Authorities in Bihar, one of India's poorest states, are asking rich and poor alike to switch to eating rats in a bid to reduce the dependence on rice. They even plan to offer rats on restaurant menus. "Eating of rats will serve twin purposes - it will save grains from being eaten away by rats and will simultaneously increase our grain stock," Vijay Prakash, an official from the state's welfare department, told Reuters.

Officials say almost 50 PERCENT OF INDIA'S FOOD GRAINS STOCKS ARE EATEN AWAY BY RODENTS in fields or warehouses.

Jitan Ram Manjhi, Bihar's caste and tribe welfare minister, said rat meat was a healthy alternative to expensive rice or grains, and should be eaten by one and all. "We are very serious to implement this project since the food crisis is turning serious day by day," Manjhi, who has eaten rats, told Reuters. In Bihar, rat meat is already eaten by Mushars, a group of lower caste Hindus, as well as poorer sections of society.

UK growth will be slightly negative or zero in the next two or three quarters, but a major recession is unlikely, the BCC says in its latest forecast. But prospects will be worse if interest rates are not cut soon, it adds. The BCC predicts UK unemployment will rise by between 250,000 and 300,000 in the next 18 months to two years. That could take the jobless total to more than two million for the first time since Labour came to power in 1997.

"Over the next two or three quarters, we expect UK GDP growth to be slightly negative or zero, satisfying the conditions of technical recession," the BCC says. "But the bigger danger of a major UK recession can and must be prevented," it adds. "Our central scenario envisages that the UK Bank Rate would be cut to 4.75% in [the fourth quarter of] 2008, followed by an additional cut to 4.5% in [the first quarter of] 2009."

"But if the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee decides not to cut rates in the next three to six months, growth prospects would be worse. Whatever happens to interest rates," the BCC says, "a marked slowdown in UK activity is highly likely over the next 18 months".

This extends to Ukraine and its ideas of joining NATO, energy-rich and Western-leaning Azerbaijan, as well as the strategically important countries of the Caspian and Central Asia, north of Afghanistan.

LESSON TWO is that no matter how much the US and its European allies attempt to increase their energy security by seeking new routes to Caspian oil and gas resources not controlled by Russia or Iran, Moscow will do its utmost, even kill thousands in a war, to block Western access. Russia's increasing dominance of Europe's energy imports, overwhelming stake in world natural gas supplies and designs for a 'gas OPEC' should not be challenged.

LESSON THREE is more broad. In the context of post Group of Eight summit calls from Moscow to fundamentally overhaul global security and economic institutions that are too dependent on 'one country and one currency', Russia's invasion of a small neighbouring country is a demonstration of contempt for a world order that does not respect Russia as it should.

The weekly financial newspaper said that such a move could wipe out existing holders of the agencies' common stock, with preferred shareholders and even holders of the two entities' $19 billion of subordinated debt also suffering losses. An insider in the Bush administration told Barron's that Fannie and Freddie "are being jawboned" by the Treasury Department and their new regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), to raise more equity. But government officials don't expect the agencies to succeed, Barron's reported.

If the government-sponsored enterprises fail to raise fresh capital, the administration is likely to mount its own recapitalization, with Treasury infusing taxpayer money into the agencies, according to the Barron's source. The paper reported the infusion would take the form of a preferred stock with such seniority, dividend preference and convertibility rights that Fannie's and Freddie's existing common shares "effectively would be wiped out, and their preferred shares left bereft of dividends."

The report called an equity injection by the government A QUASI-NATIONALIZATION -- WITHOUT HAVING TO PUT THE AGENCIES' LIABILITIES ON THE US BALANCE SHEET, AND THUS DOUBLING THE US DEBT.

"Whether I win or lose, the nation must lose," Musharraf, 65, said in an hour-long televised address in which he passionately defended his nine-year record in office. "The honor and dignity of the country will be affected and in my view, the honor of the office of president will also be affected." Prolonged jockeying and uncertainty over Musharraf's position had hurt Pakistan's financial markets and raised concerns in Washington and among other allies that it was distracting from efforts to tackle militancy.

Musharraf seized power in a 1999 coup but has been isolated since his allies lost parliamentary elections in February. The new coalition government, led by the party of assassinated former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, said early this month that it planned to impeach Musharraf. The powerful army, which has ruled for more than half the country's 61-year history, has publicly kept out of the controversy over its old boss.

The ruling coalition had prepared impeachment charges against Musharraf focusing on violation of the constitution and misconduct.

The Telegraph can disclose that the Government is pushing ahead with plans for a national road-pricing scheme, including testing "spy in the sky" technology. Eight areas of the country have been selected by ministers for secret pay-per-mile trials which will begin in 2010 and are expected to pave the way for tolls on motorways. Motorists face paying up to £1.30 a mile during peak periods on the busiest roads.

Initially, in January 2010, one hundred cars in each area will trial the new technology – in many cases entailing placing black boxes to allow their movements to be tracked - but members of the public will be invited to join the pilots in June 2010. The Government is close to signing contracts with four companies who will run the national trials, testing not only the technology which will be fitted to the cars, but also the bureaucracy needed to run a system including sending out bills.

When the scheme was first floated by the Blair administration 1.8 million people signed a petition on the Downing Street website calling on the Government to abandon the scheme. Last night, Peter Roberts, who led the initial protests, said: "IF THE GOVERNMENT WAS TRUE TO ITS WORD AND WAS KICKING ROAD PRICING INTO THE LONG GRASS, WHY IS IT RUNNING TRIALS? MINISTERS HAVE SAID THAT NATIONAL ROAD PRICING IS NO LONGER ON THE AGENDA. So either they are wasting millions of pounds of taxpayers' money or they are not being honest with voters."

Pat Klein said he and three others from his Vision Beyond Borders group spent Sunday night at the airport in the south-western city of Kunming after customs officers took the Bibles from their checked luggage. "I heard that there's freedom of religion in China, so why is there a problem for us to bring Bibles?" said Klein, whose Sheridan, Wyoming-based group distributes Bibles and Christian teaching materials around the world. The Bibles were printed in Chinese, he told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

In China, Bibles are legally printed at just one plant — the world's largest — run by a communist government-backed Christian association, and are available in many bookstores. But THE OFFICIALLY ATHEISTIC GOVERNMENT prohibits proselytizing and is worried that if the spread of religion goes unchecked, BELIEVERS MIGHT ULTIMATELY CHALLENGE THE COMMUNIST PARTY'S AUTHORITY.

In 2005, it launched its first commercial satellite on a Russian rocket in a joint project with MOSCOW, WHICH APPEARS TO BE THE MAIN PARTNER IN TRANSFERRING SPACE TECHNOLOGY TO IRAN. Iran first tested a rocket it said was capable of delivering a satellite in February, saying that trial was also successful. It said then that it planned two more test launches before attempting to put its first domestically built satellite into orbit.

The country's fledgling space program, like its nuclear program, has provoked unease abroad. The same technology used to put satellites into space can also be used to deliver warheads. The United States called the February 4 launch "just another troubling development," saying it was a cause for CONCERN ABOUT IRAN'S CONTINUING DEVELOPMENT OF MEDIUM- AND LONG-RANGE MISSILES.

Meanwhile, Iran claimed Sunday it has increased the range of its warplanes, allowing them to fly as far as Israel and back without refueling.

Investors say higher land valuations are just what's needed to settle claims which may have festered since colonial days. But much marginal and forested land is common property, which in the past has given poor local communities little benefit from logging, mining and oil concessions.

"No-man's land and hinterland is suddenly valuable," said Andy White, coordinator for the Washington-based Rights and Resources Initiative, a development NGO. "Communities had been told the land was theirs. Now it's contested," he said, explaining that a community in Liberia had told him that in one week they had separate visits from a mining company, a logging company and a biofuel company. "They were told by the government - 'go out and prospect'."

Spiralling commodity prices have driven speculative interest in farms and forests in emerging markets where productive land can cost one 10th of the price in industrialised countries. Land and food prices are expected to remain high as a growing, richer world demands more land for settlement and food, while climate change threatens more droughts.

A Russian general declared Poland a target for its arsenal after Warsaw signed a deal with Washington to host interceptor missiles for America's anti-nuclear shield. The move came as the Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev, signed a cease-fire deal that sets the stage for a Russian troop withdrawal after more than a week of warfare with its neighbour Georgia.

Ukraine said it was ready to give both Europe and America access to its missile warning systems after Russia earlier annulled a 1992 cooperation agreement involving two satellite tracking stations. Previously, the stations were part of Russia's early-warning system for missiles coming from Europe. "The fact that Ukraine is no longer a party to the 1992 agreement allows it to launch active cooperation with European countries to integrate its information," a statement from the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said.

It follows a declaration earlier this week from Ukraine's pro-Western president, Viktor Yushchenko, that the Russian naval lease of the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Sebastopol would be scrapped if any vessels joined the conflict in Georgia.

This autumn, Commons authorities will for the first time release details of up to two million receipts submitted by MPs, covering claims for home improvements, furnishings and office costs. But The Mail on Sunday can reveal that MPS HAVE INSISTED ON HAVING THE INFORMATION CENSORED – and in such a way that could save them from potential embarrassment.

Under the changes, the location of MPs' taxpayer-funded second homes will be cut out while full travel details – including potentially extravagant taxi journeys – will also be exempt. The decision to edit the claims was nodded through the Commons without a vote just before MPs broke up for the summer and came after women MPs apparently broke down in tears at the prospect of their personal details being released.

The change meant amending the Government's flagship freedom of information legislation. It comes ahead of an extraordinary expenses 'big bang' later this year, when between 1.3million and 2million receipts submitted by MPs in four-and-a-quarter years will be published on the same day. Full details of 'regular' journeys – such as taxis to the same destinations – will also not be provided although broader details of how much each MP spends on different modes of travel will be released. MPs have also secured the right to see the expenses being published a month before the release date to 'check' the details are accurate – leading to fears they will use the period to remove key information.

Phil Woolas, the environment minister, said it was "easy for those with plentiful food" to ignore Third World hunger. He told The Sunday Telegraph that the Government would press ahead with GM crop trials and look at moving to a more "liberal" regime in Britain, unless scientific evidence showed that the crops had done harm.

The defiant stance came days after the Prince called GM a "gigantic experiment with nature and the whole of humanity which has gone seriously wrong". The Prince told The Daily Telegraph last week that future reliance on corporations to mass-produce food would drive millions of farmers off their land.

Ministers were privately furious about the attack, which they believe risks becoming a constitutional crisis. One Labour source said the Prince had "overstepped the mark".

General Vyacheslav Borisov, the commander leading Russia's advance in northeastern Georgia, claimed that his troops had begun to pull out of the breakaway region of South Ossetia, the crucible of the conflict between the two ex-Soviet neighbours. But, typifying the kind of claim and counterclaim that has characterized the past few days, Russia's defence ministry denied that withdrawal was underway and hinted that it could be several days before one began.

"It has not started yet," said a spokesman for the ministry. "The question of withdrawal is being considered now and the decision will be taken as the situation in the region is stabilized." In Gori, 15 miles into undisputed Georgian territory from the South Ossetian frontier, a senior official from President Mikheil Saakashvili's administration was involved in a verbal altercation with Gen Borisov after he refused to withdraw from the town.

Russia pledged to pull out of Gori on Thursday after its troops took advantage of the first day of peace to seize the town in apparent violation of a ceasefire brokered by President Nicolas Sarkozy of France.

Trustees at the Harrold Independent School District approved a district policy change last October so employees can carry concealed firearms to deter and protect against school shootings, provided the gun-toting teachers follow certain requirements. In order for teachers and staff to carry a pistol, they must have a Texas license to carry a concealed handgun; must be authorized to carry by the district; must receive training in crisis management and hostile situations and have to use ammunition that is designed to minimize the risk of ricochet in school halls.

Superintendent David Thweatt said the small community is a 30-minute drive from the sheriff's office, leaving students and teachers without protection. He said the district's lone campus sits 500 feet from heavily trafficked US Highway 287, which could make it a target.

"WHEN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT STARTED MAKING SCHOOLS GUN-FREE ZONES, THAT'S WHEN ALL OF THESE SHOOTINGS STARTED. Why would you put it out there that a group of people can't defend themselves? That's like saying 'sic 'em' to a dog," Thweatt said in Friday's online edition of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

An investigation by The Sunday Telegraph has now uncovered just how much personal data is being collected about individuals by the Government, law enforcement agencies and private companies each day. In one week, the average person living in Britain has 3,254 pieces of personal information stored about him or her, most of which is kept in databases for years and in some cases indefinitely.

The data include details about shopping habits, mobile phone use, emails, locations during the day, journeys and internet searches. In many cases this information is kept by companies such as banks and shops, but in certain circumstances they can be asked to hand it over to a range of legal authorities. Employers are increasingly using radio-tagged security passes for employees, providing them with information about when staff enter and leave the office.

This newspaper's findings come days after the Government published plans to grant local authorities and other public bodies access to the email and internet records of millions. Phone companies already retain data about their customers and give it to 650 public bodies on request.