"If inflation does not come down in the way that the Bank is suggesting - and I think there is a big risk that is the case - than that is going to have a big knock on effect on the credibility of the bank's commitment to its inflation target." Mr Sentance reached the end of a five-year tenure as a Bank of England policymaker on Tuesday.

Over that period, inflation has been above the Government's 2% target much of the time, with CPI currently standing at 4.5%. For the past 12 months, Mr Sentance has called for a rise in the historically low interest rate in an attempt to control inflation. Two other members of the nine-strong Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) have joined his stance, but so far they have been outvoted by those who want to keep the rate at 0.5%.

China's official purchasing managers' index touched a 9-month low and a private survey hit its lowest mark in 10 months, held back by power shortages and a clamp-down on credit. Business surveys for South Korea, India and Taiwan also showed the pace of manufacturing activity easing. US and European figures later on Wednesday are expected to show a slowdown for May as well.

Some slackening was expected as quake-damaged Japan struggled to churn out parts for the automotive and high-tech industries. Lacklustre growth and consumption in the United States and Europe has also restrained demand. But investors are nervously watching for any evidence that Asia's slowdown is worsening as central bankers tighten credit conditions to try to tame inflation. China's PMI readings were slightly below economists' forecasts, and new orders declined sharply, suggesting more weakness to come.

"The economy has hit a temporary pothole courtesy of the natural disasters this year," said Besa Deda of St George Bank. Australia has not only had to deal with the twin natural disasters. Other factors have also slowed down its economy. The country's growth has been powered by a boom in its resources sector.

As economies like China and India grew, the demand for Australia's resources witnessed a massive surge. However, analysts say the situation is changing."We have been in a honeymoon period for a long time," said Jonathan Barratt of Commodity Broking. "The time has come for realignment. As growth in China and India slows down, the pace of growth in Australia will also be affected," he added.

The House Appropriations Committee today will review the fiscal year 2012 appropriations bill for the Department of Agriculture that includes $71 billion for the agency's "Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program." That's $2 billion less than what President Obama requested but a 9 percent increase from 2011, which, critics say, is too large given the sizeable budget deficit. More than 44.5 million Americans received SNAP benefits in March, an 11 percent increase from one year ago and nearly 61 percent higher than the same time four years ago.

Nearly 21 million households are reliant on food stamps. Opponents of the program argue that money from the food stamps budget - with what they call its increasingly lax requirements - needs to be shifted to other programs such as education and child nutrition. The program's supporters argue that at a time of economic decline, such welfare programs are even more important to try to keep Americans from spiraling into poverty. The cost of the food stamps program has increased rapidly since it was established by Congress in 1964. It cost taxpayers more than $68 billion last year, double the amount in 2007.

But many residents around the lake said that was a fitting label for the months-long drought that has drastically shrunk the lake, the adjacent Yangtze River, and many other lakes and tributaries along the mighty river's course through farming and industrial heartlands. "I've never, ever seen it this bad. Look at the rice. It's all going yellow and the stalks will die unless we get some rain soon," said Ouyang Jinghuang, a pepper-haired 66-year-old farmer tending rice paddies near Lake Honghu. "We're all digging wells and buying our drinking water. Usually, we have so much water here that we worry about floods, not droughts."

The dry spell is a jarring reminder of how China, the world's second-biggest economy, relies on increasingly strained water resources to feed its people and power rapidly increasing numbers of hydro stations. Those problems could deepen if rains fail to arrive soon. "There's still water, but it's not enough to share around," said Gao Desheng, a farmer in his sixties who was taking a rest after plowing a field using an ox, the centuries-old farming method still favored here.

"Before, the sky would always send more than enough water. But this year, the sky has just stopped sending. It's as if we offended it." Millions of farmers in Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi and other provinces face similar threats of damaged or even lost rice crops. Almost 35 million people across five provinces on the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze have been affected to different degrees by the drought, the Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs said on Friday. That number includes 4.2 million who have difficulty getting drinkable water.

But the drought also threatens to cut into power production, since the Yangtze River and its tributaries feed the Three Gorges Dam, the world's biggest hydropower project, as well thousands of smaller hydro plants.

Underground Jerusalem is different: Here the noise recedes, the fierce Middle Eastern sun disappears, and light comes from fluorescent bulbs. There is a smell of earth and mildew, and the geography recalls a Jewish city that existed 2,000 years ago. Archaeological digs under the disputed Old City are a matter of immense sensitivity. For Israel, the tunnels are proof of the depth of Jewish roots here, and this has made the tunnels one of Jerusalem's main tourist draws: The number of visitors, mostly Jews and Christians, has risen dramatically in recent years to more than a million visitors in 2010.

But many Palestinians, who reject Israel's sovereignty in the city, see them as a threat to their own claims to Jerusalem. And some critics say they put an exaggerated focus on Jewish history. A new underground link is opening within two months, and when it does, there will be more than a mile of pathways beneath the city. Officials say at least one other major project is in the works. Soon, anyone so inclined will be able to spend much of their time in Jerusalem without seeing the sky.

South of the Old City, visitors to Jerusalem can enter a tunnel chipped from the bedrock by a Judean king 2,500 years ago and walk through knee-deep water under the Arab neighborhood of Silwan. Beginning this summer, a new passage will be open nearby: a sewer Jewish rebels are thought to have used to flee the Roman legions who destroyed the Jerusalem temple in 70 A.D. The sewer leads uphill, passing beneath the Old City walls before expelling visitors into sunlight next to the rectangular enclosure where the temple once stood, now home to the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the gold-capped Dome of the Rock.

From there, it's a short walk to a third passage, the Western Wall tunnel, which continues north from the Jewish holy site past stones cut by masons working for King Herod and an ancient water system. Visitors emerge near the entrance to an ancient quarry called Zedekiah's Cave that descends under the Muslim Quarter.

In part, the Pentagon intends its plan as a warning to potential adversaries of the consequences of attacking the US in this way. "If you shut down our power grid, maybe we will put a missile down one of your smokestacks," said a military official. Recent attacks on the Pentagon's own systems - as well as the sabotaging of Iran's nuclear program via the Stuxnet computer worm - have given new urgency to US efforts to develop a more formalized approach to cyber attacks.

A key moment occurred in 2008, when at least one US military computer system was penetrated. This weekend Lockheed Martin, a major military contractor, acknowledged that it had been the victim of an infiltration, while playing down its impact. The report will also spark a debate over a range of sensitive issues the Pentagon left unaddressed, including whether the US can ever be certain about an attack's origin, and how to define when computer sabotage is serious enough to constitute an act of war. These questions have already been a topic of dispute within the military.

One idea gaining momentum at the Pentagon is the notion of "equivalence." If a cyber attack produces the death, damage, destruction or high-level disruption that a traditional military attack would cause, then it would be a candidate for a "use of force" consideration, which could merit retaliation

Ya'alon wouldn't discuss who might deal the strike, saying the entire world, not just Israel, must be concerned about the danger posed by a nuclear-armed Iran. Ya'alon's spokesman Ofer Harel told The Associated Press later Monday that the minister was repeating Israel's position that all options are on the table and not calling for anybody to attack Iran.

Iran has insisted its nuclear program is peaceful, but the US, Israel and many others believe it is cover for developing atomic weapons. Iran flatly denied this claim recently, with Iran's nuclear envoy saying it would be a "strategic mistake" to build atom bombs.

"We have no way to obstruct the UN decision," Netanyahu said, but warned that that the Palestinians will not succeed in their efforts in the UN Security Council. "It is impossible to recognize a Palestinian state without passing through the Security Council and such a move is bound to fail." On Friday, the president of the United Nations General Assembly said there was no way that a Palestinian state could become a member of the United Nations without a recommendation from the Security Council.

Joseph Deiss said that if the United States or any other permanent council member used its veto, the General Assembly would not be able to vote on membership for Palestine. US President Barack Obama said last weekend that no vote at the United Nations would ever create a Palestinian state, a strong indication that the US would veto a resolution recommending Palestinian membership in the 192-nation world body.

The IMF could withhold its portion of June's 12 billion euros payment unless Athens can prove it can meet all its financing requirements for the next 12 months. "It's high noon again in Europe and the gun is to Greece's head," Jan Randolph, Director of Sovereign Risk, IHS Global Insight, told CNBC.com. "The single biggest issue is: Are they going to get the funding?"

A report in the Financial Times suggested that revised plans for Greece's bailout could include incentivizing private bondholders to extend repayment schedules, which could take some of the pressure off Greece. But this was unlikely to calm market jitters and whether Greece defaulted or not still rests on the shoulders of Greece's creditors, according to Randolph.

"It's not up to the ratings agencies to decide if they're defaulted, but their creditors. It's Greece's choice to join Europe properly once and for all, and any foot-dragging or missing of targets is going to create huge anxiety in their creditor governments, including Berlin," he said. "In terms of the classic risk-on, risk-off, we know what the risky and safe haven assets are," Randolph said.

"Europe's debt crisis remains a slow-motion car crash. If sovereign wealth funds did not remain so determined to diversify out of dollars, the euro would surely be much lower," Simon Smith, chief economist at FXPro, wrote in a research note. "The news out of Greece over the weekend was not reassuring, so there is certainly the potential for further weakness once markets return to normal tomorrow," Smith said.

The deaths are unrelated to recent signs of restiveness in Taal volcano, which is surrounded by the lake where many villagers have grown milkfish and tilapia - staple foods for many Filipinos, officials said. The volcano and lake are a popular tourist draw.

Government volcanologist Allan Loza said Monday that 115 earthquakes were detected in Taal in the past 24 hours compared to an average of 10 to 15 quakes daily in recent weeks, a sign that magma is rising from within the small volcano. Such unrest has been monitored since April, long before last week's fish deaths, he said.

Talisay agricultural officer Zenaida Macatangay said an initial investigation showed the deaths may have been caused by the temperature change as the rainy season set in last week after a scorching summer, which also depleted the lake's oxygen levels. More than 400 tons of milkfish have died in Talisay alone since Friday in 84 out of about 1,000 fish pens - lake areas about half the size of a basketball court that are fenced off by bamboo poles and nets. Damage has been estimated at US$770,000, Mendoza said. About 400 tons more have died in the other towns.

In its report, Oxfam highlights four "food insecurity hotspots", areas which are already struggling to feed their citizens.

* in Guatemala, 865,000 people are at risk of food insecurity, due to a lack of state investment in smallholder farmers, who are highly dependent on imported food, the charity says.

* in India, people spend more than twice the proportion of their income on food than UK residents - paying the equivalent of 10 pounds for a litre of milk and 6 pounds for a kilo of rice.

* in Azerbaijan, wheat production fell 33% last year due to poor weather, forcing the country to import grains from Russia and Kazakhstan. Food prices were 20% higher in December 2010 than the same month in 2009.

* in East Africa, eight million people currently face chronic food shortages due to drought, with women and children among the hardest hit.

The World Bank has also warned that rising food prices are pushing millions of people into extreme poverty.

In April, it said food prices were 36% above levels of a year ago, driven by problems in the Middle East and North Africa. Oxfam wants nations to agree new rules to govern food markets, to ensure the poor do not go hungry.

It said world leaders must:

* increase transparency in commodities markets and regulate futures markets

* scale up food reserves

* end policies promoting biofuels

* invest in smallholder farmers, especially women

"We are sleepwalking towards an avoidable age of crisis," said Ms Stocking. "One in seven people on the planet go hungry every day despite the fact that the world is capable of feeding everyone."

It wasn't all that long ago that Europe's top monetary policy experts and the leader of the European Union's most important member state were politely exchanging compliments. Jean-Claude Trichet, president of the European Central Bank (ECB), praised German Chancellor Angela Merkel for having made Germany into an "example for all of its neighbors." Merkel, for her part, thanked the Frenchman for his decidedly "successful actions."

A few years and a crisis later, the relationship has cooled off considerably. Merkel feels that the Frankfurt-based monetary watchdogs are pressuring her inappropriately, while Trichet and his fellow bankers have taken to characterizing the Berlin government's proposals as "incorrect," "illusory" or simply as a "catastrophe." Today, members of the German government and the ECB seem to have trouble spending time in the same room together. At a recent meeting of finance ministers in Luxembourg, Trichet stormed out of the room after being confronted with yet another crisis plan from Germany that he didn't like.

The controversy revolves around the future of the common currency, which instruments ought to be used to rescue the euro and, not least, a workable plan to support ailing Greece. While Merkel has long advocated a cautious restructuring of Greece's debt, Frankfurt-based Frenchman Trichet categorically rejects any form of debt deferral for Athens.

The cold war between Berlin and Frankfurt reached a new high last week. Should Germany implement its plans, the ECB would have to cut off funding for Greece, the monetary watchdogs warned. The consequences for Europe's banks and the Greek economy would be devastating. In the past, the central bank was seen as the undisputed economic authority in Germany. Anyone who opposed the monetary policy experts was quickly marginalized. Today, however, the central bank must threaten with the most drastic of measures just to force the German government to toe the line. A majority of German economic politicians and economists see the ECB's crisis strategy as unrealistic and contradictory.

Greece's debt crisis continued to deter investors from searching out higher risk assets. European Union and International Monetary Fund officials are expected to deliver their verdict this week on Greece's faltering drive to bring its budget deficit under control.

Prime Minister George Papandreou has failed to win backing from the opposition to adopt fresh austerity steps, as demanded by the EU and IMF, raising concerns over whether Greece will receive its next tranche of bailout loans. Adding to the pall of debt gloom, a government minister in Ireland said it may have to ask for another loan from the EU and IMF because it will struggle to return to debt markets to raise funds next year.

"We've had enough. Politicians are making fools of us. If things stay as they are, our future will be very bleak," said a 22-year-old student who gave his name as Nikos. Unlike the violent protests last year when radicals clashed with police, the peaceful crowds on Sunday were made up of ordinary Greeks, some of whom brought along their children.

Greeks are angry no politicians have been punished for the corruption they blame for the crisis, as well as the dire state of the economy and waves of austerity demanded under the terms of a 110 billion euro ($157.5 billion) bailout from the European Union and IMF last year. Greeks have been protesting in Syntagma Square for five days, fired up by similar demonstrations across Spain. They were joined on Sunday night by a small group of Spaniards who had come to show their solidarity, raising banners in Spanish.

Spain has not had to seek an international bailout, unlike Greece, Ireland and Portugal, but it also faces major budget problems, lack of confidence in its debt, and demand for reform. Police put Sunday's crowd at 30,000 although the protesters, who have few formal leaders and are prompted by Facebook, say official figures usually underestimate the size of demonstrations by a wide margin.

Before the Syntagma Square rallies began, some Spanish protesters had accused Greeks of being too passive. But on Sunday Ifigenia Argyrou, a 57-year-old insurance consultant, said all that had changed. "People were indignant but they needed a motivation to express that. The Spanish people gave us that motivation," she told Reuters. "We are not sleeping, we are awake. The IMF should get out. There are other solutions without them."