A plume carrying trace amounts of radioactive iodine has been detected in Iceland, the country's Radiation Safety Authority said. However, it added, the concentration was "less than a millionth" of what was found in European countries in the wake of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster that spewed radiation over a large distance.

Recollections of the accident's aftermath continue to haunt many Europeans, putting them on edge as they watch the Japanese nuclear crisis unfold. "We thus conclude that there is no reason to worry about radioactivity levels in Iceland, nor anywhere in Europe, resulting from the nuclear accident in Japan," said Sigurdur Emil Palsson, head of emergency preparedness.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said Wednesday that the overall situation at the Fukushima plant remains of serious concern. The deposition of radioactive iodine and cesium varies across 10 prefectures on a day to day basis but "the trend is generally upward," said Graham Andrew, senior adviser to IAEA chief Yukiya Amano.

In contrast, environmental radiation monitoring in the Fukushima prefecture outside the 20 kilometer evacuation zone shows mostly decreasingly values, he added.

Based on the four-pack price for Charmin double rolls Tuesday at a midtown Hy-Vee, such a tax would add more than 10 percent to the per-roll price, pushing it over a buck. The idea came from a failed 2009 House measure by an Oregon congressman to help cities and the environment. "I heard about it and said, 'Well, this is simple. Let's put it on the table,'" said Suttle. "It doesn't mean I endorse it."

The mayor says Omaha needs help with the metro area's $1.7 billion bill for federally mandated sewer improvements. The work must be done by 2024. Suttle talked about the mandate at a Tuesday meeting held by the US Conference of Mayors. He didn't mention the toilet paper tax but said later that he's open to that and other ways to cover the sewer bill.

Julia Plucker, a lobbyist for Kellogg's and Skinner Baking, says food industries carry an unfair portion of the increases. A toilet paper tax? Sure. "I did chuckle when I first heard about it," Plucker said. "But this is a serious problem. We would love to take a look at any more equitable solution."

"Al-Qaida has their own agents and their own people in the region who are propagating their own Islamic ideas and their agenda. At the right time they will make the move, and we will see the emergence of Islam and Shariah in that particular region," Choudary said.

"The power vacuum is very useful for anyone who has an agenda and an alternative system to put in its place," he said.

"Al-Qaida is in fact a philosophy and an idea which is franchised now all around the world. You don't necessarily have to be a member of al-Qaida. If you believe in the Shariah and if you believe in the concept of jihad, and you want Islam to be implemented, then you are adhering to the same ideas as the people of al-Qaida," said Choudary. "This is widespread throughout Africa and the more these people resist against oppression, the more they see the Americans, the British and the French bombing Muslims, the more they will be drawn towards Shariah as an alternative," Choudary said.

Florida Security Council President Tom Trento agrees. "He is telling the truth, because North Africa from Cairo going West has deep penetration by the Muslim Brotherhood. We also know that Gaddafi is hated by and hates the Brotherhood and al-Qaida," Trento said. "We also know that al-Qaida has their heart set on controlling petroleum. Libya is the No. 4 producer. There is no bigger prize in northern Africa than Libya right now," Trento said.

Lord Mandelson, a former business secretary, insisted that the money should have been poured into trade rather than handouts.

The Labour peer told The Times Summit on Africa in London: 'Most of the aid we have sent to Africa over the last five decades has probably, in the main, been wasted as far as growth is concerned. I'm not anti-aid, but if you ask me where I would put my money, it would go on trade rather than aid as a key to African economic development.' His extraordinary intervention comes as many on the Tory backbenches are questioning the wisdom of the Coalition's policy to ringfence overseas aid while making cutbacks elsewhere.

* The UK Government is "assessing" whether to take part in "pact for the euro":

Last night the House of Lords voted to allow the UK Government to agree the proposed EU treaty change to create a permanent bailout mechanism for the eurozone post-2013. MPs will vote on the treaty change tomorrow. When asked about the details of the so-called "competitiveness pact" or "pact for the euro", Foreign Office Minister Lord Howell replied on behalf of the Government, "I am then advised that non-eurozone countries - such as us, among others - have been invited to join the pact and that we are assessing whether we should do so." Non-eurozone countries, such as the UK, must decide at this week's summit whether or not they will take part in the wide ranging proposals for economic governance - which include tax coordination, labour market reforms and EU supervision of national budgets.

The FT reports that there are still many issues which need to be resolved by the end of this week for the eurozone leaders to achieve their aim of a 'grand bargain' to save the euro. There is still no agreement on how to increase the lending capacity of the current bailout fund, with Finland providing a stumbling block to recent attempts at formulating a plan.

* EU split over role of NATO in Libyan campaign and limits of UN resolution:

It is widely reported that splits are emerging within the EU over the role of NATO in the no-fly zone over Libya. The UK and Italy said NATO should lead operations, a move supported by the US, but France, Germany, the Arab League and Turkey do not want NATO to play a central role.

Meanwhile, at a meeting of EU foreign ministers yesterday, EU leaders disagreed on the precise meaning of the UN resolution. Spain and Sweden said it allows the targeting of tanks as well as air defences. German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle is quoted in EUobserver saying, "German soldiers will not be sent to Libya because we think this war carries real risks not only for Libya itself but for the region as a whole... when we listen closely to what the Arab League yesterday said, unfortunately we see that we have reasons for our concern".

An activist in contact with people in Dara'a said police shot another three people protesting in its Roman-era city center after dusk. Six more bodies were found later in the day, the activist said. Inspired by the wave of pro-democracy protests around the region, the uprising in Dara'a and at least four nearby villages has become the biggest domestic challenge since the 1970s to the Syrian government, one of the most repressive in the Middle East. Security forces have responded with water cannon, tear gas, rubber bullets and live ammunition. The total death toll now stands at 22.

As the casualties mounted, people from the nearby villages of Inkhil, Jasim, Khirbet Ghazaleh and al-Harrah tried to march on Dara'a Wednesday night but security forces opened fire as they approached, the activist said. It was not immediately clear if there were more deaths or injuries. Democracy activists used social-networking sites to call for massive demonstrations across the country on Friday, a day they dubbed "Dignity Friday."

US State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Washington was alarmed by the violence and "deeply concerned by the Syrian government's use of violence, intimidation and arbitrary arrests to hinder the ability of its people to freely exercise their universal rights."

And while the quake triggered a tsunami that scourged coastal communities, damage in Tokyo and its surrounding areas was slight. Yet the unfolding disaster in the north-east and a parallel crisis at a quake-crippled nuclear power plant offer the starkest of reminders of the need for the capital to do more to ensure it is prepared for any similar seismic assault.

The human and economic cost of a Tokyo earthquake could well exceed the ferocious toll taken by this month's earthquake and tsunami, which is feared to have killed more than 22,000 people, with about 270,000 still in refuge centres on Tuesday. The north-eastern prefectures hit hardest this time are relatively lightly populated and casualties have been largely limited to the seaside settlements within reach of the tsunami.

But the population of greater Tokyo, including three neighbouring prefectures, is an extraordinary 35 million - more than a quarter of Japan's population. A government-commissioned study a few years ago concluded that a Tokyo earthquake of magnitude 7.3 - far less powerful than the March 11 tremor - could kill some 11,000 people and destroy about 850,000 buildings.

"The short-term negotiations are very important, I look at this as a tipping point. I think we are at the beginning of the process and it's going to be very painful," he added. Fisher earlier said the US economic recovery is gathering momentum, adding that he personally was extremely vigilant on inflation pressures.

"We are all mindful of this phenomenon. Speaking personally, I am concerned and I am going to be extremely vigilant on that front," Fisher said in an interview with CNBC. Fisher added that the US Federal Reserve had ways to tighten its monetary policy other than interest rates, including by selling Treasurys, changing reserves levels and using time deposits.

He added that he does not support the Fed embarking on an additional round of quantitative easing. "Barring some extraordinary circumstance I cannot forsee... I would vote against a QE3," Fisher told CNBC. "I don't think it's necessary. Again, we have a self-sustaining recovery."

Brendan Barber, TUC's general secretary, said he expected it to be the largest demonstration since up to a million people took to the streets on the capital in 2003 to oppose the planned invasion of Iraq. "I suspect this will be the biggest since then," Barber told reporters. "There'll be a lot of people coming from every part of the country. It's going to be a very big event."

The protest will also be the largest seen in London since a demonstration in December by students angry at a proposed rise in university tuition fees erupted into the worst rioting seen in the capital for decades. Government buildings were vandalised, there were running battles between protesters and police, and the limousine carrying Prince Charles and his wife Camilla was attacked.

While the TUC is planning a family-friendly, peaceful event, internet websites and chatrooms have indicated that some groups are looking to take direct action, such as occupying part of London's Hyde Park. "Take over, strike, occupy, release all hell," said one such website. Police have warned they will not tolerate any disorder and 4,500 officers will be on duty while hundreds of trained TUC stewards will be helping to organise the march.

Several crates containing weapons and ammunition were removed from the aircraft. Turkish media reported that the plane was forced to land in a military airfield at the United Nations' request following information indicating it was carrying nuclear materials.

It was further reported that rocket launchers, mortars, rifles and explosive materials were found in one of the main cabinets on the plane. Turkish newspapers stated this was the first time that a plane was forced to land in such circumstances since 2006.

Addressing the Times CEO Summit Africa, in London, Mr Hague dwelt on the wider pattern of uprisings in Africa and the Middle East, which has recently resulted in regime changes in Egypt and Tunisia. He said: "Just imagine for a moment the magnitude of this... this is something clearly affecting a wide area of the Middle East and North Africa and it will affect more countries yet. This is in its early stages."

"If these countries turn into stable democracies, open economies, imagine the benefits that will bring to the stability of the world. But imagine if it went wrong. Imagine if, actually, extremism, terrorism were promoted. Imagine the financial consequences as well as the human and moral consequences of this going wrong."

"This going wrong in the Middle East, the area that produces so much of the world's oil and gas, that contains so many tensions in the world, would have financial consequences that would make the last three years seem the mere prelude to much greater difficulties. That is why the stakes are so high."

The mosque has been the focus of anti-government demonstrations since Friday. At least 10 people have now been killed in clashes with police and soldiers. UN Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay earlier urged the Syrian government to carry out a transparent investigation into the violence. "We are greatly concerned by the recent killings of protesters in Syria and reiterate the need to put an immediate halt to the excessive use of force against peaceful protesters, especially the use of live ammunition."

"People have the legitimate right to express their grievances and demands to their government, and we urge the Syrian government to enter into a broad, meaningful dialogue with the protesters." The EU has also strongly condemned the "unacceptable" crackdown.

Although the demonstrators have not demanded the resignation of President Assad, the unrest is the most serious challenge to his rule since he succeeded his father, Hafez, 11 years ago. Syria has been ruled under emergency laws since 1963, and the Baath Party is known for brutally suppressing dissent.

The first day of Operation Odyssey Dawn had a price tag that was well over $100 million for the US in missiles alone. And the US military, which remains in the lead now in its third day, has pumped millions more into air and sea launched strikes targeting air-defense sites and ground-force positions along Libya's coastline.

The ultimate total that the United States spends will hinge on the length and scope of the strikes as well as on the contributions of its coalition allies. But Todd Harrison, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, said on Monday that the US costs could "easily pass the $1 billion mark on this operation, regardless of how well things go."

On the first day of strikes alone, US-led forces launched 112 long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles, which cost about $1 million to $1.5 million apiece, from ships stationed off the Libyan coast. That totaled $112 million to $168 million. Since those first strikes, US and British forces have launched at least another 12 Tomahawk missiles.

Meanwhile, it generally costs $10,000 per hour, including maintenance and fuel, to operate F-15s and F-16s. Those costs do not include the payloads dropped from the aircraft. The B-2s dropped 45 Joint Direct Attack Munitions, or JDAMS, which are 2,000-pound bombs that cost between $30,000 and $40,000 apiece to replace.

Zack Cooper, a senior analyst at the think tank who coauthored the study with Harrison, acknowledged that the operation's costs are still too difficult to estimate because of lingering questions following the weekend strikes. "Since we don't yet know the length, magnitude, or degree of US involvement, any cost projections are going to be very rough estimates at this point," Cooper said.

A little background, first. Since the fall of Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi holy city of Najaf has reemerged as center of the Shi'ite world, reclaiming that position from the Iranian seminary town of Qom. Freed from Saddam's straitjacket, Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the most powerful figure in Iraqi Shi'ism has vastly expanded his international appeal. His piety and (for the most part) apolitical outlook makes him a much more appealing figure for Shi'ites than the very political Iranian ayatollahs. His following has grown dramatically in Iran, and in Bahrain.

And those Shi'ites seeking a more activist hero can now turn to another Iraqi, Moqtada al-Sadr, who combines the religious legacy of his Grand Ayatollah father and uncle with the political force of his Mahdi Army militia. So Bahraini Shi'ites seeking succor - spiritual or temporal - are as likely to look to the north, toward Iraq, as to Iran in the east. A steady stream of Bahraini Shi'ite political leaders have visited Iraq since the fall of Saddam, there to build contacts with Iraqi political parties and pay homage to Sistani.

Now both Sistani and Sadr have spoken forcefully about the brutal crackdown in Bahrain by the Sunni royal family. Sistani, who rarely comments about matters outside Iran, has called on the Khalifas to stop killing innocents. And Sadr's Iraqi supporters, at his instructions, have demonstrated in the streets to protest the Bahraini crackdown. Not to be left out, Iraqi's Shi'ite Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, has weighed in on the side of the Bahraini Shi'ites.

That the Iraqi Shi'ite leadership is growing more vocal about global Shi'ite affairs is bad news for Tehran. Iran's ayatollahs have as much to fear from Sistani's growing clout as they do Saudi Arabia. The Najaf 'hawza' (seminary) was for decades suppressed by Saddam, allowing Qom, a relatively minor outpost in the Shi'ite world, to become an alternate power center. Now Najaf is reclaiming its primacy: many non-Iranian religious scholars have moved from Qom to Najaf, attracted by the city's historic importance (it contains the sect's holiest shrine and its most important cemetery) as well as Sistani's prestige.

This isn't just about Iran vs Saudi, people. It's just as much about Najaf vs Qom.

What is worse, increasing amounts of our food comes from countries where water is scarce, meaning the food we discard has a huge hidden impact on the depletion of valuable water resources across the world. According to the first comprehensive study into the impact of the "embedded water" in the UK's food waste on world water supplies, more than a 5% of the water used by the UK is thrown away in the form of uneaten food.

The water used to produce food thrown away by households in the UK amounts to about 6.2 billion cubic metres a year. That represents 6% of the UK's total water footprint, which includes water used in industry and agriculture. About a quarter of the water used to grow and process the wasted food originates in the UK, but much of it comes from countries that are already experiencing water stress.

Green campaigners have for years called for more attention to be paid to "hidden" or "embedded" water - water that is used in the production of all sorts of goods, from food and clothing to cars and furniture, and which represents a hidden cost on exports. As more countries suffer from water scarcity, these exports can further deplete natural resources and cause environmental problems such as salination - which can render land unfit for growing crops - and higher prices for water to poorer consumers.