Sir John claimed it was likely that Europe was heading towards a ''federal state within the eurozone'' as leaders try to find a resolution for the current crisis. He told the BBC's Andrew Marr show: ''There won't necessarily have to be a treaty in this country for fiscal union. It is conceivable there would be a treaty just among members of the eurozone.'' He added: ''But at some stage there will be another treaty because if there is fiscal union in Europe it changes our relationship to Europe."

"The decision has already been made by the government that leaving the euro is a possibility. I think they have already got the printing machines going and are bringing out the old deutsche marks they have left over from when the euro was introduced." Malmgren, co-founder of Principalis Asset Management, acknowledged that leaving the euro would be a radical move that would cause Germany's export prices to jump, but said German industries are strong enough to handle price increases, Citywire reported. Other countries have left currency unions before, Malmgren said, citing the report, "Checking Out: Exits from Currency Unions."

Countries leaving currency unions are usually larger, wealthier, and more democratic and typically have higher inflation than their partners, according to the report, published by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Malmgren predicts that more eurozone countries will default, causing deep changes in society, Citywire reported. "It is important to begin preparing the public to deal with this situation." Malmgren isn't the only one saying the euro is in trouble.

"The euro is nearing its ugly end," said Stefan Homburg, head of Germany's Institute for Public Finance, according to The Telegraph. "A collapse of monetary union now appears unavoidable."

The virus, first detected nearly two weeks ago by the military's Host-Based Security System, has not prevented pilots at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada from flying their missions overseas. Nor have there been any confirmed incidents of classified information being lost or sent to an outside source. But the virus has resisted multiple efforts to remove it from Creech's computers, network security specialists say. And the infection underscores the ongoing security risks in what has become the US military's most important weapons system.

"We keep wiping it off, and it keeps coming back," says a source familiar with the network infection, one of three that told Danger Room about the virus. "We think it's benign. But we just don't know."

Military network security specialists aren't sure whether the virus and its so-called "keylogger" payload were introduced intentionally or by accident; it may be a common piece of malware that just happened to make its way into these sensitive networks. The specialists don't know exactly how far the virus has spread. But they're sure that the infection has hit both classified and unclassified machines at Creech. That raises the possibility, at least, that secret data may have been captured by the keylogger, and then transmitted over the public internet to someone outside the military chain of command.

Despite their widespread use, the drone systems are known to have security flaws. Many Reapers and Predators don't encrypt the video they transmit to American troops on the ground. In the summer of 2009, US forces discovered "days and days and hours and hours" of the drone footage on the laptops of Iraqi insurgents. A $26 piece of software allowed the militants to capture the video.

Fitch cited the "intensification" of the eurozone debt crisis that "constitutes a significant financial and economic shock which has weakened Italy's sovereign risk profile". The agency also cut Spain's rating by two notches, to AA-. Fitch raised concerns about the strength of Italian banks, particularly in light of the current debt crisis.

It talked of the "small but no longer negligible risk that a further worsening of the eurozone debt crisis and volatility in the value of Italian government bonds will further erode confidence in the banking system". The agency said a "vicious cycle" could emerge where a growing lack of confidence in Italian banks could knock confidence in government debt, which could in turn undermine the banks further. With regards to Spain, Fitch also cited the deepening debt crisis, and raised questions about the country's ability to cut its debt levels quickly - and its growth prospects.

It was 10 years ago that the United States, together with its NATO allies, marched into Afghanistan to put an end to Taliban rule and begin the hunt for al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden. A decade later, the terrorist leader is dead. But, says Harald Kujat, former general inspector of the German military, the mission has been a failure.

"The mission fulfilled the political aim of showing solidarity with the United States," Kujat told the German daily Mitteldeutsche Zeitung. "But if you measure progress against the goal of stabilizing a country and a region, then the mission has failed." Kujat said that it was ignored for too long that "the opponent was fighting a military battle and we needed to do the same." In reference to claims from German political leaders, among others, he said "the argument that it was a stabilization mission was maintained for too long." The result, he said, is that soldiers were not given what they needed in order to effectively fight the enemy.

Kujat is hardly the first to criticize the Afghanistan war. But his words carry weight in Germany. He was a leading planner of the German mission to Afghanistan and served as general inspector of the German military - the Bundeswehr's highest-ranking soldier - from 2000 to 2002. Part of his job included advising both the German government and the Defense Ministry on military matters.

With the turmoil threatening to spiral into financial meltdown as the value of banks' sovereign bond holdings slide, Merkel and Sarkozy are likely to discuss in Berlin both how to manage Greece, prevent contagion and strengthen lenders. The implosion of Belgian lender Dexia, the first victim of the crisis, has added a sense of urgency to the talks."Dexia will be among the topics that will be discussed but the main topic is Greece and the euro zone, as banks are only a consequence" of the crisis, a source at the French finance ministry told Reuters.

Sarkozy is due to arrive in Berlin late Sunday afternoon and hold a meeting with Merkel followed by a working dinner. Talks are continuing over a vital aid tranche for Greece, which could run out of cash as soon as mid-November. "There is a high risk that this crisis further escalates and broadens," German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble was cited as saying by a newspaper Sunday.

While that level remains the second highest decennial rate, analysts say the US may never return to its mid-decade housing boom peak in which nearly 70 percent of occupied households were owned by their residents. The reason: a longer-term economic reality of tighter credit, prolonged job losses and reduced government involvement.

Unemployed young adults are least likely to own, delaying first-time home purchases to live with Mom and Dad. Middle-aged adults 35-64, mostly homeowners who were hit with mortgage foreclosures or bankruptcy after the housing bust in 2006, are at their lowest levels of ownership in decades. Measured by race, the homeownership gap between whites and blacks is now at its widest since 1960, wiping out more than 40 years of gains.

"The changes now taking place are mind-boggling: the housing market has completely crashed and attitudes toward housing are shifting from owning to renting," said Patrick Newport, economist with IHS Global Insight. "While 10 years ago owning a home was the American Dream, I'm not sure a lot of people still think that way."

However, the firm emphasised that the downgrades did not "reflect a deterioration in the financial strength of the banking system". Moody's also downgraded nine Portuguese banks, blaming financial weakness. Shares in RBS and Lloyds fell sharply at the start of trading, but then recovered. By early morning RBS shares were down 0.25% while Lloyds was 1% lower.

In a statement, Moody's said: "Moody's Investors Service has today downgraded the senior debt and deposit ratings of 12 UK financial institutions and confirmed the ratings of one institution. "The downgrades have been caused by Moody's reassessment of the support environment in the UK which has resulted in the removal of systemic support for seven smaller institutions and the reduction of systemic support... for five larger, more systemically important financial institutions."

The downgrades include a two-notch cut for government-controlled RBS, and a one-notch cut for Lloyds TSB, a division of part-nationalised Lloyds Banking Group. Spanish bank Santander had its UK business downgraded by one notch, while Nationwide Building Society suffered a two-notch reduction. RBS said it was "disappointed" that Moody's announcement did not reflect the "significant progress" the bank had made to restructure it finances. Nationwide said that Moody's announcement was part of an industry-wide review, and "not a reflection of Nationwide's business model". The building society said in a statement: "Nationwide remains one of the strongest and best capitalised financial organisations in the UK".

Credit rating: The assessment given to debts and borrowers by a ratings agency according to their safety from an investment standpoint - based on their creditworthiness, or the ability of the company or government that is borrowing to repay. Ratings range from AAA, the safest, down to D, a company that has already defaulted. Ratings of BBB- or higher are considered "investment grade". Below that level, they are considered "speculative grade" or more colloquially as junk.

Explaining the move Sir Mervyn told Sky News: "This is the most serious financial crisis we've seen at least since the 1930s, if not ever." The Bank has already pumped 200 billion pounds into the economy. It has done this by buying assets such as government bonds, in an attempt to boost lending by commercial banks. Sir Mervyn said: "We're having to deal with very unusual circumstances and to act calmly and do the right thing. The right thing at present is to create some more money to inject into the economy."

The Bank's Monetary Policy Committee has been split for months over whether the UK needs a boost to the economy through QE, an increase in interest rates to stave off inflation - which at 4.5% is well over double its target - or to leave things as they are. Sir Mervyn said the economic landscape was unfamiliar and the world had changed in the past three months and so had the policy response necessary.

He said the amount of money in the economy was not growing quickly enough. Sir Mervyn also said he could not rule out a further bout of QE.

"Operation Enduring Freedom" aimed to track down Osama Bin Laden after 9/11 and eliminate the Taliban. The UN says more than 10,000 civilians have died in the past five years alone. More than 2,500 international troops have been killed - most of them American. The conflict has already surpassed Vietnam to become the longest war in US history.

Speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations, General McChrystal, who commanded coalition forces in 2009-10 before being forced to resign after a magazine interview, said the US and Nato allies were "a little better than" half way to achieving their military goals. The most difficult task would be to create a legitimate government that ordinary Afghans could believe in and that would balance the influence of the Taliban, he said.

The war is said to have cost the Americans $120 billion, and the British 18 billion pounds. "Just think how, if that money had been judiciously and wisely invested here, it might have transformed everything," said John Simpson, BBC World Affairs editor in Kabul.

The group "prayed that the government would remove the decrees against Jews on the Temple Mount, and that this year we will merit to see the Mount restored to its days of glory as the center of the people of Israel's national home, with the Temple restored to its rightful place," said sources in the Temple Mount Heritage Institute, which led the tour.

*Things are so bad in America that now Hallmark is actually offering a 6 card line of "job loss" greeting cards.

*Things are so bad in America that now gangster rappers are actually making rap videos about using food stamps.

*Things are so bad in America that the number of Americans that are submitting applications for temporary work visas in Canada has approximately doubled since 2008.

*Things are so bad in America that thieves are now stealing air conditioners, drain covers, hair extensions and even embalming fluid.

But things are especially bad for children.

The following are some jaw-dropping statistics about how children are faring in our declining economy...

*The poverty rate for children living in the United States increased to 22% in 2010. That means that tonight more than one out of every five US children is living in poverty.

*Right now, one out of every four American children is on food stamps.

*There are 314 counties in the United States where at least 30% of the children are facing food insecurity.

*In Washington DC, the "child food insecurity rate" is 32.3%.

*More than 20 million US children rely on school meal programs to keep from going hungry.

*Approximately one-third of the entire population of Alabama is now on food stamps.

*The number of Americans that are going to food pantries and soup kitchens has increased by 46% since 2006.

*It is being projected that approximately 50 percent of all US children will be on food stamps at some point in their lives before they reach the age of 18.

*Last year, the number of Americans living in poverty increased by an all-time record 2.6 million.

*It is estimated that up to half a million children may currently be homeless in the United States.

*More than 45 million Americans are now on food stamps. The number of Americans on food stamps has increased 74% since 2007.

Sometimes it is hard to believe that this is still the United States of America.

Aren't we supposed to be the most prosperous nation on the planet?

IT IS ALMOST AS IF WE ARE UNDER SOME SORT OF A CURSE.

But Mr Clarke accused her of 'misrepresenting' the judgment. Yesterday it was revealed that the Bolivian not only argued that he would suffer from being separated from his cat, but also that his pet's quality of life would be affected. It emerged that officials discovered he had arrived in Britain as a student in 2002 and overstayed his two-year visa only when he was arrested for shoplifting in 2007. He was never charged over the shoplifting allegations.

The fallout from the row continued yesterday as David Cameron, in his own Conference speech, publicly sided with Mrs May.

He also slapped down Mr Clarke and appeared to mock the Justice Secretary for being on the side of criminals. Immigration Judge James Devitte allowed the Bolivian to stay in this country under Article 8 of the Human Rights Act - the right to a private and family life.

The Chancellor has cleared the Bank to increase the scale of its quantitative easing (QE) programme from 200 billion pounds to 275 billion pounds due to the deterioration in the economic outlook. In his letter of authorisation to Sir Mervyn King, the Bank's Governor, George Osborne hinted that the Bank could consider using the funds to buy up to 50 billion pounds of "private sector assets", which would potentially transform the way QE has been operated.

Leaving rates on hold at 0.5%, Sir Mervyn said in his letter to the Chancellor: "The pace of global expansion has slackened, especially in the UK's main export markets. Vulnerabilities associated with the indebtedness of some euro-area sovereigns and banks have resulted in severe strains in banks funding markets and financial markets more generally. These tensions in the world economy threaten the UK recovery."

"The available indicators suggest that the underlying rate of growth has moderated. The squeeze on households' real incomes and the fiscal consolidation are likely to continue to weigh on domestic spending, while the strains in banks funding markets may also inhibit the availability of credit to consumers and businesses."

Foreign troops are starting to head home anyway, he argues, and the Taliban are tough enough to keep on fighting for years. "The only way to finish the fight against the Taliban is to bring them to power and get foreigners out," Muttawakil said in an interview at his Kabul home, perched on a mock tiger-skin sofa and dressed in a traditional white shalwar kameez baggy tunic and trousers.

Besides, he adds, corruption, insecurity and immorality have flourished since US-backed troops ousted the group from Kabul, and their return would end much of that. Other Afghans are not as enthusiastic about the reappearance in government of a group they remember as cruel and oppressive rulers. But as foreign troops start to head home with the war far from over, it is a future many are planning for.