Senior space agency scientists believe the Earth will be hit with unprecedented levels of magnetic energy from solar flares after the Sun wakes "from a deep slumber" sometime around 2013, The Daily Telegraph can disclose. In a new warning, Nasa said the super storm would hit like "a bolt of lightning" and could cause catastrophic consequences for the world's health, emergency services and national security unless precautions are taken.

Scientists believe it could damage everything from emergency services' systems, hospital equipment, banking systems and air traffic control devices, through to "everyday" items such as home computers, iPods and Sat Navs. Due to humans' heavy reliance on electronic devices, which are sensitive to magnetic energy, the storm could leave a multi-billion pound damage bill and "potentially devastating" problems for governments.

"We know it is coming but we don't know how bad it is going to be," Dr Richard Fisher, the director of Nasa's Heliophysics division, said in an interview with The Daily Telegraph. "It will disrupt communication devices such as satellites and car navigations, air travel, the banking system, our computers, everything that is electronic. It will cause major problems for the world. Large areas will be without electricity power and to repair that damage will be hard as that takes time." Dr Fisher added: "Systems will just not work. The flares change the magnetic field on the earth that is rapid and like a lightning bolt. That is the solar effect."

Robin Scagell of the Society for Popular Astronomy said: "It's rare we get the chance to see an asteroid up close." If it were to hit the earth, the asteroid, named YU55, would have an impact equivalent to 65,000 atom bombs and would leave a crater more than six miles wide and 2,000ft deep. Passing by at a distance of just 201,000 miles, the asteroid will be the largest object ever to approach the earth so close. Nasa has officially labelled it a Potentially Hazardous Object, but have stressed there is no danger of impact while on its current course.

YU55 orbits the sun every 14 years and last passed the earth in April 2010 at a distance of 1.5 million years. There are currently 874 near earth asteroids which are considered to be potentially dangerous. They are closely monitored and the list is being constantly added to as astronomers discover new objects in near space. Scientists estimate that there is usually one large collision with earth every few hundred thousand years.

And now bin Laden's death, unarmed, at the hands of American troops has brought a new wave of contrasting emotional responses across the Atlantic. Jubilant Americans poured into Times Square to chant "USA, USA, USA!" and hit the Internet to snap up T-shirts reading "We Got Him" and "Hey Osama, Tell Hitler We Said Hello."

Europeans, also targeted by al Qaeda, kept satisfaction more contained, even if tabloid headlines - "Bin Bagged" and the like - were no less triumphant than in the United States. And, crucially, not a few began to question the legality and morality of the killing and the risk of revenge attacks. That attitude has simply outraged many Americans.

When Tony Metcalf, the British editor-in-chief of the Metro newspapers in the United States, ran a Reuters story on European qualms over what a former German chancellor called a breach of international law, "we knew it would cause a reaction." Writing on his blog on Wednesday, Metcalf said: "Given the celebrations around the US on Sunday evening, the objections from France, Germany, Spain and parts of the UK came as no surprise, and fitted neatly into many Americans' view of Europeans as a bunch of, well, cheese-eating surrender monkeys."

The country's unemployment rolls are shrinking fast, after expanding sharply last year as the government extended benefits to ease the pain of a deep economic slump. As of mid-March, about 8.5 million people were receiving some kind of unemployment payments, down from 11.5 million a year earlier, according to the Labor Department.

To some extent, the shrinkage reflects a desirable reality: Some people are leaving the unemployment rolls because they're finding jobs. The number of employed in March was up nearly 1 million from a year earlier, according to the Labor Department's household survey. That's the biggest year-over-year rise since late 2007.

Many Americans, though, are simply running out of time. As of March, about 14 million people were unemployed and looking for work, according to the household survey. At the time the survey was done, about 8.5 million were receiving some kind of unemployment payments, according to the Labor Department's Employment and Training Administration. That leaves about 5.5 million people unemployed without benefits, up 1.4 million from a year earlier.

In the coming months, hundreds of thousands more will drop off the unemployment rolls. The number of people using up their regular 26 weeks of unemployment payments peaked in August 2009 at nearly 800,000 a month. That means a lot of people should be hitting their 99-week limit right about now. And unless Congress does something unexpected, more people with shorter bouts of unemployment will start joining them as the government phases out extended benefits next year.

"Because it appears that Congress will not act by May 16, it will be necessary for the Treasury to begin implementing these extraordinary measures this week," Geithner said in letters to House and Senate leaders. The latest steps will buy politicians more time than initially anticipated. Instead of running out of room July 8, Geithner said the Treasury Department now expects to be able to continue borrowing funds until August 2.

"While this updated estimate in theory gives Congress additional time to complete work in increasing the debt limit, I caution strongly against action," Geithner said. Geithner has repeatedly asked Congress to raise the $14.294 trillion limit, warning that failure to act would force a US default and an economic catastrophe.

Many Republicans and some Democrats first want a commitment to rein in spending and cut mounting budget deficits. "I am not going to vote for any long-term extension of the debt [ceiling] unless there is a credible and serious plan to deal with the debt," Senator Kent Conrad (Democrat for North Dakota), chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, said on Fox News Sunday.

The food stamp program ballooned during the recession as workers lost their jobs or saw their hours and income reduced. The rise in recipients has begun to flatten in recent months, which may mean that as the economy is improving fewer Americans are seeking to join the program. Enrollment in the program is still high though, with 11.6% more people tapping benefits in February than the same month a year earlier.

Food stamp numbers aren't seasonally adjusted though, meaning a variety of factors could influence the monthly tallies and the program could grow again in coming months. Mississippi and Oregon were among the states with the largest share of the population utilizing food stamps in February: At least one in five residents in each state were receiving benefits.

Gene Rench with the National Weather Service said all eyes are on the Mississippi. The tributaries flowing backwards are a big problem for the adjacent communities. "Right now the Mississippi river is in the process of going through what we call an epic flood, meaning it's more than historic, it's more than a 100 year flood, it's more like a 500 year flood," he said. "We could flood many homes, businesses, close down factories, people could drown."

The river is more than two feet past flood stage; it rose two feet in the 24 hours following the storms. It's expected to crest at 45 feet around May 10th, right when Barbecue Festival teams are setting up their tents. The Army Corps of Engineers is trying to out smart it by shutting down the Tennessee River and closing all other tributaries and dams that feed into the Mississippi.

According to Rench, "we're hoping and praying that with the plans and actions that the Corp has taken, this strategy is going to work." As the Mississippi River rises to near-record levels, Tunica's nine casinos will shut down indefinitely, displacing about 10,000 workers and costing millions in lost dollars. The closure orders were issued Wednesday to ensure the safety of visitors and workers.

Fires - fanned by strong winds and fuelled by dry wood and grass - also struck at the Queen's Balmoral Estate. Flames leapt 40 feet in the air as crews from Surrey, Berkshire and Hampshire fought ferocious blazes that came close to Broadmoor top security hospital in Crowthorne, Berkshire. Ramblers fled for their lives as the inferno swept across dry heath and forest land in Crowthorne Woods, Berkshire, with the smoke so thick it blotted out the sun. Some are thought to have been sparked by barbecues and careless disposal of matches. But arsonists are also being blamed.

The wildfires follow two of the driest spring months on record. Rivers are 'exceptionally' low for May across England and Wales. In Berkshire, three schools were closed and homes evacuated as fires ripped through Swinley Forest, driven by up to 45mph gusts. Choking smoke poured over nearby roads as 150 firefighters tackled the 750-acre forest fire just a few hundred yards from Broadmoor top security hospital, which houses dangerous patients including Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe.

Fierce flames were whipped up by strong winds as two separate blazes took hold - one covering an area of one square mile. The fires have since spread to four areas, police said. Roads were closed and hundreds of residents were advised to keep their windows shut because of the dense smoke. A spokesman for the Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service said: 'We expect to be fighting this fire for a couple of days and believe it will be the weekend before the land is handed back. This is the biggest forest fire we have had this early on in many, many years and we have called in all officers who were on holiday or on leave.'

Meanwhile, Chris Huhne, the Energy Secretary, will have to defend the impact the tax is likely to have on oil and gas production at a time when Britain needs to bolster its energy security. The hearing comes three days after Centrica warned it may partially shut the UK's biggest gas field as a result of the tax. The move has recently been criticised by John Whiting, head of the Office for Tax Simplification, Ed Balls, the Shadow Chancellor, and numerous industry figures.

On Tuesday, Bill Transier, chief executive of Endeavour International, a major investor in the North Sea, said British governments had made doing business in the UK "more of a political risk than West Africa or the Middle East", after making four major tax changes within seven years.

"The North Sea is the second-largest oil-producing region in the world after Saudi Arabia. It's a national treasure for the UK. The government is utterly destroying that," he told The Daily Telegraph. "I wish people would step up and say you just can't do this. You're killing the industry. Capital is leaving the country and going elsewhere. The politicians seem to be ignorant of the facts and then they do something stupid as a political mechanism to offset a fuel tax. It's a critical time in the future of the North Sea and some of these reserves are going to be lost forever."

In the last few days of his term, outgoing Bundesbank President Axel Weber appeared extremely satisfied with how effectively he had done his job. Looking back on seven years as head of the German central bank, he said, "we actually achieved quite a lot." Everywhere Weber goes, people rave about Germany's rapid economic recovery. In other words, things couldn't be better - that is, if it weren't for a nagging problem that threatens to overshadow all the positive news.

Weber himself describes it in banker-speak: "Along with the economic upswing, we see a deterioration in the price outlook." In plain English: Prices are threatening to spiral out of control, and inflation is rearing its ugly head again. The latest figures are indeed unsettling. Compared with the same month last year, consumer prices in Germany rose by 2.4 percent in April - the biggest increase since the outbreak of the financial crisis in 2008. This means that, for the fourth month in a row, the inflation rate in the euro zone's largest economy has been above the threshold of what the European Central Bank (ECB) considers compatible with general price stability, namely two percent.

It's quite possible that German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble (CDU) would take an entirely different approach to the rising inflation rate - and opt to do nothing at all. Indeed, this could give the treasury a distinct advantage. The spiral of rising prices and wages would bolster tax revenues - while inflation would reduce government debts. Both of these together constitute a relatively painless way of restructuring the country's finances - at least its public ones.

Police said they were unaware of any link between the arrests and bin Laden's death. The men were arrested on Monday after officers conducted a stop check on a vehicle near the Sellafield site in Cumbria. The men are all aged in their 20s and from London.

A spokesman for the police's North West Counter Terrorism Unit declined to comment on media reports the men had been filming the site. "There were suspicions from the Civil Nuclear Constabulary that led to some arrests. There were some suspicions about them near to the perimeter fence," he said. A police counter terrorism source said the arrests were not preplanned. "The local officers felt there was enough to arrest them. It's a case of seeing if there is anything to it."

Police held the men under section 41 of the Terrorism Act, which allows officers to arrest people suspected of terrorist offences and hold them for 48 hours without charge. The men were being transferred to Manchester to be questioned by counter-terrorism officers. Local police were alerted by officers from the Civil Nuclear Constabulary, a specialist force which provides protection for civil nuclear licensed sites.

"We've received reports of plans to attack the home of Mama Sarah Obama three days ago and immediately put in place adequate security measures," local police chief Stephen Cheteka said, adding that the home will be under constant surveillance. Cheteka said there was no cause for alarm and that Obama had been informed of the increased security measures. Calls to the US State Department seeking confirmation of the report and additional comment were not immediately returned on Tuesday.

The prime minister, who faces a parliamentary election on 5 June, hailed the package as a victory, saying it included more lenient terms than those imposed on Greece and Ireland as the deal gave Portugal more time to meet budget goals which it had previously agreed. "The government has obtained a good deal. This is a deal that defends Portugal," he said, although he added: "There are no financial assistance programmes that are not demanding."

The reaction from the financial markets was cautious. Filipe Garcia, head of Informacao de Mercados Financeiros consultants in Porto, said: "He [Mr Socrates] showed us the bright side of the moon. It is the dark side that remains to be seen, and that includes the interest rate." An EC source said what was presented was what had already been agreed. The source said the interest rate on the loan would be decided at a meeting of eurozone finance ministers in mid-May, when the bailout is expected to be approved.

Agreement is needed by 15 June, when Portugal has to meet a bond redemption of 4.9 billion euros. A newly elected government after the June election will have to enact the terms of the bailout. Mr Socrates added, however, that the loan agreement would not require any changes to the constitution.

"It was decided that any effort to work with the Pakistanis could jeopardise the mission," Leon Panetta, CIA director, said in an interview with Time magazine. "They might alert the targets." Such allegations illustrate the extraordinary tensions between the US and Pakistan - a country US government officials deem as strategically vital but also deeply unreliable. "Our eyes are wide open when it comes to Pakistan's relations - past and probably current - with groups that the US views as serious threats," a senior US intelligence official told the Financial Times, adding that relations between the two countries' intelligence agencies were "co-operative and tense at the same time".

He added that Pakistani officials had been unaware of the US focus on the Abbottabad compound in which bin Laden was hiding but "did provide information that helped fill in the intelligence picture". The White House on Tuesday provided a fuller version of events at the Abbottabad compound which included the fact that bin Laden was unarmed at the time of the attack contradicting an earlier statement from the administration.

US officials are particularly concerned about alleged ties between Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency and Muslim extremist groups. On Tuesday, Democratic and Republican congressmen called for the US to halt or scrutinise the aid it gives Islamabad. The administration, however, is reluctant to anger a country on which its war effort in Afghanistan depends. "Clearly, there is some type of support network that provided [bin Laden] assistance and helped facilitate contact between bin Laden and his operatives," John Brennan, Barack Obama's counter-terrorism adviser, said on Tuesday. "Whether or not that was individuals inside of the Pakistani government is unknown... But I know Pakistani officials want to get to the bottom of this."

But Navi Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said that the al Qaeda leader, killed in a US operation in Pakistan, had committed crimes against humanity as self-confessed mastermind of "the most appalling acts of terrorism", including the September 11, 2001 attacks on America. It was always clear that taking bin Laden alive was likely to be difficult, she said, noting that US authorities had stated that they intended to arrest him if possible.

"This was a complex operation and it would be helpful if we knew the precise facts surrounding his killing. The United Nations has consistently emphasised that all counter-terrorism acts must respect international law," Pillay said in a statement issued in response to a Reuters request. In Washington, US Attorney General Eric Holder defended as lawful on Tuesday the US operation to go into Pakistan that resulted in the death of bin Laden and the taking of his body.