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.

Obama intends to throw his support behind a 2002 Saudi peace initiative endorsed by the Arab League and backed by Tzipi Livni, the Israeli foreign minister and leader of the ruling Kadima party. The proposal gives Israel an effective veto on the return of Arab refugees expelled in 1948 while requiring it TO RESTORE THE GOLAN HEIGHTS TO SYRIA AND ALLOW THE PALESTINIANS TO ESTABLISH A STATE CAPITAL IN EAST JERUSALEM.

On a visit to the Middle East last July, THE PRESIDENT-ELECT SAID PRIVATELY IT WOULD BE "CRAZY" FOR ISRAEL TO REFUSE A DEAL THAT COULD "GIVE THEM PEACE WITH THE MUSLIM WORLD", according to a senior Obama adviser. The Arab peace plan received a boost last week when President Shimon Peres, a Nobel peace laureate and leading Israeli dove, commended the initiative at a Saudi-sponsored United Nations conference in New York. Peres was loudly applauded for telling King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, who was behind the original initiative: "I wish that your voice will become the prevailing voice of the whole region, of all people."

Brent Scowcroft, a Republican former national security adviser, joined in the appeal. He said last week that the Middle East was the most troublesome area in the world and that an early start to the Palestinian peace process was "a way to psychologically change the mood of the region". Advisers believe the diplomatic climate favours a deal as Arab League countries are under pressure from radical Islamic movements and a potentially nuclear Iran. Polls show that Palestinians and Israelis are in a mood to compromise. THE ADVISERS HAVE TOLD OBAMA HE SHOULD LOSE NO TIME IN PURSUING THE POLICY IN THE FIRST SIX TO 12 MONTHS IN OFFICE WHILE HE ENJOYS MAXIMUM GOODWILL.

As a matter of fact, they had. At this point we should recall the words of Lord Laming on the response of Haringey's social services to his investigations into the murder in 2000 of the eight-year-old Haringey resident Victoria Climbié: "TOO OFTEN THEY ATTEMPTED TO JUSTIFY THEIR POSITION IN TERMS OF BUREAUCRATIC ACTIVITY RATHER THAN IN OUTCOMES FOR CHILDREN."

In this country two children a week, on average, are killed as a result of physical abuse in the home. It is only the most horrific that impinge on the public consciousness. The only politician who put his finger on the point last week was Iain Duncan Smith. He observed that: "The growth in broken families has been mirrored by the huge increase in THE NUMBER OF CHILDREN CONSIDERED TO BE 'AT RISK' – 1.5M FALL INTO THIS CATEGORY. CHILDREN LIVING WITH THEIR NATURAL MOTHER AND A GUESTING FATHER ARE EIGHT TIMES MORE LIKELY TO BE ON THE AT-RISK REGISTER."

The "family" that did for P is a classic of the genre. The MOTHER HAD BEEN ON BENEFITs for her entire adult life and apparently spent much of HER DAYS ABSORBED BY PORNOGRAPHIC DATING WEBSITES. The so-called "stepfather" was also on benefits: the outlet for his otherwise unexpended energy was, as we now know, "training" – that is to say, torturing – his "stepson". The other assailant, described rather euphemistically as "the lodger", shared a room in the same council house with a 15-year-old girl.

When I asked a former child protection officer how Haringey's social workers could have felt that it was in P's best interests to remain in such a menagerie, he said that "YOU BEGIN TO BECOME ACCUSTOMED TO THESE SITUATIONS AND YOU SEE CHILDREN WHO ACCEPT SUCH A STATE OF AFFAIRS AS ABSOLUTELY NORMAL".

We need a new term for this human zoo: welcome to the wel-feral state.

The leaders of the world's 20 leading economies promised to instruct their ministers TO SEEK A NEW DOHA TRADE DEAL BY THE END OF THE YEAR and to co-ordinate interest rate and tax cuts to soften the severity of the global recession. They also agreed NEW INTERNATIONAL REGULATIONS OF BANKS to be finalised at a second summit, possibly in the UK, in March next year.

The communiqué released at the end of the Washington summit said that more action was needed to address the "serious challenges to the world economy and financial markets." World leaders agreed the need for "closer macroeconomic co-operation" and said there was an immediate requirement to "use fiscal measures to stimulate domestic demand to rapid effect." The wording will help Mr Brown and Alistair Darling, the Chancellor, defend a package of giveaways to be unveiled in the pre-Budget report a week on Monday. Mr Brown yesterday gave a heavy hint that he intends to raise tax credits for lower income workers to help Britain's faltering economy.

At a press conference in the immediate aftermath of the summit Mr Brown drew attention to the passage of the communiqué relating to stalled world trade round. A new World Trade Round by the end of the year would help usher in the "OPEN AND INCLUSIVE FORM OF GLOBALISATION" needed TO PREVENT A DAMAGING WAVE OF PROTECTIONISM, he said.

The government also wants more school-based clinics to administer the jabs, WHICH CAN MAKE GIRLS INFERTILE FOR UP TO THREE MONTHS. Teenagers can receive the injections or implants without their parents' knowledge. Critics warn that the controversial move will promote promiscuity and that injections and implants will NOT PROTECT AGAINST THE RAMPANT SPREAD OF SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASE. Some health experts also say that the drugs are unsuitable for girls who are still growing.

In letters demanding "urgent action to accelerate progress to the 2010 target", health and education ministers tell the heads of councils and primary care trusts to establish more "school-based contraception clinics" and bring about "an overall increase in the uptake of long-acting reversible contraception (LARC)".

But some health experts oppose the move. Dr Hans Christian Raabe, a GP and medical coordinator of the Council for Health and Wholeness, a Christian organisation, said: "There are concerns that using them over long periods might have an impact on bone growth. The other issue is it gives an impression of safety that is not there. Girls will think 'Nothing can happen to me because I can't get pregnant.' BUT THE RATES OF SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES ARE FRIGHTENING. There has been an explosion and yet young people are given a false sense of security.