At the same time, the Energy Department announced plans to consolidate the nuclear weapons complex that maintains warheads and dismantle those no longer needed, saying the current facilities need to be made more efficient and more easily secured and that the larger complex is no longer needed.

"We are reducing our nuclear weapons stockpile to the lowest level consistent with America's national security and our commitments to friends and allies," White House press secretary Dana Perino said. "A credible deterrent remains an essential part of US national security, and nuclear forces remain key to meeting emerging security challenges."

The government will not provide any numbers on the overall size of the nuclear stockpile, but there are believed to be nearly 6,000 warheads that either are deployed or in reserve. Separately, under terms of a 2002 arms control treaty with Russia, the US is committed to reducing the number of deployed warheads to between 1,700 and 2,200 by 2012.

Robert Zoellick said he welcomed the news that China, which once received grants from the World Bank's International Development Association, is now a contributor to it. That included a contribution at a recent meeting of the IDA, which provides grants and loans to the world's poorest countries.

"This is an example of China being a stakeholder in the field of development," Zoellick told a news conference at the end of a four-day visit. The undisclosed amount was a "modest but also significant step," he said. China stopped taking loans from the IDA in 1999 after having received more than US$9.9 billion, but last week was the first time it started to contribute.

Although China has fewer voting shares in the bank than some developed countries, it still has an "influential" voice, he said.

"Our broadcast is very symbolic and is only the start," said Abu Abdullah, a leader of Hamas' so-called military wing in the Gaza Strip. "In the coming years, Hamas and other organizations will be broadcasting freely from the [Mount], which will be under FULL ISLAMIC CONTROL PROTECTED BY A MUSLIM ARMY."

Wednesday marks the Muslim holiday of Ein ul-Adhaa, which commemorates the Islamic belief of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice HIS SON ISHMAEL for Allah. The Torah says ABRAHAM NEARLY SACRIFICED HIS SON ISAAC, NOT ISHMAEL.

Wednesday is also the Jewish fast day of the Tenth of Tevet, which commemorates THE START OF THE SIEGE OF JERUSALEM LEADING UP TO THE DESTRUCTION OF THE FIRST JEWISH TEMPLE during the reign of the Babylonian ruler Nebuchadnezzar. The fast also was proclaimed to mourn the First Temple's destruction.

He had used the example of crop trials around Lake Victoria in Kenya to boast how useful GM farming could be in feeding the Third World. He claimed scientists had discovered the identity of a chemical in food plants that attract pests such as root borers. Sir David suggested it had been possible to "snip" the gene responsible for this chemical out of the food crop and then insert it into grass that is grown alongside it. He said the pests then eat the grass rather than the food.

He told Radio Four's Today programme: "You interplant the grass with the grain and it turns out the crop yield goes up 40-50 per cent. A very big advantage." THE ONLY PROBLEM IS SIR DAVID FAILED TO ACCURATELY DESCRIBE THE RESEARCH IN AFRICA, WHICH DID NOT INVOLVE THE USE OF ANY GM TECHNOLOGY AT ALL. The research actually involved finding plants that can be cultivated alongside food crops and provide a natural solution to boosting yields.

Researchers identified one set of plants that naturally deters parasitic weeds, while another set, a species of grass, attracts the pests. The net result of this "push and pull" regime is that the food crop can grow more easily and produce a much higher yield. Green pressure groups are demanding a public apology from Sir David, whose credibility has been shaken by the error.

Director of the GM Freeze campaign, Pete Riley, said: "We find it quite staggering that Professor King made such misleading comments. The 'push pull' project in fact illustrates how the problem pest and weeds which plague farmers in the Global South can be tackled by well researched crop management techniques. These have the advantage of being cheap to apply and being free of the potential environmental and health impacts of GM crops or pesticide usage."

Across the land, the most unlikely little flowers are poking their way up into the grey December light as another year of chaotic weather convinces them that spring has arrived. After seeing primroses in Sussex, daffodils in Devon, crab apples in Nottingham and wild strawberries in Cardiff, gardeners probably suspected that bluebells and snowdrops would not be waiting for February to bloom. They were right.

Confused by the warmest April on record, a cold, wet summer and a mild autumn, many plants are flowering early. The Royal Botanical Gardens in Kew, which monitors 100 plant species, said at least three quarters were appearing earlier each year. "This year we have lilacs, which are supposed to flower in May, coming into life in November. Our camellias, another spring flower, have also already bloomed," said spokesman Nigel Taylor.

Unseasonal blooms are extremely vulnerable to the hard frosts. "Last year our horse chestnuts came into life too soon and resulting damage meant the buds didn't grow back, come spring the branches were bare," said Mr Taylor. Guy Barter, of the Royal Horticultural Society, said many plants could waste their chance to pollinate by blooming out of season.

"What is really exercising people though is whether this will happen in the wild flower species. Bluebells in particular are timed to flower in synch with the arrival of trees leafing overhead and providing shelter. If they start coming in without that shelter, the plants will die without spreading their pollen." According to the UK Phenology Network, which monitors the annual patterns of wildlife, some species could vanish over the next few decades as Britain increasingly takes on a Mediterranean climate.

Taxpayer support for Northern Rock rose to an eye-watering £55billion yesterday as Alistair Darling announced plans for new bank rescue laws. Another day of confusion about the fate of the stricken lender saw the Government nearly double the amount it has thrown at the crisis. More than £15billion in additional protection was offered to cover the bank's liabilities, on top of £25billion in loans from the Bank of England and the Government guarantee for the Rock's remaining deposits - estimated at about £10billion.

Treasury sources said it was difficult to put a precise figure on the total potential liability, but said it was more than £50billion - the equivalent of the education budget.

The basic problem lies in the inability of Flemings and Walloons to agree on the division of powers within the country, and over recent years Flemish opinion has hardened against their Francophone compatriots and against the Belgian state generally.

The Walloons are generally hostile to any further decentralisation of power because they are big recipients of federal money. They fear that if the regions (i.e., in effect, Flanders) have fiscal autonomy, autonomy over corporate tax, employment policy and family policy, then the country will have, in effect, split into two. The sticking point with the New Flemish Alliance is the social security budget, which the Flemings want to regionalise. This would put an immediate end to the massive gravy train which is the Belgian state and Wallonia would lose out heavily.

In the meantime, the caretaker Belgian government (composed of the same ministers who ran the previous government) has signed the EU Reform Treaty (the replacement for the defunct Constitution) even though the Belgian constitution forbids a caretaker government from signing any new international agreements while it is in office.

It is one of five central banks that have injected billions in emergency cash into money markets. The aim is to cut the cost of lending between retail and commercial banks, which has jumped in the past few weeks. All banks with enough collateral, and which submitted bids of at least 4.21%, received funds from the ECB.

The ECB move - making the extra cash available over the next two weeks -will ease fears of a credit meltdown over the Christmas period, when banks need extra cash.

On Monday, the US Federal Reserve made $20bn available through auction, though it did not say how many banks took advantage of the extra money. And on Tuesday the Bank of England is set to lend more than another £10bn in funds. As well as the Bank of England, the Fed, and the European Central Bank, the national banks of Canada and Switzerland are also involved in the funding plan.

But some analysts say that until the banks reveal the true scale of their potential losses, the central banks will be unable to do much to ease the credit crunch.

The Hittites of Anatolia, whose empire stretched from northern Turkey into Iraq and Syria, were famed for their lethal chariots and skill with horses. In the Biblical book of Genesis, the Hittites are named as the descendants of Ham, through his son, Canaan. They are described as a great power who dwell "in the mountains".

Now Dr Siro Trevisanato, a molecular biochemist, has claimed that many of the Hittites' glorious victories were down to their use of infected sheep, which they would slyly introduce into cities they wanted to conquer. "There is no doubt that these were the first weapons of mass destruction," he said. "They were waging bioterrorism".

The sheep carried tularemia, also known as rabbit fever, a devastating bacterial disease that is a potential threat even today, since there is no known vaccine. The disease can pass from animals to humans, causing enormous skin ulcers and respiratory failure. Without antibiotic treatment, around 15 per cent of its victims die.

The method of attack was simple. The Hittites would leave the sheep outside the targeted city. Locals would bring them in and either breed them or eat them, spreading the disease. However, Dr Trevisanato noted, the Hittites paid a high price for their tactics. An epidemic of the disease weakened their ranks a few years after the Symra attack.

What's it like aboard the "Booze Bus" on one of the busiest party nights of the year? Over the course of a 12-hour shift on Friday night, the three colleagues on the Alternative Response Vehicle - or Booze Bus, as it's more commonly known - draw on their reserves of composure, ingenuity and stoicism to treat more than 20 dazed drunks.

At St Thomas' Hospital, where some of these patients are taken, a visibly-frustrated doctor speaks despairingly of dealing with a tide of alcohol-related problems, instead of people who are seriously ill. "Everyone I've treated tonight has been drunk - this is ridiculous," he says. One drunk patient had assaulted him, he says, and the waiting room was full of people being sick or aggressive.

"Twenty-four hour drinking has made a huge, huge difference. The problem is that staff are dealing with people who are drunk and don't know what they're doing," he says. He adds: "I don't know what's happening to society as a whole. It's scary - it's not just the kids. It's also adults. People in their 40s and 50s who you would think know better.

Paul Morro of the Congressional Research Service reports that, in 2006, the European Union and its member states gave US$815 million to the Palestinian Authority, while the United States sent it $468 million. When other donors are included, the total receipts come to about $1.5 billion. One report suggests the European Union has funnelled nearly $2.5 billion to the Palestinians this year.

Looking ahead, Abbas announced a goal to collect pledges of $5.8 billion in aid for a three-year period, 2008-10, at the "Donors' Conference for the Palestinian Authority" attended by over ninety states on Monday in Paris. (USING THE BEST POPULATION ESTIMATE OF 1.35 MILLION PALESTINIANS ON THE WEST BANK, THIS COMES TO A STAGGERING AMOUNT OF MONEY: PER CAPITA, OVER $1,400 PER YEAR, OR ABOUT WHAT AN EGYPTIAN EARNS ANNUALLY.) Endorsed by the Israeli government, Abbas immediately raised nearly that amount for 2008 at the donors' conference. Well, it's a bargain if it works, right? A few billion to end a dangerous, century-old conflict - it's actually a steal.

But innovative research by Steven Stotsky, a research analyst for the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA) finds that an influx of money to the Palestinians has had the opposite effect historically. Relying on World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and other official statistics, Stotsky compares two figures since 1999: budgetary support aid provided annually to the Palestinian Authority and the number of Palestinian homicides annually (including both criminal and terrorist activities, and both Israeli and Palestinian victims). GRAPHED TOGETHER, THE TWO FIGURES SHOW AN UNCANNY ECHO.

In brief, each $1.25 million or so of budgetary support aid translates into a death within the year. As Stotsky notes, "These statistics do not mean that foreign aid causes violence; but they do raise questions about the effectiveness of using foreign donations to promote moderation and combat terrorism."

A topsy-turvy understanding of war economics has prevailed in Israel since the Oslo negotiations began in 1993. Rather than deprive their Palestinian enemies of resources, Israelis have been following Shimon Peres's mystical musings, and especially his 1993 tome, The New Middle East, to empower them economically. As I wrote in 2001, this "IS TANTAMOUNT TO SENDING THE ENEMY RESOURCES WHILE FIGHTING IS STILL UNDER WAY - NOT A HUGELY BRIGHT IDEA."

Rather than further funding Palestinian bellicosity, Western states, starting with Israel, should cut off all funds to the Palestinian Authority.

Every year in late December, the ministers meet for a marathon session to decide the following year's fishing quotas. The European Commission typically points to scientific evidence showing a collapse in key catches, and suggests that quotas should be slashed across the board. And just as predictably, individual governments within the E.U. ignore these proposals, and raise the quotas - usually around 50% higher.

It is, conservationists say, a policy to fish Europe out of business. "Mocking scientific advice has become standard practice in the decisions made by the European fisheries ministers," says World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Fisheries Policy Officer Carol Phua.

The Commission - using figures from the Denmark-based International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) - has suggested there should be a 25% cut in cod catches for most E.U. waters. Other recommendations include a 32% cut in blue whiting, a 15% cut in North Sea plaice and sole, a 41% cut in North Sea herring, and a full closure of the Bay of Biscay for anchovy fishing.

But when E.U. ministers meet to thrash out the quotas, concerns about the survival of stocks comes in conflict with sustaining the livelihoods of Europe's fishermen. Although the fishing community has seen its own numbers shrink drastically in recent years, its efficiency has improved dramatically thanks to innovations like sonar, trawler freezers, and driftnets up to 1.5 miles (2.5km) wide. The result has been a vacuuming of fish across the seas and a collapse of key stocks.

But these quotas have also upset the irascible fishing community, which claims talk of dwindling stocks is exaggerated. In France, trawlermen have gone on strike to protest rising fuel costs, which have cut further into their profit margins. And at the annual fish quota sessions in Brussels, E.U. governments have shown themselves more responsive to the grumbles of their fishermen than the broader concerns about the state of marine resources.

Critics warn that the E.U. could follow Canada, whose fishing industry was ravaged in the early 1990s when Atlantic cod stocks were wiped out as a result of overfishing. If that happens, it would be a sad indictment for Europe, and a triumph of national selfishness over conservation.

But Amity focuses on one title ? the Bible ? and primarily one market, China. It is the largest printer of Christian literature in the officially atheist country, where freedom of religion remains weak; up until 1979, when Deng Xiaoping began undoing the social strictures of the Mao Zedong era, the mere possession of a Bible could get a person into serious trouble.

Amity has churned out 41 million Bibles for Chinese believers at its plant outside the southern city of Nanjing, including more than 3 million copies last year. (About nine million copies have been exported to Africa, other parts of Asia and Central Europe.) For a country whose religious oppression tends to make more international headlines than its exhibitions of tolerance, that stands as a significant achievement. But it also highlights the gap between China's officially sanctioned churches and the illegal "house" churches that exist outside the limited sphere of religious freedom in China.

Demand has grown to the point that the foundation plans to open a new, 515,000-square-foot (48,000 sq. m.) printing plant next year, which will allow Amity to turn out more than a million books a month. It's thought to be one of the largest Bible production facilities in the world.

Since 1997, 1.5 million foreign workers have entered the British workplace, with many of these arriving from Eastern Europe in just the past three years, according to a report by the influential economic analysts, the Ernst & Young ITEM Club.

During the same three years, the number of unemployed British 18 to 24 year olds has increased by 100,000. The report says: "There is some evidence that the growth of immigrant employment seen in the last few years may have come at the expense of the domestic workforce. Given the age and skill profile of many of the new immigrants, it is possible that 'native' youngsters may have been losing out in the battle for entry-level jobs."

In a year-end report waiting to cut the cable, HSBC predicts the pound will plummet to $1.76 against the dollar over the next 15 months. "Sterling's outlook for 2008 is about to take a significant turn for the worse. Trade data shows that the UK is becoming increasingly uncompetitive in the international arena," said David Bloom, the bank's chief currency strategist.

Sterling reached a quarter-century high of $2.11 in October on dollar woes, but has since dropped back to under $2.02.

HSBC said financial earnings and large profits from the oil sector helped keep the British economy afloat over recent years and shield it from the consequences of a gaping trade deficit, now roughly 6pc of GDP. Both are now in doubt after the credit crunch.