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."

Development aid to Africa is a blessing for all those directly involved - both on the giving end and on the receiving end. Functionaries on the donor side, at least those abroad, earn good money. Many of those on the receiving end, for their part, know how to organize things in such a way that their own personal interests don't get short shrift.

There is no reason for these two groups to be interested in changing the status quo. Yet even so, some within their ranks are starting to suggest the situation as it stands cannot continue. The development aid of the past 50 years, they say, is hardly justifiable given the disappointing results. Even individual donors, who know little about how development aid works in practice, increasingly sense that something might be amiss.

They're right. The aid has failed to a large extent. We have taken on too much responsibility for solving African problems. We have essentially educated them to, when problems arise, call for foreign aid first rather than trying to find solutions themselves. This attitude has become deeply rooted in Africa. These perpetual gifts have made partners into beggars, ones who no longer value the things they have been given and consequently have not maintained them well. Apart from a few exceptions, emergency aid being one example, free aid was and remains fundamentally wrong.

The man with the gray beard and the piercing eyes grabs a bottle of mineral water and fills a metal cup to the brim. "There you go," he says, handing the container over to a sweating farmer in muddy clothing. "Drink, my brother, drink," he says. "May Allah protect you!" The young man gulps down the water as the older man hands a cup to the next person standing in line. Hundreds of people have lined up here for nothing more than a single cup of clean drinking water.

That, however, is also the extent of the aid provided by the extremists in Pakistan's flood areas - a table in a tent and a banner on the fabric wall with the words "God is great" written in Arabic. Beneath stand a few cardboard boxes filled with water bottles. "I know it is little," says Rahim Ullah, who is distributing water in Charsadda in northwestern Pakistan. "But it is more than others are doing for the people here."

Rahim Ullah is a Pashtun from the northwestern Swat Valley, where the Taliban ruled until a Pakistani military offensive in early 2009. He admits that he is "very close" to the Islamists. When asked if he is an extremist himself, he answers with a counter-question: "At what point does a person become a Talib?"

"I have visited the scenes of many natural disasters around the world, but nothing like this," says UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who visited Pakistan on Sunday to assess the damage. "The scale is so large: so many people, in so many places, in so much need." Describing the floods as "unprecedented," he said they "demand unprecedented assistance."

The Pakistani government, at least so far, has failed miserably in its response to the disaster. Around 60,000 soldiers are attempting to provide relief across the country. But many more soldiers remain stationed on the border shared with the country's archenemy, India, while 140,000 soldiers are still occupied with the war on terror. The West, on the other hand, is concerned that its ally in the battle against terrorism, which has been made unstable through extremist attacks, could be toppled once and for all.

But several companies making contact lenses in Asia claim to have achieved the same wide eyed look. The product, known as 'circle lenses', covers part of the white area in the eyes to make the pupil look larger. The lenses are illegal to sell in the US because they haven't been approved by federal health officials, but they can bought online from foreign websites.

Opticians are worried that the lack of quality control will lead to problems like eye infections, damage to vision, and even loss of vision. Dr Assumpta Madu, from the Montefiore Medical Centre in New York, said: "There literally is potential for somebody to lose their vision within 24 hours from an infection." The Circle Lenses are available to correct poor eyesight or just as a decorative accessory. But doctors are emphasising that contact lenses should only be purchased after an optician has approved a prescription.

A YouTube video on how to get the Bad Romance look has had more than 11 million hits. Chantal George, 19, from Pennsylvania, has been wearing them for almost two years. "As of now, I have 15 pairs", she said. "It's like wearing a new shade of make-up, or a new outfit. I feel like I'm popping in terms of my look for the day." Chantal told Newsbeat she's not worried about wearing them and will continue recommending them to friends. "I say these are like any other contact lenses. They need to have care taken of them, they need not to be worn too often or for too long. And they're just coloured lenses - just not made in the United States."

Western powers say Iran is trying to build a nuclear weapon. Iran denies this and says its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes. The BBC's John Leyne reports from Cairo that the plan is a gesture of defiance to those outside Iran who fear that the new plants could be used to make nuclear weapons. The Islamic republic is already enriching uranium at a plant in Natanz in central Iran, and has been building a second enrichment site near Qom, further to the north.

Iran says it needs the plants to supply fuel for a new generation of up to 20 nuclear reactors, the BBC's Jon Leyne says. However, the only reactor under construction, at Bushehr, is being supplied with fuel by Russia. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad originally announced plans to build the 10 new plants in late 2009, days after the UN nuclear watchdog rebuked Iran for covering up the uranium enrichment plant it was building near Qom.

The report contains no dramatic new data but confirms US concerns about the rapid growth of China's military might. According to the Pentagon report, China has been upgrading its land-based missiles, expanding its submarine force and modernising nuclear forces. It says China has 1,150 short-range ballistic missiles and an unknown number of medium-range missiles. The billions of dollars in expenditure has been conducted largely out of the public eye, the report alleges.

"The limited transparency in China's military and security affairs enhances uncertainty and increases the potential for misunderstanding and miscalculation," it says. Recent commentaries from the Chinese military establishment have complained about large-scale military exercises held by the US and South Korea. They have spoken of an alleged policy of US "encirclement" that threatens China's core interests.

China has also criticised what it sees as unwarranted interference by the US in one of those core interests, China's claim to much of the South China Sea. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently told a regional summit in Vietnam that it supported non-Chinese claimants to the sea. The US also recently held a week of visits and training exercises with Vietnam. The US is embarking on a new round of exercises with South Korea which it describes as purely defensive.

Military-to-military contacts between the US and China have been suspended and China refused to meet US Defence Secretary Robert Gates.

Mr Obama expressed his support for the mosque, which will replace a building damaged by the attacks, at a White House meal celebrating Ramadan. In his speech on Friday, Mr Obama said: 'Let me be clear: As a citizen and as President I believe that Muslims have the same right to practise their religion as everyone else in this country.

'That includes the right to build a place of worship and a community centre on private property in Lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances. This is America, and our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakable.' But the next day he insisted he had not been commenting on the 'wisdom' of placing a mosque in such a symbolic place.

Democratic Senate candidate Jeff Greene of Florida said: 'President Obama has this all wrong and I strongly oppose his support for building a mosque near Ground Zero especially since Islamic terrorists have bragged and celebrated destroying the Twin Towers and killing nearly 3,000 Americans. Freedom of religion might provide the right to build the mosque in the shadow of Ground Zero, but COMMON SENSE and respect for those who lost their lives and loved ones gives sensible reason to build the mosque someplace else.'

"The first time I saw it, my mouth hit the floor," Emily's mother, Kristin Cooper, said of the list, which also included perennials like glue sticks, scissors and crayons. Schools across the country are beginning the new school year with shrinking budgets and outsize demands for basic supplies. And while many parents are wincing at picking up the bill, retailers are rushing to cash in by expanding the back-to-school category like never before.

Now some back-to-school aisles are almost becoming janitorial-supply destinations as multipacks of paper towels, cleaning spray and hand sanitizer are crammed alongside pens, notepads and backpacks. On the list for pre-kindergartners at McClendon Elementary in Nevada, Texas: a package of cotton balls, two containers of facial tissue, rolls of paper towels, sheaves of manila and construction paper, and a package of paper sandwich bags.

State and local school financing, which make up almost all of public schools' money, is falling because of budget-balancing efforts and lower property- and sales-tax revenue. "Some of the things that have been historically provided by schools, we're not able to provide at this point," said Barbara A Chester, president of the National Association of Elementary School Principals.

The modern American nuclear (two reactors) aircraft carrier is nearly 1,100 feet long, displaces nearly 100,000 tons but is fast (over 30 knots) and maneuverable. It carries more than 6,000 service personnel and more than 80 aircraft. Until now, the carrier has been virtually invincible. Short of a nuclear hit, the American Supercarrier could not be sunk - until now.

The Chinese have built, tested and are on schedule to deploy next year a missile designed to kill an American carrier. The Dong Feng 21D, according to published reports based on Chinese sources, could penetrate the carrier's existing antimissile defenses from 900 miles away with a nonnuclear precision warhead. A version of this missile was seen publicly for the first time in a Chinese military parade last year.

American defense analysts acknowledge that this missile could be a game-changer, immediately affecting American naval operations within 1,000 miles of the Chinese coast.

We have the capability to knock down land and sea based missiles with airborne, sea-launched or land-based laser technology. After the successful February 2010 test, no further tests were scheduled or conducted by the administration. Obama's proposed 2011 federal budget eliminates all funding for laser-based antimissile weapons systems.

Unless Congress acts to restore funding, the United States mainland, our ships at sea and Europe will have no defense to missile threats from the Chinese, the Iranians and the North Koreans. Obama is engaged in unilateral disarmament. Aboard the USS George Washington, more than 6,000 brave men and women are left defenseless.

Once the fuel rods are loaded, Bolton told Fox News on Friday afternoon, "it makes it essentially immune from attack by Israel. Because once the rods are in the reactor an attack on the reactor risks spreading radiation in the air, and perhaps into the water of the Persian Gulf." Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin declared in March that Russia would start the Bushehr reactor this summer. But the announcement from a spokesman for Russia's state atomic agency to Reuters Friday sent international diplomats scrambling to head off a crisis.

The story immediately became front-page news in Israel, which has laid precise plans to carry out an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities while going along with President Obama's plans to use international sanctions and diplomatic persuasion to convince Iran's clerics not to go nuclear. Bolton made it clear that it is widely assumed that any Israeli attack on the Bushehr reactor must take place before the reactor is loaded with fuel rods.

"If they're going to do it that's the window that they have," Bolton declared. "Otherwise as I said before, once the rods are in the reactor, if you attack the reactor you're going to open it up and radiation will escape at least into the atmosphere and possibly into the waters of the Persian Gulf. So most people think that neither Israel nor the United States, come to that, would attack the reactor after it's been fueled."

Bolton cited the 1981 Israeli attack on Saddam Hussein's Osirak reactor outside Baghdad and the September 2007 Israeli attack on a North Korean reactor being built in Syria. Both of those strikes came before fuel rods were loaded into those reactors. "So if it's going to happen in Bushehr it has to happen before the fuel rods go in," Bolton said.

The development comes after it emerged that three animals descended from cloned cows have found their way into the food chain in Britain, with dozens more living on farms across the country. All were descended from embryos of a cloned 'supercalf ' that was created in the United States, where official regulators have said that cloned meat and milk is as safe as normal produce.

American scientists are far ahead of Britain on animal cloning and are replicating exceptional animals as breeding stock with the aim of improving the quality of beef, dairy and pig herds. They use a range of techniques to make this assessment including productivity, longevity or meat quality, which cannot be done until the animal has been slaughtered.

The 'resurrection' technique is being carried out by leading animal cloning company J R Simplot. Brady Hicks of the Idaho-based firm said: 'the animals are hanging on a rail ready to go to the meat counter. We identify carcasses that have certain characteristics that we want, but it's too late to reproduce the genetics of the animal. But through cloning we can resurrect that animal.'