The local authority in Durban wants legalised adult entertainment venues during the tournament. But African Nazareth Democratic Movement (ANDM) president Thokozani Hlatshwayo said the proposal was "against the word of God". Opposition parties fear that, if introduced, it could become permanent.

The main opposition Democratic Alliance and the youth wing of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) have condemned the suggestion. "Plans to legalise Durban's red-light districts before the 2010 World Cup should be condemned in the strongest possible manner," said Pat Lebenya-Ntanzi of the IFP youth brigade. She said the South African government was sending out mixed messages to young people.

"On the one hand it preaches strong family values and moral regeneration, but on the other hand they want to legalise prostitution on Durban's streets. It doesn't make sense," she said. An additional concern is Aids - some five million people in South Africa are HIV-positive - making it one of the world's worst-hit countries.

Speaking at his first public appearance in Sydney, he said it was a courageous move that had offered hope to other disadvantaged people around the world. PM Kevin Rudd formally apologised to Australian Aborigines early this year. During the course of the visit - his ninth outside Italy - he is also expected to apologise for decades of sexual abuse of children by priests.

He made his remarks at a short welcome ceremony led by Mr Rudd. The prime minister said the pontiff was "truly among friends" in Australia and that the country was honoured to have him there. The pontiff said: "Thanks to the Australian government's courageous decision to acknowledge the injustices committed against the indigenous peoples in the past, concrete steps are now being taken to achieve reconciliation based on mutual respect."

Australia's Aborigines make up about 2% of the population. They have consistently higher rates of ill-health, unemployment and imprisonment than other Australians and a life expectancy 17 years lower. The Pope is in Sydney for the Catholic Church's World Youth Day, expected to attract some 200,000 young Catholics.

The Israelis handed over the prisoners, along with the remains of 200 Lebanese and Palestinian fighters, in exchange for the remains of two soldiers. The soldiers' capture in 2006 sparked a brief war between Israel and Hezbollah. Greeting the returnees at a huge rally in Beirut, Sheikh Nasrallah said THE "AGE OF DEFEATS" WAS OVER.

The most prominent of the ex-prisoners is gunman Samir Qantar, jailed in 1979 for killing a four-year-old Israeli girl and two other people. It is clear Hezbollah means to extract the maximum possible publicity from this event, the BBC's Crispin Thorold reports from the rally. The release, which has caused so much pain in Israel, is being treated as a triumph in Lebanon, by supporters and opponents of Hezbollah alike, he adds.

Under the exchange - the fruit of two years of delicate German mediation - Hezbollah is also to return the remains of Israeli soldiers killed in south Lebanon in 2006. The agreement has caused controversy in Israel, with some ministers opposed to exchanging live Hezbollah prisoners for dead bodies.

The Israeli soldiers, Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser, were seized in 2006 but until now there had been no confirmation of their deaths until Wednesday. They are due to be given military funerals on Thursday. Correspondents say the mood in Israel over the exchange of prisoners for the remains of dead soldiers is grim. "Woe betide the people who celebrate the release of a beastly man who bludgeoned the skull of a four-year-old toddler," Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said in a statement before he was due to meet the soldiers' families.

Widespread unlawful job practices, squalid housing, and a thriving trade in fake documents were uncovered. More than 40 houses packed with illegal immigrants were identified in one square mile of Southall, west London.

The young, MOSTLY MALE PUNJABIS are not here lawfully and, although most know the risks, they have few legal rights. They are surrounded by forgers, criminals and ruthless employers. Among them, the team of undercover reporters met and filmed a man who called himself Vicki. He was careful about his security - moving the car in which they talked away from CCTV cameras - but open about the fake documents he could obtain, and boasted about customers as far afield as Sheffield, Bradford and Coventry.

Vicki said he could get people into the country on lorries, known as donkeys, organised by what he called his "man in Paris", and told how he could provide a fake "original" passport that had been "checked" to beat security at a UK airport. The undercover team found there was no shortage of job offers, including at a Southall chip shop where a fauji told of being EMPLOYED FOR 12-HOUR DAYS, SIX DAYS A WEEK AT £150 - ABOUT £2 AN HOUR. Another man, Mohammed, was taken to a building site and, without being asked whether he had any experience, was put to work on a roof parapet with no training, safety advice or kit. He was paid £35 for 12 hours' labour.

This hidden community is an open secret - landlords take on tenants, employers want cheap and uncomplaining labour, while the criminals trade in people's lives. Once the undercover reporters infiltrated this closed community, it was clear how easy it is to remain invisible. One clear fact remains: the scale. In just one square mile, hundreds of illegal immigrants, scores of multiple-occupancy houses, and people dealing in fake identities, employment and fraud. A criminal network that is out of sight.

The wide-ranging letter, which covers difficult issues including religious freedom and religiously-inspired violence is in response to a document written last year by Muslim scholars from 43 countries. Discussing differences between the religions, Dr Williams acknowledges THAT CHRISTIAN BELIEF IN THE TRINITY IS "DIFFICULT, SOMETIMES OFFENSIVE, TO MUSLIMS". The Trinity is the Christian doctrine stating God exists as the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and conflicts with Islamic teaching that there is one all-powerful God.

Speaking about the history of the two religions, Dr Williams said they had been too often confused with Empire and control. He said: "Despite Jesus' words in John's gospel, Christianity has been promoted at the point of the sword and legally supported by extreme sanctions; despite the Qur'anic axiom, Islam has been supported in the same way, with extreme penalties for abandoning it, and civil disabilities for those outside the faith. "There is no religious tradition whose history is exempt from such temptation and such failure."

The 17-page letter, called A Common Word for the Common Good, is in response to a letter from Muslim leaders written last September. That letter, A Common Word Between Us and You, was signed by 138 Muslim scholars to declare the common ground between the two religions.

Dr Williams described the Muslim document as hospitable and friendly and added: "Your letter could hardly be more timely, given the growing awareness THAT PEACE THROUGHOUT THE WORLD IS DEEPLY ENTWINED WITH THE ABILITY OF ALL PEOPLE OF FAITH EVERYWHERE TO LIVE IN PEACE, JUSTICE, MUTUAL RESPECT AND LOVE.

The cost of conventional fertiliser - which is closely linked to the price of oil - has shot up over the past year. But many landowners are turning to a ready supply of treated human sewage from water companies who are no longer allowed to dump it at sea. And it seems farmers are taking as much as they can get - supply is up by as much as 25% in the past few months. Severn Trent Water, which supplies sewage to farmers, reports that it is unable to keep up with demand.

Human sewage is allowed to be spread on grassland and crops - it cannot be used on salads, fruit and root crops. Tony Martindale, recycling manager at Seven Trent Water, which supplies 600,000 tonnes of sludge to farmers every year, says there has been a 25% increase in demand over previous years.

He says every effort is made to ensure there is no danger to human health, insisting that 99% of the pathogens are killed in the treatment process. The sludge is also tested in laboratories to make sure there are no heavy metals in it and there are no cases of people being affected by the practice, Mr Martindale adds. He adds that they do their best to address concerns about the smell. "There are a few problems with odour but we do try to minimise that," he says. "We always take the wind direction into account."

"UN Security Council Resolution 1701 is being violated. Hizbullah continues to get stronger with the ongoing and intimate assistance of the Syrians," according to Defence Minister Barak. Speaking at a meeting of the Labour party's Knesset representatives on Monday, Barak said, "The delicate balance that exists on the northern border should not be violated on the two-year anniversary of the Second Lebanon War. We should make an explicit statement: Resolution 1701 did not work, it is not working, and all indications are that it will not work in the future. It is a failure."

Adding further weight to Defence Minister Barak's declaration is an article in the Kuwaiti daily Al-Siyasa, which reported Monday that Hizbullah has acquired chemicals needed to make weapons such as nerve gas or mustard gas from North Korean suppliers. The Lebanese terrorist organization is allegedly preparing to arm its Katyusha rockets with such chemical warheads. Echoing Barak's claims, the Kuwaiti paper also stated that the assistance of Syria and Iran has been crucial in Hizbullah's efforts to acquire chemical weapons capabilities. The Al-Siyasa report was based on intelligence provided to the Kuwaiti paper by Syrian opposition figures in the United States.

Other Arab sources also indicate Hizbullah is entrenching itself for another attack on Israel. The organization is reportedly stockpiling "truckloads" of building materials, such as steel and concrete, in order to restore and expand the terrorists' network of fortifications in southern Lebanon.

Ahead of the talks, Peter Mandelson has urged EU countries to make a "SHOW OF UNITY" adding that France is "very mindful of its responsibilities as the presidency of the EU." In an open letter in yesterday's IHT, the trade ministers of Britain, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia and Slovenia also urged the EU to keep a united front, arguing "We cannot afford to miss the chance to counterbalance the present negative trends in world economic affairs. THE CREDIBILITY AND RESPECT OF THE WHOLE MULTILATERAL TRADING SYSTEM MUST BE MAINTAINED."

And what were the results of last week's missile crisis in the Gulf? Tensions rose, strengthening Tehran's embattled Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. And oil prices shot from $136 a barrel to a record $147. That $11-a-barrel spike alone translates into $25 million a day in fresh revenue for Ahmadinejad and Co. And as the United States imports 13 million of the 20 million barrels we daily consume, that $11 spike in price translates into $143 million more sucked out of the US economy every day - into the coffers of Canada, Mexico, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia and OPEC.

CAN WE NOT SEE WHO BENEFITS AND WHO PAYS FOR THIS WAR TALK? Every day the war drums beat, the mullahs get richer and we get poorer. Which raises the question: Was this mini-missile crisis cooked up by the mullahs to rip off Uncle Sam? For by week's end it appeared the Americans had been had, big-time.

Saturday's New York Times reported that that photo of the four Iranian missiles fired in salvo had been doctored. One rocket appears twice in the same photo. The large missile, on inspection, was not the new Shahab-3b, which has a range of 1,200 miles, but a Shahab-3a, with a range of 900 miles. It is no longer in production. The missiles fired with the Shahab-3a turned out to be Scuds, a short-range missile that is no threat to Israel.

The second day's firing turns out to have been of a single anti-ship missile. Iranian TV showed one firing from three angles, making it appear as though three missiles had been fired in succession. "The bottom line is that the Iranians are tweaking our noses," said Charles Vick, an expert on Iran's missile forces.

The US produced 28 million tons of plastic waste in 2005 - 27 million tons of which ended up in landfills. Environmentalists fret about the petroleum needed to make it. Parents worry about the possibility of toxic chemicals making their way from household plastic into children's bloodstreams.

We think of plastic as essentially inert; after all, it takes hundreds of years for a plastic bottle to degrade in a landfill. But as plastic ages or is exposed to heat or stress, it can release trace amounts of some of its ingredients. Of particular concern these days are bisphenol-a (BPA), used to strengthen some plastics, and phthalates, used to soften others. Each ingredient is a part of hundreds of household items; BPA is in everything from baby bottles to can linings (to protect against E. coli and botulism), while phthalates are found in children's toys as well as vinyl shower curtains.

And those chemicals can get inside us through the food, water and bits of dust we consume or even by being absorbed through our skin. Indeed, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 92% of Americans age 6 or older test positive for BPA - a sign of just how common the chemical is in our plastic universe.

Plastic makes up nearly 12% of our trash, up from 1% in 1960. You can literally see the result 1,000 miles (1,600 km) west of San Francisco in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a swirling mass of plastic debris twice the size of Texas. The rising cost of petroleum may get plastic manufacturers to come up with incentives for recycling; current rates stand at less than 6% in the US

But the best way to reduce your plastic impact on the earth is simply to use less. Here's how. You can avoid plastic bottles and toys labeled with the numbers 3 or 7, which often contain BPA or phthalates, and steer clear of vinyl shower curtains and canned foods - especially those with acidic contents like tomatoes. Vom Saal counsels that the cautious should also avoid heating plastic in microwaves. But get rid of the stuff altogether? It's hard to go all the way!

With no other job prospects in this impoverished, remote northern village about 27 miles south of the front lines, roughly half the men of fighting age have enlisted in the army, navy, police or other security branches. "When we want to find a job, the easiest thing is to join the security forces," said Sisira Senaratna, 38, a 16-year police veteran who has two brothers who enlisted in the army and another in the police force. After a quarter century of civil war between government forces and Tamil rebels, fighting is so entrenched in this Indian Ocean island it has become a career for tens of thousands seeking a path out of rural Sri Lanka's brutal poverty.

Kadirage Leelawathi's entire family had already answered the call. Her husband joined the army 20 years ago after failing to scrape a living from his tiny farm. The family lived in a clay hut with a floor made of cow dung and used kerosene lamps for light, she said. They could only afford to eat meat once a week. "We couldn't make ends meet with three children," she said. "With the little money he earned from farming, we had a hard time even sending the kids to school."

With his army salary, they built a two bedroom concrete house with electricity, running water, a telephone, a 21-inch color TV and a 20-foot antenna piercing the sky. "I looked after my family, I served my country and I was able to raise our standard of living," he said. "I have no regrets."

Japan reignited the controversy Monday by announcing its intention to recommend in a government-approved teaching manual that students learn about Tokyo's claims to the tiny islands in the Sea of Japan. Japan claimed the islets in 1905, but then South Korea laid claim in 1952. Seoul effectively controls the rocky outcroppings - called Dokdo in Korean and Takeshima in Japanese - and has stationed police on them.

The area surrounding THE ISLANDS IS BELIEVED TO BE RICH IN FISH AND MAY ALSO HOLD UNDERSEA RESOURCES. Kwon told reporters after meeting with a senior Japanese Foreign Ministry official in Tokyo that the dispute is "straining the relationship further between Japan and Korea." Kwon was expected to leave Japan later Tuesday.

Japan has a similar dispute with Russia over several islands in the Kurile chain it calls the Northern Territories.

Two years after standing its ground in a 34-day war with Israel, Hezbollah has reinforced its military wing and routed its US-backed adversaries in Lebanon - defying the United States, which sees it as a terrorist group and proxy of Tehran.

Hezbollah is now seeking reconciliation with its Lebanese rivals, hoping to cool sectarian tensions inflamed by its May takeover of Beirut. Those enmities could pose a threat to both the Shi'ite group and Lebanon if left unhealed.

For Iran, the stature of a group established with the help of its Revolutionary Guards in 1982 is a great asset in its own confrontation with the United States and other powers over its nuclear ambitions and influence in the Middle East. Hezbollah has replenished and expanded its arsenal since the 2006 war. Estimated to have received military and other aid worth several billion dollars from Iran, it is seen as one of the region's toughest fighting forces.

Researchers said more than 120,000 people were admitted to hospital emergency wards between 2002 and 2006 as a direct result of violence. In all, at least 2.5 million people in England and Wales are the victims of violence every year, which in 2003 cost the country 24.4 billion pounds and the NHS alone 2.2 billion pounds, the report said.

The team from the Centre for Public Health at Liverpool John Moores University said the number of EMERGENCY ADMISSIONS FROM VIOLENCE ROSE ALMOST 30 PERCENT between 2002 and 2006. The study, published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, also found admission rates were six times higher in poor areas.

The direct contribution violence makes to health inequalities is likely to be significant, with around 30,000 mainly poorer individuals requiring emergency admissions each year and 10 times that number presenting to A&E, the researchers said.

The price of staple groceries has risen by more than a fifth since July last year as food producers deal with soaring wheat, rice and energy costs, figures from "mysupermarket", the shopping comparison site show. The cost of a loaf of white bread from Tesco has risen by 50 per cent to 72p in the past year while the price of a 1kg bag of basmati rice at Sainsbury's has risen by 110 per cent to £1.89.

The gloomy retail figures will heighten fears that the country could be heading for a recession - as two consecutive quarters of negative growth show. Philip Shaw, an economist at Investec, said: "If sales are only held up by essential items such as food, this indicates a noticeable weakening in discretionary spending. It also raises the prospect that once the good weather ends there could be further slowdown in overall retail sales. This will worry the Bank of England as retail sales account for about 30 per cent of household consumption, which accounts for two thirds of GDP."

Core price inflation, which excludes food, beverages, tobacco and petrol, rose by 6.4 per cent in the year to June, up from 5.9 per cent, raising concerns that soaring oil prices may be causing second-round inflationary effects. This will pose an even deeper dilemma for the Bank of England.