Assets of Asia (ex-Japan) funds are seen rising 70 percent over the next two years, outpacing the 50 percent growth in global assets, according to industry estimates. "Asia, and Singapore in particular, could definitely benefit from the stupid regulatory environment in Europe," said Lionel Martellini, director of France's EDHEC Risk and Asset Management Research Center.

Scrutiny of hedge funds has heightened in Europe as politicians in Germany and France blamed the industry for causing the financial crisis - though the crisis was caused more by regulated banks in the United States, Martellini said. The G20 nations want greater supervision of hedge funds, with the European Union debating more contentious rules that could make it harder to offer non-EU funds to European investors. London has objected to the proposed EU rules.

Tim Rainsford, managing director Asia Pacific at hedge fund manager Man Investments, which manages $39 billion globally, said the increasing focus on emerging markets was also playing a key role in encouraging hedge funds to move to Asia. "Certainly regulation always has some influence on where hedge funds choose to start or establish themselves. But I actually think that outside of their regulatory environment, much more importantly, is that the hedge funds always have done and will continue to follow very closely the flow of global capital."

Recall that last Friday the president refused to take any questions after delivering his angry statement in the Rose Garden on the oil spill. And he has not held a prime-time White House news conference in many months, despite much pleading from pundits and members of the media. So after he signed the bill, and as the press "wranglers" began aggressively herding us out of the room, I asked if he still has confidence in BP.

He ignored the question so I tried this: "In the interest of press freedom, would you take a couple questions on BP?" That did elicit a smile, and he told me I was free to ask questions. Someone else shouted, "Will you answer them?" He said he's not holding a press conference today as we were escorted out the door.

The announcement comes days after Pope Benedict, on a visit to Portugal, told pilgrims they should oppose the law. Portugal's Constitutional Court validated the bill last month. In a televised address, Mr Silva said he regretted that political parties had failed to reach a compromise on the issue. He said vetoing the bill would merely return it to parliament where his decision would be overturned, at a time when MPs needed to focus on the economic crisis facing the country.

"I feel I should not contribute to a pointless extension of this debate, which would only serve to deepen the divisions," he said. The bill had received parliamentary approval with the support of the governing Socialist Party and other parties further to the left. During a heated debate in January, Prime Minister Jose Socrates said the law would put right an injustice that caused unnecessary pain. But parliament rejected proposals to allow homosexual couples to adopt.

Many other countries have introduced civil partnerships, which give lesbian and gay couples some of the rights of married heterosexuals.

The European Commission wants new rules to overcome what it sees as gaps and inconsistencies in existing, national regulatory frameworks. However the US government has argued the EU plans are protectionist. And London-based fund managers have said the proposals will make it impossible for funds based outside the EU to raise money within Europe. But the BBC's Hugh Schofield in Strasbourg said the aim was to make the hedge funds more transparent and prevent the market instability they're said to have encouraged during the financial crisis.

It is also hoped there would be stricter reporting and registration rules, and guidelines to limit pay. Our correspondent added that "a European financial supervisor would keep checks on the amount of borrowing hedge funds can take on". Meanwhile, the EU proposals include new guidelines on short selling, including requiring managers regularly to disclose information on important short positions to national authorities.

It is thought Mr Osborne will on Tuesday restate the UK's objections to some of the proposed new regulations. Hedge funds use sophisticated, complex investment strategies to make returns, and often make money when markets are falling.

The speaker suggested that Israelis go to "your original homeland," listing Ukraine, Poland, Germany, Russia and Ethiopia as possible options. He did not mention the many countries in the Arab world from which Jews fled to Israel, such as Syria, Egypt, or Iraq. PA TV is owned and controlled by the Palestinian Authority.

Besides portraying Israeli Jews - most of whom were born in Israel - as foreigners, the broadcast also backs the "right of return." The PA, along with much of the Arab world, demands that Israel allow millions of Arabs born abroad to "return" to the Israeli cities from which their grandparents or great grandparents fled during the War of Independence in 1948.

In a recent interview with OpEdNews reporter Joan Brunwasser, PMW director Itamar Marcus warned that the incitement in PA media is more indicative of the PA's intentions than its statements given to the foreign press. "We feel that if there is to be peace, it has to start with children," Marcus said. "Therefore, what children are being taught in schools and what they are learning from music videos and children's media are a better indicator of the real beliefs and goals of the leaders, and will also determine if we have peace in the next generation."

The euro fell to its lowest level since the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc on concern that the 16-nation currency may be headed for disintegration. The euro has lost 9 percent this year, according to Bloomberg Correlation-Weighted Indices. The dollar has gained 7.2 percent and the yen has advanced 7.9 percent. The euro "can easily head through parity" with the US dollar under a "hard landing" recovery scenario from the European deficit crisis, according to Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc.

The German Chancellor warned that "We have a shared currency but no real economic or political union. This must change. If we were to achieve this, therein lies the opportunity of the crisis. We have to view the crisis as a motive, to make up for failures - failures that were not remedied by the Lisbon Treaty." On Wednesday Chancellor Merkel insisted that EU Treaty changes were the only way to achieve the kind of EU budgetary discipline and surveillance measures Berlin is seeking.

On the importance of the euro, Ms Merkel said: "The euro is our currency, and yet more than our currency ... I stand by my vision that one day all member states of the European Union will have the euro as their currency ... If the euro were to fall apart, it would not only be the currency, but also the EU and the idea of European unification". Ms. Merkel outlined her strong support for deeper European integration saying, "And beyond the economic, after the shared currency, WE WILL PERHAPS DARE TO TAKE FURTHER STEPS, FOR EXAMPLE FOR A EUROPEAN ARMY".

"If a storm comes into this situation it could vastly complicate everything," said Florida State University oceanography professor Ian MacDonald. "All efforts on the shoreline and at sea, the booms and structures and rigs involved in clean-up and containment, could stop working." As thousands of spill responders gird for a clean-up that could last for months or years after the leaking well is capped, weather and ocean currents are emerging as major unknowns, raising anxiety levels, economic and environmental stakes in the Gulf as storm season nears.

Compounding the uncertainty is how little research has been done on how storms affect oil spills. Some believe storm surges may help disperse the oil off shore or break down the slick. Other research suggests the oil slick itself could keep storms from gathering strength. "It only takes one storm to wreak havoc," said Chris Shabbot, a meteorologist at Sempra in Connecticut. "The consensus forecast is for above average storm activity as the El Nino (event) decays and the Atlantic is as warm or warmer than 2005."

Colorado State University's renowned team of forecasters is calling for an above-average hurricane season that may bring 15 named storms this year, eight of hurricane strength. Accuweather's Joe Bastardi also fears a destructive season. "I hate to say it since the oil spill is already affecting people, but I think this hurricane season is going to be big," he said in an interview. The next official hurricane season outlook from the government's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is due on May 20.

Canon Mary Glasspool, 56, will become an assistant bishop in Los Angeles, the first openly gay US bishop since Gene Robinson seven years ago.

Since then the Anglican Communion has been on course for a permanent split. The election of Mary Glasspool - who has been with her partner Becki for 22 years - represented a snub by the liberal Episcopal Church to other Anglican Churches around the world.

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams had urged the American Church not to proceed with the ordination, warning that it would further alienate traditionalists who believe active homosexuality to be a sin. It is likely to accelerate the gradual marginalisation of the Episcopal Church within a two-tier Communion and increase tensions between Anglicans elsewhere.

The Communion has never recovered from the crisis prompted by the election in New Hampshire of Gene Robinson as its first openly gay bishop in November 2003. The Episcopal Church at first agreed to suspend the creation of gay bishops but reversed that decision last July.

A spokesman for the Spanish Prime Minister's office confirmed the meeting between Zapatero and other socialist party members on Wednesday, but could not immediately confirm what was said at the meeting. Sarkozy demanded a "commitment from everyone to suppport Greece ... or France would reconsider its position in the euro," according to one source cited by El Pais.

Another source present at the meeting between Zapatero and his party members and cited by the paper said: "Sarkozy ended up banging his fist on the table and threatening to leave the euro ... This forced Angela Merkel to give in and reach an agreement." The European Union and International Monetary Fund agreed a 110 billion euro rescue plan for Greece last week. But Germany, which must shoulder a good deal of the burden, had proven reluctant to commit itself to a plan.

Zapatero told his party members that France, Italy and Spain had formed a united front against Germany at the Brussels meeting and that Sarkozy had threatened to break up a traditional France-Germany "hold" on the rest of Europe, according to El Pais.

Spain was worse hit - its shares lost 6.6%. France's Cac fell 4.6% and Germany's Dax 3.1%. US share markets fared less badly, with the Dow Jones ending a choppy session down a relatively modest 1.5% at 10,620.2 points. Both the dollar and gold rose as investors sought their traditional "safe-haven".

Gold hit new record highs near $1,250 dollars an ounce and the dollar rose against the euro. Concerns that Greece's debt crisis could spread to other countries fuelled worries about a euro collapse. The euro hit an 18-month low against the dollar, as doubts grew that a joint rescue plan by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund would be able to contain the crisis. Oil hit a three and a half month low, with US light crude touching $71.61 dollars a barrel, a fall of 4% on the day and 18% since early May.

Kharrazi's comments reveal the thinking of a growing number of hard-liners in Iran, many of whom have become more radical during the postelection political crisis and the international standoff over the country's nuclear program. Kharrazi, however, is not highly influential in Iran's clerical hierarchy and his views do not represent those of the current government. Kharrazi's comments were published Saturday in his newspaper, Hezbollah.

He said he envisioned a Greater Iran that would stretch from Afghanistan to Israel, bringing about the destruction of the Jewish state. He also said its formation would be a prelude to the reappearance of the Mahdi, a revered ninth-century saint known as the Hidden Imam, whom Muslims believe will reappear before judgment day to end tyranny and promote justice in the world. "The Islamic United States will be an introduction to the formation of the global village of the oppressed and that will be a prelude to the single global rule of the Mahdi," the Hezbollah newspaper quoted him as saying.

Saudi Arabia and other Sunni Arab nations have watched Iran's growing regional clout with deep concern. The growing voice of hard-liners like Kharrazi has deepened worries even if it appears unlikely such a divisive figure would win the 2013 presidential election. Still, even President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Thursday that he expects the government which follows his to be "ten times more revolutionary."

Yet it is understood the 1.2 billion pounds system has never led to the arrest of a terrorist - and police now use it to target 'sex offenders and football hooligans.'

Police have also used it to produce 14,000 intelligence reports on travellers for 'future use.' They can be shared by security services worldwide. 'Suspect' requests likely to lead to innocent holidaymakers receiving 'red flags' as potential terrorists include ordering a vegetarian meal, asking for an over-wing seat and travelling with a foreign-born husband or wife.

The system will also 'red flag' anyone buying a one-way ticket and making a last-minute reservation and those with a history of booking tickets and not showing up for flights. A history of travel to the Middle East, Pakistan, Afghanistan or Iran will also trigger an alarm. The new figures, produced by the Association of Chief Police Officers, cover the ten months to this February. Police arrested 2,000 people - out of a total of 48,682 investigated - after they were flagged up by the computer system.

It is tied into airlines' ticketing networks and makes judgments about travel habits and friends and family to decide if passengers are a security risk. All information passengers give to travel agents, including home address, phone numbers, email address, passport details and the names of family members, is shared with an unknown number of Government agencies for 'analysis' and stored for up to ten years. The Home Office claims the system has led to arrests of murderers and rapists - and to 1,000 people being denied entry to Britain. But it refused to say if any terrorists had been caught by the system, despite it being a counter-terrorist measure.

Forecasts say ash may extend over the UK on Monday and Tuesday. Travellers are being advised to check with their airline before leaving home. Jonathan Astill, from the air traffic authority, Nats, said: "Unfortunately, yet again, a mixture of volcanic activity and weather systems have conspired to bring a cloud of ash down towards the UK. As a result we've now got a cloud of high density volcanic ash rapidly encroaching on Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man."

The cloud is expected to lie over the London area by Tuesday, but is likely to have drifted out of UK airspace by Wednesday, forecasters say. Dr Dougal Jerram, a volcanologist from Durham University, warned the last big eruption of Eyjafjallajokull - in the 1820s - went on for about two years, and its current eruption could last "several months".

An article in the IHT notes that ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet has said that the bank's decision to start buying up government bonds was not unanimous but had received an overwhelming majority. The article argues, "But an overwhelming majority without Germany, which has the eurozone biggest economy, is a bit like Hamlet without the prince."

In the FT Wolfgang Munchau argues that if Greece defaults on part of its debt obligation, the ECB will incur large losses, which will result either in a big increase in the debt of the ECB's shareholders, notably Germany, or through printing more money. Munchau argues "that would mean inflationary pressures are likely to increase ... imagine what would happen if inflation were to go up. Very quickly, pressure would grow inside Germany for them to leave the eurozone."

A leader in FT Deutschland argues that "Germany is becoming an EU obstructionist". It notes that, although Chancellor Angela Merkel declared that "we are commonly behind the Euro countries in order to safeguard the stability of the Euro", Germany was standing on the brakes in the decisive negotiations.

Meanwhile Handelsblatt reports on a poll that says 44 percent of Germans want to abolish the Euro and reintroduce the Mark. In France, 38 percent of participants want to go back to their national currency.