"I neither will aspire to nor will I accept, the position of president of the Council of state and commander in chief," he wrote in the letter. Mr Castro handed over power temporarily to his brother, Raul, in July 2006 when he underwent intestinal surgery. The 81-year-old has ruled Cuba since leading a communist revolution in 1959.

In December, Mr Castro indicated that he could possibly step down in favour of a younger generation. The National Assembly is scheduled to meet on 24 February to elect his successor.

And in all that vastness - 139 million square miles (360 million square kilometers) - less than 4 percent remains unaffected, and more than a third has suffered serious human impacts, according to a new map published in Science magazine. Marine ecologist Ben Halpern of the University of California, Santa Barbara's National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis and an international team of colleagues first listed 17 ways humans affect the oceans and then mapped each of them. By overlaying each impact on top of one another, the ecologists created a "current state of affairs for the oceans," Halpern says. "I was really surprised that there is no single spot on the planet that isn't being affected by at least one of these factors."

The tiny Pacific nation of Kiribati - just 313 square miles (810 square kilometers) of atolls - has decided to protect more than 10 percent of its territorial waters - 158,000 square miles (410,500 square kilometers), an area roughly the size of California - as the largest marine reserve in the world.

These kinds of efforts are exactly what the mapmakers hope to inspire. By revealing areas where mankind does its worst, the map also divulges where mankind can do best in limiting its impact. "It's definitely serving as a wake-up call to really start paying more attention to what we're doing to the oceans," Halpern says. "I hope people step up to the plate, knowing they have the opportunity to make a difference."

Polling stations, which opened at 8 a.m., closed at 5 p.m., and counting of votes is under way. Reports from across the country indicated voter turnout was low. Several religious and political parties boycotted the polls, while some people feared violence, including suicide bombings which have been increasing in frequency.

Pakistan's chief election commissioner, retired Justice Qazi Mohammad Farooq, said the low turnout would have no effect on the validity of the vote. Farooq told reporters after visiting polling stations in Islamabad that some incidents of violence had been reported during the day, but he was satisfied with the overall situation.

The public cast votes to elect 272 National Assembly members and a total of 557 members of four provincial assemblies in Punjab, Sindh, Baluchistan and North-West Frontier Province. Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said he was ready to work with whoever is elected prime minister. "The politics of confrontation must give way to the policy of reconciliation not in anyone's interest, but in Pakistan's interest," he told reporters after casting his vote at a polling station in Rawalpindi.

Using biofuels rather than oil would reduce the greenhouse gases that accelerate global warming, because plants absorb carbon dioxide when they grow, balancing out the carbon released when burned in cars or trucks. Using homegrown biofuels would help the U.S. reduce its utter dependence on foreign oil, and provide needed income for rural farmers around the world. And unlike cars powered purely by electric batteries or hydrogen fuel cells - two alternate technologies that have yet to pan out - biofuels could be used right now.

But according to a pair of studies published in the journal Science recently, biofuels may not fulfill that promise - and in fact, may be worse for the climate than the fossil fuels they're meant to supplement. According to researchers at Princeton University and the Nature Conservancy, almost all the biofuels used today cause more greenhouse gas emissions than conventional fuels, if the full environmental cost of producing them is factored in.

As virgin land is converted for growing biofuels, carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere; at the same time, biofuel crops themselves are much less effective at absorbing carbon than the natural forests or grasslands they may be replacing. "When land is converted from natural ecosystems it releases carbon," says Joseph Fargione, a lead author of one of the papers and a scientist at the Nature Conservancy. "Any climate change policy that doesn't take this fact into account doesn't work.

Worse, as demand for biofuels go up - the European Union alone targets 5.75% of all its transport fuel to come from biofuel by the end of the year - the price of crops rises. That in turn encourages farmers to clear virgin land and plant more crops, releasing even more carbon in a vicious cycle. If the U.S. managed to use 15 billion gallons of ethanol by 2015 - as is mandated in last year's energy bill - it would still only offset 7% of projected energy demand. That won't put Venezuela or Iran out of business.

"We want a genuine peace and not a virtual peace where the current government is convincing itself that it is bringing peace closer," Netanyahu said at the 34th annual Leadership Mission of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations in Jerusalem. "Any program that fabricates a virtual peace will ultimately crash, but we are committed to a genuine peace."

Netanyahu added that the foundation of any future peace agreement should be the hope generated by economic growth. "In order to bring about a real peace, there are a number of steps that we must take. Creating an economic peace creates real hope - it gives people jobs and it gives people hope"

"We shouldn't build a basis for militant Islam at our doorstep. This is what successive Israeli governments have done by quickly withdrawing from Lebanon and from Gaza," the opposition leader said. "The Israeli withdrawal from Gaza has in no way advanced our security or brought us any closer to a real peace. If we withdraw from Jerusalem, a possibility that seems to be more of a reality each day, it will just put us one step closer to being forced out of the whole country," he concluded.

The inquiry, into allegations of bribery in a telecoms deal, has prompted renewed calls for Arroyo's resignation and sparked the biggest protests since 2005, when tens of thousands of people demonstrated against her amid accusations of election fraud. Rodolfo Lozada, the probe's star witness, told senators that Romulo Neri, Arroyo's former economic planning chief, had wanted to resign due to controversy over the state's $329 million deal with China's ZTE Corp, which was allegedly overpriced by $130 million to fund kickbacks.

Analysts say Arroyo's position remains secure because the powerful Catholic Church has not called for her to go and she has the support of the military and the lower house of Congress. She has already survived three impeachment bids and at least three coup plots and her final term runs out in mid-2010.

Last week, around 10,000 people demonstrated in Manila's financial district and opposition groups are planning further rallies, particularly on February 25, the anniversary of the overthrow of dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

It comes from a company in California, which officials said allowed meat from cattle unable to stand at the time of slaughter to enter the food chain. The USDA recalled frozen beef products from the Westland/Hallmark Meat Co in Chino, dating back to 1 February 2006. The move surpasses a 1999 recall of 35m lbs of ready-to-eat meats, officials said. Some of the beef was destined for federal welfare assistance programmes, as well as some major fast-food chains. But officials said most of the recalled meat has probably already been eaten.

The recall was ordered after department officials said the plant did not consistently order inspections of cattle which lost the ability to walk prior to slaughter. Such "downer" cattle are at greater risk of contamination by E. coli, salmonella or contracting mad cow disease, as they have weaker immune systems and greater contact with faeces than walking cattle.

Operations at the plant had already been suspended after an undercover video shot by the Humane Society of America came to light. The video appeared to show crippled and ill animals being prodded with the blades of a forklift truck, kicked, given electric shocks and sprayed with high-pressure water hoses by staff.

Neither of the two private proposals to take over the beleaguered bank offered "sufficient value for money to the taxpayer", Mr Darling said. He said the public would gain if the government held on to Northern Rock until market conditions improved. The government's move has been fiercely criticised by shareholders who face losing almost all their investment.

Emergency legislation is to be introduced to temporarily nationalise the stricken Northern Rock bank. Trading in Northern Rock shares has been suspended. Under nationalisation rules, Northern Rock's shareholders will be offered compensation for their holding at a level set by a government-appointed panel. The calculation will be based on the bank's value without government guarantees. However, analysts say under those conditions shareholders will receive very little.

It seems likely that shareholder groups will take legal action over the government's move.

One, an American satanist who boasts of writing a guide to the subject, says: "What's the problem with ending your life via suicide?" Another is a "pro-choice" Dutch writer whose website includes detailed accounts of dozens of suicide methods. Campaigners have uncovered 29 "internet suicides" in Britain since 2001, including two new cases reported this weekend.

The findings follow the cluster of suicides among young people in Bridgend, where a coroner is now re-examining nine deaths on top of 16 suspected suicides under investigation. It emerged on Friday that another two young people from the Welsh town had been found hanged. Nathaniel Pritchard, 15, and his cousin Kelly Stephenson, 20, were both members of a social networking website.

Among the most notorious suicide websites, which The Sunday Telegraph has decided not to name to avoid encouraging their use, are two discussion forums, or "chatrooms", in which users offer advice on how to end one's life. In some cases, people with suicidal feelings have been encouraged to take their own lives rather than to seek professional advice.

One of the most notorious figures on the internet suicide scene is Nagasiva Yronwode, a self-confessed satanist who runs a shop selling occult books and charms in the small Californian town of Forestville, north of San Francisco. Yronwode, 46, describes himself as the "outreach director" for an extremist cult called the Church of Euthanasia, which advocates suicide as a means of saving the world from the effects of overpopulation.

UK TO PUT IN 10,000 TROOPS FOR EU ARMY
According to EUROPEAN VOICE, Nicolas Sarkozy plans to create an elite defence group of the EU's six biggest member states once the Lisbon Treaty comes into force next year. The UK will not support the plan publicly until the new Treaty comes into force, but an EU official told the paper that the UK had pushed for the provision when the Constitution was being drafted. The six would provide 10,000 troops for a 60,000 strong intervention force, agree to 'Europeanise' their foreign military bases and launch common major defence infrastructure projects such as space and intelligence technology (including intelligence-gathering satellites) and missile defence.

CHILD FINGERPRINT SCANS AT EUROPEAN BORDERS
Evening Standard - Reporting on EU proposals for automated border controls, the Evening Standard writes that children as young as six could be ushered into private booths and fingerprinted at European borders.

KOSOVO BREAKAWAY ILLEGAL, SAYS PUTIN
Guardian - Vladimir Putin yesterday accused Europe and the United States of double standards over their support for an independent Kosovo, and warned that any declaration of statehood by Pristina would be "illegal, ill-conceived and immoral". If Kosovo's Albanian leaders ignored Russian objections and announced independence this Sunday Moscow would be forced to act, he said. Yesterday the EU gave its final "operational" go-ahead to the 1,800-strong mission of policemen, prosecutors and judges to be deployed to Kosovo, with the actual deployment expected to start on Saturday morning.

THE NEXT GLOBAL CRISIS
In the FINANCIAL TIMES, Gillian Tett argues that the next global crisis could well derive from RISING FOOD PRICES, not limited oil supply or instability on the financial markets.

A large hole opened up on the Temple Mount during Friday's earthquake which was soon covered by officials from the Wakf Islamic Authority that administers the mosques built atop Judaism's holiest site. Wakf officials tried to blame Israel for the 6-foot by 5-foot hole, which is about three feet deep, claiming it was caused by Israel, which it accuses of tunneling beneath the Temple Mount. They demanded an end to all Israeli excavations in the area.

Though several excavation projects are taking place around the Western Wall Plaza, none of them entail tunneling past the wall itself and beneath the mount. The Wakf's official position is that there was never a Jewish Temple on the Temple Mount and has gone to great efforts to erase archaeological evidence of Judaism's historical ties to the site.

Western Wall Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz issued a statement rejecting the Muslim claims. "These are mendacious reports without a grain of truth," he said, adding that work in the Temple Mount compound would be contrary to Jewish law. "Such claims are a desecration and cause hatred and incitement for no reason whatsoever," Rabbi Rabinowitz said.

There have been numerous disputes concerning the correct courts to be used in different cases. One of the most famous controversies concerns Lina Joy. Actually that's only her name now, her Christian name. Her birth name is Azlina Jailani, and she was born a Muslim. In 1981 Lina Joy became a Christian and she is trying to have herself declared as such on her identity card, her MyKad. One reason is that she wishes to marry her Christian boyfriend and it is illegal for her to do this while she remains classified as a Muslim. However her attempts to have her conversion recognised have failed.

The civil courts, and finally the highest court - the Federal court - have ruled that she can't decide on her religion for herself. She has to be given approval by the Islamic courts. Which, of course, is not forthcoming. As the decision was announced last May, outside the federal courts a crowd chanted Allahu Akhbar. This is not the only type of case, by any means, where the joint jurisdiction poses fundamental problems of human rights. Another type concerns what is known as body snatching.

The conversion of non-Muslims near death without the knowledge of their families has caused fierce rows. One reason, according to my correspondents, is that conversion changes the destination of any inheritance with Islamic courts deciding and inherited assets flowing only to Muslim relatives or the community. Divorce battles raise similar questions. Conversion by the father in the run-up to a divorce gives him crucial advantages - he gets custody, turns the children into Muslims and prevents his wife using the civil courts. Running a dual court system produces extraordinary practical difficulties and the opportunity for human rights abuses.

Last year the agencies and bailiffs pursued no fewer than 20 million cases and the methods they used to squeeze money from people are so aggressive that experts ranging from the Citizens' Advice Bureau (CAB) to members of the House of Lords are now calling for legislation to curb these excesses. A growing army of thousands of "debt chasers" is making millions from the misery of Britons who have spent years spending above their means, in what campaigners have slammed as "legalised profiteering".

Personal debt is at a record high of £1.4 trillion, averaging £29,684 for every adult in the country. And people now face the possibility of bailiffs being able to break into their homes and take possessions by force. The sweeping new powers will be outlined by the Government in May, when it publishes details of how a new 'Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act' will work in practice. In a statement to the IoS, a Ministry of Justice (MoJ) spokesperson claimed that the new powers for forcing entry will be used only "as a last resort - in strictly controlled circumstances", and only "once full independent regulation of all private-sector bailiffs has been implemented".

But it emerged last night that, despite bailiffs remaining unregulated, MoJ officials are proposing that they be allowed "to use reasonable force, restraint or violence against debtors thwarting the bailiff's seizure of their goods".

Parents of his classmates are unaware of the Afghan child's terrifying past. MP Philip Davies said the youngster should be removed from school immediately so a proper investigation can take place into any potential danger he poses. The Tory MP for Shipley, West Yorks, said, "This boy has had a tragic upbringing through no fault of his own. But there should be a detailed and thorough look at his past and the threat he could pose in the future. I am sure that the parents in the school would be concerned if they were told about it."

Extremists recruited the boy shortly after his father, a Taliban fighter, was shot dead by British soldiers in a gun battle. One elder told him: "You must avenge his death by becoming a martyr." During intensive mountain training the youngster learned how to handle explosives and sophisticated detonators. He even went on dummy missions with bags taped to his body.

Taliban fanatics instructed him to wander towards British patrols, pretending to be a tearful lost child, and once surrounded by soldiers - or taken to an Army base - he would blow himself up. But after weeks of secret training the boy blurted out to his mother what he was doing. She could not bear the thought of losing a son as well as her husband, so worried family members pulled all their resources together and paid for him to be spirited out of Afghanistan to escape the clutches of evil Taliban leaders.

The imminent departure of the 1st Bn Welsh Guards to Kosovo has been ordered in response to fears that the newly formed independent state could slide into "ethnic cleansing". But last night MPs and former military chiefs described the move as "irresponsible" and "demented", accusing the Ministry of Defence of being "bankrupt". The deployment - part of Britain's commitment to the Nato-led Kosovo Force (KFOR) - takes place at a time of growing pressure on the military. It will mean that more than 14,000 British troops are on overseas operations, a figure last equalled at the end of the Iraq War in May 2003.

The Army is currently 3,800 men under strength, virtually every infantry battalion is undermanned and one in 14 serving soldiers is not fit for active service. In the next few weeks thousands of Paras from 16 Air Assault Brigade will fly out to Helmand in southern Afghanistan for the start of a widely anticipated Taliban "spring offensive". Sources have also indicated that despite the troop shortages, the British Task Force in Helmand might need to be reinforced before the summer in order to hold on to the strategic town of Musa Qala, which was taken from the Taliban in December.

The military overstretch has been described by General Sir Richard Dannatt, the head of the Army, as "unsustainable". Patrick Mercer, the Tory MP and a former infantry commander, added: "Committing all of your reserves is a basic failure of military planning. This is a demented action."