About 700 people filled a school hall in Adelaide's south last night to meet with the Prime Minister and his cabinet colleagues. Many were keen to hear how the Government will tackle the severe water shortages threatening the Murray River.

The Government will spend $AUS 400 million dollars this year buying water licences from farmers in Queensland and NSW but the water minister, Penny Wong, warns not all of it will reach the river mouth. "You lose a lot of water between Queensland and South Australia just by evaporation."

Senator Wong told those gathered it is extremely difficult to fix a problem that has developed over many decades.

Rushing from their homes with buckets, bottles, saucepans and wash tubs, they expressed relief that at last a truck from the Barbados Water Authority (BWA) had brought what their taps had failed to produce. In Mellows Hill, Timothy Smith rushed out with every plastic bottle he could find. He owns a water tank, but he was taking no chances.

Another resident, who wanted to remain anonymous, said they were often affected by water shortages, but it seemed things were getting worse. "Yesterday, all I got was a trickle. I'm thankful my grandson was here to fill up these cans for me," she said.

Residents of Delainavesi, Lami and surrounding areas have been plagued by continuous water shortages with some people forced to taking water from nearby polluted streams. Many are questioning whether the Fijian Water Department is aware of the problem which has been affecting them since the beginning of the year.

A third of the population in Fiji does not have access to safe fresh water according to a BBC Panorama documentary, despite the south Pacific nation's thriving bottled water industry. Bottles of Fiji mineral water are a common sight in the US where the largest brand, Fiji Water, shipped the equivalent of 200 million bottles last year.

Sitiveni Weleilakeba, 51, of Delainavesi said the whole area had run out of water from Wednesday last week and life was hard for many ordinary families. Weleilakeba said that the situation had become so bad that some people had resorted to using nearby polluted streams to get water. He also said that students of Ballantine Memorial School had to go home early because of the water problems, which had been a regular occurrence.

The study by the environment group WWF is the first attempt to discover the full scale of UK water consumption, or its "water footprint". As well as water for drinking, cleaning and washing, it looks at hidden factors such as how much water is needed to grow food around the world and to make and transport goods. It concludes that only 38 per cent of the water used by the UK comes from its own resources, with much of the rest coming from countries such as Spain and Morocco, which face serious shortages.

While the average UK household consumes almost 33 gallons a day for washing and drinking, it consumes about 30 times as much in "virtual water", used in the production of imported food and textiles. Only Brazil, Mexico, Japan, China and Italy come higher in the league of net importers of virtual agricultural water.

The report, which will be presented at a meeting of international experts in Stockholm, also highlights the amount of water used for different diets.

The international conference will address a wide variety of critical water-related issues with a special focus on sanitation and climate, said Anders Berntell, executive director of the Stockholm International Water Institute. BILLIONS OF PEOPLE IN THE WORLD LIVE WITHOUT SUSTAINABLE ACCESS TO SAFE DRINKING WATER or suffer ill health due to poor sanitation," said Berntell at the inauguration of the World Water Week, which runs through Saturday.

THE REASON FOR THE GROWING WATER CHALLENGES IS NOT CLIMATE CHANGE, BUT THE WORLD'S EVER-INCREASING POPULATION, Berntell added. Gunilla Carlsson, Sweden's minister for international development cooperation, said the world must strike a balance between water resources and development, especially in developing and poor nations. About 20 percent of the world's population in 30 countries face water shortages, and 88 percent of all diseases in the world are caused by unsafe drinking water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene, she added.

"It is indicated that 30 percent of the world's population in 50 countries will suffer from water shortages in 2025," Carlsson said.

Iyer and Coburn are among the farmers who described their efforts to cope with water shortages in a survey conducted by the California Farm Bureau. Both grow almonds, a crop that has been among the state's agricultural success stories in recent years. And both say they worry that water shortages will make that success difficult to sustain.

For the past 12 years, Iyer has farmed almonds near Gustine in western Merced County. He realized that 2008 would not exactly be his year, however, after the federal government announced water cutbacks were necessary due to the drought.

When Iyer learned about the pending water rationing, he began contacting well drilling companies to see who could help locate more water on his property. "I've been trying to get somebody to do a test well for me for the last eight weeks. These companies are so backed up, they tell me that they have 600 projects ahead of me," Iyer said. "They said, 'Don't call me, we'll call you.'" In Iyer's area, the cost to drill for a well is estimated between $60,000 and $80,000 and he hears that well drilling companies expect to be busy throughout the winter, for what could be another parched year in 2009.

The Council met last night to discuss the ongoing water shortages in the region. An urgent meeting will be sought with the Tasmanian Water Minister to discuss the progress of water infrastructure plans because THERE HAS BEEN NO IN-FLOW OF WATER INTO LAKE LEAKE. The Mayor, Kim Polley, told ABC Local Radio the Campbell Town restrictions will be introduced as soon as possible.

"At the moment we have something like 26 per cent capacity full in the lake, but if we don't get any rain between now and February, the worst case scenario given evaporation and everything else, we could end up with six per cent," she said.

The Arabs steal the water by hooking up pipes to the central pipelines that deliver water to the Jewish towns in the Mt. Hevron Regional Council. The Civil Administration is the body that governs Judea and Samaria in the name of the Israeli Government. Despite the considerable size of the confiscated haul, the Civil Administration estimates that it is merely a drop in the bucket. The Arabs still retain some 85% of the piping through which they stream the stolen water to the Arab villages.

Two weeks ago, Mt. Hevron Regional Council head Tzviki Bar-Chai wrote an urgent letter to Infrastructures Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer and Police Commissioner Dudi Cohen. Bar-Chai wrote that the matter of Arab water theft had gone "out of control." He pleaded with the two to convene the relevant authorities and take action to "stop the ongoing catastrophe."

Amir Ben-Tovim, Assistant to the Police Commissioner, wrote in response his confirmation that over the past three summers, Arab theft of water had risen in the Judea and Samaria district.

However, it is reported that Medvedev did not specify the pace or scope of the withdrawal, and said that Russian troops would only withdraw to a "security zone" set 14km from the border with South Ossetia. American officials said that the Russian military has been moving launchers for short-range ballistic missiles into South Ossetia. The Telegraph quotes US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as saying: "there is a ceasefire, and Russia is currently not in compliance with that ceasefire".

In an article in Le Figaro, French Sarkozy says "Russia must immediately withdraw from Georgia", and that if it does not, he will convene an extraordinary European Council meeting "to decide on the consequences". He also claims that "IF THE LISBON TREATY, WHICH IS IN THE PROCESS OF BEING RATIFIED, HAD ALREADY BEEN IN FORCE, THE EU WOULD HAVE HAD THE INSTITUTIONS IT NEEDS TO COPE WITH AN INTERNATIONAL CRISIS", citing the permanent President of the European Council, the High Representative endowed with "a real European diplomatic service", and "considerable financial means" to ensure implementation of decisions taken.

Speaking in Moscow, Angela Merkel said: "Some of Russia's actions were not proportionate...[but] it is rare that all the blame is on one side. In fact, both sides are probably to blame."

In an anodyne report on the miraculously precise data the state-owned Herald newspaper, a government mouthpiece, said: "Analysts said rising costs are forcing retailers to increase prices more than once a day in some instances." But John Robertson, an independent economist based in Harare, put the real figure at "more than 30 million per cent over the year". He pointed out that over the period in question the US dollar went up by 23 million per cent over Zimbabwe's currency on the black market.

Critics say President Robert Mugabe's mismanagement is entirely to blame for the destruction of a once-thriving economy, and that the ruling party's own demand for hard currency is a major factor in the collapsing black-market rate, which stood at Z$120 to the greenback – down 20 per cent on the previous day.

At the end of last month Robert Mugabe's government knocked 10 zeros off the value of the Zimbabwe dollar, issued a new currency, and reintroduced coins, although the latter are already becoming impractical and will be useless within weeks. The Herald itself costs 100 new Zimbabwe dollars, or 1 trillion old ones. Supermarket prices include: 500g of infant cereal, Z$1060, 1 kg of salt, Z$650, 1 kg mince $370, 2lt cooking oil Z$2990.

A teacher's monthly salary is Z$800.

The strike in the town of Boumerdès, about 22 miles east of Algiers, came just hours after reports that an ambush by Islamist extremists on Sunday killed 12 people in eastern Algeria. That assault followed two earlier attacks in August that left eight dead and over 50 injured. Though the extremist Al Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has only claimed responsibility for one of those massacres, experts fear they were all part of an escalating campaign of terror activity by the organization, which may be aiming to make the approaching holy month of Ramadan particularly bloody.

Even before this month's crescendo of strikes sounded its loudest note Tuesday, French security officials aired concerns AQIM may be planning to again turn THE RAMADAN HOLY MONTH, WHICH STARTS SEPTEMBER 1 THIS YEAR, into a season of blood-letting as jihadists in Algeria and elsewhere have in the past.

"Radicals feel that because they're waging holy war, there's actually something sanctified in killing foreign infidels and people they consider 'bad Muslims' during Islamic holidays," one French intelligence official told TIME prior to Tuesday's attack. "And since everyone who is not with them is an infidel or 'bad Muslim' to the extremists' mind, they see a perverse religious and terror logic to inflict as much death and injury as possible during Ramadan."

Closing in they throw punches and swing elbows before crashing to the mat to grapple as the crowd cheers them on. One slips a hand free and sends a several thousand volt jolt into his opponents ribs to end the fight. Two more fighters quickly take their place, swinging hefty sticks, thwacking, punching and head-butting one another in a brutal battle accompanied by the rhythmic thumping of drums. Welcome to the world of the Dog Brothers, a Los Angeles area fight club that draws combatants from various walks of life for twice-yearly, no-holds-barred brawls with fists and assorted weapons that often end in welts, bumps, bruises, if not blood.

The self-styled tribal brotherhood emerged out of the martial arts community in Southern California in the 1980s, where their hard sparring methods set them apart and gained them notoriety. Their meetings have no referees, no prizes and few rules, and the fighters' only protection are gloves and a fencing mask. THEY ARE NOW DRAWING A GROWING NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS FROM ACROSS THE UNITED STATES AND AROUND THE WORLD.

"This is like the ultimate. You've got striking, you've got grappling, you've got weapons, anything goes," said Matt Booe, a karate instructor hoping to fight with hefty, blunted knives at a recent gathering in Burbank, just north of Los Angeles. "It gives you the idea of really finding out what martial arts are like, not just doing pretty forms."

Auckland City Council had sought a court injunction to stop the "Boobs on Bikes" parade, scheduled for Wednesday, saying it breached a bylaw banning offensive public events.

But Judge Nicola Mathers said while opponents may find the parade offensive or tasteless, the fact that 80,000 people had gathered for a similar event last year meant a significant number of people did not agree with the critics, New Zealand Press Association said.

The parade on Queens St., featuring leather-clad local and international porn stars, is part of an "Erotica Expo" organized by self-styled "porn king" Steve Crow.

The draft text called on Russia to pull back its forces to the positions held before the current conflict. But Russia says the truce allows its troops to stay in a buffer zone on the Georgia side of South Ossetia's border. Moscow earlier dismissed a Nato warning that normal relations were impossible while its troops remained in Georgia.

THE CONFLICT BROKE OUT ON 7 AUGUST WHEN GEORGIA LAUNCHED AN ASSAULT to wrest back control of the Moscow-backed breakaway region of South Ossetia, triggering a counter-offensive by Russian troops who advanced beyond South Ossetia into Georgia's heartland.

Russia's UN ambassador said the French-drafted UN resolution went against the terms of the ceasefire brokered by France's President Nicolas Sarkozy. Vitaly Churkin said the resolution should incorporate all elements of the six-point peace plan agreed last week. He also objected to language in the draft reaffirming Georgia's territorial integrity, saying South Ossetia and Abkhazia did not want to be part of Georgia.

Yet in Spain itself there is little consensus about what is to be done. Indeed, such is the disagreement that journalists and politicians alike are calling it "water wars". A farmer and politician, Angel Carcia Udon, said: "WATER AROUSES PASSIONS BECAUSE IT CAN BE USED AS A WEAPON, a political weapon, just as oil is a political weapon." And water in Spain has set region against region, north against south and government against opposition.

When the city of Barcelona nearly ran out of water earlier this year, the fountains were switched off and severe restrictions were introduced. The government of Catalonia pleaded for water to be transferred from rivers like the Ebro - causing a furious row between the regions.

Instead, the city shipped in millions of litres of water from France and accelerated work on the giant desalination plant on the edge of Barcelona, which promises to provide 180,000 cubic metres of water a day. But Barcelona is not alone in its insatiable thirst. Apart from the far north, the entire country is suffering, especially the parched areas on the Mediterranean coast, from Catalonia, down through Valencia, Alicante, Murcia and Almeria.