Moody's fears that the US will crash through its safety buffer by 2013 if growth falters (adverse scenario), with interest payments topping 14 percent of tax revenues. The debt-to-revenue ratio has already doubled in three years to 430 percent.

The US, UK, Germany, France, and Spain are all at risk of an "interest rate shock", either because they must roll over a cluster of short-term debt (US, France, Spain) or because deficits are so large. Countries that "fail to demonstrate the level of social cohesion required to stabilise debt" will lose their AAA rating. "Intra-generational" conflict between young and old requires careful handling. States that delay pension reform risk spiralling downwards.

Moody's said the world had changed since Europe's debt crisis. None of the large sovereign states can still assume it is credit-worthy. "The burden of proof now falls on governments," it added. Britain has the safety cushion of long debt maturities, but the structural deficit is causing debt "to grow an unsustainable rate" - the UK is clearly one of the weaker countries in the AAA peer group.

The current crisis differs starkly from the "one-off" debt spikes after the Second World War, when young economies were able to outgrow the debt burden. This time the threat lies ahead as the aging crisis drives up pension and health costs on a static tax base. "While the current stock of debt is large, it is dwarfed by the accumulation of future liabilities if policies do not change."

For example at Kensington Palace in London, where the Duke of Gloucester is keeping bee hives, the samples contained large amounts of pollen from rockrose, eucalyptus and elderberry. In contrast bees in the countryside tended to rely on fields of crops. At Nostell Priory in Yorkshire and Barrington Court in Somerset, the samples were heavily dominated by oilseed rape with little other pollen types detectable.

In the last 20 years there has been a dramatic 50 per cent decline in bee numbers in Britain. Climate change, pesticides and even a mystery disease known as 'colony collapse disorder have been blamed'. Experts also believe that intensive farming may have contributed to the decline of bees because it means there are less wild flowers in the countryside to provide the insects with a 'varied diet'.

Matthew Oates, Nature Conservation Adviser at the National Trust, said there are "precious few" pollen sources for bees in the countryside because farmland is either taken over for "monoculture" like wheat or barley or grazed for livestock. He urged farmers to allow more wild flowers on field margins and to plant seed mixes in unused areas.

Admiral Thad Allen said that an earlier successful process sealing the well from above may have wedged cement between two layers of casing, trapping leaked crude inside the void. That has forced officials to put on hold plans to seal the well from below by flushing first a heavy drilling fluid called "mud" and then cement into the damaged structure via an intercept from a second relief well.

"When we do the intercept well and commence pumping mud and cement... it will create pressure," Allen said. "We want to make sure before I give the order and direct BP to do that, that we know the implications of that pressure, and how we will deal with it."

The setback will be disappointing for weary Gulf Coast residents eager for the psychological relief of knowing a final death blow has been struck against a well that has unleashed such economic and environmental catastrophe. The Macondo well has not spilled crude since July 15, when a sealing cap was successfully closed over the leak, providing the first concrete success in efforts to contain the gushing crude.

Health officials said last month that two Tampa-area residents had died from eastern equine encephalitis, a viral disease that inflames the brain. Two additional deaths from the disease known as EEE have since been confirmed, one in the state capital of Tallahassee and one in the northwest Florida town of Sopchoppy.

The disease mostly affects unvaccinated horses but a handful of human deaths are recorded each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There is no human vaccine for the disease, which kills a third of its human victims and often leaves survivors with significant brain damage. The Florida Department of Health is also tracking two other less deadly mosquito-borne diseases, West Nile virus and dengue fever.

EEE and West Nile virus have been detected in 43 of Florida's 67 counties, while dengue cases have been confirmed in two south Florida counties, Monroe and Broward, according to the state Department of Health. The dengue virus began showing up in Florida in 2009 after an absence since its last major outbreak in 1934. At least 28 confirmed cases of domestically transmitted dengue fever have been reported in Florida this year, along with 67 foreign-acquired cases. The disease is more prevalent in Central and South America.

"The two things we try to relay are get rid of mosquitoes and avoid contact," said Blackmore, adding that August and September are peak seasons for most mosquito-borne illnesses. State health officials are urging residents to avoid contact with mosquitoes by wearing protective clothing and using insect repellent, especially products that include DEET. Homeowners are also asked to remove standing water where mosquitoes breed.

Iran will also unveil the long-range drone, Karar, he said using the nickname of revered Shiite Imam Ali. On Sunday Iran launches its annual government week which runs until August 30 and is an occasion to showcase Tehran's achievements. Vahidi said the unveiling of these weapons indicate that "sanctions have had no impact on us, but made us more experienced and self-sufficient."

Iranian officials regularly boast about the Islamic republic's military capabilities and Vahidi's announcements come at a time when local officials have been warning against any attack on the Islamic republic. Tehran's archfoes, the United States and Israel have not ruled out a military strike against Iran to stop its controversial nuclear programme.

Last week a top commander from the Revolutionary Guards said Iran will mass produce replicas of the Bladerunner 51, often described as the world's fastest boat, and equip them with weapons to be deployed in the Gulf. Also on August 8, Iran took delivery of four new mini-submarines of the home-produced Ghadir class. Weighing 120 tonnes, the "stealth" submarines are aimed at operations in shallow waters, notably in the Gulf.

Congressman King said the openness of the developers to a compromise will be the real test of their intentions."If the leaders of the mosque take up the governor on his proposal, it would show that their real intention is to bring people together, build bridges," he said. "And not just make a political statement by having a mosque at Ground Zero."

"The purpose of the [upcoming] meeting would be for the governor to discuss with the leaders of the mosque where state property is available," said Representative King. "Whether or not people from the mosque would be willing to consider that property." King added that the governor "seemed very enthused" about the anticipated discussions. For at least a week, the governor's message to the developers has been one of hopeful understanding.

Sources tell CBS 2's Kramer that Governor Paterson is concerned that Mayor Mike Bloomberg, a staunch supporter of putting the mosque at ground zero, and President Barack Obama, might be advising mosque leaders to dig in their heels and insist on the present location. "I hope that the type of cultural understanding that they're trying to promote when they build the center could be practiced right now," Paterson said.

The hike in prices has been driven by a shortage of hay because of a bad harvest following the cold winter and dry spring. The amount of hay harvested in June is down 20 per cent. Now police are on the lookout for thieves targeting more farms so they can sell the hay on when prices rise further in the winter.

Farmers, horse owners and even zoos and animal sanctuaries are concerned animals may go hungry or have to be sold on as prices rise further to 8.50 pounds per bale, especially as grain prices are also hitting a record high.

Nicola Whittaker, of NFU Mutual, said the thieves are taking the hay now because they will be able to sell it on for an even higher price later in the year.

She said it was part of a trend that has seen rural crime become much more organised and target goods like fuel, scrap metal and now hay as the price rises. "Hay rustling is the latest in a rising wave of crime across rural areas," she said. Helen Evans, of Thames Valley Police Horse Watch scheme, urged people to protect their supplies by storing hay and straw in bins or even leaving it loose rather than in bales so it is more difficult to steal.

AQAP ordered supporters in the Saudi army to "collect information on everything related to the Saudi royal family" in an effort to dethrone them, a speaker identified as Saeed al Shihri said in an Arabic-language recording posted today on a website that often carries al Qaeda statements.

The identity of the speaker could not immediately be verified. The group has accused the Saudi monarchy of helping the US to wage war against Muslims through its military campaigns in Iraq, Afghanistan and Yemen. Al Qaeda in June ordered sympathizers in the military to abduct Saudi princes, ministers and Christian residents.

The AQAP leader also called on its followers in the armed forces to attack Israel from northwestern Saudi Arabia. "Carry your arms against Israel, which is only few kilometres away from you," al-Shihri said. "Whoever among you is a pilot should seek martyrdom in the skies of Palestine, and who works in the navy should aim his weapon at the Jews there."

Saudi Arabia, holder of one-fifth of global oil reserves, stepped up its anti-terrorism fight against al Qaeda in 2004 after militants attacked an oil installation and stormed a housing complex in the Persian Gulf city of al-Khobar, killing 22 foreign workers. In March, Saudi forces detained more than 100 terror suspects, including some allegedly plotting attacks on energy installations...

"You who work as guards for tyrants, princes, ministers or complexes where Christians live, or can reach them, seek help from Allah to kill them," al-Shihri said in the recording. "Together, let's overthrow the Al Saud family."

Japan's Ministry of Finance said August 9 that China bought 1.73 trillion yen ($20.1 billion) more Japanese debt than it sold in the first half of 2010, the fastest pace of purchases in at least five years.

"Diversification should be a basic principle," Yu said in an interview, adding a "top-level Chinese central banker" told him to convey to European policy makers China's confidence in the region's economy and currency. "We didn't sell any European bonds or assets, instead we bought quite a lot."

China's position may make it harder for the greenback to rebound after falling as much as 10 percent from this year's peak in June as measured by the trade-weighted Dollar Index. The nation cut its holdings of US government debt by $100 billion, or 11 percent, through June from last year's record of $939.9 billion in July 2009, according to Treasury Department data released today.

Concern the US economy is faltering was underscored by the Federal Reserve on August 10. Chairman Ben S Bernanke said the central bank will reinvest principal payments on its mortgage holdings into Treasury notes to prevent money from being drained out of the financial system, its first expansion of measures to spur growth in more than a year. "The pace of economic recovery is likely to be more modest in the near term than had been anticipated," the Federal Open Market Committee said in a statement after meeting in Washington. "The Committee will keep constant the Federal Reserve's holdings of securities at their current level."

Development aid to Africa is a blessing for all those directly involved - both on the giving end and on the receiving end. Functionaries on the donor side, at least those abroad, earn good money. Many of those on the receiving end, for their part, know how to organize things in such a way that their own personal interests don't get short shrift.

There is no reason for these two groups to be interested in changing the status quo. Yet even so, some within their ranks are starting to suggest the situation as it stands cannot continue. The development aid of the past 50 years, they say, is hardly justifiable given the disappointing results. Even individual donors, who know little about how development aid works in practice, increasingly sense that something might be amiss.

They're right. The aid has failed to a large extent. We have taken on too much responsibility for solving African problems. We have essentially educated them to, when problems arise, call for foreign aid first rather than trying to find solutions themselves. This attitude has become deeply rooted in Africa. These perpetual gifts have made partners into beggars, ones who no longer value the things they have been given and consequently have not maintained them well. Apart from a few exceptions, emergency aid being one example, free aid was and remains fundamentally wrong.

The man with the gray beard and the piercing eyes grabs a bottle of mineral water and fills a metal cup to the brim. "There you go," he says, handing the container over to a sweating farmer in muddy clothing. "Drink, my brother, drink," he says. "May Allah protect you!" The young man gulps down the water as the older man hands a cup to the next person standing in line. Hundreds of people have lined up here for nothing more than a single cup of clean drinking water.

That, however, is also the extent of the aid provided by the extremists in Pakistan's flood areas - a table in a tent and a banner on the fabric wall with the words "God is great" written in Arabic. Beneath stand a few cardboard boxes filled with water bottles. "I know it is little," says Rahim Ullah, who is distributing water in Charsadda in northwestern Pakistan. "But it is more than others are doing for the people here."

Rahim Ullah is a Pashtun from the northwestern Swat Valley, where the Taliban ruled until a Pakistani military offensive in early 2009. He admits that he is "very close" to the Islamists. When asked if he is an extremist himself, he answers with a counter-question: "At what point does a person become a Talib?"

"I have visited the scenes of many natural disasters around the world, but nothing like this," says UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who visited Pakistan on Sunday to assess the damage. "The scale is so large: so many people, in so many places, in so much need." Describing the floods as "unprecedented," he said they "demand unprecedented assistance."

The Pakistani government, at least so far, has failed miserably in its response to the disaster. Around 60,000 soldiers are attempting to provide relief across the country. But many more soldiers remain stationed on the border shared with the country's archenemy, India, while 140,000 soldiers are still occupied with the war on terror. The West, on the other hand, is concerned that its ally in the battle against terrorism, which has been made unstable through extremist attacks, could be toppled once and for all.

But several companies making contact lenses in Asia claim to have achieved the same wide eyed look. The product, known as 'circle lenses', covers part of the white area in the eyes to make the pupil look larger. The lenses are illegal to sell in the US because they haven't been approved by federal health officials, but they can bought online from foreign websites.

Opticians are worried that the lack of quality control will lead to problems like eye infections, damage to vision, and even loss of vision. Dr Assumpta Madu, from the Montefiore Medical Centre in New York, said: "There literally is potential for somebody to lose their vision within 24 hours from an infection." The Circle Lenses are available to correct poor eyesight or just as a decorative accessory. But doctors are emphasising that contact lenses should only be purchased after an optician has approved a prescription.

A YouTube video on how to get the Bad Romance look has had more than 11 million hits. Chantal George, 19, from Pennsylvania, has been wearing them for almost two years. "As of now, I have 15 pairs", she said. "It's like wearing a new shade of make-up, or a new outfit. I feel like I'm popping in terms of my look for the day." Chantal told Newsbeat she's not worried about wearing them and will continue recommending them to friends. "I say these are like any other contact lenses. They need to have care taken of them, they need not to be worn too often or for too long. And they're just coloured lenses - just not made in the United States."

Western powers say Iran is trying to build a nuclear weapon. Iran denies this and says its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes. The BBC's John Leyne reports from Cairo that the plan is a gesture of defiance to those outside Iran who fear that the new plants could be used to make nuclear weapons. The Islamic republic is already enriching uranium at a plant in Natanz in central Iran, and has been building a second enrichment site near Qom, further to the north.

Iran says it needs the plants to supply fuel for a new generation of up to 20 nuclear reactors, the BBC's Jon Leyne says. However, the only reactor under construction, at Bushehr, is being supplied with fuel by Russia. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad originally announced plans to build the 10 new plants in late 2009, days after the UN nuclear watchdog rebuked Iran for covering up the uranium enrichment plant it was building near Qom.

The report contains no dramatic new data but confirms US concerns about the rapid growth of China's military might. According to the Pentagon report, China has been upgrading its land-based missiles, expanding its submarine force and modernising nuclear forces. It says China has 1,150 short-range ballistic missiles and an unknown number of medium-range missiles. The billions of dollars in expenditure has been conducted largely out of the public eye, the report alleges.

"The limited transparency in China's military and security affairs enhances uncertainty and increases the potential for misunderstanding and miscalculation," it says. Recent commentaries from the Chinese military establishment have complained about large-scale military exercises held by the US and South Korea. They have spoken of an alleged policy of US "encirclement" that threatens China's core interests.

China has also criticised what it sees as unwarranted interference by the US in one of those core interests, China's claim to much of the South China Sea. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently told a regional summit in Vietnam that it supported non-Chinese claimants to the sea. The US also recently held a week of visits and training exercises with Vietnam. The US is embarking on a new round of exercises with South Korea which it describes as purely defensive.

Military-to-military contacts between the US and China have been suspended and China refused to meet US Defence Secretary Robert Gates.

Mr Obama expressed his support for the mosque, which will replace a building damaged by the attacks, at a White House meal celebrating Ramadan. In his speech on Friday, Mr Obama said: 'Let me be clear: As a citizen and as President I believe that Muslims have the same right to practise their religion as everyone else in this country.

'That includes the right to build a place of worship and a community centre on private property in Lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances. This is America, and our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakable.' But the next day he insisted he had not been commenting on the 'wisdom' of placing a mosque in such a symbolic place.

Democratic Senate candidate Jeff Greene of Florida said: 'President Obama has this all wrong and I strongly oppose his support for building a mosque near Ground Zero especially since Islamic terrorists have bragged and celebrated destroying the Twin Towers and killing nearly 3,000 Americans. Freedom of religion might provide the right to build the mosque in the shadow of Ground Zero, but COMMON SENSE and respect for those who lost their lives and loved ones gives sensible reason to build the mosque someplace else.'