Want to buy a loaf of bread at the store? Bring a bucket load of cash, because by the time you get there to buy it, the price may have doubled yet again, Zimbabwe-style. Such absurdities are now headed our way, and they will arrive sooner that you've been led to believe. As if to underscore the chilling degree of derangement in Washington DC, the IMF has issued one of the strongest statements yet about US debt spending, declaring that the USA lacked a "credible strategy" to stabilize its debt. Furthermore, it warns that runaway debt spending from Washington threatens to cause a global financial crisis.

So far, all we've seen from Washington is financial sleight of hand and trickery. Most of the recent $38.5 billion in cuts - which were already puny compared to the total debt spending - were achieved by using accounting tricks and claiming to have cut programs that were already slated to be cut anyway. Even then, Democrats screamed as if they were having their fingernails plucked out. If they can't stomach a miniscule $38.5 billion in cuts, how on Earth are they going to find a way to stomach the trillions of dollars in spending cuts that must be made to keep the government solvent?

Almost as if to underscore the insanity of the situation, recently-released figures from the US Treasury reveal that the budget deficit has shot up 15.7% in just one year. The deficit for just the October-March period (half a year) was $829 billion. What we're seeing here is the US government burning through nearly a trillion dollars in new debt every six months. This is beyond the bounds of everyday, crazy-dude-on-the-street insanity. It is very rapidly approaching a level of economic terrorism on the part of our national leaders.

To continue to drive America's finances into such unbearable depths of debt is very nearly an act of economic warfare against America - a "financial dirty bomb," if you will. A bomb that, when it goes off, will sadly injure America's economy in a way that will absolutely dwarf the economic fallout of 9/11.

If ratified by the union's annual conference starting on May 18, a ballot would be held the following week and the first strike might take place in June. The PCS said it was talking to other unions about coordinating ballots, creating the prospect of widespread industrial action, as predicted by many commentators in the wake of the government's austerity plans. Ministers are pursuing a policy of massive spending cuts to address Britain's budget deficit, currently running at about 10 percent of national output, which will lead to the loss of hundreds of thousands of public sector jobs.

Last month, more than 250,000 people took part in a march in London to protest at the measures, the biggest demonstration in the capital since protests against war in Iraq in 2003. "At least half a million people marched for the alternative on 26 March, and now we are saying we must be prepared to strike for the alternative," said PCS General Secretary Mark Serwotka.

"We are talking to other unions and will seek to ensure that any action we take has the widest possible support to put the maximum pressure on the government to end its ideological attacks on people who everyone acknowledges did nothing to cause the recession." The Trades Union Congress, the umbrella union body representing some 6 million union members, has played down suggestions of a general strike, not least because such action would probably be illegal.

It is little wonder then that the so called Brics want a greater say in global affairs. The organisation was formed as a counterweight to Western powers. And ever since the global financial crisis, the influence of the Brics - particularly of China - has grown. This summit is set to focus on economic issues such as rules governing international trade.

While the Bric nations have been driving global economic growth it is still unclear whether the organisation itself will become truly influential. All the countries broadly support free trade and oppose protectionism. Where they have similar interests - such as climate change - they have taken a united position. But on many other issues the countries have found little to agree upon.

Israel called the use of the of the advanced weaponry a "red line," now putting in danger the tens of thousands of Israelis who drive on roads with a line of sight view from the Gaza Strip. Until now, drivers only had to worry about highly inaccurate mortar fire that had to be launched from relatively open areas.

"We are talking about sophisticated anti-aircraft weaponry, sophisticated anti-tank weaponry and long-range rockets that can hit even north to Tel-Aviv. Now Hamas was restrained so far not to use many of them in order not to force Israel with its back to the wall to initiate another huge military ground operation against Hamas," said Ronen Bergman, an Israeli security expert who has written extensively on the Jewish state, its security services and its relationship to the Islamic world.

Now that Hamas has shown a willingness to use a next-generation weapon against a civilian target, experts say Israel will have to re-evaluate how it looks at the hot truce that exists on the border. Currently, there is a tit-for-tat relationship between Hamas mortar and rocket attacks answered by Israeli air strikes taking out various militant targets, depots and the occasional target assassination of a cell leader.

Human rights monitors named Mourad Hejjo, a conscript from Madaya village, as one of those shot by security snipers. "His family and town are saying he refused to shoot at his people," said Wassim Tarif, a local human rights monitor.

Footage on YouTube shows an injured soldier saying he was shot in the back by security forces, while another video shows the funeral of Muhammad Awad Qunbar, who sources said was killed for refusing to fire on protesters. Signs of defections will be worrying to Syria's regime. State media reported a different version of events, claiming nine soldiers had been killed in an ambush by an armed group in Banias.

Activists said not all soldiers reported dead or injured were shot after refusing to fire. "We are investigating reports that some people have personal weapons and used them in self-defence," said Tarif. On Tuesday Human Rights Watch condemned security forces for barring access to medical care. UK citizens were warned against "all but essential" travel to Syria and all travel to Banias, where residents are now holding a three-day strike.

The wording may yet evolve, but the general structure is meant to mirror Bolivia's Law of the Rights of Mother Earth, which Bolivian President Evo Morales enacted in January. That document speaks of the country's natural resources as "blessings," and grants the Earth a series of specific rights that include rights to life, water and clean air; the right to repair livelihoods affected by human activities; and the right to be free from pollution.

It also establishes a Ministry of Mother Earth, and provides the planet with an ombudsman whose job is to hear nature's complaints as voiced by activist and other groups, including the state. "If you want to have balance, and you think that the only (entities) who have rights are humans or companies, then how can you reach balance?" Pablo Salon, Bolivia's ambassador to the UN, told Postmedia News. "But if you recognize that nature too has rights, and (if you provide) legal forms to protect and preserve those rights, then you can achieve balance."

The application of the law appears destined to pose new challenges for companies operating in the country, which is rich in natural resources, including natural gas and lithium, but remains one of the poorest in Latin America. Bolivia is a country with a large indigenous population, whose traditional belief systems took on greater resonance following the election of Morales, Latin America's first indigenous president. In a 2008 pamphlet his entourage distributed at the UN as he attended a summit there, 10 "commandments" are set out as Bolivia's plan to "save the planet" - beginning with the need "to end capitalism."

The latest warning on the deficit was delivered as Barack Obama, the US president, is becoming increasingly engaged in the debate over ways to curb America's mounting debt. To meet the 2010 pledge by the Group of 20 countries for all advanced economies - except Japan - to halve their deficits by 2013, the US would need to implement tougher austerity measures than in any two-year period since records began in 1960, the IMF said.

In its twice-yearly Fiscal Monitor, the IMF added that on its current plans the US would join Japan as the only country with rising public debt in 2016, creating a risk for the global economy. Carlo Cottarelli, head of fiscal affairs at the Fund, said: "It is a risk that if it materialises would have very important consequences for the rest of the world. So it is important that the US undertakes fiscal adjustment in a way sooner rather than later."

The debate over US fiscal policy is expected to intensify in the coming weeks and months as the US hits its congressionally mandated debt limit of $14,300 billion. Without approval by lawmakers to increase it, the US could face potential default as early as July, and so far Republicans and Democrats remain some distance from reaching a deal.

China is India's largest trading partner. However, the two countries still share a very unbalanced trade relationship. "India's import dependence on China has gone up significantly on critical items," said Samiran Chakraborty, regional head of research for India at Standard Chartered Bank. "Whereas if you look at exports, India's primary export to China is only iron ore."

Mr Chakraborty says this issue could come up during the visit. "One of the demands is to open up the Chinese markets to India. Otherwise the trade balance is very much in favour of China and working against India," he adds. The two countries also agreed to expand co-operation in infrastructure, environment, information technology, telecommunications, and investment and finance. Mr Chakraborty says it is in each sides interest to continue to deepen ties.

King Mohammed VI responded three weeks later, promising changes that would dilute his absolute hold on power. The prime minister calls it a "peaceful revolution". But the protest leaders insist the proposals fall far short of their demands. "Our first demand is a constitution for the people and by the people - a complete reform," says Montasser Drissi, one of the original group of young protesters. The February 20th movement grew quickly via Facebook and is now calling for further rallies this Sunday and the following week.

The king has ordered a committee to draft constitutional reforms which include making the prime minister elected, not appointed. The proposals will then be put to a referendum. But the committee members were chosen by the king himself, convincing protesters that any changes will be superficial. So the demonstrations continue. "It's good to keep the commission under pressure," explains Mr Drissi. "If the people want change and the king does not - he will be alone. He must listen to the people."

Many of those people are now trumpeting their demands all over the Moroccan capital. You can barely walk a block in central Rabat these days without passing a protest. Unemployed graduates are staging a sit-in outside parliament; hundreds of teachers have set up camp in front of the education ministry. Other groups march along Mohammed V Avenue proclaiming their frustration through loud hailers. There is no Tahrir Square here, no daily focal point to the protests. But the democratic wave that swept Egypt and Tunisia has emboldened many Moroccans to make unprecedented calls for reform.

The decision was made after Japan's nuclear safety body determined that at one point after the March 11 earthquake, the plant was releasing 10,000 terabecquerels of iodine-131 for several hours; level 7 accidents are defined as releasing tens of thousands of terabecquerels. "The INES rating itself is not an indicator of a daily phenomena, but the assessment after careful consideration and calculation on the event that happened in the past," Ken Morita of NISA told TIME on Tuesday morning.

NISA has also noted, however, that the amount of radioactive material being released at Fukushima today is less than 1 terabecquerel. The agency says that, to date, Fukushima has only released about 10% of total radiation released 25 years ago in Chernobyl, or about 1.8 million terabecquerels. About 30 people, mostly workers, died in the immediate aftermath of Chernobyl, though the UN has estimated that the long-term death toll due to exposure could eventually be as high as 4000.

"That is something on our agenda," Munter told a gathering of top Pakistani military brass, analysts and academics Monday at an event that was billed by the local US Embassy as a major policy announcement. The US military and the State Department rarely comment on drones. Munter's comment did not come from his prepared speech, but during a question-and-answer session in response to a question from a member of the audience demanding to know when drone strikes would cease permanently. Fearing a hostile reception that would embarrass the State Department and stoke further local anti-US sentiment, television cameras were ordered to leave the room for the question-and-answer session.

"We have habits and tendencies that don't work for us and get in the way [of our relationship with Pakistan]," Munter said, a reference to drones and undercover CIA operations on Pakistani soil that have enraged Pakistan's powerful spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence. The ambassador gave no timeline on when a review of drone policy would be conducted, but Washington will likely want to make it a priority as it attempts to rebuild frayed relations with Pakistan, its most important ally in the war on terror.

Dealings between the US and Islamabad hit rock bottom after Pakistan lost patience with relentless pressure from America to eradicate militants who use Pakistan's tribal border regions as sanctuaries and training bases from which to launch attacks on NATO troops. January's killing of two Pakistanis by a CIA contractor in Lahore invoked the wrath of all sections of Pakistani society, including the ISI, politicians, the religious establishment and an increasingly anti-American public.

The collapse of Portugal's government and the success of a hitherto unknown populist in Sunday's Finnish elections may seem unrelated. But Timo Soini, head of the anti-EU True Finns party, was quick to the make the connection in an interview with the Financial Times earlier this year. "If the Portuguese thing comes before the Finnish elections, that will mean quite a fierce discussion and protest," said Mr Soini. True Finns were last week only narrowly behind the centre-right National Coalition party, according to most polls, and that was before Lisbon appealed for a rescue. "People just don't get it, don't want it."

It is a sentiment that appears to be spreading. Popular anger at bail-outs, austerity and general economic uncertainty has already toppled leaders on the eurozone's periphery: first in Ireland, then Portugal and arguably Spain, where Jose Luis Zapatero has said he will not seek a third term as prime minister. Now, anger is beginning to infect Europe's prosperous core, where mainstream parties are losing ground to populist outsiders PLAYING ON RESENTMENT AND FRUSTRATION TRIGGERED BY AUSTERITY AND FALLING LIVING STANDARDS.

In France, President Nicolas Sarkozy's centre-right UMP party took a drubbing in regional elections last month amid a strong showing by the far-right National Front. In Belgium, Flemish nationalists have prevented the formation of a government for a year and, observers say, are likely to emerge even stronger if forced into another election. The minority Dutch government has relied on the anti-EU party of nationalist Geert Wilders to keep it in power for six months.

Even in Germany - where the idea of a right-wing populist party feeding on economic discontent is the subject of whispered concerns - anger over mainstream handling of the economy led the traditional parties to lose ground in the state of Baden-Wurttemberg last month. Resentment, fuelled by the tabloid press, grew so intense that one mainstream party, the liberal Free Democrats, appeared to toy with an openly anti-EU platform ahead of the vote.

We are witnessing Europe's own Tea Party moment. Like Barack Obama, US president, leaders of European nations with the might to rescue a continent from crisis are hamstrung by voters who have had enough bailing out others.

The rebels' interim ruling council met an AU delegation from five countries - led by three presidents and two foreign ministers - the day after Gaddafi endorsed the African "roadmap to peace", which included an immediate ceasefire, the suspension of Nato air strikes and talks towards a political settlement. But Mustafa Abdul Jalil, the revolutionary council chairman, said the rebels had told the AU its proposal had been outdated by events, including the UN security council resolution authorising air strikes, and was in any case unacceptable because it left Gaddafi in power while both sides negotiated.

"From the very beginning we have been asking that the exit of Gaddafi and his sons take place immediately. We cannot consider this or any future proposal that does not include this peoples' requirement," said Jalil. "He leaves on his own or the march of the people will be at his doorstep." That view was strongly backed by thousands of demonstrators outside the Benghazi hotel where the talks were held. They waved revolutionary flags and carried signs saying: "No solution with Gaddafi staying".

In an interview with the Financial Times, Kishor Chaukar, executive director of Tata Sons, the holding group of the Tata Group, said civil society's growing frustration with widespread corruption threatened to lead to nationwide protests inspired by the recent popular uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.

Mr Chaukar's comments come days after Ratan Tata, the chairman of the Tata Group, appeared before parliament to face questions about his group's participation in the controversial award of 2G telecoms licences three years ago. The mishandling of the auction was estimated by an official audit to have cost the national exchequer $39 billion in lost revenues. Mr Tata denies wrongdoing. "The dimensions of this [corruption scandal] are so large. The wrongdoing is being brought into focus in such a large manner," Mr Chaukar said. "A large number of youth are saying: 'This is enough'. To crony capitalism, they are saying: 'Let's get rid of it.'"

"It will lead to something that is big for India's economic and political system... What's happened in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt is giving people encouragement. [They are saying] if we can demonstrate and network and we are unified then things can change." Others too have drawn parallels between the activist mood in the world's largest democracy and the Middle East. Justice Santosh Hegde, a former Supreme Court judge, warned of an Egypt-like revolt if a public campaign against graft went unheeded

Protesters chanted slogans against Saudi and Bahraini leaders, both followers of Sunni Islam. Iran, predominantly Shiite Muslim, has denounced the deployment of a Saudi-led force to help prop up Bahrain's monarchy. A government crackdown against Bahrain's Shiite-led protests has killed at least 27 people. Authorities say they see Iran's influence among the opposition, though there are no visible links.