"Excess liquidity in the global system will be slashed," it said. "Banks' capital is about to be decimated, which will require calling in a swathe of loans. THIS IS GOING TO AGGRAVATE THE US HARD LANDING."

US property writer Paul Muolo described the Bearn Stearns crisis as the "subprime Chernobyl", saying the bank had created a "cone of silence". Abandoned by fellow banks, Bear Stearns has now put up $3.2bn of its own money to rescue one of the funds, a quarter of its capital. This is the biggest bail-out since the Long-Term Capital Management crisis in 1998, which Bear Stearns refused to join at the time. Bear Stearns is now alone, a case of rough justice being served.

The Mortgage Lender Implode-Meter that tracks the US housing markets claims that 86 major lenders have gone bankrupt or shut their doors since the crash began. The latest are Aegis Lending, Oak Street Mortgage and The Mortgage Warehouse. "THERE ISN'T A RECOVERY ABOUT TO HAPPEN," SAID ARA HOVANIAN, HEAD OF THE BUILDING GROUP HOVANIAN ENTERPRISE.

The worst of the US property crisis has yet to hit since there is an overhang of $2,000bn of mortgages with adjustable rates which have yet to be reset. MANY BORROWERS COULD SEE PAYMENTS JUMP BY HALF, OR EVEN DOUBLE. "WITH DEFAULTS AT THEIR HIGHEST IN THE 37 YEARS THAT RECORDS HAVE BEEN KEPT, IT COULD BE A LONG HOT SUMMER," said Mr Dumas.

Statistics show 23.5 per cent of all babies were born by caesarean section in 2005/6, up from 22.9 per cent the year before. Charities have said that they were concerned at the relentless increase which has seen the proportion of babies born by c-sections more than double since 1989. Midwives blamed staff shortages and ward closures brought on by Health Service deficits for the decline in natural births. Experts say a caesarean birth can increase a baby's chance of breathing difficulties, and mothers may find it harder to bond with a child while recovering.

The World Health Organisation has said there is "no justification" for any country having a higher caesarean rate than 10 to 15 per cent. Britain's rate far exceeds this and is higher than much of Europe, although it is lower than Germany, Italy, Spain and the U.S. It is believed to be partly due to the fact that mothers are getting older. Recent figures showed women over 40 were more than twice as likely to have a caesarean section than those under 20.

Experts have pointed to rising rates of obesity - fatter women are more likely to need a caesarean than those of normal weight - and the escalating number of women having multiple births, largely through IVF. The compensation culture may also be to blame. A recent survey indicated that many doctors carry out more caesareans than in the past because of fear of litigation if a natural birth goes wrong.

Fewer than half of all deliveries - 46.7 per cent - were described as "normal", meaning that there was no surgical intervention, use of instruments, induction or anaesthetic. Mary Newburn of the National Childbirth Trust said: "We are concerned to see that the normal birth rate has decreased, despite the Government's 2004 national service framework for children.

It revealed more than 900,000 Britons buy cocaine, which means the country has overtaken Spain as the biggest user in the continent. In addition, Britain's 350,000 heroin users are the largest number in any country in Europe.

The annual survey from the UN's Office on Drugs and Crime said that across most of the world drug abuse is holding steady or is in decline because of successful law and order campaigns to prevent their distribution, sale and consumption. But the falling tide in many countries is leaving Britain exposed as a thriving drugs market where millions remain addicted to or repeat users of illegal substances.

The report found cocaine use had gone up in Britain and added: "In absolute numbers estimates suggest that the UK's cocaine market, some 910,000 people, is even marginally larger than the market in Spain, some 890,000 people." It added "cocaine is now the second most widely used illegal drug in the UK after cannabis".

Families evacuated from these homes in the South Yorkshire village of Catcliffe were wondering last night how on earth their estate was allowed to be built beside land that would normally act as a flood plain. With thousands still cut off in the aftermath of this week's heavy rains, concerns were also growing over the failure to strengthen flood defences across the country.

Meanwhile, a desperate race against time continued last night to shore up a crumbling dam and save three villages from being swamped by 150 million gallons of water. As a massive clean-up operation was underway across much of Britain after severe flooding, one fireman at the scene in South Yorkshire said: "It's very serious, there's a 75 per cent chance it could burst."

The drama unfolded as many parts of the country were mopping up after some regions received a staggering four inches of rain in less than 24 hours - the wettest June day on record. This month is also on course to be the wettest June since ever.

Early rainy season storms in South Asia have killed nearly 400 people since late last week and more bad weather for at least parts of the region was on the way, weather officials said. Up to 60,000 people in the southwestern Pakistani province of Baluchistan were affected by a cyclone that hit on Tuesday, killing at least 10 people. Thirty-five villages were inundated and thousands of people stranded, provincial officials said.

"The situation is out of our hands, it's out of control. The entire town has been inundated and people have taken refuge in tall buildings and trees," Rauf Rind, the mayor of the town of Kach, told Reuters by telephone.

Tropical cyclone Yemyin hit Baluchistan three days after another storm struck Karachi, Pakistan's biggest city, killing about 230 people, many when fierce wind brought down slum houses.

"This is the worst day since the heat wave started with 46 degrees (Celsius; 114.8 Fahrenheit) in two towns," Nikos Kanteres of the Greek meteorological service, said. Seven large brush fires broke out on Monday and today in Greece and hundreds of people were evacuated from threatened homes near the southern city of Pyrgos, 200 miles south-west of Athens.

Fire Chief Andreas Kois said all fires were contained. "We have very high temperatures and this has made conditions difficult ? The good thing is that the winds are not strong." Sicily's capital, Palermo, had reached 42 degrees Celsius (107.6 Fahrenheit) on Monday, but was down to 38 degrees Celsius (100.4 Fahrenheit) on Tuesday morning, the weather service said.

Albania, Romania and Serbia have also been hard hit by the heat. Nineteen people in Romania and seven in Serbia were reported to have died of heat-related causes in this first severe heat-wave of the season. The heat has been blamed for five deaths in Greece. In southern Romania, temperatures reached 40 Degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) on Tuesday. But they were much higher at street level in the capital, Bucharest, due to the overheated asphalt.

A victory for Harry Potter means a victory for Wicca, A RELIGION THAT PRACTICES VARIOUS FORMS OF WITCHCRAFT.

And the acclaimed DVD program, "Harry Potter: Witchcraft Repackaged", dramatically documents Potter references to evolution, reincarnation, sorcery, divination, spells, curses and other occult factors. Wohlberg's new book "Exposing Harry Potter and Witchcraft: The Menace Beneath the Magic," asserts that "HARRY POTTER" PURCHASES ARE OFTEN ACCOMPANIED AT THE SALES COUNTER WITH MATERIALS ON WICCA. Increasing numbers of young readers also frequent Wicca websites, cast "Love and Money Spells," and practice "white magic."

Why the "magical" upswing? One obvious source is right between the lines of Rowling's pages, says Wohlberg. "In the midst of fun and fantasy, J.K. Rowling's 'Harry Potter' novels make witchcraft look 'cool' and exciting," he told WND. "It doesn't matter that these novels are only 'fictitious stories.' Stories are powerful."

"There's a big difference," said Wohlberg, between Harry Potter and other children's fantasy fare. "J.K. ROWLING HAS PUBLICLY ADMITTED THAT AT LEAST 30 PERCENT OF HER NOVELS IS BASED ON REAL OCCULTISM. The 'Harry Potter' novels are a unique blend of fantasy and reality." "They refer to real places, real occultists (Aldabert Waffling and Nicholas Flamel), real practices (astrology, palmistry, fortune-telling, divination), and real occult philosophy. Based on my research, the extent of real occultism embedded into 'children's literature' is unprecedented," he continued.

But while children may be Potter's targets, they're not the only takers. One highly visible adult internet witchcraft school credits Rowling as a promoter of Wicca in a press release, stating, "HARRY POTTER HAS REKINDLED INTEREST IN BELIEFS THAT WERE ALREADY GROWING IN THE UNITED KINGDOM AND UNITED STATES FOR MORE THAN FIFTY YEARS, AND THAT BELIEF IS A FAITH CALLED WICCA."

Mr Blair will see the Queen and leave office after his final prime minister's questions session in the Commons and saying farewell to Downing St staff. Mr Brown is then expected to travel to meet the Queen, who will formally offer him the role in the early afternoon. Mr Brown is expected to begin his Cabinet reshuffle by naming the next chancellor and home secretary.

He has also admitted that Iraq is "a divisive issue for our party and our country" and pledged to "learn lessons that need to be learned". The parents of soldiers who have died in Iraq will protest in Downing Street as Mr Blair leaves No 10. Members of Military Families Against the War say they are determined the outgoing PM "will not be allowed to forget the suffering he has caused".

The mechanics of leaving office, means Mr Blair is expected to have his final prime minister's questions in the Commons, then travel to Downing Street to say farewell to staff before heading to Buckingham Palace to see the Queen and resign. Mr Brown will then be asked to the Palace where in a meeting with the Queen he will formally become prime minister.

Once he leaves office, Mr Blair is expected to travel north to attend a meeting in his Sedgefield constituency, in the north east of England, on Wednesday evening to announce he is standing down as an MP after 24 years.
It is thought the decision to step down as a Member of Parliament after 24 years depends on him being confirmed by the Middle East "quartet" of the US, Russia, the UN and the EU as an envoy to the region.

Gideon Rachman argues in the FT that "the weekend marked the end of the EU's experiment with transparency and popularity". On the original Constitution, Rachman notes that "It was as if a manufacturer of tinned meat had suddenly decided that it would be a good idea to put a large notice on the front of the tin, stating: "This product contains reconstituted cows' udders." How surprising and hurtful that sales should fall as a result. What the EU decided to do at the summit was to put all the stuff about the repulsive ingredients that make up the Union back into tiny print on the side of the tin - or, in this case, into footnotes to the constitution- EUROPEAN LEADERS HAVE GONE THROUGH THE CONSTITUTION PAINSTAKINGLY REPLACING ANYTHING THAT IS TOO CLEAR WITH SOMETHING MORE OBSCURE. "

Dan Hannan writes in the TELEGRAPH: "When people vote "No" to closer integration - as they usually do, given the chance - their opposition is seen as an obstacle to be overcome, not a reason to alter course - the new draft is worse than the old. When the text was a constitution, it at least had a certain finality to it: further alterations would have required a cumbersome amendment process. Now, though, IT CONTAINS AN "ESCALATOR CLAUSE", ALLOWING BRUSSELS TO EXTEND ITS JURISDICTION WITHOUT NEEDING FURTHER TREATIES." Hannan urges readers to sign a new petition for a referendum on the new treaty set up by the paper.

A leader in the SUN was sceptical over Blair's claims to have preserved Britain's interests: "If anyone can make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, it's Tony Blair. BUT EVEN HIS VERBAL BRILLIANCE CANNOT CONCEAL THE DECEIT BEHIND THE LATEST EU CON-TRICK. The document he signed in Brussels is the EU Constitution in all but name. Its impact on national sovereignty is immense- MR BLAIR'S FLIMSY "RED LINES" WON'T SAVE OUR STATUS AS AN INDEPENDENT NATION."

A leader in the MAIL argues that "ACCORDING TO EARLY REPORTS, EVEN THE PRIME-MINISTER'S MUCH VAUNTED OPT-OUTS FOR BRITAIN - MORE LIKE RED HERRINGS THAN RED LINES - COULD PROVE MEANINGLESS IN THE COURTS." A leader in the Express argues "If Gordon Brown is remotely serious about reinvigorating British democracy, he will give the people the referendum Labour promised in its last manifesto."

The TOUTE L'EUROPE press review quotes a Libération editorialist saying that the new treaty is "A DELIBERATELY OPAQUE TEXT, stitched back together in a hurry, cobbled together with large chunks of the defunct constitutional treaty."

Formal negotiations will be opened on 23 July with the aim to have them concluded by 18-19 October. Portuguese ambassador Alvaro Mendonca yesterday said, "We believe we have a mandate that is clear, precise and agreed by all 27 member states". He said that the first month and a half will be spent translating the document agreed by leaders into a legal text. After that, EU foreign ministers will be discussing the document at an informal meeting in early September in Portugal.

The Ambassador said that Portugal "consider[s] that the main political points have been agreed" and that the negotiations "In theory, should be plain-sailing, while admitting that time will tell "to what extent" some member states will face domestic pressure for agreeing a document that is substantially very similar to the original Constitution. The article also notes that MEPs are now working on their formal response to EU leaders, as both the approval of the European Parliament and the European Commission is required for the intergovernmental negotiations to go ahead.

Kate Hoey asked why the Government was "afraid" of a putting the matter to the British people in a referendum. She said: "Don't you understand that no matter what you or anyone else says, the vast majority of the public will see that there has simply been a tweaking of words and that this treaty is fundamentally no different from the original constitution. Why are you and why is our Government afraid of a referendum?"

Gisela Stuart asked the PM: "Back in April 2004, the reasons for granting a referendum and making a manifesto commitment were not about constitutional change but because we should let the people have a say. The Prime Minister's Foreign Secretary and Minister for Europe now argue that one of the main reasons why we should not have a referendum is that we are a parliamentary democracy - yet the document to which the Prime Minister signed up to at the weekend grants the people of Europe a right that neither national Parliaments nor Governments have, which is to petition the Commission for legislative proposals. I find it difficult to reconcile, on the one hand, giving the people of Europe a right that we do not give our Parliament, yet on the other hand, not asking our own people."

Former Conservative minister David Heathcoat-Amory said the deal secured had "devalued politics". He added: "The powers we have here are lent to us by the people and you are giving them away without their consent."

According to the article, the Commission's legal experts take the same view, and expect the British opt-out will be tested in the courts. It is also noted that Britain's right to "opt in" to majority voting decisions on "criminal justice" matters may in practice mean that Britain becomes more engaged in European integration in police and justice matters.

In addition, the article notes that Britain made concessions on the new EU Foreign Minister, particularly over its role as chair of regular meetings of EU foreign ministers, and the takeover of the resources of the European Commissioner for external affairs.

In addition, up to 66.5 percent of the farmland in the province, or about 2.67 million hectares, has been affected by the drought, while 19 reservoirs have dried up. The province has spent more than 300 million yuan (US$37.5 million) for disaster relief and dispatched more than 2 million people to combat the drought.

Latest nationwide statistics show that the number of Chinese without drinking water has risen by 320,000 in the past several days to 8.68 million as drought tightened its grip on the country's northeastern regions. The drought had affected 11.07 million hectares of arable land -- including 9.2 million hectares of crops -- and 7.6 million heads of livestock, the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters said on Monday.

In northeast China's Liaoning Province, 2.05 million hectares, or 49 percent, of the province's crops are affected by drought. In the northern Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, 870,000 people, 1.48 million head of livestock and 460,000 square kilometers of pasture are suffering water shortages.

On Monday afternoon, lightning killed five people building a tomb in Zhejiang. Altogether 48 people have died and 12 are missing after a week of heavy rains and thunderstorms that swept up the Yangtze River valley and across southern China. Nearly 10,000 people were evacuated, thousands of houses collapsed and thousands of acres of farmland were destroyed, according to a report on the central government's Web site

Lightning was the main cause of death, claiming 37 of the victims. In Jiangxi on Sunday, lightning struck 12 farmers while they were working in the fields, and a grandmother and grandson were killed when they sought shelter from rain under a corrugated iron roof, the Xinhua news agency said. Two urban residents in the province also died from lightning strikes while huddling together underneath a tree, it added.

The months from May to September are flood season in central and southern China as torrential rains, typhoons, tropical storms and lightning hit densely populated areas.

"The general strike is suspended with effect from midnight," a joint statement issued by unions and the government said on Saturday. Union leaders met government negotiators after receiving a letter from Umaru Yar'Adua, Nigeria's president, pledging to freeze petrol prices at the pump for a year.

The general strike had halted most economic activity in Africa's most populous nation, but vital crude oil exports were not affected. The price of petrol will remain frozen at 70 naira ($0.55) per litre for a year, up from the previous price of 65 naira per litre.

"It was president Yar'Adua's personal intervention that halted the strike - after listening to all the parties and examining the issues of contention," Olusegun Adeniyi, presidential spokesman, said. The strike had forced the closure of schools, government offices, banks and filling stations. Fuel price had soared to three or four times the normal price on the black market during the strike. Virtually all domestic flights were grounded, with few nternational flights leaving the country.