According to the report, Israel will not respond if Syrian missiles are launched. The Arab Jets will prevent the Syrian security forces from attacking civilians, and will enable the Free Syrian rebel Army of defectors to assemble and plan their offensives.

This would seem to confirm the news yesterday of a US Nuclear Aircraft Carrier being stationed near Syria:

"In the weekly naval update from STRATFOR - CVN 77 George H W Bush has left its traditional theater of operations just off the Straits of Hormuz, a critical choke point, where it traditionally accompanies the Stennis, and has parked... right next to Syria."

The ADA's stance on fluoridated water hasn't changed. But what has changed in the last 9 years is the growth of research which says ingesting fluoride may be harming, rather than helping. "It accumulates in your bones and other places as well," said Dr Griffin Cole, an Austin dentist and opponent of fluoridated water. Cole won't use fluoride in his dental office.

"No fluoride. I don't have any fluoridated toothpaste in the office. I don't do any fluoride treatments, never have. I don't recommend it. I openly tell my patients that," said Cole. Cole says despite the lack of fluoride, there's been no increase in cavities in his patients. And San Antonio's Metro-Health department studies appear to back that up. After 9 years and $3 million of adding fluoride, research shows tooth decay hasn't dropped among the poorest of Bexar County's children. It has only increased - up 13% in 2010, the latest date that data was available.

In 2006, the National Academy of Science reported that even at low levels, ingesting fluoride increases bone fractures and contributes to diabetes, brittle bones and thyroid dysfunction. Dr Laura Pressley says she learned that the hard way. "About ten years ago I was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism," said Pressley. With the diagnosis, she began taking a regimen of drugs to control it. Thyroid disease isn't something that runs in her family, so Pressley investigated.

"I do have fluorosis in my teeth, and the white discoloration and I knew I grew up with fluoride in my tap water as a child," she said. As a chemist, Pressley says her research pointed to fluoride. So, she took it out. All of it - through water filters and a change in diet. And she says when fluoride disappeared, so did her symptoms.

"I was on migraine medication, I was on allergy medication, and I was on thyroid medication. I take no medications at all. And that is shocking, because I was on so much three years ago," said Pressley. "This compound that the city is adding is many more times toxic than lead. It's nearly as toxic as arsenic," said a fluoride opponent, who signed up to speak at a City of Austin committee hearing.

When the 2010 Russian heat wave hit the world's fifth largest grain producer it sent international prices soaring. A similar event in the US would be catastrophic. For many years, farmers in the Midwest of America have been exposed to warmer springs and more humid summers. While shifting weather patterns have to some extent helped to boost crop yields, they have also heralded trouble ahead.

Scientists are warning farmers to brace themselves for more frequent and intense rainstorms - particularly in the spring when their soil and newly planted crops are at their most vulnerable. "One of the most robust changes over the last 40 years has been the increase in the frequency of extreme precipitation events," Iowa State University climatologist Gene Takle told Deutsche Welle. "For instance, we see lot of 5-inch (12.7 cm) rains now." That's bad news in a region where the soils can only absorb 1.25 inches from sudden downpours. Instead of soaking into the ground, the excess water runs across the landscape causing erosion and leeching away important nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorous.

Rainy weather can bring more headaches to farmers than just washing away soil. Moisture in the air in Iowa and the surrounding region has increased 13 percent over the past 30 years. Greater nighttime humidity means dew stays on crops longer. "It comes earlier in the evening and lasts longer in the morning," Takle said. "And that creates more favorable conditions for pests, pathogens, molds, fungus, toxins and so on."

US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Laboratory Director and Supervisory Plant Physiologist Jerry Hatfield told Deutsche Welle that plants exposed to both meteorological impacts and pest plagues are getting a "double whammy." Gray leaf spot, white mold, sudden death syndrome, mycotoxin infestations, stem rust, soybean mosaic virus and crazy top and common smut are just a few of the exotic crop diseases that have moved into the Midwest as a result of warmer, wetter weather, he says.

That is about one in five of that age-group and an extra 137,000 compared with the same point last year. The government says the number has been "too high for too long". A spokesman said it was determined to bring it down. Last week, figures were published for UK unemployment, showing it had risen to a record level of 2.62 million in the three months to September. Today's figures - for England - show around one in seven 16 to 18-year-olds - a total of 267,000 - are Neet. That is 2,000 more that at this time last year.

On Wednesday, Mr Saleh signed the deal in Saudi Arabia under which he is to step down after more than 30 years in power. President Saleh agreed to hand power to his deputy after months of protests. Many others were wounded in the clashes, reports say.

An AFP correspondent said the protesters were shot at by armed civilians whom they describe as Mr Saleh's "thugs", as they marched towards the city centre. At least four bodies taken from the scene of the shooting were visible at a nearby hospital, correspondents say. Thousands of people in Sanaa cheered the news of Mr Saleh's impending departure, but others rejected the agreement.

Ministers fear there could be major disruption for travellers, so volunteers are being asked to step in. PCS Union chief Mark Serwotka said ministers were in a "blind panic" and should be resolving the dispute. The UK Border Agency has insisted the civil servants will be properly trained. It is expected they would mainly check the passports of travellers arriving from the European Economic Area and man so-called "e-gates" where passengers use their biometric passports.

The BBC has also learned that the government has told union bosses that they are not prepared to offer any further concessions over pension reforms as a result of the planned strikes. The government recently made what it describes as an improved offer to the unions, promising that public sector workers ten years away from retirement would not see any change to their pensions. It also promised improved accrual rates. Ministers fear that any further concessions would send the wrong signal to financial markets by suggesting that the government was not serious about cutting the deficit and making substantial savings in the public sector pension bill.

Ministers argue that public sector pensions have become unaffordable because of rising life expectancy, but they insist that even after the planned changes, state employees will still be better off than the majority of workers in the private sector. Unions say their members are being asked to work longer, contribute more and receive less.

They are expected to be joined by hundreds of thousands of other workers, including teachers and hospital staff. Parliament votes next week on a deficit reduction plan imposed as a result of an EU and IMF bailout. The strike is expected to be one of the biggest in Portugal's history, where mass industrial action is rare. The strike is being supported by the two main labour unions, which represent more than a million workers.

Many Portuguese are shocked by the scale of austerity the budget implies, says the BBC's Alison Roberts in Lisbon. The government proposes spending cuts across a broad range of public services, including health care and the armed forces, and tax hikes. Also planned is the elimination of Christmas and holiday bonuses equal to about a month's pay for most public sector workers and allowing private firms to extend the work day by 30 minutes without overtime pay.

"Such symbols tap directly into fascist, neo-facist and xenophobic traditions, and intolerance," Robert Biedron, a top campaigner and newly-elected lawmaker from the left-wing opposition, told reporters. Biedron, who is Poland's first openly-gay member of parliament, urged the justice ministry to step in. In a little-noticed decision at the end of October, a court allowed the small National Rebirth of Poland (NOP) party to register two symbols.

One was the Celtic cross, used by far-right movements internationally, while the other was a stylized illustration of gay sex with a bar through it. Grzegorz Schetyna, a senior player in Poland's ruling centrist Civic Platform, accused the judge who made the ruling of failing in his duties. "Such symbols are unacceptable," he told the station Radio Zet. The NOP turns out regularly to oppose gay rights rallies in Poland.

The homosexual community in Poland - where more than 90 percent of the 38-million-strong population is Roman Catholic - has in the past complained of living in a "climate of fear". Opinion surveys show that 80 percent of Poles oppose gay marriage and 93 percent believe gay and lesbian couples should not have the right to adopt children. Two out of three Poles oppose gay rights demonstrations.

Germany and France currently disagree about whether bonds should be issued by the whole of the eurozone instead of individual countries. On Wednesday, Germany sold just 3.6 billion euros ($4.8 billion; 3 billion pounds) worth of 10-year bonds, from 6 billion euros on offer. "In my conversations with analysts, traders and officials I'm finding more and more of them are talking about the end game for the euro. Not the end, necessarily, but a moment of truth very soon that will either force a big leap forward, or a wrenching break-up," said BBC economics editor Stephanie Flanders.

"Even Germany cannot be a safe haven if this crisis goes critical." On Wednesday, European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso launched a consultation on whether the 17 eurozone countries could issue joint stability bonds. But Mr Barroso stressed that the creation of the bonds would require much greater scrutiny of the budgets and economic policies of individual members. Germany opposes both the issuing of joint bonds and greater involvement for the European Central Bank in bailing out troubled economies.

Its government is concerned that joint bonds would reduce pressure on member states to reduce their debt burdens.

But probably the most damning evidence that the "western world" is about to do the unthinkable and invade Syria, and in the process force Iran to retaliate, is the weekly naval update from Stratfor, which always has some very interesting if always controversial view on geopolitics, where we find that for the first time in many months, CVN 77 George H W Bush has left its traditional theater of operations just off the Straits of Hormuz, a critical choke point, where it traditionally accompanies the Stennis, and has parked... right next to Syria.

And from CBS: - "The US Embassy continues to urge US citizens in Syria to depart immediately while commercial transportation is available," said a statement issued to the American community in Syria Wednesday and posted on the Embassy's website. "The number of airlines serving Syria has decreased significantly since the summer, while many of those airlines remaining have reduced their number of flights." The warning followed an announcement in Washington this week that Ambassador Robert Ford would not return to Syria this month as planned, indicating concerns over his safety.

Israel had largely avoided comment on the unrest, which has seen dozens of Egyptians killed, but with protesters showing no signs of calling off their demonstrations, officials here have started to show concern. On Wednesday, Israel's civil defence minister Matan Vilnai urged Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, who heads Egypt's ruling military council, to bring the situation under control.

"The situation is problematic, sensitive and unclear. Tantawi is trying to avoid chaos and transfer power in the most orderly way possible," Vilnai told Israeli military radio. "We hope that he will succeed... otherwise we will see general chaos and that will be very bad for Egypt." Protesters accuse the military of abusing its power and trying to write laws that would shield it from civilian oversight.

In Israel, the demonstrations and the elections have reawakened fears about the future of Egypt, bilateral relations and the country's peace treaty with the Jewish state. Israeli officials and media commentators have made no secret of their concern about the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood, expected to perform well in the elections scheduled to begin on November 28. "It's our main concern," Vilnai said Wednesday.

Germany sold just 60 percent of the 6 billion euros in 10-year bunds it brought to auction, about the weakest demand seen for the country's debt in the currency's 16-year history, economists said. The rejection of debt from Europe's safe harbor marks a new stage for the crisis. "No bunds wanted equals no Euros wanted equals the Euro death watch," wrote Mark Steele, an analyst with BMO Capital Markets. "We have seen many poor German auctions. This is not the issue. The issue is how badly the euro is doing after the weak auction."

Recent reports have hinted at different workarounds of the euro treaty being discussed to effectively replicate quantitative easing in Europe. One option discussed was for the ECB to lend money to the IMF, which in turn would buy the toxic debt before it could spread to yet another country.

"It's too late for a bazooka," said Mitchell Goldberg, president of ClientFirst Strategy. "Now we need inter-continental ballistic missiles. This is getting worse very quickly."

"We are seeing the end of the euro currency as we know it," said Brian Stutland of Stutland Volatility Group. "I don't see a single thing that causes the euro to rally other than the Fed announcing a 'QE3' in which they buy euro foreign debt."

The Turkish president urged Syria's opposition to reach out and embrace the country's minorities, warning of a divide that could pitch the Muslim world back into the "darkness of the Middle Ages."

The Ankara government warned its citizens returning from the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia not to travel overland as they usually do, through Syria, but rather to travel by air. In cases where travel by road is unavoidable, said the government, "journeys through Syria should be done during daylight hours."

Assad's violence, said Gul, could easily "drag the whole region into turmoil and bloodshed." A second Egyptian revolution was brewing in Cairo's Tahrir Square even as Gul told British policymakers, "Violence breeds violence. Now, unfortunately, Syria has come to a point of no return."

Josef Ackermann is a busy man this autumn. Hardly a day goes by that the Deutsche Bank chief, despite his impending departure from the bank, doesn't hold a speech on the current financial crisis that has gripped Europe. And more often than not, his talk centers on the immense problems faced by the sovereign bond market. Nobody, it would seem, wants state bonds anymore.

Germany's top banker is not alone with his concern about the problem. The entire financial world is in turmoil this autumn. Once seen as iron-clad investments, state bonds are no longer seen as secure - particularly since the European Union agreed to a 50 percent debt haircut for Greece in October. It can, warned Andreas Schmidt, president of the Association of German Banks, earlier this week, no longer be taken for granted that countries can turn to the capital markets to finance their budgets.

The truth of Schmidt's statement became readily apparent this week. On Tuesday, Spain auctioned off three-month and six-month bonds, a sale that in normal times would be quick and easy. Interest rates of 3 to 4 percent on such sales are normal. But this week, Madrid had to pay 5.11 percent and 5.23 percent respectively, the highest it has had to pay on such bonds in 14 years - and up significantly from the 3.30 percent it paid on six-month paper as recently as October 25. Even Greece didn't have to pay as much on a similar offering recently.

And the problem isn't just limited to indebted euro-zone countries. Banks too have run into difficulties as a result of the sudden aversion to sovereign bonds. Most of them, after all, have significant amounts of sovereign bonds on their balance sheets - making other banks extremely wary of lending to them. Indeed, the European Central Bank said on Tuesday that 178 banks borrowed 247 billion euros in one-week loans from the ECB - the most since early 2009 when the last financial crisis was at its peak.

The key to preventing that spiral from gaining momentum lies in the hands of the German government. Germany is, at the moment, the only euro-zone country that investors continue to trust unreservedly - which can be seen in the low interest rates that Berlin must pay on its sovereign bonds. It is a trust that Merkel's government is hesitant to loan out, as would be the case were so-called "euro bonds" - essentially a pooling of euro-zone debt - to be introduced. Experts, though, think that the chancellor will soon be forced to buckle. "I think that it is only a question of weeks before we have to say: all for one, one for all," says Keller.

The implication is clear. Either Germany will have to guarantee the debts of other euro-zone countries in the form of euro bonds. Or the ECB will have to jump in and buy massive quantities of bonds from highly indebted currency zone members. A third alternative doesn't exist.

Investors were also unnerved by reports that Belgium is leaning on France to pay more into emergency support for failed lender Dexia under a 90 billion euros ($120 billion) rescue deal that had appeared done and dusted. A special report by Fitch Ratings suggested France had limited room left to absorb shocks to its finances like a new downturn in growth or support for banks without endangering its cherished AAA credit status.

After one of the least successful debt sales by Europe's powerhouse economy since the launch of the single currency, the euro fell to 1.336 to the dollar and European shares sank to 7 week lows. "The debt crisis is burrowing ever deeper, like a worm, and is now reaching Germany," one of the more eurosceptic backbenchers in Angela Merkel's center-right government, Frank Schaeffler of the Free Democrats (FDP) who are the junior coalition partners, told Reuters.

The German debt agency was forced to retain almost half of a sale of 6 billion euros due to a shortage of bids by investors. The result pushed the cost of borrowing over 10 years for the bloc's paymaster above those for the United States for the first time since October. "It is a complete and utter disaster," said Marc Ostwald, strategist at Monument Securities in London.