The quake was 8.4 miles deep and centered near the community of Lennox, about 10 miles southwest of downtown Los Angeles. Residents across a wide area of Los Angeles felt a sharp rumbling that lasted 10 to 15 seconds at about 8:39 p.m. (11:39 p.m. EDT). A spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire Department said there were no immediate reports of damage or injury.

Benedict called himself a "friend of the Israelis," as well as "a friend of the Palestinian people" and went on to say that no friend "can fail to weep at the suffering and loss of life that both peoples have endured over the last six decades." In the strongest language of his entire visit, Benedict made an impassioned appeal: "No more bloodshed! No more fighting! No more terrorism! No more war! Instead let us break the vicious circle of violence. Let there be lasting peace based on justice, let there be genuine reconciliation and healing."

Again, to leave no doubts what all this means in practical terms, Benedict declared his intentions in the clearest of terms. First, to those who still dispute Israel's right to exist as a state, Benedict stated: "LET IT BE UNIVERSALLY RECOGNIZED THAT THE STATE OF ISRAEL HAS THE RIGHT TO EXIST, and to enjoy peace and security within internationally agreed borders."

Moving on to the flip side of the relation, he said: "LET IT BE LIKEWISE ACKNOWLEDGED THAT THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE HAVE A RIGHT TO A SOVEREIGN INDEPENDENT HOMELAND, to live with dignity and to travel freely. Let the two-state solution become a reality, not remain a dream." If anyone still harbored doubts regarding Benedict XVI's political aspirations for the Holy Land, this clear statement should leave little room for doubt.

The Pope said this on the final day of his Holy Land pilgrimage, in the presence of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem and All Palestine, Theophilus III, in an ecumenical meeting at the patriarchate.

The Pontiff expressed the hope that the meeting will "give new impetus to the work of theological dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Churches, adding to the recent fruits of study documents and other joint initiatives. Such ecumenical experience bears clear witness to the link between the unity of the Church and her mission," he noted.

After this meeting, the Pontiff went to visit the Holy Sepulcher nearby, and then went to the Armenian Apostolic patriarchal church of St. James. In the presence of Archbishop Torkom II Manoukian and members of the Armenian Church, the Pontiff affirmed that the meeting "IS ANOTHER STEP ALONG THE PATH TOWARDS THE UNITY WHICH THE LORD DESIRES FOR ALL HIS DISCIPLES."

Mr Obama will make clear that HE WILL NOT ALLOW HIS FOREIGN POLICY OBJECTIVES TO BE DICTATED BY THE JEWISH STATE'S INTERESTS, and that its leaders must resume working for peace with the Palestinians. The President has already fired warning shots across the bows of the Israeli government to signal that he will not be pushed around by Mr Netanyahu's newly elected right-wing coalition. Many within Israel's government are openly hostile to two key aspects of American policy on the Middle East: statehood for the Palestinians and engagement with Iran.

Martin Indyk, a former US ambassador to Israel, said: "Netanyahu is caught between a rock and a hard place, the rock being the president's determination to achieve a two-state solution and the hard place being his political base which opposes it. He's inching toward the Obama position but trying to avoid saying the words, 'two-state solution.'"

Mr Netanyahu's political survival may depend on him sticking to his position. Avigdor Lieberman, the Israeli foreign minister whose right-wing party is essential to the survival of the Likud-led coalition, is forthrightly opposed to the creation of a Palestinian state.

Analysts say that while the Taliban has almost no chance of ever being in a position to launch a nuclear warhead, there is a real danger militants could exploit chaos in Pakistan to hijack or steal enough radioactive material to build the kind of device long feared by counterterrorist officials - a dirty bomb. U.S. and allied officials have expressed mounting concern over what would happen to Pakistan's warheads if the country lurched further into chaos and the Taliban came closer to seizing power.

"The collapse of Pakistan, al Qaeda acquiring nuclear weapons, an extremist takeover - that would dwarf everything we've seen in the war on terror," David Kilcullen, an Australian anti-insurgency expert and adviser to U.S. Central Command chief General David Petraeus, warned earlier this year. But most analysts say the Taliban is nowhere near able to mount a serious power grab across Pakistan. And even if they seized an area where warheads were stored, the nuclear command system would make it almost impossible to launch one.

"I don't think there is any risk whatsoever of nuclear weapons falling into the hands of dangerous radical Islamic elements for the foreseeable future," said Alastair Newton, senior political analyst at Nomura in London.

Writing in the News of the World today Gordon Brown said he was 'appalled and angered' by last week's expenses revelations. He also apologised, on behalf of all parties, to those 'striving hard in these difficult times' that the political system had let them and the public down. The Prime Minister said he was brought up to believe 'you did the right thing – and that trust, integrity and honesty are the most precious assets of all.'

He also said: 'I want to assure every citizen of my commitment to a complete clean-up of the system. Wherever and whenever immediate disciplinary action is required I will take it. The bottom line is that any MP who is found to have defied the rules will not be serving in my government.' His comments come as Labour's most generous donors are to withdraw financial support worth millions and called for the arrest of some MPs at the centre of the expenses revelations, according to the Observer.

Neither Buckingham Palace nor Downing Street would comment on the conversation between Mr Brown and the Queen, insisting that it remain confidential. However, well-placed sources say the Queen is 'deeply troubled' by the scandal and had made it clear that she feared it could inflict 'long-lasting damage' to the Commons.

Protests and vigils have been held on and around campus, with several people arrested before Mr Obama's speech. Mr Obama, who received an honorary degree, defended the right to abortion but said the procedure should be rare.

After entering the White House in January the president also quickly moved to reverse a Bush-era ban on embryonic stem-cell research, angering many social conservatives. There are approximately 60 MILLION ROMAN CATHOLICS IN THE US, with almost half of them supporting abortion rights, research suggests. Some 42% BELIEVE ABORTION SHOULD BE ILLEGAL.

The decision to invite Mr Obama to Notre Dame, the largest Catholic university in the US, has been fiercely criticised. Many activists and Church leaders have directed their ire at the university authorities they accuse of betraying Catholic principles. Bishop John D'Arcy, of the diocese where Notre Dame is located, said he would boycott the graduation for the first time in his 24 years as bishop, the Chicago Tribune reported.

"The Holy Sepulcher is the place of the resurrection of Jesus Christ," noted Father Atuire. "This place marks the renaissance in the history of humanity. I believe that the visit of Benedict XVI here to the Holy Land has been a moment for THE RENAISSANCE OF THE RELATIONS BETWEEN CHRISTIANS, MUSLIMS AND JEWS." The priest cited as an example the comments of Israel's President Shimon Peres when he told the Pontiff that never in the history of 2,000 years have the relations between Jews and Christians been better.

"The Pope has washed away the fears and worries that were there before the visit, and he has cleared away the environment to establish a new era in the relations between Christians and Jews," said Father Atuire. "And the same has happened with the Muslims," he continued. It is enough to listen to the address from Thursday in Nazareth, of the Muslim representative, to see that a new era is opening."

"In the four years of the pontificate of Benedict XVI there have been tensions with Jews and Muslims, and the media has made it look that interreligious relations have gotten worse under this Pope," added the pilgrimage director. "But this trip shows that these accusations don't have any basis."

The priest said that as another fruit of the trip, "it can be hoped that the peace process, that goes forward on square wheels, begins to gain speed. There are many convergent elements that are seeking peace in this land and the Pope's visit has given a lot of encouragement to those who seek peace. The Pope confirmed to Mahmud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian National Authority, THE NEED TO CREATE TWO STATES THAT LIVE IN SECURITY AND COLLABORATION, guaranteeing the right to free movement, in which its citizens can live in dignity with their families. In this sense, it is not just a political peace, but one that comes from the heart of each person."

At a conference in the Vatican, Prof Michel Schooyans, an expert on bioethics and demography, said BLAIR WANTED TO REMAKE THE WORLD'S MAJOR RELIGIONS AND USE THEM TO EXPAND "NEW RIGHTS". The Belgian priest argued that its goals could not be realised "except at the price of sacrificing religious freedom, of the imposition of a 'politically correct' interpretation of the Sacred Scriptures and of the sabotage of the natural foundations of law".

Mandrake reported earlier this month that William Chapman, the foundation's director of policy, stepped down amid rumours of a dispute over Blair's "lecturing" of the Pope on homosexuality. The foundation says it seeks "to encourage humanitarian action based on certain values which the great faiths share".

In an interview with a magazine for homosexuals, BLAIR QUESTIONED THE POPE'S ATTITUDE TOWARDS HOMOSEXUALITY, arguing that religious leaders must start "rethinking" the issue. He was later rebuked by the Most Rev Vincent Nichols, the new Archbishop of Westminster, who said Catholic thinking was "rather different" from the kind promoted by the former PM.

The president is due to give what is known in America as a "commencement speech", but in terms of his popularity he will want it to be a question of more of the same rather than any kind of new beginning. The president will address thousands of Notre Dame students at their graduation ceremony. Such speeches are usually not controversial.

Indeed, Mr Obama has already given several at other universities around the country this week, sticking to the safer ground of joking about the relevant college sports teams and trying to inspire America's brightest and best as they step out into the jobs market during one of the bleakest economic periods in US history. But on Sunday, he might have to touch on more sensitive issues.

Anti-abortion campaigners have been running TV and online adverts backed by dramatic music and Hollywood thriller-style scripting, urging people around the country to protest at Mr Obama's speech. "IT'S CLEAR THAT NOTRE DAME DIDN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT IT MEANS TO BE CATHOLIC when they issued this invitation" the online advert says. Catholic bishops across the country have strongly criticised the university's President - Reverend John Jenkins - for inviting Mr Obama. Some have called for him to be sacked.

America's only ever Catholic President, John F Kennedy, gave a famous speech while running for election in 1960 urging people not to vote for or against him because of his faith. HE ARGUED THAT THERE WERE MORE PRESSING ISSUES THAN RELIGION for the country to deal with. Almost half a century on, President Obama, his Christian faith notwithstanding, may well feel the same.

On its ninth day of disclosures from leaked expense claims by members of parliament from all parties, the Daily Telegraph said Labour's David Chaytor claimed 13,000 pounds of taxpayers' money for a mortgage he had already paid off.

Brown's political spokesman said Chaytor, who has promised to repay the cash, had been suspended pending an inquiry. Suspension strips Chaytor of his membership of the parliamentary Labour party and converts him into an independent MP.

With two MPs now suspended and a junior minister stepping down while allegations about his finances are investigated, Labour has been hardest hit in a scandal which has scarred parliament's reputation and could influence coming elections. Claims for lawnmower repairs, dog food, porn films and moat cleaning have angered recession-hit Britons already disenchanted with the political classes. The affair has also fuelled growing dissatisfaction with a Labour government in power since 1997.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak says he believes Netanyahu will back the two-state plan when he meets with President Barack Obama on Monday. Barak told Channel 2 TV on Saturday that he believes AN AGREEMENT WITH THE PALESTINIANS IS POSSIBLE WITHIN THREE YEARS.

According to a poll of voters initiated by the Left party in the German Bundestag, 70 PERCENT OF THE RESPONDENTS WANT THE LISBON TREATY TO BE RE-NEGOTIATED and another poll undertaken by the Institute Forsa says that 73 PERCENT OF GERMANS AGREE THAT "THE EU TAKES TOO MANY POWERS FROM GERMANY".

A new YouGov/E!Sharp poll reveals that neither the German nor the British public have much faith in the EU taking "the right decisions to tackle the current recession". 60% of Germans do not trust the EU to combat the economic crisis, while 64% of Britons agree.

Meanwhile, El Mundo and the FT report that Germany is suffering its deepest recession since the Second World War. German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrück has announced the deficit will exceed €50bn in 2009, rising to €90bn next year. Meanwhile, Euobserver reports that the eurozone economies "will contract by twice as much this year as previously predicted".

An article in the IHT looks at voter apathy in the upcoming European elections, and writes "Few Europeans realise it, but the bulk of their legislation on issues like the environment, consumer rights and transport is made in this way [on the EU level], rather than in national capitals."

Known as "Dr Doom" for his negative stance, Prof Roubini argues that China is better placed than the US to provide a reserve currency for the 21st century because it has a large current account surplus, focused government and few of the economic worries the US faces. In a column in the New York Times, Prof Roubini warns that with the proposal for a new international reserve currency via the International Monetary Fund, Beijing has already begun to take steps to usurp the greenback.

China will soon want to see the yuan included in the International Monetary Fund's special drawing rights "basket", he warns, as well as seeing it "used as a means of payment in bilateral trade." Prof Roubini's warning followed the US government's latest economic data that showed producer prices in April experienced their biggest year-on-year drop since 1950, falling 3.7pc.

The number of Americans claiming unemployment benefit for the first time rose by 32,000 to 637,000 in the week to May 9. The increase meant the total number of people claiming benefits stood at to 6.56m, a record high for the 15th consecutive week in a row.

He said the Holocaust "must never be forgotten or denied". Israeli President Shimon Peres thanked him for his visit, calling it a "profound demonstration of the enduring dialogue" between Christians and Jews. He particularly highlighted the Pope's statement about the Holocaust never being denied, saying it carried "substantive and special weight. It touched our hearts and minds."

The Pope, in reply, described the "powerful impressions" he had gathered during his visit. Meeting Holocaust survivors at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem was "one of the most solemn moments" for him. "Those deeply moving encounters brought back memories of my visit three years ago to the death camp at Auschwitz, where so many Jews - mothers, fathers, husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, friends - were brutally exterminated under a godless regime." The "appalling chapter of history must never be forgotten or denied", he said.

During his visit, the Pope was criticised by commentators and politicians for failing to express sufficient remorse for the Holocaust and over his membership of the Hitler Youth as a teenager. HE REITERATED THE CALL FOR A TWO-STATE SOLUTION, AS ISRAEL HAD THE RIGHT TO EXIST, AND THE PALESTINIANS "HAVE A RIGHT TO A SOVEREIGN INDEPENDENT HOMELAND".

He also spoke about the wall built by Israeli authorities to separate Israel from Palestinian territories. "As I passed alongside it, I prayed for a future in which the peoples of the Holy Land can live together in peace and harmony without the need for such instruments of security and separation."