ABCNEWS anchor Charlie Gibson will deliver WORLD NEWS from the Blue Room of the White House. The network plans a primetime special - 'Prescription for America' - originating from the East Room, excluding opposing voices on the debate.

"ABCNEWS prides itself on covering all sides of important issues and asking direct questions of all newsmakers - of all political persuasions - even when others have taken a more partisan approach and even in the face of criticism from extremes on both ends of the political spectrum. ABCNEWS is looking for the most thoughtful and diverse voices on this issue."

"ABCNEWS alone will select those who will be in the audience asking questions of the president. LIKE ANY PROGRAMS WE BROADCAST, ABC NEWS WILL HAVE COMPLETE EDITORIAL CONTROL. To suggest otherwise is quite unfair to both our journalists and our audience."

The order issued Tuesday limits journalists for foreign media to work only from their offices, conducting telephone interviews and monitoring official sources such as state television. It comes as foreign reporters in Iran to cover the elections began leaving the country. Iranian officials say they will not extend their visas.

Iran's Islamic leadership is prepared to conduct a limited recount of disputed presidential elections, a spokesman said Tuesday, drawing the ruling clerics deeper into a showdown that began with street clashes and quickly moved to the highest levels of power.

The announcement comes after Iran's state radio reported earlier Tuesday that seven people were killed during clashes in the Iranian capital the previous day - the first official confirmation of deaths linked to the wave of protests and street battles following last week's disputed election. Hundreds of thousands of Mousavi's backers poured through Tehran on Monday in a massive show of unity - that ended in bloodshed when seven people were killed in a confrontation with pro-regime militiamen.

The article reported that the couple claimed £6m in staff and salary allowances and would have received a further £1.7m if they had claimed the maximum to which they were entitled in subsistence and travel allowances. The Kinnocks did not dispute the figures when showed them by the paper. Open Europe also found that during their time in Brussels, both Kinnocks claimed a housing allowance on top of their incomes, even though they lived in the same home, and that this alone would have netted the couple almost £600,000 over 10 years.

The Mail on Sunday reported on Open Europe's findings that Glenys Kinnock can expect £67,835 a year from two pensions as an MEP and Neil Kinnock's pension as a former Commissioner is worth more than £80,000 a year. Tom McPhail, Head of Pensions Research at financial consultants Hargreaves Lansdown, calculated that these pensions would cost an ordinary taxpayer £4.4million to buy in cash.

McPhail was quoted as saying "Wow. NOT BAD FOR A FAILED PARTY LEADER AND HIS WIFE. But people will find this scale of indulgence on the part of politicians nauseating, especially at a time when British workers are having their pensions cut." Open Europe's Mats Persson was quoted by the Sunday Times saying, "The Kinnocks are Brussels' very own Lord and Lady Expenses. ONE HAS TO QUESTION WHETHER LADY KINNOCK IS A SUITABLE MINISTER FOR EUROPE. How can she distinguish between the interests of Britain and the interests of the institutions that she and her family have relied upon for their income for so long?"

He added that "NOTHING WILL HAPPEN" IF ISRAEL "DEPENDS ON THE EUROPEANS" TO STOP IRAN'S GENOCIDAL THREATS AGAINST THE JEWISH STATE. The Freedom Party campaigned on a platform for shifting more decision-making power away from Brussels, the headquarters of the European Parliament, and back to members of the 27 EU countries. The vote was on European representation within the EU Parliament in Brussels and showed that "people are not so interested in Europe. THE NETHERLANDS IS NOT AGAINST EUROPE," HE SAID, BUT "WE DON'T WANT A EUROPEAN SUPER STATE."

Asked about the EU's posture toward Israel and forcing the Islamic Republic of Iran to halt its nuclear weapons program, Wilders said the European Parliament has "always been biased against Israel." He said he regrets "that they (EU) have a foreign minister" and argued that the "European Parliament should not be involved in foreign politics."

Wilders said Israel was the "only light of democracy in the Middle East" and that Islamic war was "against us all." The Jewish state was "more like the canary in the coal mine," he said, and stressed that an "ideological conflict" was unfolding in the region. "It is not a territorial conflict. Please forget about this crazy concept." The Islamists "see Israel as a big settlement" and if Israel "gives Territory A," said Wilders, then the other side will ask for Territory B, "such as Haifa."

Commenting on the Iranian election and Teheran's nuclear enrichment program, Wilders said it "does not matter who wins. The rhetoric at the end of the day is the same."

"PEOPLE ARE TERRIFIED AND ARE LEAVING THEIR HOMES," says Jabar Mustafa, a medical administrator, who works in a hospital in the southern province of Dhi Qar. "We knew these snakes before, but now they are coming in huge numbers. They are attacking buffalo and cattle as well as people." Doctors in the area say six people have been killed and 13 poisoned.

The plague of snakes is the latest result of an unprecedented fall in the level of the water in the Euphrates and the Tigris, the two great rivers which for thousands of years have made life possible in the sun-baked plains of Mesopotamia, the very name of which means "between the rivers" in Greek. The rivers that made Iraq's dry soil so fertile are drying up because the supply of water, which once flowed south into Iraq from Turkey, Syria and Iran, IS NOW HELD BACK BY DAMS AND USED FOR IRRIGATION. ON THE EUPHRATES ALONE, TURKEY HAS FIVE LARGE DAMS UPRIVER FROM IRAQ, AND SYRIA HAS TWO.

The diversion of water from the rivers has already destroyed a large swathe of Iraqi agriculture and the result of Iraq being starved of water may be one of the world's greatest natural disasters, akin to the destruction of the Amazonian rainforest. ALREADY THE ADVANCE OF THE DESERT HAS LED TO FREQUENT DUST STORMS IN BAGHDAD WHICH CLOSE THE AIRPORT. Yet this dramatic climatic change has attracted little attention outside Iraq, overshadowed by the violence following the US-led invasion in 2003 and the overthrow of Saddam Hussein.

Large parts of Iraq that were once productive farmland have already turned into arid desert. The Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture says that between 40 and 50 per cent of what was agricultural land in the 1970s is now being hit by desertification. Drought, war, UN sanctions, lack of investment and the cutting down of trees for firewood have all exacerbated the crisis, but at its heart is the lack of water for irrigation in the Tigris and Euphrates.

THE OUTCOME OF THE AGRICULTURAL DISASTER IN IRAQ IS EVIDENT IN THE FRUIT AND VEGETABLE SHOPS IN BAGHDAD. Jassim Mohammed Bahadeel, a grocer in the Karada district, says that once much of what he sold came from farms around the Iraqi capital. "But today, the apples I sell come from America, France and Chile; tomatoes and potatoes from Syria and Jordan; oranges from Egypt and Turkey. Only the dates come from Iraq because they do not need a lot of water."

Figures from gold brokers suggest that small investors are buying up physical gold, such as bars and coins, as well as so-called "paper gold", such as shares in gold companies and gold funds in far greater quantities than a year ago. Gold Money is a company that allows investors to buy gold bars or stakes in the bars, which it then stores in vaults on clients' behalf. A year ago it held $352 million worth of customers' gold in its vaults. This has nearly doubled to $694 million by the end of May.

These figures echo official data, which suggests demand for gold has increased substantially over the last 12 months, with some fears there could even be a shortage around the world. This is despite the global recession, which has pushed down the demand for jewellery, especially in India, the biggest gold jewellery market in the world. According to the World Gold Council, RETAIL INVESTORS AROUND THE WORLD BOUGHT 131 TONNES OF GOLD IN THE FIRST THREE MONTHS OF THIS YEAR, AN INCREASE OF 33 PER CENT.

THE MAIN ATTRACTION FOR INVESTORS IS THAT GOLD IS SEEN AS THE ULTIMATE HEDGE AGAINST INFLATION. While the pound or dollar may lose their value, depending on the fortunes of the economy, gold historically goes up in value when inflation gathers pace. That is because everyone from market traders to high-powered investors would prefer to be paid in gold when cash starts to lose its worth. MANY FEAR THAT INFLATION WILL SHOOT UPWARDS LATER THIS YEAR OR NEXT as a result of the extra money that has been pumped into the economy, following the quantitative easing programme undertaken by the Bank of England.

The success of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was never predicated on his authority as a religious scholar. THERE ARE A NUMBER OF SHIITE CLERICS WHO ARE SUPERIOR TO HIM IN THE PECKING ORDER. Charisma is also not a characteristic frequently associated with Iran's religious leader. Rather, Khamenei's power stems largely from his skills as a strategist. Since his election as the almost untouchable leader of the Islamic republic in 1989, Khamenei has proven remarkably adept at courting his political opponents, thereby avoiding open conflict. Few pursued consensus as arduously as Khamenei.

In recent years, however, as this consensus has become more virtual than real, the position of Iran's leader has been eroded. Indeed, the current street battles are symptomatic of that erosion. Tears in the country's religious establishment have become ever more visible in Iran's recent past, the gap between the country's rich and poor has widened, and the chasm between the Western-oriented youth and the religious fanatics has deepened. INDEED, THE CURRENT CRISIS COULD VERY WELL SPELL THE BEGINNING OF THE END FOR THE KHAMENEI SYSTEM.

The demonstrations in Tehran and elsewhere are not just in protest against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who was declared the official winner of Friday presidential elections despite opposition concerns that the election was fixed. RATHER, THE PROTEST IS ALSO AGAINST KHAMENEI HIMSELF, a leader who has lost all connection to large swaths of younger Iranians. He seems not to have noticed the yearning for more openness, more freedom - and for jobs with a future.

The main agenda item at the meetings in Yekaterinburg will be HOW TO DEAL WITH THE GLOBAL ECONOMIC CRISIS. Putting the two top-level meetings next to each other highlights the dominance of the economic crisis for both groups. THE TWO MEETINGS ARE FURTHER SIGNS OF A GLOBAL POWER SHIFT.

Trade between China and the other five full members has grown from $12bn (£7.3bn) in 2001 to $68bn in 2007. There have been moves to build a single energy market and a common transportation corridor within the SCO. The energy-thirsty China will benefit from all this, but China has also provided training and other services in return.

Leaders from the emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China, the so-called Bric countries, will hold their first ever summit in Russia on Tuesday. The term Bric was coined in the same year the SCO was set up. THE LAST EIGHT YEARS HAVE SEEN A SHIFT OF POWER BOTH POLITICALLY AND ECONOMICALLY, WITH CHINA AS THE BIGGEST WINNER.

Following the announcement of the election results in Iran, Lieberman said that "The problem Iran poses to the international community is not based on a person but on its policy." However, he added, "Ahmadinejad's victory makes it even more clear that the international community must continue to act in an uncompromising manner to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear [weapons] and to cease its support for terror organizations and destabilization of the Middle East."

Lieberman's deputy, Danny Ayalon, called upon the international community to stop Iran's nuclear programme and terrorism immediately. "Israel had no illusions about the Iranian elections to begin with," he said, "because on the subjects of nuclear weapons and terror there was no substantial difference between the candidates," he said. "If there was a shadow of a hope for change in Iran, AHMADINEJAD'S RE-ELECTION MEANS THE THREAT HAS GROWN," he added. Ahmadinejad reportedly received 62.6 percent of the vote, while his adversary Mousavi got 33.75 percent. Mousavi's supporters claim the results are skewed.

The blunt truth is that the European Parliament bears the brunt of the responsibility for the record-breaking abstention figures. In the 1980s, when the fledgling EU assembly was a glorified talking shop for retired politicians, it argued that if it had more powers it would be taken more seriously. Since then the parliament has been the major winner in the EU power struggle.

Yet the more powers the assembly accrues, the less interest it musters at the ballot box. Numbers matter because it is difficult to argue the parliament is the voice of the people of the Europe when the people of Europe cannot be bothered to elect its members once every five years. THIRTY YEARS AFTER DIRECT ELECTIONS WERE FIRST HELD, PARLIAMENT FACES A DOUBLE CRISIS OF LEGITIMACY AND OF RELEVANCE.

The most surprising thing about the Euro-elections is not that so few people voted but that so many did. Elections are about personalities - Obama vs. McCain, Segolene vs. Sarkozy, Brown vs. Cameron. IN THE EU THERE ARE FEW RECOGNIZABLE POLITICIANS and those that exist are either not running for the European Parliament or do not owe their jobs to it. It would help bridge the gulf between the EU and the citizens it is meant to represent if the president of the European Commission was directly elected by European voters rather than appointed by EU leaders.

But apart from celebrities like Bono or a handful of leaders or ex-leaders like Nicolas Sarkozy, Tony Blair and Vaclav Havel, THERE ARE FEW POTENTIAL LEADERS WITH EUROPE-WIDE NAME RECOGNITION. If sport, where tribal loyalties are perhaps strongest, can become Europeanized, there is no reason why politics cannot be. ALL WE NEED NOW IS THE POLITICAL EQUIVALENT OF A ZINADINE ZIDANE OR JOHANN CRUYFF - MASTER TACTICIANS AT HOME AND ABROAD, WITH INSTANT NAME RECOGNITION AND THE ABILITY TO DRAW IN THE PUNTERS ACROSS THE CONTINENT.

Prechter, known for predicting the 1987 stock market crash, joins a growing coterie of market heavyweights in forecasting THE UNITED STATES WILL LOSE ITS TOP CREDIT RATING AS THE GOVERNMENT ISSUES TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN DEBT TO FUND EFFORTS TO BAIL OUT THE ECONOMY.

Fears about the long-term vulnerability of the prized US credit rating came to the fore after Standard & Poor's in May lowered its outlook on Britain, threatening the UK's top AAA rating. That move raised fears that the United States could face a similar risk, with the hefty amounts of government debt issued in both countries to pay for financial rescues causing budget deficits to swell. Prechter, speaking at the Reuters Investment Outlook Summit in New York, said HE SEES INVESTORS' CONFIDENCE IN AN ECONOMIC REBOUND FADING, a trend that will drag the S&P 500 stock index .SPX well below the March 6 intraday low of 666.79 by the end of this year or early next.

THE ECONOMY "IS OBVIOUSLY HEADING TOWARD A DEPRESSION," despite the government's efforts to dodge one, said Prechter. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke HAS NOT AVERTED A RE-RUN OF THE 1930s GREAT DEPRESSION, even though investors are becoming firmly convinced that the Fed has avoided disaster and that the economy has hit bottom. "IT'S THE NEXT LEG DOWN (IN STOCKS) THAT WILL MAKE IT CLEAR THAT THESE THINGS ARE NOT TRUE," Prechter said.

Crucially, there was no change on controversial plans to create three new EU authorities with the power to override national regulators in areas of banking, securities and insurances, despite attempts by the UK to water down the proposal. The Telegraph notes that the UK only managed to insert a provision in the joint statement saying that "such powers should not impinge in any way on the fiscal responsibility of member states". However, the Telegraph argues that the wording of the statement would still "APPEAR TO REDUCE BRITAIN'S FINANCIAL SERVICES AUTHORITY (FSA) TO A SUBSERVIENT ARM OF THE EU APPARATUS, limited to 'daily oversight'".

European Voice also reports that apart from the UK, only Slovenia, Slovakia and Romania were among the countries raising concerns that the new pan-European authorities will be given too much power. The Times reports that the UK also received some support from the German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrück. The UK Treasury has argued that only 16 out of 27 EU countries are members of the eurozone with a significant ECB role and would therefore not be adequately represented under the proposed arrangement, according to the Times.

The Czech Finance Minister, Eduard Janota, said that outstanding issues will "be dealt with politically" by EU leaders at their summit on 18-19 June, when the proposal is likely to be formally adopted. An article in the Irish Times argues that EU Monetary Affairs Commissioner Joaquin Almunia, "AS GOOD AS SAID BRITAIN WAS LIKELY TO BE OUTVOTED WHEN THE ISSUE IS DISCUSSED AT A SUMMIT OF EU LEADERS". EurActiv quotes him saying, "I am fully confident that the Council will support the Commission's proposal".

But the Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who was announced winner of a second four-year term this week is no cartoon character. Whether his 63 percent victory is truly the will of the people or the result of fraud, it demonstrated that MR AHMADINEJAD IS THE SHREWD AND RUTHLESS FRONT MAN FOR A CLERICAL, MILITARY AND POLITICAL ELITE that is more unified and emboldened than at any time since the 1979 revolution.

AS PRESIDENT, MR AHMADINEJAD IS SUBORDINATE TO THE COUNTRY'S TRUE AUTHORITY, SUPREME LEADER AYATOLLAH ALI KHAMENEI, WHO COMMANDS FINAL SAY OVER ALL MATTERS OF STATE AND FAITH. With this election, Mr Khamenei and his protégé appear to have neutralized for now the reform forces that they saw as a threat to their power, political analysts said.

"This will change the face of the Islamic Republic forever," said one well-connected Iranian, who like most of those interviewed declined to be named in the current tense climate. "AHMADINEJAD WILL CLAIM AN ABSOLUTE MANDATE, MEANING HE HAS NO NEED TO COMPROMISE." When he was first elected president in 2005, Mr Ahmadinejad showed his fealty to the leader, gently bending over and kissing his hand.

On Saturday, the leader demonstrated his own enthusiasm for the re-elected president, hailing the outcome as "a divine blessing" even before the official three-day challenge period had passed. On Sunday, Mr Ahmadinejad flaunted his achievement by mounting a celebration rally in the heart of an opposition neighborhood of Tehran, and holding a victory news conference where he scorned the West and made a joke out of his main opponent's quasi-house arrest. ASKED ABOUT SPECULATION THAT IN HIS SECOND TERM HE WOULD TAKE A MORE MODERATE LINE, HE SMIRKED, "IT'S NOT TRUE. I'M GOING TO BE MORE AND MORE SOLID."

Leaders of the so-called BRIC nations will discuss ways to reshape the global financial system after the worst economic crisis for decades and ideas for a NEW RESERVE CURRENCY TO REDUCE DEPENDENCY ON THE US DOLLAR may be on the agenda. "The good news is that rich countries are in crisis and that emerging countries are making a huge contribution to save the economy and, consequently, save the rich countries," Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva told Reuters on Wednesday.

"Wealthy countries are no longer the only ones that account for the world's production capacity and consumption," he added, saying the BRICs should work together to "change the political and trade geography of the world". The BRIC term was coined by Goldman Sachs economist Jim O'Neill in 2001 to describe the growing power of emerging market economies. The June 16 summit in the Russian Urals city of Yekaterinburg marks a step toward cooperation as a group.

BRIC countries account for 15 percent of the $60.7 trillion global economy but Goldman Sachs predicts that in 20 years time, the four countries could together dwarf the G7 and China's economy will overtake the United States in total size. "BRIC is a myth but a myth that is slowly becoming a reality," said Alexei Pushkov, a professor of international relations and a leading Russian journalist. "This summit shows there is a tentative community taking root. THE QUESTION IS WHETHER IT CAN BECOME A POLITICAL INSTITUTION or whether it will be dormant."

The appeal for greater government protection came amid rising tensions between New Delhi and Beijing over trade, after a high-profile dispute over an Indian ban on Chinese made toys. India's Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry said on Sunday that a survey of 110 small and medium-sized manufacturers found that about two-thirds had suffered a serious erosion of their Indian market share over the past year, because of cheaper Chinese products.

In its statement, FICCI said the Chinese imports were between 10 and 70 per cent cheaper than comparable Indian products, A PRICE DIFFERENTIAL THAT IT SAID WAS "HUGE AND DIFFICULT TO EXPLAIN". Amit Mitra, the FICCI's secretary-general, said Indian industries were being hurt by "TYPICAL CHINESE PREDATORY PRICING" intended to drive rivals out of business so that Chinese companies could capture the market – and then raise prices to more normal levels.

In January, New Delhi announced a six-month ban on the import of Chinese toys, citing concerns about their safety, after Indian toymakers complained that such playthings had grabbed the lion's share of the country's $2.5bn toy market. However, the ban was lifted after just two months, after Beijing threatened to take the issue to the WTO.