"The appearance of sporadic cases of the disease does not indicate new risks for the health of the public," it said in a statement. The last death in Spain which was confirmed to have been due to the brain-wasting disease took place in August 2008 in the northwestern region of Castilla and Leon. Spain recorded its first human death from mad cow disease in June 2005 when a 26-year-old woman succumbed to it in Madrid.

More than 200 people around the world are suspected to have died, most of them in Britain, from the human variant of the disease, which was first described in 1996. Scientists believe THE DISEASE WAS CAUSED BY USING INFECTED PARTS OF CATTLE TO MAKE FEED FOR OTHER CATTLE. Authorities believe eating meat from infected animals can trigger the human variant of the fatal brain-wasting disease.

The 27-member EU, of which Spain is part, has banned high-risk materials such as spinal cord from use in feed and stricter labelling was also introduced.

The job opened last Saturday, and district officials say the stack of applications continues to expand daily. So much so, the deadline to apply for the position was moved from yesterday to 3:30 p.m. Monday to give potential hires more time.

Many of those who have applied say they lost their previous job due to budget cutbacks by their former employer. "A lot of people have their stories when they come in. It's heart-wrenching," said Superintendent John Richard.

The US government has bailed out AIG three times since September 16 and committed about $180 billion to keep the insurer alive and doing business. "One of the reasons we had to rescue AIG was the fact that it was going to bring down Europe," Pennsylvania Representative Paul Kanjorski told reporters after his subcommittee held a hearing on systemic risk.

Later, in an interview with Reuters, Kanjorski said he was told that a large number of AIG's counterparties were European. "That's why we could not allow AIG to fail as we allowed Lehman (Brothers) to fail, because that would have PRECIPITATED THE FAILURE OF THE EUROPEAN BANKING SYSTEM," he said.

Last December, the Austrian branch of US vaccine company Baxter sent a batch of ordinary human H3N2 flu, altered so it couldn't replicate, to Avir Green Hills Biotechnology, also in Austria. In February, a lab in the Czech Republic working for Avir alerted Baxter that, unexpectedly, ferrets inoculated with the sample had died. It turned out the sample contained live H5N1, which Baxter uses to make vaccine. The two seem to have been mixed in error.

Markus Reinhard of Baxter says no one was infected because the H3N2 was handled at a high level of containment. But Ab Osterhaus of Erasmus University in the Netherlands says: "WE NEED TO GO TO GREAT LENGTHS TO MAKE SURE THIS KIND OF THING DOESN'T HAPPEN."

Accidental release of a mixture of live H5N1 and H3N2 viruses could have resulted in dire consequences. While H5N1 doesn't easily infect people, H3N2 viruses do. If someone exposed to a mixture of the two had been simultaneously infected with both strains, he or she could have served as an incubator for a hybrid virus able to transmit easily to and among people.

Sources close to the White House say Mr Obama and his staff have been "overwhelmed" by the economic meltdown and have voiced concerns that the new president is not getting enough rest. British officials, meanwhile, admit that the White House and US State Department staff were utterly bemused by complaints that the Prime Minister should have been granted a full-blown press conference and a formal dinner, as has been customary. They concede that Obama aides seemed unfamiliar with the expectations that surround a major visit by a British prime minister.

But Washington figures with access to Mr Obama's inner circle explained the slight by saying that those high up in the administration have had little time to deal with international matters, let alone the diplomatic niceties of the special relationship. Allies of Mr Obama say his weary appearance in the Oval Office with Mr Brown illustrates the strain he is now under, and the president's surprise at the sheer volume of business that crosses his desk.

The American source said: "Obama is overwhelmed. There is a zero sum tension between his ability to attend to the economic issues and his ability to be a proactive sculptor of the national security agenda. That was the gamble these guys made at the front end of this presidency and I think they're finding it a hard job to do everything."

Chris Grayling, the shadow home secretary, called the findings "truly shocking". He said: "We simply cannot become a soft option for criminals from overseas. It's time we had a proper border police force to stop criminals entering the country, and took tougher action against those who have come here to commit offences."

David Davies, the Tory MP for Monmouth, said: "It is important to say that not all foreign nationals are criminals, but these are worrying statistics. It should be made completely clear to people that if they are fortunate enough to be allowed into this country they should obey the rules. If they do not, the smallest transgression should lead to swift deportation."

Sir Andrew Green, chairman of Migrationwatch, said: "These statistics are partial but they confirm a great deal of anecdotal evidence. I have lost count of the number of magistrates who have told me privately of their concerns about the high proportion of cases coming before them which involve immigrants."

IN LONDON, FOREIGN NATIONALS WERE ARRESTED LAST YEAR OVER 13,500 DRUGS OFFENCES, 1,210 BURGLARIES, 930 RAPES OR OTHER SEXUAL OFFENCES, AND 13,748 VIOLENT CRIMES INCLUDING 78 MURDERS.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that about $50 billion of more than $173 billion that the US government has poured into American International Group Inc since last fall has been paid to at least two dozen US and foreign financial institutions. The newspaper reported that some of the banks paid by AIG since the insurer started getting taxpayer funds were: Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Deutsche Bank AG, Merrill Lynch, Societe Generale, Calyon, Barclays Plc, Rabobank, Danske, HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland, Banco Santander, Morgan Stanley, Wachovia, Bank of America, and Lloyds Banking Group.

Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs declined to comment when contacted by Reuters. Bank of America, Calyon, and Wells Fargo, which has absorbed Wachovia, could not be reached for comment. The US Federal Reserve has refused to publicize a list of AIG's derivative counterparties and what they have been paid since the bailout, riling the US Senate Banking Committee.

Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Donald Kohn testified before that committee on Thursday that revealing names risked jeopardizing AIG's continuing business. Kohn said there were millions of counterparties around the globe, including pension funds and US households. He said the intention was not to protect AIG or its counterparties, but to prevent the spread of AIG's infection.

Once the world's largest insurer, AIG has been described by the United States as being too extensively intertwined with the global financial system to be allowed to fail. The Federal Reserve first rode to AIG's rescue in September with an $85 billion credit line after losses from toxic investments, many of which were mortgage related, and collateral demands from banks, left AIG staring down bankruptcy. Late last year, the rescue packaged was increased to $150 billion. The bailout was overhauled again a week ago to offer the insurer an additional $30 billion in equity.

Turkey's foreign minister said Ankara was ready to re-launch indirect talks between Syria and Israel. Mrs Clinton said the importance of building relations between Israel and Syria could not be overstated. Turkey was mediating those talks until recently, but Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said any request to resume that role must come from both sides.

"President Obama will be visiting Turkey within the next month or so," said Mrs Clinton, at a joint news conference with Mr Babacan. "The exact date will be announced shortly." The two allies would consult on the safest and most effective way to withdraw US forces from Iraq, she added.

Ankara has already indicated it will allow the US to use its territory and bases for the planned withdrawal of troops. The war in Iraq was just one reason perception of the US plunged to a historic low in the major Muslim nation, says the BBC's Sarah Rainsford in Istanbul, and Mrs Clinton wants to reach out to that public.

Northern Ireland Secretary Shaun Woodward condemned the shootings as "an act of criminal barbarism". The attack was being investigated by the Police Service of Northern Ireland, the statement added. The soldiers are the first to be murdered in Northern Ireland since Lance Bombardier Stephen Restorick was killed by an IRA sniper in 1997. All four injured men have been taken to Antrim Area Hospital, about a mile away from the scene. The condition of some were said to be serious.

The attack comes shortly after Sir Hugh Orde, the chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, requested the Special Reconnaissance Regiment's help to gather intelligence on dissident republicans. He had said the threat against his officers and military personnel was at its highest for almost a decade. Mr Robinson said the Massereene attack vindicated his decision, which had been criticised by Sinn Fein.

Ian Paisley Jnr, a DUP member of the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Policing Board, said the shooting could prove to be a defining moment in Northern Ireland's history. He said: "For the last 10 years, people believed things like this happened in foreign countries, places like Basra. UNFORTUNATELY IT HAS RETURNED TO OUR DOORSTEP."

The British government will host the talks on March 24, ahead of an April summit of Group of 20 leaders, the Nikkei economic daily said, without naming sources. Invitations have been sent to the chiefs of leading institutions including US-based JPMorgan Chase and Co and British bank HSBC, it said.

From Japan, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group president Nobuo Kuroyanagi will attend the meeting, it said. No confirmation of the report was available from the Japanese bank on Saturday. Leaders of the Group of 20 developed and developing nations are to get together in London on April 2. Supervision of financial institutions is expected to be high on the agenda.

Taxpayers now own 65 per cent of the firm, up from 43 per cent after previous bailouts, and this rises to 77 per cent once non-voting shares are included. Lloyds pledged to lend an additional £28 billion over the next two years as part of the deal. The Treasury's confirmation came as taxpayers looked destined to end up covering the £3million pension pot of the bank's American boss of Lloyds.

Eric Daniels, 58, stands to draw retirement payments of more than £150,000 a year when he reaches 60. The deal will cause uproar because many hold him responsible for overseeing the near-collapse of Lloyds following its contentious merger with Halifax Bank of Scotland. Hopes of an imminent deal helped boost the bank's shares yesterday but, now that it is sealed, it could prompt Mr Daniels' early exit and that of his chairman, Sir Victor Blank.

Details of Mr Daniels' bumper pension package WILL FOCUS ATTENTION AGAIN ON 'REWARDS FOR FAILURE' for bankers forced to go cap in hand to the Government for taxpayer-funded bailouts.

Investigators will pay particular attention to spending on sport during Sir Fred's time as chief executive. RBS announced last week that it planned to cut its spending on sport sponsorship. The annual bill includes about £7 million in payments to seven RBS "global ambassadors" including Sir Jackie Stewart, the three-times Formula 1 champion, and the golfer Jack Nicklaus, both boyhood heroes of Sir Fred.

The fresh investigation raises the stakes in the battle of wills between the Government and the banker over his pension. Sir Fred declined to comment but a friend warned: "WHAT THE PRIME MINISTER MAY WANT TO CONSIDER IS THAT HE AND FRED WERE VERY CLOSE FOR A LONG TIME AND IN DAMAGING FRED IT MAY END UP DAMAGING THE PRIME MINISTER."

Sir Jackie spoke to The Times last night from his home in Switzerland and defended his contract with RBS, which started in 2004. "I have a large number of global activities such as product launches and corporate hospitality. It was a five-year contract, I think, and then it was extended. My contract finishes with the bank in 2011." He refused to reveal how much he is paid by the bailed-out bank, but it is understood that he receives between £3 million and £4 million a year. RBS also pays Sir Jackie, who retired from motor racing in 1973, travel expenses between his homes in Britain, Switzerland and grand prix races all over the world.

RBS later issued a statement saying that SIR JACKIE HAD AGREED TO SURRENDER A THIRD OF THE FEES DUE FOR THE REMAINDER OF HIS CONTRACT "in recognition of the changed financial and economic circumstances facing RBS". A Downing Street source said: "Now that Sir Jackie has done this, it is time for Sir Fred to do the decent thing."

The controversial Venezuelan leader, who taunted the United States as a source of capitalistic evil under former president George W Bush, added that the United States needs a leader who can take it to a "higher" destiny and bring it out of "the sad role that it has been given, as a murderous, attacking power that is hated all around the world."

Chavez said that people are calling Obama a "socialist" for the measures of state intervention he is taking to counter the crisis, so it would not be too far-fetched to suggest that he might join the project of "21st century socialism" that the Venezuelan leader is heading. "NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE. WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT IN THE 1980S THAT THE SOVIET UNION WOULD DISAPPEAR? No one," he said.

"That murderous, genocidal empire has to end, and some day there has to come a leader... who interprets the best of a people who also include human beings who suffer, endure, weep and laugh," the outspoken Chavez said.

Clinton told young Europeans at the European Parliament that global economic turmoil provided a fresh opening. "Never waste a good crisis… Don't waste it when it can have a very positive impact on climate change and energy security," she said. Europe sees the United States as a crucial ally in global climate talks in Copenhagen in December, after President Barack Obama signaled a new urgency in tackling climate change, in stark contrast to his predecessor George W. Bush.

Europe has already laid out plans to cut carbon dioxide emissions to about a fifth below 1990 levels in the next decade, while Obama has proposed a major shift toward renewable energy and a cap and trade system for CO2 emissions. But with many countries in the grip of a punishing recession, SOME QUESTION WHETHER BUSINESSES CAN MUSTER THE HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS OF DOLLARS NEEDED TO CUT CARBON EMISSIONS.

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced the president's itinerary at a news conference following a meeting of NATO foreign ministers Thursday in Brussels. The White House confirmed other details of the trip later in the day. THE TRIP WILL BE MARCH 31 THROUGH APRIL 5.

President Obama will begin in Britain for a G-20 summit on the global financial crisis, to be held in London. He will then take part in a NATO meeting in France and Germany while also meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The president will cap the trip in Prague for a US-European Union conference.