Mad cow disease, also called bovine spongiform encephalopathy is a fatal brain disease in cattle, which scientists believe can cause Creutzfeldt Jakob disease in humans who eat infected cow parts. In the latest issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, Dr Robert P Friedland, a neurologist at University of Louisville in Kentucky and colleagues suggest that FARMED FISH FED CONTAMINATED COW PARTS could transmit Creutzfeldt Jakob disease.

The scientists want government regulators to ban feeding cow meat or bone meal to fish until the safety of this common practice can be confirmed. Eating fish at least two times a week is widely recommended because of the beneficial effects of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on the heart and brain, they note.

"THIS SEEMS TO CONFIRM THE UNANIMOUS AND UNDISPUTED TRADITION THAT THESE ARE THE MORTAL REMAINS ON THE APOSTLE PAUL," the pontiff said at St Paul's-Outside-the-Walls, on the eve of the Feasts of St Peter and St Paul celebrated on Monday. Peter and Paul are revered by Christians as the greatest early missionaries. Converting on the road to Damascus following a blinding vision of Jesus, Paul took the Gospel to pagan Greeks and Romans and met his martyrdom in Rome in about AD 65.

Christian tradition had it that St Paul was buried together with St Peter in a catacomb on the Via Appia, before being moved to the basilica erected in his honor. For centuries it was believed that his remains were buried beneath the altar. But it was not until a stone sarcophagus was discovered there in 2006 that Vatican archeologists could apply scientific research to the religious tradition.

The first results come during the "Pauline Year," when the Roman Catholic church has been celebrating the second millennium of the birth of the "Apostle of the Gentiles."

The German-American agenda for the meeting was clear this time: A show of friendship - after all the reports of a cool relationship between Obama and Merkel, which have now started to appear in the US as well as the German media. Shortly before the chancellor and the president entered the room, an American TV reporter was speaking live to camera about the possible differences between the two politicians.

However, Obama made sure that these supposed differences were not an issue during Merkel's visit to Washington. He began with a "Wilkommen" in German, and praised Merkel's "wisdom" and "candor." He recalled his visit to the Frauenkirche church in Dresden at the beginning of June, the restoration of which had showed the whole world, what could be achieved when countries and friends worked together. Obama greeted "my friend Chancellor Merkel." He said that Germany had a warm spot in his heart, because of the friendly reception to his speech in front of 220,000 people in German capital in July 2008, when he was still a presidential candidate.

The fact that Merkel had prevented Obama from speaking in front of the deeply symbolic Brandenburg Gate was now all forgotten. And the fact that Obama's team had acted with some arrogance during his Dresden visit and for a long time had rejected the idea of a brief visit to the Frauenkirche was also ancient history. Instead the president emphasized that he had now dealt with a lot of world leaders and that Merkel was "exactly what you want from an international partner."

THE ISSUE THAT HAS SEEN THE GREATEST TENSIONS BETWEEN THE TWO LEADERS WAS HARDLY MENTIONED - the response to the global financial crisis and the German skeptism about America's massive state spending that could culminate in an even bigger stimulus package and an even greater budget deficit. It was made clear that these issues had already been addressed during the president's recent visit to Dresden and in discussions with his economic advisers.

However even a good natured Obama cannot dispel the worries of many Europeans that they are becoming more marginalized in Washington in the face of the many political problems and increasing number of hot spots around the world. When the German chancellor was presented with the Warburg Prize for her contribution to trans-Atlantic relations on Thursday evening in the Library of Congress, ONLY ONE OUT OF A POSSIBLE 435 MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES BOTHERED TO TURN UP.

"This poll clearly shows that it is not only the Irish who want to be consulted on the Lisbon Treaty. This Treaty transfers significant powers from the national to the EU level, and GERMAN VOTERS WANT TO BE GIVEN A SAY."

"Politicians claim they want to see more debate about the EU at national level, and yet they have conspired to deny voters a say on the Lisbon Treaty. Research shows that referendums on European issues significantly improve the public's interest in and knowledge of the EU - so referendums should be encouraged, not avoided at all costs. If politicians want people to connect with the EU, they should give them a say on the big issues like Treaty change. The public are crying out to be consulted - it is time to stop pretending that politicians know best, and inject some democracy into EU politics."

Bavarian Minister-President Horst Seehofer has said: "We want the population to be asked before German competences are irrevocably transferred to Brussels. The population should also be asked before more member states enter the EU."

Reporting Judge Udo Di Fabio said: "One has to ask soberly: "What competences are left with the Bundestag (the German parliament) in the end?" He also bluntly asked "WHETHER IT WOULD NOT BE MORE HONEST TO JUST PROCLAIM A EUROPEAN FEDERAL STATE". On the transfer of powers to the EU, he said: "IS THE IDEA OF GOING EVER MORE IN THIS DIRECTION NOT A THREAT TO FREEDOM?"

Judge Dietrich Murswiek said, "THE TREATY CANNOT BE UNDERSTOOD BY ANYONE". He added: "It is a gigantic camouflage. Words evoking a European state are carefully avoided, just so that France and The Netherlands don't start complaining that they are not allowed a referendum".

Irish Europe Minister Dick Roche said in the aftermath of the Irish 'no' vote that "the first thing to learn about referendums - is to avoid them." Former Commission President Jacques Santer added: "A REFERENDUM IS GOOD FOR DEMOCRACY; IT IS NOT ALWAYS GOOD FOR A COUNTRY. We need to make a distinction between democracy and what is good for the country." The author of the original EU Constitution, former French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing, has explained the reason why it was renamed the Lisbon Treaty, saying: "ABOVE ALL, IT IS TO AVOID HAVING A REFERENDUM."

There is an animal welfare argument in all this. Religious commentators say the more traditional techniques used by their respective faiths are actually more humane than the mass-production methods used across Britain. Animal rights activists cite the lack of a stun gun in the process, which instantly makes the animal unconscious before slaughter.

THERE IS A CERTAIN CRUELTY IN MANY ANIMAL RIGHTS ACTIVISTS - and their sympathisers - who value animal life to the point where they, consciously or subconsciously, rate it over humans. They do so out of sentimentality. Animals don't hurt our feelings. They do not kill their own species, apart from on the rare occasions when two males clash in a manner which results in the death of the competitor.

But this is not because they are somehow better than us. It's because ANIMALS BEHAVE ONLY ACCORDING TO THEIR INSTINCT. They do not have the capacity for abstract thought. They have no concept of ideas, or philosophy. From a human point of view, which is the only point of view we can possibly have, they are less important than humans. That seems a childish and imbecilic statement, but it is, unfortunately, one that needs saying. Many animal rights activists and ordinary members of the public seem to have forgotten it.

IN THE WEST, WE HAVE SENTIMENTALISED ANIMALS. The same is not true in the rest of the world, of course, where life still carries with it the necessity of survival. THERE, THE CONCEPT OF HAVING A PET IS LUDICROUS. ANIMALS ARE THERE TO HELP HUMANS SURVIVE, EITHER THROUGH FOOD, OR LABOUR, OR MATERIAL.

So the arguments about which method of slaughter is more humane are entirely irrelevant to me. Muslims and Jews are entitled to slaughter animals for food in any way they choose. Not because of their religion, but because of their status as human beings.

This is the theory, as he puts it with brutal simplicity: 'LORD MANDELSON IS DESTROYING LABOUR FOR THE SAKE OF THE EU.' In a nutshell, Mr Hannan believes the newly appointed First Secretary is so desperate to see a European superstate established that he is determined to prop up our increasingly unpopular Prime Minister until after the re-run of the Irish referendum, which will take place in October.

If you ask me, what we are witnessing here is the greatest conspiracy against our democracy in my 55-year lifetime. IF IT SUCCEEDS, WE CAN KISS GOODBYE TO THE BRITISH SUBJECT'S ANCIENT RIGHT TO HAVE A SAY IN HOW OUR COUNTRY IS GOVERNED.

The ministry unveiled the revision of the Defense Reform 2020 initiative drawn up in 2005. The updated plan is focused on securing independent capabilities to remove North Korea's asymmetrical military threat of nuclear and missile programs by deploying sophisticated surveillance, reconnaissance and striking assets.

In the case of an emergency, THE MILITARY COULD CONDUCT PRE-EMPTIVE STRIKES AGAINST NUCLEAR AND MISSILE FACILITIES, an official at the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. "That depends on a decision by the leadership," the official told reporters on condition of anonymity.

Under an integrated defense mechanism, the Air Force's multi-purpose satellite, early warning aircraft and high-altitude unmanned aerial vehicles, along with a ground-based early warning radar, conduct surveillance and reconnaissance missions around the clock, according to the defense reform plan. Once signs of unusual movement, such as missile and nuclear tests, are detected, F-15K and other advanced aircraft are to conduct surgical strikes against the relevant facilities, it says. Both ship-based and ground-based interceptors are ready to shoot down missiles from the North, it says.

It goes on to argue, "To justify a revote, EU leaders put on a big show at last week's summit, giving the impression of tough negotiations in which Dublin supposedly won important concessions... Oh really?

According to the EU summit's own conclusions, the protocol 'will clarify but not change either the content or the application of the Treaty of Lisbon.' So the Irish will vote on the same text they previously rejected by a seven-percentage-point margin despite assurances by their government as recently as last month that this would not happen."

Meanwhile Adrian Michaels in the Telegraph writes, "IF DEMOCRACY IS ABOUT LISTENING TO THE PEOPLE, THEN IRAN ISN'T THE ONLY PLACE WHERE THINGS HAVE GOT A BIT STRAINED. A year ago, 53 per cent of Irish voters declined to ratify the substantial increase of the European Union's powers and reach enshrined in the Lisbon Treaty. Yet in early October, the country will be holding another referendum, in which the people will be given a chance to come up with a better answer."

Speaking in Dublin this morning, McCreevy admitted that the treaty would have been rejected in most member states if it had been put to a public vote. He said MANY EU LEADERS WERE GLAD THEY HAD NO LEGAL OBLIGATION TO HOLD REFERENDA ON THE TREATY IN THEIR OWN COUNTRIES.

Jackson, who had a history of health problems, had been due to stage a series of comeback concerts in the UK, beginning on 13 July. Speaking on behalf of the Jackson family, Jermaine said doctors had tried to resuscitate the star for more than an hour without success. He added: "The family request that the media please respect our privacy during this tough time. And Allah be with you Michael always. I love you."

Civil rights activist Rev Al Sharpton paid tribute to his friend. "I FEEL LIKE HE WAS NOT TREATED FAIRLY. I hope history will be more kind to him than some of the contemporary media." Melanie Bromley, west coast bureau chief of Us Weekly magazine, told the BBC the scene in Los Angeles was one of "pandemonium". "I FEEL THIS IS THE BIGGEST CELEBRITY STORY IN A LONG TIME AND HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BE THE PRINCESS DIANA OF POPULAR CULTURE."

The singer had been dogged by controversy and money trouble in recent years, becoming a virtual recluse. He was arrested in 2003 on charges of molesting a 14-year-old boy, but was found not guilty following a five-month trial.

The increase in births means more than one in five children born in Britain in 2007 had a mother born overseas.

Meanwhile, the study also showed that the highest proportion of births to foreign-born women in 2007 were in the London boroughs of Newham (74.8 per cent) and Brent (72 per cent).

The 14-page ONS report said rising fertility rates among UK-born women had been the largest single factor increasing the overall number of births since 2004. Official figures show that the number of births in the UK increased each year between 2001 and 2007, a time which saw the proportion of foreign-born women in the childbearing population increase to 14 per cent.

The report stated: 'The rise in the overall total fertility rate is mainly due to increasing fertility among UK-born women, since fertility among foreign born women has remained relatively stable since 2004. However, foreign-born women, who generally have higher fertility, are making up an increasing share of the population, which is also acting to push the overall total fertility rate upwards. A consequence of these changes is that two-thirds of the total increase in births between 2001 and 2007 can be attributed to women born outside the UK.'

THE PRESIDENT MAY HAVE CHANGED, BUT THE EXCESSES OF AMERICAN POLITICS HAVE REMAINED. Barack Obama and George W Bush, it has become clear, are more similar than they might seem at first glance. Ex-President Bush was nothing if not zealous in his worldwide campaign against terror, transgressing human rights and breaking international law along the way. Now, Obama is displaying the same zeal in his own war against the financial crisis - AND HIS WEAPON OF CHOICE IS THE MONEY-PRINTING MACHINE. The rules the new American president is breaking are those which govern the economy. Nobody is being killed. But THE STRATEGY COMES AT A PRICE - AND THAT PRICE MIGHT BE AMERICA'S POSITION AS A GLOBAL POWER.

In his fight against terrorism, Bush had the ideologue Dick Cheney at his side. "We must take the battle to the enemy," he said - and sent out the bomber squadrons toward Iraq on the basis of mere suspicion. The result of the offensive is well known. Obama's Cheney is named Larry Summers. He is Obama's senior-most economic advisor, and like the former vice president, he is a man of conviction. THE FINANCIAL CRISIS MAY BE LARGE, BUT SUMMERS' SELF-CONFIDENCE IS EVEN LARGER. MORE IMPORTANTLY, PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA FOLLOWS HIM LIKE A DOG DOES ITS MASTER. The crisis, Summers intoned last week at a conference of Deutsche Bank's Alfred Herrhausen Society in Washington, was caused by too much confidence, too much credit and too many debts. It was hard not to nod along in agreement.

BUT THEN SUMMERS ADDED THAT THE WAY TO BRING ABOUT AN END TO THE CRISIS WAS - MORE CONFIDENCE, MORE CREDIT AND MORE DEBT. Just as the US public initially rallied behind the war President Bush - even to the point of re-electing him - Americans have now thrown their support behind the debt president Obama. The mistakes of the Bush administration are now widely accepted. THE MISTAKES OF THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION ARE STILL NOT RECOGNIZED AS SUCH. THEY ARE SEEN AS THE TRUTH.

THE GERMAN RESPONSE TO THE EXCESSES OF THE BUSH ERA WAS REFUSAL AND OBSTINACY. Gerhard Schröder refused to go to war in Iraq with America and he organized a European resistance front that reached from Moscow to Paris. Germany still hasn't provided its response to the Obama administration's fiscal policy excesses. PERHAPS ITS TIME FOR MERKEL TO TAKE HER CUE FROM SCHRÖDER.

THE FT AND WSJ report that China has denied claims made by the EU, US, and other countries that it is practicing protectionism and illegal trade subsidies, and retaliated with its own complaint to the World Trade Organisation.

THE LA TIMES quotes an IMF study concluding that Ireland is experiencing the worst recession in the developed world, with its economy shrinking by 8.5% and its budget deficit expected to reach 20% of GDP in 2010.

Writing in THE GUARDIAN, Timothy Garton Ash argues that, "the most important thing the Lisbon Treaty does is to create the institutional machinery for a better co-ordinated and more effective European foreign policy. The machinery - not the thing itself. That requires the political will of ­sovereign member states."

PROSPECT MAGAZINE reports that the EU is divided on foreign and defence policy and that it seems to be 'slipping backwards', adding that "it must learn to speak in one voice, or others will shape the new world order".

SÜDDEUTSCHE reports that Germany has reached an all time budget debt record of €86.1 billion, double the previous record from 1996.

Markus Knigge, Research Director for Pew Environment Group has said that "rather than encouraging sustainable fishing, SUBSIDIES HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO EVER-GREATER CAPACITY OF FISHING FLEETS AND IN TURN TO THE DEPLETION OF VALUABLE FISH STOCKS".

According to the paper, similar levels of subsidies exist in the current 2007-2013 budget period, with SOME OF THE BIGGEST CASH WINDFALLS GOING TO SHIPS NOTORIOUS FOR THEIR QUESTIONABLE PRACTICES. Greenpeace named a Spanish trawler which has received more than €4m in subsidies as "the most egregious offender against vulnerable stocks of Mediterranean blue fin tuna". A new website, "fishsubsidy.org" has been created to establish greater transparency about EU fishing subsidies.

Plants including Rotherham, Stocksbridge and Scunthorpe will be hardest hit by the latest cutback by the steel giant, which has already axed thousands of jobs this year. The new cuts will hit the firm's long products division, WHICH SUPPLIES STEEL TO THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY, ONE OF THE WORST AFFECTED BY THE RECESSION. Unions described the job losses as "devastating" and called on the Government to offer help to the industry.

The company said in a statement: "Corus has already made significant cost savings with the support of its employee and union representatives since the downturn began, but several sites have suffered further deterioration in demand for their products. This additional restructuring will enable the business to align its production and manning levels with anticipated demand."

Corus said 2,045 jobs were at risk, including 1,500 in the company's production facilities, about 800 at the engineering steels sites, mainly Rotherham and Stocksbridge, about 370 in Corus Tubes in the UK and Holland, and about 375 at downstream rolling and finishing plants in Teesside and Scotland.