"This gold rally is driven by safe-haven fears and has a very different feel from the bull market we've had for the last eight years," said John Reade, chief metals strategist at UBS. "Investors are seeing articles in the press SAYING GOVERNMENTS SHOULD DELIBERATELY STOKE INFLATION, and they are reacting to it."

Gold jumped to multiple records on Tuesday, triggered by fears that East Europe's banking crisis could set off debt defaults and lead to contagion within the eurozone. It touched €762 an ounce against the euro, £675 against sterling, and 47,783 against India's rupee. In dollar terms, gold is at a seven-month high of $964.

Jewellery demand – usually the mainstay of the industry – has almost entirely dried up and the price is now being driven by investors. They range from the billionaires stashing boxes of krugerrands under the floors of their Swiss chalets (as an emergency fund for total disorder) to the small savers buying the exchange traded funds (ETFs). SPDR Gold Trust has added 200 metric tonnes in the last six weeks. ETF Securities added 62,000 ounces last week alone.

Pelosi is the first top Democrat to meet with Benedict since the election of Barack Obama, who won a majority of the Catholic vote despite differences with the Vatican on abortion. The Vatican released remarks by the pope to Pelosi, saying Benedict spoke of the church's teaching "on the dignity of human life from conception to natural death." That is an expression often used by the pope when expressing opposition to abortion.

Benedict said all Catholics—especially legislators, jurists and political leaders—should work to create "a just system of laws capable of protecting human life at all stages of its development." Pelosi could not immediately be reached after the 15-minute meeting, which was closed to reporters and photographers. The two met in a small room of a Vatican auditorium after the pope's weekly public audience.

A number of the bishops in the United States have questioned Pelosi's stance on abortion, particularly her theological defense of her support for abortion rights. Benedict has cautiously welcomed the new Democratic administration, although several American cardinals have sharply criticized its support of abortion rights in a break from former President George W. Bush.

In a hall crowded with conservative Sunni Muslim sheikhs and scholars, in a hotel close to Istanbul's Ataturk Airport speaker after speaker called for jihad against Israel in support of Hamas. THE CHOICE OF TURKEY WAS SIGNIFICANT. Arab hardliners were keen to put aside historic differences with the Turks. As one organiser put it: "DURING THE PAST 100 YEARS RELATIONS HAVE BEEN STRAINED BUT PALESTINE HAS BROUGHT US TOGETHER."

Many delegates spoke appreciatively of the protest by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who stormed out of a Davos debate on Gaza two weeks ago. The conference, dubbed the Global Anti-Aggression Campaign, also gave impetus to Sunni clerics concerned about the growing power of Hezbollah, the Shia movement backed by Iran, which rose to international prominence in its own war with Israel in 2006. "Gaza is a gift," the Saudi religious scholar Mohsen al-Awajy told me. He and other delegates repeatedly referred to the Gaza war as "a victory".

"GAZA," HE CONTINUED, "GIVES US POWER, IT SOLVES OUR DIFFERENCES. WE ARE ALL NOW IN A UNIFIED FRONT AGAINST ZIONISM." In closed meetings after sessions delegates focussed on the creation of a "third Jihadist front" - the first two being Afghanistan and Iraq. The intensity of the Israeli attack had "awakened all Muslims," Mr Awajy claimed. "Palestine is a legitimate theatre of operations for jihad (holy war)," he added.

Mike Duke, who took over as chief executive three weeks ago, said the fourth quarter and full-year results showed that Wal-Mart had gained "momentum" during the year in all of its markets, despite the tough economic environment.

The results again underlined the retailer's ability to generate cash in a recession, and to use the money to invest in its business at a time when most of its rivals are cutting back. Reduced capital spending on new stores in the US last year, operational improvements and inventory management left the retailer with free cash flow of $11.6bn at the end of January, more than double the $5.7bn of a year ago.

The dollar-denominated RTS stock index plunged 9.4%, while the ruble-denominated Micex stock index fell 9.6%. The decline in Russia followed a tumble in oil prices and declines on global stock markets. In New York, the Market Vectors Russia ETF, which tracks the Russian markets, tumbled 14.4%.

It was a global wave of selling spurred by rising worries about how banks, automakers - entire countries - would fare in a deepening recession.

At the close, the Dow was down more than 297.81 points, AT 7,552.60 POINTS, a drop of 3.79 percent. The index was just a few fractions of a point away from its lows of November 20, when financial markets plummeted to their lowest point in a decade. The only Dow stock to trade consistently in positive territory was Wal-Mart, which rose after reporting better-than-expected profit.

The broader Standard & Poor's 500-stock index slid 37.67 points, or 4.5 percent, to 789.17 points, unable to cling to what analysts said was an important trading threshold. "If we get substantially below 800 then look out below," said Marc Groz, chief investment officer at Topos, a risk-advisory firm in Greenwich, Connecticut.

The request for additional aid from the top U.S. automaker came in a restructuring plan GM submitted to U.S. officials on Tuesday. The GM restructuring plan of more than 100 pages was posted on the U.S. Treasury Web site.

The request came on the same afternoon that No. 3 U.S. automaker Chrysler requested an additional $5 billion from the current $4 billion in U.S. government aid, saying it expected the brutal downturn in the U.S. market to run another three years. GM also said it had not reached deals with bondholders and its major union to reduce some $47 billion in debt but would work to reach those agreements by the end of March.

In response to signs of a prolonged slump in demand for new cars and trucks, the automaker also said it would step up cost-cutting, reducing its global workforce by 47,000 jobs this year and cutting five additional U.S. plants by 2012. In addition, GM said it would cut its U.S. workforce by another 20,000 jobs by 2012 with most of those reductions coming earlier.

Inside the halls of Futian Market, which sprawl over THE EQUIVALENT OF 800 FOOTBALL PITCHES, they haggled over hundreds of thousands of low-cost goods – everything from candles and fake flowers to eyeglasses and DVD players. Their orders would then be shipped across the globe to high street shops and supermarkets, fuelling China's incredible growth.

Li Xuhang, the city's deputy mayor, said: "If you spent only three minutes with each Chinese manufacturer and spent eight hours here each day, you would need over a year to make your way around the whole market." During the decade-long boom, Yiwu attracted buyers not only from American and European companies, but also increasing numbers of Arabs, Russians, and Africans. Scores of Pakistani, Korean and Middle-Eastern restaurants line the streets and there is even an Iraq Hotel.

But now, as the Chinese economic miracle unravels, the labyrinthine halls of Yiwu have emptied of foreign buyers. The latest figures from China's customs office show exports plunged by 17.5 per cent in January, the biggest fall in more than a decade.

The bronze by Sir Jacob Epstein, worth hundreds of thousands of pounds if it were ever sold on the open market, enjoyed pride of place in the Oval Office during President Bush's tenure. But when British officials offered to let Mr Obama to hang onto the bust for a further four years, the White House said: "Thanks, but no thanks."

Churchill has less happy connotations for Mr Obama than those American politicians who celebrate his wartime leadership. It was during Churchill's second premiership that Britain suppressed Kenya's Mau Mau rebellion. AMONG KENYANS ALLEGEDLY TORTURED BY THE COLONIAL REGIME INCLUDED ONE HUSSEIN ONYANGO OBAMA, THE PRESIDENT'S GRANDFATHER.

The rejection of the bust has left some British officials nervously reading the runes to see how much influence the UK can wield with the new regime in Washington.

The advice, which was first issued six years ago and remains the current Whitehall policy, re-emerged just days after 13-year-old Alfie Patten became what is thought to be Britain's youngest father. The Department of Health advice calls for teenagers to be equipped with the necessary "skills, knowledge and attitudes" to bring up children, with the then head of the pregnancy unit, Cathy Hamlyn, describing it as a "timely resource".

She added that "popular attitudes to teenage fathers have been shaped by the examples which the media have chosen to feature" but that TEENAGE BOYS COULD BE "PROUD AND ABLE PARENTS. Teachers have opportunities to develop the skills, knowledge and attitudes which are key in preparation for parenthood through the personal, social, health and citizenship aspects of the national curriculum," Miss Hamlyn said.

But Tim Loughton, Tory children's spokesman, said: "There are still too many young mothers and fathers having their childhoods robbed from them after starting families younger than they planned. We need to do more TO TEACH YOUNGSTERS ABOUT THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF RELATIONSHIPS AND PARENTHOOD and be careful not to glamorise teen parents which may encourage some to take irresponsible risks with sex."

Patricia Morgan, a researcher on teenage parenthood, told the Daily Mail: "Fatherhood before the age of 16 should be a matter for the police. The parents of teenagers involved should be charged with neglect for allowing them to sleep together under their roof. This is child abuse. After 16, fathers who want to help bring their children up should be given one piece of advice: Get a job."

But on Sunday two boys, aged 14 and 16, both claimed they could be the father of 15-year-old Chantelle Steadman's daughter. Several others have also claimed to have had a sexual relationship with the schoolgirl, from Eastbourne in Sussex.

Mrs Patten told The Mirror: "He's absolutely devastated these lads have come forward to say they slept with her at the time she got pregnant. Everything is wrong. Now that is in his mind and I'm not happy. I don't know where they get this from. I mean, that's my son, that's his baby. Alfie is distraught and upset about everything." The Patten family have now accepted that a DNA test is needed to confirm the paternity.

It was reported last week that Alfie was the youngest father in Britain following the birth of Maisie, who was conceived when Alfie was 12-years-old. Politicians including David Cameron spoke about the situation, and said IT RAISED "WORRYING" QUESTIONS ABOUT MODERN SOCIETY.

The announcement came a day after California lawmakers narrowly failed to pass a $40 billion budget that would have plugged the state's deficit with a mix of tax hikes and spending cuts. "In the absence of a budget, the governor has a responsibility to realize state savings any way he can," said Aaron McLear, a spokesman for the Republican governor. "This is unfortunately a necessary decision."

The layoff notices will affect about 20 percent of state workers, McLear said, adding the cuts would extend to every part of state government. The positions would be eliminated in June in preparation for California's next fiscal year, which starts in July.

CALIFORNIA, AMERICA'S MOST POPULOUS STATE AND THE WORLD'S EIGHTH BIGGEST ECONOMY, has experienced a dramatic fall in revenues because of the housing downturn, rising unemployment and a sharp pullback in consumer spending. To conserve cash, the state has stopped public works projects, furloughed state employees for two days a month and postponed sending out tax refunds.

It is incredible, but there it is – now it's Prince Harry's turn to go on an "Equality and Diversity Awareness" training course put on by the Ministry of Defence. What a load of pure, unadulterated garbage. But apart from the sheer anger all this causes with ordinary people – and it does – what a waste of money! The question I am asked, time and time again is – WHERE DOES ALL THIS POLITICAL CORRECTNESS COME FROM and how did we allow it to seep into every aspect of our lives? Particularly when "1984" and "Brave New World" are there to warn us all about the control freaks.

What political correctness has achieved is to make every normal person constantly look over their shoulders in case they are saying something sexist, racist, ageist, Muslimist, right-wing, reactionary, homophobic and anything hinting of discrimination and prejudice. WHAT THIS HAS GROWN INTO, IS FULL–BLOWN THOUGHT CONTROL AND SPEECH CONTROL.

It has been put into place by a flawed and totalitarian type of political intimidation, dressed up as "the law" and presented as "hate crime" – it is neo-fascist baloney. At the heart of political correctness is a false desire to avoid confrontation, to avoid social abrasion and to avoid causing offence. The only problem is of course – political correctness itself offends eighty percent of the population.

But how did this insidious system creep into place? How did we allow political correctness to corrupt our long traditions of freedom of speech and freedom of thought? Greg Lance-Watkins reckons it was introduced during the Cold War by the Russians to disrupt and undermine British society. If he is right – then it certainly worked. But is he right?

When the customs officers carried out a routine check on a container recently, they were in for quite a surprise. Their radiometers indicated unusually high levels of radiation. They measured a level of 71 microsieverts per hour, a level that in 24 hours would exceed the amount permitted for an entire year. The officials reacted swiftly. THEY ORDERED THAT THE CONTAINER BE PUT BACK ON THE SHIP IMMEDIATELY AND BE SENT BACK TO INDIA.

An expert at the Federal Office for Radiation Protection, who did not wished to be named, agreed, telling SPIEGEL: "Some of the levels are so high, that one should not stay in contact with these things for long." Just how the radioactive isotope cobalt 60, which can be found in nuclear power stations or some medical technology, is finding its way into the Indian steel industry isn't completely clear. It may be that sources of radioactivity, from hospitals for example, are being thrown into blast furnaces along with other scrap. The resulting steel is then sold to companies abroad.

The dangerous import from Asia shows the downside of globalization. CHEAPER IS NOT ALWAYS BETTER. Machine manufacturers and metal-working companies in Germany know that the cheaper the steel coming from a supplier is, the more likely it is that a high proportion of the metal is from India.

Pelosi, a self-proclaimed "ardent Catholic" who has sparked significant criticism from fellow Catholics in the US for her pro-abortion views, arrived in Italy on Sunday for an eight-day official visit. On Monday, Pelosi began a series of meetings with Italian political authorities at the Quirinale Palace, where she was received by the President of the Italian State, Giorgio Napolitano. Later in the evening, a reception honoring the US delegation will take place at the Library of Montecitorio Palace where Pelosi will deliver the address: "Strong Allies for a Secure Future."

Although numerous reports have been published either confirming or denying that Pope Benedict would receive Pelosi in an audience, the Holy See's Press Office confirmed to CAN on Monday at noon Rome time, that the [Pontiff] will receive the US representative on Wednesday at midday.

The press office made clear that THE POPE WILL MEET WITH PELOSI IN HIS CAPACITY AS A HEAD OF STATE SINCE THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE IS THE THIRD IN LINE TO LEAD THE US, should the president and vice president be unable to do so. The idea of providing Pelosi with a photo-op has disturbed a significant number of US Catholics and pro-life activists.