Under the agreement, which the men and the governor signed with much ceremony, THE TALIBAN WILL BE PERMITTED TO IMPLEMENT THEIR INTERPRETATION OF ISLAMIC LAW, OR SHARIA, IN THE SWAT VALLEY and other adjacent districts at the foot of the Himalayas. "Today is a historic day," said Amir Haider Khan Hoti, the chief minister of the provincial government, clearly straining to put a positive spin on the Taliban's assumption of power. "An old demand of the people has been met. The new regulation will provide a more efficient legal system."

IT WAS A BLATANT LIE. MOST PAKISTANIS ARE SHOCKED BY THE PROSPECT THAT, IN THE SWAT VALLEY, THIEVES COULD HAVE THEIR HANDS CUT OFF AS THEIR PUNISHMENT IN THE FUTURE. The news of the radical Islamists' takeover of the Swat Valley was just as alarming to the rest of the world as it was to many in Pakistan. Richard Holbrooke, the US's new special envoy for the region, was in India, having just left Pakistan after completing his first official visit to the country, when he received the "horrifying" news.

According to Holbrooke, the Taliban victory shows that India, Pakistan and the United States face a common enemy "that poses direct threats to our leaderships, our capitals and our people." In the wake of its growing successes in putting pressure on American and NATO troops in Afghanistan, THE TALIBAN NOW APPEARS TO BE ON THE ROAD TO VICTORY IN PAKISTAN. IN EFFECT, PAKISTAN, A NUCLEAR POWER, HAS RELINQUISHED ITS SOVEREIGNTY OVER AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE COUNTRY.

The dramatic call comes as markets continue their plunge and the future of the media becomes increasingly muddled. "Many people will be under extreme pressure and many companies mortally wounded," Murdoch declares. "Our competitors will be sorely tempted to take the easy beat, to reduce quality in the search for immediate dividends."

He continued: "Let me be very clear about our company: where others might step back from their commitment to their viewers, their users, readers and customers – we will renew ours. The direction of the business now and over the next few years will define the character of our company for decades."

The money, which needs U.S. congressional approval, WILL BE DISTRIBUTED THROUGH U.N. AND OTHER BODIES AND NOT VIA THE MILITANT GROUP HAMAS, WHICH RULES GAZA, said one official. "This money is for Gaza and to help strengthen the Palestinian Authority. It is not going to go to Hamas," said the official, who asked not to be named as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton planned to announce the funding at a donors' conference in Egypt next week.

Neither the United States nor Israel have direct contact with the Islamist Hamas movement which runs Gaza and remains formally committed to the destruction of the Jewish state. The official said the pledge was a mix of money already earmarked for the Palestinians and some new funding. Clinton's bid to get "substantial" funds could face an uphill battle in Congress because Hamas continues to rule Gaza and the U.S. focus is on its own souring economy.

Thousands are losing their jobs through no fault of their own because bankers who made millions during the good times are calling in the loans which their employers need to stay afloat. Homes are being repossessed across the country, but not the penthouse flats and country piles of bank bosses who thought nothing of taking home vast seven-figure bonuses, and consider £1 million a year a modest income.

THAT THE PUBLIC IS BEING WATCHED BY BIG BROTHER AT EVERY TURN IS DEEPLY ALARMING. That the innocent were being tracked going about their every day lives while a blind eye was being turned to a financial sector apparently hell-bent on destruction is unforgivable. THUS, THE IDEA OF THE 'SUMMER OF RAGE' MAY NOT BE AS FAR-FETCHED AS IT FIRST APPEARS.

Superintendent Hartshorn, one of Britain's most senior police officers, talks of the banks, particularly those that still pay large bonuses despite receiving billions in taxpayer money, becoming 'viable targets'. Likewise, the headquarters of multinational companies and other financial institutions in the City which are being blamed for the financial crisis. It is to their eternal shame that our banks should find themselves in such a position, and that Labour - while eroding the civil liberties Britain has fought so hard to defend over the centuries - was prepared to sit back and allow it to happen.

Sir Ken, who served as Director of Public Prosecutions between 2003 and 2008, said: 'If you mug someone in the street and you are caught, the chances are that you will go to prison. In recent years, mugging someone out of their savings or their pension would probably earn you a yacht.' He added: 'We need a new financial regulatory and law enforcement authority that inspires respect and, when it's needed, fear.'

In his first major announcement since leaving office, Sir Ken called for tougher regulation and a single, powerful authority to replace the 'failed' Financial Services Authority and the 'struggling' Serious Fraud Office. Writing in the Times, he said there should BE MORE LAWS TO 'CONFRONT THE CLEVER PEOPLE WHO HAVE DONE THEIR BEST TO STEAL OUR ECONOMY'.

The report, authored by German MEP Karl von Wogau called for "further development of co-operation between national armed forces so that they become increasingly synchronised." Shadow Defence Secretary Liam Fox said, "The fact that 16 Labour MEPs voted in support of this report is outrageous. The idea of the creation of a so-called SAFE or Euro army is not only irresponsible on behalf of Eurocrats but also nonsensical."

Europe Minister Caroline Flint wrote to the Guardian on Tuesday saying, "Let me be clear - there are no plans for a European army." A Foreign Office Spokesman said, "There will be no European army. NATO remains the cornerstone of European defence. This is spelt out in the Lisbon Treaty."

Earlier - the Telegraph had reported that a security blueprint charting a path to a European Union army will be agreed by MEPs. The paper notes that, "The plan, WHICH HAS INFLUENTIAL SUPPORT IN GERMANY AND FRANCE, PROPOSES TO SET UP A 'SYNCHRONISED ARMED FORCES EUROPE', or Safe, as a first step towards a true European military force."

"In fact, what we mean by evolution is the world as created by God," said Archbishop Gianfranco Ravasi, head of the Pontifical Council for Culture. The Vatican also dealt the final blow to speculation that Pope Benedict XVI might be prepared to endorse the theory of Intelligent Design, whose advocates credit a "higher power" for the complexities of life.

Organisers of a papal-backed conference next month marking the 150th anniversary of Darwin's On the Origin of Species said that at first it had even been proposed to ban Intelligent Design from the event, as "poor theology and poor science". Intelligent Design would be discussed at the fringes of the conference at the Pontifical Gregorian University, but merely as a "cultural phenomenon", rather than a scientific or theological issue, organisers said.

The conference is seen as a landmark in relations between faith and science. Three years ago advocates of Intelligent Design seized on the Pope's reference to an "intelligent project" as proof that he favoured their views.

Most of the town of Warburton, north of Melbourne, has been abandoned as an 80,000 hectare blaze neared the edge of the community. At least 70 per cent of residents, most wary of a repeat of the deadly Black Saturday fires, had decamped to a relief centre on the outskirts of the city, where they can do little but wait and hope their homes survive. As they packed up their belongings, the horrors of the bush fires that took their largest toll on life on February 7 still fresh in their minds, most spoke of their desire to save their families above all else.

However, the change of weather means not even the state's capital is safe. At least one house has been burned to the ground in Belgrave Heights, a suburb in east Melbourne, and firemen fear more may be lost as the blaze advances. The resurgence of the fires comes two weeks after the Black Saturday blazes devastated huge swathes of Victoria, killing 210 people and wiping several entire towns off the map. More than 1,800 homes were destroyed by the fires, and 7,000 people have been displaced.

But before the state could start to rebuild, the soaring temperatures that fanned the February 7 infernos have returned.

The attack took place on Saturday February 14 after protestors from across Germany had gathered in Dresden to oppose a huge demonstration by neo-Nazis to commemorate the World War II bombing of the city by the Allies. During the marches, which saw 10,000 demonstrators march against right-wing extremism as 6,000 neo-Nazis likewise took to the streets, police were able to keep the two sides apart. There were, however, some instances of violence as the groups made their way home.

In one particularly vicious attack a group of 15 to 20 neo-Nazis attacked two buses carrying labor union members, peace activists and members of the Left Party at the Teufelsstahl autobahn rest stop near Jena. Five people were injured in the attack and one of them, a 42-year-old man, suffered serious head injuries and had to undergo surgery.

According to German intelligence agencies, Scandinavian right-wing extremists have close ties with the "Aktionsbüro Rhein-Neckar" which coordinates the neo-Nazi scene in the western states of Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate and Baden-Württemberg.

It is a gloomy February in Great Britain, yet another month in which the economy is shrinking and the pound is faltering, and yet another month of record growth in unemployment. It is a month that has seen Ed Balls, the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, refer to the current recession as the "WORST IN 100 YEARS," and which has witnessed the heads of the country's largest banks appear on television to apologize to the nation for the harm they have caused.

Meanwhile, Britons are asking themselves how things could have come to this. The current mood in Great Britain is gloomy. Long Europe's most successful economy, Britain's fortunes have since plunged more than those of almost any other European country.

Instead of being the "sick man of Europe" as it was in the 1970s, Great Britain, as the Times predicted, is fast becoming the "SICK MAN OF THE WORLD." The country is firmly in the grip of deep uncertainty. "We have become a 'fear nation,'" says author Tony Parsons. "EVERYONE IS AFRAID: THE PEOPLE, THE BANKS, EVERYONE."

Lesley Dyall, the retiring Labour councillor was shocked to see voters chanting racial slogans as they went into and out of the polling station: "They were chanting 'blacks out' as they came out of the community centre… it was very distressing to witness something like that in a local election. I just feel sorry for any black people who might have heard or seen that - it was shocking and disgusting." The result was a victory for Paul Golding, an unemployed lorry driver who was the British National Party candidate. The votes cast were BNP 408, Labour 332 and the Conservatives 247.

On Saturday, a rally in London, organised by the group Unite Against Fascism, was addressed by Peter Hain and Ken Livingstone. Weyman Bennett, the secretary of the group, has argued that "Hitler used the economic crisis of the 1930s to gain a hearing for racist and murderous policies". That is historically correct.

Two other big countries under political pressure are France and Japan. In a recent poll for Le Figaro, 61 per cent expected massive strikes and social problems in the coming months; 36 per cent said that they would welcome them. President Sarkozy's closest friend, Jacques Séguéla, has made a "let them eat cake" remark that is likely to infuriate the French people. He said that anyone who did not own a Rolex watch by the age of 50 was a "failure". French public opinion is like tinder and could easily catch fire. Mr Sarkozy has enviable energy, but pitifully little tact. He might say or do almost anything and is capable of crass misjudgments. France is not an extinct volcano of revolt. ONE SHOULD NOT FORGET THE EVENTS OF 1968 AND THE ULTIMATE DEFEAT OF PRESIDENT DE GAULLE.

In Japan there is a similar mixture of economic crisis with almost random events. Japan is heavily dependent on high-quality exports, many of which are postponable purchases. Toyota, the world's leading carmaker, has announced its first loss in 70 years. The Prime Minister's approval rating has fallen below 10 per cent, which may be some sort of record. The economy is expected to contract by 4.1 per cent this year. The suicide rate is up. WE ARE MOVING THROUGH A CRITICAL PERIOD IN GLOBAL POLITICS AS WELL AS IN GLOBAL ECONOMICS.

Natalie Dempster of the World Gold Council said: "People are fearful of the combined impact of near-zero interest rates, quantitative easing and the fiscal stimulus packages on future inflation. Investors are looking at both the solutions to the problem and the problem itself and realising that both are positive for the price of gold."

Gold has been in an uptrend since February 2001, when the price was at $254.

The current spike will raise more questions about Gordon Brown's decision as Chancellor of the Exchequer to sell off more than half of the country's gold reserves. He sold off 400 tons of bullion in a series of auctions between 1999 and 2002 in a move that some analysts say cost the country more than £2bn.

Trade union organisers of the march said WORKERS DID NOT CAUSE THE ECONOMIC CRISIS BUT WERE HAVING TO PAY FOR IT. In a statement, the Irish government said it recognised that the measures it was taking were "difficult and in some cases painful". The pension levy was "reasonable", the government said.

It reflected "the reality that we are not in a position to continue to meet the public service pay bill in the circumstances of declining revenue", it added. Reports say the plan could cost the 350,000 public sector workers between 1,500 euros and 2,800 euros (£2,500) a year.

Ireland, which was once one of Europe's fastest-growing economies, has fallen into recession faster than many other members of the European Union. The country officially fell into recession in September 2008, and unemployment has risen sharply in the following months.

"Firms will be able to benefit from low-interest loans and, in some cases, direct capital injections," according to China Petroleum Daily. This state money would be used to fund takeovers or mergers with resource companies abroad. Which foreign firms, if any, have been identified for takeover has not been disclosed. But the dramatic fall in oil prices since last summer, and the strains caused by recession, have driven down the share prices of many energy companies, making them more affordable targets for predatory competitors.

Jiang Jemin, the chairman of Petrochina, recently remarked that the "low share prices of some global resource companies provide us with fresh opportunities". The possibility of a Chinese state subsidy for overseas acquisitions MAY RING ALARM BELLS IN WESTERN ECONOMIES. Four years ago, CNOOC tried to buy an American oil company, Unocal, and succeeded in outbidding its main US rival. But the Chinese firm eventually withdrew its offer amid opposition from American Congressmen. They opposed the idea of a private US firm falling into the lap of a state-owned company, bankrolled by the Chinese Communist Party.

This time, CHINA MAY CALCULATE THAT WESTERN GOVERNMENTS ARE IN A WEAKER POSITION TO OBJECT. They are, after all, spending billions on taking over their own companies, notably the banking sector.

The human rights group said it found evidence that Israel and Hamas had both used weapons supplied from overseas to carry out attacks on civilians, ACCUSING BOTH SIDES OF COMMITTING WAR CRIMES during the three-week conflict at the start of the year.

It accused Israel of using white phosphorous and other weapons from the US and said Barack Obama had a "particular obligation" to suspend military aid over their use. Amnesty called for the UN Security Council to enact an arms embargo until mechanisms were put in place to ensure that equipment was not used to commit violations of international law.

The report also said Hamas and other Palestinian groups should be subject to the embargo because they had committed war crimes by attacking Israeli towns with rockets. "Though far less lethal than the weaponry used by Israel, such rocket firing also constitutes a war crime and caused several civilian deaths," Ms Rovera said. Both sides have dismissed the report.