A report by the Adam Smith Institute claims Fairtrade products do not aid long-term economic development and often fail to help the poorest farm workers. Consumers spent more than £290 million a year on Fairtrade goods in 2006 and sales of products bearing the distinctive black, green and blue logo have continued to soar. They are likely to rise further after the sugar company Tate & Lyle said it would convert its entire operation to Fairtrade-certified farmers. Under the scheme, 40 per cent of the cost of each bag of sugar will now go back to Belize, where it will be shared by farmers, cane mills and community projects.

Tom Clougherty, policy director at the Adam Smith Institute, said: "At best, Fairtrade is a marketing device that does the poor little good. At worst, it may inadvertently be harming some of the planet's most vulnerable people. There is nothing wrong with being concerned about the working conditions, wages and environment of workers, but we don't believe Fairtrade is the most effective model."

Fairtrade is one of the fastest-growing retail sectors in Britain, with sales soaring by 46 per cent between 2005 and 2006. More than 3,000 products are Fairtrade-certified including coffee, tea, chocolate, fruit, vegetables and cotton. The Fairtrade Foundation, which will launch its Fairtrade Fortnight promotion this week, claims more than seven million people in 58 countries benefit from the system. The organisation said: "This is a cynical attempt to undermine our pragmatic approach to trade. Fairtrade products cost the consumer no more than ordinary products in many cases, yet we ensure farmers receive a higher price. We also work with other ethical brands such as those in the organic movement."

Ceri Dingle, director of educational charity WorldWrite, said: "Fairtrade is much more about satisfying the Western consumer's guilt. No country has ever become a successful economy by being a farm - they need to industrialise."

Little Brandon Kramer was diagnosed with rhomboencephalosynapsis - a condition so rare it affects fewer than one in a million people worldwide - while he was still in the womb. Doctors warned his mother and father that Brandon would be born deaf and blind and would probably survive only for a couple of hours. It is believed to be the first time in Britain that the condition has been diagnosed during pregnancy - and Becky Weatherall and her partner Kriss Kramer were offered a termination up to just weeks before the birth. But the couple defied doctors' advice and their son was born healthy on October 1 last year.

Now Brandon is teething and attempting to talk, and Kriss, 24, from Pembroke Dock, South Wales, said: "The fact that he is here now, alive and kicking, truly is a miracle. The doctors say that he has defied all the odds but it's really more than that because he wasn't given any odds at all. He was written off completely and we believed he was 100 per cent certain to be handicapped."

Brandon was born naturally in October and, despite being whisked to intensive care by a team of specialists, was quickly given the all-clear. An urgent review into the case has been ordered by hospital chiefs because it is unclear if Brandon had the condition and recovered from it - or if the data was misinterpreted by hospital staff.
The couple do not want to claim compensation and just want to highlight their case as a warning to other parents. Becky said: "Perhaps doctors shouldn't put so much confidence in scans."

The move is the latest expansion of surveillance powers which, until recently, were only available to the police and intelligence services. Revenue officers used to work to a set of strict rules that even banned them from looking in cupboards at a home or business during a visit without express permission. But now officials investigating allegations of tax evasion can pry into every aspect of a suspect's life in the hunt for evidence.

Senior revenue officials have been given the power to sanction the use of surveillance techniques under the same rules that govern the work of MI5, GCHQ and the police. Customs officers who are fighting gun-runners, drug-smugglers and people-traffickers have also had similar surveillance approval.

The new powers are opposed by professional bodies, including the Institute of Chartered Accountants. Harry Travers, of the Institute's Tax Investigations Practitioners Group, said: "There is no evidence that bugging is needed in relation to tax fraud. Inspectors already have wide-ranging powers to obtain search warrants, raid people's property, seize documents and computers. They don't need to be able to bug people as well. There is real risk of breaching human rights."

Yesterday, the Government said that a universal base was "impractical." But demands from police and judges are fuelling civil liberties groups' fears that Ministers will eventually impose compulsory screening. The national DNA database, the biggest in the world, already files the genetic records of more than 4.5million people - including 560,000 never convicted of any offence.

But Home Office Minister Tony McNulty said a national database was not a 'silver bullet' and that it would raise practical as well as civil liberties issues. "How to maintain the security of a database with 4.5million people on it is one thing," he said. "Doing that for 60million people is another." Civil liberties groups warn such a register would be open to abuse.

"Taking the DNA of every man, woman and child is as expensive and impractical as it is dangerous. It ignores the extremely intimate nature of DNA and the massive scope for error and abuse." Roger Smith, director of the law and human rights group Justice, added: "A broader police power to compel samples without the requirement of reasonable suspicion is a substantial and unwarranted intrusion on the rights of personal privacy. You either go forward to a universal database, which I think would be wrong, or you go back. I want a return to the 1995 position where samples could be kept on the convicted only."

Across the globe, people are discovering it's a new contributor to world hunger. Led by the United States, governments are paying companies billions to make ethanol from corn and other crops. The result: these CROPS ARE DIVERTED FROM THE FOOD SUPPLY, creating artificial shortages and higher prices. Even record harvests haven't suppressed food prices. Instead, prices are soaring to all-time highs. Corn that traded around $2 a bushel just two years ago is now well over $5 a bushel.

The impact ripples through the food chain of milk, butter, eggs, flour, pasta and everything else, because dairy cattle, beef cattle, poultry and swine depend on the corn for their feed. "We are witnessing the beginning of one of the great tragedies of history," the EPI proclaimed in January. "THE UNITED STATES, in a misguided effort to reduce its oil insecurity by converting grain into fuel for cars, IS GENERATING GLOBAL FOOD INSECURITY ON A SCALE NEVER SEEN BEFORE."

THIS PROBLEM BECAME FIVE TIMES WORSE IN DECEMBER when the new "energy bill" became law. It dictates that Washington will pay a 51-cent-a-gallon subsidy on 36 billion gallons of ethanol each year, up from the previous 7.5 billion gallon limit. Even before this incentive expanded, official U.S. Department of Agriculture reports showed that ethanol was "eating up" 20 percent of the corn grown in America in 2006 - up from 6 percent in 2000 - a figure expected to rise in 2008 to 25 percent. Since the beginning of 2000, butter and milk prices have tripled, and poultry prices have almost doubled. EPI's president, Lester R. Brown, says, "We're putting the supermarket in competition with the corner filling station for the output of the farm. The result is that more people will go hungry."

AS OIL PRICES APPROACHED $100 PER BARREL, MARKET INCENTIVES FOR PRODUCING MORE ETHANOL INCREASED DRAMATICALLY. But that wasn't enough to satisfy the subsidy lobby. Hence they pressed Washington to decree that WE MUST USE FIVE TIMES MORE ETHANOL and pay them for the privilege. That will raise the annual taxpayer-paid subsidy to over $18 billion per year, even though they're already profitable thanks to high oil prices. THE ENERGY BILL CONVERTS ETHANOL MANUFACTURERS' SIMPLE PROFITS INTO SUPER-PROFITS, AT TAXPAYER EXPENSE.

As The Heritage Foundation's Ben Lieberman and others have suggested, WE SHOULD BE REPEALING THE ETHANOL MANDATE INSTEAD OF EXPANDING IT. Taxpayers would save billions that now flow out of the federal Treasury, plus our food would be more affordable. And the Third World wouldn't face as many food shortages. Ending the subsidy is easier said than done, of course. As the New York Times has noted, the ethanol lobby is now "AN ENTRENCHED POLITICAL FORCE." Years of multi-billion dollar subsidies have turned a small group into a wealthy and effective lobby on Capitol Hill.

Years ago, G. K. Chesterton made this observation about our culture: "You are free in our time to say that God does not exist; you are free to say that He exists and is evil. You may talk of God as a metaphor or mystification? and it is not merely that nobody punishes, but nobody protests. BUT IF YOU SPEAK OF GOD AS A FACT, ... AS A REASON FOR CHANGING ONE'S CONDUCT, THEN THE MODERN WORLD WILL STOP YOU SOMEHOW IF IT CAN."

We have come to a time in our nation in which WE NEED TO TURN BACK TO GOD. We need to call on His name, because as WE LOOK AT THE CALAMITIES WE ARE FACING, I believe we have brought many of them upon ourselves. WE HAVE DONE OUR BEST TO GET GOD OUT OF THE COURTROOM, OUT OF THE CLASSROOM AND OUT OF OUR CULTURE, AND LOOK WHAT IS HAPPENING IN OUR NATION. Malcom Muggeridge said, "All new news is old news happening to new people." As it's been said, if we don't learn from history, then we are destined to repeat it.

The Mapping Sharia in America Project, sponsored by the Washington-based Center for Security Policy, has trained former counterintelligence and counterterrorism agents from the FBI, CIA and U.S. military, who are skilled in Arabic and Urdu, to conduct undercover reconnaissance at some 2,300 mosques and Islamic centers and schools across the country. Many of the Islamic centers are operating under the auspices of THE SAUDI ARABIAN GOVERNMENT and U.S. front groups for the radical MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD based in Egypt.

Dar al-Hijrah Islamic Center is one of the mosques indentified by undercover investigators as a hive of terrorist activity and other extremism. It was founded and is currently run by leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood. Imams there preach what is called "jihad qital," which means physical jihad, and incite violence and hatred against the U.S. DAR AL-HIJRAH'S ULTIMATE GOAL, INVESTIGATORS SAY, IS TO TURN THE U.S. INTO AN ISLAMIC STATE GOVERNED BY SHARIA LAW.

Even with such radical mosques operating in its backyard, the U.S. government has not undertaken its own systematic investigation of U.S. mosques. IN CONTRAST, EUROPEAN UNION SECURITY OFFICIALS ARE ANALYZING MEMBER-STATE MOSQUES, examining the training and funding sources of imams, in a large-scale project. "We have too many mosques in this country," said Rep. Pete King, R-N.Y. "There are too many people who are sympathetic to radical Islam. We should be looking at them more carefully."

Mobs have twice attacked the U.S. embassy in Belgrade and on Tuesday hundreds of Serbs burned down two border posts in north Kosovo, in a violent response to Kosovo's secession. British, German, Croatian and Turkish missions were also attacked.

The EU's sub-office stands empty, locked and guarded by two Kosovo-Serb police officers. The 2,000-strong EU rule of law mission is taking over supervision of Kosovo from the United Nations, following Pristina's declaration of independence from Serbia on Sunday. The United States and major EU powers have recognised the move.

The north, home to just under half of Kosovo's 120,000 remaining Serbs, has served notice that the EU mission will be treated as "occupiers". It has the backing of Serbia and Russia. Many Serbs regard Kosovo as THE CRADLE OF THEIR RELIGION and national identity, steeped in myth and RICH IN ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN HERITAGE. The territory of 2 million people has been run by the United Nations since 1999, when NATO bombed to drive out Serb forces to halt the killing and ethnic cleansing of (Moslem) Albanians in a two-year counter-insurgency war.

The aircraft was taking off with three others on their last flight out of Guam after a four-month deployment, part of a continuous U.S. bomber presence in the western Pacific. After the crash, the other three bombers were being kept on Guam, said Maj. Eric Hilliard at Hickham Air Force Base in Hawaii. There were no injuries on the ground or damage to buildings, and no munitions were on board.

America's entire B-2 stealth bombing fleet has been grounded until the initial investigation into the crash has been completed. Each B-2 bomber costs about $1.2 billion to build.

The great crested newts were found in the site of the Earl Shilton bypass. The £15m project, due to finish this year will not now be ready until next February, costing an extra £1.2m. Another £500,000 needs to be spent on steps to stop the rare amphibians returning and on traps to catch them when hibernation ends this spring.

Leicestershire County Council has a legal obligation to ensure the newts and their habitat are protected. A spokesman said: "Low numbers of newts were found - between one and 10 in the three ponds where evidence of their presence was found." He added that the £1.7m cost was "only approximate" and would depend on how long the contractor was delayed.

Council leader Councillor David Parsons said: "I think the public will take it enormously badly and I think we have got to have a change in the law. If we are talking about a small number of newts costing £1.7m that is unacceptable."

Corrupt "Sharia financing" banking practices - legal under Islamic law - are a fairly new phenomenon, Ehrenfeld said. They were first developed by the Muslim brotherhood in the 70s, following the financial power gained by Saudis during the oil boom. "Saudis are using money in order to corrupt the West, to fund terrorism, and eventually to take over the West," said Ehrenfeld.

"Sharia financing means complete and total submission to Islamic bankers," Ehrenfeld explained. "Investors give over all rights to choose what their money supports. Not surprisingly, these illegal banking practices do not have security, which comes at a very large price to investors, who are at great risk both of losing their money, endangering their shareholders, and being prosecuted by American banking laws, which strictly forbid the financial support of terrorism. Besides the money that is used to support Islamic agenda, 20% of funds are labelled 'mandated charity' and go directly to foreign companies in support of terrorism."

Ehrenfeld warns: "They are expanding fast, and are now in more than 80 countries, and more than 300 financial institutions around the world. This is really spreading like wildfire."

The BBC's Mark Mardell reports that the European Parliament IS CLAIMING THAT NO SPECIFIC INDIVIDUAL EXAMPLES OF FRAUD WERE FOUND and there is no need to send the report to the EU's anti fraud agency, Olaf. Leading articles condemn the European Parliament for blocking the investigation. A Mail leader notes that "officials are so terrified by these findings that only MEPs on the budget committee have been allowed to see them?So much for EU 'transparency'." A Sun leader says that "Gordon Brown has betrayed us by refusing a referendum on further EU integration. SO WILL HE TELL US WHY BRITAIN SHOULD BE RUN BY THIS BUNCH OF CROOKS?"

Open Europe's Lorraine Mullally was quoted in the Express: "This is a disgraceful theft of taxpayers' money. It shows why EU politicians should not be given yet more powers and more money, and why we need a referendum on the EU Constitutional Treaty." Open Europe's Alistair Tebbit was interviewed about the revelations on Al Jazeera. "We are absolutely astonished at the scale", he said. "The report is being buried and people like you and me cannot see the actual details.

TO COMPOUND THE PROBLEM OLAF, THE EU ANTI-FRAUD UNIT, IS ITSELF BEING INVESTIGATED [FOR FRAUD]."

The president and his advisers expected a quick, inexpensive conflict. Instead, we have a war that is costing more than anyone could have imagined. The cost of direct US military operations - not even including long-term costs such as taking care of wounded veterans - already exceeds the cost of the 12-year war in Vietnam and is more than double the cost of the Korean War.

Most Americans have yet to feel these costs. The price in blood has been paid by our voluntary military and by hired contractors. The price in treasure has, in a sense, been financed entirely by borrowing. Taxes have not been raised to pay for it - in fact, taxes on the rich have actually fallen. Deficit spending gives the illusion that the laws of economics can be repealed, that we can have both guns and butter. But of course the laws are not repealed. The costs of the war are real even if they have been deferred, possibly to another generation.

On the eve of war, there were discussions of the likely costs. Larry Lindsey, President Bush's economic adviser and head of the National Economic Council, suggested that they might reach $200 billion. But this estimate was dismissed as "baloney" by the Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld. His deputy, Paul Wolfowitz, suggested that postwar reconstruction could pay for itself through increased oil revenues. Mitch Daniels, the Office of Management and Budget director, and Secretary Rumsfeld estimated the costs in the range of $50 to $60 billion, a portion of which they believed would be financed by other countries. The budgetary cost to the UK of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan through 2010 will total more than £18 billion. If we include the social costs, the total impact on the UK will exceed £20 billion.

The crisis is expected to trigger the early release of thousands of muggers, burglars and other convicts. In a desperate attempt to buy time, Jack Straw begged magistrates to imprison fewer offenders. The Justice Secretary said the courts were giving short jail terms when community punishments would be better.

But magistrates refused point-blank to help him out of the shambles - saying they would continue to hand down whatever sentence they saw fit. The Magistrates' Association said it did not react kindly to being placed under "pressure" by ministers. Tory spokesman Nick Herbert said: "The prison system is now in genuine crisis. This is not the fault of magistrates but the result of sheer incompetence by this Government."

Plans have been drawn up to extend an existing early release scheme called End of Custody Licence, which lets convicts out 18 days before their sentence reaches even the halfway point. It was implemented last June and has led to the early release of 16,000 inmates - one of whom has since committed a murder.

"We urge the European Union not to limit its action to purely calling for an end to the siege but also to apply political and practical pressure on Israel," Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said. On Thursday, EU lawmakers urged Israel not to inflict "collective punishment" on Gaza's population, saying its isolation of the territory had failed and its actions were endangering civilians. Zuhri said Hamas welcomed the parliamentary resolution.

Israel said its tightened restrictions were in response to cross-border rocket fire by Gaza militants. Israeli air strikes and ground incursions into the Gaza Strip have killed some 300 Palestinians in the past year, including dozens of civilians, but have failed to prevent rocket fire which killed two Israelis in the same period.

Shunned by the West for refusing to renounce violence after beating Abbas's Fatah faction in a parliamentary election two years ago, Hamas says it would cease fire if Israel stopped its military operations in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. Hamas is also demanding an end to the Israeli-led blockade that has cut supplies to the territory's 1.5 million people. "As for rockets, the problem is the (Israeli) occupation, aggression and the siege imposed on our people. We in Hamas are ready to study any initiative that could contribute to ending the Israeli aggression on our people," Zuhri said.