A further 6,000 support troops will be in Iraq until the end of the month, when US combat operations will end. The US military restricted journalists embedded with the brigade from reporting on its movements until they were almost at the border. After crossing the border, US troops told journalists of their relief at leaving Iraq.

"It's just a whole bunch of stress just off my shoulders, but it feels good to be in Kuwait, about to head home," Troy Danahy said. "Best part of getting back to Kuwait? One, I know no one else will get hurt, and two, I'm going home," Timothy Berrenar said.

State Department spokesman PJ Crowley said the US involvement in Iraq was far from over, but that it would be less intrusive and more civilian focused. "We are ending the war... but we are not ending our work in Iraq. We have a long-term commitment to Iraq," he told MSNBC. Mr Crowley said the US had a trillion dollar investment to protect in the country and wanted to honour the memory of the 4,415 US troops who lost their lives in the conflict.

The Charity Commission said gay people were suitable parents and religious views did not justify discrimination. The Leeds-based charity said it was "very disappointed". Catholic Care - which had been placing children with adoptive parents for more than 100 years - was among a dozen Catholic agencies in England and Wales forced to change their policy towards homosexual people by the equality laws passed in 2007. BBC religious affairs correspondent Robert Pigott said the others have either closed or cut their links with the Church.

However, Catholic Care tried to change its constitution so that it would be committed to following Catholic teaching and placing children only with heterosexual parents. Catholic agencies were given a 21-month transition period to comply with the new rules, which ended in December 2008. The High Court told the Charity Commission to reconsider the case, but the commission has now decided that Catholic Care's religious views did not justify its continued discrimination.

THE COMMISSION SAID GAY PEOPLE WERE SUITABLE PARENTS, and that ending the charity's adoption work would not harm the interests of children. In a statement, Catholic Care said: "The charity is very disappointed with the outcome. Catholic Care will now consider whether there is any other way in which the charity can continue to support families seeking to adopt children in need."

However, there has been much debate among Islamic scholars as to whether this goes far enough. This has led to a distinction between the hijab (literally "covering up" in Arabic) and the niqab (meaning "full veil"). Hijab is a common sight among Muslim women, a scarf that covers their hair and neck.

Niqab consists of covering up completely, including gloves and a veil for the face - leaving just a slit for the eyes, or covering them too with transparent material. This form of dress is rarer, although it has been growing in recent years, and it is this which former UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw says he objects to at face-to-face meetings with his constituents.

Muslim scholars have debated whether it is obligatory to don the niqab, or whether it is just recommended without being obligatory. There have also been more liberal interpretations which say the headscarf is unnecessary, as long as women maintain the sartorial modesty stipulated in the Koran.

But the defence said the jury should be able to watch her facial expressions. The 36-year-old woman's wish to wear the veil was a "preference", said defence lawyer Mark Trowell QC and was "not an essential part of the Islamic faith". He said it was common for women to appear in Islamic courts without the covering, the Herald Sun reported. Judge Shauna Deane ruled the woman should remove the niqab, though stressed she was not making a decision which should stand as a legal precedent.

The judge also rejected the comparison with jurisdictions elsewhere, saying they were irrelevant because this was an Australian and not an Islamic court. The woman is a witness in a case against the head of an Islamic school accused of gaining work funding by inflating student numbers.

In keeping with the recent Moslem line that Judaism is barely linked with the Holy Land, Hussein says that Israel is "working subversively to take over Moslem holy sites," Arab affairs correspondent Dalit HaLevi reports. Speaking with the Arabic-language internet site Ilaf on Tuesday, Hussein said that Israel has invested great efforts to erase the Islamic characteristics of Jerusalem, Hevron and other cities, in order to falsely prove Judaism's connection with these places.

Just a few decades ago, however, it was Jerusalem's Supreme Moslem Council (Waqf) itself that debunked the Arab Moslem position that the Temple Mount is not Jewish. The Waqf published a Temple Mount guide in 1925 in which it stated clearly that the site's "identity with the site of Solomon's Temple is beyond dispute. This, too, is the spot, according to universal belief, on which 'David built there an altar unto the L-rd...'", citing the source in Samuel II 24,25.

The pamphlet also makes reference to the underground area in the south-east corner of the Mount, which it refers to as Solomon's Stables. "Little is known for certain of the history of the chamber itself," the guide reads. "It dates probably as far back as the construction of Solomon's Temple. According to Josephus, it was in existence and was used as a place of refuge by the Jews at the time of the conquest of Jerusalem by Titus in the year 70 AD."

Muhammed Hussein also now denies that Hevron, where the Patriarch Abraham purchased what is now the Machpelah Cave and the area around it, and Bethlehem, where the Patriach Jacob buried his wife, the Matriarch Rachel, are Jewish sites. He said that the recent Israeli decision to include them in the list of special Jewish legacy sites is an "attempt to take over the religious places and create facts on the ground... We are now in a period of war - not one with tanks and rockets, but one of religion, faith, and distorting Islamic history and tradition... This proves that Israel has no cultural roots in this land."

The asset allocation decisions were made during a period in which the Standard & Poor's 500 index - the broadest US equity index - fell 12 percent. The fact that Mr Soros - best known as the man reputed to have made $1 billion by "breaking the Bank of England" during the 1992 fiscal crisis - has decided to make such a concerted shift out of equities will send a clear message to other investors.

Gone are Soros's investments in Petrobras, Brazil's oil giant, with investments in bellwether stocks such as Wal-Mart, JP Morgan Chase and Pfizer drastically reduced, cut by 99 percent, 97 percent and 95 percentc respectively. Of those equities that do remain, the fund's holding in a gold exchange traded fund constitutes his largest investment, some 13 percent of the equity portfolio, worth $638 million.

Although neither Mr Soros or his fund typically do not explain their quarterly investment decisions, it is likely some of the money has been shifted into government bonds, as well as investing in commodities and other safe havens.

Moody's fears that the US will crash through its safety buffer by 2013 if growth falters (adverse scenario), with interest payments topping 14 percent of tax revenues. The debt-to-revenue ratio has already doubled in three years to 430 percent.

The US, UK, Germany, France, and Spain are all at risk of an "interest rate shock", either because they must roll over a cluster of short-term debt (US, France, Spain) or because deficits are so large. Countries that "fail to demonstrate the level of social cohesion required to stabilise debt" will lose their AAA rating. "Intra-generational" conflict between young and old requires careful handling. States that delay pension reform risk spiralling downwards.

Moody's said the world had changed since Europe's debt crisis. None of the large sovereign states can still assume it is credit-worthy. "The burden of proof now falls on governments," it added. Britain has the safety cushion of long debt maturities, but the structural deficit is causing debt "to grow an unsustainable rate" - the UK is clearly one of the weaker countries in the AAA peer group.

The current crisis differs starkly from the "one-off" debt spikes after the Second World War, when young economies were able to outgrow the debt burden. This time the threat lies ahead as the aging crisis drives up pension and health costs on a static tax base. "While the current stock of debt is large, it is dwarfed by the accumulation of future liabilities if policies do not change."

For example at Kensington Palace in London, where the Duke of Gloucester is keeping bee hives, the samples contained large amounts of pollen from rockrose, eucalyptus and elderberry. In contrast bees in the countryside tended to rely on fields of crops. At Nostell Priory in Yorkshire and Barrington Court in Somerset, the samples were heavily dominated by oilseed rape with little other pollen types detectable.

In the last 20 years there has been a dramatic 50 per cent decline in bee numbers in Britain. Climate change, pesticides and even a mystery disease known as 'colony collapse disorder have been blamed'. Experts also believe that intensive farming may have contributed to the decline of bees because it means there are less wild flowers in the countryside to provide the insects with a 'varied diet'.

Matthew Oates, Nature Conservation Adviser at the National Trust, said there are "precious few" pollen sources for bees in the countryside because farmland is either taken over for "monoculture" like wheat or barley or grazed for livestock. He urged farmers to allow more wild flowers on field margins and to plant seed mixes in unused areas.

Admiral Thad Allen said that an earlier successful process sealing the well from above may have wedged cement between two layers of casing, trapping leaked crude inside the void. That has forced officials to put on hold plans to seal the well from below by flushing first a heavy drilling fluid called "mud" and then cement into the damaged structure via an intercept from a second relief well.

"When we do the intercept well and commence pumping mud and cement... it will create pressure," Allen said. "We want to make sure before I give the order and direct BP to do that, that we know the implications of that pressure, and how we will deal with it."

The setback will be disappointing for weary Gulf Coast residents eager for the psychological relief of knowing a final death blow has been struck against a well that has unleashed such economic and environmental catastrophe. The Macondo well has not spilled crude since July 15, when a sealing cap was successfully closed over the leak, providing the first concrete success in efforts to contain the gushing crude.

Health officials said last month that two Tampa-area residents had died from eastern equine encephalitis, a viral disease that inflames the brain. Two additional deaths from the disease known as EEE have since been confirmed, one in the state capital of Tallahassee and one in the northwest Florida town of Sopchoppy.

The disease mostly affects unvaccinated horses but a handful of human deaths are recorded each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There is no human vaccine for the disease, which kills a third of its human victims and often leaves survivors with significant brain damage. The Florida Department of Health is also tracking two other less deadly mosquito-borne diseases, West Nile virus and dengue fever.

EEE and West Nile virus have been detected in 43 of Florida's 67 counties, while dengue cases have been confirmed in two south Florida counties, Monroe and Broward, according to the state Department of Health. The dengue virus began showing up in Florida in 2009 after an absence since its last major outbreak in 1934. At least 28 confirmed cases of domestically transmitted dengue fever have been reported in Florida this year, along with 67 foreign-acquired cases. The disease is more prevalent in Central and South America.

"The two things we try to relay are get rid of mosquitoes and avoid contact," said Blackmore, adding that August and September are peak seasons for most mosquito-borne illnesses. State health officials are urging residents to avoid contact with mosquitoes by wearing protective clothing and using insect repellent, especially products that include DEET. Homeowners are also asked to remove standing water where mosquitoes breed.

Iran will also unveil the long-range drone, Karar, he said using the nickname of revered Shiite Imam Ali. On Sunday Iran launches its annual government week which runs until August 30 and is an occasion to showcase Tehran's achievements. Vahidi said the unveiling of these weapons indicate that "sanctions have had no impact on us, but made us more experienced and self-sufficient."

Iranian officials regularly boast about the Islamic republic's military capabilities and Vahidi's announcements come at a time when local officials have been warning against any attack on the Islamic republic. Tehran's archfoes, the United States and Israel have not ruled out a military strike against Iran to stop its controversial nuclear programme.

Last week a top commander from the Revolutionary Guards said Iran will mass produce replicas of the Bladerunner 51, often described as the world's fastest boat, and equip them with weapons to be deployed in the Gulf. Also on August 8, Iran took delivery of four new mini-submarines of the home-produced Ghadir class. Weighing 120 tonnes, the "stealth" submarines are aimed at operations in shallow waters, notably in the Gulf.

Congressman King said the openness of the developers to a compromise will be the real test of their intentions."If the leaders of the mosque take up the governor on his proposal, it would show that their real intention is to bring people together, build bridges," he said. "And not just make a political statement by having a mosque at Ground Zero."

"The purpose of the [upcoming] meeting would be for the governor to discuss with the leaders of the mosque where state property is available," said Representative King. "Whether or not people from the mosque would be willing to consider that property." King added that the governor "seemed very enthused" about the anticipated discussions. For at least a week, the governor's message to the developers has been one of hopeful understanding.

Sources tell CBS 2's Kramer that Governor Paterson is concerned that Mayor Mike Bloomberg, a staunch supporter of putting the mosque at ground zero, and President Barack Obama, might be advising mosque leaders to dig in their heels and insist on the present location. "I hope that the type of cultural understanding that they're trying to promote when they build the center could be practiced right now," Paterson said.

The hike in prices has been driven by a shortage of hay because of a bad harvest following the cold winter and dry spring. The amount of hay harvested in June is down 20 per cent. Now police are on the lookout for thieves targeting more farms so they can sell the hay on when prices rise further in the winter.

Farmers, horse owners and even zoos and animal sanctuaries are concerned animals may go hungry or have to be sold on as prices rise further to 8.50 pounds per bale, especially as grain prices are also hitting a record high.

Nicola Whittaker, of NFU Mutual, said the thieves are taking the hay now because they will be able to sell it on for an even higher price later in the year.

She said it was part of a trend that has seen rural crime become much more organised and target goods like fuel, scrap metal and now hay as the price rises. "Hay rustling is the latest in a rising wave of crime across rural areas," she said. Helen Evans, of Thames Valley Police Horse Watch scheme, urged people to protect their supplies by storing hay and straw in bins or even leaving it loose rather than in bales so it is more difficult to steal.

AQAP ordered supporters in the Saudi army to "collect information on everything related to the Saudi royal family" in an effort to dethrone them, a speaker identified as Saeed al Shihri said in an Arabic-language recording posted today on a website that often carries al Qaeda statements.

The identity of the speaker could not immediately be verified. The group has accused the Saudi monarchy of helping the US to wage war against Muslims through its military campaigns in Iraq, Afghanistan and Yemen. Al Qaeda in June ordered sympathizers in the military to abduct Saudi princes, ministers and Christian residents.

The AQAP leader also called on its followers in the armed forces to attack Israel from northwestern Saudi Arabia. "Carry your arms against Israel, which is only few kilometres away from you," al-Shihri said. "Whoever among you is a pilot should seek martyrdom in the skies of Palestine, and who works in the navy should aim his weapon at the Jews there."

Saudi Arabia, holder of one-fifth of global oil reserves, stepped up its anti-terrorism fight against al Qaeda in 2004 after militants attacked an oil installation and stormed a housing complex in the Persian Gulf city of al-Khobar, killing 22 foreign workers. In March, Saudi forces detained more than 100 terror suspects, including some allegedly plotting attacks on energy installations...

"You who work as guards for tyrants, princes, ministers or complexes where Christians live, or can reach them, seek help from Allah to kill them," al-Shihri said in the recording. "Together, let's overthrow the Al Saud family."

Japan's Ministry of Finance said August 9 that China bought 1.73 trillion yen ($20.1 billion) more Japanese debt than it sold in the first half of 2010, the fastest pace of purchases in at least five years.

"Diversification should be a basic principle," Yu said in an interview, adding a "top-level Chinese central banker" told him to convey to European policy makers China's confidence in the region's economy and currency. "We didn't sell any European bonds or assets, instead we bought quite a lot."

China's position may make it harder for the greenback to rebound after falling as much as 10 percent from this year's peak in June as measured by the trade-weighted Dollar Index. The nation cut its holdings of US government debt by $100 billion, or 11 percent, through June from last year's record of $939.9 billion in July 2009, according to Treasury Department data released today.

Concern the US economy is faltering was underscored by the Federal Reserve on August 10. Chairman Ben S Bernanke said the central bank will reinvest principal payments on its mortgage holdings into Treasury notes to prevent money from being drained out of the financial system, its first expansion of measures to spur growth in more than a year. "The pace of economic recovery is likely to be more modest in the near term than had been anticipated," the Federal Open Market Committee said in a statement after meeting in Washington. "The Committee will keep constant the Federal Reserve's holdings of securities at their current level."