The disaster declaration makes portions of El Dorado County eligible for immediate state aid, and is the first step in requesting emergency federal assistance to fight the blaze, which rained ash on the pristine lake and darkened skies in the high Sierra.

"The circumstances of this wildfire, by reason of their magnitude, are beyond the control of the services, personnel, equipment and facilities of any single county," said Lt. Gov. John Garamendi, who signed the proclamation declaring the emergency Monday

The number of firefighters battling the blaze nearly doubled, to about 800, on Monday morning, as officials also stepped up an aerial assault, using nearly a dozen tankers and helicopters to drop water and retardant over the heavily wooded, parched terrain.

Last week, I was invited back to see how the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) in Aldermaston, Berkshire, could design and build the next generation of British nukes. A £180 million laser facility called Orion is part of a £1 billion, three-year refurbishment programme that will run until 2008, with the same again to be spent on running costs.

The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty in 1996, which ruled that Britain could no longer carry out nuclear testing in the Nevada desert, seemed to signal the end of the development of nuclear weapons technology. Not so, according to Dr Brian Bowsher, Aldermaston's director of research and applied science. Using supercomputers, bomb makers are able to detonate virtual 3D nuclear explosions using complex mathematical modelling, data from non-nuclear laboratory tests, information gathered from the 45 British nuclear tests between 1952 and 1992, and the ultra-high temperatures and pressures which will be generated by Orion's lasers.

When Orion's lasers are fired, a millimetre-sized target will be bombarded with laser light from 10 angles. Almost simultaneously, two other laser beams will fire shorter pulses, heating the sample to up to 10 million degrees, and compressing it to 100 times the density of water.

AWE has also invested in a £20 million Cray XT3 "Redwood" supercomputer, which provides the power of six billion people doing 7,000 calculations a second. With it, virtual nuclear weapons can be endlessly detonated to test and hone designs.

After bidding the Dr Strangeloves goodbye, I was struck by the surreal picture emerging in Aldermaston; one of enthusiastic young boffins who want to build a weapon of mass destruction that is kinder to our planet: a green nuke.

As a result, the perpetrator was handed two concurrent 18-month sentences for his abuse. Anyone who doesn't have soup for brains would join the condemnation of the ruling. The poor girl, whom the judge referred to as a "young woman", has been let down by the law. But what about her guardians? She has been in the care of a local authority since she was four. Did those professionals in charge of her upbringing believe that it was ok to let her go out wearing a thong and a frilly bra?

G-strings, cropped tops and high heels should definitely be on the What Not To Wear list for pre-teen girls. However, since the advent of the so-called tweenager, it has become acceptable to dress children as miniature adults. Little boys wear camouflage cargo pants; girls wear sparkly lip-gloss and show lots of flesh. Even at Clarks, the trusted sensible shoe shop of my own childhood, it is depressing to survey the racks of high-heeled shoes aimed at my two small daughters.

And to play with, we give them Bratz dolls. They're the ones that look like Barbie's slutty big sister - all lipstick and pelmet skirts - and are a favourite with five-year-olds. We are told, pretty much weekly, by surveys and think tanks, that our children are unhappy with their bodies and that it leads to low self-esteem and depression. They turn into fat teenagers or anorexic teenagers: either way, something must be done. Why, then, are we steering our children towards body consciousness at such a young age? Why do we put three-year-olds in mini skirts and babies in bikinis, and tell them they look adorable?

In France, children dress like children until they are grown-ups. Little girls don't wear T-shirts with "So Many Boys, So Little Time" on them. French girls wear sensible, Grayson Perry-style trapeze dresses until they are allowed to graduate to jeans, and polo shirts.

Meanwhile, despite my best efforts, my primary school daughter is campaigning for a bikini, which, as far as I can make out, is standard beachwear for six-year-olds.

Two-thirds of lesbian and gay pupils have experienced homophobic bullying, ranging from verbal abuse to violence and even death threats, the survey by equality organisation Stonewall found. And some pupils even claimed their teachers joined in with the abuse.

At least three people were killed in the severe storms that brought devastation to large parts of England. One man died after he wastrapped in a drain in Hull, while a 68-year-old man was killed while trying to cross a flooded road in Sheffield. Last night, police searching for a teenager who fell into the Sheaf river in Sheffield said they had found the body of a young man.

A tornado swept through Wellington in Shropshire, highlighting the " amount of energy in the rainclouds", the Met Office said. With much of England and Wales having received twice the average monthly rainfall for June, rivers were running dangerously high.

In South Yorkshire, motorists abandoned vehicles as roads flooded and police reported grid-locked traffic in Sheffield, where hundreds of people were left stranded in buildings. Twenty people were airlifted to safety from one building, while three were rescued from the roof of a building next to two that had collapsed. Another 200 were stranded on the first-floor canteen of a Royal Mail distribution centre.

Met Office spokesman said: "The rest of the week should be fairly dry but the outlook is still unsettled." With much of the country suffering, the British Chamber of Commerce said that the disruption could cost up to £400m.

GERMAN CHANCELLOR ANGELA MERKEL
"The fundamentals of the Constitution have been maintained in large part - We have renounced everything that makes people think of a state, like the flag and the national anthem. El Pais (25 June)

GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER FRANK-WALTER STEINMEIER
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said that the mandate approved by the EU will "PRESERVE THE SUBSTANCE OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL TREATY". Agence Europe (25 June)

SPANISH PRIME MINISTER JOSE ZAPATERO
"A great part of the content of the European Constitution is captured in the new treaties", Zapatero said. "Everyone has conceded a little so that we all gain a lot", added Zapatero. El Pais (25 June)

IRISH TAOISEACH BERTIE AHERN
"Given the fact that there was strong legal advice that the draft constitution in 2004 would require a referendum in Ireland, and given the fact that these changes haven't made any dramatic change to the substance of what was agreed back in 2004, I think it is likely that a referendum will be held - thankfully they haven't changed the substance - 90 PER CENT OF IT IS STILL THERE."

On the change of name for the EU Foreign Minister he said: "It's the original job as proposed but they just put on this long title - High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and also vice President of the Commission. It's the same job - it's still going to be the same position." Irish Independent (24 June)

DANISH PM ANDERS FOGH RASMUSSEN
Danish PM Anders Fogh Rasmussen: "The good thing is- that all the symbolic elements are gone, and that which really matters - THE CORE - IS LEFT." Jyllands-Posten (25 June)

FINLAND'S EUROPE MINISTER
Finland's Europe Minister Astrid Thors: "There's NOTHING FROM THE ORIGINAL INSTITUTIONAL PACKAGE THAT HAS BEEN CHANGED" TV-Nytt, (23 June)

FRENCH PRESIDENT NICOLAS SARKOZY
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has claimed victory, saying, "This was France's idea from the start." Libération (25 June)

At the Paris Air Show Sarkozy also said that Britain keeping the pound amounted to unfair competition. He said other countries, "I can't go on imposing social, environmental, fiscal and monetary dumping' on Europe. I ask that we do with the euro with the US does with the dollar or even what our English friends do with the pound." CNBC (24 June)

Sarkozy also dismissed the change of the EU Foreign Minister's name as of no significance. "What does it matter what we call him?" Telegraph (24 June)

COMMISSION PRESIDENT JOSE BARROSO
Barroso said he was happy that his son was studying law, because under the new treaty: "lawyers have a beautiful future" Süddeutsche Zeitung (25 June)

But Olmert cautioned, in a speech in Jerusalem, against expectations of any breakthrough at the four-way meeting which Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Jordan's King Abdullah will also attend in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Ahead of the summit, Israeli officials said Israel was reluctant to remove roadblocks and other West Bank restrictions to boost Abbas's new government, shorn of Hamas Islamists, until he did more to curb militants.
"This is the thrust of this evening's meetings and I hope that it will help project that spirit across the entire Middle East in order to move forward," he said.

"Where we can be flexible, where we can show a degree of generosity, where we can establish an environment of goodwill, there, I think, we should do it. And this is the true basis upon which we will move forward in the near future." Olmert said.

Olmert was expected at the summit -- the first since Hamas routed Abbas's Fatah forces in Gaza more than a week ago -- to outline some of the measures he would be prepared to take to bolster a leader whom Israeli officials have called ineffective.

"The important thing for President Abbas is to revive the peace process and the political negotiations in order to end the Israeli occupation and establish a Palestinian state," senior Abbas aide Saeb Erekat said in Sharm el-Sheikh.

Sheriff's Lt. Kevin House said the fire is less than 5 percent contained and has more than 500 homes in its path, but no injuries or deaths have been reported. The cause of the fire is still unknown. "This thing is raging out of control, and there's no estimate as to when that may change," House said. The El Dorado County Board of Supervisors has issued a declaration of emergency, House said.

Kit Bailey, the agency's fire chief for Lake Tahoe, said high winds hampered the battle against the fast-moving about five miles south of the lake. The Angora Lakes Resort and hundreds of homes in Meyers were evacuated, authorities said. The fire, believed to be caused by human activity, was reported Sunday afternoon on Forest Service land. Its huge smoke plume could be seen for miles.

State and federal fire officials had warned of a potentially active wildfire season in the Sierra Nevada following an unusually dry winter. The annual May 1 snow survey found the Tahoe-area snowpack at just 29 percent of normal levels, the lowest since 1988.

Meanwhile, in Alaska, crews worked to protect hundreds of homes tucked in the hills of the scenic Kenai Peninsula, where a fire has already destroyed dozens of homes and cabins.

It has burgeoned to 81 square miles since Tuesday, consuming 35 far- flung cabins in the Caribou Hills, state fire information officials said. Forty other structures, including sheds and outhouses, were also lost in the popular hunting and snowmobiling area about 80 miles south of Anchorage. The fire threatens another 600 homes and cabins, Hall said.

Much of Pakistan's biggest city, Karachi - where 200 died - is still without power. Forecasters say a cyclone and heavy winds are set to hit most of Pakistan's coast and much of India's west coast. More than 140 have been killed in the rains in India. There have also been a number of deaths in Afghanistan.
Much of Pakistan's biggest city, Karachi - where 200 died - is still without power.

Forecasters say a cyclone and heavy winds are set to hit most of Pakistan's coast and much of India's west coast. Officials in Karachi say that in just one area of the city, Gadap in the north-west, more than 1,000 homes have been destroyed. Gadap, like other areas of the city, is without drinking water. For weeks before the weekend floods, Karachi had been hit hot weather and power cuts, leading to protests and rioting. Sunday saw more riots.

Heavy rains have already caused the deaths of some 140 people in southern and western India. The states of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka have been the worst hit. In Bagalkot, Bijapur and Raichur, the worst affected districts of Karnataka, more than 4,000 people have been left homeless after their villages submerged in flash floods. Eleven relief camps have been opened for the homeless.

Keele University researchers said it showed petty crime was rife among the middle classes and exposed the "law-abiding majority" to be a myth.

Of those who admitted to an offence, nearly two-thirds (62%) had broken the law on up to three occasions and 10% admitted to nine or more offences. The study's author, Professor Suzanna Karstedt, said: "Contempt for the law is as widespread in the centre of society as it is assumed to be rampant at the margins and among specific marginal groups. "ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR BY THE FEW IS MIRRORED BY ANTI-CIVIL BEHAVIOUR BY THE MANY".

"Neither greed nor need can explain why respectable citizens cheat on insurance claims or in second-hand sales, and do not hesitate to discuss their exploits with friends in pubs." The study, of people aged 25 to 65, was published by the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies at King's College, London.

Opened in February 2003 to promote EU development goals, the commission outpost just a few weeks later witnessed one of the biggest anti-opposition crackdowns on the island in years. The row saw the EU impose diplomatic sanctions, with Havana later banning any EU-funded projects from taking place.

Opened in February 2003 to promote EU development goals, the commission outpost just a few weeks later witnessed one of the biggest anti-opposition crackdowns on the island in years. The row saw the EU impose diplomatic sanctions, with Havana later banning any EU-funded projects from taking place.
(Note:- Only nation states had embassies)

"This clear and precise mandate is politically binding to any successor of the leaders that signed it. It is as binding as the EU's CO2 emissions targets we agreed in March. Who would try and go back on those?" The Conservatives have criticised the new deal as it would make it far easier for European leaders to abolish national vetoes in future and consolidate ever more power in Brussels.

Under the deal, they said EU leaders would be able to slip through major changes, including the end of vetoes, by resorting to a "less visible" procedure for creating new EU powers called the "simplified revision procedure". This will allow future EU treaties to be changed by amendment, rather than an entire treaty having to be agreed."

In the Sunday Telegraph Christopher Booker described the agreement as a legal coup d'etat. He points out that "for the first time, the European Council has given an "exclusive mandate" to all the governments involved that they can only be permitted to discuss the treaty the European Council wants. In other words, they are no longer allowed to act as sovereign governments, as the international rules on treaties require, but can only act under the orders given them by the European Council."

The Guardian reports that Johannes Voggenhuber, deputy head of the European Parliament's constitutional committee described Blair as "The real bad guy of the summit" - INSTEAD OF ALLOWING AN OPT-OUT, THE EU SHOULD RATHER ACCEPT THAT THE UK LEAVES THE EUROPEAN PROJECT FOR GOOD."

Green MEP leader Daniel Cohn-Bendit said that the talks were "depressing" and that "Countries such as the UK, the Netherlands or Poland need to- decide whether they want to be in or out of the EU".

"But he has won a lengthy protocol insisting that it cannot be used to challenge UK laws: in effect, it is another opt-out. IT MAY NOT BE LEGALLY ENFORCEABLE, for it discriminates in the application of fundamental rights."

A leading article in the Times questions "whether the language of the opt-out that the United Kingdom has secured from the charter of fundamental rights is robust enough to survive any legal challenge to it. On paper, the words seem to be ringing and this has led the CBI to offer a cautious welcome to what the Prime Minister has negotiated. THE EUROPEAN COURT OF JUSTICE IS NOT, HOWEVER, A SHY AND RETIRING CREATURE NOR DOES IT TAKE KINDLY TO ATTEMPTS BY LEGISLATORS TO INHIBIT ITS AUTHORITY. Gordon Brown may need to ensure even more vigorous terms are imposed on the final treaty to make it acceptable".

Shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague said, "People in Britain will want to know - when Irish voters will decide for themselves on this crucial treaty - why Gordon Brown thinks they do not have the right to their say, even though he promised they would."

Leading articles in the Sunday Times, Sunday Telegraph, Sunday Express, Mail on Sunday, Telegraph, and the News of the World call on Gordon Brown to hold a referendum on the revised Constitutional Treaty. A leader in the Times argues that "a referendum is almost inevitable". Leaders in the Mirror, Guardian and FT all come out against a referendum.

In the Sunday Times former Foreign Secretary Lord Owen has an article titled "we must have a referendum on this treaty". He argues that Tony Blair has had "Six different positions on a referendum in four years. Is it any wonder that disillusion and cynicism have grown in British politics?" He goes on to argue that the Labour party must honour its manifesto commitment to hold a referendum: "It is no good Brown talking about a new form of politics, listening to people and strengthening parliamentary democracy if a manifesto commitment can be torn up in front of people's eyes." In the Express Leo McKinstry demands that "the British public must be given the final say. Any deal must be subject to a referendum. We are, after all, supposed to be living in a democracy."

In the Independent on Sunday Harvard Professor Glyn Morgan criticised Tony Blair for being "undemocratic" for refusing to hold a referendum. He said, "Britain needs a wide-ranging rational debate on its place in Europe; and it needs a referendum to ensure that this debate engages the bulk of the electorate. There is no good reason to believe, whatever current polls might suggest, that the Eurosceptics will win this debate."

In the Times Bronwen Maddox writes, "The 'red lines' that [Blair] defended are scuffed and blurred; it remains to be seen exactly what Britain has secured, and that may emerge only after expensive and unpredictable court cases."

The guarantee Blair had written into the new treaty was a "declaration" and not a "protocol".

A FOREIGN OFFICE AIDE SAID, "THERE IS A MASSIVE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A DECLARATION AND A PROTOCOL. EVERYTHING ELSE IN THE TREATY IS A PROTOCOL, BUT THIS IS JUST A DECLARATION.

T IS A WORTHLESS PROMISE AND NOT LEGALLY BINDING. BRUSSELS WILL GRADUALLY EXPAND ITS ROLE IN SECURITY, DEFENCE AND FOREIGN POLICY"