It is true we intercepted a conversation with terrorist threats to the Eiffel Tower yesterday," the source, who asked not to be named, told Reuters. "Our air force informed the French air force of this matter. Paris police referred inquiries to the Eiffel Tower where nobody was immediately available for comment. French daily Le Monde reported on Friday that intelligence services were tracking the authors of the message. The newspaper said Portuguese air traffic authorities had intercepted a "vague and confused" short wave radio message on Thursday, according to a police source.

The French capital is already at its second highest security alert level and further public security measures would serve little purpose, Le Monde quoted police as saying. "We've been at red for several months. It's the highest level before scarlet alert which is implemented when there are attacks," the local police headquarters told the newspaper. The Eiffel Tower is one of France's best-known sights and welcomes millions of tourists each year. Since it was built for the 1889 World Fair, over 230 million people have climbed its 1,665 steps or taken the elevators to admire the views from the top of the 324-metre (1,063 ft) high structure.

A globalised world is, in many ways, a smaller world. When shoppers scour the grocery store aisles in San Francisco, Sydney or Seoul, they may be purchasing different food items, but these days they are suffering from the same sticker shock.

In China, soaring food prices have driven inflation to their highest levels in more than a decade, straining household budgets in the world's most populous country. Dramatic price increases have been chalked up to an unfortunate confluence of factors - supply problems endemic in China's pork industry, an outbreak of - blue ear - disease on pig farms and to drought and flood-related price hikes. But behind these events, a host of structural problems are contributing to higher prices.

China feeds 22 per cent of the world's people with only 7 per cent of its farmland and must do so with a poor endowment of agricultural resources. Compounding matters, China's per capita water supply amounts to just a quarter of the global average and is unevenly distributed. A host of daunting challenges suggests that the country's agricultural productivity must pick up dramatically to keep pace with the changing nature of food demand.

A wealthier generation of Chinese consumers is shifting from traditional meals to a diet heavy in meat, eggs and dairy products. China's urban population - which is growing by 15m-20m people a year - consumes three times more meat than the rural population.

This ratio has tremendous implications for the country's grain consumption: 70 per cent of China's corn and soyabeans and about half of the country's sweet potato supplies go towards feeding livestock. It takes 5-7kg of grain to produce 1kg of pork - the country's staple meat. Since 1990, China's feed industry has increased its annual output by an average of 18 per cent a year to supply the country's livestock farms.

As 1.3bn Chinese consumers move up the ladder of prosperity, extraordinary changes are occurring in China's agricultural trade and domestic food economy. China's success in resolving its agricultural limitations will go far in determining whether higher food prices are here to stay - not just in China, but across global markets.

The finding comes as GM foods are about to reignite trade friction between the US and European Union, with a deadline set to expire on Friday night by which the EU must comply with a World Trade Organisation ruling to allow imports of GM seeds. While it could be years before meat and milk from cloned animals are on dinner plates in the EU, the European Food Safety Authority (Efsa) issued a "draft opinion" that such livestock and their products were as healthy and nutritious as their natural-born kin. "Healthy clones and healthy offspring do not show any significant differences from their conventional counterparts," it said.

Efsa has invited views on its opinion before drawing up a definitive conclusion in May. Its deliberations come as the Food & Drug Agency in the US is expected to reach a final decision on the issue, possibly next week.
The developments would boost a handful of US biotechnology companies that have been working on cloning animals, mainly cattle, for the past four years. They say cloning would help farmers by increasing the availability of elite breeding stock.

Europe is already sharply divided over GM food, dubbed "Frankenfood" by opponents, with just one product - a pest-resistant maize - approved for cultivation. Austria and Hungary have banned even that and France is set to follow suit. In the US, consumer acceptance of plant biotechnology in foods is high. Acceptance of biotechnologically altered animal produce is much lower, although a survey last year by the International Food Information Council showed that 61 per cent would purchase products derived from genetically engineered animals if they were FDA-approved.

Citing people with knowledge of the matter, the newspaper said the inquiry, begun last summer by state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, was focusing on how banks bundled billions of dollars of exception loans and other subprime debt into complex mortgage investments. Charges could be filed as soon as the coming weeks, the Times said. Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal told the newspaper he was also conducting a review and cooperating with New York officials. The federal Securities and Exchange Commission is also investigating, the Times said.

Reports commissioned by Wall Street banks raised alerts about the high-risk loans, known as exceptions, which fell short of even the lax credit standards of subprime mortgage companies and the Wall Street firms, the newspaper said, but the banks failed to disclose those details to credit-rating agencies or investors.

The inquiries highlight Wall Street's leading role in igniting the mortgage boom that has imploded with a burst of defaults and foreclosures. The crisis is sending shock waves through the financial world, and several big banks are expected to disclose additional losses on mortgage-related investments when they report earnings next week.

An ounce of gold for February delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange jumped $6.50 to $900.10 in morning trading, an all-time high and a psychologically important milestone. Gold later slipped to $898.70 an ounce on profit-taking but remained in record territory. "It's a reflection of market sentiment: Gold is a hedge against uncertainty and right now it's the best bet," said Carlos Sanchez, a precious metals analyst at CPM Group in New York. "None of the other investment options look that great and gold does."

Still, when adjusted for inflation, gold remains well below its all-time high. An ounce of gold at $875 in 1980 would be worth $2,115 to $2,200 today. Gold has had a meteoric rise the past year - rising nearly 32 percent in 2007 - boosted by a falling dollar, rising prices for oil and other commodities and increased Middle East instability. Those trends have lifted the metal's appeal as a haven; gold is seen as a safe investment in times of political and economic uncertainty around the world.

Smith's Cloud, as it is known, may set off spectacular fireworks when it smacks into our galaxy in 20-40 million years. It contains enough hydrogen to make a million stars like the Sun, say experts, and its leading edge is already hitting gas from our galaxy. When it does hit, the cloud could indeed set off a new burst of star formation in the Milky Way.

Details of the work, by a team at the US National Radio Astronomy Observatory and the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, were unveiled at the 211th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Austin, Texas. Their new measurements also show that the cloud is 11,000 light-years long and 2,500 light-years wide. The monster cosmic "fog bank" is careering towards our galaxy at more than 240km/s (150 miles/s) and is set to strike the Milky Way at an angle of 45 degrees.

Broadly speaking, the cloud is currently rotating with our galaxy, but is also moving in towards it. Astronomers can see a wall of gas being ploughed up as Smith's Cloud thuds into the outskirts of our galaxy's atmosphere.

People came out on to the streets to watch and some Iraqis said it was the first time they had seen such weather other than in films. Mohammed Abdul-Hussein, 63 and retired, told the Associated Press he had heard from his father when he was young that snow fell in the early 1940s on the outskirts of northern Baghdad.

"But snow falling in Baghdad in such a magnificent scene was beyond my imagination," he added. Fawzi Karim, 40, said he had asked his 80-year-old mother, and she had never seen snow before in Iraq. "This is so unusual, and I don't know whether or not it's a lesson from God," he added.

"This number is supposed to be the mark of the Devil. It looks as though God or the Devil have been moving in mysterious ways," said Bob Russell, a Liberal Democrat MP among those proposing the motion for debate.
"What is even stranger is that this motion was tabled last night when MPs were debating blasphemy," he added. The motion calls for an end to the formal link between Church and State in England -- embodied in the monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, who is both head of state and head of the Church of England.

The number 666 is referred to in the Book of Revelations in the Bible: "'Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast for it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred, three score and six.' It is incredible that a motion like this should have, by chance, acquired this significant number," said Russell. Under the rules of the House of Commons the motion by backbenchers has little chance of actually being debated in parliament.

The extract from Hansard reads:-
666 - DISESTABLISHMENT OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND - 9:1:08
- John Austin
- Roger Berry
- Bob Russell

- "That this House calls for the disestablishment of the Church of England."

"The Jewish nation is eternal, and forever remembers those that have aided it throughout history, as well as those that have done it harm. Please let your name go down in history as a president who aided the Jewish nation, who worked alongside God and not against him," wrote the rabbi.

The Rabbi furthermore urged Bush in his letter to utilize his visit to strengthen and bolster the State of Israel. "You were granted the privilege of serving as US president. Make the best of the duties given you, and we will fulfill our task of remembering you as good and noble throughout the ages," said the Rabbi.

Rabbi Eliyahu began his letter with greetings for President Bush and praise for his efforts to bring peace to the region. WITH THAT, HE THEN TOLD THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT THAT HIS "AGENDA FOR PEACE GOES AGAINST THE WILL OF GOD".

"GRANTING THE SITE OF THE HOLY TEMPLE TO MURDERERS OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN WHO BLASPHEME GOD," WROTE RABBI ELIYAHU, "IS AN ACT AGAINST THE JEWISH PEOPLE AS WELL AS GOD. Ever since the Jews of Gush Katif were expelled from their homes, Sdeort was bombarded with hundreds of Qassam rockets by Hamas as well as other Palestinian organizations - hundreds of thousands of additional people will live in similar danger if we are to abide by your peace plan, and then where would we end up?" asked the Rabbi.

"God promised the land of Israel to Jewish people alone." The Rabbi stressed that he "prays for peace, as does any individual who believes in God," but that "anyone who accepts the bible as the word of God must keep in mind that God promised the land of Israel to the Jewish people alone. THE ISHMAELITES HAVE NO PART OF THIS DIVINE GUARANTEE."

Rates of admissions to accident and emergency for problem drinking and the number of patients seen by consultants for alcohol-related illnesses have both doubled in seven years. The scale of the problem - and the burden it puts on the Health Service - will pile pressure on Gordon Brown to radically overhaul the controversial Licensing Act.

It means that in NHS hospital wards today alone, there are expected to be 1,222 separate cases of alcoholic liver disease, intoxication, drink-related mental or behavioural disorders or drink-related injury. Among under-18s, there was a rise of 40 per cent in those seen by doctors in casualty or in the consulting room over the last seven years. The figures underline the dramatic failure of the Government to combat binge drinking.

More pressure on the NHS as cannabis use soars. The number of adults being treated for cannabis use has risen by 50 per cent since Labour downgraded the drug to Class C. The Government's decision to reclassify the drug has seen the number of adults seeking medical help for its effects rise to more than 16,500 in the past year. Cannabis misuse also accounts for 75 per cent of under-18s who require treatment for drug use, with 9,200 children needing medical aid for its use.

A total of 25,944 people sought cannabis treatment at hospitals and clinics last year - almost 500 adults and children a week. Drug campaigners said the latest figures, revealed in a parliamentary question, proved the Government's "softly, softly" approach to cannabis was sending out the wrong signals.

The Japanese prime minister, under pressure from the US, used the constitutional provision allowing him to override the upper house for the first time since 1951. The bill was opposed by the opposition Democratic Party of Japan, which on Friday morning presented a counter-proposal, including direct assistance to Afghanistan. Mr Fukuda has staked considerable political capital on restarting a six-year mission that was suspended in November when the opposition blocked enabling legislation. Opposition by the DPJ, which has characterised refuelling operations as slavishly following Washington's lead, helped bring down the previous government of Shinzo Abe.

Following passage of the bill, Japanese ships are expected to set sail for the Indian Ocean within weeks. Thomas Schieffer, US ambassador to Japan, said: "The US appreciates the fact that the Japanese government has taken this important step in support of the international community's efforts to create a stable and democratic Afghanistan."

He added: "By passing this legislation, Japan has demonstrated its willingness to stand with those who are trying to create a safer, more tolerant world." Some political analysts, however, suggested that the new bill, which restricts Japanese ships to supplying oil and water for anti-terrorism measures related to Afghanistan, was purely symbolic. Writing in the Oriental Economist, a specialist newsletter, Richard Katz said: "To get it through the Diet Fukuda has stripped it of what content it already had. One floating gasoline station in the Indian Ocean is symbolism not substance in the war on terror."

At a press conference afterwards, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said, "Peace in the world starts from here, from the Holy Land." Bush himself said, "If given a chance the Palestinian people will work for freedom," and said he was confident that there will be "a signed peace treaty by the time I leave office."

Bush showed sympathy for each sides' complaints, but applied no apparent pressure. On Wednesday Bush backed Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's assertion that Abbas needs to stop Hamas rocket attacks before there can be progress on peace. On Thursday he said he understood frustration over continuing limits Israeli forces place on Palestinian movements. Yet neither Israeli nor the Palestinian leaders showed signs of having been squeezed to take action. Said Olmert, "The President didn't ask for me to make any commitments other than the ones that Israel made already."

The big-talk, little-action approach takes place against a backdrop of continuing tension. Rocket attacks from Gaza into Israel continued right up to Bush's arrival in Jerusalem. And Israeli forces raided Nablus in the West Bank earlier this month.