The size of the package is still at issue as well. Negotiators had tentatively agreed on a figure of $33 billion (20 billion pounds), but Republican House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner is now pushing for a new target of $40 billion. Separate negotiating sessions at the White House and the Capitol Tuesday failed to produce an agreement between Boehner and Democratic leaders, who blamed each other for an impasse that could throw hundreds of thousands of government employees out of work.

The budget showdown is the biggest political test for both parties since Republicans swept to power in the House and made big Senate gains in last year's election on promises to slash government spending and reduce the federal government. President Barack Obama vowed to keep negotiators at work until they agree on a budget for the remainder of the fiscal year, which ends September 30. Temporary funding expires at midnight Friday.

"The only question is whether politics or ideology are going to get in the way of preventing a government shutdown," Obama told reporters after the White House meeting failed to find common ground. A government shutdown would ripple through an economy still recovering from the worst recession since the 1930s.

With federal agencies under orders to get ready for a shutdown, it is unclear how matters will unfold. But some tax refunds could get delayed, calls to federal hotlines may go unanswered and national parks will close. Social Security checks, however, are to go out on time. Most of the 4.4 million federal workforce, including members of the US military, will go to work because their jobs are deemed essential.

* Based on previous shutdowns, several hundred thousand federal workers could be idled as nonessential, disrupting all but vital US services such as national defense, emergency medical care and air traffic control. In addition, some employees of federal contractors may also be furloughed.

* Unlike the last two shutdowns, both of which occurred in the 1990s, this one would take place during tax preparation and filing season. That could mean delayed tax refunds to an untold number of Americans, congressional aides say.

* The last shutdown closed much of the federal government from December 16, 1995, to January 6, 1996. National parks and museums were closed, an estimated 200,000 applications for US passports went unprocessed and work on more than 3,500 bankruptcy cases was suspended.

* Also during the last shutdown, new patients were not accepted into clinical research at the National Institutes of Health, hotline calls to NIH about diseases were not answered, and toxic waste cleanup work at 609 sites stopped.

* A shutdown may be felt on a number of fronts, including delays in approving import and export licenses and new benefits for military veterans, congressional aides say. Processing new Social Security applications may also be delayed, but checks for retirees are expected to go out on time.

* Essential personnel in the last shutdown - employees who remained on the job - included members of the US military, federal criminal investigators, those involved in federal disaster assistance and workers vital to keeping crucial elements of the US money and banking system up and running.

The company had set up 9 seismographs along the Shinkansen tracks and the Pacific coast. On the day of the quake, at 2:47 PM, a seismograph in Miyagi Prefecture 50 kilometers from the tracks detected ground acceleration of 120 gals, which is the benchmark for stopping train operations. The early detection system automatically cut power to the trains. All of the trains then applied the emergency brakes to slow down.

The seismograph at Sendai Station recorded the biggest tremors. The railway operator found that the first tremor occurred 9 to 12 seconds after 2 trains near Sendai slammed on the brakes. The strongest tremor came one minute and 10 seconds later. It's not known at what speed the trains were moving when the biggest tremor hit, but they had apparently slowed down enough to avoid derailing

David Cameron has pledged four more British Tornado jets on top of eight already being used for the air strikes. But pressure is growing for other European countries, especially France, to offer more after the Americans withdrew their attack aircraft from the campaign on Monday. "We will need more strike capability," a Nato official said. Since the French launched the first raids on Libya 16 days ago, the coalition and Nato have destroyed around 30% of Gaddafi's military capacity, Lieutenant General Charles Bouchard, the Canadian officer leading the air campaign, told Nato ambassadors.

Until last week, President Nicolas Sarkozy was the loudest opponent of handing over the operations to Nato control. Nonetheless, the French are not only taking part in the Nato campaign, but are the biggest non-US contributors, with 33 aircraft, double Britain's 17. Not all of these are strike aircraft. Until Monday, the Americans had performed most of the attacks on ground targets, with the French executing around a quarter and the British around a 10th. Given the US retreat, Nato is seeking to fill the gap, but only the British have pledged more.

The courses will go alongside tuition in sexually transmitted diseases, sexual language and relationships in a campaign to 'promote good sexual health within Scouting'. The founder of the Scouts movement, Robert Baden-Powell, would have raised an eyebrow at the initiative.

He advised that the proper response to sexual longings was washing with cold water. He also encouraged those with 'primitive sexual urges' to shift their energies into hiking and 'out-of-door manly activities'. But yesterday, Chief Scout, Bear Grylls, said: 'This programme is about getting the right information to young people to help them make smart decisions about their relationships.

'We want to help young people become confident, clued-up and aware. My message is: Make your own mind up and don't let others do it for you. We only get one body, so respect it.' The programme, My Body, My Choice, follows on from an initiative in 2008 in which the Scout Association introduced formal guidance for leaders who were asked about sex and relationships.

She also ordered that a letter written by an Argentine teacher and volunteer soldier killed in the Falklands War be read to all school pupils in the country. The letter, dated 29 April 1982, was written by Julio Cao, 21, and sent to his class of primary schoolchildren after he arrived at Stanley in the Falklands.

Cao, who was killed in action weeks later shortly before Argentina was defeated by a British Task Force, used the letter to apologise for having left in haste, but added: "I find myself accomplishing my soldier's duty of defending our flag." President Kirchner was speaking at an event to mark the 29th anniversary of the invasion of the Falklands at the weekend. The country's presidential election is due in October and the decrees will be seen as evidence that President Kirchner will use patriotic sentiment over the Falklands to help to win votes.

Speaking at an event in Rio Gallegos, Santa Cruz province, she said: "I know we are going to recover what belongs to us." She criticised British concerns that Argentina could make a new attempt to win back the Falklands, saying: "It sounds likes a joke coming from a country that likes solving conflicts by bombing."

Hector Timerman, the Argentine foreign minister, also said over the weekend that the issue of the sovereignty of the Falklands had become a "regional cause". He said this was due to British companies drilling for oil in the area and the establishment of a British "military fortress in the South Atlantic" which he claimed was a "threat for all the region".

Times change, allegiances shift, but weapons companies will always find takers for their goods. Libya won't be buying new kit any time soon. But the no-fly zone has become a prime showcase for other potential weapons customers, underlining the power of western combat jets and smart bombs, or reminding potential buyers of the defensive systems needed to repel them.

"This is turning into the best shop window for competing aircraft for years. More even than in Iraq in 2003," says Francis Tusa, editor of UK-based Defence Analysis. "You are seeing for the first time on an operation the Typhoon and the Rafale up against each other, and both countries want to place an emphasis on exports. France is particularly desperate to sell the Rafale."

Almost every modern conflict from the Spanish Civil War to Kosovo has served as a test of air power. But the Libyan operation to enforce UN resolution 1973 coincides with a new arms race - a surge of demand in the $60 billion a year global fighter market and the arrival of a new generation of equipment in the air and at sea. For the countries and companies behind those planes and weapons, there's no better sales tool than real combat. For air forces facing cuts, it is a strike for the value of air power itself.

"As soon as an aircraft or weapon is used on operational deployment, that instantly becomes a major marketing ploy; it becomes 'proven in combat'," says a former defence export official with a NATO country, speaking on condition of anonymity about the sensitive subject.

Bernard von NotHaus, 67, was convicted last month in federal court in Statesville on conspiracy and counterfeiting charges for making and selling the currency, which he promoted as inflation-proof competition for the US dollar. His Charlotte-based lawyer, Aaron Michel, is appealing that verdict. He wrote in a motion filed Thursday that von NotHaus did nothing wrong because he didn't try to pass the Liberty Dollars off as US dollars.

"The prosecutors successfully painted Mr von NotHaus in a false light and now the US Attorney responsible for the prosecution is painting the case in a false light, saying that it establishes that private voluntary barter currency is illegal," Michel wrote. Long before the government began its investigation into von NotHaus, the group was raising concerns about the popularity of Liberty Dollars among fringe groups on the far right.

"He's playing on a core idea of the radical right, that evil bankers in the Federal Reserve are ripping you off by controlling the money supply," said Mark Potok, spokesman for the group. "He very much exists in the world of the anti-government patriot movement, whatever he may say. That's who his customers are." Von NotHaus is currently free on bond. If the conviction against him is upheld, he faces up to 25 years in prison and a fine of $750,000. A sentencing date has not been set yet.

In an interview with the Al-Watan newspaper he said: "In case of any future Israeli attack on Gaza - as the next president of Egypt - I will open the Rafah border crossing and will consider different ways to implement the joint Arab defense agreement." He also stated that "Israel controls Palestinian soil" adding that "there has been no tangible breakthrough in the reconciliation process because of the imbalance of power in the region - a situation that creates a kind of one way peace."

Discussing his agenda for Egypt, El Baradei said that distribution of income between the different classes in Egypt would be his most important priority if he were to win the upcoming elections. El Baradei's main competition is Arab League Secretary General and former Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa. Last month he discussed Egypt's relationship with Israel. "During my term in office the foreign ministry was subject to unfavorable policies from Israel with regards to the peace agreement," said Moussa who served as foreign minister 1991-2001.

The countryside is dotted with empty dams. Standing on top of one, near Qufu in Shandong Province, you can see just a tiny muddy pool in the centre of a dam that is hundreds of metres long. Sitting rusting on the earth is a small boat. Along the dry dam floor people have been planting rows of crops because it has been like this for so long.

This is China's breadbasket, the heart of its grain growing lands, and all around are Shandong's wheat fields. They are full of lines of seedlings, sprouting from the ground, but wilting and yellowing. A grey, polluted haze hangs in the air. Every few hundred yards small groups of men and women are working to try to save their crops from the drought. China is the world's biggest grower and consumer of wheat. In normal years it is self-sufficient. But if it has to import grain this year then that will have an impact far afield. Already just the warnings of a possible shortfall in China's crop have put pressure on global wheat prices.

Deep under the earth China's water, on its arid northern plain, is slowly running out. It is a massive problem and China is only just starting to face up to it. Some 200 million people live across the north China plain. It is home to giant cities like Beijing and Tianjin which are expanding fast. But the area has water resources comparable to a desert country and every year as the population swells the water stress grows worse.

BGS seismologist Brian Baptie said: "It is a very minor earthquake, it was very weak. It would only just be perceptible and nothing for people to be concerned about. There are about 20 earthquakes of that size in the UK every year."

Officers were sent to check out reports of cracks on the road over a bridge in Lytham Road but it is understood they have been in place for up to two years. A spokeswoman for Blackpool Council said structural engineers would assess if there was any fresh damage to the road but it remained open to traffic.

It follows an earthquake measuring 3.5 which struck in Coniston, Cumbria, on December 21 last year. Other recent quakes in the UK include one in February 2008, when a major tremor centred on Lincolnshire shook much of the country, caused damage to buildings and left one man injured. The tremor - which had a magnitude of 5.2 - struck at around 1am on February 27 at Market Rasen. And in Kent in April 2007, another tremor was recorded with a magnitude of 4.3. Homes were damaged as chimneys toppled, walls cracked and masonry fell when the tremor hit Folkestone.

But the BCC said "the upturn in Q1 is likely to have been only slightly larger than the decline of 0.5% seen in Q4 2010", when the severe weather caused disruptions. That would mean output levels were only "marginally higher" than they were before the weather took its toll, the BCC said. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) will release its first estimate of GDP for the first quarter on 27 April.

The survey, which questioned 6,000 businesses across the UK, said firms were being constrained by cashflow and price pressures. Some 80% of manufacturing firms said the cost of raw materials was putting pressure on them to raise prices. "Exporting activity remains strong, but there have been sharp declines in confidence, and cashflow is still a real concern for businesses," director general of the BCC, David Frost said.

The BCC's chief economist, David Kern, added that manufacturing still had the potential to drive the UK recovery, "but the international background has become riskier for Britain's exporters, while the domestic austerity plan will intensify pressures on businesses and consumers. In addition, the mediocre performance of the service sector will hinder the number of new jobs created this year," he said.

Hopes of stronger growth in the US and supply problems in western Africa have also helped to push oil prices higher. "Oil workers in Gabon have gone on strike again today which has hit production," said Joel Hanley, managing editor at Platts. "As a result the refineries are looking for barrels that currently aren't there and it's all pushing up the oil price."

Production by Libya, which is the world's 17th largest oil producer, with a 2% market share, has been almost completely shut down by the conflict there. There were also reports on Monday that Libyan rebels were advancing towards the oil town of Brega in renewed fighting in the east of the country. "In the short term, oil prices look very well supported," said Carsten Fritsch, analyst at Commerzbank in Frankfurt. "The general market sentiment is positive, but we still feel that prices will come down later this year once the supply fears have dissipated."

Iran's oil minister also added to the pressure on oil prices by playing down the need for an extraordinary meeting of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) to discuss whether to increase supply. Iran currently holds the rotating presidency of Opec, which produces about 40% of world crude. The organisation is not due to convene to discuss oil production until 2 June 2011, when its 12 member states will meet in Vienna, Austria.

Kuwait, one of the member countries, has said it believes the price of oil should be lower. Farouk al-Zanki, chief executive of Kuwait Petroleum Corp, the country's state oil company, has been quoted as saying $90 to $100 a barrel would be "the fair price" for crude.

The threat came as French forces were poised to evacuate foreigners ahead of an expected offensive by forces loyal to president-elect Alassane Ouattara. The UN recognised Mr Ouattara as the winner of a run-off election. The BBC's John James, in Abidjan, says explosions have been heard near the Agban military base in the city.

Choi Young-jin, Special Representative of the UN Secretary General in Ivory Coast, told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme: "We are fast approaching a tipping point. We are planning action, we can no longer condone their [Mr Gbagbo's forces] reckless and mindless attack on civilians and the United Nations blue helmets with heavy weapons."

"We are now in a way under siege, so we cannot go out freely, [they're] targeting us with snipers, it's a deliberate shoot at United Nations. For the last few days we have 11 [peacekeepers] wounded by their gunshots. They are targeting the headquarters, they cut off the water... and we are now in the bunker."

The special representative said the 9,000 troops who are part of the UN mission in Ivory Coast (Unoci) did not have a mandate to dislodge Mr Gbagbo, but they did have the powers to respond to heavy weapons attacks against the UN or civilians.

Suharjono, the technical head of Indonesia's Meteorology and Geophysics Agency, who like many Indonesians uses only one name, said shaking from the tremor had been felt in Pangandaran and Cilacap districts in Java. "This quake roused people from their sleep," he said. "We have not received any reports of damage or casualties so far."

The US Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre had said that there was no risk of a widespread destructive wave, but there was a "very small possibility of a local tsunami". The earthquake epicentre was 150 miles from the remote Australian territory of Christmas Island, and seismologists said the tremor was felt there, but no tsunami warning alert was issued for Australia.