Mr Hu gave his warning at a meeting of the Politburo and his words have been made public by the state media. As growth slows, Mr Hu said that in the coming period China would starkly confront the effects of the international financial crisis.

Recent figures show that the government has cause to be worried. Growth has slowed to 9% - and predictions say that it may drop to 7% or 8% next year. These are dazzling figures for some economies, but there's a widespread belief - even a superstition - in CHINA THAT GROWTH NEEDS TO STAY ABOVE 7% IN ORDER FOR SOCIAL STABILITY TO BE MAINTAINED.

China has already taken action. This past week the central bank carried out the biggest cut in interest rates in more than a decade. And earlier this month, the government announced a stimulus package of $586bn (£380bn). This is enough, the Communist Party will hope, to get this country through the next year or two.

Debby Baksh is one of thousands of customer sales agents hired and trained online by US firm Arise to answer calls at home. In her Brooklyn living room, she supplies phone services to some of the biggest companies in America and around the world.

HER CONVERSATIONS WITH CUSTOMERS ARE RECORDED AND ANALYSED BY HER BOSSES, and her performance is monitored constantly by software on her computer. If she steps away for any reason without logging off, the machine will know about it. To keep an eye on arms-length employees one customer Service Company claims to have software CAPABLE OF DETECTING AN ANGRY AGENT OR EVEN A BABY CRYING in the same room - a definite no-no in the home sales world.

But telephone tracking technology has its critics. They point out that remote workers should be aware that GETTING SACKED IS ONLY ONE CLICK AWAY, as most systems are set up to ensure they never have legal status as an employee.

According to former Economics Minister Wolfgang Clement, a Social Democrat, WHAT GERMANY NEEDS NOW is "heavy investment in schools and universities and A COMPACT INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT PROGRAM." Clement believes that the only solution to the global economic crisis is a "global investment boom," and that this is not the time to get bogged down in details, but rather to take a more forceful approach.

"Right now, increased government spending is just what the doctor ordered," says this year's winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics, Paul Krugman. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the director of the International Monetary Fund, seems to agree when he proposes "quick and forceful" multinational spending programs. This advice is partly intended for Germany. As recently as late summer, THE GERMAN ECONOMY WAS CONSIDERED EXTREMELY CRISIS-PROOF, with its relatively manageable banking sector and many fundamentally solid exporting companies. The experts, hoping to preserve calm, said that this combination of factors would help Germany navigate the financial crisis more effectively than most other industrialized nations.

But now it is precisely this strength in world markets that has become so disastrous to the German economy. A Wall Street banker who has lost his job is unlikely to be buying a Porsche these days. And Russia's cash-strapped oligarchs now lack the capital to buy German building machines. With key buying countries like the United States and Great Britain rushing into recession, BUSINESS IS ALSO SUFFERING IN GERMANY, THE WORLD'S LEADING EXPORTING NATION.

The report, which looked at parental involvement in a child's education, noted that studies suggest that fathers are now more involved than they were in the 1970s, particularly for those with children under five. But it concluded: "There is evidence, however, of great variation in levels of fathers' involvement, so that even though levels have increased on average, a substantial proportion of fathers recorded no daily direct interaction time with their children." In total, almost seven in 10 fathers say they want to be more involved with their child's education.

The report, commissioned by the Department for Children, Schools and Families found "consistent evidence" that a FATHER'S INVOLVEMENT PLAYS A CONSIDERABLE PART IN A CHILD'S ATTAINMENT. Children who had fathers who took an interest in their education were more likely TO GET BETTER EXAM RESULTS, a higher level of educational qualifications, make greater progress at school and have higher educational expectations. THEY WERE ALSO MORE LIKELY TO HAVE A MORE POSITIVE ATTITUDE AND BE BETTER BEHAVED, THE REPORT CONCLUDED.

A Muslim charity in the town of Jos says it collected more than 300 bodies, and fatalities are also expected among Christians. There is no official confirmation yet, and figures are notoriously unreliable in Nigeria, says the BBC's Alex Last. Police have imposed a 24-hour curfew and the army is patrolling the streets.

They have been given orders to shoot on sight in an effort to quell hostilities that mark the worst clashes in the restive West African nation since 2004. For the second straight day on Saturday, angry mobs went through the town burning homes, churches and mosques. The Nigerian Red Cross says at least 10,000 people have fled their homes.

Correspondents say communal violence in Nigeria is complex, but it often boils down to COMPETITION FOR RESOURCES such as land between those that see themselves as indigenous versus the more recent settlers. In Plateau, CHRISTIANS ARE REGARDED AS BEING INDIGENOUS AND HAUSA-SPEAKING MUSLIMS THE SETTLERS.

Russia has already delivered nuclear fuel under a $1 billion contract to build the Bushehr plant on the Gulf coast in southwest Iran. Russia has blamed previous delays on problems with receiving payment from Iran. "Work is ongoing and certain difficulties which arose, including those connected with timely financing, are being resolved due to joint efforts between the Iranian purchaser and the Russian contractor," Tass quoted Sergei Kiriyenko, the head of Russia's Rosatom nuclear corporation, as saying.

"Next year we should conclude all the work," Kiriyenko was quoted as saying. Atomstroyexport, the Russian firm building the plant, said in September the plant was nearing completion and that it would start "technological work" in December 2008 to February 2009 that would put the plant on an "irreversible final" course.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has repeatedly said Moscow does not want Iran to be armed with nuclear weapons but that Russia has seen no evidence that Tehran is seeking to build atomic bombs. Iran denies having a bomb programme and says it has the right to develop civilian nuclear power.

There already are reports emerging that some countries, such as coal-dependent Poland, are pushing for special treatment to avoid making major commitments to slash carbon emissions during a global economic downturn.

Less than half of those surveyed, or 47 per cent, said they were prepared to make personal lifestyle changes to reduce carbon emissions, down from 58 per cent last year. Only 37 per cent said they were willing to spend "extra time" on the effort, an eight-point drop. And only one in five respondents - or 20 per cent - said they'd spend extra money to reduce climate change. That's down from 28 per cent a year ago.

Results of the poll were released this week in advance of the start of a major international conference in Poland where delegates are considering steps toward a new international climate-change treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.

Appearing in a white turban and robe, Zawahri discussed the roots of the U.S. economic crisis. He said it was a repercussion of the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States, and that the crisis would continue "as long as the foolish American policy of wading in Muslim blood continues."

"The American economy was afflicted by a downturn and loss of investor confidence in the market following the events of Sept. 11," he said. "The modern economy has been destroyed by the strikes of the mujahedeen (in Iraq and Afghanistan) and usury," he said, using the Arabic term for holy warriors.

UNDER ISLAMIC SHARIA LAW, USURY, LIKE DRINKING ALCOHOL, IS AMONG THE GRAND SINS. Zawahri then called on the American people to "EMBRACE ISLAM TO LIVE A LIFE FREE OF GREED, EXPLOITATION AND FORBIDDEN WEALTH."

Jadhav says "the death toll is likely to rise because there are still bodies in our vans that are being brought into hospitals." Indian commandos killed the last remaining gunmen holed up at a luxury Mumbai hotel Saturday, ending a 60-hour rampage through India's financial capital by suspected Islamic militants.

"It's obvious they were trained somewhere. ... Not everyone can handle the AK series of weapons or throw grenades like that," an unidentified member of India's Marine Commando unit told reporters, his face wrapped in a black mask. He said the men were "very determined and remorseless" and ready for a long siege. One backpack they found had 400 rounds of ammunition inside.

"THIS CROWD WAS OUT OF CONTROL," said Nassau Police Det. Lt. Michael Fleming, whose squad is investigating. "NOBODY WAS TRYING TO HELP HIM," said shopper Nakea Augustine, who was in the line. "They were rushing in the store, rushing, rushing, rushing."

During the fracas, first-responders struggled to reach Damour to tend to him, witnesses said. Even the first police officers on the scene were jostled around, police said. "It was chaos," said Kimberly Cribbs of Far Rockaway, who was in line and entered the store as Damour was being attended to.

Witness Kimberly Cribbs said all those people who got in went right on shopping after the worker was run over. "OH YES, THEY'RE SAVAGES," Cribbs said.

Dressed in jeans, T- shirts and trainers, they landed in four boats and carried huge quantities of almonds in their rucksacks - food for a long siege. Witnesses reported that the terrorist attackers in Mumbai were like a 'jihadist infantry', lobbing grenades and using AK-47 assault rifles to mow down terrified bystanders.

India is no stranger to terror attacks. The victims of these atrocities join the 600 killed in the country over the past six years. Most of these outrages have involved coordinated bomb blasts, like those on Mumbai's railways which killed 209 people in July 2006.

Indian prime minister Singh is in no doubt that the attack had a 'foreign' dimension and the Times of India is reporting that the captured terrorists include Pakistanis. But what were the terrorists trying to achieve? The immediate aim is simply to destabilise India's economy, for Mumbai is a major tourist centre and home to a stock exchange and the reserve bank. THE REAL GOAL COULD BE TO START NUCLEAR CONFLICT BETWEEN INDIA AND PAKISTAN.

WILL 2008 BE REMEMBERED AS THE YEAR THAT KILLED THE EURO-SKEPTICS? It certainly didn't begin that way. Back in June, the people of Ireland stunned the world by voting down the Treaty of Lisbon, bringing the project of ever-closer European integration to a screeching halt. Then, in August, the EU got another jolt when war broke out between Russia and Georgia.

These days, though, such bickering seems like ancient history. Between summer's turbulence and today's reality, the New York investment bank Lehman Brothers failed in mid-September, sending the world into a financial tailspin from which it might take years to recover. But instead of sounding the death knell for what was an already flailing EU, THE FINANCIAL CRISIS HAS HAD THE EFFECT OF BREATHING NEW LIFE INTO A BLOC that just a couple months ago looked deflated and defeated.

Now, from Iceland to the Czech Republic, previously wary populations are warming to the EU, heaping praise on the very Brussels-based behemoth they had spent so many years deriding. Since January, Iceland's currency has lost nearly half its value against the euro, plunging the country's economy into chaos. At the same time, opinion polling has registered a large shift in public attitudes toward the EU. According to a poll published on Nov. 24 by the Icelandic newspaper Frettabladid, 68 PERCENT OF ICELANDERS NOW FAVOR JOINING THE EURO.

The Tory leader called the police operation 'EXTRAORDINARY AND FRANKLY RATHER WORRYING', while former Shadow Home Secretary David Davis compared it with the arrest of opposition in Zimbabwe. Mr Green had his home, his Commons and constituency offices searched over claims that he leaked confidential Government documents. The arrest was the culmination of an operation described by Mr Green's colleagues as 'Stalinesque',

Mr Cameron said: 'The police have to answer questions. Frankly, government ministers have got questions to answer as well.' He asked why nine counter-terrorism officers had to enter Mr Green's family home in Kent: 'IF THEY WANTED TO TALK TO DAMIAN GREEN, WHY NOT PICK UP THE TELEPHONE AND ASK TO TALK TO HIM?'

Former shadow home secretary David Davis said: 'Where have the priorities of the Metropolitan Police gone? It would have been perfectly possible for a couple of policeman to have interviewed him in the office. He is an MP - he's not going to flee the country. 'For five years, I have avoided using the term 'police state' because I think it is an over-the-top term, but the kind of things we have seen today are THE KIND OF THING YOU SEE IN A POLICE STATE OR A BANANA REPUBLIC, NOT IN BRITAIN.'

UPDATE:- Speaker Michael Martin faced calls for his resignation last night over claims that he authorised the unprecedented police raid on the House of Commons. MPs from all three main parties were appalled that detectives were given the green light to enter the Palace of Westminster and search Damian Green's private office. IT IS UNHEARD OF FOR AN MP TO BE ARRESTED AND HIS OFFICE RAIDED BY POLICE IN CONNECTION WITH A LEAK INQUIRY.

The bank said the damage caused by the financial excesses of the last quarter century was forcing the world's authorities to take steps that had never been tried before. This gamble was likely to end in one of two extreme ways: with either A RESURGENCE OF INFLATION; OR A DOWNWARD SPIRAL INTO DEPRESSION, CIVIL DISORDER, AND POSSIBLY WARS. Both outcomes will cause a rush for gold.

"THE WORLD IS NOT GOING BACK TO NORMAL AFTER THE MAGNITUDE OF WHAT THEY HAVE DONE. When the dust settles this will either work, and the money they have pushed into the system will feed though into AN INFLATION SHOCK. Or it will not work because too much damage has already been done, and we will see CONTINUED FINANCIAL DETERIORATION, causing further economic deterioration, with the risk of a feedback loop. We don't think this is the more likely outcome, but as each week and month passes, THERE IS A GROWING DANGER OF VICIOUS CIRCLE AS CONFIDENCE ERODES," he said.

"THIS WILL LEAD TO POLITICAL INSTABILITY. We are already seeing countries on the periphery of Europe under severe stress. SOME LEADERS ARE NOW AT RECORD LEVELS OF UNPOPULARITY. There is a risk of DOMESTIC UNREST, STARTING WITH STRIKES because people are feeling disenfranchised. WHAT HAPPENS IF THERE IS A MELTDOWN IN A COUNTRY LIKE PAKISTAN, WHICH IS A NUCLEAR POWER. People react when they have their backs to the wall. We're already seeing doubts emerge about the sovereign debts of developed AAA-rated countries, which is not something you can ignore," he said.

Gold traders are playing close attention to reports from Beijing that China is thinking of boosting its gold reserves from 600 tonnes to nearer 4,000 tonnes to diversify away from paper currencies. "If true, this is a very material change," he said. GOLD HAS TRIPLED IN VALUE OVER THE LAST SEVEN YEARS, vastly outperforming Wall Street and European bourses.

THE ARMY OF MUHAMMAD IS BACK. This was the message buzzing in radical Islamist circles yesterday as the world tried to absorb the shock of the terrorist attacks in Bombay, India's economic capital. While it is not yet clear which group was behind the attacks, it looks as if the perpetrators were trying to imitate the tactic of ghazwa, used by the Prophet against Meccan caravans in his decade-long campaign to seize control of the city.

The tactic consists of surprise no-holds-barred attacks simultaneously launched against a caravan or settlement with the aim of demoralising the enemy and hastening his capitulation. The Bombay attacks differed from previous terror operations in India in a number of ways. In the past, one approach had been to place explosive-packed devices in crowded places with the aim of killing large numbers at random. Another was suicide attacks on specific targets by lone "volunteers for martyrdom".

This time, however, the approach was "symphonic", in the sense that it involved different types of operations blended together. Involved in the operations were men who had placed explosives at selected points. But there were also gunmen operating in classic military style by seizing control of territory at symbolically significant locations along with hostages. Then there were militants prepared to kill, and be killed, in grenade attacks against security forces. Whoever designed the operations had another important Islamic tactic in mind: TABARRA OR EXONERATION.

THIS CONSISTS OF SEPARATING THE "OUTSIDER", IN THIS CASE THE BRITISH AND AMERICAN "INFIDEL", FROM THE COMMUNITY WITH THE INTENT OF BLAMING THEM FOR THE ILLS OF THE WORLD BEFORE SACRIFICING THEM. It was no accident that one of the places attacked was a Jewish centre, where gunmen seized a rabbi and several members of the congregation as hostages. The loud message was that A SMALL GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS COULD TURN A MEGALOPOLIS OF ALMOST 15 MILLION INHABITANTS INTO A BATTLEFIELD FOR AT LEAST A DAY.