German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble ultimately had to concede defeat. Last Friday, Schäuble, a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), voted in favor of the massive euro-zone bailout packages whose sheer size makes most people's heads spin. "The euro area is mobilizing an overall firewall of approximately €800 billion, more than $1 trillion," the Euro Group, which consists of the euro-zone finance ministers, proudly announced.

There was a palpable sense of relief among all those attending the meeting of European Union finance ministers at Copenhagen's Bella Center. After all, they had resolved a protracted dispute. For months, the Germans had resisted the high firewalls that have been urged by the European Commission, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Now, Berlin has relented - but this breakthrough could soon be reversed by further setbacks. There's a good chance that the beefed-up bailout fund won't work, despite its billions of euros in firepower. This time the problem won't be the German government but rather the German parliament, the Bundestag. Since the Bundestag insists on having a say on every minute detail involving the rescue fund, it's making life more difficult for the would-be euro rescuers. A number of instruments that the euro-zone governments only agreed to after fierce wrangling will thus probably remain permanently toothless, and possibly never be implemented.

Indeed, a far more basic lesson can be learned from the difficulties faced by Europe's rescue funds: Over the long term, a European problem cannot be resolved with national parliaments. "We need a rescue fund that is financed with European resources and democratically legitimized at this level," says Green Party financial expert Gerhard Schick. Some day in the distant future, budgetary experts at the European Parliament, or A NEW BODY REPRESENTING THE EURO-ZONE COUNTRIES, will most likely decide on these issues.

There is basically only enough money in the defence budget nowadays to pay the wages of the soldiers, sailors, airmen and civilians the armed forces ministry employs, and to finance their greatly-restricted local operations. "Argentina has unilaterally disarmed itself since the 1990s," said Carlos Escude, a foreign affairs adviser to the previous government. "Our munitions would only last for a 25-hour shooting war against Paraguay. After that, Paraguay would invade us."

But President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner is using different weapons against Britain's ownership of the Falkland Islands: diplomatic ones. Her supporters here believe that her approach is paying off handsomely. "This is the first time that all of Latin America is with Argentina in this claim [to the islands], even Brazil, even Chile," said Gabriela Cerruti, a Buenos Aires politician allied to President Fernandez's government.

"That makes a change in the situation, and makes the Argentine position much stronger." And she believes it could go wider than that: "WE'RE SUPPORTING SPAIN IN ITS CLAIM TO GIBRALTAR, and we hope Spain will support us." It is true that Brazil, Uruguay, Chile and other Latin American countries have openly supported Argentina's claim to the islands.

Benedict requested the holiday as part of Easter celebrations during a meeting with President Raul Castro in Havana on Tuesday, the Vatican said. The communist government will decide later whether to make Good Friday a permanent holiday, it said. Castro's brother, Fidel, ended religious holidays after leading Cuba's 1959 communist revolution, though he did reinstate Christmas to honour a request by Pope John Paul during a visit in 1998 - a trip that marked an upturn in relations between Cuba and the Church. Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi welcomed the decision by Cuba as a 'very positive sign'.

'The Holy See hopes that this will encourage participation in religious celebrations and in happy Easter festivities and that in future, the visit of the Holy Father will continue to bear the desired fruit to the benefit of the Church and all Cubans,' he said in a statement. Benedict, whose three day 'transcendental visit' to Cuba followed a stop in Mexico, urged change on the island and asked that the Church be able to do more in a time of potentially painful transition.

Led by Friar Ian Grieves, the priest at St James in Darlington for 23 years, 58 parishioners will formally join the Ordinariate, the body set up by the Pope for disaffected Anglicans. They are not alone: this week across England, 200 Anglican worshippers and 20 clergy will cross over to Rome. Many are frustrated by the Church of England’s move to appoint women bishops.

The majority of Anglicans defecting are concerned they will not be “protected” from the introduction of women bishops through special measures — such as occurred during the 1990s with the introduction of “flying bishops” to provide leadership to parishes that could not accept the Church’s decision to ordain women priests. In February, the General Synod, the Church’s national assembly, rejected special provisions for parishes that would not accept women bishops on theological grounds.

Next month, the House of Bishops will consider whether it can add further provisions to the legislation before a final vote this summer. But it will be too late for the parish of St James, where the split has severed many old friendships and caused anguish over the church’s future, as it has in others across England. This week, groups in Croydon, south London; Harlow, Essex; Blackpool and Portsmouth will also join the Ordinariate.

The Home Office says the move is key to tackling crime and terrorism, but civil liberties groups have criticised it. Tory MP David Davis called it "an unnecessary extension of the ability of the state to snoop on ordinary people". Attempts by the last Labour government to take similar steps failed after huge opposition, including from the Tories.

A new law - which may be announced in the forthcoming Queen's Speech in May - would not allow GCHQ to access the content of emails, calls or messages without a warrant. But it would enable intelligence officers to identify who an individual or group is in contact with, how often and for how long. They would also be able to see which websites someone had visited. In a statement, the Home Office said action was needed to "maintain the continued availability of communications data as technology changes".

"It is vital that police and security services are able to obtain communications data in certain circumstances to investigate serious crime and terrorism and to protect the public," a spokesman said. Nick Pickles, director of the Big Brother Watch campaign group, called the move "an unprecedented step that will see Britain adopt the same kind of surveillance seen in China and Iran. This is an absolute attack on privacy online and it is far from clear this will actually improve public safety, while adding significant costs to internet businesses," he said.

Israel must come under heavy military strikes from the first blows until the last. The first step of the first stage of Iran’s military attack on Israel must lead to the annihilation of ground zero points in Israel. Iran can use its long-range missiles to accomplish this task. The distance from Iran’s eastern most point to western most point of Israel is about 2,600 kilometers. The Israeli targets deep inside Israeli territory are well within the reach of Iran’s conventional missiles.

Lest anyone misread Iran’s intent, in a section subtitled “People of Israel must be Annihilated,” Forqani outlines how to conduct genocide: “The residents of Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa can be targeted even by Shahab-3 missiles. These three areas which are located very close to each other are very densely populated and the population there accounts for about 60 percent of Israel’s entire population. Therefore, it is possible to use Sajjil missiles to target the infrastructures in this area including power plants, fuel and energy installations, water and sewage treatment facilities, transportation and communication infrastructures; and in the next stage Shahab-3, Ghadr and Ashura missiles can be used to target and strike residential areas in the cities until the final annihilation of the people of Israel.”

He then outlines Iran’s missile capability, explaining how Iran could best exploit each missile in its arsenal and bragging that used properly, “Iran Could Destroy Israel in Less Than Nine Minutes.” That the Iranians might soon be able to fit the Sajjil with nuclear warheads should only heighten concern.

Iran may be lots of things; deterrable does not appear to be one of them.

An alliance has been formed between Unite union tanker drivers, whose grievance is mainly over terms and safety issues, and the resurgent Fuel Lobby whose supporters are furious about rocketing fuel prices. The man organising the supporting action is farmer and haulier Andrew Spence, who was instrumental in the blockades in 2000 which led to 3,000 petrol stations running out of fuel and caused widespread chaos on the roads. Last night Mr Spence, of Consett, County Durham told the Sunday Express: “We are a lot better coordinated than we were in 2000.”

“The mood among our supporters is to stand by the tanker drivers and bring the country to a standstill. There will be a domino effect. This time we will bring the Government down. We already have up to 4,000 drivers willing to support the Unite strike. This is the last resort because no one is listening and the price of fuel is going up. Hauliers are going bust. The average tractor uses £200 of diesel a day and farmers cannot afford any more increases.”

As Unite leaders prepared for talks tomorrow with oil companies at the conciliation service Acas in an attempt to prevent strike action, last night protesters were attempting to blockade a Shell refinery in a show of sympathy for the tanker drivers. Businessman Ian Charlesworth has helped organise protests to delay tankers leaving Stanlow refinery in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, three times in recent months. Mr Charlesworth said: “Our aim is to bring the country to a standstill. We are using the opportunity of the nationwide dispute to increase our actions.”

In what amounts to the start of a new trade war between the UK and Argentina, the banks - understood to include the Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays Capital and Goldman Sachs - have been warned they face criminal and civil action in the Argentine courts. The threats were made in a series of letters sent to as many as 15 banks by the Argentine embassy in London over the last ten days.

The letter, a copy of which has been seen by The Sunday Telegraph, warns the institutions that even merely writing research notes on exploration companies involved in the Falklands constitutes “a violation of the applicable domestic and international rules”. The news - coming a day ahead of the 30th anniversary of Argentina’s invasion of the Falklands which sparked the 1982 conflict - is likely to worsen tensions between the two countries. The Argentine government is continuing to push for sovereignty.

The two-page letter, to which a schedule of legal declarations about the Falkland’s ownership are attached, is intended to warn off the banks from any further involvement in the South Atlantic oil industry. In an element that is likely to heighten diplomatic tensions, the letter - written in Spanish - contains the header “2012 - Ano de Homenaje al doctor D Manuel Belgrano”. This is a direct reference to the Argentine economist after whom the ARA General Belgrano was named. The ship was sunk by British forces during the 1982 conflict.

In its report, History Repeating Itself – The Falklands At Risk Again, the UK National Defence Association has warned that British forces may not be able to defend the islands against another invasion. The stark warning is issued by Falklands War veterans Major General Julian Thompson, Captain Michael Clapp, Air Commodore Andrew Lambert and military historian Andrew Roberts.

With British forces more battle-hardened than they were in 1982, it is unlikely that an Argentine invasion would succeed. However, the report says: “The problem would be getting our forces there. If the Mount Pleasant air base fell into Argentine hands, the four Typhoon jets stationed there would be destroyed on the ground or unable to land. With no airfield, the only way to take the islands back would be an amphibious assault like in 1982.”

Defence cuts have reduced Britain’s capability to transport a large force by sea and of particular concern is the scrapping of aircraft carriers and Sea Harrier jets. “The loss of an aircraft carrier able to protect ships and troops makes any proposed landing vulnerable,” says the report. “There is no question of providing air support using RAF fighters because there are no bases within range.” The report claims that Argentine invasion plans are bolstered by widespread support throughout Latin America and the lure of Falklands wealth in the shape of oil, fisheries and minerals.

Endocrinologist have found out that endocrine disruptors found in man made common chemicals like DES, dioxin, PCBs, DDT, plasticizers and in many more chemicals we use daily are responsible for this unusual phenomenon. Endocrine disruptors get locked in to your fatty tissues and they can not be excreted out of our bodies as they are insoluble in water and they get accumulated during our entire life time.

Endocrine disruptors disturb the endocrine glands that release hormones into the bloodstream to control various organs of the body. The endocrine glands include the pituitary, thyroid, adrenal, thymus, pancreas, ovaries, and testicles. Developing fetuses and infants are more vulnerable to endocrine disruptors.

In the 50s and 60s doctors prescribed a synthetic estrogen called diethylstilbestrol (DES) to pregnant women to prevent miscarriages which was later found to contain endocrine disruptors. Over five million women were effected by this drug. Miscarriages,spontaneous abortions, premature births, birth defects of the the uterus, ovaries, immune system defects, undescended testicles, malformed sperm in boys, chronic depression and other psychiatric disorders were reported. Use of estrogen has caused breast cancer in some women.

Read the full article at http://scienceray.com/biology/human-biology/are-boys-turning-in-to-girls-because-of-man-made-chemicals/#ixzz1qi2t2utg

Why does it matter? Because Azerbaijan is strategically located on Iran's northern border and, according to several high-level sources I've spoken with inside the US government, Obama administration officials now believe that the "submerged" aspect of the Israeli-Azerbaijani alliance - the security cooperation between the two countries - is heightening the risks of an Israeli strike on Iran.

In particular, four senior diplomats and military intelligence officers say that the United States has concluded that Israel has recently been granted access to airbases on Iran's northern border. To do what, exactly, is not clear. "The Israelis have bought an airfield," a senior administration official told me in early February, "and the airfield is called Azerbaijan."

Senior US intelligence officials are increasingly concerned that Israel's military expansion into Azerbaijan complicates US efforts to dampen Israeli-Iranian tensions, according to the sources. Military planners, I was told, must now plan not only for a war scenario that includes the Persian Gulf - but one that could include the Caucasus. The burgeoning Israel-Azerbaijan relationship has also become a flashpoint in both countries' relationship with Turkey, a regional heavyweight that fears the economic and political fallout of a war with Iran. Turkey's most senior government officials have raised their concerns with their US counterparts, as well as with the Azeris, the sources said.

Is it just me, or does that sound incredibly excessive? What in the world is the DHS going to do with 450 million rounds? What possible event would ever require that much ammunition? If the United States was ever invaded, it would be the job of the US military to defend the country, so that can't be it. So what are all of those bullets for? Who does the Department of Homeland Security plan to be shooting at? According to the US Census, there are only about 311 million people living in the entire country.

So why does the Department of Homeland Security need 450 million rounds of ammunition? Either this is an incredible waste or there is something that the Department of Homeland Security is not telling us. I could understand if the US military was ordering ammunition in this quantity. When you fight wars you can go through ammunition very rapidly. But the Department of Homeland Security is only supposed to be shooting at people very rarely. It simply does not make sense that they would need so much ammunition.

Both have taken legal action against each other over subsidies given to two major aircraft companies, Boeing and Airbus. Both groups have been supported by billions of pounds of state-backed funding since they were created in order to help them develop new planes. Germany, France and the UK have paid £11 billion to Airbus in subsidies, it is alleged.

An eight-year legal battle has been fought at the World Trade Organisation over the legality of the payments. Now America has asked for permission to slap billions of pounds of sanctions on exports coming from Europe – including British produce. By doing so, the US hopes to pressure the EU into reversing its payments to Airbus. The US today took a crucial next step towards imposing sanctions by demanding the creation of a panel to investigate whether the EU has obeyed the WTO’s ruling to stop paying subsidies.

If the EU has not, then America may be given permission to impose sanctions up to the value of £6.25 billion. But when choosing which products to tax, America will target those goods it thinks will do the most damage to our economies – meaning the entire burden could fall onto Britain’s exports. The US is accusing the EU – taken as a whole – of paying £11 billion of subsidies to Airbus.

But industry insiders say the futures of both companies – Airbus and Boeing – are conditional on state-backed funding. It is inevitable, they say, that both the EU and the US will be found guilty of the charges. Sanctions will only be averted if both parties to call off the legal battle and hold talks over government subsidy levels.

Israeli officials say they are braced for tens of thousands, and military sources said the army and policy have been instructed to act with maximal restraint while doing what is necessary to protect the country’s borders and citizens. The security forces have been ordered to protect themselves and bystanders, to prevent any cross-border incursions, however brief, and to deny activists “a media victory,” Israel’s Channel 2 news reported Thursday night. In protests at the Syrian border last year, more than 100 activists broke through the border fence and entered Druze villages in the Golan Heights; one man even made his way to Tel Aviv.

Diplomatic officials sounded relatively unworried by the planned protests, although one source acknowledged that there was no way of knowing what might unfold on the Syrian and Lebanese borders, because Israel has no dialogue with anyone in authority on the other side of either of those lines. Several hundred anti-Israel demonstrators are also planning protests in front of Israeli institutions worldwide.

In Jerusalem, access to the Temple Mount for Friday prayers will be limited to adult worshipers, and police have called in extra forces. Police deployments in hotspots nationwide are also being reinforced. Sources expressed concern at the prospect of violence in and around the Temple Mount in East Jerusalem as well as on the outskirts of Jerusalem, at known flashpoints such as the Kalandiya checkpoint.

The message was an April Fool's day joke that was intended for internal consumption only but was leaked yesterday, as are most genuine documents on the euro's survival. New talks were needed, the "communique" said, and should include Pope Benedict XVI, as Sovereign of the Vatican City State, which uses the euro. "The presence of His Holiness the Pope affords an opportunity to pray for divine intervention to save the euro. This is now seen as the most credible strategy," concluded the spoof press release, crafted by one of Mr Van Rompuy's aides.

The press office of the Council of EU, whose official letterhead was used for the joke statement, is not said to be amused after receiving calls asking about the "April 1 summit". "I'm glad someone thinks this is a laughing matter, but it's no joke for us," said one official. EU officials are working on proposals aimed at averting a new phase of the eurozone crisis. They will be discussed by finance ministers in Copenhagen today amid a row over increasing the size of the eurozone bailout fund to €1 trillion.

The extra cash, fiercely resisted by Germany, is needed because of a growing risk that Spain, one the euro's biggest economies, will suffer a Greek-style debt crisis this summer. Nigel Farage, the leader of Ukip, said: "Divine intervention might be more effective that the intervention of the European Central Bank, but an all seeing, all knowing God would be wise to keep out of the euro." The reference to the Pope and the power of prayer has entertained Mr Van Rompuy's staff because he is an austere Catholic who goes on retreat to a Trappist monastery where his brother-in-law is a monk.