The "constitutional concept is abandoned", says a paper circulated by Germany, which will chair the summit.
The paper makes several concessions to EU member states opposed to key parts of the failed constitution.
But Poland and the UK are still warning they could use their vetoes if they do not get their way on a new treaty.

Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski said a veto remained "highly likely" while UK Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said no deal was better than a bad deal. Mrs Beckett told Parliament: "If it comes down to deal or no deal at this European Council the UK government is clear no deal is better than buying any old pig in a poke." She added that Britain wanted a Europe "of sovereign nations, not a superstate".

Despite his warnings of a possible veto, Mr Kaczynski hinted Poland could drop its opposition if it guaranteed a strong voice in EU decision-making. "We realise we cannot stop the process [of reform] - that would be too risky for the future," Mr Kaczynski told Reuters news agency. He said there was a 50-50 chance of the summit ending in agreement.

Under the latest German proposals, Britain gets reassurances that the European Courts will have no power to examine foreign affairs policies. And at the request of the Dutch, the draft gives more power to national parliaments to block EU laws.

The warning - which began at 3 p.m. and is supposed to run through 8 a.m. Thursday - prompted Los Angeles County Fire Department firefighters to deploy extra personnel, firetrucks, bulldozers and water tenders to stations near dry hillsides including sites in Santa Clarita, Saugus and Malibu. The deployments were expected to continue through Thursday as temperatures are expected to reach into the high 90s.

Stuart Seto, a weather specialist with the National Weather Service said the weather definitely bodes poorly for fire season, adding, "These are the conditions we don't normally expect until early September." Since so little rain has fallen in Southern California, plant growth has been minimal, Hurd said. This means fires have less new fuel - but it's drier. Firefighters across the state have been beefing up staffing levels and prevention efforts at the close of the driest weather season in history. Since July, Los Angeles has received just 3.21 inches of rain.

Firefighters have recorded a huge jump in wildfires this year - 2,100 blazes, compared with 296 from January to June last year. One last month burned up nearly 1,000 acres in Griffith Park.

Carter, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate who was addressing a conference of Irish human rights officials, said the Bush administration's refusal to accept the 2006 election victory of Hamas was "criminal." Carter said Hamas, besides winning a fair and democratic mandate that should have entitled it to lead the Palestinian government, had proven itself to be far more organized in its political and military showdowns with the Fatah movement of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.

During his speech to Ireland's eighth annual Forum on Human Rights, the 83-year-old former president said monitors from his Carter Center observed the 2006 election in which Hamas won 42 percent of the popular vote and a majority of parliamentary seats. Carter said that election was "orderly and fair" and Hamas triumphed, in part, because it was "shrewd in selecting candidates," whereas a divided, corrupt Fatah ran multiple candidates for single seats.

Far from encouraging Hamas's move into parliamentary politics, Carter said the US and Israel, with European Union acquiescence, has sought to subvert the outcome by shunning Hamas and helping Abbas to keep the reins of political and military power.

"That action was criminal," he said in a news conference after his speech. "This effort to divide Palestinians into two peoples now is a step in the wrong direction," he said. "All efforts of the international community should be to reconcile the two, but there's no effort from the outside to bring the two together."

Carter was pessimistic this would happen soon."I don't see at this point any possibility that public officials in the United States, or in Israel, or the European Union are going to take action to bring about reconciliation," he said.

Schwarzenegger promised to meet Blair in London after the prime minister traveled to Long Beach last summer to announce a trans-Atlantic alliance to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.Environmental groups have called the trans-Atlantic alliance between Schwarzenegger and Blair largely symbolic. It calls for collaboration on research into cleaner-burning fuels and into the possibility of setting up a system for companies to buy and sell credits so they can continue releasing greenhouse gases.

Critics say such a plan could dilute California's goal of reducing such emissions 25 percent by 2020.
Schwarzenegger has since signed similar agreements with Australia and a province in Canada. The governor plans to return to Britain in the fall to speak to the country's Conservative Party, which recently replaced its traditional red, white and blue torch logo with an environmentally friendly green tree.

He said there was no point blaming China for rising global CO2 emissions. Rich nations had to set an example of low-carbon development for China to follow, Mr Ashton told the BBC. His statement came as a Dutch think tank reported that China had already overtaken the US as the world's biggest emitter of CO2.

The Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency said China's CO2 emissions had risen by 9% last year, compared to 1.4% in the US. He pointed out that much of China's emissions growth was being driven by consumers in the West buying Chinese goods, and noted that China's emissions per person were still well below those of rich nations.

It is estimated that the average American still pollutes between five and six times more than the average Chinese person.

What they found makes uncomfortable reading for those who thought they understood the basics of biology, but it does provide tantalising hints of new ways to fight disease.

This, the most detailed study of DNA, is a landmark in genetics research, for the more scientists understand the details of how our bodies work, the easier it will be to fix them when they go wrong.
The analysis was led by Dr Ewan Birney, a computer scientist at the European Bioinformatics Institute, near Cambridge, who said the work "poses some interesting mechanistic questions". IN LAYMAN'S LANGUAGE, THIS IS AN ADMISSION THAT BOFFINS ARE BAFFLED.

Indeed, Dr Birney said scientists might even have TO REVISE WHAT THEY MEAN BY THE TERM "GENE". "It is really challenging our dogmas," he said.

The most striking finding is that much of the "junk" DNA is not rubbish but crucial for staying alive. Instead of finding that just 1.5 per cent of the genome is critical in cells, most of it appears to be active. Using a computer metaphor, junk DNA seems to be the cell's "operating system" running the genes.

This could have major implications for the use of animals in research, said Dr Birney. "It means, for example, THAT HOW THE KIDNEYS WORK IN MICE AND HUMANS IS NOT THE SAME - not all of those bits of biology will use the same DNA; that is, remain the same between different mammals."

IN OTHER WORDS, LAB MICE MAY DIFFER IN SOME RESPECTS FROM US, WHICH IS A MAJOR SHIFT FROM THE CURRENT POSITION THAT, AT THE GENETIC LEVEL, WE ARE PRETTY MUCH BIG, TAILLESS RODENTS.

To reveal more secrets, the team now plans to finish the job with another £50 million. After four more years, they will probably prove the first law of biology: LIFE IS ALWAYS MORE COMPLICATED THAN YOU THINK.

Full article:- http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2007/06/19/scigenome119.xml&page=1

"When the Americans say that military action in regard to the nuclear issue has not been put aside, Iran can also say that it will not put aside oil as a tool," Iran's OPEC governor, Hossein Kazempour Ardebili, told Iran's Sharq newspaper.

Washington says it wants a diplomatic end to a row over Iran's nuclear ambitions but has not ruled out force if that route fails. Iranian officials say they do not want to use oil as a weapon but have also said they might do so if pushed.

Asked what would be the impact if Iran stopped its oil exports, Kazempour Ardebili said: "Definitely the market will be faced with a new shock and oil prices will increase strongly."He added that prices would climb above $100 a barrel. Although Iran is OPEC's No. 2 oil producer, it has to import about 40 percent of its domestic gasoline needs to meet domestic demand for fuel because it lacks refining capacity.

The water on Lake Superior is so low that he couldn't put his docks in the water this year. Where he used to see water, he now sees sandbars. Lake Superior, the world's largest freshwater lake, has dropped to its lowest level in 81 years. The water is 20 inches below average and a foot lower than just a year ago. The dropping levels have had serious environmental and economic consequences. Wetlands have dried up. Power plants run at half capacity. Cargo ships carry partial loads. Boaters struggle to find a place to dock.

The changes can be seen all along the 2,800-mile shore of Lake Superior, the coldest and deepest of the Great Lakes. The water has receded, sometimes 50 feet or more, from its normal shoreline.Lake Huron and Lake Michigan are at low levels, as well, although not quite as extreme.

A drought and warm weather are the immediate cause of the drop in water levels. In the past year, precipitation was 6 inches less than the average of 31 inches. The lake's southern shore had a green Christmas in 2006. The ice and snow pack that usually cover the lake arrived late, allowing water to evaporate. The Edison Sault Electric power plant in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., will operate at less than 50% capacity this year because its water flows have been slashed as a result of the low lake levels, the company said. That pushed the company to buy high-cost power elsewhere and increase rates.

Cargo ships run partly empty, especially those that carry heavy materials such as coal and iron ore. On a recent trip, the 1,004-foot freighter James R. Barker had to leave 7,000 tons of coal behind, so the boat would draft 26 feet under water, instead of 29 feet.

Away from shore, Lake Superior is doing fine. A 19-inch drop doesn't make a big difference in a lake that is 1,330 feet at its deepest. The fishing has never been better. Alexander says he's catching huge amounts of trout and whitefish. For now, he's waiting, like everyone else, for the water to rise. "It seemed normal last October," Shalifor says. "Then it dropped and never came back."

Eighteen years after the Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa calling on Muslims to kill him, A GOVERNMENT MINISTER IN PAKISTAN SAID YESTERDAY THAT RUSHDIE'S RECENT KNIGHTHOOD JUSTIFIED SUICIDE BOMBING.

The question of blasphemy in The Satanic Verses, Rushdie's 1988 tale of a prophet misled by the devil, remains a deeply sensitive issue in much of the Muslim world and the author's inclusion in the Queen's Birthday Honours last week has inflamed anti-British sentiment.

Gerald Butt, editor of the authoritative Middle East Economic Survey, told The Times: "It will be interpreted as an action calculated to goad Muslims at a time when the atmosphere is already very tense and Britain's standing in the region is very low because of its involvement in Iraq and its lack of action in tackling the Palestine issue."

The Organisation to Commemorate Martyrs of the Muslim World, a fringe hardline group, offered a reward of $150,000 (£75,000) to any successful assassin. Forouz Rajaefar, the group's secretary general, said: "The British and the supporters of the anti-Islam Salman Rushdie could rest assured that the writer's nightmare will not end until the moment of his death and we will bestow kisses on the hands of whomsoever is able to execute this apostate.

Ijaz-ul-Haq, the Religious Affairs Minister, told the assembly in Islamabad that the award of the knighthood excused suicide bombing. "If somebody has to attack by strapping bombs to his body to protect the honour of the Prophet then it is justified," he said.

On Valentine's Day in 1989 the spiritual figurehead of the Iranian revolution pronounced on Teheran radio that:
"The author of The Satanic Verses, which is against Islam, the Prophet, the Koran, and all those involved in its publication who were aware of its content, are sentenced to death."

In Britain, the subsequent hate campaign helped to politicise and radicalise a generation of young British Muslims. The taxpayer is believed to have spent more than £10 million protecting Rushdie.

"I expect our Christian neighbors to understand the new Hamas rule means real changes. They must be ready for Islamic rule if they want to live in peace in Gaza," said Sheik Abu Saqer, leader of Jihadia Salafiya, an Islamic outreach movement that recently announced the opening of a "military wing" to enforce Muslim law in Gaza.

"Jihadia Salafiya and other Islamic movements will ensure Christian schools and institutions show publicly what they are teaching to be sure they are not carrying out missionary activity. No more alcohol on the streets. All women, including non-Muslims, need to understand they must be covered at all times while in public," Abu Asqer told WND.

"Also the activities of Internet cafes, pool halls and bars must be stopped," he said. "If it goes on, we'll attack these things very harshly." A Hamas-run council in the West Bank came under international criticism last year when it barred an open-air music and dance festival, declaring it was against Islam.

In response to the uproar, Hamas chief in Gaza and former foreign minister Mahmoud al-Zahar told WND in a recent interview: "I hardly understand the point of view of the West concerning these issues. The West brought ALL THIS FREEDOM to its people but it is that freedom that HAS BROUGHT ABOUT THE DEATH OF MORALITY IN THE WEST. It's what led to phenomena like homosexuality, homelessness and AIDS."

"It is wrong to think that in our Islamic society there is a lack of rights for women. Women enjoy their rights. What we have, unlike the West, is that young women cannot be with men and have relations outside marriage. Sometimes with tens of men. This causes the destruction of the family institution and the fact that many kids come to the world without knowing who are their fathers or who are their mothers. This is not a modern and progressed society," al-Zahar explained.

The terror chieftain told WND the West can learn from his group's Islamic values. "Here I refer to what was said in the early '90s by BRITAIN'S PRINCE CHARLES at Oxford University. He spoke about Islam and its important role in morality and culture. HE SAID THE WEST MUST LEARN FROM ISLAM HOW TO BRING UP CHILDREN PROPERLY AND TO TEACH THEM THE RIGHT VALUES."

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice promised "full assistance" to the Palestinian Authority and emergency humanitarian aid to Gaza via the UN. The EU is assessing ways of resuming direct aid, while Israel said the new cabinet was a "genuine partner". Mr Abbas sacked the previous government after Hamas seized control of Gaza.

Speaking in Washington, Ms Rice congratulated Mr Abbas' choice as Palestinian Prime Minister, Salam Fayyad. As a result of his appointment, she said, the US would resume diplomatic contacts with the Palestinians, suspended since Hamas came to power after winning elections in January 2006. She criticised Hamas, which she said had tried to impose an extremist agenda on the Palestinian people.

Earlier, in a 15-minute phone call with President George W Bush, Mr Abbas said the time was now right to push for new peace talks. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who is to meet Mr Bush in Washington on Tuesday, said he considered the new Palestinian government a "genuine partner". And speaking at an EU meeting in Luxembourg, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni confirmed that up to $800m (£400m) of frozen tax revenues held by Israel would now be transferred to the Palestinian Authority.

Reserves in the Mahogany exploration well were far greater than the 250 million barrels than the firm had earlier forecast, it said.

"Based on evidence to date, ultimate reserves are likely to be materially in excess of previous estimates, with some high potential zones still to be drilled," said Tullow chief executive Aidan Heavey. He said it was one of the biggest oil discoveries in Africa in recent times, but warned it could be up to seven years before the oil started to flow.

Ghana's President John Kufuor told the BBC that the discovery would give a major boost to Ghana's economy.
"Oil is money, and we need money to do the schools, the roads, the hospitals. If you find oil, you manage it well, can you complain about that?

It began building a "Green Great Wall", a 700-km (435 mile) barrier of trees and enclosed grassland which will stretch across Inner Mongolia, Hebei and Shanxi provinces by 2010. Desertification is no longer just a problem for China and the thick yellow dust of the sand storms now reaches as far as South Korea, Japan and at times even the United States and Canada.

Fuquan is in Duolun county, some 350 km north of central Beijing and close to the site of 13th century Mongol Emperor Kublai Khan's summer place Xanadu. By 2000, overgrazing, deforestation, wind erosion and drought meant nearly 90 percent of Duolun county was affected by desertification.

Since then, 2.63 million trees have been planted, farmers have been forced to switch from wheat to grass production and all grazing has been banned in the worst affected areas. In other parts of his county, better soil conditions have enabled the planting of apricot trees, but it is mostly poplars that now populate an area with 385 mm of annual rainfall.

"The trees we have planted, poplars, can grow very well in these conditions," he said. "There has been no situation where trees have died in the drought. This is not like the Gobi desert where if there is no irrigation, the trees will die." Zhang said the battle was not won but THE FIRST GOAL OF STOPPING THE DESERT MOVING SOUTH HAD BEEN ACHIEVED.

"As far as I know, the encroaching situation has been curbed," he said. "Desertification has been going on since the 1970s. The project only began in 2000. It takes a long time to prevent and control the sand fully. We have a long way to go."

Archbishop Chrysostomos II of Cyprus promised the pope to sound out Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexy II about prospects for a groundbreaking meeting between the two.Chrysostomos told reporters that he would pursue his offer to help organize a possible meeting when he meets with Alexy, at the patriarch's invitation, on July 13 in Moscow.

Chrysostomos said Benedict's background as a theologian with a good grasp of Orthodox theology would help the process of reuniting the two churches, which split nearly 1,000 years ago. Despite "centuries-old divisions, diverging roads and despite the hard work of closing painful wounds, the Lord has never ceased to guide our steps on the path toward unity and reconciliation," Benedict said at a ceremony after the two men held private talks for more than 30 minutes.

Both men also had a two-hour lunch together. In a joint signed statement, they pledged to "intensify the search for full unity among all Christians." Benedict described the archbishop's visit as a "very useful initiative to make us progress toward the unity desired by Christ."

Scientists from the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory have been monitoring the situation closely since the swarm of earthquakes began around 2:15 a.m. As of 4:30 a.m., nearby residents felt the rumble with 10 of the earthquakes reaching a magnitude greater than 3.

"We're on alert," said Mardie Lane, park ranger for Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. "This is definitely something new and intriguing. We're all just watching."The biggest earthquake was 4.0 - enough to shock nearby residents but not large enough to trigger a tsunami warning", said Barry Hirshon, geophysicist with the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.