HR3567 was introduced just days ago by US Representative Jerrold Nadler, and more than 90 co-sponsors. "This legislation would repeal the DEFENSE OF MARRIAGE ACT (DOMA), a 1996 law WHICH DISCRIMINATES AGAINST LAWFULLY MARRIED SAME-SEX COUPLES," Nadler said in a statement on his website. The proposal has been assigned to committee.

In a written statement, Obama declared: 'The Department of Justice has filed a response to a legal challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act, as it traditionally does when acts of Congress are challenged. This brief makes clear, however, that my Administration believes that the Act is discriminatory and should be repealed by Congress. I HAVE LONG HELD THAT DOMA PREVENTS LGBT COUPLES FROM BEING GRANTED EQUAL RIGHTS AND BENEFITS. While we work with Congress to repeal DOMA, my Administration will continue to examine and implement measures that will help extend rights and benefits to LGBT couples under existing law.'

The Justice Department said it "does not believe that DOMA is rationally related to any legitimate government interests in procreation and child-rearing" and evidence "THAT CHILDREN RAISED BY GAY AND LESBIAN PARENTS ARE AS LIKELY TO BE WELL-ADJUSTED AS CHILDREN RAISED BY HETEROSEXUAL PARENTS."

The AP report claims that senior officials at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) prepared a secret document on Iranian nuclear capabilities. Iran already has "sufficient information" to prepare an atom bomb, the report reveals, but the Islamic Republic is missing a sufficient delivery system. However, the AP says, quoting the secret report, Iran is expected to overcome that limitation.

The United States has claimed that outgoing IAEA Chairman Mohamed El Baradei had prepared just such a "secret annex". More generally, Israel and the US recently charged that the IAEA was not revealing all it knew about Iranian nuclear weapons development. On the other hand, as early as 2005, El Baradei said that it would take Iran only a few months to produce an atomic bomb if production went ahead at the nuclear plants the IAEA was not given access to at the time.

They have been charged under public order laws with using 'threatening, abusive or insulting words' that were 'religiously aggravated'. The couple, whose trial has been set for December, face a fine of up to £5,000 and a criminal record if they are convicted. Although the facts are disputed, it is thought that during the conversation THE COUPLE WERE CHALLENGED OVER THEIR CHRISTIAN BELIEFS.

It is understood that they suggested that Mohammed, the founder of Islam, was a warlord and that traditional Muslim dress for women was a form of bondage. They deny, however, that their comments were threatening and argue that they had every right to defend and explain their beliefs. The independent lobby group, the Christian Institute, which has seen both the prosecution and defence legal papers, is supporting their defence.

Christian Institute spokesman Mike Judge said 'important' issues of religious liberty were at stake. 'In recent years, we have backed several cases where CHRISTIANS HAVE SUFFERED UNFAIR TREATMENT because of their faith,' he said. 'We have detected a worrying tendency for PUBLIC BODIES TO MISAPPLY THE LAW IN A WAY THAT SEEMS TO SIDELINE CHRISTIANITY MORE THAN OTHER FAITHS.'

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said the three-way meeting would take place after Obama meets separately with each of the two leaders. "These meetings will continue the efforts of President Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Special Envoy George Mitchell to lay the groundwork for the relaunch of negotiations, and to create a positive context for those negotiations so that they can succeed," the statement said.

But the meeting will not serve as a preparation for negotiations and not constitute renewal of negotiations where they were left off, but rather be a preliminary meeting to set the ground for further meetings, the Prime Minister's Office said Sunday. Netanyahu, the statement continued, never set any preconditions for meeting the Palestinian leadership and was ready to travel anywhere in the world and meet any leader so long as the meeting would advance peace.

But his message is clear, and the German security authorities are taking it seriously. In the name of al-Qaida, the Islamist warns of terrorist attacks in Germany in the event that the result of the upcoming election does NOT REFLECT A DESIRE ON THE PART OF THE POPULACE TO WITHDRAW THE GERMAN ARMY FROM AFGHANISTAN.

"IF THE GERMAN PEOPLE CHOOSE WAR, THEN THEY HAVE DELIVERED THEIR OWN SENTENCE," says Harrach in the video, which has been obtained by Spiegel Online. Then jihad would come to Germany, he says. He advises Muslims in Germany to avoid any places that are not "essential to daily life" for a period of 14 days after the election and to keep their children close to them. He says that "the city of Kiel" will remain safe in any case, for reasons that are not explained. In the message, Harrach also alludes to the terrorist attacks in Madrid in 2004 and London in 2005.

On the other hand, Harrach, who is believed to be in the Waziristan region of Pakistan, says that Germany still has a chance to avoid the "imminent" events. The last mujahedeen will be recalled from Germany when the last German soldier is withdrawn from Afghanistan, he said. Harrach has already appeared representing al-Qaida in two videos this year which are considered authentic, under the name "Abu Talha, the German."

In a statement issued to mark the Muslim festival of Eid, he referred to "huge casualties and sagging morale" among the more than 100,000 NATO and US-led troops in Afghanistan fighting Taliban-linked insurgents. "THE MORE THE ENEMY RESORTS TO INCREASING FORCES, THE MORE THEY WILL FACE AN UNEQUIVOCAL DEFEAT IN AFGHANISTAN," the statement said. Taliban-linked rebels have been resurgent in recent months, retreating from the battlefield as they intensify use of roadside bombs, particularly in the south.

This year more than 350 foreign troops have been killed, making it the deadliest year since the invasion on October 7, 2001. NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said Saturday a soldier - whose nationality was not given - was killed in a firefight in the south. On Thursday six Italian troops and at least 10 Afghan civilians were killed in a suicide car bomb attack in Kabul.

In his statement, he said that by maintaining their troops in Afghanistan the international community "will only prolong the current crisis but will never solve it."

With the leaders from the Group of 20 nations set to meet next week in Pittsburgh, Obama said in his weekly address on the radio and Internet that international cooperation has "stopped our economic freefall. We know we still have a lot to do, in conjunction with nations around the world, to strengthen the rules governing financial markets and ensure that we never again find ourselves in the precarious situation we found ourselves in just one year ago," Obama said.

The administration has proposed an overhaul of US financial regulations including oversight of the systemic risk large financial institutions pose to the economy, new ways for the government to dismantle failed companies and a regulator to oversee financial products for consumers. Obama reiterated his calls for Congress to act on his regulatory proposals, which he also made in a speech on Wall Street September 13.

"As I told leaders of our financial community in New York City earlier this week, a return to normalcy can't breed complacency," Obama said in today's address. "Our government needs to fundamentally reform the rules governing financial firms and markets to meet the challenges of the 21st century."

The disclosure will provoke concerns that health officials will not be able to stem the growth of the worldwide H1N1 pandemic in developing countries. IF THE VIRUS TAKES HOLD in the poorest nations, millions could die and the economies of fragile countries could be destroyed. Gregory Hartl of WHO said the report required an urgent response from rich nations. "There needs to be recognition that the whole world is affected by this pandemic and the chain is only as strong as its weakest link. We have seen how H1N1 has taken hold in richer nations and in the southern hemisphere. We have been given fair warning and must act soon," he said.

It paints a disastrous picture for the world's most vulnerable people unless there is immediate action. "Countries where health services are overburdened by diseases, such as HIV/Aids, tuberculosis and malaria, will have great difficulty managing the surge of cases. And if the electricity and water sectors are not able to maintain services, this will have serious implications for the ability of the health sector to function.

"If suppliers of fuel, food, telecommunications, finance or transport services have not developed plans as to how they would continue to deliver their services, the consequences could be significantly intensified," it adds.

They said INTERNATIONAL MARKETS COULD REFUSE TO BUY GOVERNMENT DEBT, warning the 'possibility of failed auctions is not trivial'. Shadow Chancellor George Osborne described the report as a 'wake-up call' and warned BRITAIN'S 'INTERNATIONAL REPUTATION' WAS AT STAKE. The alert came as Chancellor Alistair Darling was accused of planning to sweep £32billion of debt out of public view.

Former Treasury adviser David Heald claimed there was a £32billion gap between published government figures on debt and internal assessments. He told the magazine Accountancy Age that 87 per cent of public/private partnerships and private finance initiatives would be left off the Government's books.

Tory Treasury spokesman Philip Hammond said: 'Yet again, Labour is taking the public for fools. If they can't be straight about the scale of the problem, how will they ever solve Britain's debt crisis?' A Treasury spokesman said it was the decision of the Office of National Statistics which figures were publicly available.

China has recently signaled its key aspirations: for a greater international role for the renminbi and for Shanghai to become a great financial capital. Neither is imminent, but both imply, if not require, a series of steps that, taken in combination with China's legitimately great potential for growth, COULD LEAD TO A BUBBLE OF MAGNIFICENT AND DANGEROUS PROPORTIONS.

Magnificent in that, like the dotcom bubble or the railroad boom in the US in the 19th century, a bubble in domestic China is directionally right and will build useful things which will change the world. A bubble, after all, needs a good story and China has one of the best ever.

Dangerous because, like the housing bubble, it will inevitably go too far and could take down banks and banking systems globally. Given the size of the opportunity and the strength of the story, CHINA'S BUBBLE WILL BE HUGE. Investors would do well to avoid being in the immediate vicinity when it bursts.

The Netherlands' largest newspaper called it the "trial of the century." It will begin on January 20, two months before municipal elections in which Wilders's Freedom party is involved. "I find it horrible that I'm prosecuted" Wilders said. "This is a political trial, and it's sad that I'm PROSECUTED AS A CRIMINAL FOR ONLY VOICING MY POLITICAL OPINIONS. I hope free speech will prevail. I am convinced that the trial can only lead to my acquittal."

The charges of the use of hate speech include Wilders's charging US President Barack Obama with "CLOSING HIS EYES TO THE GREAT DANGERS OF ISLAMISATION" and comparing the President with Neville Chamberlain, the former British Prime Minister. Chamberlain is remembered for his appeasement policy that culminated with his signing an agreement with Hitler and Italy's Benito Mussolini in 1938, allowing the Nazi dictator and murderer to annex Sudetenland, Czechoslovakia. The following year, Chamberlain declared war on Germany after Hitler invaded [Poland].

Wilders defended his analogy concerning President Obama, saying at the time, "It is a tough comparison, but he is pursuing a dangerous, naïve and irresponsible policy." Wilders catapulted into the international limelight in 2008 with his 15-minute movie called "Fitna," which depicts Islam and its prophet Mohammed as encouraging hate and terror. The film set off violent riots in the Muslim world, and he was subjected to several death threats.

The Stop Islamization of America (SIOA) group has declared its mission to be educating Americans "ABOUT THE THREAT THAT ISLAMIC DOCTRINE AND THOSE WHO SUPPORT IT PRESENT TO OUR FREEDOMS, AND THE FUTURE OF OUR DEMOCRACY AND COUNTRY." The organizers call themselves "scholar warriors/ideological warriors in the cause of American freedom and Constitutional government," as well as in "the defence of... our society of liberty, knowledge, and human decency."

SIOA believes that political ISLAM IS OPPOSED TO AMERICAN VALUES OF "FREEDOM, TOLERANCE, OR HUMAN RIGHTS." They seek to raise the issue of what they call "brutal, misogynist" Islamic law and jihad in America, because "tolerance for ideologies that are opposed to our principles of individual freedoms and our Constitution is indefensible," the group declares in its online manifesto. A recently-released film, The Third Jihad, warns that radical Islam is working on a non-violent, cultural takeover of the United States.

"We are now in a new phase of a 1,400-year-old jihad against the kafirs (all non-Muslims everywhere); we are not prepared to meet the threat," SIOA says. "IGNORANCE ABOUT ISLAM, ITS DOCTRINE AND PURPOSES IS A MORAL AND ETHICAL FAILURE WHOSE CONSEQUENCES CAN BE NOTHING SHORT OF NATIONAL EXTINCTION." The official launch of the SIOA is slated for September 25, 2009, at an as-yet unknown venue in the US capital. The timing and location appears to be far from coincidental. A MASSIVE MUSLIM PRAYER GATHERING IS PLANNED FOR THE SAME DAY in front of the Capitol building. Organizers are expecting 50,000 people to attend.

That has helped drive Britain's overall jobless total up by 210,000 in the three months to July. The new total of 2.47million is the highest in 14 years. The unemployment rate has jumped to 7.9 per cent from 5.6 per cent a year ago. The figures lay bare the toll exacted by the recession. Only a few groups are seeing rising employment levels, including public sector and foreign-born workers and people of retirement age, yesterday's Office for National Statistics report showed.

David Blanchflower, a former Bank of England official and labour market specialist, said the current generation of school and university leavers is the largest for 20 years, making the recession doubly harmful. 'There has been a huge increase in youth unemployment. We need to prevent a lost generation of young individuals who are not being given a chance.' Yesterday's ONS report showed that a record 19.7 per cent of young people are out of work in Britain. Another 34.6 per cent, or 2.55million, are classified as 'inactive'.

FOREIGN-BORN WORKERS ARE CONTINUING TO WIN JOBS WHILE THE REST OF THE POPULATION SUFERS FROM THE UNEMPLOYMENT CRISIS. The Office for National Statistics reported that employment among non-UK born individuals INCREASED BY 22,000 TO 3.7 MILLION in the second quarter. But Home Secretary Alan Johnson RULED OUT A CAP ON IMMIGRATION THIS SUMMER, SAYING THIS WOULD DAMAGE THE ECONOMY!

That is to say that Nelson Piquet Jr, son of the eponymous three-times world champion, a young man desperate to make his mark on the sport and yet struggling to keep up with its demands, WAS TOLD TO HAVE AN "ACCIDENT" at the Singapore Grand Prix last September.

As a result of his crash, Piquet's team-mate, Fernando Alonso, was able to win a race he would otherwise have not, taking advantage of the safety procedures that are laid down in Formula One. Piquet was sacked by his team in July for his failure to bring in the results they wanted and turned whistleblower. After the usual bluster and cover-up, Renault — the company, not the Formula One team — has made its move. IT WILL OFFER NO DEFENCE TO THE CHARGES and has parted company with the team principal, Flavio Briatore, and his No 2, Pat Symonds.

THIS EXAMPLE OF CHEATING PASSES ALL ITS SINGLE-EVENT PREDECESSORS. The potentially lethal consequences of this act were beyond anyone's control. What we must now ask is whether this is an isolated example of a total loss of perspective, or whether it is a straw that shows which way the winds of sport are blowing.

The sale will allow the bank to "derecognise the assets", shielding it from any further fall in their "mark-to-market" value. Instead, Barclays will use a different accounting treatment to take "a longer term view" that will provide "a boost to its capital strength by punting the issue into the long grass", Ian Gordon, banks analyst at Exane BNP Paribas, said.

Simon Maughan, analyst at MF Global Securities, described it as a way for Barclays to "wriggle free from its toxic assets". Barclays has a core tier one capital ratio of 8.8pc, which Mr Gordon said was expected to be under pressure as the assets face further mark downs. Barclays' clever accounting comes at a time of failing trust in the banks and politicians claimed the move would not help restore it. John McFall, chairman of the Treasury Select Committee, said: "This is short-circuiting the transparency that is required in the market at the moment. Is it banking by sleight of hand?"

The deal also promises to make 45 former investment bankers at Barclays Capital very rich. They have resigned to join Protium, which will charge Barclays a $40m annual management fee, including office costs. The bank stressed that no leaver will receive a severance payment. Protium hopes to repeat the deal with other banks.