The president on Monday continued to pressure the government to give up control of six sites including the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth, the Coenaculum on Mount Zion and the Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, and the Church of the Multiplication on the Kinneret.

"If we were sure that this present to the Christian world would bring millions of Christian pilgrims here, then we would have a good reason to think about it," Tourism Minister Stas Meseznikov was quoted as saying. "But since we're not sure that it will happen, why should we give out gifts?"

The Army Radio report also quoted the president's office as saying that the negotiations had been going on for long enough, and that the time had come to compromise with the Vatican and come to an agreement. Pope Benedict XVI is scheduled to arrive for a visit to the Holy Land on May 11.

The company has recently gone mainstream with a new promotional campaign, reaching AN EXPANDED AUDIENCE OF POTENTIAL ADULTERERS with light-hearted television advertisements placed on peak-viewing daytime slots. Membership has soared from one million to 3.6 million in just 12 months, and the company expects another surge after it launched a service allowing members to access the site from their mobile phones. The innovation is aimed at would-be cheaters who are nervous about leaving evidence of their infidelity on their computer at home or work.

Mr Biderman said that many couples who would otherwise have divorced were seeking affairs at the moment because of the cost of hiring lawyers and the difficulty of selling the marital home. "We're not just recession-proof, we're booming," declared Mr Biderman, 37, a happily married father-of-two who set up the business in his home city of Toronto in 2001.

The Telegraph spoke to three women, all of whom gave pseudonyms, about why they had signed up. Tamara, 32, who works in the film business in Hollywood, said: "I got married too young to the wrong man seven years ago and everything has been downhill for the last five years. I can see the moral ambiguity of this service and I understand why some will criticise it. But life is not black and white and sometimes you find yourself doing things you would never have dreamed of. And I feel happy and hopeful again for the first time in a long time."

"It is a bit dynamic right now," said Stephanie Prejean, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey at the Alaska Volcano Observatory. Prejean said the day began with more continuous ash emissions. In the afternoon, there was an ash and steam plume that went to 18,000 feet.

The volcano has been in what is called a dome-building phase as it grows a lava dome in its crater. The dome has grown considerably in recent weeks, observatory scientists said. A tongue of lava now has advanced about 550 yards down the Drift Glacier Gorge.

The volcano had its last major explosion on April 4. Since then, the dome has been growing. It first erupted on March 22. That was followed by numerous large explosions, some sending ash plumes more than 50,000 feet into the air.

The officials emphasized that there was no reason to believe that the arsenal, most of which is south of the capital, Islamabad, faced an imminent threat. President Obama said last week that he remained confident that keeping the country's nuclear infrastructure secure was the top priority of Pakistan's armed forces.

But the United States does not know where all of Pakistan's nuclear sites are located, and its concerns have intensified in the last two weeks since the Taliban entered Buner, a district 60 miles from the capital. The spread of the insurgency has left American officials less willing to accept blanket assurances from Pakistan that the weapons are safe.

Pakistani officials have continued to deflect American requests for more details about the location and security of the country's nuclear sites, the officials said. Some of the Pakistani reluctance, they said, stemmed from longstanding concern that the United States might be tempted to seize or destroy Pakistan's arsenal if the insurgency appeared about to engulf areas near Pakistan's nuclear sites.

In the Normandy town of Cambremer, there is a celebration of all the good things the region produces. Up and down the winding streets of the town stalls are heavy with cheese, calvados, more cheese, cider, sausage and more cheese. At one rare non-cheese stand Didier Bedu stands behind a wall of calvados bottles.

How, I ask him, does France feel towards the EU? "Maybe more enthusiastic than the British," he laughs, "but more and more sceptical. THEY [THE EU] WANT TO MANAGE AND CONTROL EVERYTHING, IN ALL THE SMALL DETAILS OF LIFE, AND THIS IS NOT THE ROLE OF THE EU. THIS IS THE ROLE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT."

You can put growing French doubts down to a national insecurity, to concern about having to share the EU stage with so many others, or to economic worries that may yet resolve themselves - as fears over competition with Spain and Portugal did in the 1980s. But doubts there are, and they will continue to grow. And who knows, just as in the referendum four years ago - when the French rejected the EU constitution - come the June elections they may surprise their leaders once again.

European Parliament elections :- 4-7 June.

"The Pope's visit to the region should reflect collaboration of Muslims and Christians throughout history, but sticking to provocative attitudes will not serve this message." Abu Bakr urged the pontiff to "apologise to Muslims for his remarks against Islam and the Prophet Muhammad. Ignoring Muslims' sentiments by Pope Benedict XVI will only block the healing of wounds his statements caused," he said without specifying the statements made previously by the Pope against Muslims.

During a 2006 lecture at the University of Regensburg in Germany, where he once taught theology, Benedict quoted a 14th-century Byzantine emperor, one of the last Christian rulers before the fall of Constantinople to the Muslim Ottoman Empire, "Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."

Abu Bakr expressed Islamists' objection to the Pope's scheduled visit to the Holocaust memorial in Israel, saying the visit "will take place only a short time after the Zionist entity killed hundreds of Palestinian children, women and old men in the Gaza Strip. We ask if the Pope of the Vatican will visit Gaza to explore how humanity is being violated, or this does not deserve his visit?"

Father Lombardi clarified that it is "above all a journey of faith," EVEN IF EVENTS IN THE MIDDLE EAST ARE ALWAYS INTERPRETED IN A POLITICAL KEY. The spiritual desire of every Christian has become a spontaneous priority for the Pontiffs ever since their international trips have become a concrete possibility," Father Lombardi contended.

"John Paul II," he added, "had to wait a lot of time before fulfilling the desire for this pilgrimage, but afterward he had the joy of making it with serenity, in the heart of the Great Jubilee, the true culmination of his grand pontificate, with moments of sublimely intense prayer and with memorable gestures of friendship and closeness with the Jewish and Palestinian people and with their past and present sufferings."

Now that it is Benedict XVI's turn, the spokesman acknowledged, the "political situation in the area is very uncertain, and also the possibilities of peace are fragile. But the Pope all the same sets out, with an admirable courage that is based on faith, TO SPEAK OF RECONCILIATION AND PEACE. All of us," he affirmed, "should accompany him not only with ordinary prayer, but also with that spiritual movement that John Paul II called the 'great prayer' - so that the Church is renewed in its sources, SO THAT THE UNION BETWEEN CHRISTIANS GROWS CLOSER, AND SO THAT HATE FINALLY GIVES WAY TO RECONCILIATION."

In a statement released from Jerusalem, the Bilateral Permanent Working Commission Between the State of Israel and the Holy See informed on the results of last Thursday's meeting. The commission periodically meets in an attempt to advance negotiations regarding the 1993 Fundamental Agreement.

"The plenary meeting of the commission took place in an atmosphere of great friendship and a spirit of cooperation and good will," the statement reported. "The plenary noted that the Working Level Commission achieved significant progress, on the eve of the upcoming important visit of the Pope in Jerusalem.

"It was agreed to hold the next plenary meeting on December 10, 2009, at the Vatican. In the meantime, the working-level commission will hold meetings in furtherance of both delegations' pledge to accelerate the talks and conclude the agreement at the earliest opportunity."

The [Pope] noted that he will be following in the footsteps of Paul VI and John Paul II, who also made pilgrimages to the Holy Land. He expressed that he hopes "to confirm and encourage the Christians of the Holy Land, who must daily confront many difficulties. As a successor of the Apostle Peter, I will show the closeness and support of the whole body of the Church."

"Moreover, I WILL BE A PILGRIM OF PEACE, in the name of the one God, Father of all," the Bishop of Rome continued. "I will give witness to the Catholic Church's commitment in favor of those who work to practice dialogue and reconciliation, to arrive to a stable and lasting peace in justice and mutual respect."

As well, the Pontiff noted, "this trip will necessarily HAVE NOTABLE ECUMENICAL AND INTERRELIGIOUS SIGNIFICANCE. Jerusalem is, from this point of view, the symbolic city par excellence: There Christ died so as to reunite all of the dispersed children of God."

The British Pest Control Association said that in two towns in Berkshire, most rats have become resistant to the most widely used poisons. The association is due to meet with Department of Health experts this week to call for changes to the law on pesticides. Richard Moseley, of the BPCA, said: 'In certain areas we believe there is resistance to rodenticides that we have been using. Just as rats built up resistance to the first generation of poisons, such as warfarin, they are now developing resistance to the current generation.'

The BPCA wants powerful poisons that are currently banned outdoors to be used in gardens and public spaces. The chemicals are allowed to be used outside in parts of Europe. Although they are more toxic than existing poisons, they would be used in much smaller doses.

Parts of the UK have recorded alarming rises in rat infestations in the past year, with Exeter reporting a 66 per cent increase. In York the number of call-outs doubled, while Salford reported a 40 per cent rise. Earlier this year the East Yorkshire coastal village of Flamborough was nicknamed 'Ratville' after an infestation of thousands of vermin. In other parts of the country, the scale of the problem may be hidden.

Some experts believe shuttered, abandoned shops and building sites left half finished due to the credit crunch are providing new, safe homes for vermin. Most problems are caused by the brown or common rat. They are able to breed by the time they reach six weeks old, typically have litters of four to six young and a pair can produce a family of 200 in a lifetime.

The survey of more than 100 foods marketed for babies and toddlers found that many are high in saturated fat, salt and sugar. Critics say this sets children up for a lifetime of demanding food that is unhealthy and laden with calories. The Children's Food Campaign lobby group says Farley's Original Rusks from Heinz contain more sugar per gram than McVities Dark Chocolate Digestives. Toddler's Own Mini Cheese Biscuits from Heinz had more saturated fat per gram than a McDonald's quarter pounder with cheese. And Cow & Gate Baby Balance Bear Biscuits contained trans-fats, which are linked to high cholesterol and clogged arteries.

Christine Haigh, of the Children's Food Campaign, said: "Many foods marketed for babies and young children are often advertised as 'healthy'. IN REALITY, IN TERMS OF SUGAR AND SATURATED FAT CONTENT, SOME ARE WORSE THAN JUNK FOOD. In particular, failing to correctly label products that contain dangerous trans fats is outrageous."

SHE SAID THE MANUFACTURERS WERE SOMETIMES SECRETIVE ABOUT THEIR INGREDIENTS. For example, Cow & Gate failed to provide a requested summary of the nutritional information for all its foods marketed for babies and young children. She called for the Department of Health to obtain a commitment from companies to reformulate their products to remove transfats and reduce the amount of saturated fat, salt and sugar.

Presuming each of the 29.3 million taxpayers in the country works an eight-hour day, and takes the standard four weeks off plus bank holidays, they contributed on average £7.27 for every hour that they worked. In the previous year, 31.6 million taxpayers contributed £6.63 an hour. Matthew Elliott, chief executive at the TaxPayers' Alliance said: "This is a shocking increase and shows that taxpayers face a heavier burden than ever this year. We can't have fewer and fewer productive taxpayers paying for an increasingly bloated and inefficient public sector."

The main reason for the alarming jump of 9.7 per cent is that, not only has THE TOTAL TAX BILL INCREASED SLIGHTLY, BUT THE NUMBER OF TAXPAYERS HAS DROPPED SHARPLY as the recession has caused unemployment to rise. HM Revenue and Customs last week revealed the number of total taxpayers in the country has fallen below 30 million for the first time in six years.

The main taxes that have increased over the last year are beer duties, despite signs that consumption of beer has fallen sharply, council tax and vehicle excise duty BECAUSE THEY ALL INCREASED BY MUCH MORE THAN INFLATION. The concern is that the Treasury itself estimates that its TOTAL TAX TAKE WILL FALL VERY SHARPLY NEXT YEAR, as stamp duty all but dries up because of the collapse in the housing market. Income tax is also expected to fall significantly.

Mr Marchionne wants Italy's largest industrial group to separate Fiat Auto from its other divisions, join them with Opel / Vauxhall, Saab, and GM's other European operations, and Fiat's stake in Chrysler to create a company with about €80bn ($106bn) of revenues and sales of 6m-7m vehicles a year – second to Toyota, more than Renault / Nissan or Ford Motor, or GM itself, and roughly as many as Volkswagen.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Mr Marchionne said: "From an engineering and industrial point of view, this is a marriage made in heaven". He hopes to complete the transaction by the end of May, and list shares of the new company, tentatively called Fiat/Opel, by the end of the summer.

If it clears antitrust, political, and other hurdles, the new group would marry GM Europe's 10 plants, mostly in northern Europe, to Fiat's 11 – mostly in Italy – to create a pan-continental powerhouse that, with Chrysler, would be a big force in Europe, North America, and Latin America.

In her first extensive media interview since alerting the world to a potential flu pandemic nine days ago, Margaret Chan, the agency's director-general, told the Financial Times that the end of the flu season in the northern hemisphere meant an initial outbreak could be milder but then a second wave more lethal, as happened in 1918.

Fresh data from Mexico suggested the impact of the flu could be less than initially thought. José Angel Cordova, health minister said the flu virus epidemic had passed its peak and was declining. "The evolution of the epidemic is now in its phase of descent," he said. The Mexican government, which had already SCALED BACK ITS ORIGINAL ESTIMATE OF 176 DEATHS, SAID 19 OF THE SUSPECTED 100 DEATHS from the H1N1 virus had been confirmed.

But Ms Chan warned that an apparent decline in mortality rates outside and within Mexico did not mean the pandemic was ending. "We hope the virus fizzles out, because if it doesn't we are heading for a big outbreak." But she said: "I'm not predicting the pandemic will blow up, but if I miss it and we don't prepare, I fail. I'd rather over-prepare than not prepare."

Over the past few months, SAUDI ARABIAN investors have paid $100m for an Ethiopian farm where they hope to grow wheat and barley, adding to the millions of acres they already own in the war-ravaged country, as well as in neighbouring Sudan. The Saudis also have land in Indonesia and Thailand for growing rice. CHINA owns vast tracts of overseas land, mainly in Algeria and Zimbabwe, and one estimate suggests that more than a million ethnic Chinese farm workers will be living on the continent this year. Kenya and Tanzania have leased land while the Ugandans have been big sellers, allocating two million acres of land to Egypt for wheat and corn.

Further afield, the Saudi government and other Gulf States are negotiating with Pakistan to buy another million acres. THE DEAL INCLUDES THE SERVICES OF A 100,000-MAN PRIVATE ARMY TO PROTECT THE FOOD BEING EXPORTED. Buyers or lease-holders have have also been promised legal cover in case a future government in Islamabad is less welcoming.

Soaring wheat and rice prices over the past two years – which have caused riots in more than 30 countries from India to Haiti – were the catalyst for the latest dash for land. But the rush really took off at the end of last year when many big food-exporting nations introduced export controls. David Hallam, the deputy director of the trade and markets division at the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said, "There is a danger that host countries, particularly the more politically sensitive and food-insecure, WILL LOSE CONTROL OVER THEIR OWN FOOD SUPPLIES when they need it most."

Imagine, he says, empty trucks being driven into, say, Ethiopia, at a time of food shortages caused by war or drought, and being driven out again full of grain to feed people overseas. "Can you imagine the political consequences? That's why proper legal structures need to be put into place to protect land rights, and why we should look at some form of international code of conduct."