Ziketan, a remote town in a Tibetan area of Qinghai province, has been locked down since Saturday in an effort to contain the spread of the highly virulent disease. One patient was in critical condition and eight others were infected, most of them relatives of the first fatality, a 32-year-old herdsman, or local doctors, Xinhua news agency said.

Initial tests had shown that the herdsman's dead dog was the likely origin of the outbreak, Xinhua reported late Wednesday, quoting professor Wang Hu, director of the Qinghai disease control bureau. Wang said it was likely that the dog died after eating a plague-infected marmot and that the man became infected when he was bitten by fleas while burying the dead dog. He died three days later.

"The first victim buried the dead dog without any protection. After he became infected, his relatives and neighbours were in close contact with him without taking any protective measures, leading to their infection," Wang was quoted as saying. The World Health Organization says the bacteria which causes the plague is endemic in some rodents in the region, such as marmots.

Led by minority whip Eric Cantor from Virginia, the only Jewish Republican in Congress, the delegation of 25 Republicans say their weeklong mission to Israel is designed to show solidarity with the Jewish state and promote Mideast peace. A group of Democratic congressmen are expected to visit next week.

Cantor said that instead of focusing on issues such as Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank, Obama should concentrate on "the primary issue of import… and that is the existential threat that Iran poses not only to the state of Israel but to the United States." The congressman said he is "concerned about what the White House has been signaling of late." Israel believes Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons that could one day be used against the Jewish state. Iran says its nuclear program is meant only for energy production.

Cantor and others supported Israel's handling of the eviction of two Arab families from a house in east Jerusalem earlier this week, a move criticized by the European Union and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. "I don't think we, in America, would want another country telling us how to implement and execute our laws," Cantor said. The Obama administration is pressuring Israel to freeze all settlement activity on lands the Palestinians claim for a future state. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has refused to hold peace talks with Israel until such a freeze is implemented.

The mounting price tag for the rescue of Fannie and its government-sponsored sibling, Freddie Mac, is surpassed only by insurer American International Group Inc, which has received $182.5 billion in financial support from the government so far. Fannie Mae's new request for $10.7 billion from the Treasury Department will bring the total for Fannie and Freddie to nearly $96 billion. Freddie is expected to report its quarterly results on Friday.

The government has pledged up to $400 billion in aid for the two companies, which play a vital role in the mortgage market by purchasing loans from banks and selling them to investors. They have been under government control since last September, when their near-collapse helped set off the financial crisis.

Together, Washington-based Fannie and McLean, Virginia-based Freddie own or guarantee almost 31 million home loans worth about $5.4 trillion. That's about half of all US home mortgages.

IS IT EVEN ADVISABLE TO GET THE SUPPOSEDLY PROTECTIVE VACCINATION AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE? Is the swine flu vaccine truly safe? Or does it pose a health risk? To avoid being accused of doing nothing, government health officials are preparing a vaccination campaign unprecedented in scope. Last Friday, the health ministers of Germany's states ordered 50 million doses of the vaccine from pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).

But their plans do not call for the standard, tried-and-tested program of vaccinations that are administered to millions of Germans each year to combat the seasonal influenza virus. Instead, new types of vaccine production processes will be used, as well as new drugs designed to boost the immune system.

In addition, the vaccine serums have passed through a uniquely accelerated approval process at the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) in London. "WHAT WE ARE EXPERIENCING HERE IS A LARGE-SCALE EXPERIMENT BEING CONDUCTED ON THE GERMAN POPULATION," warns Wolfgang Becker-Brüser, the publisher of arznei telegram, a professional journal critical of the pharmaceutical industry.

Enrollment surged by 2 percent to reach a record 34.4 million people, or one in nine Americans, in May, the latest month for which figures are available. It was the sixth month in a row that enrollment set a record. Every state recorded a gain in participation from April. Florida had the largest increase at 4.2 percent.

Food stamp enrollment is highest during times of economic stress. The US unemployment rate of 9.5 percent is the highest in 26 years. Average benefit was $133.65 in May per person. The economic stimulus package enacted earlier this year included a temporary increase in food stamp benefits of $80 a month for a family of four.

In a statement, they said that the UK recession "APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN DEEPER THAN PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT". The rate-setters also decided to keep interest rates unchanged at their historic low of 0.5% for a sixth month. Also on Thursday, the European Central Bank decided to keep its interest rates unchanged at 1%.

BBC economics editor Stephanie Flanders said that the Monetary Policy Committee's (MPC) £50bn expansion of the programme would surprise many in the markets. "Most expected the MPC to either put the quantitative easing policy on hold or simply spend the remaining £25bn authorised by the chancellor in March. The expansion suggests that the Bank thinks quantitative easing has more to do."

"Clearly the MPC has taken seriously the sharper-than-expected decline in second-quarter economic growth. Despite today's encouraging economic news, the Bank's policymakers probably believe there is greater risk in doing too little than in doing too much."

Researchers in the US and Spain collaborated on the study of 111 children ages 3 to 8 and found that OF ALL THE FORMS OF INACTIVITY THEY EXAMINED, TELEVISION-VIEWING WAS THE WORST. It was linked to significantly higher blood pressure in children — the more TV kids watched, the higher their blood pressure — and the effect held true regardless of whether a child was heavy or at a healthy weight. What's more, OTHER SEDENTARY BEHAVIORS, LIKE USING A COMPUTER, WERE NOT ASSOCIATED WITH SIMILAR BLOOD-PRESSURE HIKES, according to the study, which was published in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine.

"These results show that sedentary behavior, and more specifically television-viewing, is related to blood pressure independent of body fat or obesity level," says Dr Joey Eisenmann, a kinesiologist at Michigan State University and one of the study's co-authors.

So what is it about watching TV that's worse than playing video games or surfing the Internet? Certainly, playing games and using computers involve some movement, like fidgeting or changing body positions, but is that enough to explain the difference? The study's authors propose several other possible explanations. For instance, beyond the complete inactivity involved with TV-viewing — which alone raises the risk of high blood pressure — CHILDREN MAY BE COMPOUNDING THEIR SLOTH BY EATING JUNK FOOD. "A full bag of chips or a plate of hot dogs can disappear a lot more quickly while watching TV than they might at any other occasion," says Ludwig.

Already percolating in the riskiest corners of the corporate bond market MAY BE ANOTHER BUBBLE IN THE MAKING. At the bottom of the credit ratings ladder sit debt-laden companies at the highest risk of not making good on their obligations. The average annual default rate for CCC-rated companies is 25 percent, according to Fitch Ratings. At times of stress, that number can soar as high as 40 percent. Yet investors continue to snap up such debt, making CCC-rated debt among the best performers in July, and bringing total returns for the year to an astounding 56.5 percent, according to the Merrill Lynch Master II High Yield Index.

But the magnitude of the snapback in the riskiest part of the high-yield market suggests more than just pricing out Armageddon is at work. Though stimulus programs like "Cash for Clunkers" have prompted a number of economists to ratchet up their growth forecasts for the second half of the year, consumer weakness and rising joblessness make the outlook anything but certain. And then there's the little detail of the government's need to unwind eventually its massive intervention in the credit markets.

Its purchases of Treasuries and mortgage-related debt, coupled with lending facilities and debt guarantee programs, have left the market awash in liquidity meant to ensure that solidly rated businesses and consumers could still access credit. But it has also given risky companies a chance to stay afloat, even if they didn't deserve saving.

"CCCs are outperforming because we postponed defaults," said Jeffrey Rosenberg, head of credit strategy at Banc of America Securities. "THE BIG QUESTION IS, IF WE GOT ALL THIS BENEFIT WHEN THE FED PUT THE LIQUIDITY IN, WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN WHEN THEY TAKE IT OUT?" IF HISTORY IS ANY GUIDE, THERE WILL BE THE SOUND OF A POP FOLLOWED BY THE USUAL SHOCK — SHOCK THAT INVESTORS WOULD HAVE TAKEN ON SUCH RISK IN THE FIRST PLACE.

But it has said nothing about an even bigger element of high-frequency trading, known as co-location, even as the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is building two new facilities to house such traders. High-frequency trading is a catchall description of several different approaches to stock-trading that capitalize on the blinding speed of supercomputers in analyzing and responding to market data.

The owners of these supercomputers, investment firms such as Goldman Sachs and Citadel Investment in Chicago, employ special proprietary algorithms to interpret the data and execute transactions — all in less time than it takes a human to conjure a thought. ALREADY, VARIOUS FORMS OF HIGH-FREQUENCY TRADING, TAKEN TOGETHER, ACCOUNT FOR MORE THAN HALF OF ALL TRADING NOW TAKING PLACE IN THE US. Critics say the practice can raise the cost of trading for typical investors and contributes to market volatility.

One thing the exchange is not doing is telling the public just who it is that uses the exchange's special access to conduct high-frequency trades. THE NYSE PLANS TO KEEP SECRET THE SMALL GROUP OF INVESTMENT FIRMS that collectively make what could be billions of dollars a year off their special access. And while there has always been some level of special access at the NYSE in the form of trading members who could do more than other firms, the big difference is that that list is public. The NYSE's push to keep the list of firms using co-location services private continues to keep what some consider a shady practice even more in the shadows.

This winners' circle has been dominated by 81 S&P companies with unspectacular credit ratings of "BB" or lower, also categorized as high-yield "junk." The stock prices of these junk-rated companies have jumped on average by between 21 percent and 29.5 percent between July 10 and August 4.

In comparison, investment-grade companies rated "BBB" or above that have seen their shares rise between 9.50 and 19.25 percent, according to data from Bespoke Investment Group, a financial research firm based in Harrison, New York.

Jeff Shacket, vice president of corporate services at Thomson Reuters, added: "It seems to me that if investors are willing to put more money into companies with shaky finances, that's a good sign - not a bad one."

Home price declines will have their biggest impact on prime "conforming" loans that meet underwriting and size guidelines of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the bank said in a report. Prime conforming loans make up two-thirds of mortgages, and are typically less risky because of stringent requirements. "We project THE NEXT PHASE OF THE HOUSING DECLINE WILL HAVE A FAR GREATER IMPACT ON PRIME BORROWERS," Deutsche analysts Karen Weaver and Ying Shen said in the report.

Of prime conforming loans, 41 percent will be "underwater" by the first quarter of 2011, up from 16 percent at the end of the first quarter 2009, it said. Forty-six percent of prime jumbo loans will be larger than their properties' value, up from 29 percent, it said.

Regions suffering the worst negative equity are areas in California, Florida, Arizona, Nevada, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Massachusetts and West Virginia. Las Vegas and parts of Florida and California will see 90 percent or more of their loans underwater by 2011, it added. "FOR MANY, THE HOME HAS MORPHED FROM PIGGY BANK TO ALBATROSS," the analysts said.

After one of the calmest starts to the hurricane season in a decade, the experts from Colorado State University said the development of an EL NINO EFFECT IN THE PACIFIC had caused them to scale back their projections for the Atlantic. The El Nino phenomenon, which involves changes in atmospheric pressure in the southern Pacific, occurs every three to six years, disrupting global weather patterns.

In the Atlantic, El Nino events are associated with decreased levels of hurricane activity, said Philip Klotzbach and William Gray of Colorado State University. "We continue to call for a below-average Atlantic basin tropical cyclone season in 2009. We also anticipate a below-average probability of United States and Caribbean major hurricane landfall," they said. "THIS IS THE QUIETEST START FOR MORE THAN A DECADE. The last time a storm didn't form until August 5 was back in 1992," Klotzbach said.

He added, however, that "a quiet start of the season doesn't necessarily mean that the remainder of the season is going to be quiet. Obviously people in Florida need to be prepared for the hurricane season as every year. 1992 WAS A VERY QUIET HURRICANE SEASON BUT THEN HURRICANE ANDREW FORMED and did... tremendous damage," he said.

The sweeping decision by the owner of titles including The News of the World and The Australian to abandon the practice of giving away news in exchange for attracting a large audience for advertisers could embolden other publishers warily examining paid content models. "We intend to charge for all our news websites," Mr Murdoch said.

"If we're successful, we'll be followed by all media," he added, predicting "significant revenues" from charging for differentiated news online. He warned that "the big competition will be coming from the BBC," which offers online news for free, but said: "Our policy is to win."

In a speech in London, Financial Times Editor Lionel Barber said that within the next 12 months, news agencies will be charging access to their websites. The only thing that will be discussed, according to the editor, is whether they should charge per month or per article or possibly even both.

Federal funds for abortions are now restricted to cases involving rape, incest or danger to the life of the mother. Abortion opponents say those restrictions should carry over to any health insurance sold through a new marketplace envisioned under the legislation, an exchange where people would choose private coverage or the public plan.

Abortion rights supporters say that would have the effect of denying coverage for abortion to millions of women who now have it through workplace insurance and are expected to join the exchange. "We want to see people who have no health insurance get it, but this is a sticking point," said Richard Doerflinger, associate director of pro-life activities for the US Conference of Catholic Bishops. "We don't want health care reform to be the vehicle for mandating abortion. The church can't accept a public plan that covers abortion," he said.

"It's a sham," said Douglas Johnson, legislative director for National Right to Life. "It's a bookkeeping scheme. The plan pays for abortion, and the government subsidizes the plan."

Judge Ian Trigger was told yesterday that a disciplinary inquiry is to look at whether his criticisms of the links between crime, large-scale immigration and the welfare system were 'TOO POLITICAL'. The 65-year-old Crown Court judge, who has also served on immigration tribunals for just over a decade, made his remarks as he jailed an illegal immigrant and drug runner last month.

The official investigation has been ordered by the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, who has the power, along with Justice Secretary Jack Straw, to dismiss judges who speak out of turn. But the decision to put the case before the Office for Judicial Complaints (OJC) was attacked yesterday, WITH SOME CRITICS CLAIMING IT THREATENS THE RIGHT OF ANYONE TO SPEAK OUT ABOUT IMMIGRATION. Sir Andrew Green, chairman of the Migrationwatch pressure group, said: 'There is a great deal of concern, privately expressed, in many parts of the judiciary, about the number of failed asylum-seekers.'

'There ought to be some way in which those concerns can be expressed without infringing judicial guidelines.' Robert Whelan, of the Civitas think-tank, said: 'This reinforces the view that there are certain things that may not be expressed in this country any more. THERE ARE GREAT FEARS FOR FREEDOM OF SPEECH.'