People like Brian Coulton aren't exactly the most popular figures in the financial industry these days. Politicians, in particular, aren't particularly keen on him and his ilk. Coulton, the European chief analyst for the ratings agency Fitch, was largely responsible for the downgrading of Spain's credit rating late last month. It was a move that once again sent stocks tumbling in New York and the euro down against the dollar.

Coulton doesn't accept any of the blame. "We performed our assessment, and that's it," he said tersely. The reason for the downgrade, he added, is concern that the austerity program announced by Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero on the previous Thursday would throttle economic growth. He declined to comment further.

In the midst of the euro crisis, the highly indebted countries are embroiled in a grotesque dilemma. The rating agencies will punish them if they don't get their gigantic mountains of debt under control. But the same agencies will also downgrade them if the governments impose austerity programs to reduce their debts.

The effect means that governments have to pay more to borrow money. Spain, for example, will be facing much higher interest rates now when it seeks to refinance 16 billion euros worth of bonds which mature in July. The higher interest rates, in turn, makes borrowing riskier and makes the country more vulnerable to further downgrades, which in turn leads to even higher yields - the beginning of a vicious cycle.

The scientists are now referring to the site as "Ground Zero." They have spotted oddly shaped "pancakes of oil" floating on the surface there - Samantha Joye, a professor of marine sciences at the University of Georgia reports - as well as "bizarre orange and black stringers, as deep in the water column as you could see."

The discoveries have added a new dimension to the fight to contain the oil spill. While thousands of workers and volunteers are currently defending the coastlines of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida against the reddish-brown scourge, what could be a far greater ecological catastrophe is taking shape out in the ocean.

The oil is suspended in the water in tiny, barely visible droplets, which the scientists call "rosebuds." The emulsion develops directly at the well head, deep beneath the surface, says Griffitt. When the hot oil shoots out of the ocean floor and comes into contact with very cold water under high pressure, methane gas is released, which then atomizes the oil.

James Cowan, an oceanographer at Louisiana State University, recently got a first-hand look at the underwater oil spill when he lowered a robot with an attached camera to a depth of 150 meters, about 120 kilometers west of the accident site. "First we saw droplets of oil, but then we couldn't see anything at all," Cowan reports. The underwater oil soup was so thick that it clogged the camera lens and the robot's headlights.

Gold also hit an intraday record, surging to $1,252.10. In euro terms, the metal also hit a record of 1,042.94 euros ($1,242.87) in the London market, a gain of 2.5%. The metal has surged over worries about Europe's debt woes and the slumping value of the euro. Investors in metals and currency markets have been on alert for any sign that the world's central banks, and China in particular, are shifting reserves out of the euro and into gold.

Though central banks typically are coy about investment decisions, there have been signs lately that they might be shifting out of euros and into gold. Russia's central bank, one of the world's largest holders of foreign-currency reserves, trimmed its currency reserves by $6.6 billion in May, according to data on the bank's website, but increased its gold reserves by $1.8 billion.

"You won't see major players be blatant about increasing their gold exposure and reducing their euro exposure, but it is a trend we've been witnessing in the past few months," said Kathy Lien, director of currency research at GFT Forex in New York. "For the most part, whether they openly admit it or not, central banks are increasingly worried about their exposure to euros."

While the leak is decidedly smaller than the Deepwater Horizon spill, a 10-mile-long slick emanating from the Ocean Saratoga is visible from space in multiple images gathered by Skytruth.org, which monitors environmental problems using satellites. Federal officials did not immediately respond when asked about the size of the leak, how long it had been flowing, or whether it was possible to plug it. The rig was damaged during Hurricane Ivan in 2004, and Taylor Energy has been working to fix it since then.

Skytruth first reported the leak on its website on May 15. Federal officials mentioned it in the May 1 trajectory map for the Deepwater Horizon spill, stating that oil from the Ocean Saratoga spill might also be washing ashore in Louisiana. Officials at the National Response Center said that the spill had been reported, but would not say when it began. The US Coast Guard did not immediately respond to e-mails seeking comment.

"We accidentally discovered this spill looking at the Deepwater Horizon images. The question is, what would we see if we were systematically looking at the offshore industry?" said John Amos with Skytruth.org. "Is this an aberration, or are things like this going on all the time?

"The president's economic experts say a 1 percent increase in GDP can create almost 1 million jobs, and that 1 percent is what experts think we are losing because of the debt's massive drag on our economy," said Republican Representative Dave Camp, who publicized the report.

He was referring to recent testimony by University of Maryland Professor Carmen Reinhart to the bipartisan fiscal commission, which was created by President Barack Obama to recommend ways to reduce the deficit, which said debt topping 90 percent of GDP could slow economic growth.

The US debt has grown rapidly with the economic downturn and government spending for the Wall Street bailout, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the economic stimulus. The rising debt is contributing to voter unrest ahead of the November congressional elections in which Republicans hope to regain control of Congress.

The total US debt includes obligations to the Social Security retirement program and other government trust funds. The amount of debt held by investors, which include China and other countries as well as individuals and pension funds, will rise to an estimated $9.1 trillion this year from $7.5 trillion last year.

"Just 50 years ago, in the 1950s, America was a great place," writes author William Lind in the issue, titled 'STEALTH ATTACK.' "It was safe. It was decent. Children got good educations in the public schools. Even blue-collar fathers brought home middle-class incomes, so moms could stay home with the kids. Television shows reflected sound, traditional values. Where did it all go? How did that America become the sleazy, decadent place we live in today - so different that those who grew up prior to the '60s feel like it's a foreign country? Did it just 'happen'?"

"It didn't just 'happen,'" Lind explains. "In fact, a deliberate agenda was followed to steal our culture and leave a new and very different one in its place. The story of how and why is one of the most important parts of our nation's history - and it is a story almost no one knows. The people behind it wanted it that way."

Indeed, today in the age of Obama, millions of Americans are "waking up" to the stealth infiltration and subversion of their beloved country and are appalled at what they see: Not only is their government in the hands of the left, but virtually all of our nation's major institutions - from the public education system to our colleges and universities, from the news media to the entertainment industry, from the unions to our major philanthropic foundations, even many of our churches - have also been captivated by this same destructive ideology.

"Here's the hard truth," said Whistleblower Editor David Kupelian. "The same 'ism' we fought to contain overseas - whether you call it Marxism, socialism, or progressivism - has been slowly infiltrating and subverting America for decades. The final piece of the puzzle - the federal government - fell into leftists' hands like a ripe piece of fruit in November 2008.

In the first major test of opinion in the City since the election, 25 leading economists said the eurozone in its current form would not survive beyond the end of the British coalition parliament in five years' time. Andrew Lilico, chief economist of the Policy Exchange think-tank, said there was 'nearly zero chance' of the euro surviving.

Douglas McWilliams, of the Centre for Economics and Business Research, said the euro 'may not even survive the next week'.

David Blanchflower, a former Bank of England policymaker, added: 'The political implications (of euro disintegration) are likely to be far-reaching - Germany are opposed to paying for others and may well quit.'

In the survey by the Sunday Telegraph, Tim Congdon of International Monetary Research, said: 'The eurozone will lose three or four members - Greece, Portugal, maybe Ireland - and could break up altogether because of the growing friction between France and Germany.'

The currency started the week by dropping to another new low against the dollar - falling below $1.19 for the first time since March 2006. In London, the FTSE 100 Index was down more than 1.6 per cent in early trade because of fears Europe's debt problems could spread. Markets continued to come under pressure after Friday's disappointing US job figures, which sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average on Wall Street down by 3 per cent .

The number of Muslim prisoners has risen dramatically since the mid-1990s - from 2,513 in 1994, or 5 per cent of the population, to 9,795 in 2008, or 11 per cent. Staff at top-security prisons and youth jails have raised concerns about the intimidation of non-Muslims and possible forced conversions. Dame Anne's report, Muslim Prisoners' Experiences, published today, says that, although several high-profile terrorists have been jailed recently, fewer than 1 in 100 Muslim inmates have been convicted of terrorism.

She says that prison staff are suspicious about those practising or converting to the faith and warns that treating Muslim inmates as potential or actual extremists risks radicalising them. The report says: "Many Muslim prisoners stressed the positive and rehabilitative role that Islam played in their lives, and the calm that religious observance could induce in a stressed prison environment. This was in marked contrast to the suspicion that religious observance, and particularly conversion or reversion, tended to produce among staff."

All prisons offer a halal menu, which some inmates see as better than the usual choices. Muslims are excused from work and education while attending Friday prayers. Some converts, who are known as "convenience Muslims", admitted that they had changed faith because they got more time out of the cells to go to Friday prayers. One quoted in the report said: "Food good too, initially this is what converted me."

As at least two international brokerages cut their recommendations on BP to "neutral", citing spiralling costs from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and a potential cut to the dividend, Gazprom piled on the pressure by ending hopes that it might buy Kovytka from TNK-BP for up to $1 billion.

Speaking in Moscow, Viktor Timoshilov, the Gazprom executive responsible for Siberian developments, claimed that Russia's gas export monopoly had no need for access to Kovytka's resources because it had ample supplies elsewhere. Discovered in 1987, the Kovytka field in Irkutsk contains an estimated two trillion cubic metres of gas and has been earmarked as a key source of energy supplies for China. Since the mid-1990s it has been majority-owned by TNK-BP, which started limited development of the field in 2001.

However, in the interim Moscow identified Kovytka as a strategic field that could be developed only by a company with majority Russian ownership. As the Kremlin has increasingly flexed its muscles over the country's resources, state officials have repeatedly threatened to strip TNK-BP of its licence to develop Kovytka.

In 2007, TNK-BP struck a deal to sell the field to Gazprom for nearly $1 billion. But the talks subsequently ground to a halt. Decreased demand amid the global economic downturn plus a glut of gas supplies have undermined the rationale for developing new gas projects.

"Gold outperformed silver by 46 per cent over the three years to May 31 2010 and silver, given the long-term correlation between the two metals, is due a catch-up," the company said. "As gold becomes ever more expensive, investors will turn to silver as an alternative precious metal."

Rises in the price of gold and silver did not represent bubbles while confidence in Western currencies continued to deteriorate, the company said. "The euro is currently under pressure because of the debt crisis and sterling is next in line, before attention will finally turn to the US dollar. Western currencies will continue to be derated versus the currencies of non-indebted countries such as China and Brazil."

Mr Charlesworth said silver, which is trading at around $18-$19 an ounce, had an additional attribute over gold in that it is continually consumed for industrial purposes. He said: "Silver has lots of practical applications and is widely used for example in plasma screens, mobile phones and coins. I am more bullish on silver than gold in that when it moves it shifts very quickly and it is due a catch-up with gold."

He said gold, now trading at around $1,225 per ounce, was set to go much higher, "quite possibly in excess of $5,000", although the price was impossible to predict for certain. "The gold market really does have the bit between its teeth at the moment but a pullback in prices would only be a buying opportunity. It won't be until gold is going up by $150 a day that the bubble will burst," he said.

The latest challenge to Israel's hold over the enclave comes just days after its naval commandos shot dead nine pro-Palestinian activists on a Turkish vessel that attempted to run the blockade last week. Iran's intervention added an additional and unwelcome complication for Israel.

A senior Iranian Red Crescent official insisted that the planned mission was purely peaceful and humanitarian in its goals. "One ship will carry donations made by the people (of Iran) and the other will carry relief workers," Abdolrauf Adibzadeh said. Yet there seems to be little doubt that the Iranian government is the real driving force behind the mission.

Although it is a member of the international Red Cross movement, the Iranian Red Crescent is widely viewed as a tool of the regime and even Mr Adibzadeh conceded that the decision to sail was taken in conjunction with the Iranian foreign ministry. Over the weekend, Iran even suggested that its elite Revolutionary Guards force could escort aid flotillas to Gaza.

Iran's sudden intervention appeared to reflect growing concerns that it is being eclipsed by Turkey as the Middle East's principal opponent of Israeli policies towards Gaza. "The Turks are trying to rain on their parade," said Meir Javedanfar, an Israeli analyst of Iranian origin, adding that many in Gaza would prefer Turkey as their champion because it commands greater international respect and is dominated by fellow Sunnis.

Richard Fisher, head of NASA's Heliophysics Division, explains what it's all about:

"The sun is waking up from a deep slumber, and in the next few years we expect to see much higher levels of solar activity. At the same time, our technological society has developed an unprecedented sensitivity to solar storms. The intersection of these two issues is what we're getting together to discuss."

The National Academy of Sciences framed the problem two years ago in a landmark report entitled "Severe Space Weather Events - Societal and Economic Impacts." It noted how people of the 21st-century rely on high-tech systems for the basics of daily life. Smart power grids, GPS navigation, air travel, financial services and emergency radio communications can all be knocked out by intense solar activity. A century-class solar storm, the Academy warned, could cause twenty times more economic damage than Hurricane Katrina.

Much of the damage can be mitigated if managers know a storm is coming. Putting satellites in 'safe mode' and disconnecting transformers can protect these assets from damaging electrical surges. Preventative action, however, requires accurate forecasting - a job that has been assigned to NOAA.

"Space weather forecasting is still in its infancy, but we're making rapid progress," says Thomas Bogdan, director of NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, Colorado.

Bogdan sees the collaboration between NASA and NOAA as key. "NASA's fleet of heliophysics research spacecraft provides us with up-to-the-minute information about what's happening on the sun. They are an important complement to our own GOES and POES satellites, which focus more on the near-Earth environment. I believe we're on the threshold of a new era in which space weather can be as influential in our daily lives as ordinary terrestrial weather." Fisher concludes. "We take this very seriously indeed."

A police source said the fox apparently entered the house through an open ground-floor door before attacking the twins in an upstairs room. Both girls suffered arm injuries and one is thought to have facial injuries.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "Officers and the London Ambulance Service attended and found two nine-month-old girls with injuries. Both babies were taken to an east London hospital where their condition is described as serious but stable."

In 2002, mother Sue Eastwood reported that her baby boy, Louis, was left injured after a fox crept into their house in Kent while she slept. The fourteen-week-old suffered bite marks on his head after the animal darted into the sitting room of the house in Dartford. His parents say the fox tried to drag the baby out before Louis' father Peter chased it away. Trevor Williams, director of the Fox Project based in nearby Tunbridge, said this was the first case of its kind that he had heard of.

Original story - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2078419.stm

Mr Hague said he would be urging Europe to act more decisively in international affairs, backing further sanctions against Iran over its nuclear policy and wanting firm action in the Balkans where old animosities, particularly in Bosnia, threaten to re-surface. BBC Europe editor Gavin Hewitt says that in what some may regard as a strange twist, the foreign secretary is urging the European Union not to lose confidence as it battles with the crisis that threatens the euro.

But the UK will not contribute to any bailing out of the eurozone and will not agree to measures that co-ordinate tax and spending policies. Mr Hague's tour takes in Paris, Rome, Berlin and Warsaw.

Several people were taken to hospitals as the storm left an eight-mile (13km) path of destruction, hitting Lake Township particularly hard. The extreme weather also affected parts of Illinois and Michigan. The high school in Lake Township was among the hardest-hit buildings.

Some buses were thrown across the school car park, Superintendent Jim Witt said. Lake Township Police Chief Mark Hummer described the affected area as "like a war zone". He said a child was among the victims.

Mr Hummer said later that the authorities had finished searching damaged buildings and he was not aware of anyone being reported missing, but fields and woods were still being searched.