Ike killed at least two people in Texas and Louisiana, flooding many areas, destroying houses and cutting power. It made landfall in Galveston early on Saturday with 110mph (175km/h) winds, but later weakened to a tropical storm. US President George W Bush later declared Texas a federal disaster zone, freeing up millions of dollars in federal aid to those affected by the storm.

Texas Governor Rick Perry said: "We pre-positioned the largest search and rescue operation in the history of the state of Texas in advance of this storm. "There are thousands of personnel and vehicles that were very close in to where the storm struck the coast." He said rescuers were moving into Galveston by air, by boat, and by ground. About 140,000 people in the town and other low-lying areas chose to stay despite warning they could die, officials say. The hurricane left Galveston flooded and without water or electricity.

Production was suspended at 14 oil refineries and 28 natural gas processing plants that were in the storm's path. However, US Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff later said that overall "the impact... was not quite as bad as the worst-case scenario, it was still substantial". Ike was downgraded to a tropical storm by the US National Hurricane Center at 1900 GMT, as it moved inland with top sustained winds of nearly 60mph (95km/h).

In a verdict that will have shocked ministers and energy companies the jury at Maidstone Crown Court cleared six Greenpeace activists of criminal damage. Jurors accepted defence arguments that THE SIX HAD A "LAWFUL EXCUSE" TO DAMAGE PROPERTY AT KINGSNORTH POWER STATION IN KENT TO PREVENT EVEN GREATER DAMAGE CAUSED BY CLIMATE CHANGE.

The defence of "lawful excuse" under the Criminal Damage Act 1971 allows damage to be caused to property to prevent even greater damage – such as breaking down the door of a burning house to tackle a fire. The not-guilty verdict, delivered after two days and greeted with cheers in the courtroom, raises the stakes for the most pressing issue on Britain's green agenda and could encourage further direct action.

During the eight-day trial, the world's leading climate scientist, Professor James Hansen of Nasa, who had flown from America to give evidence, appealed to the Prime Minister personally to "take a leadership role" in cancelling the plan and scrapping the idea of a coal-fired future for Britain. Last December he wrote to Mr Brown with a similar appeal. At the trial, he called for an moratorium on all coal-fired power stations, and his hour-long testimony about the gravity of the climate danger, which painted a bleak picture, was listened to intently by the jury of nine women and three men.

Mr Stewart said: "THIS VERDICT MARKS A TIPPING POINT FOR THE CLIMATE CHANGE MOVEMENT. When a jury of normal people say it is legitimate for a direct action group to shut down a coal-fired power station because of the harm it does to our planet, then WHERE DOES THAT LEAVE GOVERNMENT ENERGY POLICY? We have the clean technologies at hand to power our economy. It's time we turned to them instead of coal."

Syria was Moscow's strongest Middle East ally during the Cold War. The alliance largely waned after the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union, though Russia has continued some weapons sales to Damascus. Syrian President Bashar Assad has increasingly reached out to Russia recently, including seeking weapons and offering broader military cooperation.

Friday's announcement was the first tangible sign of any new cooperation. The Itar-Tass news agency said Friday that A VESSEL FROM RUSSIA'S BLACK SEA FLEET HAD BEGUN RESTORING FACILITIES AT SYRIA'S MEDITERRANEAN PORT OF TARTUS FOR USE BY THE RUSSIAN MILITARY. The two countries' naval chiefs also met in Moscow on Friday and discussed "further strengthening mutual trust and mutual understanding between the two states' fleets," a Russian naval official, Igor Dygalo, told Itar-Tass.

The Tartus renovations could signal an intention to have a long-term Russian naval presence there. In late August, Russia's ambassador to Damascus, Igor Belyev, said that Russian ships already patrol the area, but "A NEW DEVELOPMENT IS THAT THE RUSSIAN PRESENCE IN THE MEDITERRANEAN WILL BECOME PERMANENT."

NOW LEHMAN BROTHERS IS TOTTERING – raising the prospect of another US salvage operation. And the Big Three automakers are in Washington this week with hats in hand, asking for loans to finance development of more fuel-efficient vehicles. To some economists, actions taken so far have redefined the criteria for the type of firm the government considers "too big to fail." That's particularly true, they say, because the bailouts have occurred under a supposedly pro-free-market Republican administration.

In the case of Bear Stearns, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac, company size was just one factor in the government's calculations about whether to throw them a taxpayer-funded lifeline. The nature of their connections with the rest of the economy was far more important. If Bear Stearns went under, it could have dragged down a web of firms with which it did financial business. Fannie and Freddie together own or guarantee half the nation's mortgages. Their failure could have caused the flow of mortgage money in the US to freeze up.

But if these firms qualify for help, so might Lehman, as well as other financial institutions battered by the housing crisis, such as Washington Mutual, the nation's largest savings and loan. Lehman got itself into trouble by making bad bets in the market, say critics of government intervention. And Washington shouldn't be helping it out. "I don't buy the 'too big to fail' argument," says Chris Edwards, director of tax policy at the Cato Institute. "Failure is a normal happening in the marketplace. About 10 percent of all US businesses fail every year."

Palin's decision to have a Down syndrome child, WHEN 90 PERCENT OF THESE CHILDREN ARE BEING ABORTED in the womb, has proven in dramatic terms not only that there are articulate pro-life women in America but that there are women who will take a leadership role on "culture of life" issues of concern to millions. And this one could be vice-president of the United States.

The feminists and their allies in the media, WHO TREAT ABORTION AS A HUMAN RIGHT, when abortion destroys basic human rights, are on the defensive. Their vicious attacks have already generated a backlash in her favor. But the controversy goes far beyond Palin and the fate of those, now some 40 million, who have lost their lives through abortion.

"This intragender war marks the official unmasking of fascist feminism," Marc Rudov writes in his insightful article on the NewsWithViews.com website. Palin "rose from hockey mom to state governor without affirmative action," he notes, and has "proved publicly that women can succeed without being victims." What's more, notes Rudov, "SARAH PALIN HAS ACHIEVED SUCCESS WHILE EXPRESSING LOVE AND ADMIRATION FOR HER HUSBAND, anathema to the misandrist underpinning of fascistic feminism." Palin can never be forgiven for this. THAT IS WHY SHE MUST BE DESTROYED.

ABOUT 19 PERCENT OF US REFINING CAPACITY IS BEING SHUT before Ike makes landfall today. Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Europe's largest oil company, started shutting down its Port Arthur, Texas, refinery because "of shifts in Hurricane Ike's track," the company said on its Web site.

"IKE IS HEADED INTO THE HEART OF THE REFINING INDUSTRY," Bruce Bullock, director of the Maguire Energy Institute at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, said in an interview. "The damage is likely to come in flooding, a lack of power for an extended period of time."

A hurricane warning was issued from Morgan City, Louisiana, to Baffin Bay, Texas, after Ike strengthened to a Category 2 storm, the center said. The storm has sustained winds of 100 miles per hour (160 kilometers per hour) and "strengthening is forecast during the next 24 hours." The Houston area's eight refineries have a processing capacity of 2.22 million barrels a day, which represents 13 percent of the US total, according to their owners and the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association.

The tunnel is closed after the fire broke out about seven miles from Calais on Thursday afternoon. Firefighters say the 16-hour blaze has now been put out. Thirty-two people on board the freight train were led to safety, and 14 passengers suffered minor injuries. Eurostar said it "did not expect" to operate any services on Friday.

Passengers were still arriving at St Pancras International in London on Friday hoping services to the Continent would resume. A spokeswoman said about 30,000 passengers were due to travel on 50 Eurostar services on Friday and they would be offered a full refund or exchange.

The closure has caused huge tailbacks on roads near the Eurotunnel terminal at Folkestone as dozens of lorries have been forced to park on the M20 and other surrounding roads. Kent Police say sections of the motorway - between junctions eight and nine - are still being used to queue lorries as part of Operation Stack and are advising motorists to avoid the area.

The decision to place XL Leisure Group into administration has also left thousands of staff facing the axe. Chairman Phil Wyatt said he was "totally devastated" by the failure which has grounded XL's 21 planes. The company flies to about 50 destinations. There are 67,000 stranded who booked directly with XL, and another 23,000 who booked via other companies.The Civil Aviation Authority(CAA) also said the firm had 200,000 advance bookings.

The original EU target that 10% of all road transport fuel should come from renewable sources by 2020 did not set limits for crop biofuels. A committee of the European Parliament has now voted to limit such fuels to 6% of the 10% target. At least 4% of the total will have to be achieved using electricity or hydrogen from renewable sources, or from second-generation biofuels from waste or non-food crops.

Green MEP Claude Turmes, of Luxembourg, welcomed the decision. "While the maintenance of a binding target for biofuels is a bitter pill to swallow, the committee has at least strengthened the safeguards against the damaging impact of agri-fuels in this directive," he said.

The panel also approved a mid-term goal of 5% of road transport fuel from renewable sources by 2015, of which one fifth should not be food crop-based biofuels.

An Iranian official said 10 aftershocks were registered following the quake, each of a magnitude of 4.7 or less. All the casualties were in Iran. Across the Persian Gulf waters, residents in Dubai and neighbouring emirates - home to millions of British expats - reported feeling shaking that lasted a minute.

The tremors sent office workers rushing out of some of the high-rise towers that dot the skyline in the city-state's commercial centre. A Dubai Civil Defence official said he received several calls from panicked residents saying their beds were shaking and their furniture was collapsing.

Relatives of the 2,751 victims killed at the World Trade Center gathered in a park in lower Manhattan for readings from dignitaries and a recitation of the names of the dead. "Today marks the seventh anniversary of the day our world was broken," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said at the start of the ceremony, calling Sept. 11, 2001, a "day that began like any other and ended as none ever has."

Services were also held to remember the victims of hijacked planes in Pennsylvania and at the Pentagon, where a new memorial was dedicated at a ceremony attended by President Bush.

Landfall is forecast early Saturday morning between Freeport and Galveston, which puts Houston and surrounding Harris County on the dangerous east side of the storm. Because of the expected intensity of the hurricane at landfall and the angle at which Ike will approach the upper Texas coast, a storm surge of up to 20 feet may occur in Galveston Bay with a storm surge of 12 to 16 feet expected on the immediate coast. Gulf water will be pushed into the confined area of Galveston Bay. Hence the higher storm surge.

The cloud shield from Hurricane Ike took up nearly half of the Gulf of Mexico Thursday, but the early night time hours Ike remained at Category 2 strength, with sustained winds of 100 mph. With hurricane force winds extending 115 miles from the center and tropical storm force winds out to 265 miles, Ike remains a massive hurricane and conditions along the Gulf Coast will deteriorate long before landfall.

The wind field to the east of the eye, stretches roughly 550 miles from north to south. Outer bands of thunderstorms and gusty winds Thursday moved through the Mississippi Delta and New Orleans, spreading thunderstorms into areas that were hammered by Hurricane Gustav. The potential for catastrophic damage is extremely high. According to Forecasting Manager Ken Reeves, "IN CONTRAST TO THE MAJOR HITS IN THE GULF OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS, INCLUDING KATRINA, IKE WILL NOT WEAKEN SIGNIFICANTLY BEFORE LANDFALL. As a result, the damage potential is exponentially higher."

On 11 October 2008, concerned people in many countries will take to the streets, the motto being "Freedom not fear 2008". Peaceful and creative action, from protest marches to parties, will take place in many capital cities. Surveillance mania is spreading.

Governments and businesses register, monitor and control our behaviour ever more thoroughly. No matter what we do, who we phone and talk to, where we go, whom we are friends with, what our interests are, which groups we participate in - "big brother" government and "little brothers" in business know it more and more thoroughly.

People who constantly feel watched and under surveillance cannot freely and courageously stand up for their rights and for a just society. MASS SURVEILLANCE IS THEREBY THREATENING THE FABRIC OF A DEMOCRATIC AND OPEN SOCIETY.

The 60-page report - published on the seventh anniversary of the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington - said that the EU now saw data privacy and judicial scrutiny of police surveillance tactics as obstacles to efficient law enforcement co-operation, rather than rights to be safeguarded. The report, The Shape Of Things To Come, described a so-called EU "Future Group" preparing a new five-year security strategy as "shadowy". It said that plans to co-operate with the US on "extremely controversial" techniques and technologies of surveillance and "enhanced" co-operation. The group is accused of trying to harness a "digital tsunami" to aid law enforcement.

The Statewatch report quotes an EU Council of Ministers document on justice and security which declared: "Every object the individual uses, every transaction they make and almost everywhere they go will create a detailed digital record. This will generate a wealth of information for public security organisations, and create huge opportunities for more effective and productive public security efforts."

The report goes on: "When traffic data including internet usage is combined with other data held by the state or gathered from non-state sources (tax, employment, bank details, credit card usage, biometrics, criminal record, health record, use of e-government services, travel history etc) a frightening detailed picture of each individual's everyday life and habits can be accessed at the click of a button."

The report adds: "The harnessing of the 'digital tsunami' by public security organisations means that expected behaviour can be assessed by 'machines' on the basis of which directions are given to state officials on the spot." Statewatch says that, ever since 9/11, Washington has "got its way" on security policy to the detriment of privacy and protection data about EU citizens.

Statewatch director Tony Bunyan said: "There is now only a slim chance that the political elites in the Council of the European Union, the European Commission, national governments, the law enforcement agencies and the multinationals will change course - they have already invested too much to allow a meaningful public debate to take place. The national and European states require unfettered powers to access and gather masses of personal data on the everyday life of everyone in order so that we can all be safe and secure from perceived 'threats'. BUT HOW ARE WE TO BE SAFE FROM THE STATE ITSELF, FROM ITS USES AND ABUSES OF THE DATA THEY HOLD ON US?"

"I don't think auctioning my virginity will solve all my problems," she told celebrity television show The Insider on Wednesday. "BUT IT WILL CREATE SOME FINANCIAL STABILITY. I'm ready for the controversy, I know it will come along. I'm ready to do this."

"We live in a capitalist society. Why shouldn't I be allowed to capitalize on my virginity?" she added. The woman, who has earned a bachelor degree in women's studies and now wants to start a master's degree in marriage and family therapy, IS HOPING THE BIDDING WILL HIT $1 MILLION.