According to analysts with the Institute of Terrorism Research and Response (ITRR), a recently intercepted jihadist communication declares that "EVERYONE KNOWS" THAT THE "NEXT STRIKE IS VERY NEAR, A STRIKE THAT WILL SURPRISE EVERYONE IN ITS EFFECT, WHICH WILL BE MUCH MORE SHOCKING THAN THAT OF 9/11/2001." The writer of the chilling message notes that this is the Muslim month of Ramadan and that "we pray that it will indeed be in this month."

After referring to a previous boast by Osama Bin-Laden, that the enemy is afraid and unable to prevent the next attack, the communication says: "And the Germans, grandchildren of the Nazis, know more than everyone else that they will be the first ones to taste [the nightmare]. IT IS JUST A MATTER OF TIME - THAT IS, DAYS OR WEEKS - and God willing you'll see things that you've never heard of before."

While Germany and German assets have been singled out in the past, due to that nation's involvement in the war in Afghanistan, the threats have been general and motivational in nature. According to ITRR, the LATEST JIHADIST COMMUNICATION WAS UNUSUAL IN THAT IT WAS VERY EXPLICIT and open in targeting the Germans, in discussing a coming attack, and in specifying its timing. ASIDE FROM RAMADAN, WHICH ENDS 19 SEPTEMBER 2009, the upcoming GERMAN NATIONAL ELECTION ON SEPTEMBER 27 has been marked as a "red flag date" by ITRR. Jihadists keen on disrupting and influencing European foreign policy are likely to attempt attacks around the time of the elections.

German security services have also been cited in local media discussing STEPPED UP JIHADIST CHATTER, threats and intelligence warnings aimed at the German state in recent months. Earlier this year, video messages delivered in German by an al-Qaeda fighter going by the name of Abu Talha, purportedly in Afghanistan, CALLED ON GERMANS TO CONVERT TO ISLAM and remove their several thousand troops from the Afghan theatre. According to a June report by Der Spiegel weekly, AMERICAN INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES BELIEVE THAT AL-QAEDA'S LEADERS HAVE DECIDED TO ATTACK GERMANY, supposedly assigning the job to al-Qaeda of the Islamic Maghreb (North Africa).

"They [financial crises] are all different, but they have one fundamental source," he said. "That is the unquenchable capability of human beings when confronted with long periods of prosperity to presume that it will continue." Speaking a year after the collapse of US investment bank Lehman Brothers, which was followed by a worldwide financial crisis and global recession, Mr Greenspan described the behaviour as "HUMAN NATURE".

Blamed by some for not doing more to prevent the crisis, Mr Greenspan denied any responsibility for the problems gripping the global economy. "It's human nature, unless somebody can find a way to change human nature, we will have more crises and none of them will look like this BECAUSE NO TWO CRISES HAVE ANYTHING IN COMMON, EXCEPT HUMAN NATURE."

The article notes, "no one speaks openly about the preparations while the outcome on Ireland is uncertain. But the timeframe is tight. Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt wants the [EU Foreign Minister] and a new 'EU-President' to be appointed at a Council meeting in Brussels on 29 October. At the same time, a decision will be taken on the format of the new EU Diplomatic Service."

"Sweden is therefore now WORKING DISCREETLY but intensely to draw up the plans for the [EU Foreign Minister]. In fact, it's working on it so intensely that experienced observers express surprise over how much effort Sweden is putting into this."

The article also notes that the Foreign Minister will have his or her own headquarters, where the Diplomatic Service will be built, while the Foreign Minister will also be in charge of "EU embassies" around the world. It's also noted that important aspects of the EU's aid and enlargement policies will fall under the scope of the EU Foreign Ministry, while it's unclear to what extent it will have a mandate over the bloc's trade policy.

There are "TROUBLING SIMILARITIES" between the US President's actions since taking office and those which in the 1930s sent the US and much of the world spiralling into the worst economic collapse in recorded history, says the new pamphlet, published by the Institute of Economic Affairs.

In particular, the authors, economists Charles Rowley of George Mason University and Nathanael Smith of the Locke Institute, claim that THE WHITE HOUSE'S PLANS TO POUR HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF CASH INTO THE ECONOMY WILL UNDERMINE IT IN THE LONG RUN. They say that by employing deficit spending and increased state intervention President Obama will ultimately hamper the long-term growth potential of the US economy and may risk delaying full economic recovery by several years.

The study represents a challenge to the widely held view that Keynesian fiscal policies helped the US recover from the Depression which started in the early 1930s. The authors say: "[Franklin D Roosevelt's] interventionist policies and draconian tax increases delayed full economic recovery by several years by exacerbating a climate of pessimistic expectations that drove down private capital formation and household consumption to unprecedented lows."

According to documents provided to the daily by a judges' union, the plan would extend the period police can keep a suspect IN DETENTION WITHOUT CHARGE OR A HEARING BEFORE A JUDGE TO UP TO SIX MONTHS. Suspects would ALSO NOT BE ABLE TO CONTACT A LAWYER UNTIL AFTER SPENDING 24 HOURS IN CUSTODY. Under the plan children could be tried in adult courts and more trials held behind closed doors.

The Syndicat de la Magistrature called the measures "revolting" and said they would amount to "liberticide," and called on Justice Minister Michele Alliot-Marie to abandon the plan. The union was due to release on Tuesday the text of the government plan, which it said was provided to heads of courts in great secrecy in July, the newspaper reported. Swine flu, or the A(H1N1) virus, the first pandemic to be declared by the World Health Organization in this century, has so far claimed 15 lives in France, out of at least 2,837 worldwide.

In a radical report, the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has said the system of currencies and capital rules which binds the world economy is not working properly, and was largely responsible for the financial and economic crises. It added that the present system, under which the dollar acts as the world's reserve currency , should be subject to a wholesale reconsideration.

Although a number of countries, including China and Russia, have suggested replacing the dollar as the world's reserve currency, the UNCTAD REPORT IS THE FIRST TIME A MAJOR MULTINATIONAL INSTITUTION HAS POSITED SUCH A SUGGESTION. In essence, the report calls for a new Bretton Woods-style system of managed international exchange rates, meaning central banks would be forced to intervene and either support or push down their currencies depending on how the rest of the world economy is behaving.

Among Conservatives the figure is 82 per cent – putting more pressure on party leader David Cameron to clarify his position on Europe. Despite campaigning against the Lisbon Treaty – the rehashed EU constitution – the Tories will not say whether they will tear it up in power. But the furore over the treaty will be re-ignited next month when Ireland holds a second referendum, despite voting against it last year.

Labour has denied British voters the chance to vote on the treaty, but today's survey by Opinium Research suggests BRITAIN COULD DELIVER A HUGE BLOW TO BRUSSELS IF EVER GIVEN THE CHANCE TO VOTE ON EU MEMBERSHIP. Anger has been fuelled after the Treasury admitted Britain's net EU contribution will rise by almost 60 per cent to £6.4billion in 2010 – equal to a £260 levy on every British home.

Ukip leader Nigel Farage said: "The Irish referendum will put Europe back at the heart of the debate. The question the Tories would rather not face is coming back."

Former US President George W Bush made the promise in a letter to former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. The Obama administration has stated it is not bound by the letter because it is not part of a formal and signed agreement.

Lieberman, speaking during a tour in Africa on the "It's All Talk" programme on Voice of Israel government radio, said that acceptance of the understandings is one of three "red lines" he is placing on the government's proposed freeze on new building in Judea and Samaria.

However, he added that he will not threaten to leave the coalition and instead will remain in the government to influence its policies. The Foreign Minister's second red line is that there be no government limits on building in eastern Jerusalem, where US President Barack Obama has demanded that Israel halt all new construction for Jews. The US government does not recognize Israeli sovereignty over eastern Jerusalem and has not suggested restrictions on Arab building, much of which is illegal under zoning and planning laws.

Immediate-delivery metal rose to $1,002.73 an ounce. Gold is set for a ninth yearly gain. The contract for December delivery surged to $1,004.70 on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, taking this year's rise to about 14 percent. Governments have cut interest rates and boosted spending to fight the worst recession since World War II, spurring investors to buy bullion AS A HEDGE AGAINST POTENTIAL INFLATION AND DEBASEMENT OF CURRENCIES.

The Dollar Index has lost 4.2 percent this year. Gold typically moves inversely to the US currency. "There's not many good options for investors to hedge against a declining dollar and rising inflation," Hwang Il Doo, head of trading with KEB Futures Co, said today from Seoul. "Gold will rise to $1,100 an ounce by the end of the year, once physical demand from China and India adds fuel to the rally."

"The reasons to own gold as an investment make sense," Sydney-based Greg Gibbs, a Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc strategist, said in advance of the metal's gain to $1,000 today. "IT IS A HEDGE AGAINST POLICY MAKERS LOSING CONTROL OF FISCAL AND QUANTITATIVE MONETARY POLICIES."

"MONEY HAS BEEN PRINTED MASSIVELY," said investor Jim Slater, who was deputy chairman of Galahad Gold Plc before it liquidated in 2008. "INFLATION WILL FOLLOW FAIRLY SOON" and there may be "A HINT OF HYPERINFLATION. Even a hint will be very good news for gold," said Slater.

He says there is a real risk of "judges arrogating to themselves greater power than they have at the moment". The new court president's Lord Phillips said such an outcome was "a possibility", but was "unlikely". Lord Neuberger has stepped down from the Law Lords and returns to the Court of Appeal next month as head of its civil division with the title of Master of the Rolls.

Lord Neuberger's fears were dismissed by Lord Turnbull, who was one of Tony Blair's most senior advisers when the then prime minister announced wide-ranging constitutional reforms. "It has been alleged that this was all thought up on the back of a fag packet," the former Cabinet Secretary told the programme. "This is entirely wrong." Even so, Lord Turnbull accepted that the Supreme Court justices might become more assertive and more difficult for a future government in their new home across Parliament Square.

Lord Falconer, the Lord Chancellor, who saw the reforms through Parliament, agreed that the new court would strengthen the judiciary. "The Supreme Court will be bolder in vindicating both the freedoms of individuals and, coupled with that, being willing to take on the executive," he said.

Richard Johnson, 54, had been given painkillers for what doctors thought was arthritis. But when it was realised that he had the infection necrotising fasciitis surgeons amputated his left leg in a bid to save him. They then watched in horror as BLACK AREAS SPREAD TO HIS ABDOMEN WHILE THEY WERE OPERATING, an inquest heard.

Mr Johnson, a shop manager from Crediton, Devon, died just a week after he complained of a sore throat. A coroner has urged family doctors to be given more information necrotising fasciitis as a result of the case. THE DISEASE, WHICH IS BECOMING MORE COMMON, is an infection which sweeps through the body, internally and externally, so quickly that IT CAN ACTUALLY BE SEEN SPREADING.

Despite being known as a 'flesh-eating' bug, the bacteria do not actually eat the tissue. They cause the destruction of skin and muscle by releasing toxins. Mortality rates have been noted as high as 73 per cent if left untreated.

Three British Islamic extremists were today found guilty of conspiring to murder thousands in an unprecedented airline bomb plot. Abdulla Ahmed Ali was responsible for the most complex and daring UK-based terrorist conspiracy of modern times.

The 28-year-old, along with two other men, had planned to detonate home-made liquid bombs in suicide attacks on transatlantic aircraft bound for major North American cities. With thousands killed in the air and on the ground, the explosions would have exceeded the carnage of the September 11 attacks. All three will be sentenced on Monday after being found guilty by a jury at Woolwich Crown Court.

British-born Abdulla Ahmed Ali, of Walthamstow, was inspired by the July 7 bombers and Osama Bin Laden and considered taking his baby son on his suicide mission. He planned to smuggle homemade bombs disguised as soft drinks on to passenger jets run by United Airlines, American Airlines and Air Canada. The hydrogen peroxide devices would have been assembled and detonated in mid-air by a team of suicide bombers. He singled out seven flights to San Francisco, Toronto, Montreal, Washington, New York and Chicago that departed within two-and-a-half hours of each other. Authorities on both sides of the Atlantic would have been left powerless to stop the destruction once the first bomb exploded.

The liquids ban is likely to stay in place until there is a machine that can not only monitor all liquids, but do so without causing lengthy delays, which experts predict will take five years. THE BOMB PLOT HAS COST THE AVIATION INDUSTRY AN ESTIMATED £200MILLION, WITH BAA ALONE SPENDING £75MILLION ON A FURTHER 2,500 SECURITY GUARDS.

Researchers at Imperial College London have found evidence a chemical in broccoli and other green leafy vegetables could boost a natural defense mechanism that protects arteries from the clogging that can cause heart attacks.

In a study funded by the British Heart Foundation charity and conducted on mice, the researchers found that sulforaphane - a compound occurring naturally in broccoli and other brassicas - could "switch on" a protective protein which is inactive in parts of the arteries vulnerable to clogging.

"We know that vegetables are clearly good for you, but surprisingly the molecular mechanisms of why they are good for you have remained unknown for many years," said Paul Evans of the National Heart and Lung Institute at Imperial College. "This study provides a possible explanation for how green vegetable consumption can promote a healthy heart."

Despite signs that an economic recovery is taking shape, a soft job market and flat incomes could hinder a sustained recovery, Mohamed El-Erian, Pimco's CEO, told Reuters in an interview. He spoke after the Labor Department reported that US unemployment jumped to a 26-year high in August of 9.7 percent, although the pace of job losses slowed. Employers cut 216,000 jobs from payrolls in August, fewer than forecast, and down from a 276,000 drop in July.

"THE RISK OF A DOUBLE DIP FOR US ECONOMIC GROWTH IN 2010 IS INCREASING," with a 50 percent chance of such a scenario next year, said El-Erian, who oversees $850 billion in assets for Pacific Investment Management Co, known as Pimco. "This challenges equity markets that are currently pricing a V-like recovery in corporate revenues and credit availability."

The summer rally in equity markets and lower-quality bonds has outpaced what is warranted on the basis of forward-looking indicators for demand, revenue, profits and credit flows, El-Erian said. He also cited lingering concerns about the banking system, with investors still nervous about the condition of regional banks in the United States and some European banks. That's one factor behind a huge upward move in gold prices, which has just broken through the $1000 per ounce barrier. DEMAND FOR GOLD IS ALSO BEING DRIVEN BY INFLATION EXPECTATIONS, as well as tighter regulation on financial commodity-based products.

Cheng Siwei, former vice-chairman of the Standing Committee and now head of China's green energy drive, said Beijing was dismayed by the Fed's recourse to credit easing. "We hope there will be a change in monetary policy as soon as they have positive growth again," he said at the Ambrosetti Workshop, a policy gathering on Lake Como.

"If they keep printing money to buy bonds it will lead to inflation, and after a year or two the dollar will fall hard. Most of our foreign reserves are in US bonds and this is very difficult to change, so we will diversify incremental reserves into euros, yen, and other currencies," he said. CHINA'S RESERVES ARE MORE THAN $2 TRILLION, THE WORLD'S LARGEST.

"GOLD IS DEFINITELY AN ALTERNATIVE, but when we buy, the price goes up. We have to do it carefully so as not to stimulate the markets," he added. The comments suggest that China has become the driving force in the gold market and can be counted on to buy whenever there is a price dip, putting a floor under any correction. Mr Cheng said the Fed's loose monetary policy was stoking an unstable asset boom in China. "If we raise interest rates, we will be flooded with hot money. We have to wait for them. If they raise, we raise. CREDIT IN CHINA IS TOO LOOSE. WE HAVE A BUBBLE IN THE HOUSING MARKET AND IN STOCKS so we have to be very careful, because THIS COULD FALL DOWN."