Brazil's total output last year was worth £1.56 trillion - compared with £1.53 trillion in Britain, think-tank Cebr said. The UK economy grew by just 0.8 per cent last year and contracted by 0.2 per cent in the final quarter, leaving the country on the verge of a double-dip recession. In contrast, economic output rose by 2.7 per cent in Brazil, which has a population of around 200 million.

Tim Ohlenburg, senior economist at Cebr, said: 'It's a natural enough movement. Brazil has a large population, has massive natural resources and strong local industry. It's just a country set for higher growth.' Britain fell one place to seventh in the world economic rankings while Brazil closed the gap on France and Germany. Despite the UK's relative decline, money continues to be poured into wealthy and fast-growing countries such as India, and even aid to China, second in the world economic league, was ordered to come to an end only this year.

According to figures on the website of the Department For International Development, £13.6 million worth of taxpayer-funded development schemes for Brazil remained ‘operational’. They include a scheme to work up environmental projects billed at almost £9 million, another to ‘improve flexibility, agility and responsiveness in the implementation of DFID regional objectives’ worth more than £1.2 million, and unidentified schemes costing more than £2.4 million.

WORLD ECONOMIC LEAGUE

(2010 positions in brackets)

1. United States (1)

2. China (2)

3. Japan (3)

4. Germany (4)

5. France (5)

6. Brazil (7)

7. Great Britain (6)

8. Italy (8)

9. Russia (10)

10. India (9)

Ahead of the first anniversary of the disaster this weekend, the Red Cross said the Japanese government had dithered over how to rebuild the affected areas, failing to come to any agreement with local officials. "Without reaching any agreement on a master plan, it is very difficult even to start a reconstruction process," said Taduteru Konoe, the president of the Japanese chapter of the international aid organisation. "That should be the very start of everything. So one year has been wasted in that sense because they have not been able to reach any consensus," he added.

Across the tsunami-affected region, the figure is 260,000, according to Japan's Reconstruction agency. Officials now believe it could be at least four more years before they can move into proper housing. Abe Mikio, one of the managers of the shelter where Mr and Mrs Sawato live, said that survivors are beginning to lose hope as they face years of limbo before being able to rebuild their lives. He estimated it would be five or six years before the people in his compound can return to their homes and at least ten years before Ishinomaki returns to normal.

The panel is expected to also issue an eight-clause resolution, determining that the "Israeli occupation" in territories, including East Jerusalem, is the main obstacle for the advancement of the Palestinian woman. The panel, which includes representatives from 45 countries, including Israel, is considered to be one of the UN's most active and respected bodies. Responding to the decision to condemn Israel, Israeli envoy to the UN Ron Prosor told Haaretz that the "council's resolution bring levels of absurdity and cynicism to new heights."

But in fact this seems to be becoming an annual event. Last year, a similar resolution was adopted: “[The] UN policy-making body dedicated to ‘gender equality and the advancement of women’ adopted a resolution accusing Israel of holding back the advancement of Palestinian women, but it took no action on the emergency in Libya or the legally enshrined discrimination faced by women in Iran. The only country-specific resolution passed by the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) at its recent session in New York was one condemning Israel over the Palestinian issue.”

There are no reported plans for the UN committee to condemn Syria.

But the companies say rolling out the new recipe across the US makes the drinks more efficient to manufacture. "While we believe that there is no public health risk that justifies any such change, we did ask our caramel suppliers to take this step so that our products would not be subject to the requirement of a scientifically unfounded warning," Coca-Cola representative Diana Garza-Ciarlante told the Associated Press news agency.

The chemical has been linked to cancer in mice and rats, according to one study, but there is no evidence that it poses a health risk to humans, said the American Beverage Association, which represents the wider industry. The US Food and Drug Administration claims a person would need to drink 1,000 cans of Coke or Pepsi to take in the same dose of the chemical that was given to the animals in the lab test.

Coca-Cola and PepsiCo account for nearly 90% of the fizzy drink market, according to one industry tracker, Beverage Digest.

Athens needed to get 75% agreement to be able to push through the deal. So far the deal involves 172 billion euros ($227 billion, £143.7 billion) worth of debt - with investors taking a total loss of up to 74%. Still, only 69% of the minority of bondholders not governed by Greek law agreed the deal - and Greece said it had extended the deadline for these foreign bondholders to sign up until 23 March.

Investors are now waiting to see if forcing bondholders to take the deal - or enforcing so-called Collective Action Clauses - will be deemed as a default. "On behalf of the republic, I wish to express my appreciation to all of our creditors who have supported our ambitious programme of reform and adjustment and who have shared the sacrifices of the Greek people in this historic endeavour," Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos said.

"Greece will continue implementing the measures needed to achieve the fiscal adjustments and structural reforms to which it has committed, and that will return Greece to a path of sustainable growth." The European Union and International Monetary Fund have said that if the debt swap does not go through then Greece will not get its latest bailout of 130 billion euros.

But the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the issue, played down as "unrealistic" Israeli reports that the United States would condition supplying the hardware on Israel promising not to attack Iran this year. White House spokesman Jay Carney, asked whether the Israelis had made such a request to US officials during the visit, said "there was no such agreement proposed or reached" in President Barack Obama's meetings with Mr Netanyahu or his aides.

But when asked if the matter was raised with Defense Secretary Leon Panetta or other US officials, Carney told reporters he had no information on that. "I would refer you to other officials," he said. A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that military capabilities came up in discussions between Messrs Netanyahu and Panetta but did not elaborate. No deals were struck during those talks, the official added.

Mr Netanyahu made clear to Mr Obama at a White House meeting on Monday that Israel had not yet decided on military action against Iran, the White House has said. The risk of an Israeli-Iranian war troubles Mr Obama, who is up for re-election in November and has cautioned against sparking greater Mideast turmoil, though he has also asserted that military action remains an option if sanctions fail. A Gulf conflict could send oil prices soaring.

A front-page article in the Israeli newspaper Ma'ariv on Thursday said Mr Obama had told Mr Netanyahu Washington would supply Israel with upgraded military equipment in return for assurances there would be no attack on Iran in 2012.

Since 2010, 270 churches have been sold after defaulting on their loans, with 90 percent of those sales coming after a lender-triggered foreclosure, according to the real estate information company CoStar Group. In 2011, 138 churches were sold by banks, an annual record, with no sign that these religious foreclosures are abating, according to CoStar. That compares to just 24 sales in 2008 and only a handful in the decade before.

The church foreclosures have hit all denominations across America, black and white, but with small to medium size houses of worship the worst. Most of these institutions have ended up being purchased by other churches.The highest percentage have occurred in some of the states hardest hit by the home foreclosure crisis: California, Georgia, Florida and Michigan.

"Churches are among the final institutions to get foreclosed upon because banks have not wanted to look like they are being heavy handed with the churches," said Scott Rolfs, managing director of Religious and Education finance at the investment bank Ziegler.

"The rule of law has been treated with contempt," said Marc Ostwald from Monument Securities. "This will lead to litigation for the next ten years. It has become a massive impediment for long-term investors, and people will now be very wary about Portugal." At the start of the crisis EU leaders declared it unthinkable that any eurozone state should require debt relief, let alone default. Each pledge was breached, and the haircut imposed on banks, insurers, and pension funds ratcheted up to 75 percent.

Last month the European Central Bank exercised its droit du seigneur, exempting itself from loses on Greek bonds. The instant effect was to concentrate more loss on other bondholders. "This has set a major precedent," said Marchel Alexandrovich from Jefferies Fixed Income. "It does not matter how often the EU authorities repeat that Greece is a 'one-off' case, NOBODY IN THE MARKETS BELIEVES THEM."

Economists, business executives and even government officials, however, have started to sound the alarm about the rapid and unsustainable growth of the country’s public debt. The original boast remains officially true, despite scepticism about “peripheral” European economies after the Greek bailouts. The latest statistics from September 2011 show total Spanish public sector debt standing at €706 billion, as measured by the EU’s deficit-control rules – a manageable 66 per cent of the country’s €1.07 trillion gross domestic product.

But the total debt is already much higher than the number calculated according to the EU’s definitions. Moreover, it is growing quickly with each successive annual deficit. This year will see a further €60 billion added to the total, or 6 per cent of GDP, and it could be greatly swollen in future by contingent liabilities for everything from bank bailouts to guarantees for lossmaking toll road contracts managed by the private sector.

“It all adds up,” says Mr Hugh, adding that Spain risks raising its acknowledged public debt ratio to 100 per cent of GDP. “When you add all the debt up, we are already in the high 80 per cent range, and two more years of ‘normal’ deficit plus more funding for the financial sector should take it through the psychological barrier,” he says.

For Daniel, and for millions of other Israeli citizens, the sign is symbolic of creeping change in an institution long cherished as a bastion of national unity. An increasing number of conscripts are Orthodox Jews – mirroring the growth of the minority in Israeli society at large. Some religious troops view military service through the prism of their own piety – either as the realization of a messianic vision that sees Jews conquering biblical lands or as an institution that should be subordinated to rabbinical writ.

For secular Israelis, already worried about the role of religion in the Jewish state, that threatens not just the military but the country itself. “In my time, the skullcap-wearers came to the military and served alongside me. They lived their lives as they pleased, we respected them, and they also respected our lifestyle,” said Daniel, who is 64 and secular. “Today’s generation, to a degree, joins up with the object of imposing its lifestyle on others – to dictate how to behave. It’s a crawling annexation.”

Israel Defense Forces top brass say religion is not threatening the chain of command. “No rabbi will run any of my units,” chief of staff, Lieutenant-General Benny Gantz, told Israel’s top-rated Channel Two news last month.

The online attack struck 25 websites belonging to the security firm on Wednesday night, defacing them with messages such as "Love to LulzSec/Antisec fallen friends". Anonymous also made off with the emails, passwords and usernames of over a hundred Panda Security employees, which were subsequently posted online. Anonymous claim that Panda Security had a hand in the arrests 25 people in Spain and Latin America in February accusing them of snitching to law enforcement organizations in exchange for money.

The online assault follows the arrest of six suspected members of Anonymous/LulzSec on Tuesday in the UK and US. The arrests are reported to be the product of information handed over to the authorities by one of LulzSec’s leaders, Hector Xavier Monsegur, also known as Sabu, who had been acting as a mole for the authorities since last year. Following the arrests, Anonymous posted on its Twitter feed: “LulzSec was a group, but Anonymous is a movement. Groups come and go, ideas remain.”

Hackers from the Italian branch of the group attacked the Vatican’s website on Wednesday in protest against the Roman Catholic Church’s scandals, liturgies, conservative doctrines and controversial history. The website was taken down on Wednesday and was inaccessible for hours. A Vatican spokesman said he could not confirm the crash was the work of the hackers, but said technicians were working to get it back up, Reuters reports. "Anonymous has decided to put your site under siege in response to your doctrine, liturgy and the absurd and anachronistic rules that your profit-making organization spreads around the world," a statement published on the Italian website of the Anonymous group read.

Anonymous has become increasingly associated with international “hacktivism”, staging protests and high-profile cyber-attacks. The group has carried out attacks on scores of organizations, political parties and governments across the world. The attack on the Holy See website comes as Anonymous warned of a “storm” to come in March. “Trust us. You think you've seen the full muscles of #Anonymous up to now? Nah, you ain't seen NOTHING yet. Get ready. #March2012,” the group said on Twitter.

According to this research institute, the Eurofighter, which is certified to have a "multifunctional capability," will play a principal role. Because of the various types of bombs it carries, this jet fighter is considered excellent for close air support for ground troops, which has regularly led to massacres of civilians in Afghanistan. Secondly, the Eurofighter is considered essential for the "neutralization" of enemy "air warfare potential," to create the conditions for "constant bombing" such as in Libya.

In general, the SWP sees the Eurofighter as a "airborne computer network" with "perpetual update capabilities," which has the capacity for becoming the "future backbone" of the German Air Force. The combat jet has also chances of being a good export item. After the Eurofighter went through its "baptism of fire" in the NATO attack on Libya, there were numerous interested buyers, particularly in the Middle East.

Only older models of the aircraft, models that the Bundeswehr has decommissioned, should be sold abroad. "To sell the most modern versatile machines would be foolish, in light of its multifunctional capability and its security political significance."

The sun erupted Tuesday evening, and the effects should start smacking Earth around 7am EST Thursday, according to forecasters at the federal government's Space Weather Prediction Center. They say the flare is growing as it speeds outward from the sun. 'It's hitting us right in the nose,' said Joe Kunches, a scientist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. He called it the sun's version of 'Super Tuesday'.

The solar storm is likely to last through Friday morning, but the region that erupted can still send more blasts our way, Kunches said. He said another set of active sunspots is ready to aim at Earth right after this. But for now, scientists are waiting to see what happens Thursday when the charged particles hit Earth at 4.5 million mph. NASA solar physicist Alex Young added, 'It could give us a bit of a jolt.' But he said this is far from a super solar storm.

The storm is coming after an earlier and weaker solar eruption happened Sunday, Kunches said. This newer blast of particles will probably arrive slightly later than forecasters first thought. But there is the potential for widespread problems. Solar storms have three ways they can disrupt technology on Earth: with magnetic, radio and radiation emissions. This is an unusual situation when all three types of solar storm disruptions are likely to be strong, Kunches said.

The magnetic part of the storm has the potential to trip electrical power grids. Kunches said power companies around the Earth have been alerted for possible outages. The timing and speed of the storm determines whether it will knock off power grids, he said. In 1989, a strong solar storm knocked out the power grid in Quebec, causing 6 million people to lose power. Solar storms can also make global positioning systems less accurate, which is mostly a problem for precision drilling and other technologies, Kunches said. There also could be GPS outages.

The press release also issued a warning, thought to be targeted at those holding Greek debt governed by foreign law (which is not subject to the CACs), stating that Greece had not made any provisions to pay out in full those bondholders who do not accept any write-downs. Greece also denied rumours that it planned to change the deadline for taking part in the restructuring set at 8pm on Thursday.

The announcement and broader concerns over the Greek deal sent markets tumbling yesterday. EUobserver reports that Greece purchased €1 billion in arms from other EU countries at the same time as it negotiated its first bailout package in 2010.

Daily Telegraph adds: The deadline looms for Greece's creditors to accept a vital €206 billion (£172 billion) bond swap, putting the country on the path of the biggest sovereign restructuring in history, and leaving it dangerously exposed to default.

"Long-term security" is at the heart of foreign policy thinking, the government said in response. The committee, whose members include ex-MI5 director general Baroness Manningham-Buller, said economic instability could leave the UK "unable to defend itself". It added that governments across the EU could be forced to cut defence spending if the instability were to continue.

"International economic problems could lead to our allies having to make considerable cuts to their defence spending, and to an increase in economic migrants between EU member states, and to domestic social or political unrest," it said. In response, a government spokesman said ministers remained vigilant and regularly took stock of "the changing global environment" and threats to the UK's security. "A strategy for Britain's long term security and prosperity is at the heart of the government's approach to foreign policy," he said.