Dave Prentis, general secretary of Unison, said its 1.2 million members would vote on industrial action over the next few months in what he described as the biggest union ballot ever held in Britain. It could herald an 'autumn of discontent' which could bring council and NHS services to a halt.

The union, which represents staff in the NHS and councils, is angry about proposed changes to gold-plated public sector pensions.

The Coalition wants to reform the schemes to bring them into line with those that normally exist in the private sector. Under the changes, workers will pay more into the schemes and receive less in retirement.

Mr Prentis warned: 'If we are prevented from reaching agreement we will move to a ballot in the summer or early autumn. It will not be one day of action - it will be long-term action throughout our public services to prevent destruction of our pension schemes. It will be the biggest ever industrial action taken in this country.' Describing what is to come as 'massive industrial unrest', he said: 'It is very clear we are on a collision course unless the Government changes its policies.'

Mr Prentis said balloting on strike action could begin next month if the Coalition does not offer changes at a meeting on June 27.

There's a one-in-three chance the factors will combine to stunt growth from 2013, Roubini said in a June 11 interview in Singapore. Other possible outcomes are "anemic but OK" global growth or an "optimistic" scenario in which the expansion improves. "There are already elements of fragility," he said. "Everybody's kicking the can down the road of too much public and private debt. The can is becoming heavier and heavier, and bigger on debt, and all these problems may come to a head by 2013 at the latest."

Elevated US unemployment, a surge in oil and food prices, rising interest rates in Asia and trade disruption from Japan's record earthquake threaten to sap the world economy. Stocks worldwide have lost more than $3.3 trillion since the beginning of May, and Roubini said financial markets by the middle of next year could start worrying about a convergence of risks in 2013.

Roubini is among analysts who predicted the global financial crisis of 2007-2009 that was triggered by a collapse in the value of US mortgage securities.

The move to CCC from B reflects "our view that there is a significantly higher likelihood of one or more defaults," S&P said in a statement yesterday. "Risks for the implementation of Greece's EU/IMF borrowing program are rising, given Greece's increased financing needs and ongoing internal political disagreements surrounding the policy conditions required."

Greece's government, which plans to sell 1.25 billion euros ($1.8 billion) of 26-week Treasury bills today, said that the downgrade overlooked "intense" talks between European officials to address the nation's financing needs. Credit-default swaps on Greece, Ireland and Portugal surged to records yesterday on concern governments' struggles to resolve the turmoil will threaten their ability to pay their debts.

"Greece will default - it's a question of when, rather than if," said Vincent Truglia, Managing Director at New York- based Granite Springs Asset Management LLP in New York and a former head of the sovereign risk unit at Moody's. "It's a basic solvency issue rather than a liquidity issue. Only a debt writedown will do."

Much of the public focus is on the nation's public debt, which is $14.3 trillion. But that doesn't include money guaranteed for Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, which comes to close to $50 trillion, according to government figures. The government also is on the hook for other debts such as the programs related to the bailout of the financial system following the crisis of 2008 and 2009, government figures show.

Taken together, Gross puts the total at "nearly $100 trillion," that while perhaps a bit on the high side, places the country in a highly unenviable fiscal position that he said won't find a solution overnight. "To think that we can reduce that within the space of a year or two is not a realistic assumption," Gross said in a live interview. "That's much more than Greece, that's much more than almost any other developed country. We've got a problem and we have to get after it quickly."

Gross spoke following a report that US banks were likely to scale back on their use of Treasurys as collateral against derivatives and other transactions. Bank heads say that move is likely to happen in August as Congress dithers over whether to raise the nation's debt ceiling, according to a report in the Financial Times.

Sir Mark warned that the Navy would not be able to sustain its operations in Libya for another three months without making cuts elsewhere. The First Sea Lord's comments will stir the debate over defence cuts that have left Britain without a working aircraft carrier and forced the Royal Navy's Harrier jump jets to be mothballed.

Highlighting military anger over the shrinking Armed Forces, another admiral warned that "comical" defence cuts would leave the Navy without enough ships to be effective. Sir Mark said British forces would be "comfortable" with another three months of operations. "Beyond that, we might have to request the Government to make some challenging decisions about priorities," he said. "There are different ways of doing this. It's not simply about giving up standing commitments, we will have to rebalance."

Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, said last week that Britain and France were struggling to maintain the Libyan operation without significant American support and supplies. Sir Mark confirmed that the Navy had been forced to ask the US to resupply Tomahawk cruise missiles used by submarines targeting Libya. "We are not running out, but we certainly have to take action to replace those weapons to bring stockpiles back up to where they were," he said.

They've also spent a good chunk of time covering the Casey Anthony murder trial and other stories that have little significance to the lives of the average person. This type of tabloid garbage shouldn't deserve anywhere near the attention it is getting considering that the US military is involved in all sorts of foreign wars, the economy is in the midst of a depression and the fact that the 2011 Bilderberg Meeting was taking place in Switzerland over the past few days. Although the importance of the Bilderberg Meeting is over blown by many in the alternative media, it is still an important event that deserves much more coverage and scrutiny than a story of lewd pictures sent by a Congressman.

Of course, the corporate media has historically and will continue to focus in on issues of little importance so the average person really doesn't have a good idea of what is going on in the world. It is ridiculous to believe that the corporate media has the average person's best interest in mind when they analyze every detail of Congressman Weiner's lewd Twitter messages and in the same breath tell us that a meeting of over a hundred of the most powerful and influential people in the world has practically no importance. This is 100% proof that the corporate media cares not about the interest of the average person and is only in the business of keeping people in the dark on important issues.

Reading the Islamic religion's holy book - considered by Muslims to be the exact words of God - ensured he remained 'faith-literate', the former Labour leader said. In an interview with the Observer magazine, published yesterday he said: 'To be faith-literate is crucial in a globalised world, I believe.

'I read the Qur'an [Koran] every day. Partly to understand some of the things happening in the world, but mainly just because it is immensely instructive.' Mr Blair believes that a knowledge of the faith informs his current role as Middle East envoy for the Quartet of the United Nations, United States, European Union and Russia. The former PM's work, which has cost British taxpayers more than 2 million pounds, aims to help resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Mr Blair has previously praised the Muslim faith as 'beautiful' and said the Prophet Mohammed had been 'an enormously civilizing force'. In 2006 he said the Koran was a 'reforming book, it is inclusive. It extols science and knowledge and abhors superstition. It is practical and way ahead of its time in attitudes to marriage, women and governance'.

The main way to do this is boosting photosynthesis in rice, the scientific equivalent of bolting on a turbo-charger. A global project is trying to do just that, with the aim of genetically enhancing rice to double yields and become as productive as corn. In nature, some plants are much more efficient in the way they grow because they have a genetically superior form of photosynthesis, which involves using the Sun's energy to convert carbon dioxide sucked into the leaves and creating sugars and other organic compounds for the plant to grow.

Corn, sugar and sorghum possess this more efficient C4 photosynthesis in their leaves. Rice and wheat have the more primitive C3 pathway. In a hot climate, corn yields can be 50 percent more than rice, have double the water-use efficiency and use about 40 percent less nitrogen. Achieving these benchmarks in rice would revolutionise the production - and food security - of a staple on which about a third of humanity relies. The project, led by the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines, and involving a team of scientists around the globe, is trying to crack the genetic code that will supercharge photosynthesis in rice.

Turkey, a NATO ally with a mostly Muslim population, stands out in a region buffeted by popular uprisings as a rising power with traditional Western alliances as well as growing ties in the east and elsewhere. In the past decade, the government has sharply reduced the political clout of the military, and taken some steps to ease restrictions on minorities, though reforms have slowed in recent years.

Erdogan has promised that a new constitution would include "basic rights and freedoms," replacing a constitution implemented under the tutelage of the military in 1982. However, he has provided relatively few details on a possible new draft. The government has Islamic roots, long a source of suspicion among secular circles that once dominated Turkey and fear that Erdogan seeks to impose religion on society.

Turkey's leaders describe themselves as moderates and "conservative democrats" who are committed to the ideals of Western-style democracy. After winning election in 2002, they implemented economic reforms that pulled the country out of crisis. The growth rate last year was nearly 9 percent, the second highest among G-20 nations after China.

About 50 million Turks, or two-thirds of the population, were eligible to vote. NTV television said turnout was 84.5 percent. For all of Turkey's challenges, Sunday's vote was an indicator of stability in an increasingly confident country. Most voting was peaceful and orderly, with large crowds gathering early to cast ballots.

The story of America's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community is the story of our fathers and sons, our mothers and daughters, and our friends and neighbors who continue the task of making our country a more perfect Union. It is a story about the struggle to realize the great American promise that all people can live with dignity and fairness under the law. Each June, we commemorate the courageous individuals who have fought to achieve this promise for LGBT Americans, and we rededicate ourselves to the pursuit of equal rights for all, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Since taking office, my Administration has made significant progress towards achieving equality for LGBT Americans. Last December, I was proud to sign the repeal of the discriminatory "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. With this repeal, gay and lesbian Americans will be able to serve openly in our Armed Forces for the first time in our Nation's history. Our national security will be strengthened and the heroic contributions these Americans make to our military, and have made throughout our history, will be fully recognized.

My Administration has also taken steps to eliminate discrimination against LGBT Americans in Federal housing programs and to give LGBT Americans the right to visit their loved ones in the hospital. We have made clear through executive branch nondiscrimination policies that discrimination on the basis of gender identity in the Federal workplace will not be tolerated. I have continued to nominate and appoint highly qualified, openly LGBT individuals to executive branch and judicial positions. Because we recognize that LGBT rights are human rights, my Administration stands with advocates of equality around the world in leading the fight against pernicious laws targeting LGBT persons and malicious attempts to exclude LGBT organizations from full participation in the international system. We led a global campaign to ensure "sexual orientation" was included in the United Nations resolution on extrajudicial execution - the only United Nations resolution that specifically mentions LGBT people - to send the unequivocal message that no matter where it occurs, state-sanctioned killing of gays and lesbians is indefensible. No one should be harmed because of who they are or who they love, and my Administration has mobilized unprecedented public commitments from countries around the world to join in the fight against hate and homophobia.

At home, we are working to address and eliminate violence against LGBT individuals through our enforcement and implementation of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr Hate Crimes Prevention Act. We are also working to reduce the threat of bullying against young people, including LGBT youth. My Administration is actively engaged with educators and community leaders across America to reduce violence and discrimination in schools. To help dispel the myth that bullying is a harmless or inevitable part of growing up, the First Lady and I hosted the first White House Conference on Bullying Prevention in March. Many senior Administration officials have also joined me in reaching out to LGBT youth who have been bullied by recording "It Gets Better" video messages to assure them they are not alone.

This month also marks the 30th anniversary of the emergence of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, which has had a profound impact on the LGBT community. Though we have made strides in combating this devastating disease, more work remains to be done, and I am committed to expanding access to HIV/AIDS prevention and care. Last year, I announced the first comprehensive National HIV/AIDS Strategy for the United States. This strategy focuses on combinations of evidence-based approaches to decrease new HIV infections in high risk communities, improve care for people living with HIV/AIDS, and reduce health disparities. My Administration also increased domestic HIV/AIDS funding to support the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program and HIV prevention, and to invest in HIV/AIDS-related research. However, government cannot take on this disease alone. This landmark anniversary is an opportunity for the LGBT community and allies to recommit to raising awareness about HIV/AIDS and continuing the fight against this deadly pandemic.

Every generation of Americans has brought our Nation closer to fulfilling its promise of equality. While progress has taken time, our achievements in advancing the rights of LGBT Americans remind us that history is on our side, and that the American people will never stop striving toward liberty and justice for all.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 2011 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month. I call upon the people of the United States to eliminate prejudice everywhere it exists, and to celebrate the great diversity of the American people.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirty-first day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand eleven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fifth.

BARACK OBAMA

Germany is by far the most important economic power in the European Union. The EU would be unthinkable without its German engine, just as the euro debt crisis cannot be resolved without active German involvement. Berlin wants a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council and German soldiers fight alongside those of other NATO countries in the struggle against international terrorism in Afghanistan.

But these facts and goals have little to do with Germany's current standing in the European Union and on the global stage. In the orchestra of great powers, Berlin has not had an instrument to play for months. Paris and London are making the music and giving the cues. This country, represented by its government, has become a bystander to world politics while others show the way. How long has it been since Berlin had something to say and others actually listened? Former Chancellor Gerhard Schroder - and even Angela Merkel - once commanded attention, if not always deference, from Germany's partners.

Perhaps the chancellor simply lacks the courage to say out loud that Germany has responsibilities in Europe and the world? That the nation cannot shirk its duties and simply disengage from global affairs? It's not enough to let Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle and Defence Minister Thomas de Maiziere set foreign policy as they please. Angela Merkel has to show leadership and determine where Germany's interests in the EU and at the UN lie. She can no longer afford to sit on the sidelines.

The aggressive enterohaemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) bacteria can cause haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS), a potentially fatal kidney complaint. The killer bug has claimed at least 33 lives and has left some 3,000 people ill across 14 countries. Lauterbach warned that further epidemics could not be ruled out. "EHEC pathogens are on the rise throughout the world. And Germany will also see repeated EHEC outbreaks in the future."

Tensions between China and Vietnam continued to rise over the weekend, ahead of live-fire drills planned by Vietnam's navy on Monday on an islet around 20 miles from the coast of central Vietnam, which Hanoi described as "routine". Stirred by a number of maritime confrontations with China over recent weeks, hundreds of Vietnamese took part in rare anti-China protests on Sunday for the second straight weekend, with the usually draconian police allowing the demonstrations to take place.

"China is running an information campaign to blind people," said Pham Gia Minh, a 55-year-old investment consultant who attended a protest outside the Chinese embassy in Hanoi. "We have to let people understand that we want peace but when the aggressor comes we will stand up to them."

In addition to China and Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Taiwan claim some or all of the territory in the contested area of the South China Sea, which is believed to contain vast oil and gas reserves and incorporates key trade routes and abundant fish stocks.

In a declaration outlining its vision for a political solution, the National Coordination Committees said power must be handed to the army and an internationally supervised conference should convene within six months to write a new constitution and "stop Syria from sliding into chaos and guarantee a peaceful transfer of power."

"The regime... has forced the army into a confrontation with its own people, as if Syria did not have land under occupation (to be liberated). It has worked on stirring sectarian fears without any consideration for national cohesion," it said. The conference would include "regime politicians with no blood on their hands," representatives of the opposition and activists on the ground, the statement said.

"Syria is a civic nation, not the ownership of an individual, a family or party. It is not a possession to be bequeathed," it said, referring to 41 years of Assad family rule.

In total 10 people were injured and St John's Ambulance reported that six were taken to hospital. Two people were rescued from a collapsed building, and 54,000 homes lost power. The first quake to strike was measured at a magnitude of 5.2 and caused buildings to be evacuated. An hour and twenty minutes later, the US Geological Survey measured the biggest tremor at 6.0.

It struck at a depth of 5.6 miles and some nine miles from the country's second largest city. Much of the centre of the city is still sealed off because of the precarious state of many damaged buildings from four months earlier. That disaster was technically an aftershock from an earthquake last September, and for nine months its residents have endured thousands of tremors.

The aftershock prompted police to evacuate parts of the damaged central city known as the red zone, while rock falls had closed several bridges and prompted the closure of one police station. Eastern suburbs were badly affected by flooding and liquefaction - mud oozing from below the surface and covering roads. Christchurch's cathedral, which only had one wall left standing following February's quake, has suffered further extensive damage.