The monarch does not conceal his feelings about the Israeli leader. He described their last encounter – 10 years ago when he had just come to the throne – as the "least pleasant" of his reign. But he, and President Mubarak of Egypt, are expected to meet the Israeli leader before his trip to Washington, where the future course of the region could be decided.

The King said that he was prepared to believe what Israelis have told him — that a right-wing Government in Israel is better able to deliver peace than the Left. "All eyes will be looking to Washington," he said. "If there are no clear signals and no clear directives to all of us, THERE WILL BE A FEELING THAT THIS IS JUST ANOTHER AMERICAN GOVERNMENT THAT IS GOING TO LET US ALL DOWN."

If Israel procrastinated on a two-state solution, or if there was no clear American vision on what should happen this year, the "tremendous credibility" that Mr Obama had built up in the Arab world would evaporate overnight. And IF PEACE NEGOTIATIONS WERE DELAYED, THERE WOULD BE ANOTHER CONFLICT BETWEEN ARABS OR MUSLIMS AND ISRAEL IN THE NEXT 12-18 MONTHS, with implications far beyond the Middle East. "If the call is in May that this is not the right time or we are not interested, then the world is going to be sucked into another conflict in the Middle East," the King said.

Jerusalem was not an international problem but an "international solution", he insisted. A symbol of conflict for centuries, it was now desperately needed to become a symbol of hope. And hinting at the Arab demand for international control of the old city, he said that Islam, Christianity and Judaism should make it a "pillar for the future of this century". He sensed a lot more understanding in these times of cultural and religious suspicions that "Jerusalem could be the binder that we need". The Pope's visit, he said, was timely. His spiritual pilgrimage with a message of peace sent a signal of hope to back up the reconciliation that politicians in the region were planning. "It is all part of one major effort."

Emphasising again the urgency now felt by all Arab governments of making the most of Mr Obama's commitment to a settlement, he said this was a final opportunity. "I think we're going to have to do a lot of shuttle diplomacy, get people to a table in the next couple of months to get a solution". THE ALTERNATIVE WAS BLEAK — WAR, DEATH AND DESTRUCTION. THE KING ADDED: "THIS IS A CRITICAL MOMENT."

I was at the dinner and I began by laughing at Sykes's gentle teases about the press loving Obama so much they never capture him on film smoking but often seem to get him on the beach. But the speech took a very ugly turn when she laid into Limbaugh. This is what she said: "Rush Limbaugh said he hopes this administration fails, so you're saying, 'I hope America fails', you're, like, 'I don't care about people losing their homes, their jobs, our soldiers in Iraq'. HE JUST WANTS THE COUNTRY TO FAIL. TO ME, THAT'S TREASON".

"He's not saying anything differently than what Osama bin Laden is saying. You know, you might want to look into this, sir, because I think Rush Limbaugh was the 20th hijacker. But he was just so strung out on OxyContin he missed his flight." She then concluded: "Rush Limbaugh, I hope the country fails, I hope his kidneys fail, how about that? He needs a good waterboarding, that's what he needs." OBAMA SEEMED TO THINK THIS BIT WAS PRETTY HILARIOUS, GRINNING AND CHUCKLING AND TURNING TO SHARE THE "JOKE" WITH THE PERSON SITTING ON HIS RIGHT.

There's not much room for differing interpretations of what Sykes said. SHE CALLED LIMBAUGH A TERRORIST AND A TRAITOR, SUGGESTED THAT HE BE TORTURED AND WISHED HIM DEAD. WHAT WAS HIS CRIME? HOPING THAT OBAMA'S POLICIES - WHICH HE VIEWS AS SOCIALIST - WILL FAIL. Imagine if a comedian "joked" that Obama was a terrorist who was guilty of treason and should be tortured and allowed to die. There would justifiably be an outcry.

But when the "joke" comes from a liberal, Obama-supporting comedienne and the target is A RIGHT-WINGER then the likes of Hilary Rosen and Donna Brazile are on CNN saying it's just comedy and Limbaugh is "fair game" - And Obama laughing when someone wishes Limbaugh dead? Hard to take from the man who promised a new era of civility and elevated debate in Washington.

The combined value of these two European Space Agency programmes is 1.9bn euros (£1.7bn; $2.5bn). More than that, the effort put into the missions by some scientists and engineers stretches back over 20 years. The destination for both telescopes is a remarkable position in space known as the second Lagrangian point (L2).

It is one of five gravitational "sweet-spots" around the Sun-Earth system where satellites can maintain station by making relatively few orbital corrections. L2 is some 1.5 million km from Earth on its "night side". The observatories will circle this point, keeping the Earth and our star in a near-straight line. Currently, only one spacecraft inhabits L2: the US space agency's WMAP probe.

In the years ahead, however, many more astronomical spacecraft will choose to sit at this location because of the very stable conditions it enjoys. It does not experience, for example, the big swings in temperature and light endured by space telescopes positioned much closer to Earth. That is very important for Herschel and Planck which will both be investigating aspects of the "cold Universe". It will take a little over six weeks to get both telescopes into their final science orbits. The super-satellites can then be handed over to the world's researchers.

PLANCK SPACE TELESCOPE
Planck will need three correction manoeuvres in total
Planck will survey the famous Cosmic Microwave Background
This ancient light's origins date to 380,000 years after the Big Bang
It informs scientists about the age, shape and evolution of the cosmos
Planck's measurements will be finer than any previous satellite

HERSCHEL SPACE TELESCOPE
The Herschel concept has been in development for over 20 years
The observatory is tuned to see the Universe in the infrared
Its 3.5m diameter mirror will be the largest ever flown in space
Herschel can probe clouds of gas and dust to see stars being born
It will investigate how galaxies have evolved through time

The experts called on the G8 industrial nations and leaders of major developing countries, who will gather in Italy in July to discuss the crisis, to boost lending by the International Monetary Fund and remove its tough conditions on government deficits which have worsened economic crises in the past. They called for global coordination to avoid competition to cut taxes, and for a worldwide increase in tax on high earners. The group, which has dubbed itself the "Shadow GN," urged governments to opt for bank nationalizations rather than bailouts in order to drive the pace of fresh lending.

"While the worst consequences of the freezing of credit markets as a result of the failure of Lehman Brothers is now easing it would be wrong to think that the global economic downturn is over," Stiglitz told a news conference, dismissing those who saw "signs of spring" in the world economy. "There is every reason to be concerned and in particular (a need) for a continuation of governments' efforts to stimulate their economies and to resuscitate the financial system."

Aggressive cost-cutting through layoffs and capital expenditure reductions has, it's true, helped many companies report profits that surpassed analysts' estimates. But beneath what can be perceived as "green shoots" of recovery, experts say, lie THE GERMINATING SEEDS OF WHAT COULD BE A MUCH DEEPER, MORE PROLONGED RECESSION. "I think the clear and present danger is the negative feedback loop for the economy," said Greg Peters, head of global-fixed income and economic research at Morgan Stanley in New York.

"If people are getting laid off and if capital expenditures are being pulled back, then that has a cascading effect that is much more long-lasting on the economy." Analysts and investors argue that while job, capex and R&D cuts may shore up individual profits temporarily, they are bad news in the aggregate. They swell the ranks of the unemployed, reduce the wages of those who keep their jobs, and hurt an already struggling economy by further crimping consumer and corporate spending.

And that will only ricochet back on the companies themselves, reducing demand for their products and services and putting additional pressure on their sales and margins.

The document, also known as the Red House Report, is a detailed account of a secret meeting at the Maison Rouge Hotel in Strasbourg on August 10, 1944. There, Nazi officials ordered an elite group of German industrialists to plan for Germany's post-war recovery, prepare for the Nazis' return to power and work for a 'STRONG GERMAN EMPIRE'. In other words: the Fourth Reich.

The industrialists included representatives of Volkswagen, Krupp and Messerschmitt. Officials from the Navy and Ministry of Armaments were also at the meeting and, with incredible foresight, they decided together that the Fourth German Reich, unlike its predecessor, WOULD BE AN ECONOMIC RATHER THAN A MILITARY EMPIRE - BUT NOT JUST GERMAN.

The Third Reich was defeated militarily, but powerful Nazi-era bankers, industrialists and civil servants, reborn as democrats, soon prospered in the new West Germany. There they worked for a new cause: EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL INTEGRATION.

Is it possible that the Fourth Reich those Nazi industrialists foresaw has, in some part at least, come to pass?

At its most extreme, neglect can turn catastrophic: Experts had long expressed concern that New Orleans' aging levees could fail in the face of a major hurricane and they did dramatically in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. By contrast, the condition of the nation's water infrastructure is often hidden from view. Drinking water and efficient sewage disposal is taken for granted along with the safety of the buried pipes, but was much on the minds of several guests at this week's Reuters Infrastructure Summit.

Out of sight, water infrastructure remained largely out of mind for U.S. policymakers in the federal economic stimulus effort. The $787 billion program allotted less than $10 billion for drinking and wastewater projects. State and local officials will not turn the cash away but they say much more is needed to fix and add capacity to the nation's water systems.

"It's something that concerns me, because we pay so much attention to things we see and this is something we don't see - until it's too late," Maryland State Treasurer Nancy Kopp told Reuters in a recent interview. "In Maryland and other eastern states there have been repeated episodes in which pipes carrying clean water or sewage have collapsed," Kopp said.

The Sunday Telegraph has published more details, largely of Labour ministers' claims for their second homes. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said MPs faced "a challenge and wake-up call" and the system needed to change. Sir Stuart said an independent audit body - separate from the Commons fees office which agrees the claims - would be set up to analyse "every claim that is made".

"We will create a new body, a different body that will be separate," Sir Stuart - a member of the Commons Estimates Committee, told the BBC. "I would hope that once this body is created and is up and running it will then be hived off to the private sector to another firm, so there is an entire arm's length between members of Parliament and those who are dispersing amounts under allowances." He said MPs HAD "LOST THE CONFIDENCE OF THE PUBLIC AND WE NEED TO GET THAT BACK".

Northern Ireland Secretary Shaun Woodward, one of the richest men in the cabinet who does not take his full ministerial salary, reportedly claimed £100,000 in mortgage interest over four years. He told the BBC: "I think the public look at us right now, think WE HAVE ALL GOT OUR NOSES IN THE TROUGH - OUR PROFESSION LOOKS SHAMEFUL - IT'S EMBARRASSING. Right now if I try to make almost any defence of our collective position - or my position - it looks terrible." He said MPs' expenses had to be looked at - but other public bodies, like the BBC, should also release their expenses details.

Louis Caldera, the director of the White House Military Office, handed in his resignation Friday. The news comes as Defense Secretary Robert Gates says the Air Force flyover that sparked a panic was not adequately reviewed and approved by senior service and department officials. The flyover was arranged as part of a photo opportunity for White House records. The official photo was released along with Caldera's resignation and the official report on the flyover.

Caldera said the controversy had made it impossible for him to effectively lead the White House Military Office. "Moreover, it has become a distraction in the important work you are doing as president," Caldera said in his resignation letter to President Barack Obama. THE SIGHT OF THE HUGE PASSENGER JET AND AN F-16 FIGHTER PLANE FLYING PAST THE STATUE OF LIBERTY AND THE LOWER MANHATTAN FINANCIAL DISTRICT SENT PANICKED OFFICE WORKERS STREAMING INTO THE STREETS ON APRIL 27. Obama said it would not happen again.

Caldera's office approved the photo-op, which cost $35,000 in fuel alone for the plane and two jet fighter escorts. The Air Force estimated the photo shoot cost taxpayers $328,835.

The sum was greater than the $2.8 billion of imports and exports to the US and represented the second consecutive month that China had topped the trade table. "It is a historic moment," he said, adding that he expected China to remain in pole position for the rest of the year because its economy is still growing healthily. "China is now a platinum account [for Brazil]," said Douglas Smith, a Latin American economist for Standard Chartered bank.

The US has been Brazil's principal trading partner for nearly 80 years, but a sudden surge in Chinese demand for Brazilian iron ore in the first quarter of this year dislodged the Americans. The news is the latest sign of China's increasing challenge to US hegemony in Latin America. China has been steadily increasing its sphere of influence and has become particularly close to the four "Red" South American countries: Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru. China is already Chile's primary trading partner.

The board of Roche, a Swiss-based company which has globalised the name it inherited from its founder, Fritz Hoffmann-La Roche in 1896, must be laughing. It has a drug which has become a household name and been stockpiled by the millions of boxes all over the world, against a potential pandemic that the World Health Organisation (WHO) warns is almost upon us. Roche has supplied governments with 220m courses worldwide. The UK has stored enough to treat half the population. AND YET TAMIFLU IS OF LIMITED USE.

Dr Tom Jefferson, of the Cochrane Collaboration in Rome, HEADED THE MOST AUTHORITATIVE, NON DRUG-COMPANY CONDUCTED (AND THEREFORE WITHOUT THE VESTED INTERESTS) REVIEW YET DONE ON THE FLU DRUGS. He is appalled that such drugs (neuraminidase inhibitors) could be widely used and relied on as the solution to a flu pandemic at the expense of things that really work - like washing your hands dozens of times a day.

The Cochrane review, carried out in 2006 but regularly updated, most recently this year, says the neuraminidase inhibitors do not stop people becoming infected, although they do decrease the amount of virus sprayed from people's noses when they sneeze all over you in the bus or office. They can also reduce the complications of flu, such as bronchitis and pneumonia. The review concluded that THEY MIGHT BE OF SOME HELP IN A PANDEMIC, but strongly recommended they should not be handed out routinely or used for normal winter flu outbreaks.

OF COURSE, GOVERNMENTS AND THE PUBLIC WANT MAGIC BULLETS. There is a belief that where there is an illness, there must be a cure. HANDING OUT DRUGS REDUCES PANIC. People are more likely to stay put at home where they cannot infect too many people if they feel they are being treated.
And there is a role for Tamiflu in severe and complicated cases caught early. But Jefferson balks at the idea of drug hand-outs at schools. "THE SPREAD WILL STOP, BUT ONLY BECAUSE THE CHILDREN HAVE BEEN SENT HOME," he says.

The most important trial in disease prevention of the last 50 years was carried out in 2005 by a US doctor called Stephen Luby. "For that he should receive a Nobel prize," says Jefferson. Luby carried out a randomised trial in squatter settlements in Karachi, promoting hand-washing in half the families. CHILDREN UNDER FIVE WHO REGULARLY WASHED THEIR HANDS had half as many episodes of diarrhoea, impetigo and acute respiratory infection. IT SAVED LIVES. IF THE BIG PANDEMIC HITS, WASHING HANDS WILL SAVE MORE LIVES THAN TAMIFLU, HE PREDICTS.

Meanwhile Tamiflu is sought everywhere. In 2005, Roche asked for help in manufacturing enough of the stuff to satisfy world demand and it got 300 offers from other manufacturers. It has now established 19 partners to produce the drug in 10 locations on three continents. It has also given licences to Indian and Chinese generic companies to make it for the developing world. IF ONLY IT REALLY WAS A MIRACLE CURE.

The sandy beaches north of Chittagong in Bangladesh look like giant steel graveyards. Ships line the banks ready for dismantling. Others are so far disassembled that their hulls are all that is left protruding morosely from the water, according to shipping industry journal Lloyd's List. All kinds of vessels get broken down here: bulk carriers, container ships, vehicle transporters and oil tankers. THE WRECKS ARE REMNANTS OF A DISAPPEARING WORLD. Once they sailed the oceans as flagships of globalization. Now they're symbols of an order that threatens to sink with them.

The global economic and trade crisis is so severe that a growing number of ships, some larger than the Titanic, are being pulled from their routes and sent to scrap yards to be sold for parts. Freight and charter rates have fallen and regularly scheduled passenger lines are being cancelled. Those container ships that are still sailing can barely cover their costs. Over-capacity created in recent boom times has accelerated the trend toward scrapping ships.

It's a "non-stop boom," the Hindustan Times writes. Blowtorches hiss, steel windlasses screech, and sledgehammers pound along the 11 kilometer beach. Cranes remove the superstructures from the deck. A bulk freighter that until recently might have carried bauxite or grain disappears within 40 days. A worker at Pakistan's Gadani beach earns 280 rupees - less than three euros - a day.

The worms are packed up to 3,000 per square meter and chew through the grasslands like lawnmowers, leaving only brown soil in their wake, Xinhua said. The agency described it as the worst plague in three decades in Usu, about 280 km (175 miles) west of the Xinjiang capital Urumqi.

Local experts could not identify the 2-cm (1 inch) long, thorny green worm with black stripes and samples had been sent to Xinjiang Agricultural University, Xinhua said. "The pasture was green a week ago. But now the worms are creeping around, and they even come into my house. I have to sweep them out several times an hour," Xinhua quoted one herdsman as saying.

Xinjiang has in the past used chickens, ducks and other birds to fight locusts, which are also a menace on the grasslands, but so far they have shown little interest in the pesky worms.

Officials at the agency's headquarters in Geneva said they were discussing changes to the six-point scale TO MAKE CLEAR IN THE FUTURE THE GRAVITY OF THE THREAT POSED by a new virus. The move comes against a backdrop of intensifying attacks on the WHO, which has been accused of "crying wolf" over its decisions to raise its pandemic alert from level three to an unprecedented five. This comes amid indications it may even go to the maximum level six.

Media organisations initially seized on the raising of the alerts in front page headlines around the world, but as it has emerged that the death toll has stayed relatively low, so the criticism has mounted. As of Thursday morning the WHO had confirmed 2,099 cases in 23 countries, including 44 deaths. While designed to identify and classify the spread of a new flu virus between humans around the world, the WHO's system of pandemic alerts provides no indication of the danger of the virus.

Even if the A (H1N1) virus in Mexico proves no more lethal than a typical seasonal flu, it could still soon trigger the highest level six WHO pandemic alert once it has been identified as spreading widely between humans in different parts of the world. Margaret Chan, WHO director general, has stressed that an increase to level six is a technical change which does not mean that people around the world are at serious threat. BUT HER REASSURANCES CLASH WITH A WIDELY-HELD PUBLIC UNDERSTANDING OF A PANDEMIC AS A SERIOUS INFECTIOUS DISEASE.

The trend has triggered warnings that a growing culture of entertaining children with TVs and computer games and a lack of boundaries at home or family troubles are increasingly manifesting themselves in class as disruptive behaviour. However, sceptics said the increase was fuelled by a growing tendency to label anti-social traits as medical conditions to excuse poor behaviour or academic underachievement.

Schools and doctors are said to be under increasing pressure from parents to diagnose conditions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and dyslexia, whereas cynics claim in many cases these children are simply naughty or slower to learn. There have also been claims that the surge is partly down to parents 'playing the system' of granting extra time in exams to 'special needs pupils' over recent years. Some experts even claim there is anecdotal evidence that schools identify pupils as having special needs as a means of securing extra funding.

A spokesman for the Department for Children, Schools and Families said: 'These rises are expected as schools and local authorities are now identifying the needs of children more quickly to enable every child to realise their potential and play a full part in the life of their school and their community.