It will rise still further next year after MEPs controversially voted themselves a backdated pay rise and expenses hike last week. Almost all of the UK's MEPs are better-paid than their Westminster counterparts, with basic salaries of around £79,600. In addition they are able to claim hundreds of thousands of pounds in expenses without providing receipts.

The total bill includes 2.5 million pounds in office costs expenses, 2.1 million pounds in travel expenses and 2 million pounds in subsistence allowance, which can be spent on hotels, taxis and meals while staying in Brussels or Strasbourg, the cities where the parliament is jointly based.

The cost of the politicians - an average of 370,000 pounds for each MEP every year - was revealed as part of a groundbreaking "value for money" investigation which looked at how hard each MEP worked relative to the amount they claimed in expenses.

MEPs from across the European Union have consistently voted against transparency measures that would force politicians to reveal how they spend public money. Because the parliament does not publish even basic information about expenses claims, our calculations were based on details disclosed voluntarily by MEPs - sometimes because they were obliged to by their parties.

Belgium has sunk into political chaos. Following the parliamentary elections six months ago, all attempts to build a new government have failed. The country is divided into two camps that oppose each other, apparently irreconcilably: the socialists, who won the most votes in Wallonia, the French-speaking southern region of the country, and the nationalist conservatives in Flanders, the wealthier Dutch-speaking northern region.

The New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) obtained the most parliamentary seats in June's elections. Its leader Bart De Wever wants to split Belgium into two. In an interview with Spiegel that was published in Germany on Monday, De Wever described how Begium is the "sick man" of Europe and has "no future in the long run."

The interview caused a massive outcry throughout Belgium. The French-speaking daily Le Soir called it "a bomb" intended to stir up the markets for Belgian government bonds. The Flemish newspapers were more sympathetic regarding the content of the interview, but criticized its timing.

The five-notch downgrade was made as "Ireland's sovereign creditworthiness has suffered from the repeated crystallization of bank-related contingent liabilities on the government's balance sheet," said Dietmar Hornung, vice president, senior credit officer at Moody's.

The ratings agency put the country on review for downgrade in early October, saying the process would likely result in a multi-notch downgrade but that the rating would remain in investment-grade territory. On Friday, it kept its negative outlook on the country.

Ireland has been the latest country to succumb to pressures extending from the European sovereign debt crisis. The government conceded in November that it would require an international bailout package from the European Union and International Monetary Fund to help it avoid defaulting on its debt.

Moody's now rates Ireland three notches above the speculative-grade range. If the country's credit were be downgraded to "junk status," funding costs would rise further as some investors, mandated to hold only highly-rated bonds, would be forced to sell. A further downgrade could come if the country's efforts to stabilize its debt fail, or if problems arise with the long-term support efforts from the EU.

The move came a day after Moody's also placed Greece's Ba1 rating on review for downgrade. Warnings for possible downgrades for Spain and Belgium were made earlier in the week. "As we head into next year, this crisis looks set to rumble on and on, with concerns growing over euro-area governments' funding needs next year," said analysts at Daiwa Capital Markets in a note.

The downgrade news hit the euro, which had just managed to climb to a two-day high of $1.3326 before sliding back below $1.33 after Moody's announcement. The euro also fell to a fresh all-time low against the Swiss franc to 1.2720 francs.

Airports in Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands are also suffering cancellations and delays. The snow is forecast to continue in many parts of the UK, with up to 25cm expected in some areas of England, and a number of severe weather warnings are in place.

In Wales two health boards are appealing for medical staff to help out over the weekend. Members of the public with 4x4 vehicles have been asked to drive health workers in after many were stuck at home. Several roads across the country remain closed and bus services were disrupted in the south.

The Met Office warned that heavy snow showers were expected across much of Scotland, Northern Ireland, and parts of north-east England, with up to 20cm of fresh snow possible in places by the end of Sunday. Elsewhere there were warnings of widespread icy roads following Saturday's snowfall.

Last night temperatures in England, Wales and Northern Ireland averaged between minus 5C and minus 10C, whilst in Scotland they typically fell to between minus 15C and minus 20C. Hundreds of drivers were stranded overnight on the M6 motorway in Greater Manchester. Similar conditions in Germany and Italy also saw drivers stuck on icy roads, as temperatures plummeted.

But these leaks - using bold and clear language - lay out what appears to be China's growing frustration with North Korea. Although China has declined to comment on the content of the reports, it will no doubt be embarrassed by many of the revelations.

The reports are a series of documents sent between the United States and its foreign embassies. In them, China appears to be coming round to the idea that both North and South Korea might one day reunite - under the South's control. In one report China's Vice-Foreign Minister He Yafei apparently played down a visit to Pyongyang by Premier Wen Jiabao.

"We may not like them," he is reported to have told James Steinberg, deputy US secretary of state, but "they are a neighbour". There appears to be a split among China's senior leaders about how to treat North Korea.

The House of Representatives had already approved the repeal bill. President Barack Obama says he is looking forward to signing it into law. Opponents argue that the change will damage troop morale at a time of war. More than 13,000 service members have been dismissed under the "don't ask, don't tell", policy enacted under President Bill Clinton in 1993 as a compromise.

Saturday's vote was along broad party lines, with a few moderate Republicans joining the Democratic majority in favour of lifting the ban. Aubrey Sarvis, head of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, an advocacy group, said: "Until the president signs the bill, until there is certification, and until the 60-day Congressional period is over, no-one should be investigated or discharged under this discriminatory law."

Though outnumbered and outgunned, Hezbollah held off Israel's advanced armed forces in a 2006 war and fired more than 4,000 rockets into Israeli territory. The group has a domestic political base and has since bolstered an arsenal that Israel describes as a strategic threat. Tensions between Israel and Hezbollah's Iranian and Syrian backers have stoked expectations of renewed violence in Lebanon. "Israel does not know how to beat Hezbollah," said Giora Eiland, an army ex-general who served as national security adviser to former prime ministers Ariel Sharon and Ehud Olmert.

"Therefore a war waged only as Israel-versus-Hezbollah might yield better damage on Hezbollah, but Hezbollah would inflict far worse damage on the Israeli homefront than it did 4-1/2 years ago," he told Israel Radio. "Our only way of preventing the next war, and of winning if it happens anyway, is for it to be clear to everyone... that another war between us and Hezbollah will be a war between Israel and the state of Lebanon and will wreak destruction on the state of Lebanon. And as no one - including Hezbollah, the Syrians or the Iranians - is interested in this, this is the best way of creating effective deterrence."

Christine Banks, a volunteer at a Red Cross shop in New Romney, Kent, said: 'We put up a nativity scene in the window and were told to take it out. It seems we can't have anything that means Christmas. We're allowed to have some tinsel but that's it. When we send cards they have to say season's greetings or best wishes. They must not be linked directly to Christmas. When we asked we were told it is because we must not upset Moslems.'

Mrs Banks added: 'We have been instructed that we can't say anything about Christmas and we certainly can't have a Christmas tree. I think the policy is offensive to Moslems as well as to us. No reasonable person can object to Christians celebrating Christmas. But we are not supposed to show any sign of Christianity at all.'

Labour peer Lord Ahmed, one of the country's most prominent Moslem politicians, said: 'It is stupid to think Moslems would be offended. The Moslem community has been talking to Christians for the past 1,400 years. The teachings from Islam are that you should respect other faiths.' He added: 'In my business all my staff celebrate Christmas and I celebrate with them. It is absolutely not the case that Christmas could damage the Red Cross reputation for neutrality - I think their people have gone a little bit over the top.' The furore is a fresh blow to the image of what was once one of Britain's most respected charities.

British Red Cross leaders have, however, not extended the ban to their own profitable products. Items currently on sale include Christmas cards featuring angels and wise men and Advent calendars with nativity scenes. The spokesman said: 'The Red Cross is trying to be inclusive and we recognise there are lots of people who want to buy Christmas cards which they know will benefit us.' The charity's umbrella body, the Swiss-based International Red Cross, has also had politically-correct doubts about its famous symbol.

The prayer initiative, which is organized by several Catholic youth associations, will take place January 29-30. The annual event began in 2009, when faithful from some 500 cities around the world joined in a common prayer for peace. Last January, some 1,103 cities worldwide joined Benedict XVI, Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the custos of the Holy Land, and Archbishop Fouad Twal, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, to participate in the prayer for peace. Organizers say that groups from more than 2,000 cities have already confirmed participation in this year's event.

The prayer day is supported by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and responds in a special way to the call for prayer from the recent Special Assembly for the Middle East of the Synod of Bishops. "The Church has always made an effort to spread the message of peace," Cardinal Turkson said in his message. "Today, the very important topic of peace and the search for it are more timely than ever."

He then quoted Benedict XVI's appeal at the close of the recent synod for the Middle East: "The cry of the poor and the oppressed finds an immediate echo in God, who wishes to intervene to open a way out, to restore a future of liberty, an horizon of hope." The Third International Day of Intercession for Peace in the Holy Land, Cardinal Turkson noted, "gathers different associations, brothers and sisters of every region, and solicits them to make their voice heard in the whole world saying: We want peace, reconciliation and unity, beginning in Jerusalem!"

The 24 hours of continuous prayer will begin in conjunction with the 5th Extraordinary Prayer of All Churches for Reconciliation, Unity and Peace Beginning in and Proceeding From Jerusalem, as well as the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in Jerusalem.

With its growing arms export and military cooperation, Germany has already achieved prominence with the Arabian Peninsula's dictatorships. German companies are intensifying their cooperation with the states and the sovereign wealth funds of the Arabian autocracies at the Gulf. The most recent example: The Qatar emirate bought a stake in Germany's largest construction company, Hochtief AG, complicating a takeover bid from its Spanish competitor, ACS.

The cooperation with the dictatorships at the Persian Gulf is not only advantageous economically; it is also particularly aimed at weakening Iran. The overthrow of the government in Iraq opened the way for Iran to achieve preeminence in the world's most important resource region. Berlin would like to "enhance its presence" at the Persian Gulf, declared Christian Schmidt, Parliamentary State Secretary in the German Defense Ministry. A few days ago, Schmidt attended this years "Manama Dialogue", an annual conference in Bahrain, organized by the London based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) since 2004, which focuses on military and security policy issues of the Middle East.

"Even though "our footprint is not quite as big and important compared to other countries," according to Schmidt, Germany "traditionally has a good name" on the Arabian Peninsula: "Many positive features" are ascribed to Germany. At the conference, the German State Secretary held informal talks on bilateral military cooperation also with representatives of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. "This region will be the center of change in the next 30 years," prophesized Schmidt. "There are many good reasons for closely cooperating with that region."

Chancellor Angela Merkel pledged that no euro member would be "left on their own", but dug in her heels against the creation of eurobonds and demands to boost the EU's 440 billion euros (372 billion pounds) bail-out fund. "We must not make the mistake of thinking that collectivising risk is the answer," she told a stormy session of the Bundestag.

The defiant stand came as Moody's issued a downgrade warning on Spain owing to "high refinancing needs in 2011" and the risk of further bank bail-outs. It said central and regional governments must finance 200 billion euros next year. Spanish lenders have to roll over a further 90 billion euros. "These needs are now rendered more challenging by the fragile confidence of international capital markets. Foreign investors have typically funded around 5 per cent of Spain's funding requirements. They may be less willing to do so in the immediate future given recent speculation about the treatment of bondholders should Spain be pushed to seek support from the EU/IMF," it said.

In continued tension across the eurozone periphery, rioters in Athens set fire to cars and beat a former minister with clubs outside the parliament building. The violence follows ugly scenes in Rome the day before when protests over education cuts erupted into street battles, leaving 100 injured in Italy's worst riots for 30 years. One police officer was nearly dragged to his death. Italy's press said urban guerrillas had infiltrated the protest, prompting fears of a return to the 1970s terrorism of Left and Right.

Query: Why are we importing a million-plus workers a year when 17 million Americans can't find work? Whose country is this? Why do we not declare a moratorium on all immigration, until our unemployment rate falls to 6 or 5 percent? Charity begins at home. Ought we not take care of our own jobless first before we invite in strangers to take their jobs? According to the Pew Hispanic Center, each year between 300,000 and 400,000 "anchor babies" are born to illegal aliens. These newborns are entitled to citizenship, free health care and education, welfare and food stamps.

Their parents - almost all are poor or working-class - rarely pay any state or federal income tax. How long can we keep granting citizenship and full social welfare benefits to the children of people who break our laws and break into our country or overstay their visas? How long can we keep bringing in workers to take jobs when our unemployment rate hovers around 10 percent? Again, according to the Pew Center, the number of anchor babies here now is about 4 million. Add to that 3 million to 4 million born each decade, and it will not be long before Colorado, Nevada, Arizona and Texas resemble California, which is on the brink of default.

Legal scholar William Quirk describes a new phenomenon in the invasion of America: "maternity tourism." Pregnant Asian women pay $15,000 to agents to ensure they are in the United States when their child is born so that they can return home secure in the knowledge he or she will be a US citizen with the right to a US-taxpayer subsidized education in college.

Democratic spokeswoman Harrell Kirstien accused Republican State Representative David Bates of attempting to impose a "Bible belt social agenda" after video surfaced of Bates saying "the only hope for America" is to "turn from our wicked ways and ask god to heal our land" and "the problem we have here in this country and in all of our states is that we no longer fear god" at a New England Solemn Assembly in Plymouth Massachusetts.

Now Kevin Smith, head of Cornerstone Policy Research, is calling on the Democratic Party to apologize for the attack. "The NHDP's mischaracterization of Representative Bates' faith are not only rooted in religious bigotry, but represents the height of hypocrisy for a party that supposedly prides itself in being tolerant of other's beliefs," Smith said. " The NHDP owes Representative Bates and the hundreds of thousands of Christians in this state an apology for his truly offensive and ignorant remarks."

"No elected official, whether Republican or Democrat, should have to endure such bigoted remarks from a political party simply because they express their religious faith in a public forum," continued Smith. "Mr Kirstein ought to re-read the first amendment to the US Constitution and realize all people are guaranteed the freedom of religion, whether he agrees with their beliefs or not."

Asked how the decline in the US auto industry has affected the local economy, Tammy Maynard, a waitress here since 1988, waved a hand around at the empty tables and said: "You're looking at it, sugar." Regulars and retirees keep the restaurant in business, while workers at the nearby auto supplier plant buy steak at the beginning of the month when they get paid - if they come at all - and then dine on specials over the next four weeks. "I just keep praying every day that we've hit the bottom and that things are going to get better," Maynard said, "because it doesn't seem like it could get any worse."

The US government may have bailed out General Motors, the country's largest automaker, but it hasn't begun to tackle the broader problems that led to the city's implosion. Doing so, experts say, would require the kind of political will that has not been in great evidence in the country recently. To the few remaining auto workers left in a city half the size it was in 1960, the America they knew growing up is long gone and things can only get worse. "We have made concession after concession on wages and benefits and there is no end in sight," said Dean Parm, a worker and union committeeman at Nexteer Automotive, whose hourly wages have been cut to around $17 an hour from $28. "It feels like we're dinosaurs. And we're on the verge of extinction."

This is the point of the story where many Americans typically glaze over because they see Michigan as a long-standing financial basket case of a state thanks to the shrinking US auto industry. But the problem is that the broad decline of the manufacturing sector that has been underway in this country for decades now may threaten not just the long-term health of the economy but also the living standards of all but the wealthiest Americans.

"The whole country is now seeing the story that Michigan has been living with for a long time," said Diane Swonk, chief economist at Mesirow Financial. "We have kicked the can so far down the road that now all we have is a cliff to fall off. The recession merely revealed a reality that has been with us for a long time. We faced a growing gap in education and skills that we tried to fill with debt and credit, which gave us the illusion of growth."

"Over the past 20 years we have simply borrowed more money in order to prosper," said Bill Gross, co-chief investment officer of the world's biggest bond fund manager PIMCO. "We forgot that the more stable and safe way to go is to make things. Now we're paying the price."

The roll-call of injuries, the cost of the damage inflicted on central London's infrastructure - all prompted swift condemnation from the home secretary and the National Union of Students alike. But if drawing attention to their cause was the protesters' aim, the wreckage proved effective. Every newspaper front page and TV bulletin used images of the chaos to illustrate the anger unleashed among students by the government's plans.

Putting aside the rights and wrongs of this particular case, the British public insist overwhelmingly that they are repulsed by rioting. According to a recent poll by YouGov (PDF), 75% of respondents agreed there were "no instances in which violent protest is acceptable in a democracy" - although some 19% believed there were circumstances in which it could be justified. But few would approve of hurling a fire extinguisher from the roof of a tall building.

One former rioter who downplays their significance, however, is Mail on Sunday columnist Peter Hitchens. Now best known for his trenchant conservative views, in 1968 Hitchens earned his political spurs as a left-wing radical at an anti-Vietnam war demonstration by hurling mud at the police. Today, however, he insists that in a free country, the authorities have a duty not to be swayed by the actions of the mob.

"It's tremendously exhilarating," he admits. "Riots are fun. The self-importance, the adrenaline rush of slight, but not serious, danger. But it can't be justified in free countries where there are legitimate means of expression. Any government that has any fortitude at all has to show it's not influenced by that stuff." Everyone will draw their own conclusions about the justice, or otherwise, of the merits of individual protests. The only certainty is that the threat of disorder will persist as long as it captures our collective attention.