While the FDA is not required to follow the group's advice, its recommendation moves the company closer to expanding the use of a treatment that RACKED UP MORE THAN $2.7 BILLION IN SALES LAST YEAR AS THE WORLD'S TOP-SELLING VACCINE. "We're very gratified to have achieved a positive recommendation from the committee," said Dr Emilio Emini, Pfizer's chief of vaccine research.

The new vaccine reduces risk of infection from 13 varieties of the disease, which causes thousands of cases of ear infection, meningitis and pneumonia each year. The new version adds protection against six additional strains to the seven covered by the current vaccine. The FDA says the new strains account for more than 60 percent of pneumococcal cases in children younger than 5 in the US.

VACCINES ARE SEEN AS A CRITICAL PATH TO GROWTH FOR DRUGMAKERS, as slowing prescription medicine sales and intensifying generic competition put PRESSURE ON COMPANY BOTTOM LINES.

States typically provide 26 weeks of unemployment insurance for those who lose their jobs through no fault of their own, with weekly checks averaging about $300. Congress on November 6 extended coverage for the fourth time since the recession began, granting 14 to 20 more weeks to try to keep about 1.3 million people who have been jobless for well over a year from running out of benefits before the end of 2009.

That boosted the total number of weeks a person could collect unemployment to as much as 99 in the hardest-hit states. But that legislation didn't address an underlying problem: The emergency unemployment compensation program, including all 73 additional weeks, expires at the end of this year.

If the program isn't renewed, after January 1 recipients who have used up their 26 weeks of state benefits won't get any extra coverage. The National Employment Law Project estimated Wednesday that 450,000 people will fall into that category in January.

They are part of a flotilla of ten vessels refusing to unload their cargo until market speculation has driven up its price to the level they want. And as the value of that cargo is currently rising by over £1million a day, DRIVEN PARTLY BY PROFITEERING TRADERS AND SPECULATORS, it is unlikely to see a petrol station any time soon. With such tactics, it is not hard to see why prices at the pumps are forecast to have risen by 26 per cent in a year by this Christmas.

AA president Edmund King said: 'TRADERS AND SPECULATORS SEEM TO BE STORING UP OIL UNTIL THE PRICE RISES. Drivers can expect more hikes in the pipeline. Motorists are paying the price of this at the pumps.' Residents near Brixham in Devon have watched with growing anger as the tankers have anchored in Lyme Bay for the past two months. The price of a barrel of oil has increased from $40 a barrel a year ago to $80, with the cost expected to soar even higher in the next few months.

Even from the start of the tankers' stay in Lyme Bay, the value of the oil they carry has risen from £313million to £378million - an increase of £65million, OR MORE THAN £1MILLION A DAY. IT MEANS A 21 PER CENT PROFIT FOR DOING NOTHING MORE THAN SIMPLY WATCHING AND WAITING. If the price is not high enough, the tankers simply cruise around the high seas - or park in a safe haven - until it goes up sufficiently high to sell on in the UK or elsewhere.

"He has written what would have happened if Jesus had had a fair trial," a friend told The Daily Telegraph's Mandrake column. "He knows it will be controversial, but he has some serious points to make." Pullman is due to read his "account" of Christ's last days at the Globe theatre on Thursday as part of an event to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Reprieve, an organisation which campaigns for the rights of prisoners.

Books by Pullman, who is AN HONORARY ASSOCIATE OF THE NATIONAL SECULAR SOCIETY, have been criticised by the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights. His critics often cite an interview in which he reportedly said: "I'M TRYING TO UNDERMINE THE BASIS OF CHRISTIAN BELIEF."

The fantasy novels His Dark Materials, with their religious allegories, have been seen as a direct rebuttal of The Chronicles of Narnia by C S Lewis, the late Christian author, which have been criticised by Pullman. The Archbishop of Canterbury, ROWAN WILLIAMS, HAS, HOWEVER, PROPOSED THAT HIS DARK MATERIALS SHOULD BE TAUGHT AS PART OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION IN SCHOOLS.

In a report entitled "WORST-CASE DEBT SCENARIO", the bank's asset team said state rescue packages over the last year have merely transferred private liabilities onto sagging sovereign shoulders, creating a fresh set of problems. Overall debt is still far too high in almost all rich economies as a share of GDP (350pc in the US), whether public or private.

It must be reduced by the hard slog of "deleveraging", for years. "As yet, nobody can say with any certainty whether we have in fact escaped the prospect of a global economic collapse," said the 68-page report, headed by asset chief Daniel Fermon. It is an exploration of the dangers, not a forecast. Under the French bank's "Bear Case" scenario, the dollar would slide further and global equities would retest the March lows. PROPERTY PRICES WOULD TUMBLE AGAIN. Oil would fall back to $50 in 2010.

GOVERNMENTS HAVE ALREADY SHOT THEIR FISCAL BOLTS. Even without fresh spending, public debt would explode within two years to 105pc of GDP in the UK, 125pc in the US and the eurozone, and 270pc in Japan. Worldwide state debt would reach $45 trillion, up two-and-a-half times in a decade. Mr Fermon said his report had electrified clients on both sides of the Atlantic. "Everybody wants to know what the impact will be. A LOT OF HEDGE FUNDS AND BANKERS ARE WORRIED," HE SAID.

Speaking as Western leaders gathered in Kabul for Thursday's swearing-in of President Hamid Karzai, Mr Obama said his announcement would give a strong sense of how and when troop involvement there will cease. "I am confident that when I announce my decision the American people will have a lot of clarity about what we are doing, how we are going to succeed... and most importantly what's the endgame on this thing," he told CNN.

"Unless you impose that kind of discipline it could end up leading to a multiyear occupation that won't serve the interests of the United States." He added that he was determined to bring the war to an end before leaving office, though he was not asked if he expected that to be after 2012 or 2016.

"My preference would be not to hand off anything to the next president. One of the things I'd like is the next president to be able to come in and say I've got a clean slate," he said. His remarks immediately raised concerns among allies that setting a limit on American military involvement would encourage the Taliban to lie low until US troops had pulled out, rather than forcing them to reconcile with the Kabul leadership.

It should have been a triumphant week of fireworks and celebratory fanfare. The new Lisbon Treaty has been ratified, and the EU is about to embark on a new era, which will finally give Europe an entirely new ability to shape its political future. Only two leading figures are still being sought to add new luster and generate new momentum for the community: a permanent European Council president, who will endeavor to unite the often quarrelsome European club, and a foreign minister, who will represent the Continent on the global stage and act as the voice of the 27 EU member countries.

But it will be a difficult week for Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt - and for Europe. This week, the EU risks getting egg on its face once again - and Europe will lay the cornerstone for a new mega-bureaucracy. Now it is up to Reinfeldt - who currently holds the six-month rotating EU presidency - to avert the EU's next scandal. The only problem is that some of his colleagues have no desire to allow things to proceed smoothly.

For decades, dedicated Europeans have dreamt of a unified foreign policy. THEY YEARN TO BE ON AN EQUAL FOOTING WITH THE SUPERPOWERS - always available, always capable of action. They finally want to speak with one voice and avoid fiascos, such as during the Iraq war, when the EU was deeply divided in its position on the US-led invasion.

The first "Twilight" made $384 million at worldwide box offices with its tale of high school student Bella (Stewart) falling in love with vampire Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson). But in "New Moon," he breaks her heart and leaves for Italy. Months pass as Bella sits despondent at her window during the day and screams in her bed at night. In between, she finds solace with her friend Jacob Black, a werewolf.

Later, when an unexpected visitor tells Bella that Edward is in danger, she hops on a plane to Italy to save him. When asked if Bella's actions set a bad example for the 13 year-old girls who will be a big part of its audience, Stewart said she THINKS THE FILM'S MESSAGE IS A GOOD ONE. "BE EXTREME," Stewart said. "Go for it. I think that's the point. I KNOW THAT THIS IS A MOVIE ABOUT IMMORTALITY AND MORTALITY BUT, LIKE, YOU LIVE ONCE."

Nearly two decades since the start of what became known as the Oslo peace process, stagnation appears to be the short-term outlook for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, even if Washington manages to persuade the two sides to resume some form of talks. THE RISK OF VIOLENCE COULD TURN INTO NEAR-CERTAINTY IN TIME, some Palestinian analysts add, even if there are at present few signs of an appetite for a third Intifada, or uprising, among Palestinians who have lived under Israeli occupation since 1967.

"Either there is a resumption of negotiations, which requires an American initiative, OR THERE WILL BE A POLITICAL VACUUM, WHICH IS DANGEROUS BECAUSE IT WILL MOST LIKELY BE FILLED AT SOME POINT BY CONFLICT," said George Giacaman, a political science professor at Birzeit University near Ramallah. Reflecting its frustration with the stalled peace process, the Ramallah-based Western-backed Palestinian leadership has decided to seek UN Security Council support for establishing a state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem. The Hamas Islamists who control Gaza say the plan is a waste of time.

A related appeal to the European Union met with sounds of sympathy from foreign ministers meeting on Tuesday. But the EU said it was not yet time to give up on negotiations with Israel and called recognition of a Palestinian state "premature."

Former UK prime minister Tony Blair had been an early favourite for president. But France and Germany look set to back a less prominent figure, the Belgian Prime Minister Herman van Rompuy. The EU leaders will dine together on Thursday evening before beginning negotiations. They are widely expected to strive for a balance in the two posts, with one likely to be filled by a candidate from one of the bigger EU states, the other from a smaller country.

Similarly, the presidency is expected to go to a centre-right politician and the post of foreign affairs chief to the centre-left. Both jobs were created under the long-stalled Lisbon Treaty, which will come into force on 1 December, and both are meant to give the EU a stronger voice in the world. The EU president will chair regular meetings of the European Council at which decisions are taken about the political position of the bloc.

However, correspondents say the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, as the post is officially known, could have an even more powerful role. Whoever is chosen will have a seat as vice-president of the European Commission, as well as a budget worth billions of dollars and a new diplomatic service of up to 5,000 people.

President Obama has continued to "reach out to Muslims," as he said in his keynote speech in Cairo last June, and this past week HE SWORE IN A MUSLIM RIGHTS ADVOCATE TO THE HOMELAND SECURITY ADVISORY COUNCIL, shortly after the Fort Hood massacre. HSAC MEMBERS ARE INVOLVED IN EXPERTISE ON NATIONAL SECURITY.

The new member is Syrian-born Kareem Shora, who was the national executive director of the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination (ADC), which previously has called on the United States to stop providing Israel with weapons because of alleged "atrocities" against Arabs. Her background for her new security post is having been a legal counsel and advocate for Muslim civil rights. She also has been a frequent guest on the pro-Hamas al-Jazeera satellite network.

Shora, who has been described as a "devout Muslim, joins another devout member of the faith, Arif Alikhan, who was appointed as Assistant Secretary for Policy Development in the Department of Homeland Security. His qualifications for the job were listed as having been in charge of public safety in Los Angeles during his term of deputy mayor. ONE OF HIS ACTIONS WAS TO REMOVE THE PLAN THAT TRACKED MUSLIMS IN THE CITY WHO WERE SUSPECTED OF TERRORIST ACTIVITIES.

Such conditions are widespread at the contract factories cranking out some of the most popular gadgets on the holiday season's gift lists, according to labor rights activists and workers interviewed by GlobalPost.

Whether it's your cherished iPhone, Nokia cell phone or Dell keyboard, it was likely made and assembled in Asia by workers who have few rights, and often toil under sweatshop-like conditions, activists say.

By the time a gadget reaches Apple's flagship store on Fifth Avenue in New York City or any other US retailer, it may have passed through the hands of a heavily indebted Filipina migrant worker on the graveyard shift in Taiwan, a Taiwanese "quality control" worker who'll soon be fired without warning, and a young Chinese worker clocking 80-hour weeks on a final assembly line, at less than a dollar an hour.

Embarrassed companies have vowed to do better. They've drafted "codes of conduct" for their Asian suppliers, and promised more factory audits to catch abuses. But here's the problem, say activists: While such codes may be great public relations, they're not working to fix the problem. WORSE, THE CODES PERMIT THE BIG BRANDS TO PAT THEMSELVES ON THE BACK, even as workers continue to be exploited in the shadowy world of Asian electronics supply chains.

Sale of two metric tons of gold to the Bank of Mauritius, which is the central bank of Mauritius, was conducted on the basis of market prices prevailing on November 11 with proceeds equivalent to 71.7 million dollars, the IMF said. Early this month, the Reserve Bank of India had announced buying 200 metric tons of gold from the IMF for 6.7 billion dollar.

This transaction is part of the total 403.3 metric tons sales approved by the IMF Executive Board in September and adds to the 200 metric tons already sold to the Reserve Bank of India. The money, thus generated would be used by the IMF to fund projects in Africa and other third world countries.

Their remarks came after Israel's interior ministry approved planning applications for the new units. The planning and construction committee authorised the expansion of Gilo, which is built on land captured in 1967. The land was later annexed to the Jerusalem municipality.

In September the White House said it regretted reports that Israel planned to approve new construction in the West Bank. The BBC's Paul Adams in Washington says the conventional wisdom in the US is that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has successfully thwarted Barack Obama's first foray into the stalled Middle East peace process, rebuffing American calls for a complete settlements freeze.

Nearly 500,000 Jews live in more than 100 settlements built on occupied territory in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. "JERUSALEM IS ISRAEL'S CAPITAL AND WILL REMAIN AS SUCH " - Mark Regev - Israeli premier's spokesman.

The decision, announced in a statement released by the US State Department, overturns the position of former President George W Bush's administration, which had opposed such a treaty on the grounds that national controls were better.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the United States would support the talks as long as the negotiating forum, the so-called Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty, "operates under the rules of consensus decision-making." The US lobbying group the National Rifle Association has opposed the treaty.

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By signing international treaties on gun control, the Obama administration can use the US State Department to bypass the normal legislative process in Congress. Once the US Government signs these international treaties, ALL US CITIZENS WILL BE SUBJECT TO THOSE GUN LAWS CREATED BY FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS. These are laws that have been developed and promoted by organizations such as the United Nations and individuals such as George Soros and Michael Bloomberg. THE LAWS ARE DESIGNED AND INTENDED TO LEAD TO THE COMPLETE BAN AND CONFISCATION OF ALL FIREARMS.