Following the appointments, commentators across Europe rushed to condemn THE SECRECY SURROUNDING THE PROCESS and criticised the choice of Ashton and Van Rompuy, both largely unknown in Europe. In a rare occurrence the Mail and the Guardian shared the front-page headline "The great EU stitch-up" following the European Council meeting in which EU leaders reached an agreement on the two positions over a secretive dinner.

After the EU summit, Gordon Brown issued a written statement to the Commons instead of appearing in front of MPs to answer questions as he normally does following such meetings. Despite never having been elected to a public office in her entire life, Cathy Ashton will receive an annual salary of £270,000 as EU Foreign Minister - more than the British Prime Minister - and will be entitled to a chauffeured car, housing allowance and a staff of 20. In total, the allowances and perks she will receive while in the Commission WILL NET HER AN ESTIMATED £4MILLION.

Van Rompuy is known to be a committed EU federalist, who just days before his appointment called for direct EU taxes to be introduced during a speech at the secretive Bilderberg group. Following his appointment, French President Nicolas Sarkozy described Van Rompuy as "an extremely determined man who knows exactly where he's going, he's a perfect connoisseur of European politics. I'm going to tell you something: I think he's one of the strongest personalities around the Council table."

By 2034, 44.1 million Americans will be living with diabetes - nearly twice the current number of 23.7 million, according to the report, published in the December issue of the journal Diabetes Care. About 90 percent of those with diabetes have type 2, a version of the condition that develops over time. Accounting for inflation, the direct medical cost of treating them will rise from $113 billion annually to $336 billion, the report says.

The numbers are disturbing, said Dr Elbert Huang, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Chicago and lead author of the report. But he said he considers the predictions "very conservative" because they don't account for the growing proportion of overweight children and teenagers, who are at higher risk for developing diabetes.

Huang said he won't be surprised if the surge in diabetes turns out to be even worse than he projects. "Prior estimates have all said there would be a dramatic rise in the diabetes type 2 population," he said, but in every case "the actual [diabetic] population has ended up being larger than the estimates."

THEY'RE IGNORING THE DAMAGE THEY'VE DONE TO PUBLIC CONFIDENCE in the arbiters of climate science. "What they've done is search through stolen personal emails — confidential between colleagues - who often speak in a language they understand and is often foreign to the outside world," Penn State's Michael Mann told Reuters Wednesday. Mr Mann added that this has made "something innocent into something nefarious."

We don't doubt that Mr Jones would have phrased his emails differently if he expected them to end up in the newspaper. He's right that it doesn't look good that his May 2008 email to Mr Mann regarding the UN's Fourth Assessment Report said "MIKE, CAN YOU DELETE ANY EMAILS YOU MAY HAVE HAD WITH KEITH RE AR4?" Mr Mann says he didn't delete any such emails, but the point is that Mr Jones wanted them hidden.

The furor over these documents is not about tone, colloquialisms or whether climatologists are nice people. The real issue is what the messages say about THE WAY THE MUCH-BALLYHOOED SCIENTIFIC CONSENSUS ON GLOBAL WARMING WAS ARRIVED AT, AND HOW A SINGLE VIEW OF WARMING AND ITS CAUSES IS BEING ENFORCED. The impression left by the correspondence among Messrs Mann and Jones and others is that THE CLIMATE-TRACKING GAME HAS BEEN RIGGED FROM THE START.

MANY COMMONWEALTH MEMBERS ARE ISLAND STATES THREATENED BY RISING SEA LEVELS. Leaders also called for the strongest possible outcome at next month's climate change summit in Copenhagen. They unanimously agreed to seek a legally binding international agreement, but accepted that "a full legally binding outcome" might have to wait until 2010.

Commonwealth leaders "welcomed the initiative to establish, as part of a comprehensive agreement, A COPENHAGEN LAUNCH FUND STARTING IN 2010 AND BUILDING TO A LEVEL OF RESOURCES OF $10 BILLION ANNUALLY BY 2012," a statement in Trinidad on Saturday said. UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband said the declaration sent a clear political message.

"The Commonwealth is showing that you can find some common ground amidst countries that are very different, large and small, rich and poor, and that climate change is an issue that affects us all, and that the world needs to show the sort of resolution that we've seen here over the past 24 hours," he said.

Indeed, it is arguable that the "special relationship" of the second half of the 20th Century and since has been something of a departure from what at times has been an antagonistic one. The latest signs of what might be a historic decline came when the ambassador, Sir Christopher Meyer - always ready with a quote - said that during the lead-up to the war on Iraq in 2003, Britain failed to make its influence felt on two fronts.

First, it did not insist, as the conditions for its support, on progress in the Middle East peace process and on better planning for post-war Iraq. Second, it did not get a commercial trade-off. Its demands for changes to an air services agreement and steel tariffs were ignored.

Sir Christopher remarked: "I said to London, 'The key thing now, quite apart from Iraq, is to translate this popularity into real achievements which benefit the national interest', and we failed." The picture he painted was one in which the then BRITISH PRIME MINISTER TONY BLAIR WAS VERY MUCH THE JUNIOR AND PERHAPS DISPENSABLE PARTNER.

Investigators found "elements of an explosive device" at the scene of Friday's attack, a statement said. Officials said a second, less powerful device went off on Saturday near the site of the first, but no-one was hurt. There was no immediate confirmed claim of responsibility for the blast on Friday evening, which hit a train popular with government officials and business executives at peak travel time. "Criminology experts say, on the basis of preliminary information, that an improvised explosive device, equivalent to 7kg (15 lb) of TNT, had gone off," said Alexander Bortnikov, head of Russia's domestic intelligence service.

At least three of the 14 carriages left the tracks as the train reportedly approached speeds up 200 km/h (130mph). Russia's prosecutor-general has opened a criminal case on terrorism charges, Russian news agencies say. If terrorism is confirmed as the cause, observers say the derailment would represent the deadliest attack outside the volatile North Caucasus region for five years.

State-controlled giant Royal Bank of Scotland has helped lead the charge, provoking fears that taxpayers could be stung if the loans go unpaid. The Treasury has already injected £45.5billion into RBS, which became a watchword for reckless lending. Meanwhile, question marks hang over the fate of thousands of Britons employed by companies under Dubai's control. The emirate's investment vehicles hold interests in Alton Towers, the London Eye, P&O, hotel chain Travelodge, and the London Stock Exchange. THERE ARE FEARS THAT DUBAI WILL HAVE TO LAUNCH A FIRE-SALE OF ASSETS AS IT STRUGGLES WITH ITS DEBTS.

The United Arab Emirates holds at least £5.9billion of investments in Britain, while UK firms have holdings of £4.6billion there. British restaurateurs who set up in the region - including Gordon Ramsay and Gary Rhodes - are poised to lose out in the crash, as well as high-profile figures who have bought property there such as David Beckham. Last night Gordon Brown sought to quell FEARS THAT DUBAI'S DEBT CRISIS COULD TRIGGER A DEVASTATING 'DOUBLE DIP' GLOBAL RECESSION.

'If this is a localised problem then it can be dealt with, and I believe that that is the case,' he said after breaking off from a meeting of Commonwealth leaders in Trinidad. Markets slumped on Thursday after it emerged that Dubai's heavily indebted state corporation was unable to meet its interest payments. MORE THAN £14BILLION WAS WIPED OFF BRITISH BANKING SHARES amid fears they would be hit by further losses, though yesterday there was a partial rebound.

The Dubai saga is also a reminder of two unpleasant realities, that investors have lately seemed to forget. THE FIRST IS THAT THERE IS STILL PLENTY OF BAD NEWS STILL TO COME - INCLUDING FOR THE MAJOR BANKS. And Dubai is not, by any stretch, going to be the worst we get. The sheer range of estimates out there for European banks' exposure to Dubai shows how little anyone really knows. On the basis of some fairly sketchy assumptions, Credit Suisse has suggested that EUROPEAN BANKS MAY HAVE $40BN EXPOSURE TO DUBAI DEBT.

They say a 50% loss on that - who knows how much it could turn out to be - would be equivalent to a 5% rise in provisions in 2010, or a hit of about 5 billion euros after tax. That's not nothing, but - assuming the losses are fairly broadly spread - it's a rounding error on the losses of the past two years. Certain London-based hedge funds who had bet on Dubai World being bailed out could have an uncomfortable few weeks ahead. And big banks like HSBC and Standard Chartered will face some irritating losses if all the Dubai debt ends up being restructured.

In the meantime, the markets will have been reminded of that second unpleasant fact they'd rather not think about in the lead-up to Christmas. ALL OF THE MONEY BORROWED BY GOVERNMENTS IN THE PAST TWO YEARS WILL EVENTUALLY HAVE TO BE PAID BACK. And not just in Dubai. That could make for an interesting few weeks.

This allowed traders to put orders to buy or sell shares into the system, ready for when trading restarted. Normal trading was then able to resume from 1400 GMT. "We regret the inconvenience that today's disruption to trading has caused for our clients," said London Stock Exchange chief executive Xavier Rolet. "Having resolved the immediate issue, we are working hard to ensure this doesn't happen again ahead of switching to [its new] Millennium IT's trading platform next year."

The FTSE 100 index was frozen at 5,264.97 when trading was interrupted. After trading was resumed it went on to finish the day at 5,194, WHICH WAS 3.2% LOWER THAN WEDNESDAY'S CLOSING PRICE. This fall mirrored similar declines across Europe, due to concerns about the wider impact of state-owned investment company Dubai World asking for a six-month delay on repaying its debts.

"Michelle and I would like to send our best wishes to all those performing Hajj this year, and to Muslims in America and around the world who are celebrating Eid-ul-Adha. The rituals of Hajj and Eid-ul-Adha both serve as reminders of the shared Abrahamic roots of three of the world's major religions.

During Hajj, the world's largest and most diverse gathering, three million Muslims from all walks of life, including thousands of American Muslims, will stand in prayer on Mount Arafat. The following day, Muslims around the world will celebrate Eid-ul-Adha and distribute food to the less fortunate to commemorate Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son out of obedience to God.

This year, I am pleased that the Department of Health and Human Services has partnered with the Saudi Health Ministry to prevent and limit the spread of H1N1 during Hajj. Cooperating on combating H1N1 is one of the ways we are implementing my administration's commitment to partnership in areas of mutual interest.

On behalf of the American people, we would like to extend our greetings during this Hajj season - Eid Mubarak."

en.wikipedia.org:- EID MUBARAK is a traditional Muslim greeting reserved for use on the festivals of Eid ul-Adha and Eid ul-Fitr. The phrase translates into English as "blessed festival", and can be paraphrased as "may you enjoy a blessed festival". MUSLIMS WISH EACH OTHER 'EID MUBARAK' AFTER PERFORMING THE EID PRAYER.

Earlier, Asia's markets were down sharply. Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei fell 3.2% to 9,081.52. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index ended down 4.84% at 21,134.5. Oil prices also fell. US crude dropped 4.5% to $74.51 a barrel and London Brent Crude was down $1.26 to $75.73. THE BIGGEST UNDERLYING FEAR IS THAT DUBAI'S PROBLEMS COULD REIGNITE THE FINANCIAL TURMOIL OF THE CREDIT CRISIS. That would lower global demand for a whole range of commodities, including oil.

It said on Wednesday it would ask creditors of the state-owned Dubai World and Nakheel to agree to a standstill on billions of dollars of debt as a first step towards restructuring. David Buik, senior partner at BGC Partners, said: "You can't just say to the world: 'I don't want to pay my debts'. THERE IS NO INCOME COMING IN FROM ANY OF THESE PROPERTIES. I think this is shocking PR."

The Gulf state, which has less oil money than many of its neighbours, became a trading and tourism hub with global ambitions.

Lady Ashton was challenged to deny that she had contact with Russian sources while she was in charge of its accounts at the height of the Cold War. Lady Ashton's spokesman said: "During her time in the CND she never visited the Soviet Union, had no contact with the Soviet Union and has never accepted any money from Soviet sources. The first time she visited Russia was as EU Trade Commissioner."

However, all the candidates for the next European Commission must undergo formal hearings at the European Parliament and the European People's Party, THE MAIN CENTRE-RIGHT GROUP, HAS PLEDGED TO REJECT ANY WHO HAVE PROMOTED COMMUNISM IN THE PAST. The FT notes that the European Parliament cannot reject individual Commissioners; only confirm or reject the entire Commission. Yet the threat of the "nuclear option" could be enough to force Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso to make individual changes.

The IHT notes that the questions over Lady Ashton's past have particularly worried centre-right Eastern European MEPs. Czech MEP Hynek Fajnon said, "THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT THE KREMLIN SUPPORTED CND ACTIVITIES. If Mrs Ashton as treasurer had played any role in that, it would be a great scandal." Latvian MEP Krisjanis Karins said, "WE ARE ESPECIALLY CONCERNED HOW THE HIGH REPRESENTATIVE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS WILL CONDUCT DISCUSSIONS WITH OUR EASTERN NEIGHBOUR," according to the Times.

The 63-year-old, most famous for playing the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, said Britain risks losing the importance of Christianity in our multi- cultural society. In an interview for Woman's Weekly magazine, he said: "I do feel that Christianity is being marginalised by other religions in Britain."

"I won't tell you the name of it, but a charity I work for got TURNED DOWN FOR GOVERNMENT FUNDING RECENTLY, BECAUSE IT WAS A CHRISTIAN CHARITY, even though it had been funded by the Government for several years. Don't misunderstand me. We should embrace all religions and marginalise none. BUT WE SEEM MORE CONCERNED WITH MARGINALISING CHRISTIANITY, AND NOT OFFENDING OTHER FAITHS. We are in danger of losing the importance of the Christian faith in our own country."

Earlier this year the Archbishop of Canterbury said it was "depressing" that an academic report claimed Christianity was being sidelined in Britain because LABOUR IS CONCENTRATING ON MINORITY RELIGIONS SUCH AS ISLAM. Dr Rowan Williams complained to Mark Thompson, director-general of the BBC, about the decline of religious content on television and radio.

The scientists called for a 30 per cent reduction in the number of farm animals bred for meat to prevent rising temperatures and rising sea levels. But the backing of VEGETARIAN MR BENN'S DEPARTMENT, which is specifically responsible for promoting farming, drew strong criticism from farmers and scientists who said cutting meat consumption was not the way to combat climate change.

Peter Kendall, president of the National Farmers' Union, said: 'Farmers will be angry that yet again we have an ILL-INFORMED AND SIMPLISTIC REPORT which appears to completely misunderstand agriculture's emissions and its role in climate change.

Professor Ian Crute, chief scientist at the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, which advises the meat industry, said: 'A large fall in meat eating or turning vegetarian is not the solution to climate change - it would make only a marginal difference to greenhouse gas emissions.'

They claim aliens are currently answering 30 questions posed to them. Lachezar Filipov, deputy director of the Space Research Institute of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, confirmed the research.

He said the centre's researchers were analysing 150 crop circles from around the world, which they believe answer the questions. "ALIENS ARE CURRENTLY ALL AROUND US, AND ARE WATCHING US ALL THE TIME," Mr Filipov told Bulgarian media. "They are not hostile towards us, rather, they want to help us but we have not grown enough in order to establish direct contact with them." Mr Filipov said that EVEN THE SEAT OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, THE VATICAN, HAD AGREED THAT ALIENS EXISTED.

He said humans were not going to be able to establish contact with the extraterrestrials through radio waves but through the power of thought. "The human race was certainly going to have direct contact with the aliens in the next 10 to 15 years," he said. "EXTRATERRESTRIALS ARE CRITICAL OF THE PEOPLE'S AMORAL BEHAVIOR referring to the humans' interference in nature's processes."