Hurricanes Julia and Igor are not thought to pose any threat to land, but Karl, the 11th named storm of the season, dumped more rain on Mexico which is already struggling with heavy flooding in southeastern states. Karl also threatened installations of state oil company Pemex, and was due to pass close by. Nearly a million people have been affected by flooding in Mexico this month alone, including 25 who died.

The rains, which began in July, are set to worsen as the rainy season continues to almost the end of the year. Hurricane Julia weakened slightly after surging overnight, becoming a category three storm with top sustained winds of 125 miles per hour. Igor, however, remained a massive category four storm, the second most powerful hurricane on the five-point Saffir-Simpson scale, with top winds of 135 miles an hour.

On average, there are 11 named storms, six of which become hurricanes, in a six-month season. There has been unusually high storm activity since 1995, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency.

Although officials insisted that the 77 year-old had dropped out of the trip for medical reasons, as he had been ill "for some days", his comments represent another embarrassing PR blunder for the Roman Catholic church at a critical time. The are all the more embarrassing because the Cardinal's position makes him responsible for promoting Christian unity around the world. The Vatican, the hierarchy in England and Wales and the Government are all desperate for the first-ever state papal visit to Britain to be a success.

The preparations for the Pope's arrival have suffered a number of setbacks and thousands of tickets remain unsold for the large open-air Masses. Meanwhile secular groups have led protests against the 10 million pounds cost of the trip at a time of public sector cuts, and survivors of clergy abuse are angry that the Pope will be greeted by the Queen today at the start of a full state visit when the worldwide church stands accused of covering up the activities of paedophile priests.

Cardinal Kasper's presence will also be missed during Benedict XVI's visit to Britain as he is seen as more liberal than his fellow German, as well as an expert on ecumenical dialogue. The cardinal's abrupt withdrawal from the trip prompted speculation in Rome that it was linked to the interview he gave this week to the German news magazine, Focus.

His secretary, Monsignor Oliver Lahl, said the remark was a reference to the diverse, multi-cultural population of Britain, which the Cardinal has visited three times in recent years. Cardinal Kasper, who recently retired as the president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity having headed it since 2001, said that Britain was a "secular and pluralist" country in which there was a "distance from God", noting that there was "a crisis of faith" in much of the West.

He is only the second Bank of England governor to speak to the TUC in its 142-year history. RMT union members staged a walk-out ahead of the speech. The TUC congress, taking place in Manchester, has heard strong criticism of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition's economic policies, with delegates voting on Monday for joint industrial action if "attacks" on jobs, pensions and public services go ahead.

On Wednesday, the congress will also vote on plans to set up a "shadow commission" to monitor the salaries of the highest-paid company workers, similar to that established by the government to look into public sector wages. Mr King added: "An unprecedented degree of policy stimulus, here and abroad, prevented another world slump. Even so, around a million more people in Britain are out of work than before the crisis."

Many, especially the young unemployed, have had their futures blighted. "So we cannot just carry on as we are." He also said: "Your members, and indeed the businesses which employ them, are entitled to be angry. But however legitimate, anger will not produce change unless its energy is harnessed to a cool analysis of what happened and why."

The government said it recognised the Pope as a head of state and the visit would build "positive relations". Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Scotland and England begins on Thursday. Other signatories to the letter in the Guardian include: Professor Richard Dawkins, Ken Follett, AC Grayling, Stewart Lee, Claire Rayner, Lord Foulkes, Lord Hughes, Professor Steve Jones, Sir Jonathan Miller, Lord Taverne, Peter Tatchell and Baroness Turner.

They say the Pope "as a citizen of Europe and the leader of a religion with many adherents in the UK, is of course free to enter and tour our country". But they say the Vatican has "been responsible for: Opposing the distribution of condoms and so increasing large families in poor countries and the spread of Aids; promoting segregated education; denying abortion to even the most vulnerable women; opposing equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people; failing to address the many cases of abuse of children within its own organisation".

It adds that they "reject the masquerading of the Holy See as a state, and the Pope as a head of state, as merely a convenient fiction to amplify the international influence of the Vatican".

''Usually it is a junior member of the royal family or a minister but to have the Duke of Edinburgh at the welcome is very significant and most unusual," according to Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman. Accompanied by a retinue of diplomats, secretaries and officials from the Holy See - known as the seguito - the papal entourage will travel to Holyroodhouse Palace, Edinburgh, where the Pope will be welcomed by the Queen.

As the Guard of Honour gives a Royal Salute and both the Papal and National Anthems are played, Britain's head of state will present a succession of politicians and religious leaders to the Pontiff, with the Government represented by Nick Clegg, an avowed atheist. After speeches and a reception Benedict will leave for his first journey by Popemobile on British soil, through the streets of central Edinburgh. But although he will be preceded by pipers and schoolchildren celebrating his arrival in a St Ninian's Day Parade, protestors on the route will include the Reverend Ian Paisley.

It is expected that the sight of the Pontiff speaking where St Thomas More, the Catholic martyr, was condemned to death will provide one of the "iconic images" of the visit. Another poignant moment will come when Benedict becomes the first Pope to enter Westminster Abbey in its 1,000-year history and prays with the Archbishop of Canterbury at the tomb of St Edward the Confessor.

Only after his departure will the exact financial cost of the visit be known - estimated at around 20 million pounds in total - as well as its impact on a public that has in recent years shown dwindling interest in religion.

But it was unclear whether Prime Minister Naoto Kan's government had the stomach for a prolonged campaign similar to Japan's last foray into foreign exchange markets in 2003-2004. Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda confirmed the intervention, saying Tokyo was also communicating with authorities overseas but indicating that Japan acted alone. US officials at the Federal Reserve and the Treasury declined to comment immediately about Tokyo's action.

Last time Japan intervened in the foreign exchange market, it embarked on a 15-month, 35 trillion yen ($421.7 billion) selling spree aimed at preventing a strong yen from snuffing out an economic recovery. Analysts said it was unlikely that other countries would help Japan tamp down the yen since they also need weaker currencies to boost exports and help their own fragile economic recoveries. Some doubted that Japan would be as aggressive as earlier in the decade.

Japan is not the only developed economy to have intervened to weaken its currency in the past year. The Swiss National Bank intervened to hold the Swiss franc down against the euro, in a move launched in March 2009 as part of a package of steps to fight deflation risks.

Weak economic growth worldwide often drives investors into parking money in gold futures. "As long as there is still uncertainty in the market, there should be support for gold," said William Rhind, strategic director for ETF Securities. Gold for December delivery touched a record of $1,276.50 during Tuesday trading, before settling $24.60, or 2 percent, higher at $1,271.70 an ounce.

Silver followed gold, rising 28.1 cents to $20.432 an ounce. It also touched a new high of $20.55 an ounce during the day. The dollar fell against other major currencies, which typically leads to more investments in commodities. A weaker dollar makes commodities priced in dollars more attractive for foreign investors.

As is by now well-known, sovereign wealth funds from the Mid-East, as well as state-entities from China, the Pacific Rim, and even India are trying to lock up chunks of the world's future food supply. Western agribusiness is trying to beat them to it. Western funds - many listed on London's AIM exchange - are in turn trying to beat them. The NGO GRAIN, and farmlandgrab.com, have both documented the stampede in detail.

Hedge funds that struck rich 'shorting' US sub-prime have rotated into the next great play of our era: 'long' soil. "Productive agricultural land with water on site, will be very valuable in the future. And I've put a good amount of money into that," said Michael Burry, star of 'The Big Short'. Needless to say, this has set off a fierce backlash. Brazil has passed a decree limiting acreage held by foreign-owned companies, the latest evidence that our half-century era of globalisation may be drawing to a close. "There are many foreigners who don't buy to produce, but rather to position themselves in places with water, mineral resources and hydrocarbons," said Pablo Orsolini, a sponsor of the legislation.

In Madasgascar, a deal with Korea's Daiwoo Logistics to plant corn on territory half the size of Belgium led to the downfall of the government in 2008. The lease was revoked. "Madagascar's land is neither for sale nor for rent," said the new president. Even Australia's senate has called for an audit of foreign-owned land and water projects. The allure of global land is obvious. The World Bank says industrial and "transition" countries are losing 2.9 million hectares of cultivated farmland each year.

His comments at a forum in Beijing follow a string of remarks by Chinese officials questioning US credit-worthiness and the reliability of the dollar. China's authorities seem split over how to respond to moves on Capitol Hill for legislation to punish Beijing for holding down the yuan. The central bank has ruled out use of its "nuclear weapon", insisting that it would not exploit its $2.45 trillion of foreign reserves for political purposes. "The US Treasury market is a very important market for China," it said.

However, the mood is hardening on both sides of the Pacific. The dispute risks escalating if China's trade surplus with the US climbs further and more US jobs are lost. US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, who has taken a softly-softly line in the past, said on Friday that China had done "very little" to correct the undervaluation of the yuan since ending the dollar peg in June.

Mr Ding reflects thinking among some in the Poltiburo, who seem convinced that the US is in decline and that China's rise as an exporter of goods and capital give it the upper hand. "They are utterly wrong," said Gabriel Stein from Lombard Street Research. "The lesson of the 1930's is that surplus countries with structurally weak domestic demand come off worst in a trade war."

He described the implicit threat to sell Treasuries as "empty bluster" because Beijing's purchase of these bonds is a side-effect of its yuan policy. "Bring it on: it will weaken the dollar, which is what the US wants. The interest rate effect can be countered by the Fed."

He said a double-dip recession remains unlikely but stressed that the world has not yet escaped a deeper social crisis. He called it a grave error to think the West was safe again after teetering so close to the abyss last year. "We are not safe," he said. A joint IMF-ILO report said 30 million jobs had been lost since the crisis, three quarters in richer economies. Global unemployment has reached 210 million. "The Great Recession has left gaping wounds. High and long-lasting unemployment represents a risk to the stability of existing democracies," it said.

The study cited evidence that victims of recession in their early twenties suffer lifetime damage and lose faith in public institutions. A new twist is an apparent decline in the "employment intensity of growth" as rebounding output requires fewer extra workers. As such, it may be hard to re-absorb those laid off even if recovery gathers pace. The world must create 45 million jobs a year for the next decade just to tread water.

Olivier Blanchard, the IMF's chief economist, said the percentage of workers laid off for long stints has been rising with each downturn for decades but the figures have surged this time. "Long-term unemployment is alarmingly high: in the US, half the unemployed have been out of work for over six months, something we have not seen since the Great Depression," he said.

Our president and the secretaries of state and defense deplored Pastor Jones' plan to burn 100 Qurans but could do nothing to stop him, other than to plead with him. Jones decided to call it off himself. What was the message received by a billion Muslims? "Muslims must understand that our Constitution protects the desecration of your holiest book, (yet) America is a place where people have a right to denounce Islam as a religion 'of the devil' and burn the Quran in public."

Having gotten the message, Afghan mobs chanting, "Death to America," burned the American flag and set off to kill our soldiers. Can rural Afghans understand the refusal of a US president to stop what they see as a televised sacrilege against their faith? In their country, Jones would have been stoned to death. That is who they are. What would a US soldier say to an Afghan soldier who asked, "If you Americans believe it is the exercise of a precious right to burn our holy book, the Quran, why should we fight beside you, against fellow Muslims, who would fight to protect the Quran?"

Now consider the message sent to US troops. Their commander, General Petraeus, warned that, should the Quran burning proceed, it could endanger their lives and imperil the mission President Obama sent them to fight and die for. To those troops, President Obama was saying that his read on the First Amendment forbids him from interfering with book burnings in America that could get them killed in Afghanistan. How do you fight and win a war like that, with a war president like that?

Saturday, the president declared: "Americans are not - and never will be - at war with Islam. It was not a religion that attacked us... it was al-Qaida." President Bush declared Islam "a religion of peace." Both statements are understandable, for if we are perceived as at war with Islam, we will lose that war, and Osama bin Laden will have won by having broadened and defined what the war was about. For tens of millions of Muslims and growing numbers of AMERICANS ARE INDEED COMING TO SEE THIS AS A RELIGIOUS WAR. How do we win a long war when we cannot name the enemy?

Headlines in the Hebrew media say that Rabbi Shlomo Aviner, a well-respected rabbinical authority within much of the religious-Zionist sector, called the custom a "superstition." The custom involves waving a chicken over one's head three times and saying, "May this chicken be an atonement for our sins... This chicken will go to slaughter, and we will be inscribed for peace and long life."

The Animal Rights Society wages a public campaign each year at this time against the custom, which is still widely practiced in Sephardic and Hassidic communities. The society received a letter from Rabbi Aviner this year in strong support of its position. The dean of Yeshivat Ateret Cohanim in the Old City of Jerusalem and the co-Chief Rabbi of Beit El wrote that the custom should not be practiced: "Since it is not a clear obligation, but rather just a custom, and because of problems with kashrut [regarding the slaughter] and cruelty to animals, and in light of the words of the rabbis [who forbid it] quoted above, it is better to use money as an atonement and thus support the poor."

He wrote that though the custom is hundreds of years old, "there have been Sages who were not pleased with it, such as the author of [the classic Code of Jewish Law] Shulhan Arukh himself, who wrote that it is a 'custom of the Emorites,' or in simpler words, a superstition."

But I really have given Obama the benefit of the doubt until now. I have asked the questions and directed the investigative reporting that has changed America's political landscape on the eligibility question. WND conducted the first national poll on this subject 15 months ago. Back then, we were shocked that 50 percent of Americans knew there was a controversy about his birth certificate and his eligibility - because WND is the only news organization in the country that pursued the story. Today, the latest polls show 58 percent of Americans don't believe Obama's story and suspect he is not eligible to serve. That is a big shift in public opinion in a short period of time.

During that time, despite suggestions to the contrary, I never accused Obama of being born elsewhere. I never concluded he is constitutionally ineligible. I avoided speculation on what we might find if Obama ever did willingly and openly release his records as other presidents and presidential candidates have. However, when Barack Obama insinuated to Brian Williams of NBC that he had done everything he could to quell America's curiosity and doubts about his constitutional eligibility for office - turning his own cover-up into an indictment of the people - I say the time for deference is over.

"I can't spend all of my time with my birth certificate plastered on my forehead," Obama told Williams in an interview on NBC's Nightly News. With this kind of arrogance after the patience the American people have demonstrated over this matter, I'd say it's time to conclude that he is ineligible for office. He's had plenty of time to provide the evidence to clear himself of this charge, this suspicion, this indictment in the form of overwhelming public opinion.

He has failed to answer the charge. He has failed to enter a plea. He has failed to show up for a hearing. Therefore, I no longer afford him the presumption of innocence. It's time to recognize what we have serving in the White House today - a pretender, a usurper, an arrogant narcissist who believes it's beneath him to answer the questions of the public and to demonstrate his worthiness for office.

So, right here and now, I declare the president ineligible by default. Maybe he can prove I'm wrong. Maybe he can't. But the people cannot be expected to prove a negative. I feel confident we'll soon learn the truth. Personally, I think we're very close to reaching the critical mass that will bring this issue to a head.

Budget clothing chain Primark today joined other retailers in warning about the impact on both higher cotton prices and other costs. The firm also made clear the Government's decision to increase VAT to 20 percent in January will also push up the price of fashions. Primark has built its success by undercutting established rivals with cheap throwaway fashions, including the 2 pounds T-shirt and 4 pounds pair of jeans for men. However, it seems it will be impossible to repeat these deals when higher wholesale prices feed through to the high street early next year.

Flooding disasters in North Eastern China and Pakistan have pushed the price of cotton to rocket up in recent weeks by more than 700 per cent. Floods have destroyed over 4.25 million acres, affecting an estimated 25 percent of the cotton crop. Higher cotton prices are expected to see retailers and manufacturers looking to switch to using more man-made fibres.

BBC unions last night declared war on the Conservatives with an extraordinary threat to black out coverage of David Cameron's keynote speech to the Tory party conference. They unveiled a series of damaging strikes which will also disrupt its reporting of Chancellor George Osborne's spending review next month. The two 48-hour walkouts, in protest at plans to overhaul the corporation's gold-plated pensions, have been deliberately timed to wipe out coverage of the two most high-profile events in this autumn's political calendar. Unions are expecting 'well in excess' of 10,000 BBC workers to support the action. It is thought the corporation would still be able to put together coverage of the events, but that it would be 'lightweight'.

Furious Conservatives said the threat was final proof of the inherent Left-wing bias of BBC staff. A Tory source said last night: 'These dates make the strike political.' Philip Davies, a Conservative member of the Culture Select Committee, said: 'Mark Thompson (the BBC Director General) was saying recently that the BBC had a Left-wing bias in Margaret Thatcher's time, but that has since been ironed out.'

He might now want to think again. 'It's entirely predictable of course and demonstrates the inherent Left-wing bias that still exists. What it shows is that their bias is more important to them than broadcasting events that are of interest to the public. They don't want to get the Conservative message across because it doesn't fit in with their agenda.' Tory backbencher Nadine Dorries said: 'These are cynical and politically motivated strikes which prove the BBC unions have declared war on the Government.'

The first walkout is planned for October 5 and 6, during the Tory conference. David Cameron usually makes his keynote speech on the Wednesday - which this year is October 6. Journalists, technicians and other broadcast staff will stage another strike on October 19 and 20, the second day of which coincides with the Government's long-awaited spending review. The effect on coverage could be dramatic.