The Treaty divided the Sinai Desert into three zones:

In the western zone (closest to Egypt, bordering the Suez Canal), Egypt was limited to an "armed force of one mechanized infantry division and its military installations, and field fortifications."

In the central zone, they were limited to "border units of four battalions equipped with light weapons and wheeled vehicles [to] provide security and supplement the civil police in maintaining order... The main elements in the four Border Battalions will consist of up to a total of four thousand personnel."

In the eastern zone (bordering Israel), "only United Nations forces and Egyptian civil police will be stationed."

Israel's security was guaranteed by the 240 km (150 miles) distance that the Egyptian Army was to be kept from the Israeli border. Last Friday, as a response to the threat of Islamist terror cells throughout the Sinai Desert, Defence Minister Ehud Barak proposed that Egypt begin to remilitarize the Sinai Desert.

The report, commissioned by Nasa, says the quantity of hazardous material circling the Earth has reached a "tipping point" and poses a real and increasing danger to satellites and the International Space Station. It suggests developing a clean-up strategy, which could include catching debris with nets, magnets or giant umbrellas.

The US National Research Council was asked to review the space agency's meteoroid and orbital debris programmes last April following a request from the White House. Meteoroids are particles or larger lumps of rock in the solar system. "The current space environment is growing increasingly hazardous to spacecraft and astronauts," said Donald Kessler, chair of the committee responsible for the report and a retired head of Nasa's orbital debris programme.

Although Nasa had identified the need for removing debris, the agency and US government had not fully examined the economic, technological, political and legal considerations, the report added. "The longer you wait to do this the more expensive it's going to be. Given the economy, we'll probably end up putting it off, but that's really not very wise. This scenario of increasing space debris will play out even if we don't put anything else in orbit," Kessler said.

Gil Shaham was about to play Bruch's violin concerto conducted by Zubin Mehta when booing and shouting began. Michael Stern, who was in the audience, said: 'There were four to five disruptions at the beginning of each piece. The protesters started singing in the middle of the performance. It was obviously rehearsed. They were singing in tune to Beethoven's Ninth'.

'They are musicians not politicians, they are here to play. It's fair to make a protest outside but not to take it in. All of us paid good money to come here.' It is believed that around 40 protesters bought seats, which would have cost them around 20 pounds each. Radio 3 interrupted its live broadcast at 7.45pm before returning later. Coverage was cut off again an hour later following more protests.

Earlier the Palestine Solidarity Campaign had urged music lovers to boycott the concert and called for the BBC not to broadcast it.

One of the protesters, Professor Jonathan Rosenhead, of the London School of Economics, said: 'The orchestra is intimately connected with the Israeli state. We are saying not to forget the denial of human rights in Israel.' A BBC spokesman said: 'We regret that as a result of sustained audience disruption within the concert hall which affected the ability to hear the music, tonight's Israel Philharmonic Orchestra Prom was taken off air.'

Stephen Cecchetti and his team at the Bank for International Settlements have written the definitive paper rebutting the pied pipers of ever-escalating credit. "The debt problems facing advanced economies are even worse than we thought." The basic facts are that combined debt in the rich club has risen from 165% of GDP thirty years ago to 310% today, led by Japan at 456% and Portugal at 363%.

"Debt is rising to points that are above anything we have seen, except during major wars. Public debt ratios are currently on an explosive path in a number of countries. These countries will need to implement drastic policy changes. Stabilization might not be enough." Demographic atrophy and aging costs will make this even nastier. "Rising dependency ratios put further downward pressure on trend growth, over and above the negative effects of debt."

Let us not demonize all debt. It is the lubricant of progress. "Used wisely and in moderation, it clearly improves welfare. But, when it is used imprudently and in excess, the result can be disaster." And disaster we have. We must prepare for a long hard slog, for the rest of my life and yours.

The North East had the highest percentage of workless households, while the number of homes in which no adult has ever worked hit 370,000, up 18,000 from a year earlier. A total of 1.84 million, 15.8 per cent, of children live under the care of these workshy households.

Employment minister Chris Grayling said: "While the slight fall in the numbers of workless households and children living in workless households is encouraging, these figures still underline the sheer scale of the challenge we face. Over the last decade thousands of people were simply abandoned to a lifetime on benefits, and a staggering 1.84 million children are living in homes where currently no one works.

Data from the St Louis Fed shows that reserve funds from "official foreign accounts" have doubled since the start of the year, with a dramatic surge since the end of July when the eurozone debt crisis spread to Italy and Spain. "This shows a pervasive loss of confidence in the European banking system," said Simon Ward from Henderson Global Investors. "Central banks are worried about the security of their deposits so they are placing the money with the Fed."

These dollar accounts are just over $100 billion (62 billion pounds) and are small beer compared to the vast sums invested in bonds as foreign reserve holdings. Yet they serve as a stress indicator, reflecting the operating decisions of the world's top insiders. Lars Tranberg from Danske Bank said European banks are reduced to borrowing dollar funds for "a week at a time" rather than the usual six to 12 months. "This closely resembles what happened in late 2008, though the difference this time is that the major central banks have dollar swap lines in place. If the dollar funding markets completely freeze up, the European Central Bank can act as a backstop."

Simon Derrick from BNY Mellon said Germany, Holland, and Finland may balk at a third rescue in the current tetchy mood, implying bigger haircuts instead. That will set a precedent for Portugal, and others. Until markets can see an end to the blood-letting, Europe's banks will remain untouchables.

The French President and Prime Minister, who led the West's intervention, will use three hours of talks to focus on political and economic reconstruction in a bid to avoid the post-conflict chaos and mistakes made in Iraq. But talks on the sidelines may expose early jostling for opportunities in oil and infrastructure. Libya, which boasts Africa's largest reserves of top-quality crude oil, has been left badly underdeveloped by Gaddafi, who as a young army captain ousted Libya's King Idris on September 1, 1969, 42 years ago to the day.

The "friends of Libya" summit will give the rebel National Transitional Council (NTC) its first major international platform as the legitimate government of Libya. It has promised economic rewards for countries, such as Britain and France, which took a lead role in backing the revolt against Gaddafi. The French newspaper Liberation reported on Thursday that it had obtained a letter showing that the rebels had agreed to give France priority access to 35 per cent of Libya's oil.

A monthly European Commission survey showed economic sentiment in the 17 countries using the euro, a good indication of future economic activity, fell to 98.3 in August from a revised 103 in July with optimism declining in all sectors. Economists polled by Reuters had expected a fall to 100.5.

"The decline in sentiment clearly indicates that the euro zone economy has lost a lot of momentum. As a result, growth will probably remain very sluggish in the second half of the year, while the risks are tilted to the downside," said Aline Schuiling, economist at ABN AMRO Bank. The European Central Bank raised rates twice this year by 25 basis points each time to 1.5 percent but a worsening of the euro zone's debt crisis and economic outlook has prompted markets to price out any chance of further hikes for the foreseeable future.

Katia had sustained winds of 75 miles per hour and was the second hurricane of the June-through-November Atlantic hurricane season, the US National Hurricane Center said. The Miami-based center said Katia was forecast to become a "major" hurricane with winds over 111 mph by the weekend but it was too early to tell whether it would threaten land.

At 11 pm (0300 GMT Thursday), Katia was about 1,165 miles east of the Caribbean's Leeward Islands. It was moving rapidly west-northwest and was forecast to turn northwest in a couple of days on a course that would keep it away from the Caribbean islands. Hurricane Irene rampaged up the US East Coast over the weekend and authorities on the US Atlantic seaboard are keeping an eye on Katia to see which path it takes.

The Atlantic hurricane season typically brings 11 or 12 named storms. Katia is already the 11th, and with half of the season still ahead, it is shaping up to be the unusually busy year that was predicted.

Energy companies with oil and natural gas operations in the Gulf of Mexico were keeping watch on a mass of thunderstorms over the northwest Caribbean Sea and eastern Gulf. In an advisory issued late on Wednesday, the hurricane center said the disturbed weather system had a "high" chance of developing into a tropical cyclone in the next two days.

"Its military nuclear and ballistic ambitions constitute a growing threat that may lead to a preventive attack against Iranian sites that would provoke a major crisis that France wants to avoid at all costs," he said. Sarkozy did not say which country might launch such a strike, but it has been reported that Israel - perhaps with US support - has considered bombing Iranian nuclear sites if it believes Tehran is close to building a weapon.

The French leader placed the blame for the crisis on Iran, which insists it has no intention of building a nuclear weapon, and is merely enriching nuclear fuel for medical research and a domestic atomic energy programme. "Iran refuses to negotiate seriously," he told an annual meeting of French diplomats. "Iran is carrying out new provocations in response to the challenge from the international community for it to provide a credible response."

Sarkozy said France would work with its allies to build support for tougher international sanctions against Tehran's Islamist regime, in a bid to force it to back down over its enrichment programme.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in a classified cable sent last January 9th, instructed American embassies in Australia, Britain, Canada, and New Zealand to notify those countries of upcoming Chinese launches two days later. The cable included details of the launch sites for the interceptor and the target, the models of the missiles, the purpose of the test, and the test date.

Yesterday, Hong Kong's South China Morning Post carried comments from Xu, now at the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association, to the effect that American satellites would have detected activity at the launch sites but that some of the information in the cables - specifically the types of missiles and the day of the test - must have come from a source on the ground. WikiLeaks's release of this cable, revealing one or more American spies in China's strategic missile corps, is perhaps the website's most significant compromise of US security to date.

The Hong Kong paper noted that Xu said that "if China could no longer keep secret its missile launches, it would not be able to launch a surprise attack on the US." Is China really in the process of planning to destroy the American homeland with a preemptive barrage of nuclear-tipped missiles? Xu's comment, of course, is not proof, but it does reveal that Chinese flag officers are thinking about doing so.

The US President's disaster declaration allows the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide low-interest loans or grants to hurricane survivors to help them repair homes, pay medical costs and rebuild businesses. "We're grateful for that rapid response," Bev Perdue, the state's governor said. "Our fellow North Carolinians who suffered losses during this storm need to start rebuilding their lives now - not tomorrow."

Governor Perdue said that the hurricane had destroyed or severely damaged at least 1,100 homes. Eqecat, a risk assessment company, has estimated that over 40 million people in the densely populated eastern seaboard of the US were hit by Irene, with the worst damages due to flooding, "Irene caused significant damage to property," the firm reported on Weds. "Eqecat estimates that Irene caused in excess of $10 billion in economic damages in its traverse across the mainland US."

More than 40 deaths have been blamed on Irene, which made landfall in the US state of North Carolina on Saturday and then progressed northward, weakening to a tropical storm by the time it hit New York on Sunday. Thousands remained cut off by severe flooding in towns across Vermont, New Jersey and upstate New York on Wednesday.

The euro has failed, though more politically than economically, according to an article in the September edition of US magazine Vanity Fair. "Conceived as a tool for integrating Germany into Europe, and preventing Germans from dominating others, it has become the opposite," financial journalist and author Michael Lewis writes. "For better or for worse, the Germans now own Europe."

The fact that a reunited Germany has weathered the Western world's financial crisis with ease, at least so far, has made its neighbors and friends uneasy. In the political salons of Washington and Paris, from Brussels to Madrid, and inside political broadsheets and think tanks, people are asking whether the new Germany is altering its foreign policy. Is Berlin turning away from the European Union, or is it the opposite, that it wants to use the currency to gain control of the entire continent - something it couldn't do with weapons?

Geostrategists point to the emergence of a power imbalance, along with possible new conflicts between rival countries. In a guest commentary published by The New York Times last week, Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown criticized Germany's approach. "Germany's recent failure to act from a position of strength endangers not only the country itself, but the entire euro project that Germany has spent decades developing," he wrote. Other commentators complain that Germany is once again veering towards unilateralism, and some, mainly in Britain, are even referring to a "Fourth Reich." But at the heart of this debate remains the question: Where is Germany headed?

15. Portugal. Value of reserves: $24.6 billion. Holdings total: 421.5 tons

14. Taiwan. Value of reserves: $27.2 billion. Holdings total: 466.8 tons

13. The European Central Bank. Value of reserves: $32.23 billion. Holdings total: 553.3 tons

12. India. Value of reserves: $35.79 billion. Holdings total: 614.6 tons

11. The Netherlands. Value of reserves: $39.3 billion. Holdings total: 674.9 tons

10. Japan. Value of reserves: $49.11 billion. Holdings total: 843.3 tons

9. Russia. Value of reserves: $54 billion. Holdings total: 926.9 tons

8. Switzerland. Value of reserves: $66.75 billion. Holdings total: 1,146.2 tons

7. China. Value of reserves: $67.65 billion. Holdings total: 1,161.6 tons

6. SPDR Gold ETF (GLD). Value of holdings: $70.7 billion. Holdings total: 1,213.9 tons

5. France. Value of reserves: $156.31 billion. Holdings total: 2,683.8 tons

4. Italy. Value of reserves: $157.36 billion. Holdings total: 2,701.9 tons

3. The International Monetary Fund. Value of reserves: $180.6 billion. Holdings total: 3,101 tons

2. Germany. Value of reserves: $218.28 billion. Holdings total: 3,747.9 tons

1. United States. Value of reserves: $522.16 billion. Holdings total: 8,965.6 tons

The 300-plus supporters of the so-called Priests' Initiative have had enough of what they call the church's "delaying" tactics, and they are advocating pushing ahead with policies that openly defy current practices. These include letting nonordained people lead religious services and deliver sermons; making communion available to divorced people who have remarried; allowing women to become priests and to take on important positions in the hierarchy; and letting priests carry out pastoral functions even if, in defiance of church rules, they have a wife and family.

Cardinal Christoph Schonborn, Vienna's Archbishop and head of the Austrian Bishops' Conference, has threatened the rebels with excommunication. Incidentally, those involved in the initiative are not only low-profile members of the clergy. Indeed, it is being led by Helmut Schuller - who was for many years vicar general of the archdiocese of Vienna and director of Caritas - and the cathedral pastor in the Carinthian diocese of Gurk. The issues that supporters of the initiative want addressed may be revolutionary, but they are by no means new: they constitute basic questions that have been around for a long time but have never been addressed by church officials.

Particularly affected are some 700 members of an association called Priester ohne Amt (Priests Without a Job) who wish in vain to practice their ministry because they have a wife and children and stand by them. Priests who break ties with loved ones, on the other hand, are allowed to continue working. Twenty years ago, Austria, nominally at least, was 85% Catholic. Today, in the city of Vienna, Catholics account for less than half the population while rural parishes are melting away.