It promises to be one of the great photo ops of 2009. Benedict sent a personal message to Obama the day after his victory, which referred to the "historic occasion" of his coming presidency; and Obama subsequently telephoned the Pope as part of a round of calls to world leaders. But well before the two men have their historic handshake, THE GROUND IS ALREADY SHIFTING UNDERNEATH U.S.-VATICAN RELATIONS. And the first issue to watch is abortion.

The Pope's top aides may have already informed Benedict about a campaign promise Obama made on July 17, 2007, to Planned Parenthood, stating that his first act as President would be to sign the Freedom of Choice Act, which would undo legislation that put restrictions on access to abortions. Some Catholics have warned that such a decree, which would essentially codify Roe v. Wade into federal law and could force doctors in Catholic hospitals to perform abortions against their conscience. "There's more fear here than wrath," a senior Vatican official told TIME with regard to the Catholic hierarchy's attitude toward Obama.

However, if Obama signs the Freedom of Choice Act in his first months in office "it would be the equivalent of a war," says the same official. "It would be like saying: 'WE'VE HEARD THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND WE HAVE NO INTEREST IN THEIR CONCERNS." U.S. Catholic bishops meeting last week in Baltimore vowed to take on Obama for his support of abortion rights; they are also skeptical about his assurances to try to reduce the number of abortions while supporting the right to choose.

It's hard to keep track of just how fast the Zimbabwean dollar has fallen since the government reinstated electronic parallel market transfers on Nov. 13, but even before that the currency of Zimbabwe was the most worthless in the world.

While the official rate on Monday was 19,393.94 Zimbabwean dollars to the $1 USD, the old mutual implied rate, generated from comparing the Zimbabwe and London stock exchanges, valued the currency at more than 642 quadrillion to one.

When the currency was revalued this summer, an egg cost about $35 billion Zimbabwean dollars.

The national price for regular unleaded gasoline fell for the ninth week in a row, sinking to $2.07 a gallon, down $1.03 from a year ago, the department's Energy Information Administration said in its weekly survey of service stations. Seventeen states have gasoline prices that average under $2 a gallon, according to the AAA travel club.

Falling gasoline prices are putting extra money in the pockets of consumers, but there is also concern some drivers may return to their gas-guzzling vehicles. The chairman of the Senate Energy Committee said on Monday the new Congress probably will not approve legislation to raise the federal tax on gasoline.

The Sirius Star is the biggest tanker ever to be hijacked, with a cargo of 2m barrels - a quarter of Saudi Arabia's daily output - worth more than $100m. The vessel was captured in what the navy called an "unprecedented" attack 450 nautical miles (830km) off the Kenyan coast on Saturday. Its international crew of 25, including two Britons, is said to be safe. The ship's operator, Vela International, said a response team had been mobilised to work towards ensuring the safe release of vessel and crew.

The hijacking was highly unusual both in terms of the size of the ship and the fact it was attacked so far south of Somalia, says BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner. The seizure points to the inability of a multi-national naval task force sent to the region earlier this year to stop Somali piracy, he says.

Hijackings off the coast of East Africa and the Gulf of Aden - an area of more than 1m sq miles - make up one-third of all global piracy incidents this year, according the International Maritime Bureau. At least 12 vessels - including the Ukrainian freighter MV Faina carrying 33 tanks and other military hardware, which was seized in September - remain captive and under negotiation with around 250 crew being held hostage. War-torn Somalia has not had an effective government since 1991 and the anarchy on land has spread to the high seas in recent years.

The top US military officer said Monday he was "stunned" by the reach of the Somali pirates calling piracy a growing problem that needs to be addressed. The huge, oil laden prize, which is three times the size of a US aircraft carrier, was some 450 miles east of Kenya when it was boarded, he said. A cargo ship and a fishing vessel were the latest to join more than 90 vessels attacked by the pirates this year.

There are currently no GM food trials underway in the country and the more than 50 that have been conducted since 2000 have been affected by vandalism. Opponents of GM benefit from current rules, which dictate that all trials must be disclosed on a Government website. However, a review of security arrangements for trials has been ordered by Hilary Benn, the Environment Secretary and Lord Mandelson, the Business Secretary.

THE INDEPENDENT REPORTED THAT MINISTERS ARE PREPARING TO SCRAP THE DISCLOSURE RULE. Lord Mandelson acted to loosen rules on GM licensing in his previous job as EU Trade Commisioner, and it is thought he favours a relaxation of the conditions in Britain.

Professor Tim Benton, the research dean at the university's Faculty of Biological Science, told The Independent: "We need to find a way to do crop trials in a safe way and to minimise the environmental risk. We cannot carry on for the next 20 or 30 years saying it's too scary, the public is too frightened, it is politically too dangerous. THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO WAY WE CAN MOVE TOWARDS A WORLD WITH FOOD SECURITY WITHOUT USING GM TECHNOLOGY. The amount of food we need could double because the population is growing, climate change will reduce yields and we will take land out of food production for biofuels."

"Ireland cannot evade its European calling nor shrink from its European responsibilities," he said at the Pro-Cathedral in Dublin yesterday. "'CHRISTIANS ARE CALLED TO WORK TO CREATE THE CONDITIONS IN WHICH PEOPLE', to quote Pope Benedict XVI, 'WILL UNDERSTAND FULLY THE GREATNESS OF THE ENTERPRISE THAT IS THE EUROPEAN UNION, AND WILL BECOME ACTIVE ARTISANS OF THE SAME'," he added.

He told the committee that "Ireland must stay at the heart of Europe", and that "Irish bishops believe passionately in Europe". But he wondered whether some of the original idealism had been lost within the EU. Was this because the human and social dimension of Europe, on which it was founded, had been relegated by structural and bureaucratic priorities, he asked.

Gordon Brown described protectionism as a "road to ruin", citing the experience of the 1930s.

Reuters reports that THE COMMISSION THEN PUT ANTI-DUMPING DUTIES ON CHINESE-MADE CANDLES AND NON-ALLOY STEEL PRODUCTS ON SATURDAY. The British Retail Consortium described Saturday's move as "worrying". Alisdair Gray, BRC Director, said: "The EU must show some sensitivity and understanding of the impact of the global recession on hard-pressed customers before Christmas". According to the Times, the EU COMMISSION SAID IT WOULD TAKE WTO ACTION AGAINST THE US IF AID TO THE CAR INDUSTRY IS JUDGED ILLEGAL.

Feeding mice with genetically engineered corn developed by the US-based Monsanto Corporation LED TO LOWER FERTILITY AND BODY WEIGHT, according to the study conducted by the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna. Lead author of the study Professor Zentek said, there was a direct link between the decrease in fertility and the GM diet, and that mice fed with non-GE corn reproduced more efficiently.

In the study, Austrian scientists performed several long-term feeding trials over 20 weeks with laboratory mice fed a diet containing 33% of a GM variety (NK 603 x MON 810), or a closely related non-GE variety used in many countries. Statistically significant litter size and pup weight decreases were found in the third and fourth litters in the GM-fed mice, compared to the control group. The corn is genetically engineered with genes THAT PRODUCE A PESTICIDAL TOXIN, as well as genes that allow it to survive applications of Monsanto's herbicide Roundup. Monsanto press offices in the UK and USA were unable to provide a comment on the findings for journalists yesterday.

THE AUSTRIAN AGENCY FOR HEALTH & FOOD SAFETY (AGES) was established in 2002 following a series of crises in the food sector in the late 1990s. One of the key responsibilities of AGES is the assessment of risk along the entire food chain. This is why, in 2007, the Division for Data, Statistics & Risk Assessment (DSR) was set up. In close cooperation with other specialist divisions of AGES, federal ministries, and public authorities, DSR draws up independent scientific assessment reports to safeguard a high level of protection of human, animal, and plant health.

The cuts will come from redundancies, the sale of units and natural wastage, the bank said. Citigroup has lost more than $20bn (£13.6bn) in the past year because of the global financial crisis. It has reported four straight quarterly losses and some analysts believe the bank will not make a profit again until 2010.

Citigroup, one of the largest US banks, is one of nine financial institutions benefiting from the US government's bail-out programme. The Treasury announced last month that it would be providing cash injections worth $125bn to be shared between Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, Bank of New York Mellon, State Street and Merrill Lynch.

Professor Eckart Stratenschulte continues, "The problem is that one cannot subject a contract with 413 articles to a referendum. In Ireland, for example, the whole campaign was based on emotions and slogans. The result was based on uneasiness and a lack of trust in the motives of the European Union. I think you can only have a referendum where the answer is 'yes' or 'no'. THE REAL QUESTION SHOULD BE, 'DO YOU WANT TO REMAIN IN THE EUROPEAN UNION?' That is the decision that all nations have to make.

The Economist notes that euro membership will not insulate countries from a crisis that "combines problems in the financial system with a nasty recession." ITALY HAS NOW FOLLOWED GERMANY INTO RECESSION, with official data confirming that its economy shrank by a larger-than-expected 0.5% in the June-to-September period. This follows a contraction in the previous three months of 0.4%. Separate figures showed that the SPANISH ECONOMY SHRANK IN THE THIRD QUARTER for the first time since 1993. In the three months to September, the eurozone's fourth-largest economy contracted by 0.2%.

In the FT, Martin Wolf argues, "The issue [for the UK] is, it should be stressed, that of fundamental fiscal solvency. Membership of the eurozone would also do nothing to improve this, UNLESS ONE EXPECTS EUROZONE TAXPAYERS TO BAIL OUT THE BRITISH. I SUSPECT THE FORMER ARE FAR TOO WISE TO TAKE THE UK ON ANY SUCH TERMS."

In an open letter to the G20, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, "If hundreds of millions of people lose their livelihoods and their hopes for the future are dashed because of a crisis they have absolutely no responsibility for, THE HUMAN CRISIS WILL NOT REMAIN JUST ECONOMIC."

The tradition comes from Bahar al-Anvar (meaning Oceans of Light) by Mullah Majlisi, a magnum opus in 132 volumes and the basis of modern Shiite Islam. According to the tradition, Imam Ali Ibn Abi-Talib (the prophet's cousin and son-in-law) prophesied that at the End of Times and just before the return of the Mahdi, the Ultimate Saviour, a "TALL BLACK MAN WILL ASSUME THE REINS OF GOVERNMENT IN THE WEST." COMMANDING "THE STRONGEST ARMY ON EARTH," the new ruler in the West will carry "a clear sign" from the third imam, whose name was Hussein Ibn Ali. The tradition concludes: "SHIITES SHOULD HAVE NO DOUBT THAT HE IS WITH US."

In a curious coincidence Obama's first and second names - Barack Hussein - mean "THE BLESSING OF HUSSEIN" in Arabic and Persian. His family name, Obama, written in the Persian alphabet, reads O Ba Ma, which means "HE IS WITH US," the magic formula in Majlisi's tradition. Obama has abandoned claims by all U.S. Administrations in the past 30 years that Iran is "a state sponsor of terrorism." Instead, he uses the term "violent groups" to describe Iran-financed outfits such as Hamas and Hezbollah.

OBAMA HAS ALSO PROMISED TO ATTEND A SUMMIT OF THE ORGANIZATION OF THE ISLAMIC CONFERENCE WITHIN THE FIRST 100 DAYS OF HIS PRESIDENCY. Such a move would please the mullahs, who have always demanded that Islam be treated differently, and that MUSLIM NATIONS ACT AS A BLOC IN DEALINGS WITH INFIDEL NATIONS. The Iranian leader's entourage also point out that Obama copied his campaign slogan "YES, WE CAN" from Ahmadinejad's "We Can," used four years ago.

Seen from Tehran, Obama's election would demoralize the U.S. Armed forces by casting doubt on their victories in Iraq and Afghanistan, if not actually transforming them into defeat. American retreat from the Middle East under Obama would enable the Islamic Republic to pursue hegemony of the region. TEHRAN IS ESPECIALLY INTERESTED IN DOMINATING IRAQ, thus consolidating a new position that extends its power to the Mediterranean through Syria and Lebanon.

During the World Without America conference, several speakers speculated that Obama would show "understanding of Muslim grievances" with regard to Palestine. Ahmadinejad hopes to persuade a future President Obama to adopt the "IRANIAN SOLUTION FOR PALESTINE," WHICH AIMS AT CREATING A SINGLE STATE IN WHICH JEWS WOULD QUICKLY BECOME A MINORITY.

The proposal is seven pages long and states: "THE WORLD ORDER HAS CHANGED. IN IT, THE EUROPEANS WANT TO PLAY THEIR ROLE ALONGSIDE THE AMERICANS." The plan, created under the auspices of the European Union rotating presidency of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, is to be discreetly delivered to the Obama team.

According to information obtained by SPIEGEL, it has four central areas where closer cooperation is foreseen: Reform of the United Nations and the G-8, the conflicts in the Middle East and Afghanistan/Pakistan as well as the approach to Russia. On those issues, the Europeans are seeking equal footing with the Americans. "We have to work with each other and not against each other," the document states.

"Americans and Europeans must and can complement each other and take care of common responsibilities together," the paper, which also has German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier's stamp on it, states. It also says THE EUROPEANS WANT TO MORE STRONGLY PURSUE TALKS WITH SYRIA together with America and that Europe will "immediately reengage in Iraq."

With even a mild drought, Water Authority spokesman Uri Schor told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday night that water for gardening will be cut off and the country's gardens will turn brown. The forecasts are not good for this coming winter, nor for the next two years, he said. ISRAEL HAS ALREADY EXPERIENCED FOUR STRAIGHT YEARS OF BELOW-AVERAGE RAINFALL, BRINGING THE NATURAL WATER SOURCES DANGEROUSLY CLOSE TO BECOMING CONTAMINATED.

Farmers will be the first to feel the cuts - severe reductions in water for agriculture are a serious possibility, the cabinet was told. National Infrastructures Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer described the potential cuts as a "death blow" to agriculture and warned his fellow ministers that the government should be prepared to compensate the farmers.

The situation has become so dire that the cabinet voted unanimously to do away with the tender process for a desalination plant in Ashdod to be built by the Mekorot national water company, to speed up its construction. Earlier this year, the government approved a massive increase in desalination, to 750 million cu.m. per year, as quickly as possible. Six hundred million should be available by 2013. In comparison, current desalination capability stands at about 150 million cu.m. per year.

In his first television interview since the election, Mr Obama told CBS he would PULL TROOPS OUT OF IRAQ, SHORE UP AFGHANISTAN, AND CLOSE GUANTANAMO BAY. "I'M GOING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DON'T TORTURE," he said of the prison camp. Mr Obama also promised to do "whatever it takes" to stabilise the US economy, including rescuing the struggling auto industry and assisting homeowners.

On Saturday, he said the US was facing "the greatest economic challenge of our time" and urged Congress to help with "at least a down-payment on a rescue plan that will create jobs". His advisers later said he would support the co-ordinated response to the global financial crisis agreed by the G20 on Saturday.

When asked about his promise to withdraw from Iraq, he said that as soon as he takes office he will "call in the Joint Chiefs of Staff, my national security apparatus, and we will start executing a plan that draws down our troops. Particularly in light of the problems that we're having in Afghanistan, which has continued to worsen. We've got to shore up those efforts," he added.

Mr Obama also said a top priority would be "TO STAMP OUT AL-QAEDA ONCE AND FOR ALL" and that capturing or killing Osama Bin Laden was "critical" to US security. He later confirmed that he intended to close the detention centre at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, and "make sure that we don't torture. THOSE ARE PART AND PARCEL OF AN EFFORT TO REGAIN AMERICA'S MORAL STATURE IN THE WORLD," he explained.