The Wednesday evening conversation comes at a time when the two regional arch-rivals are at odds over what is perceived as rising Iranian influence in Lebanese politics and protracted efforts to form a government in Iraq. "In this telephone call, the heads of the two states discussed boosting bilateral cooperation, as well as recent developments in the region and in the international scene," IRNA reported.

Ahmadinejad and Abdullah last spoke to each other by telephone on October 12, one day before the Iranian leader went to Lebanon for a groundbreaking visit during which he was given a hero's welcome by Shiite militant group Hezbollah, which fought a devastating 2006 war with Israel. The United States and Israel criticised the visit as a provocation and a threat to regional stability.

Washington labels Hezbollah, which is known as Iran's Shiite proxy in Lebanon, a terrorist organisation.

And as their Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN near Geneva moves into high gear, they are talking increasingly of the "New Physics" on the horizon that could totally change current views of the universe and how it works. "Parallel universes, unknown forms of matter, extra dimensions... These are not the stuff of cheap science fiction but very concrete physics theories that scientists are trying to confirm with the LHC and other experiments."

This was how the "ideas" men and women in the international research center's Theory Group, which mulls over what could be out there beyond the reach of any telescope, put it in CERN's staff-targeted Bulletin this month. As particles are collided in the vast underground LHC complex at increasingly high energies, what the Bulletin article referred to informally as the "universe's extra bits" - if they do exist as predicted - should be brought into computerized, if ephemeral, view, the theorists say.

Optimism among the hundreds of scientists working at CERN - in the foothills of the Jura mountains along the border of France and Switzerland - has grown as the initially troubled $10 billion experiment hit its targets this year.

In northern Chile, on the high plateau of the bone-dry Atacama Desert, machines have cut a giant hole in the Earth's crust. The crater is three kilometers (1.9 miles) wide and almost 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) deep. It grows larger every day. And as it grows, the Chilean state becomes wealthier. The mine on the edge of the Andes is called Chuquicamata. It belongs to the state-owned copper mining company CODELCO. Six percent of all copper produced worldwide comes from Chuquicamata, one of the world's largest open pit mines.

Excavators dig through the rock with massive shovels the size of small houses, loading the copper ore onto trucks custom-made for the mine, each weighing up to 400 tons. With their engines roaring, they creep up through the hairpin curves of the road leading out of the pit. The ascent takes 45 minutes.

At the top, the ore is ground into powder, in a process yielding one ton of pure copper for every 100 tons of ore. On this particular day, a ton of copper sells for about $8,100 (5,844 euros) on the commodities exchanges, according to the current price CODELCO manager Rodrigo Toro sees on his computer screen. Only 24 hours earlier, the price was almost $200 higher. "The market has become very volatile," he says.

This year, the price went from $6,400 in February to $8,000 in April, then plunged to $6,100 and is currently rushing back up toward $8,900, which would be an all-time high. The metal has become an object of speculation, and the copper business a playing field for deep-pocketed gamblers. Price movements have less and less to do with the product itself. In fact, the prices are set elsewhere - in New York, for example.

What's more, China produces 97% of them. But with much of the world's economy depending on these metals, a report that China is curtailing its exports to Europe and the US by almost a third next year has rattled manufacturers and policymakers. China denies the recent claim, but has previously stated that it will restrict exports to protect supplies and prevent mines being over-exploited, while also meeting an increase in domestic demand.

Governments are now increasingly worried about shortages, while Japan has said it will need to consider stockpiling. Meanwhile, prices are soaring. The 17 elements known as rare earth minerals - numbers 57 to 71, as well as a couple of others, on the periodic table - are found outside China, but most of the mines in other countries have long closed down.

Until the mid-1980s, the US dominated production, but then China entered the market. Soon, China had cornered it; as Deng Xiaoping said in 1992, "Arabia has oil, China has rare earth". China has been tightening export quotas since 2006, sparking increasing concern about its ability to disrupt supply chains.

The consequences of a squeeze on rare earths would be considerable across the developed world, says Professor Animesh Jha from the University of Leeds. "The Chinese definitely feel they have total control of it - just like the Middle East had control over oil," he says. He says it is about asserting political as well as economic power. "It upsets the trade balance, they are holding the stick but no carrots. They want to say, 'We are not going to buck our currency up and we want to be tough'."

The state department said Israel, traditionally wary of arms deals involving Arab states, was not expected to raise objections. Announcing the plan, state department official Andrew Shapiro said it had a "tremendous significance from a strategic regional perspective. It will send a strong message to countries in the region that we are committed to support the security of our key partners and allies in the Arabian Gulf and broader Middle East," he said.

Analysts say the sale - which includes more than 80 F-15 fighters, and dozens of Apache, Black Hawk and Little Bird helicopters - is unlikely to face much opposition in Congress. The plan was leaked last month, when officials were quoted as saying anti-radar missiles, precision-guided bombs, and Hellfire missiles would also be included.

Saudi Arabia is one of the top buyers of weapons in the developing world.

Coptic Patriarch Antonios Naguib of Alexandria, Egypt, the synod's general relator, presented on Monday the "report after the discussion" of the synod, which ended with a set of 23 questions intended for discussion in small groups. The answers to the questions, which were discussed today in small groups, will be used to draft a concluding document of the gathering.

The patriarch reported that the synod had lived out in a concrete way the theme of the assembly - "Communion and Witness" - as it had gathered "cardinals, patriarchs, bishops, consecrated men and women, lay persons, invited brothers and sisters, united around the Holy Father and guided by the Holy Spirit in a 'Communion' for all to see, not in theory but in fact."

He added that the meeting had a "fraternal, warm and optimistic atmosphere, leading us to hope for many beneficial fruits for the future of our Churches and their mission. We would like this synod to be of value for all Churches, in both the East and West, leading them all to a living, practical communion." The synod, which ends Sunday, is dedicated to the Churches of the Middle East, but some closely related Churches of North Eastern Africa, the Gulf, Turkey and Iran were also included.

It could be the most important meeting in Fed history, maybe. The US central bank is expected to announce its next move to boost the faltering economic recovery. To say there has been considerable debate and anxiety among Fed watchers about what the central bank should do would be an understatement. Chairman Ben Bernanke has indicated in recent speeches that the central bank plans to try to drive down already low-interest rates by buying up long-term bonds.

A number of people both inside the Fed and out believe this is the wrong move. But one website seems to believe that Ben's plan might actually lead to armed conflict. Last week, the blog, Zerohedge wrote, paraphrasing a top economic forecaster David Rosenberg, that it believed the Fed's plan is not only moronic, but "positions US society one step closer to civil war if not worse."

Here's how Zerohedge justifies its prediction of why the Fed's November 3rd meeting will lead to violence: In a very real sense, Bernanke is throwing Granny and Grandpa down the stairs - on purpose. He is literally threatening those at the lower end of the economic strata, along with all who are retired, with starvation and death, and in a just nation where the rule of law once controlled instead of being abused by the kleptocrats he would be facing charges of Seditious Conspiracy, as his policies will inevitably lead to the destruction of our republic.

Read more: http://curiouscapitalist.blogs.time.com/2010/10/19/will-the-federal-reserves-next-meeting-lead-to-civil-war/#ixzz12vy6qAc9

French unions have been forced onto the back foot after clashes between a small hard core of violent protesters and police, according to a leading French labour expert. The violence this week, amid huge country-wide strikes, blockades and demonstrations, has weakened the unions and played directly into the hands of the government, according to Bernard Vivier, director of France's Higher Institute of Labour (a leading French thinktank).

"The unions are embarrassed by this violence, which is led by anarchist elements of the unions who want to derail any attempts to negotiate with the government," he told FRANCE 24. "It has put the brakes on the unions' momentum, while they themselves recognise that reforms to the pension system are needed," he added. "These violent protesters want to do anything possible to stop negotiations, and their actions have shot the protest movement in the foot."

In nine days of demonstrations and strikes, some 1,500 alleged rioters have been arrested, 428 after Tuesday's clashes, according to the interior ministry.

Moves to make every communications provider store details for at least a year will be unveiled later this year sparking fresh fears over a return of the surveillance state. The plans were shelved by the Labour Government last December but the Home Office is now ready to revive them. It comes despite the Coalition Agreement promised to "end the storage of internet and email records without good reason".

Any suggestion of a central "super database" has been ruled out but the plans are expected to involve service providers storing all users details for a set period of time. That will allow the security and police authorities to track every phone call, email, text message and website visit made by the public if they argue it is needed to tackle crime or terrorism.

The information will include who is contacting whom, when and where and which websites are visited, but not the content of the conversations or messages. The move was buried in the Government's Strategic Defence and Security Review, which revealed: "We will introduce a programme to preserve the ability of the security, intelligence and law enforcement agencies to obtain communication data and to intercept communications within the appropriate legal framework."

While internal differences on the unconventional policy are still evident, the consensus view at the Fed appears to be that the economy is weak enough to warrant further support, most likely through increased purchases of Treasury debt.

The US economy is expected to have grown just 1.9 percent in the third quarter, a level considered too low to bring down unemployment. The debt purchases would help lower long-term interest rates in the hope of boosting demand. Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart's willingness to cite a specific dollar figure for purchases, one largely in tandem with market expectations, was seen as another hint that planning is actively underway.

"If we're going to pursue another round of quantitative easing, it has to be a large enough number to make a difference," Lockhart said in an interview on CNBC television. "As a monthly number ($100 billion) is fairly consistent with what we did before, and so I think it would certainly be in the range of numbers one might consider... but if you were talking about $100 billion as simply the overall program, I think that's too small," he said.

A new bank levy will also be brought in - with full details due on Thursday. Mr Osborne said the four year cuts were guided by fairness, reform and growth. But shadow chancellor Alan Johnson, for Labour, called the review a "reckless gamble with people's livelihoods" which risked "stifling the fragile recovery" - a message echoed by the SNP, despite smaller than expected cuts in Scotland.

Mr Osborne ended his hour-long Commons statement by claiming the 19% average cuts to departmental budgets were less severe than expected. This is thanks to an extra 7 billion pounds in savings from the welfare budget and a 3.5 billion pounds increase in public sector employee pension contributions.

Outlining the 81 billion pounds cuts package, Mr Osborne vowed to restore "sanity to our public finances and stability to our economy". He told MPs: "Today is the day when Britain steps back from the brink, when we confront the bills from a decade of debt. It is a hard road, but it leads to a better future."

Of course, there's always the possibility that the federal government would crack down. That risk might make investors too skittish to get involved. Earlier this month, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the government would continue its dangerous raids. Some regions, such as Mendocino County, have leaned on pot agriculture as other industries dried up. It's estimated that at least half of that county's economy depends on cultivation of the plant.

The only sure thing is that there's no sure thing. Marijuana legalization is uncharted territory. Or at least, it's uncharted in this country. Other countries have managed to figure it out, but here in The Land of the Free, we've clung to prohibition.

Earlier, the state estimated that it could rake in $1.4 billion in taxes if Prop 19 passes, but they've since backed off that estimate, claiming that there are too many unknown variables. Prop 19 would allow each individual municipality to set its own pot regulations, which some detractors have said will create an unwieldy patchwork of laws. Coincidentally, most of those who oppose legalization are those who make money from prohibition: law enforcement agencies and the alcohol industry.

The Chinese action, involving rare earth minerals that are crucial to manufacturing many advanced products, seems certain to further intensify already rising trade and currency tensions with the West. Until recently, China typically sought quick and quiet accommodations on trade issues. But the interruption in rare earth supplies is the latest sign from Beijing that Chinese leaders are willing to use their growing economic muscle.

"The embargo is expanding" beyond Japan, said one of the three rare earth industry officials, all of whom insisted on anonymity for fear of business retaliation by Chinese authorities. They said Chinese customs officials imposed the broader restrictions on Monday morning, hours after a top Chinese official summoned international news media Sunday night to denounce United States trade actions.

China mines 95 percent of the world's rare earth elements, which have broad commercial and military applications, and are vital to the manufacture of products as diverse as cellphones, large wind turbines and guided missiles. Any curtailment of Chinese supplies of rare earths is likely to be greeted with alarm in Western capitals, particularly because Western companies are believed to keep much smaller stockpiles of rare earths than Japanese companies.

China experts said on Tuesday that Beijing's assertive stance on rare earths might also signal the ascendance of economic nationalists, noting that the Central Committee of the Communist Party convened over the weekend.

"It is not going to happen in this country." Geithner told Silicon Valley business leaders of devaluing the dollar. Geithner broke his silence on the dollar's protracted slide ahead of this weekend's meeting of finance leaders from the Group of 20 wealthy and emerging nations in South Korea, where rising tensions over Chinese and US currency valuations are expected to take center stage. "It is very important for people to understand that the United States of America and no country around the world can devalue its way to prosperity, to (be) competitive," Geithner added. "It is not a viable, feasible strategy and we will not engage in it."

Answering audience questions before the Commonwealth Club of California in Palo Alto, he said the United States needed to "work hard to preserve confidence in the strong dollar." Geithner, normally reluctant to publicly discuss currency and market movements, has not uttered the so-called "strong dollar mantra" - a refrain he helped create at Treasury in the 1990s - since February.

On Friday, the dollar index hit a 10-month low against a basket of major currencies, while the greenback has been plumbing fresh 15-year lows against Japan's yen. Many emerging market countries are complaining that Fed money creation is weakening the dollar, and causing more funds to flow into their markets, pushing up their currencies. Talk of a "currency war" has persisted as countries take action to keep from losing export competitiveness.

The UN cited the worst extinction rate since the dinosaurs vanished 65 million years ago, saying it's a crisis that needs to be addressed by governments, businesses and communities. A UN-backed study this month said global environmental damage caused by human activity in 2008 totaled $6.6 trillion, equivalent to 11 percent of global gross domestic product.

Despite the UN's fear that biodiversity may be at risk, scientists over the past decade have identified new species at an unprecedented rate. The 2008 World Wildlife Fund (WWF) study First Contact in the Greater Mekong reported that 1,068 species were discovered or newly identified by science between 1997 and 2007 - averaging two new species a week. And the Census of Marine Life - an ambitious, 10-year project to catalog the diversity of the world's oceans - recently concluded, having identified more than 6,000 potentially new ocean-going species.

Scientists have a growing understanding of the wealth of life on Earth, and the conference argues that our diversity is being threatened. The two-week UN meeting faces an uphill battle as it tries to institute sweeping steps to protect and restore ecosystems such as forests, rivers, coral reefs and the oceans that are vital for an ever-growing human population. Issues of funding will be a key problem delegates will need to iron out - both who pays for the program and who reaps the rewards of the world's biodiversity.

Japan, chair of the meeting, said agreement on an ambitious and practical 2020 target was key. "We are nearing a tipping point, or the point of no return for biodiversity loss," Japanese Environment Minister Ryu Matsumoto told the meeting. "Unless proactive steps are taken for biodiversity, there is a risk that we will surpass that point in the next 10 years."