That is the verdict of an expert panel whose leaked report warns of dire consequences like the loss of wetlands, vegetation and some fish species. AUSTRALIA REMAINS IN THE GRIP OF ITS WORST DROUGHT IN A CENTURY. The hope is for heavy winter rainfalls.

The Murray-Darling is Australia's most important river system. Crossing much of southeast Australia, it irrigates much of the country's food bowl. So when scientists warn that parts of the basin will be "BEYOND THE POINT OF RECOVERY" unless they receive water by October, it becomes a matter of serious national concern.

In stark language, the leaked report raises the spectre of an ecological disaster in the lower reaches of the Murray River - wetlands drying out, vegetation lost, some fishes species forced into extinction. Some might already have died out. PARTS OF THE ECOSYSTEM COULD TAKE DECADES TO RECOVER - PARTS MIGHT BE IRREVERSIBLY LOST.

Abdullah al-Obaid, the deputy agriculture minister, told the Financial Times the government was planning to set up projects of at least 100,000 hectares in several countries to grow crops such as wheat, corn, rice, soyabeans and alfalfa, a feed for livestock. The move, which is also aimed at building up strategic reserves, comes as food prices have doubled over the past two years and a series of trade restrictions by exporting countries have limited the oil-rich kingdom's ability to secure supplies. Saudi Arabia, the region's largest economy and the most populous state in the Gulf, buys in most of its food products. It is the world's largest importer of barley and one of the five largest importers of rice.

The main exception is wheat, of which it produces around 2.5m tonnes per year - the result of a heavily subsided project started in the 1970s, which has cost the government billions of dollars. However, THE KINGDOM DECIDED EARLIER THIS YEAR TO PHASE OUT WHEAT BY 2016 TO PROTECT ITS FINITE WATER RESOURCES, REALISING THE PROJECT WAS UNSUSTAINABLE. Officials are also concerned about farmers growing alfalfa - which consumes a huge amount of water - to feed dairy cattle. Saudi Arabia will be set to become one of the world's top wheat importers when it phases out domestic production of the grain.

Corn futures in Chicago this week rose to record highs of more than $8 a bushel on fears that up to 5m acres of the crop could be lost, while soyabean prices hit a record of $15.93 a bushel. The increase in the cost of corn and soyabeans - the two main feed crops for farm animals such as cows and chickens - increased the price of live cattle yesterday for the second day in a row, to the highest level in 22 years.

Mr Jennings said that the impact of the heavy rains was "dramatic". After weeks of heavy rains and low temperatures, the US Department of Agriculture said that ONLY 57 PER CENT OF THE COUNTRY'S CORN CROP IS IN GOOD OR EXCELLENT CONDITION. Local farmers in Illinois said that the bad weather had delayed planting by up to five weeks, which would result in a much reduced crop of corn and soyabeans. Some farmers expected their corn production to be down by as much as 50 per cent from last year's level.

They added that expensive nitrogen fertiliser - critical for the plants' development - has now been washed out from the fields by the rains. For that reason, some farmers are likely to leave their land fallow and, instead, cash in their crop insurance policies, further reducing supply.

The worst flooding in the Midwest in 15 years has closed 300 miles of the Mississippi River to commercial traffic. SEVERAL BRIDGES AND UNKNOWN MILES OF RAILROAD TRACK HAVE BEEN DAMAGED OR WASHED AWAY. "It may turn out that the biggest disruptions come from rail rather than the barge side," said Diana Klemme, vice president of Grain Services Corp, an agricultural brokerage and risk management firm. "We don't know what conditions the bridges and tracks are in. You just don't replace that overnight."

Barge traffic is expected to resume in two to three weeks as water levels drop and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reinstalls electrical equipment that had been moved. The Mississippi River is the main channel for grain flowing from Midwest farms to the export terminals at the Gulf of Mexico. THE RIVER TRANSPORTED 68 MILLION TONNES OF FARM GOODS in 2006, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. THE MISSISSIPPI ALSO MOVED 48 MILLION TONNES OF PETROLEUM PRODUCTS AND 5 MILLION TONNES OF COAL.

The Mississippi River at St. Louis is forecast to crest on the evening of June 21 at 39 feet, making it the 10th or 11th worst flood at that location, said Army Corps spokesman Alan Dooley.

A broad consensus in favor of a military strike against Tehran's nuclear facilities - without the Americans, if necessary - is beginning to take shape. The one question over which Israel's various political groups disagree is the timing of an attack. The doves argue that diplomatic efforts by the United Nations should be allowed to continue until Iran is on the verge of completing the bomb. That way, Israel could at least argue convincingly that all non-military options had been exhausted.

The hawks, on the other hand, believe time is running out. They stress that there is now A "FAVORABLE WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY" THAT WILL CLOSE WITH THE US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IN NOVEMBER, and that Israel can only depend on American support for as long as current US President George W. Bush is still in charge in Washington. They are convinced that the country cannot truly depend on any of the candidates to succeed Bush in office.

President Bush, however, has recently been sending out signals that are suspiciously reminiscent of the run-up to the Iraq war. Then, as today, he insisted that "all options are on the table." And then, as today, he sought to appease the Europeans by saying that all diplomatic channels would be exhausted first. But during his recent visit to Slovenia, Bush said: "There's a lot of urgencies when it comes to dealing with Iran, and the Israeli political folks - if you go to Israel and listen carefully, you'll hear that urgency in their voice."

An Iranian nuclear bomb would overshadow all other threats that Israel has faced during the 60 years of its existence. As costly as its wars have been, and as horrific the suicide bombings of radical Islamists may be, they can never pose a serious threat to the existence of the Jewish state. But A SINGLE NUCLEAR STRIKE WOULD HAVE DEVASTATING CONSEQUENCES FOR THIS SMALL COUNTRY, which is only about half the size of Switzerland. In fact, international strategists commonly refer to Israel as a "one-bomb country."

Former Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, who travels regularly to Jerusalem and Washington for political talks, warns that Israel could see the Bush presidency as its last chance to gain American support for a military strike. "POLITICALLY SPEAKING, THE WINDOW FOR ACTION IS NOW, IN THE LAST MONTHS OF GEORGE W. BUSH'S TERM IN OFFICE," FISCHER WROTE RECENTLY. "THE MIDDLE EAST IS HEADED FOR ANOTHER MAJOR CONFRONTATION."

IN ISRAEL IT IS NO LONGER A MATTER OF WHETHER THERE WILL BE A MILITARY STRIKE, BUT WHEN. Many Israelis still hope that the Americans will do the job for them. "It could still be the case," says Yatom, "that George W. Bush wants to guarantee himself a place in the history books with this last act."

He has jail meals down to 40 cents a serving and charges the inmates for them. He stopped smoking and porno magazines in the jails. Took away their weights. Cut off all but "G" movies. He started chain gangs so the inmates could do free work on county and city projects. Then he started chain gangs for women so he wouldn't get sued for discrimination.

He took away cable TV until he found out there was a federal court order that required cable TV for jails. So he hooked up the cable TV again but only let in the Disney channel and the weather channel. When asked why the weather channel he replied, so they will know how hot it's gonna be while they are working on my chain gangs. He cut off coffee since it has zero nutritional value. When the inmates complained, he told them, "This isn't the Ritz/Carlton. If you don't like it, don't come back."

With temperatures being even hotter than usual in Phoenix (116 degrees just set a new record) James Zanzot, an inmate who has lived in the tents for 1 year said, "It feels like we are in a furnace.mIt's inhumane." Arpaio responded - "It's 120 degrees in Iraq and our soldiers are living in tents too, and they have to wear full battle gear, but they didn't commit any crimes, so shut your damned mouths!" Maybe if all prisons were like this one there would be a lot less crime and/or repeat offenders. Sheriff Joe was just re-elected as Sheriff in Maricopa County, Arizona

David Miliband told the BBC on Friday: "18 countries have now passed the reform treaty - each country must see the ratification process to a conclusion - there needs to be a British view as well as an Irish view." David Cameron said: "It is the height of arrogance for Gordon Brown and our Government to press ahead with ratifying this treaty, flying in the face of public opinion."

Jon Cruddas, the Labour MP for Dagenham who came third in last year's deputy leadership contest, said: "We can't just press on relentlessly with the treaty and disrespect what the people have said." Gisela Stuart, the former Labour minister who sat on the panel that drafted the original European constitution, said: "THE TREATY IS DEAD. If it was right for a 'period of reflection' after the Dutch and French voted no, it is appropriate for the UK to pause after the Irish vote."

Open Europe was quoted in the Guardian, Sun, IHT, Mirror and New York Times on Saturday, arguing that "THIS IS A RESOUNDING VICTORY ON BEHALF OF ORDINARY PEOPLE OVER AN OUT-OF-TOUCH POLITICAL ELITE." Neil O'Brien appeared on Sky News and LBC. He said, "David Miliband arrogantly says we must ratify the treaty to put forward what he calls the 'British view'. But in reality he only means the Government's view. PEOPLE IN BRITAIN ARE OVERWHELMINGLY AGAINST THE TREATY."

The lowest place on earth is now 421.21 meters (1,382 feet) below sea level. The water level began going down - causing the sea to recede - in the wake of increased use of other water sources, including the Jordan River and its tributaries, along with desert-area streams and groundwater flowing toward the Dead Sea.

Other factors contributing to the decline include the Dead Sea factories on the Israeli and Jordanian sides, which dried up some of the water for industrial purposes. The receding sea level has damaged hotels built when the water level was higher, caused the development of underground swallow holes, and led sweet-water to enter the sea, melting underground salt blocks and ultimately causing collapse.

The agreement lays out the basis for an "EXPANSION OF DEFENCE COOPERATION BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES," according to Iran's official IRNA news agency. The agreement is expected to play a role in influencing Baghdad to refuse an American request that US troops be allowed to remain in Iraq past the end of 2008.

In addition to its defence pact with Iraq, Iran signed a similar Memorandum of Understanding with Syria in 2006. Iran and Syria cooperate in supplying and supporting the Hizb'Allah terrorist organization endeavouring to take over Lebanon, on Israel's northern border. (What this pact means is that US-trained Iraqi soldiers will join forces with Iran in fighting Israel. -ed)

"The project is over in its entirety," Czech president Vaclav Klaus said after the rejection of the EU pact by Irish voters last week, AFP reports. "IT MAKES NO SENSE TO CONTINUE THE RATIFICATION OF A DEAD DOCUMENT." The Irish No vote represents a "VICTORY FOR FREEDOM AND REASON OVER ARTIFICIAL ELITIST PROJECTS AND EUROPEAN BUREAUCRACY," he added.

Mr Klaus' remarks come amid calls by the European Commission and some EU leaders - in particular French president Nicolas Sarkozy and German chancellor Angela Merkel - for the ratification process to continue in the remaining EU countries. Czech prime minister Mirek Topolanek did not comment himself on whether or not his country should approve the document, admitting nevertheless that the Irish result was a "political complication". The Czech Republic will take over the EU's rotating presidency from France on 1 January 2009.

So far, parliaments in 18 EU member states have approved the Lisbon treaty. The UK has also indicated it would proceed with the document's ratification. Meanwhile, an adviser to Polish president Lech Kaczynski - who still has to complete Poland's ratification by signing the document - has said that Mr Kaczynski should know whether the Lisbon treaty exists before he goes forward.

For the moment other member states have insisted that ratification of the treaty continue, despite the 53.4 to 46.6 percent No vote on Thursday (12 June). But they have made it clear that they expect the Irish government to come to the EU leaders summit later this week equipped with some answers.

The Slovenian EU presidency said it would ask Irish prime minister Brian Cowen "to explain the reasons for the rejection of the treaty by the Irish people" at the top-level meeting. The European Commission almost made it clear that this is more Dublin's problem, rather than a strictly EU one. A referendum is a "matter of national responsibility" said commission president Jose Manuel Barroso after the vote and pointed out that "our Irish friends always said it was a national campaign."

However Ireland has admitted it will be hard-pressed to come up an answer and has asked Europe to not isolate it. The EU would leave itself exposed to charges that it is ignoring the will of the people if it pushes Dublin towards a second vote.

"The others must continue ratification - so that the Irish incident does not become a crisis," said French president Nicolas Sarkozy.

Scottish, English and British monarchs have been crowned on the ancient coronation stone since the ninth century. It spent 700 years under the chair in Westminster Abbey after it was seized in 1296 by King Edward I, and was finally returned to Scotland 12 years ago. It has since been viewed at Edinburgh Castle by tens of thousands of people, and is regarded as a symbol of Scottish independence.

According to legend, Jacob used the ancient stone as a pillow when he dreamt of a ladder to heaven. But Scotland's First Minister is convinced that it may be no more than a worthless lump of Perthshire sandstone. He believes it was passed off as the real coronation stone when Edward stormed Scone Abbey in 1296.

On Christmas Day 1950, the Stone of Destiny was stolen from below the coronation chair in Westminster Abbey by a group of radical nationalist students. There have long been rumours that a Glasgow stonemason, Baillie Robert Gray, made copies of the stone when he was asked to repair it after it broke in two during the raid. After a brief sojourn north of the border it was later handed back to British authorities and was used in the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. "There's no question that Bertie Gray made copies," said Mr Salmond. "It's like the Loch Ness monster, it's certainly a puzzle and a mystery which is best not definitively answered."

Ian Hamilton, a QC who was one of the four students who stole the relic 58 years ago, said he remained convinced it was the real thing. "Had it been a substitute for Edward to carry off it would have been produced when the king (Robert the Bruce) regained his kingdom. It wasn't," said Mr Hamilton, whose book, the Stone of Destiny, is published this week. A spokesman for Westminster Abbey said she had always believed the stone was genuine.

The price of corn at the Chicago Board of Trade soared above $8 a bushel for the first time as relentless rains and overflowing rivers raised fears that Midwest farmers will NOT BE ABLE TO GROW MUCH OF ANYTHING ON AS MANY AS 5 MILLION ACRES

"The market is being driven by water," said Glenn Hollander, a veteran grain merchant on the CBOT trading floor. "Estimates show 3 million acres of corn under water and probably 2 million didn't get planted. So that gets you up to 5 million or over 700 MILLION BUSHELS, and that takes out the entire carry-out," he said, referring to estimates for grain stocks carried over to the next crop year.

Overwhelmed river levees across Iowa and Illinois, which produce about a third of U.S. corn and soybeans, have also displaced thousands of people. Dry weather was forecast through Wednesday across the flooded region, allowing some rivers to recede. But those flows were surging into the Mississippi River, which was expected rise above 1993 records and test barriers guarding Burlington, Iowa, and Quincy, Illinois.

But the Commission says its efforts to simplify EU legislation have been resisted by some countries. The complicated marketing rules have spawned long-running debates about STRAIGHT BANANAS AND CUCUMBERS. The Commission says misshapen fruit should be sold "with some sort of label for use in cooking. In an era of high prices and growing demand, this makes more sense than just throwing them away," said a statement from the office of Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel.

Among the 26 foods designated to be removed from the Commission's standards list are: aubergines, beans, carrots, courgettes, cucumbers, leeks, melons, onions, plums and spinach. The standards would remain for: apples, citrus fruit, kiwi fruit, lettuces and endives, peaches and nectarines, pears, strawberries, sweet peppers, table grapes and tomatoes.

Commission regulations for fruit and vegetables are extremely detailed, specifying their desired appearance, weight, size and other features. For example, Regulation No 1292/81, laying down quality standards for leeks, aubergines and courgettes, states that for Class One leeks "the white part of the leek must represent at least one-third of the total length or half the sheathed part".

The smuggling ring was led by Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan. The now-defunct ring led by Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan is previously known to have sold bomb-related parts to Libya, Iran and North Korea. A draft report by former top U.N. arms inspector David Albright says the smugglers also acquired designs for building a more sophisticated compact nuclear device that could be fitted on a type of ballistic missile used by Iran and other developing countries, according to the Post.

"These advanced nuclear weapons designs may have long ago been sold off to some of the most treacherous regimes in the world," Albright wrote in the draft report, which was expected to be published later this week, the Post reported. A spokesman for the Pakistani Embassy in Washington, Nadeem Kiani, did not rebut the report's findings.

"The government of Pakistan has adequately investigated allegations of nuclear proliferation by A.Q. Khan and shared the information with the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency," Kiani told the Post. "It considers the A.Q. Khan affair to be over."