States and other providers should hang on to the vaccine and continue to offer them to people until drug companies can start distributing seasonal vaccine for the coming influenza season in the autumn, said Health and Human Services Department spokesman Bill Hall. Senator Chuck Grassley, the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance committee, released a letter on Monday that he sent to HHS secretary Kathleen Sebelius asking her how much vaccine was left over and when it would expire.

Health experts consider swine flu likely to join the mix of seasonal flu viruses and it will be included in the seasonal flu vaccine for 2010-2011, which will also contain two other flu strains. When the the H1N1 virus started spreading in April, HHS and its agencies, along with commercial flu vaccine makers, rushed to formulate and make a vaccine. Influenza vaccines are made using old and unwieldy methods that require incubating the virus in chicken eggs, and the process always takes months.

"Depending on the vaccine manufacturer, the shelf life of the H1N1 vaccines range from 18 weeks to 18 months, with some due to expire on June 30, 2010," Grassley wrote in his letter to Sebelius. "I understand that it is not uncommon for some seasonal flu vaccines to be discarded each year, but the H1N1 vaccines were paid for with taxpayer dollars," he added, asking: "How many doses of vaccine are due to expire on June 30, 2010?"

They have been introduced in return for a 110 billion euro (95 billion pounds) world rescue package agreed for the country. The measures aim to achieve fresh budget cuts of 30 billion euros over three years, with the goal of cutting Greece's public deficit to less than 3% of GDP by 2014. It currently stands at 13.6%. Union leaders say the cuts target low-income Greeks. "There are other things the [government] can do, before taking money from a pensioner who earns 500 euros (430 pounds) a month," Spyros Papaspyros, leader of the public servants' union ADEDY, told Greek private television.

The EU has agreed to provide 80 billion euros (69 billion pounds) in funding, while the rest will come from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The deal is designed to prevent Greece from defaulting on its massive debt. However, it must first be approved by some parliaments in the 15 other eurozone countries.

In return for the loans, Greece will make major austerity cuts which Prime Minister George Papandreou said involved "great sacrifices".

Measures include:

- Scrapping bonus payments for public sector workers

- Capping annual holiday bonuses and axing them for higher earners

- Banning increases in public sector salaries and pensions for at least three years

- Increasing VAT from 21% to 23%

- Raising taxes on fuel, alcohol and tobacco by 10%

- Taxing illegal construction

The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) said information from the Volcanic Ash Advice Centre (VAAC) suggests a 'no-fly zone' may have to be imposed over Ireland tomorrow that may affect Dublin, Shannon and some regional airports. Irish-based airlines have already been informed that a volcanic ash cloud, currently heading towards Donegal in the north-west of the country, could move across the country with north-easterly winds.

Hundreds of thousands of travellers were left stranded when European airspace was closed for almost a week after eruptions from Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull. Eamon Brennan, IAA chief executive, said winds had already pushed the volcanic ash cloud down over part of the centre of Ireland.

Mr Brennan said even though emissions from the volcano have been low over the last number of days, the cloud which has drifted south could impact on Ireland and the western part of the Scottish Isles. He revealed the plume was sitting 20,000 feet over parts of the country, adding that weather conditions were not favourable. 'We expect all flights this evening to continue as normal except we expect Donegal airport to close early,' Mr Brennan said. All other airports in the Republic will operate as normal right in to tonight.

Savvas Robolis is one of Greece's most distinguished economics professors. His opposite number, Poul Thomsen, the Danish chief negotiator for the International Monetary Fund (IMF), is currently something of a chief debt inspector in the virtually bankrupt Mediterranean country. He recently took three-quarters of an hour to meet with Robolis and Giannis Panagopoulos, the president of the powerful trade union confederation GSEE. At 9 am on Tuesday of last week, the men met behind closed doors in a conference room in the basement of the Grande Bretagne, a luxury hotel in Athens. The mood, says Robolis, was "icy."

Robolis told the IMF negotiator that radical wage cuts would be toxic for Greece's already comatose economy. He said that the Greeks, given their weak competitive position, primarily needed innovation and investment, and that a one-sided fixation on cleaning up the national budget would destroy the last vestiges of economic strength in Greece. The IMF, according to Robolis, could not make the same mistake as it did in Argentina in the early 1990s. "Don't put Greece on ice!" the professor warned.

But the tall Dane was not very impressed. He has negotiated aid packages with Iceland, Ukraine and Romania in the past, and when he and his 20-member delegation landed in Athens on April 18, they had come to impose a rigorous austerity program on the Greeks, not to devise long-term growth programs. Thomsen's mandate is to save the euro zone. And any Greek resistance is futile.

However, one key element is still missing: The economy has to grow, so that the government can collect enough tax revenue and thus reduce its debt. The trick, in other words, will be to save money while at the same time expanding aggregate output. This is the dilemma that governments face: debt and cutbacks curb growth, but debt reduction cannot succeed without growth. Whether there is in fact a way out of this quandary will soon become apparent - in the case of Greece.

UK experts said parents could allow young children to watch "some" high quality TV. On average, the two-year-olds watched just under nine hours of TV per week, while for four-year-olds the average was just under 15 hours. But 11% of the two-year-olds and 23% of four-year-olds watched more than the recommended maximum of two hours of TV a day.

When the children were revisited at the age of 10, teachers were asked to assess the children's academic performance, behaviour and health, while body mass index (BMI) was measured at 10 years old. Higher levels of TV viewing at two was linked to a lower level of engagement in the classroom and poor achievement in maths. Researchers also found a decrease in general physical activity but an increase in the consumption of soft drinks and in BMI (body mass index).

Dr Linda Pagani, of the University of Montreal, who led the research which was published in the journal Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, said: "Early childhood is a critical period for brain development and formation of behaviour". High levels of TV consumption during this period can lead to future unhealthy habits. It said that until research demonstrated that children under two might benefit from TV, parents should, "limit exposure and encourage other one-to-one language-enhancing activities that centre on talk at mealtime, bath time, shared reading and imaginative play". But it added: "Encourage exposure to some high-quality, age-appropriate educational television for children aged two to five."

British Psychological Society member Dr Aric Sigman has carried out his own research, which highlighted concerns over young children watching too much TV. "This is yet another study reinforcing the need for our society to finally accept that quite aside from good or bad parenting, children's daily screen time is a major independent health issue."

The accident took place when the rig was drilling a well 1,525 metres (approx 5000 feet) below the surface of the ocean and about 40 miles from land. This is exceptionally difficult work - although far from unprecedented. Last year, the Deepwater Horizon drilled the deepest-ever well. THE RIG WAS BUILT TO BORE INTO THE FRONTIERS OF WHAT IS POSSIBLE.

The explosion, however, seems to have been caused by an old-fashioned danger: a blowout. Gases appear to have forced their way up through the well and ignited. All rigs are fitted with equipment to prevent such accidents. But the Deepwater Horizon's failed - perhaps because of the extra pressure involved at such depths.

So the well has been releasing 5,000 barrels of oil into the gulf every day from a hole in the seabed that is too deep for divers to reach. Only robots can survive such depths. AN ENVIRONMENTAL CATASTROPHE IS UNAVOIDABLE. BP was confident the rig's distance from land would make any spills manageable. That now looks like hubris.

The government would be wise to pause on new permissions to drill in deep water while an investigation is conducted. There are lessons to be learnt. But offshore exploration should not stop. PRESIDENT OBAMA RECENTLY ENDED A 20-YEAR MORATORIUM ON OFFSHORE DRILLING. US energy security demands that exploration continue at sea.

Further deepwater drilling will, however, only be acceptable - politically and environmentally - if it can be made safer. That does not mean trying to prevent each and every spill: there are already strong incentives for companies to have good safety records. Government action should focus on containing the cost of accidents to the rest of society.

In the future, it should not be enough to be able to extract oil from thousands of metres below the sea and miles from land. Oil companies should also demonstrate their ability to fix leaks, fight fires and plug holes at those crushing depths and enormous distances. They should be expected to plan to stop oil spills from their rigs.

Pesticides are believed to be a key cause of a crisis known as Colony Collapse Disorder (CDD), damaging bee health and making them more susceptible to disease. But scientists do not know for certain and are at a loss how to prevent the disaster. Other potential factors include bloodsucking parasites and infections. Some experts believe bees are heading for extinction.

The number of managed honeybee colonies in the US fell by 34 per cent last winter, according to a survey by the country's Agricultural Research Service, and some commercial beekeepers have reported losses of more than 60 per cent over a year. In Britain, the latest report into the fate of the estimated 250,000 honeybee colonies is expected this month after losses of up to a third in the last two winters.

Bees are a critical part of the food chain because flowering plants depend on insects for pollination and the honeybee is the most effective. It pollinates 90 commercial crops worldwide, including most fruit and vegetables - from apples to carrots - alfalfa for cattle feed, nuts, oil-seed rape and cotton.

A world without honeybees would mean a largely meatless diet of rice and cereals, no cotton for textiles, no orchards or wildflowers and decimation among wild birds and animals in the bee food chain. Bees are worth 26 billion pounds to the global economy, and 200 million pounds in Britain.

'Bees contribute to global food security and their extinction would represent a terrible biological disaster,' said Bernard Vallat of the World Organisation for Animal Health.

The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency on Sunday morning asked for the state's National Guard to help with rescue operations and Governor Phil Bredesen was getting hourly updates on the storm.

TEMA spokesman Jeremy Heidt confirmed that one person died around 4 am Sunday in a possible tornado near Pocahontas, east of Memphis. Meanwhile, National Guard and Tennessee Highway Patrol helicopters with hoisting capabilities were on standby to rescue people from the floodwaters that covered city streets and left cars stranded on interstate highways turned into rivers.

A line of strong thunderstorms Saturday dumped at least 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain on Memphis and produced tornadoes and hail along the Mississippi River Valley in Mississippi, Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky and northward. The forecast called for more rain through the day Sunday, which could stymie rescuers trying to reach all of the far-flung areas that have been affected. Some areas were hit by 13 inches (33 centimeters) of flash flooding on Saturday, and the same was expected on Sunday, Browning said. The Tennessee deaths came a day after a tornado in Arkansas killed a woman and injured about two dozen people.

In an address entitled "Global Governance Today," Trichet proclaims how the elite need to impose "A set of rules, institutions, informal groupings and cooperation mechanisms that we call 'global governance'". During the course of the speech, Trichet uses the term 'global governance' well over a dozen times, outlining how 'global governance is of the essence' to avoid another financial crisis.

Section one of Trichet's speech is entitled, "Why we need global governance," and from then on he constantly invokes the economic downturn as a justification for empowering secretive, undemocratic and corrupt global institutions with the power to rule the world. A full transcript of the speech was also carried by the Bank for International Settlements, an international organization of central banks that has constantly lobbied for a centralized global currency to replace that of nation states. Trichet praises the BIS as being "ahead of the curve" in dealing with the financial crisis during the speech.

The primary outfit that will boss the institutions of global governance, according to Trichet, is the Global Economy Meeting (GEM), which regularly meets at the BIS headquarters in Basel. This group, states Trichet, "has become the prime group for global governance among central banks". The GEM is basically a policy steering committee under the umbrella of the Bank for International Settlements.

The BIS is a branch of the Bretton-Woods International Financial architecture and closely allied with the Bilderberg Group. It is controlled by an inner elite that represents all the world's major central banking institutions. John Maynard Keynes, perhaps the most influential economist of all time, wanted it closed down as it was used to launder money for the Nazis during World War II.

Financial website Investors Insight describe the BIS as "the most powerful bank you've never heard of," labeling it "the most powerful financial institution on earth". The bank wields power through its control of vast amounts of global currencies. The BIS controls no less than 7% of the world's available foreign exchange funds, as well as owning 712 tons of gold bullion.

Mr Mcalpine said that he did not repeat his remarks on homosexuality when he preached from the top of a stepladder after his leafleting. But he has been told that police officers are alleging they heard him making his remarks to a member of the public in a loud voice that could be overheard by others.

Mr Mcalpine, 42, who earns about 40,000 pounds a year in the energy industry, was arrested and taken to the local police station in the back of a police van after preaching in the Cumbrian town of Workington on April 20. After seven hours locked up in a cell, he was charged with using abusive or insulting words or behaviour contrary to the Public Order Act 1986. Mr Mcalpine - who has delivered open-air sermons and handed out leaflets in Workington for years, and has never been in trouble with the police - said the incident was one of the worst moments of his life.

'I felt deeply shocked and humiliated that I had been arrested in my own town and treated like a common criminal in front of people I know,' he said. 'My freedom was taken away on the hearsay of someone who disliked what I said, and I was charged under a law that doesn't apply.' He said he was not homophobic and has gay friends, but he feels compelled by his faith to urge people to abandon all types of sins so they can seek salvation.

'If you are preaching hate and calling on people to harm others, it is right that is against the law,' he said. 'But I would never do that. If we have a free society, I should be allowed to preach the Gospel as generations have before me.' Christian campaigners said last night they were alarmed that the police seemed to be using legislation originally introduced to deal with violent and abusive rioters and football hooligans to curb free speech.

Neil Addison, a barrister and expert on religious law, said: 'People should be able to express their opinions freely as long as their conduct is reasonable. In fact, it is part of the duty of the police to protect free speech.' Mike Judge, a spokesman for the Christian Institute, which is supporting Mr Mcalpine, said: 'Dale is an ordinary, everyday Christian with traditional views about sexual ethics.'

According to Mr Mcalpine, Mr Adams (the gay police community support officer) said there had been complaints and warned him that if he made racist or homophobic remarks he could be arrested. Mr Mcalpine said: 'I told him I was not homophobic but sometimes I did say that the Bible says homosexuality is a crime against the Creator, but it was not against the law to say this. The PCSO then told me he was gay and he was the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender liaison officer for the police. I said, "It is still a sin", and our conversation ended. It wasn't a loud or aggressive conversation.'

Mr Adams has been a member of Cumbria police's LGBT staff association and last year represented the force at the Gay Pride festival in Manchester, marching in the parade with a police dog named Whistle. On the social networking site MySpace, he describes his orientation as gay and his religion as atheist. Last night Cumbria police said there was no one available to comment on Mr Mcalpine's case.

Obama used his commencement speech at the University of Michigan to respond to foes who portray government as oppressive and tyrannical - and to warn that overheated language can signal to extremists that "perhaps violence is ... justifiable." Just 45 miles from the immense Michigan Stadium, capacity 106,201, the GOP's 2008 vice presidential nominee, Sarah Palin, told an anti-tax gathering Obama's policies are "big government" recipes that are "intrusive" in the lives of average Americans.

In Obama's 31-minute address to what the White House said was his biggest audience since the inauguration, the president made no mention of Palin or the tea party movement. He did say that debates about the size and role of government are as old as the republic itself. "But what troubles me is when I hear people say that all of government is inherently bad," said Obama, who received an honorary doctor of laws degree. "When our government is spoken of as some menacing, threatening foreign entity, it ignores the fact that in our democracy, government is us."

Government, he said, is the roads we drive on and the speed limits that keep us safe. It's the men and women in the military, the inspectors in our mines, the pioneering researchers in public universities. The financial meltdown dramatically showed the dangers of too little government," he said, "when a lack of accountability on Wall Street nearly led to the collapse of our entire economy."

Palin told an audience at a meeting sponsored by the anti-tax Americans for Prosperity Foundation that Obama is overreaching. "The fundamental transformation of America is not what we all bargained for," she said.

Obama urged both sides in the political debate to tone it down. "Throwing around phrases like 'socialists' and 'Soviet-style takeover, 'fascists' and 'right-wing nut' - that may grab headlines," he said. But it also "closes the door to the possibility of compromise... At its worst, it can send signals to the most extreme elements of our society that perhaps violence is a justifiable response."

The oil is spilling out of the seafloor at 5,000 barrels a day - the equivalent of 210,000 gallons - maybe much more, from a well about 50 miles out in the Gulf of Mexico, and it could soon eclipse the volume of the infamous Exxon Valdez spill in 1989. That disaster spilled oil onto rocky Alaskan beaches, but it is at least possible to wash oil off a rock. In the Gulf, the oil is floating into wetlands that could hold on to its toxins for years.

And, scientists said, the spill's damage could be magnified by its awful timing. Among the animals that live along the Gulf Coast, this is the time for hatching and rearing: Species as diverse as pelicans, shrimp and alligators are all reproducing, or preparing to. That could bring sensitive young animals in contact with toxic oil or cause their parents to plunge into oily waters looking for food.

Oil is damaging for birds because it coats their feathers, destroying the natural chemistry that keeps them buoyant, warm and able to fly. When birds "preen" and try to remove the oil, they can swallow it and be poisoned. So it is terrible timing that, at this time of year, huge numbers of birds converge on the marshes and empty barrier islands on this stretch of the Gulf Coast. Some are just stopping to recharge after a long flight over the Gulf from South America. But others have come to stay, preparing to raise their young in nests in the marsh and along sandy beaches.

Among other wildlife, scientists said, some fish would swim away from the oil - provided they can flee to an oil-free place. The situation is worse for dolphins, which must surface twice a minute to breathe: They would inhale fumes from the oil. The natural rhythms of many other species make them also particularly vulnerable. Tiny shrimp, just hatched and only a few millimeters across, will be swimming at the oily surface. Alligators, nearing their nesting season, might ingest the oil as they feed. Sea turtles will be coming ashore to lay their eggs on beaches.

Israeli-Palestinian peace talks have been stalled since 2008. "We will be starting with proximity talks next week," Mrs Clinton said. "Ultimately we want to see parties in direct negotiations and working out all the difficult issues that they must." Washington expected that Arab foreign ministers meeting on Saturday would endorse the new talks, she added.

Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said: "We are making every possible effort to begin these talks. But the official decision will be made by the Arab foreign ministers and the PLO [Palestinian Liberation Organisation] executive committee." Israeli officials have not publicly commented on Mrs Clinton's remarks.

Israel has occupied the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since 1967. It insists Jerusalem will remain its undivided capital. Nearly half a million Jews live in more than 100 settlements in the West Bank, among a Palestinian population of about 2.5 million. The settlements are illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this.

The law requires local police to question anyone they suspect of being in the United States illegally. The protesters say the law could lead to Hispanics being targeted, and inflame racial tensions. In Los Angeles, police estimated 100,000 people had joined a march led by singer Gloria Estefan. "It's the right of every American to protect where they live," she told the crowd. "But that doesn't give them a reason to place a law that could create racism and discrimination."

The BBC's Rajesh Mirchandani, at the rally, says there were banners calling for a boycott of Arizona, and even one portraying the state's governor, Jan Brewer, as Hitler. Many of the protesters waved the US flag, while some carried slogans appealing for US President Barack Obama to intervene. The law was signed earlier this month by Arizona's Republican Governor Jan Brewer, who said it "protects every American citizen".

Under the new rules, those unable to show that they are legally allowed in the US could be given six-month jail sentences and fined $2,500 (about 1,600 pounds). Supporters of the bill say it will help bring illegal immigration under control in Arizona - a state which is the main entry point for undocumented immigrants into the US. The state is home to an estimated 460,000 illegal immigrants.

Attorneys general from five affected US states will meet to discuss legal options, as pressure mounts on BP. Choppy seas and strong winds have been hampering the clean-up operation. The BP-operated Deepwater Horizon rig sank on 22 April, two days after a huge explosion that killed 11 workers.

Later on Sunday, Louisiana's Republican governor will meet Mr Obama to discuss the disaster, for which the president has warned BP will be held ultimately responsible.

Mr Jindal told a news conference on Saturday: "This oil spill threatens not only our wetlands and our fisheries, but also our way of life." Keeping up pressure on the British energy giant, Mr Jindal said he had still not received detailed plans from the firm on how it would stop the spill. As sheen from the slick began washing up on the shore, the governor said "BP will need to fund these plans" to protect coastal communities.

The energy giant's chief executive, Tony Hayward, is also expected in Louisiana on Sunday. The company has said it will honour legitimate claims for damages. The BBC's Andy Gallacher, in Louisiana, says the slick is threatening some of America's most important eco-systems. The Louisiana wetlands host a multi-billion-dollar fishing industry and is a prime spawning area for fish, shrimp, crabs and oyster beds.