To battle potential threats from terrorism, crime and violent protests at the February 12-28 Games, 15,500 police, military and private security guards have converged on this western Canadian city, said officer Mandy Edwards, a spokeswoman for the Vancouver 2010 Integrated Security Unit (ISU).

But the security operation - and its one billion Canadian dollars (936 million US) budget - has drawn intense criticism. Vocal anti-games protesters say the money should go to social causes like Vancouver's notorious homelessness problem. Legal activists, meanwhile, say they fear civil rights violations, and have charged that police tactics of questioning protesters at their work or while shopping is harassment.

Organizers are tight-lipped about specific threats. "We are continually monitoring and examining all potential threats and risks. We don't elaborate on what information we receive," Edwards told AFP. The one billion dollar budget is consistent "with the types of security mounted at previous Games. Since Munich in 1972 there's been a growing concern about security."

The US is dispatching Patriot defensive missiles to four countries - Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait - and keeping two ships in the Gulf capable of shooting down Iranian missiles. Washington is also helping Saudi Arabia develop a force to protect its oil installations.

American officials said the move is aimed at deterring an attack by Iran and reassuring Gulf states fearful that Tehran might react to sanctions by striking at US allies in the region. Washington is also seeking to discourage Israel from a strike against Iran by demonstrating that the US is prepared to contain any threat.

The deployment comes after Obama's attempts to emphasise diplomacy over confrontation in dealing with Iran - a contrast to the Bush administration's approach - have failed to persuade Tehran to open its nuclear installations to international controls. The White House is now trying to engineer agreement for sanctions focused on Iran's Revolutionary Guard, believed to be in charge of the atomic programme. Washington has not formally announced the deployment of the Patriots and other anti-missile systems, but by leaking it to American newspapers the administration is evidently seeking to alert Tehran to a hardening of its position.

Robert Gates, US defence secretary, is due to unveil the Obama administration's Quadrennial Defense Review, which shifts emphasis from the post-cold war doctrine that the US is able to fight two "major regional conflicts" at one time. According to a December draft, the US military will restructure its forces to "prevail in today's wars" and buy more of the helicopters and unmanned drones that have proved their worth in Iraq and Afghanistan. But the draft also highlights "a multiplicity of threats", including cyber-attacks and anti-satellite weapons, as well as terrorist groups and the prospect of more nuclear weapon states.

"It is no longer appropriate to speak of 'major regional conflicts' as the sole or even the primary template for sizing, shaping and evaluating US forces," the draft says. "Rather, US forces must be prepared to conduct a wide variety of missions under a range of different circumstances."

In an apparent nod to Iran, it says that within the next decade the US's adversaries could include "regional powers armed with modest numbers of nuclear weapons, as well as larger more powerful states". Despite President Barack Obama's emphasis on beginning a drawdown in Afghanistan in July 2011, the draft also envisages 75,000 US troops will remain in the country for the "near and mid-term future".

"The actions of UBS in the United States are very problematic. Not just because they are punishable but also because they threaten all of the bank's activities," Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf told Le Matin Dimanche newspaper. "The Swiss economy and the job market would suffer on a major scale if UBS fails as a result of its licence being revoked in the United States," she said.

Switzerland and the United States have negotiated an agreement under which UBS would hand over information on some 4,500 account holders to US tax police. But a Swiss court ruling earlier this month put the deal in doubt.

Many in Switzerland, where banking secrecy is a source of pride and a key part of the economy, have accused the government of failing to protect UBS. "We have nothing to blame ourselves for. I don't think anyone could prove that we acted badly," Widmer-Schlumpf said in the interview.

The largest quakes in the current swarm have included two of magnitude 3.1 and one of magnitude 3.0 late Sunday and early Monday, according to the University of Utah, which helps monitor seismic activity in Yellowstone. Those who've felt some of the recent quakes include Tim Townsend, a law enforcement ranger at Old Faithful. Most haven't been alarming, he said, although one last week "had me running to cover, for sure."

One of the world's largest volcanoes slumbers at the core of Yellowstone. The volcano last had a caldera-forming eruption 640,000 years ago and last spewed lava 70,000 years ago. Geologists say Yellowstone could erupt again, although the probability of an eruption within anyone's lifetime is extremely low.

"If the Islamic Revolution had not occurred, liberalism and Marxism would have crushed all human dignity in their power-seeking and money-grubbing claws. Nothing would have remained of human and spiritual principles," he added. Ahmadinejad said that in the three decades of its history, the Islamic Revolution had inspired some great developments in the world.

The Iranian president made the remarks as the 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution approaches. Iranians are expected to pour into the streets on February 11 to celebrate the occasion in public rallies across the country, as they have done annually over the past three decades.

"The economic crisis is causing the loss of many jobs and this calls for a huge sense of responsibility by everyone: entrepreneurs, workers, governing officials," the pope said after his weekly Angelus blessing. "I think of some difficult situations in Italy, like, for example, Termini Imerese and Portovesme - do everything possible to protect and spur job growth, assuring dignified and adequate work to sustain families."

US aluminum producer Alcoa Inc has said it will shut down its Portovesme and another Italian plant next month and carmaker Fiat has announced plans to shutter its Termini Imerese plant in Sicily. Some Alcoa workers from the Portovesme plant who risk losing their jobs held up a banner in St Peter's Square during the pope's address to the faithful.

In strongly Catholic Italy, labor unions and the government - which has asked Alcoa to reconsider its plans to shut the plants - seized on the pope's words and urged companies to ensure his appeal did not fall on deaf ears. "The pope's appeal must not fall by the wayside," said Luigi Angeletti, secretary-general of the UIL union.

On September 18, inside Castel Gandolfo, the Pope's summer palace about 30 miles outside Rome, a Russian Orthodox Archbishop named Hilarion Alfeyev, 43 (a scholar, theologian, expert on the liturgy, composer and lover of music), met with Benedict XVI, 82 (also a scholar, theologian, expert on the liturgy and lover of music), for almost two hours, according to informed sources. (There are as yet no "official" sources about this meeting - the Holy See has still not released an official communique about the meeting.)

The silence suggests that what transpired was important - perhaps so important that the Holy See thinks it isn't yet prudent to reveal publicly what was discussed. But there are numerous "signs" that the meeting was remarkably harmonious. If so, this September 18 meeting may have marked a turning point in relations between the "Third Rome" (Moscow) and the "First Rome" (Rome) - divided since 1054.

Archbishop Hilarion was in Rome for five days last week as the representative of the new Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill of Moscow.

Cardinal Kasper also revealed something astonishing: that he had suggested to the archbishop that the Orthodox Churches form some kind of "bishops' conference at the European level" that would constitute a "direct partner of cooperation" in future meetings. This would be a revolutionary step in the organization of the Orthodox Churches.

Closer relations between Rome and Moscow, then, could have profound implications also for the cultural and liturgical life of the Church in the West. There could be a renewal of Christian art and culture, as well as of faith. All of this was at stake in the quiet meeting between Archbishop Hilarion and Benedict XVI on Friday afternoon, in the castle overlooking Lake Albano.

"People don't understand our divisions and our discussions," the bishop stated. He affirmed that he will "not spare any efforts" to work for the quick restoration of "communion between Catholics and Orthodox." Bishop Tichon said that "the theological dialogue that is going forward in these days in Cyprus is certainly important, but we should not be afraid to say that we must find as soon as possible the way to celebrate together."

"A Catholic will not become an Orthodox and vice versa, but we must approach the altar together," he added. The prelate told the Pontiff that "this aspiration is a feeling that arose from the works of the assembly" of his diocese, held in Rome, in which all the priests and two delegates from every Bulgarian Orthodox parish took part. "We have come to the Pope to express our desire for unity and also because he is the Bishop of Rome, the city that hosted our assembly," he stated.

The bishop, Luka Bebic, speaker of the Croatian Parliament, addressed the Pope, inviting the Pontiff to visit his homeland and thanking him "for the support the Holy See has given our people since independence, during the war back then and now in the process that will lead Croatia to enter the European Union."

The Sichuan provincial seismological bureau said all of the casualties occurred in the town of Moxi, near the epicenter, with a population of about 30,000 people. Three people were seriously injured, the bureau said. It said the quake toppled 120 houses and damaged another 100. A 30-member team arrived in Moxi to assist the local government, the bureau said. Sichuan province is still rebuilding from a magnitude 7.9 quake that struck in May 2008, leaving almost 90,000 people dead or missing.

This improvement in relations is due in part to many quiet steps taken by the Vatican under the direction of Cardinal Walter Kasper, the Vatican's chief ecumenist, who led the Vatican delegation to a week-long theological dialogue in Cyprus, and by Archbishop Antonio Mennini, the Pope's very able nuncio to Moscow.

Magister, however, was commenting on two key recent events: (1) the upgrading of relations between the Holy See and Russia, and (2) the publication in Russia, for the first time ever, of a collection of Benedict XVI's homilies. And this "springtime" has a goal, Magister argues: "the defense of the Christian tradition" in Europe and around the world.

So what we have, essentially, is the announcement of a new alliance on the world stage between two powers that have long distrusted each other: Rome and Russia. Incredible as it may seem - given that just 20 years ago Russia was the atheist, Church-persecuting Soviet Union - this is what seems to be occurring right before our eyes.

In recent years, the Pope affirmed, the "Christians in Albania, both Orthodox and Catholic, kept the faith alive there in spite of an extremely repressive and hostile atheistic regime; and, as is well known, many Christians paid cruelly for that faith with their lives." Now, with the fall of this regime, a time of reconstruction is taking place, he noted.

Benedict XVI acknowledged in particular the work of the archbishop, "in the reconstruction of places of worship, the formation of the clergy and the catechetical work now being done, a movement of renewal which Your Beatitude has rightly described as Ngjallja (Resurrection)."

He noted the Albanian Orthodox participation in the international theological dialogue between all Orthodox and Catholics. "Your commitment in this regard happily mirrors the fraternal relations between Catholics and Orthodox in your country and offers inspiration to the entire Albanian people, demonstrating how it is possible for fellow Christians to live in harmony," the Pope pointed out.

He emphasized the elements of faith shared between the Churches: "a common profession of the Nicene - Constantinopolitan creed; a common baptism for the remission of sins and for incorporation into Christ and the Church; the legacy of the first Ecumenical Councils; the real if imperfect communion which we already share, and the common desire and collaborative efforts to build upon what already exists."

The Pontiff expressed gratitude to the Orthodox leader for his "personal contribution to fostering fraternal relations with the Catholic Church." He concluded, "Be assured that we, for our part, will do all that we can to offer a common witness of brotherhood and peace, and to pursue with you a renewed commitment to the unity of our Churches in obedience to the new commandment of our Lord."

The 80-year-old patriarch, elected last Friday, gave his first press conference today. He suggested the possibility of organizing an ecumenical event with the Pope in Nis, where Constantine was born. The event would commemorate the 1,700th anniversary of the Edict of Milan, which ended anti-Christian persecution in the Roman Empire. Father Lombardi told the Belgrade paper Blic that this is a suggestion "we welcome with great joy."

Referring to the predecessor of Patriarch Irinej, Father Lombardi added: "This is a sign that the dialogue that began at the time of Patriarch Pavle will be continued with the new patriarch. It would be nice if he would make a step further in order that we meet and see the possibilities for cooperation." Father Lombardi noted that it is too early to talk about an itinerary for what could be a 2013 papal visit to Serbia, but he assured that the Holy See is following the situation with great interest.

The patriarch said at the press conference that a papal visit "could perhaps be the occasion for our two Churches to establish a first contact, and with a bit of luck, to continue this contact and set out on a new path." He added: "This new path should be Christian and sincere with the desire of establishing one Church of Christ."

In a 224-page quarterly report to Congress, Neil Barofsky, the Special Inspector General of the Troubled Asset Relief Program acknowledged that TARP had stabilized the financial system. But he said that it has so far failed to restore consumer and business lending and to significantly prevent home foreclosure.

And in a slap at Congress and the Obama Administration, Barofsky said that "it is hard to see how any of the fundamental problems in the system have been addressed to date." He said the bailout "will have been for naught if we do nothing to correct the fundamental problems in our financial system and end up in a similar or even greater crisis in two, or five, or ten years' time."

Hackers have demonstrated that they can infiltrate utility computer control systems, leaving behind coding that would allow them to take control of the system at a later time.

The survey, released Thursday, offers a rare view at the damage cybercriminals can inflict on critical institutions such as power grids, water and sewage systems, and oil and gas facilities. Manipulating these vital systems can cause significant consequences, such as power outages, floods, sewage spills and oil leaks. 54 percent of the survey's respondents said they had experienced a large-scale "denial-of-service" attack, in which a network was taken out of service as a result of being flooded with phony internet traffic.

If state sponsored hackers can achieve this access, just imagine what a well-funded and diligent terrorist organization might be able to do? How long could you survive without electricity or gas? How would you communicate? Would you have food to eat and if so for how long? What if the country was thrust into the infrastructure of the 1800s overnight? Are you prepared for a catastrophic event?