Most non-federal judges around the country are selected by voters in elections. But some states use a process called "merit selection" in which a committee - often made up of lawyers - appoints judges to the bench instead. Soros has spent several million dollars in the past decade in an attempt to get more states to scrap elections and adopt the merit method. Supporters say it would allow judges to focus on interpreting the law rather than on raising campaign funds and winning elections.

"Merit selection would end the money race and get judges out of the fundraising business," Lynn Marks, executive director of Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts - a group that has received money from Soros' Open Society Institute - told FoxNews.com. But critics say that if judges are picked by committee - often, a committee of lawyers - that will give left-wing judges the upper hand.

"The left can't get their agenda through the legislatures anymore... so they think they can get their agenda through by taking over the courts," attorney Colleen Pero, author of a new report titled "Hijacking Justice," told FoxNews.com. Pero's report found that Soros, through his Open Society Institute fund, has given $45 million over the last decade to "a campaign to reshape the judiciary."

That marks a departure from previous years, when the central bank reserve managers have said the dollar would retain its status as the sole reserve currency. UBS surveyed more than 80 central bank reserve managers, sovereign wealth funds and multilateral institutions with more than $8,000 billion in assets at its annual seminar for sovereign institutions last week. The results were not weighted for assets under management.

The results are the latest sign of dissatisfaction with the dollar as a reserve currency, amid concerns over the US government's inability to rein in spending and the Federal Reserve's huge expansion of its balance sheet. "Right now there is great concern out there around the financial trajectory that the US is on," said Larry Hatheway, chief economist at UBS. The US currency has slid 5 per cent so far this year, and is trading close to its lowest ever level against a basket of the world's major currencies.

A mandatory evacuation was ordered for the town of Los Alamos, which has a population of about 12,000. The speed at which the fire has grown surprised fire officials. The laboratory, which ensures the safety and reliability of the US nuclear stockpile, is a national security research facility located in the Jemez mountains of northern New Mexico.

It was set up in 1943 as part of the Manhattan Project to create the first atomic bomb and still maintains the nation's largest nuclear weapons arsenal. "This fire is going to be with us for a while. It has the potential to double and triple in size," Los Alamos Fire Chief Doug Tucker said.

Nuclear watchdog groups are keeping a close eye on the fire, said Jay Coughlin, executive director of Nuclear Watch New Mexico.

"This agreement allows for settlements through Russian and Chinese banks not only in the freely convertible currencies but also in the yuan and the ruble," Melnikov said. Russia and China have also agreed to boost bilateral trade from $60 billiion in 2010 to $100 billion by 2015 and to $200 billion by 2020, Melnikov said.

People's Bank of China Deputy Chairman Ma Delun said the agreement would give the two nations the opportunity to increase the value of deals in their national currencies and "help bring them closer to international reserve currencies." The deal will also help Russia and China reduce foreign exchange risks and currency conversion costs, Ma and Melnikov said.

The outcome is expected to go down to the wire as the ruling party's slim majority is pushed to the limit by the opposition's refusal to support the deal, a wave of national strikes, and another round of public protests. Werner Faymann, the Austrian Chancellor, said on Sunday he "can't rule out" a Greek default and Wolfgang Schaeuble, the German finance minister, revealed that Europe is preparing "for the worst".

"We are doing everything we can to prevent a perilous escalation for Europe but must at the same time be prepared for the worst," Mr Schaeuble said. "If things turn out differently than everyone expects that would of course be a major breakdown. But even in 2008, the world was able to take coordinated action against a global and unpredictable financial market crisis."

If the austerity package is passed, Greece has been promised a second bail-out of up to 120 billion euros. Private sector creditors are being urged to participate on a voluntary basis but evidence is mounting that their involvement will be less than the 30 billion euros officials at the European Union and International Monetary Fund hope.

German banks were reported over the weekend to be pushing for state guarantees in return for voluntarily "rolling over" the debt, but the demands were rejected by Chancellor Angela Merkel as they would increase the German taxpayers' exposure. George Soros, the hedge fund manager famous for shorting Sterling in the 1990s, added that it is "probably inevitable" that a country will quit the euro. "There are fundamental flaws that need to be corrected," he said.

"If Standard & Poor's or any of the other major rating agencies downgrade the US, Treasuries would likely drop in value, possibly by as much as $100 billion," said analysts at S&P Valuation and Risk Strategies, a research team separate from the agency. Currently, Treasury yields do not reflect concern about the US losing its top rating.

The yield on 10-year Treasury notes fell to 2.85 per cent on Friday, a low for the year. Investors are concerned about a weaker economy and financial contagion from the euro debt crisis. Yields on four-week Treasury bills have been driven below zero. While the threat of a US downgrade is remote, it remains a possibility given the projections of large long-term deficits and the impasse over raising the $14,300 billion Treasury debt ceiling.

In April, S&P affirmed its US rating but revised its outlook to negative because of the deficit and the risk that it will not be cut meaningfully by 2013. Moody's has said it could place the US government on review for downgrade if there is no resolution of the impasse over raising the Treasury debt ceiling before the August 2 deadline.

Defense Undersecretary Guido Crosetto told news agency ANSA he was "fed up" with Tremonti's autocratic style, saying he was imposing indiscriminate cuts on every ministry but his own. "It's clear that the economy minister just wants to find a way to upset everything and bring down the government," said Crosetto, a former economic spokesman for Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's People of Freedom (PDL) party.

The austerity budget aimed at eliminating the budget deficit in 2014 is due to be approved by the cabinet on Thursday, following a meeting of ruling coalition leaders on Tuesday to find political agreement over the measures. Economy Ministry sources say the package will be worth some 43 billion euros, with deficit cuts of around 3 billion euros this year, 5 billion in 2012, 20 billion in 2013 and 15 billion in 2014.

Tensions within the center-right coalition have been running high for weeks, with some members pushing for tax cuts even as the government readies the deficit cuts that markets and ratings agencies are watching closely. Italy's budget deficit is targeted at 3.9 percent of gross domestic product this year, down from 4.6 percent in 2010. These levels are lower than in most euro zone countries, but Italy's stock of debt - at around 120 percent of GDP - is second only to Greece's in the 17-member bloc.

"We are on the verge of an economic collapse which starts, let's say, in Greece, but it could easily spread. The financial system remains extremely vulnerable." Concern Greek lawmakers will fail to pass austerity measures to ensure the next installment of the nation's bailout is roiling global markets and pushed the euro to a record-low against the Swiss franc last week. Greece is one of three euro-region members to have sought international bailouts amid the sovereign debt crisis.

"I think most of us actually agree that [Europe's crisis] is actually centered around the euro," said Soros. "It's a kind of financial crisis that is really developing. It's foreseen. Most people realize it. It's still developing. The authorities are actually engaged in buying time. And yet time is working against them," he said. "You need a Plan B and there's no Plan B at the moment," Soros said. Instead, "authorities are sticking to the status quo" and not "recognizing that there are fundamental flaws that need to be corrected," he said.

As Wen Jiabao, the Chinese premier, stepped off his plane in Birmingham on Saturday, it was difficult to avoid the feeling that the UK, and Europe, have never looked weaker in Chinese eyes. In private, senior Chinese diplomats are now openly scornful of Britain's economic prospects and have even asked why Mr Wen should grace such a weak trading partner with three days of his time.

Indeed, it is telling that the first stop on Mr Wen's tour is Longbridge, the old MG Rover car factory that passed into Chinese hands in 2005. Once a byword for poor productivity, wildcat strikes and trade union power in its British Leyland and Austin Rover days, the plant is now host to China's biggest industrial presence in the UK. Owned by Shanghai Automobile Industry Corporation, the factory designs and assembles MG cars in the UK made from car parts manufactured in China.

However, the Longbridge site remains the only major example of Sino-British co-operation, something that the Prime Minister, David Cameron, whose advisers have helped co-ordinate the visit, is determined to change. On Mr Cameron's visit to China last year, a target was announced for increasing bilateral UK-China trade to $100 billion by 2015, from its 2010 total of $63 billion and Number 10 sources said yesterday that they believe that "progress has been made" on hitting that figure.

More than 2 feet of water rushed in around containment buildings and electrical transformers at the 478-megawatt facility located 20 miles north of Omaha. Reactor shutdown cooling and spent-fuel pool cooling were unaffected, the NRC said. The plant, operated by the Omaha Public Power District, has been off line since April for refueling. Crews activated emergency diesel generators after the breach, but restored normal electrical power by Sunday afternoon, the NRC said.

Buildings at the Fort Calhoun plant are watertight, the agency said. It noted that the cause of the berm breach is under investigation. NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko and other officials planned to visit the site on Monday. Jaczko will also visit the Cooper Nuclear Station near Brownville, Nebraska, another facility that has been watched closely with Missouri River waters rising from heavy rains and snow melt.

"They came in on the El train and hit Sears," police Superintendent Michael Chitwood said. "They stole sneakers, socks, watches, whatever they could get their hands on, and left. Imagine the guts of this gang of young hoodlums. One was 11 years old. The others arrested ranged from 12 to 16 years old. They planned this out earlier in the day on a social networking site. It was pre-planned. They got on the El, got off at 69th Street Terminal and walked up the hill to Sears."

Kyree Marsh, 19, of the 5500 block of Spruce Street, Philadelphia, was arrested and charged with retail theft, conspiracy to retail theft and corruption of minors. Police recovered some of the stolen sneakers and socks that were in the backpack of one of the individuals arrested and in the pockets of others taken into custody.

According to the affidavit, the Sears loss-prevention officer saw the mob enter the store at 7:09 pm on Thursday. The group then began taking merchandise off the shelves. "He watched the group enter the store together from the 69th Street entrance," Chitwood said. "It was fast. They ran out, leaving empty shoeboxes and store tags behind. Fortunately, no customers or store employees got hurt. Due to the quick response by police, we were able to grab them up. They were heading back to the El train."

According to Chitwood, the juveniles received citations for retail theft and will answer charges before the county's juvenile justice system. "The parents should be held accountable," Chitwood said. "And where were the parents of the 11- and 12-year-olds when their children were riding into 69th street with a mob of teenagers? If I could, I would charge the parents. Certainly, this is unacceptable behavior. It was intentionally planned earlier in the day to gather and go to Upper Darby to rob and pillage. There has got to be consequences, and I don't mean a slap on the wrist. The county has got to send a strong message. This was a pack attack and will not be tolerated."

The 2,000-foot berm collapsed about 1:30 am Sunday, allowing the swollen river to surround two buildings at the plant. The NRC says those buildings are designed to handle flooding up to 1014 feet above sea level. The river is at 1006.3 feet and isn't forecast to exceed 1008 feet.

The NRC says its inspectors were at the plant when the berm failed and have confirmed that the flooding has had no impact on the reactor shutdown cooling or the spent fuel pool cooling. NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko will visit the plant Monday.

Among the ordnance were Fajr 4, Fajr 3 and Zilzal missiles, allegedly removed by Hizbullah from Syria due to fears the regime of President Bashar al-Assad may fall. According to the report, Hizbullah is unsure it would enjoy the same strong support under a new government that it has under the Assad regime, where it was able to maintain its own storage depots.

The terrorist organization is also fearful that Israel may bomb its convoys as they transport the missiles to Lebanon, the source told the French newspaper. Unnamed intelligence agencies have been monitoring the progress of the convoys, which are camouflaged.

"If we succeed in opening the door for negotiations, we're not going to stop from attaining what belongs to us as Palestinians in this General Assembly starting on September 20," Mansour insisted. American and European efforts to restart Israeli-PA negotiations have been specifically intended to avert the PA's United Nations statehood bid, which they say is counter-productive.

"Unlike the construction in the West Bank, which is an illegal unilateral act, declaring a state is a given right which is not considered unilateral," Mansour insisted. Israel "did not ask permission to declare a state in 1948, the US did not ask the British for permission to declare a state in 1776. Our declaration of state is a natural right and not a unilateral act," he said. "Our independence is not one of the core issues," Mansour said.

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman previously stated a unilateral declaration of PA statehood would render the Oslo Accords null and void. The 1993 Oslo Accords, which serve as the basis of Israeli recognition of, and all cooperation with, the PA, contain the express understanding that an independent PA state would only be attained through bilateral negotiations and that any statehood moves outside that framework were proscribed.

Recent polls indicate the vast majority of Jewish Israelis do not believe negotiations with the PA are in Israel's interests at this time due to the PA's inclusion of Hamas in government and its unilateral statehood bid at the United Nations.

The legislative session went into overtime as conservative lawmakers fought for changes to enhance protection for faith-based groups opposed to recognising gay marriages. The decision followed weeks of contentious debate and negotiations between Governor Cuomo and the GOP-controlled Senate.

After the bill passed in the Assembly, it was unclear if the bill had secured enough support to pass in the Senate. After a several undecideds moved to support the bill - including Republican Roy McDonald who famously defended his decision, saying '...I don't care what you think. I'm trying to do the right thing' the balance was tipped. Even when Governor Cuomo had secured 31 votes (32 are needed to pass the bill), the question remained whether Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos would allow the bill to come to a vote on the Senate floor.

After days of crafting religious protections into the bill, and seven hours of GOP leaders' backroom talks, Skelos said the bill could come to a vote on Senate floor. The turning point came when Republican Senator Stephen Saland threw his support behind the measure, being the 32nd senator to do so, clinching the support needed to pass the bill. He said: 'I have to define doing the right thing as treating all persons with equality. I certainly am at peace with my vote.'

New York, the nation's third most populated state, will join Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and Washington DC, in allowing same-sex couples to wed. Huge street parties erupted in New York with celebrants waving rainbow flags and dancing after the historic vote.