Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad, who is locked in a power struggle with rivals in Iran's conservative establishment, has put himself in temporary charge of the oil ministry at a time when Iran holds the rotating presidency of Opec. As such, he could become the first head of state to chair a gathering of the world's biggest oil producers if he goes to Vienna for the June 8 meeting.

"Iran's oil ministry holds the Opec presidency currently and if any meeting takes place, the president or a government representative would attend," Mohammad Reza Mir-Tajeddini, the vice-president, told the official news agency. Opec's first conclave since December will take place during exceptional volatility on the market, with the price of a barrel of Brent crude, the benchmark, rising to $125 on April 28, before experiencing one of the biggest falls on record and trading at $112 on Wednesday.

Experts fear that rivalries within Opec, particularly between its two biggest producers - Saudi Arabia and Iran - could prevent any big decisions from being reached in Vienna. The kingdom has increased its own output to make up for the shortfall left by Libya's crisis. But Saudi Arabia dislikes acting unilaterally and it could ask Opec members to raise their production quotas at the Vienna meeting, said Leonidas Drollas, chief economist of the Centre for Global Energy Studies. "But with Ahmadi-Nejad there and Libya in disarray, it's hard to see how anything could be done," he added.

The situation has been worsened by confusion over the representation of Libya. Shokri Ghanem, the oil minister, has left for Tunisia, leading to claims that he has defected. "The market has become more volatile and Opec is just sitting there, with ministers defecting, a president taking on the mantle of a minister, playing politics while the world is facing many problems on the economic front," said Mr Drollas.

The terrorist resume of al-Adel, one of al-Qaida's founders, includes helping orchestrate the 1998 bombings of US embassies in Africa. But he had sharp disagreements with bin Laden's leadership and opposed the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He accurately predicted that inciting the wrath of the US would hurt al-Qaida's worldwide efforts.

Iran and al-Qaida have a relationship of convenience, not an alliance. The Shiite regime in Tehran is generally hostile to the Sunni terrorist organization, but they have a shared enemy in the United States. If al-Adel or any of the other senior figures were released, Iran would be in violation of a United Nations resolution and the US has made it clear that's unacceptable. But if al-Adel has returned to al-Qaida's active leadership, it means two of the organization's most senior commanders have Iranian ties.

The other is Atiyah Abdul-Rahman, whom the US considers the Number 3 figure in al-Qaida. He was the organization's emissary based in Iran and, over the years, he's been allowed to travel in and out of the country. Richard Barrett, a United Nations official who monitors al-Qaida, said Wednesday that Rahman has been operating out of Pakistan's tribal regions for some time.

"Al-Adel is a killer. He will use violence for the sake of violence," said Rohan Gunaratna, head of the International Center for Political Violence and Terrorism Research in Singapore. "He is the most ruthless leader in al-Qaida. When he was head of security intelligence, he rounded up so many of the spies and executed them."

It was the kind of criticism that one isn't used to hearing from Angela Merkel. Normally sober and analytical to a fault, the German chancellor on Tuesday evening blasted a handful of heavily indebted southern European countries, saying they needed to raise retirement ages and reduce vacation days.

Keeping debt under control, Merkel said in a speech at an event held by her party, the conservative Christian Democratic Union, in the western German town of Meschede, isn't the only priority. "It is also important that people in countries like Greece, Spain and Portugal are not able to retire earlier than in Germany - that everyone exerts themselves more or less equally. That is important." She added: "We can't have a common currency where some get lots of vacation time and others very little. That won't work in the long term."

Such concerns, it would seem, were not far from Merkel's mind as she spoke on Tuesday evening. "Of course we want the euro and of course we don't want to see that a country goes broke, so to speak, and that we all then follow," she said. "But we can't just show solidarity and then say that these countries can continue as before. Yes, Germany will help. But Germany only helps when the others exert themselves as well. And that exertion must be demonstrated."

In his Monday op-ed in The New York Times, Abbas wrote, "It is important to note that the last time the question of Palestinian statehood took centre stage at the General Assembly, the question posed to the international community was whether our homeland should be partitioned into two states. In November 1947, the General Assembly made its recommendation and answered in the affirmative. Shortly thereafter, Zionist forces expelled Palestinian Arabs to ensure a decisive Jewish majority in the future state of Israel, and Arab armies intervened. War and further expulsions ensued."

Abbas' skillfully written op-ed implicitly rejected the existence of Israel by stating that the General Assembly partitioned "our homeland," a phrase that previously has referred to a Jewish state in declarations by the League of Nations and in the Balfour Declaration, among others. His description of the chain of events in 1947 and 1948 parallels several Muslim and Arab alterations of history and the Bible. His op-ed stated that Zionist forces expelled "Palestinian Arabs" after the United Nations recognition of Israel. However, Britain still was in control of the country at the time under the Mandate, and Israel, where the Jewish people already were under siege by Arabs, did not establish itself as an independent nation until the following May. Also, the term "Palestinian Arabs" was not invented until years later. The entire country was referred to as Palestine under the British Mandate.

Abbas also tried to establish as a fact that Arab armies "intervened" to stop the alleged efforts to expel Arabs and create a Jewish majority. Virtually every history book outside the Arab world notes that Arab terrorists attacked Jews for decades, most notably the 1929 pogrom in Hevron, where Arabs slaughtered 67 Jews. The "intervention" was a declaration of war against the existence of a Jewish state, which Arab forces vowed to annihilate.

Abbas wrote that "war and further expulsions" ensued but omitted reminding readers that every war against Israel was launched by Arabs. He did not mention the war drums that seven Arab nations beat until the beginning of the Six Day War in 1967. Six years later, Egypt, followed by Syria, launched an unprovoked war with a large-scale invasion on Yom Kippur, the holiest Jewish holiday.

Muslim clerics and the Palestinian Authority also have tried to change the Bible, referring to binding of Isaac (Yitzchak) as the "binding of Ishmael." They also have rejected any Jewish ties to the Temple Mount, which has been subject to an Arab campaign claiming that it was not built by Jews and that the Western Wall is a Muslim holy site.

Similar claims have been made that Rachel's Tomb, south of Jerusalem and on the road to Efrat, actually was a Muslim holy place, even though Islam was not founded until nearly 2,500 years after the death of Rachel, wife of Jacob.

The report, entitled, "Every Thirty Minutes: Farmer Suicides, Human Rights and the Agrarian Crisis in India," explains that Indian policy has stripped many farmers of their livelihoods by greatly decreasing the value of their crops. Combined with the introduction of GM crops that trap farmers into an endless cycle of debt without providing any substantial benefits, and you end up with a society marked by despair, hopelessness, and an increase in suicides.

What was once an agricultural system based on the diverse cultivation of natural, beneficial food and use crops has morphed into a system of unsustainable cash-crop agriculture. Countless millions of farmers began to adopt crops like Monsanto's Bt cotton, which recent studies have shown provide no benefits, but that lock farmers into a perpetual system of dependence that ends up bankrupting them

Just like what has happened in the US, many Indian farmers have been hoodwinked by multinational biotechnology giants into adopting GM varieties of cash crops - and they have done so based on deceitful claims that GM crops will improve yields and essentially save the world. Such claims are absolutely baseless, of course, and no legitimate studies have ever proven them to be true.

Netanyahu was referring to Abbas' claim in his article that "the last time the question of Palestinian statehood took center stage at the General Assembly, the question posed to the international community was whether our homeland should be partitioned into two states. In November 1947, the General Assembly made its recommendation and answered in the affirmative. Shortly thereafter, Zionist forces expelled Palestinian Arabs to ensure a decisive Jewish majority in the future state of Israel, and Arab armies intervened. War and further expulsions ensued."

Abbas conveniently omitted the rejection of the partition plan by the Arab world and the fact that MOST ARABS LIVING IN ISRAEL LEFT BECAUSE THEY WERE TOLD TO DO SO BY THEIR LEADERS, WHO PROMISED THEM THAT THEY WOULD RETURN AFTER ISRAEL WAS QUICKLY ANNIHILATED.

Netanyahu also mentioned that Abbas skipped over the Arab nations' attacks on the young Jewish state following its declaration, saying that "Arab armies aided by Palestinian forces were the ones who attacked the Jewish state in order to destroy it. Yet all of this is not even mentioned in the article."

Netanyahu added that "we can conclude from the article that the Palestinian leadership sees in the establishment of a Palestinian state a means to continue the conflict with Israel instead of ending it."

But it is perhaps no surprise that the Australian authorities remain unconvinced by this somewhat far-fetched declaration of the second coming. They have warned people to be wary of Alan John Miller, 47, and Mary Suzanne Luck, 32, who have attracted a number of followers to their church in rural Wilkesdale, near Kingaroy, Queensland.

'My name is Jesus and I'm serious,' Miller says. 'Just a little over 2000 years ago, we arrived on the Earth for the first time. Because of my personal desire and passion for God, as I grew, I recognised not only that I was the Messiah that was foretold by ancient prophets, but also that I was in a process designed by God that all humans could follow, if they so desired.' Miller, a divorced dad-of-two, claims that he was Jesus in a past life. He said his first marriage broke down when he 'began to remember details' of the supposed incarnation.

Police are said to have been called to investigate screams, only to discover members taking part in a healing exercise where they shout to help process 'past soul damage'. Australia's Cult Awareness and Information Centre and the Anglican and Catholic churches are concerned that the couple are drawing in vulnerable people searching for meaning in life.

Miller, who was born in Loxton, South Australia, and Luck do not have conventional employment and their lifestyles appear to be funded by supporter donations. Miller says in one recording: 'There's probably a million people who say they're Jesus and most of them are in asylums. But one of us has to be. How do I know I am? Because I remember everything about my life.'

This is how the state-controlled China Daily newspaper summed up the situation: "Power shortages that gripped many parts of the country in recent months could herald the worst energy crunch in years amid growing concerns that economic growth may suffer." Energy demand in China has, of course, increased dramatically over the past few decades as the country rapidly industrialized and became one of the major manufacturing centers of the world.

To help meet that demand and try to create an element of energy security, China invested massively in hydroelectric power with the controversial Three Gorges Dam, its largest development project, which flooded cities and large areas of countryside. But that dependence on hydroelectric power, which is estimated to currently supply about 20 percent of its energy needs, has become part of the problem.

Droughts are common in China, but they have lasted for extremely long periods in the north and south of the country in the past few years. The droughts have caused terrible damage to the local economy, principally agriculture. But being dependent on water flow for power as well has only exacerbated the disaster. At the moment it's the turn of central China to suffer from drought.

China prides itself on its rapid economic development. But the sight of ships stranded on dried up riverbeds downstream of the Three Gorges Dam must be a nightmare for the Chinese authorities. According to the Chinese government and media, the drought in central China has lowered the level of the Yangtze River to historically low levels. Water levels around the city of Wuhan have fallen to around 10 feet, forcing ocean-going vessels to avoid the area.

The Chinese government has now suspended all diesel exports to ensure supplies as factories switch to using fuel-powered generators. China is also trying to meet its demand for energy by securing oil supplies from abroad. According to the independent US Energy Information Administration: "The Chinese government's energy policies are dominated by the country's growing demand for oil and its reliance on oil imports." And that is where China's energy crisis is likely to affect the American consumer the most by driving up gas prices even more.

The question has been ricocheting around the policy circles today. An analyst at the Heritage Foundation, Ron Utt, told the Washington Post that the gold holdings of the government are "just sort of sitting there." He added: "Given the high price it is now, and the tremendous debt problem we now have, by all means, sell at the peak."

A study of gold reserve sales in the late 1990s noted that seven nations - Australia, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Sweden - had then recently sold off substantial portions of their gold reserves. THE SALES, WHICH AMOUNTED TO 48% OF THOSE RESERVES, PRESAGED A 26% DEVALUATION IN THEIR NATION'S RESPECTIVE CURRENCIES. Between 1999 and 2002, in 17 separate auctions, Britain sold off half of its gold reserve, netting $3.5 billion. What Britain sold is now worth $10.5 billion.

In September 2009 the International Monetary Fund authorized sales from its gold reserves. At the conclusion of its sales, the IMF had disposed of 403.3 tons of gold or 13% of reserves. Over half was purchased by the central banks of India, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, and Bangladesh. In early 2011, Communist China announced plans to increase its gold reserves to 10,000 tons by decade's end from the 1,200 tons it currently holds. Mexico has acquired 93.3 tons of gold this year, while Thailand added 9.3 tons to its national reserves this March. Russia added 22.5 tons in January and February.

In August 2010, a leading figure in the monetary debate in Congress, Ron Paul, a Republican of Texas, called for an audit of the federal government's gold reserves. "IF THERE WAS NO QUESTION, YOU'D THINK THEY WOULD BE VERY ANXIOUS TO PROVE TO US THAT THE GOLD IS THERE..." Dr. Paul then said, "In the early 1980s when I was on the gold commission, I asked them to recommend to the Congress that they audit the gold reserves - WE HAD 17 MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION AND 15 VOTED NOT TO AUDIT. I think there was only ONE DECENT AUDIT DONE 50 YEARS AGO."

"If we ever get around to deciding we should use gold in relationship to our currency we ought to know how much is there," Dr. Paul added, "OUR FEDERAL RESERVE ADMITS TO NOTHING AND THEY SHOULD PROVE ALL THE GOLD IS THERE. There is a reason to be suspicious and even if you are not suspicious why wouldn't you have an audit?" In March 2008 the Times of London quoted a spokesman of the American treasury as saying that American gold holdings "are audited every year by the Department of Treasury's Office of Inspector General. HE CONFIRMED THAT ALTHOUGH INDEPENDENT AUDITORS OVERSEE THE PROCESS THEY ARE NOT GIVEN ACCESS TO THE FORT KNOX VAULT."

Medicaid, the programme which provides healthcare for the poor, costs the US federal and state governments $339 billion (209 billion pounds) a year, a figure climbing 8% annually. The federal government matches state spending on the program, providing as much as $3 for every $1 spent in poorer areas. Given the size of the budget, it's no surprise that Medicaid has become one of the fiscal battlegrounds in Congress.

President Obama's healthcare reforms would extend cover further, increasing costs to states by tens of billions of dollars. But the Republican budget proposal put forward by Congressman Paul Ryan caps the government contribution, saving an estimated $750 billion (463 billion pounds) over 10 years, but forcing states to make cuts. Now the state of Arizona is proposing a radical idea. It wants to impose a $50 annual fine for overweight Medicaid recipients who don't follow a strict health regime developed with their doctor. Those with children, and people overweight due to a medical condition, would be exempt.

Smokers and diabetics who ignore their medical advice would also have to pay. Monica Coury, assistant director at Arizona's Medicaid programme, says the aim is to change behaviour using a carrot and stick approach, in the same way that increasing cigarette taxes reduced smoking. "It's undeniable that there is a link between obesity and the rising cost of healthcare in America, so we can't be afraid to discuss this issue.

Although some private companies have similar penalties in their health insurance cover, this would be the first time any state health care programme has charged people in this way for what could be deemed an unhealthy lifestyle. Arizona has the second-highest proportion of Medicaid recipients in the US, and a quarter of its residents are classed as obese. Among its other plans to cut its annual $10 billion (6.2 billion pounds) Medicaid bill is to freeze enrolment for some childless adults. Other states will be watching closely as they all scramble to cut costs, says Matt Salo of the National Association of Medicaid Directors.

"People don't realize the risk we're taking by taking care of these patients," the newspaper quoted Dr Albert Triana of South Miami as saying. "There's more risk of something going wrong and more risk of getting sued. Everything is more complicated with an obese patient in GYN surgeries and in [pregnancies]," he told the newspaper.

It is not illegal for doctors to refuse overweight patients, but it has medical ethicists worried. So far, the weight cutoffs have been enacted only by South Florida ob-gyns, who have long complained about high numbers of lawsuits after difficult births and high rates for medical-malpractice insurance.

The US economy could face a bill running into the hundreds of millions of dollars a day if the lower Mississippi River is closed to shipping for days or weeks, port officials said. It wasn't clear when the river would reopen to traffic. The Mississippi River is expected to crest Saturday in Natchez at 63 feet, down a half-foot than earlier predictions, but almost five feet above a record set in 1937. The river at Natchez was already 3 feet above the 1937 level as of Monday morning. To the north, the river is projected to crest Thursday at Vicksburg at 57.5 feet, more than a foot above the 1927 record there.

It could take weeks for the water to recede to normal levels. During the spring, the Mississippi is a highway for towboats bushing barges laden with corn, soybeans and other crops brought down from the Ohio, Missouri and Mississippi river systems. Grain and other farm products come down the river, mostly by barge but some by rail, to the port of South Louisiana, north of New Orleans, for export. They are loaded onto massive grain carriers headed overseas.

At least 10 freight terminals along the lower Mississippi River between Baton Rouge and New Orleans have suspended operations because of the high water, said Roy Gonzalez, acting president of the Gulf States Maritime Association, which represents steamship agents and terminal operators. In many cases, their docks are already at water level or going under, he said. The Port of New Orleans could be affected as well since some manufactured products for export also come to New Orleans by the Mississippi.

She met with farm leaders yesterday who have warned the Government that this year's food harvest will be earlier and the yield lower. The situation could force up food prices even higher, farming experts warned, with the price of vegetables particularly likely to be affected later this year. According to the latest inflation figures from the Office for National Statistics, food prices are already 4 per cent higher than a year ago.

England and Wales has recorded the lowest rainfall in March and April since 1938 with the warmest spring in centuries. The water levels in some rivers are already being compared to those during the record drought of 1976. In some eastern counties just 5mm of water has fallen since the end of February. Last night, Mrs Spelman admitted that the dry weather has caused "irreversible" damage on agriculture but insisted "we don't have a drought yet".

"Yes this has already impacted on agriculture and some of the damage is irreversible," she said. "The harvest will be earlier and the yield will be lower."

The formal act was quickly settled, but German Finance Minister had no time to celebrate. The members of the budget committee in the German parliament, the Bundestag, had hardly given their blessing to billions in new aid for ailing Portugal last Wednesday before parliamentarians were drilling the finance minister with questions about the next troublespot - Greece.

The lawmakers wanted to know more about the secret meeting held the previous Friday, which had been reported by Spiegel Online and which top European politicians were still denying as their limousines were pulling up to the Chateau de Senningen in Luxembourg. Was it true that Greece needs billions more in financial assistance?

More importantly, the parliamentarians wanted Schauble to elaborate on reports that Greece is insolvent and that the government in Athens has already considered withdrawing from the monetary union.

Ireland has mounted its biggest security operation ahead of a visit steeped in symbolism and gestures designed to underline how warm neighbourly relations have replaced centuries of animosity. The bomb was found in the town of Maynooth, about 25 km from Dublin, the defence forces said in a statement. The military had deployed a team to the outskirts of the town, in county Kildare, in response to a police request. The remains of the device were handed over to police for their investigations, the statement said.