The judgment - which upholds an earlier decision - means that individual Christians do not have any protection from being fired for not working on Sundays. Campaigners said the decision puts Christians at a disadvantage to other religions and means the judiciary are deciding what the core beliefs of Christians can be, which they say is an interference in the right to practise religion.

Mr Justice Langstaff, who as president of the Employment Appeal Tribunal is the most senior judge in England and Wales in this type of case, upheld the lower tribunal’s ruling which said it was relevant that other Christians did not ask for Sundays off. The fact that some Christians were prepared to work on Sundays meant it was not protected, the court said.

Flemish separatist leader Bart De Wever assumed the remarks were aimed at him and said he had overstepped his role. Belgian political experts and commentators argued that the broadcast had intervened in political debate.

In his broadcast, the king said that "in these troubled times we live in, we should remain vigilant and see through populist arguments". Populists were, he said, "trying to find scapegoats for the crisis, whether foreigners or compatriots from another part of the country".

Such thinking persisted in Belgium as much as in other European countries and "the crisis of the 1930s and the populist reactions of that time must not be forgotten", the king said. Belgium has a deepening divide between its Flemish (Dutch-speaking) north and French-speaking south, and there has been speculation that the country could ultimately break up.

Both argue that [Mr] Obama is a wolf in sheep’s clothing and that people have forgiven him a lot because of the “nightmare of the Bush presidency that preceded him.”

“He has taken all the Bush [administration] changes and basically put them into the establishment, he has codified them,” Stone told RT. “It is an Orwellian state. It might not be oppressive on the surface, but there is no place to hide. Some part of you is going to end up in the database somewhere.” According to Kuznick, American citizens live in a fish tank where their government intercepts more than 1.7 billion messages a day. “That is email, telephone calls, other forms of communication.”

The first will come in late February when the Treasury Department runs out of borrowing authority and has to come to Congress to get the debt ceiling raised.

The next is likely in late March, when a temporary bill to fund the government runs out, confronting Congress with a deadline to act or face a government shutdown. The third will possibly be whenever the temporary bill replacing the temporary bill expires.

While Congress is supposed to pass annual spending bills before the start of each fiscal year, it has failed to complete that process since 1996, resorting to stopgap funding ever since. Historically, bitter struggles in Congress like that over the fiscal cliff lead to further resentment and strife in a cycle of cumulative grudges that now spans nearly 30 years.

Despite women's educational achievements, they are still expected to be the homemaker, she says. Mrs French, who is also the headmistress of Central Newcastle High School, told the Press Association news agency the school sometimes invited business leaders and entrepreneurs in to talk to students.

"One of the young entrepreneurs, a lady, dared to say that she had probably put her business ahead of her son, and the sharp intake of breath from all of the girls was audible," she said. "They were all absolutely shocked, so yes, we are still creating a generation of girls who think that the whole idea of looking after children is really the most important thing, once you have a child."

The GSA leader said that was an issue for ethical and moral debate - and a very personal decision. "But, what's maybe less personal, and maybe more incumbent on us as leaders in girls' schools, is to try and get girls to see that it is a decision, and that there are options, and that it's not wrong, and that's where society needs to come into play as well," she said. "It's not wrong to make a particular decision, whatever it is."

“America is rapidly becoming a nation of takers,” economic blogger Michael Snyder writes. “An increasing number of Americans expect the government to take care of them from the cradle to the grave, and they expect the government to dig into the pockets of others in order to pay for it all.”

Snyder explains that in the states California, New York, Illinois, Ohio, Maine, Kentucky, South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, New Mexico and Hawaii — all states won by US President Barack Obama during the November general election — the number of Americans dependent on government aid dwarf those going into work to receive a paycheck.

“Yes, we will always need a safety net,” writes Snyder. “There are many people out there that simply cannot take care of themselves. We certainly don't want to see anyone sleeping in the streets or starving to death. But if the number of people jumping on to the safety net continues to grow at the current pace, the net will break and it will not be available for any of us,” he adds.

While interviewing Pastor Rick Warren on his CNN show, he said: 'Both the Bible and the Constitution were well intentioned but they are basically, inherently flawed. Hence, the need to amend it.' Warren, who is against same-sex marriage replied: 'Not a chance. What I believe is flawed is human opinion, because it constantly changes.' 'But you and I know the Bible is, in many places, a flawed document,' Morgan continued. 'My point to you about gay rights for example - it's time for an amendment to the Bible. You should compile a new Bible.'

With Warren responding that he believes that the Bible reveals the truth - and the truth is never outdated - Morgan quipped: 'We’re going to agree to disagree on that.' His remarks sparked anger among conservatives, including Paul Kengor, the executive director of The Center for Vision and Values at Grove City College.

'It's remarkable to watch secular liberals like Piers Morgan assume unto themselves the extraordinary authority to divine what in the Bible is true and what is not, what is flawed and what is not, and where certain "amendments" supposedly need to occur,' he told Fox News.

China is still flouting World Trade Organisation rules 11 years after it first joined, misusing the complaints machinery for tit-for-tat retaliation, said US Trade Representative Ron Kirk. "China's trade policies and practices in several specific areas cause particular concern for the United States," said Mr Kirk in his year-end report to Congress.

"China's regulatory authorities at times seem to pursue anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations and impose duties for the purpose of striking back at trading partners that have exercised their WTO rights in a way that displeases China," said the report.

A range of policies raised "increasing concerns that China has not yet fully embraced the key WTO principles of market access, non-discrimination and transparency. China's incomplete adoption of the rule of law has exacerbated this situation." The report accused Chinese officials of running rough-shod over foreign firms, forcing them to give up trade secrets in clear violation of WTO rules.