British Prime Minister Gordon Brown expressly warns against abandoning "the gospel of free trade." What an extraordinary thing to say. Surely what the last few months have taught us is that there is no economic or financial principle that we should not be challenging, interrogating, questioning. Moreover their dogmatism smacks of duplicity. Brown's anti-protectionist stance can hardly be reconciled with his "British jobs for British Workers" battle-cry. And it's not just Brown, A NEW WORLD BANK REPORT STATES THAT 17 OF THE G-20 COUNTRIES HAVE IN RECENT MONTHS SET UP PROTECTIONIST BARRIERS.

So we have countries publicly preaching free trade, BUT ON THE SLY MAKING PROTECTIONIST MOVES. Such dissemblance creates two problems. IT FOSTERS DISTRUST BETWEEN NATIONS - at a time at which without trust there's almost no chance that a collective solution to the crisis will be reached. And, it also sends out a dangerous message to domestic electorates that their leaders are unwilling to embrace the intellectual honesty and flexibility that is needed right now to question absolutely everything they have held dear in economic policy over the last three decades, no caveats.

We urgently need a frank, honest and grown-up discussion about the final frontier of neo-liberalism - free trade. And we're not getting one. INSTEAD WE GET SCAREMONGERING. "Remember the 1930s; don't take us back there." This isn't even an accurate representation of the past. Leading economic historians now explain the collapse of world trade in the 1930s not as a result of protectionism, but because of shrinking demand and a lack of trade credits.

"We're going to be working hard to see what we can do to move the process forward. But we're under no illusions. It's not going to be easy," said State Department spokesman Robert Wood. "We have to engage constantly and remind the parties of their obligations and to try to set up a framework, a process for getting us toward that goal of a two-state solution," Wood added, referring to the goal of separate Israeli and Palestinian states, living side by side in peace.

Israel's new foreign minister angered Palestinians and raised the prospect of tension with Washington on Wednesday by saying Israel was not bound by a deal to start negotiations on establishing a Palestinian state. On his first day at the Foreign Ministry, ultranationalist Avigdor Lieberman said the US-backed Annapolis declaration of 2007 "has no validity," confirming a shift in stance under new Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

State Department spokesman Robert Wood said, "We're going to pursue that two-state solution, because we believe it's in the best interests of all the parties in the region."

North Korea says it will launch a satellite between April 4 and 8. The US, South Korea and Japan say the launch – even if the missile carries a satellite – would breach a United Nations resolution passed after North Korea tested a long-range Taepodong-2 without advance warning in 2006. Barack Obama, US president, and Lee Myung-bak, South Korea's president, agreed after their G20 meeting in London on the need for a "unified" international response if Pyongyang carried out the launch. South Korea said Mr Lee wanted a "stern response".

While North Korea says the missile – which satellite imagery shows on the launch pad at Musudan-ri – will carry a communications satellite, the US and its Asian allies see the launch as a pretext to test the Taepodong-2. When North Korea first tested the intercontinental ballistic missile, which has the ability to reach the continental US, in 2006 it failed shortly after launch.

The US has sent navy ships to the region that could be used in any attempt to shoot down the missile. In an interview with the Financial Times, Robert Gates, US defence secretary, said he was "pretty confident that this is a space shot, a satellite shot. If it is a space shot – and we will know that pretty early on after launch – then there would be no need to shoot it down," said Mr Gates. "Our concern is principally if it does go astray, or is some kind of a failure, that looks like it is potentially a danger to Japan or to Hawaii, then we would contemplate doing something."

There will also be sanctions against secretive tax havens and tougher global financial regulation. And the G20 has committed about $250bn to boost global trade. The deal was announced shortly before the European stock markets closed and gave leading indexes a significant boost. London's FTSE 100 index of leading shares ended 4.3% higher. In Paris, the Cac 40 jumped 5.4% and in Frankfurt, the Dax rose 6%.

On behalf of the G20, Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced the following steps:

- Bankers' pay and bonuses will be subject to stricter controls
- A new Financial Stability Board will be set up to work with the IMF to ensure co-operation across borders and provide an early warning mechanism for the financial system
- There will be greater regulation of hedge funds and credit ratings agencies
- A common approach to cleaning up banks' toxic assets has been agreed
- The world's poorest countries will receive $100bn extra aid
- G20 countries are already implementing the biggest economic stimulus "the world has ever seen" - an injection of $5tn by the end of next year.

President Barack Obama said the summit could mark a "turning point" in the pursuit of economic recovery and made progress in reforming a "failed regulatory system". "By any measure the London summit was historic. It was historic because of the size and the scope of the challenges that we face and because of the timeliness and the magnitude of our response," he said.

BBC business editor Robert Peston said the tougher financial regulation announced by the G20 was a significant step. HE SAID IT SOUNDED THE DEATH KNELL FOR THE FREEWHEELING ANGLO-AMERICAN WAY OF BANKING AND CONDUCTING FINANCIAL MARKETS. However, he said the measures would not get the world out of recession overnight.

Gordon Brown had been pushing for substantial assistance for the developing world, and said that in the end that was the focus of discussion, not the anticipated argument between Europe and the United States over banking regulation and the scale of fiscal stimulus needed.

What he achieved was a far more substantial package for the developing world than had been expected beforehand. Of the $250 billion (£170bn) in 'Special Drawing Rights' - essentially short-term debt - $19 billion of that is earmarked for the poorest, least developing countries.

The sale of International Monetary Fund (IMF) gold will also make credit available many times in excess of the capital sum itself, once it goes through the system. The measure that could make the most difference in the short term for the poorest countries is availability of $250bn of trade credit. That figure too is larger than was anticipated before the summit. It will enable goods currently rotting on the quayside in Africa to move again. That was the change that the poorest countries were pushing most.

The IMF was set up to help countries which get into short-term financial crises because they do not have enough currency to pay their bills. But in return, it imposes strict conditions on those countries, such as cutting their budget deficits. Now, with the financial crisis intensifying, more and more countries are coming to the IMF for help and its supply of funds to loan may run out.

The IMF is also set to have a bigger role in preventing future crises, by developing an early warning system for financial problems, and taking a larger role in looking at the problems of the financial sector as a whole, in conjunction with a new global regulator, the Financial Services Board. But the biggest changes in the IMF will come after 2011, when it has been agreed that there will be a review of the voting structure. THAT COULD LEAD TO THE US LOSING ITS VETO POWER, WHILE CHINA AND OTHER EMERGING COUNTRIES GET A BIGGER VOICE.

It has already been agreed that in future, the convention that the World Bank and IMF must be headed by an American and a European respectively will be abandoned. In return, China will be asked to lend some of its reserves to the IMF - and will continue to push for the idea that THE SDR WILL BECOME A REAL RESERVE CURRENCY, ULTIMATELY REPLACING THE DOLLAR.

During the meeting Mr Hu stressed China's commitment to strengthen macro-economic control and expand domestic demand, the White House said. The two leaders agreed to work together to renew world economic growth, strengthen the financial system and establish a "strategic and economic dialogue" group that would first meet in Washington later this year. The White House also announced that Mr Obama would visit China in the second half of the year.

But with China demonstrating that it now wants to play a much more decisive role in international economic affairs, their meeting may have also set the tone for the rest of the London summit. While talk of an emerging "G2" ignores the increasingly multilateral basis of financial diplomacy, it does reflect the REALITY THAT ON A GROWING RANGE OF INTERNATIONAL ISSUES, LITTLE CAN HAPPEN WITHOUT AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE US AND CHINA.

The more assertive stance also reflects anger building in China about criticism that its large current account surplus and reserves helped create the crisis and the realisation that its huge holdings of US bonds give it little direct leverage over US policy.

2008 was a bear. There were no sunspots observed on 266 of the year's 366 days (73%). To find a year with more blank suns, you have to go all the way back to 1913, which had 311 spotless days. Prompted by these numbers, some observers suggested that the solar cycle had hit bottom in 2008. Maybe not. Sunspot counts for 2009 have dropped even lower. As of March 31st, there were no sunspots on 78 of the year's 90 days (87%).

It adds up to one inescapable conclusion: "WE'RE EXPERIENCING A VERY DEEP SOLAR MINIMUM," says solar physicist Dean Pesnell of the Goddard Space Flight Center. "THIS IS THE QUIETEST SUN WE'VE SEEN IN ALMOST A CENTURY," agrees sunspot expert David Hathaway of the Marshall Space Flight Center.

Quiet suns come along every 11 years or so. It's a natural part of the sunspot cycle, discovered by German astronomer Heinrich Schwabe in the mid-1800s. Sunspots are planet-sized islands of magnetism on the surface of the sun; they are sources of solar flares, coronal mass ejections and intense UV radiation.

Barack Obama, currently on his first overseas trip as president, phoned Netanyahu in the early morning hours Wednesday, and congratulated him on his first day in office. Obama, according to Olmert's office, made clear that US support for Israel's security was unwavering, and wished him well.

According to Netanyahu's office, the conversation lasted close to 30 minutes, and was held in a "friendly" atmosphere. The two agreed to meet in the near future, though no date was given. Netanyahu also spoke by phone with Russia Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, for an extended conversation that was described as "warm." Putin, according to Netanyahu's office, said Netanyahu was a "welcome guest in Moscow."

The gist of his message had to do with Iran. "The Obama presidency has two great missions: fixing the economy, and preventing Iran from gaining nuclear weapons," Netanyahu said. "You don't want a messianic apocalyptic cult controlling atomic bombs. When the wide-eyed believer gets hold of the reins of power and the weapons of mass death, then the entire world should start worrying, and that is what is happening in Iran."

The Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, was launched in the midst of last fall's collapse of the nation's banking system and is designed to get loans flowing to businesses and individuals.

But "without a clearer explanation" about parts of the program, "IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO EXERCISE MEANINGFUL OVERSIGHT OVER TREASURY'S ACTIONS," said Elizabeth Warren, a Harvard Law School professor who leads a special congressional oversight panel monitoring the TARP program. Her comments came in a Senate Finance Committee hearing on the bailout program.

Noting that TARP passed Congress six months ago, Warren said that her group has repeatedly called on the Treasury Department to provide a clear strategy for the program — and that "the absence of such a vision hampers effective oversight." Warren's oversight panel made news earlier this year with its report that Treasury's bailout programs had overpaid by an estimated $78 billion in its transactions with the nation's ailing financial institutions. She said that issue is still under investigation.

The big drop foreshadows a huge decline in the non-farm payroll reading in the government's employment report that will be released on Friday, some analysts said. "It's a terrible number. It is almost a loss of three quarters of a million jobs which is possibly the highest we have seen so far over the length of this crisis," said Matt Esteve, foreign exchange trader with Tempus Consulting in Washington.

U.S. stock futures and the dollar fell after news of the bigger-than-expected job losses, while U.S. Treasury bonds regained some of their lost ground. Economists had expected 655,000 private-sector job cuts in March in the ADP report, according to a recent Reuters poll.

New pledges from the Fed, the Treasury Department and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. include $1 trillion for the Public-Private Investment Program, designed to help investors buy distressed loans and other assets from U.S. banks. The money works out to $42,105 for every man, woman and child in the U.S. and 14 times the $899.8 billion of currency in circulation. The nation's gross domestic product was $14.2 trillion in 2008.

President Barack Obama and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner met with the chief executives of the nation's 12 biggest banks on March 27 at the White House to enlist their support to thaw a 20-month freeze in bank lending. "The president and Treasury Secretary Geithner have said they will do what it takes," GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC. CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Lloyd Blankfein said after the meeting. "If it is enough, that will be great. If it is not enough, they will have to do more."

"I fear worse to come - a full-blown political crisis defined by growing social unrest, weakened governments and angry publics who have lost all faith in their leaders and their own future." He said the global economic downturn affected the poorest countries the most, and noted that in these countries "THINGS FALL APART ALARMINGLY FAST. Unless we build a worldwide recovery we face a looming catastrophe in human development," Ban wrote.

Several officers were injured and a branch of the Royal Bank of Scotland targeted by drunken troublemakers. So far, 32 people have been taken into custody. Eleven of the arrests were made yesterday morning after officers found police uniforms in the back of an armoured vehicle parked in the City of London. Others were made for violent disorder, threatening behaviour, indecency and one for possessing Class A drugs. A violent mob with their faces covered by bandanas broke into the RBS building after windows at its entrance were smashed.

RBS had to be bailed out by the Government last autumn and has been widely condemned for giving its former chief executive a £16 million pension. Sir Fred Goodwin, who led the bank to the brink of collapse, has become the focus of public anger over the financial crisis. Today, a printer and other pieces of equipment were hurled from the building as the gang ransacked the office.

Hundreds of protesters cheered as a blue office chair was used to smash one of the blacked-out branch windows. The violence came despite an unprecedented police presence due to the protests over today's G20 summit and Barack Obama's visit. Around the bank, crowds charged police lines as officers hit back with baton charges. CITY WORKERS ADDED TO THE FEBRILE ATMOSPHERE BY WAVING WADS OF MONEY FROM THEIR OFFICE WINDOWS AND SHOUTING INSULTS AT THE PROTESTERS.

The proposals would also see France forced to put its military bases in Africa and South America under EU control. They go so far as to suggest that TWO AIRCRAFT CARRIERS BEING BUILT FOR THE ROYAL NAVY SHOULD BECOME AN EU 'CAPABILITY'. The idea drew a rebuttal from the Ministry of Defence, which insisted British facilities would remain under British control.

The study was commissioned by the European Parliament's security and defence committee as part of an analysis into how THE EU SHOULD RESPOND TO EMERGING MILITARY POWERS IN ASIA. The report calls for 'institutional reforms' within the EU. It concludes: 'The EU member states' military installations - mainly French and British - would provide a formidable asset for the geographical and functional expansion of EU grand strategy.' Geoffrey Van Orden, the Tories' EU defence spokesman, said: 'THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH A GENUINE CONTRIBUTION TO EUROPEAN SECURITY AND EVERYTHING TO DO WITH EU PROMOTION OF ITS OWN MISPLACED MILITARY AMBITIONS.'

Enthusiasts for European Defence want to see a common EU foreign policy backed by centrally-controlled EU military forces. But opponents fear an EU Army will become a building block for a future European super-state. An MoD spokesman played down the proposals, saying use of British bases was a decision for the UK Government. He added: 'The UK's policy remains that there will be no standing European army, navy or air force. We have just one set of military forces and they don't belong to either NATO or the EU - they belong to us.'