The seal impression, or bulla, with the name Gedalyahu ben Pashur, who served as minister to King Zedekiah (597-586 BCE) according to the Book of Jeremiah, was found just meters away from a separate seal impression of another of Zedekia's ministers, Yehukual ben Shelemyahu, which was uncovered three years ago, said Prof. Eilat Mazar who is leading the dig at the site.

The excavation at the history-rich City of David, which is located just outside the walls of the Old City near Dung Gate, has proven, in recent years, to be a treasure trove for archeologists. "On the one hand it is so unexpected to find such a fragile bulla in such harsh conditions of excavation, while on the other hand it was logical to find precisely here the bulla of Gedalyahu ben Pashur - only meters away from the place where we found the bulla of Yehukhal ben Shelemyahu - since these two ministers are mentioned side by side in the Bible as having served together in the kingdom of King Zedekiah," Mazar said.

The first bulla was uncovered inside an impressive stone structure, which Mazar believes is the Palace of David, while the second bulla was found at the foot of the external wall of the same structure, under a tower that was built in the days of Nehemiah. Both of the bullae with the names of the two ministers, measuring 1 cm. in diameter each, were found among the debris of the destruction of the First Temple period. The letters are in ancient Hebrew and are very clearly preserved, Mazar said.

Both ministers are mentioned in the Book of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 38 1-4) along with two other ministers when they came to King Zedekiah demanding the death of the prophet Jeremiah for preaching to the besieged city to surrender. Mazar said it was "absolutely fantastic" to have uncovered the seals "complete and in perfect condition" after 2,600 years, affording scholars a clear read of the names that were impressed on them.

According to Euro barometer, fewer and fewer citizens think that EU membership is a good thing. According to the latest findings of Euro barometer, only a thin majority of 52 per cent of Europeans still think that EU membership is a good thing. This is down from 57 per cent in the Autumn of 2007. Only 48 per cent think the EU has a good image. (Oddly enough, one of the countries with the highest pro-EU opinion poll finding is Ireland. 73 per cent of those polled said they were in favour of EU membership.)

The countries where only a minority think that EU membership is a good thing include France (48 per cent), Greece (47 per cent), Finland (44 per cent), Italy (39 per cent), Austria (36 per cent), Britain (30 per cent), Hungary (32 per cent) and – last of all – Latvia with 29 per cent. Only 30 per cent of Croats think EU membership is a good thing although the Croatian government has talked about little but accession for years.

A poll on the web site of Die Welt offered readers four choices about the EU: "it is wonderful"; "it has advantages and disadvantages"; "it is pretty bad"; "I wish Germany would leave". The highest score was for "I wish Germany would leave" – 51 per cent. Nineteen per cent said the EU was pretty bad and only 27 per cent said it had advantages and disadvantages. (Three per cent said it was wonderful.)

Among the winners, it lists Nicolas Sarkozy, who has "killed two birds with one stone," in that "he can boast about having defended the interests of French and European farmers, and he can now encourage the Irish to organise a second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty - the first having been lost, he says, because of the threats to Irish meat and milk." A separate piece quotes the French Minister for External Trade Anne-Marie Idrac saying of the collapse in the world trade talks: "It's not the end of the world."

THE IRISH INDEPENDENT reports that Irish Farmers' Association President Padraig Walshe said farmers owed a debt of gratitude to Nicolas Sarkozy for helping to end the talks. Irish Junior Minister Martin Mansergh said the breakdown "will be a huge relief to Ireland's hard-pressed farm sector", and indicated that Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson could not be trusted, and was trying to use the talks to press the "British objective" of undermining the CAP. He then argued that the result at Doha showed how important it was for Ireland to engage with other EU countries, before warning that "The 'No' decision of the Irish people on the treaty has left Ireland, for the time being, in a more exposed and vulnerable position" regarding trade.

Meanwhile, SWEDISH RADIO notes that Italy had threatened to block the EU's negotiation mandate if a new trade deal did not contain a special provision banning the production of parmesan cheese outside of Italy.

THE ECONOMIST argues that the breakdown of the WTO talks show that global trade relations are no longer divided between richer and poorer nations, but that "mercantilist interests drive trade policy".

Ireland has promised to find a solution by the end of the year after some 53 percent of Irish people voted No to the treaty in June. A July survey showed that 62 percent would reject Lisbon if the referendum was held today and that 71 percent don't want to vote on the subject again.

Dublin risks being isolated on the treaty, with 23 EU member states' parliaments having already given their assent and with the Italian lower chamber also set to approve the document in a vote on Wednesday afternoon. If elected, Declan Ganley, a wealthy businessman plans to write a reader-friendly, 20-page EU treaty based on the US constitution to replace the esoteric, 400-page long Lisbon text, he said in an interview with Polish newspaper Dziennik.

Mr Ganley told French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Dublin last week that French people would also have rejected the treaty if France had held a referendum. "You may be surprised to hear that he agreed with me," the Irishman said.

Half of youngsters aged nine to 11 were unable to identify a daddy-long-legs, oak tree, blue tit or bluebell, in the poll by BBC Wildlife Magazine. The study also found that playing in the countryside was children's least popular way of spending their spare time, and that they would rather see friends or play on their computer than go for a walk or play outdoors.

The survey asked 700 children to identify pictured flora and fauna. Just over half could name bluebells, 54 per cent knew what blue tits were and 45 per cent could identify an oak. Less than two-thirds (62 per cent) identified frogs and 12 per cent knew what a primrose was. Children performed better at identifying robins (95 per cent) and badgers, correctly labelled by nine out of 10.

Sir David Attenborough warned that children who lack any understanding of the natural world would not grow into adults who cared about the environment. "The wild world is becoming so remote to children that they miss out," he said, "and an interest in the natural world doesn't grow as it should. NOBODY IS GOING PROTECT THE NATURAL WORLD UNLESS THEY UNDERSTAND IT."

U.N. watchdogs also cite homosexual-rights groups' historical alignment with organizations advocating pedophilia. The U.N.'s Economic and Social Council, the organ facilitating international cooperation on standards-making and problem-solving in economic and social issues, has accepted COC Netherlands and the State Federation of Lesbians, Gays, Transexuals and Bisexuals of Spain.

This "means we can join the efforts at the U.N. to address human rights violations against people with an alternative sexual orientation or gender identity," said Björn van Roozendaal, COC Netherlands international advocacy officer. But members of the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute accuse homosexual groups of attempting to weaken sovereignty and impose "gay rights" through a "well-coordinated" international stealth campaign tainted by associations with pro-pedophilia groups.

The pro-homosexual lobby consistently has attempted to advance through the U.N. since 1993, when an umbrella homosexual advocacy group, the International Lesbian Gay Association, or ILGA, achieved U.N. consultative status.

Before leaving for her summer holiday last week, German Chancellor Angela Merkel appeared to give her last public address of the season. Her message to the people: EVERYTHING WILL BE OKAY, everything is under control. In terms of the economy, she conceded, "things haven't gotten any easier," but it has been "more independent and robust" than ever before.

Less than 24 hours later, Germany's most important economic indicator, the Ifo Business Climate Index, released its latest report, which "dropped like a rock," as one Frankfurt banker put it. Analysts had forecast a decline to 100 points, but it's fall to 97.5 suggested the "economic upswing is coming to an end," Ifo President Hans-Werner Sinn said.

THE RAFT OF BAD ECONOMIC NEWS FOR GERMANY CONTINUED INTO THIS WEEK. After the Ifo report's release, Germany's second-largest industrial concern, DAIMLER AG, announced profits had drastically collapsed - an announcement that caused its share price to take an 11.5 percent tumble. Finally, DEUTSCHE BANK, Germany's biggest financial institution, announced that profits had fallen by 63 percent during the second quarter.

Researchers found that giving the animals certain drugs could trigger an endurance gene, allowing them to run for longer. On average mice can normally run for only around 90 minutes and 900 metres before becoming exhausted. But scientists found that giving the mice one of two experimental drugs, neither commercially available, could significantly increase their endurance. Four years ago researchers bred genetically engineered mice that could run much further than normal, but this is the first test to prove that drugs can have the same effect.

One of the drugs lengthened the amount of time the mice could run by 44 per cent, allowing them to keep going for more than two hours. "It's tricking the muscle into 'believing' it's been exercised daily," Dr Ronald Evans of the Salk Institute in California, who carried out the study, said.

"It's basically the couch potato experiment, and it proves you can have a pharmacologic equivalent to exercise." The scientists added that they were aware of the potential for the drugs to be used to boost athletes' performance and have developed a test capable of detecting the presence of both in blood and urine.

This was affirmed by the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal William Levada, in a July 5 letter to the primate of the Anglican group, Archbishop John Hepworth. The conflict within the Communion has arisen over debate about the possibility of ordaining homosexual bishops and blessing homosexual marriages. A synod decision this summer to pave the way for the episcopal ordination of women has further alienated some Anglican leaders, many of whom were in disagreement with the Communion's decision to ordain women as priests.

According to Cardinal Levada's letter, "over the course of the past year, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has studied the proposals which you presented on behalf of the House of Bishops of the Traditional Anglican Communion during your visit to the offices of this dicastery on Oct. 9, 2007. As the summer months approach, I wish to assure you the serious attention which the congregation gives to the prospect of corporate unity raised in that letter," the cardinal added.

The Traditional Anglican Communion states that its aim is "to recall Anglicanism to its heritage, to heal divisions caused by departures from the faith, and to build a vibrant church for the future based on powerful local leadership." By some counts, it has about 400,000 faithful. If the request for "corporate union" is deemed possible, IT WOULD IMPLY THE ENTRANCE OF ENTIRE PARISH COMMUNITIES INTO COMMUNION WITH ROME.

The political and military group's senior commander in southern Lebanon said in a rare interview that Hizbollah was far stronger now than when it fought the Israeli army in a conflict in 2006. Hizbollah, whose missiles killed 43 Israeli civilians during the war of 2006, is considered a terrorist organisation by the US and Britain.

Sheikh Nabil Kaouk, who leads Hizbollah's forces on Lebanon's border with Israel - the crucial battlefront of any future war, was speaking in the port city of Tyre. "The resistance is now stronger than before and this keeps the option of war awake. If we were weak, Israel would not hesitate to start another war," he said. "We are stronger than before and when Hizbollah is strong, our strength stops Israel from starting a new war... We don't seek war, but we must be ready."

Other sources say Hizbollah has trebled its arsenal in the last two years – from 10,000 missiles to about 30,000. These new weapons have longer ranges and heavier warheads. They include the Zelzal missile, which could strike as far south as Tel Aviv, and the C802 anti-shipping missile, capable of sinking Israeli warships. Any American strike on Iran, for example, could be the trigger for a Hizbollah attack on Israel.

The most populous state in the US faces a budget deficit of more than $15bn (£7.6bn), and legislators are struggling to agree a spending plan. Mr Schwarzenegger says the cuts will save $100m a month and put pressure on politicians reach a budget deal. But a leading official in the state challenged the decision to cut pay.

Opponents said there was enough cash to pay full salaries and the state's financial controller, John Chiang, vowed to ignore Mr Schwarzenegger's order. California has one of the largest economies in the world but the governor says it currently has no way to pay contractors for many of the services it provides.

Some 30 American states face budget deficits, caused by rising costs and falling revenues in a slumping economy, but California is by far the largest.

EDF had been expected to announce a £12bn deal to buy British Energy. However, it is understood that shareholders argued that the soaring price of energy meant they should be able to command a higher offer. The rejection is a major setback to the UK's plans to cut greenhouse gases by relying more on nuclear energy.

The government holds a 35% stake in British Energy and is believed to have backed the deal, which would have raised as much as £4bn for the chancellor. But Invesco and Prudential, who together own about 22% of the firm, felt that the 765 pence-per-share offer was too low, said the BBC Business Editor, Robert Peston. Although the deal could yet be revived, the latest development was bound to be a disappointment for the government which wants to get the building of new nuclear power stations under way as soon as possible to replace the ageing Magnox reactors, our business editor said.

He added it was an "embarrassment" to the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) which has responsibility for energy policy and controls. "The department was planning to hail the deal as facilitating plans to fill the gap between our energy needs and generating capacity that will yawn open in the coming decade."

The deficit of $27.33 a share compares with a profit of $891 million, or $1.56, a year earlier. Excluding costs GM considers one-time, the per-share loss was 4 times bigger than analysts projected. Labor strikes contributed to a $9.9 billion drop in North American revenue, and sales worldwide tumbled 18 percent to $38.2 billion.

The results step up pressure on Chief Executive Officer Rick Wagoner, 55, to show he can revive the largest US automaker. Wagoner, in his ninth year as CEO, has posted $69.8 billion in losses since 2004 and is trying to raise as much as $17 billion in cash while speeding the development of fuel-saving cars to replace the sport-utility vehicles being shunned by US buyers.

GM's fourth straight quarterly loss comes as a weakened US economy and soaring gasoline prices drag US auto sales to 15-year lows. Demand for GM products dropped 16 percent through June, and analysts expect the automaker to report a decline in that range when July sales are released today.

"It is an existential threat," Mofaz said at a forum on Iran at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. "We have to make sure we are prepared for every option." Mofaz, a former Israeli army chief of staff, is a potential future leader of Israel because of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's planned departure from office. Mofaz is competing with Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni for control of the ruling Kadima party after Olmert said July 30 that he won't compete in the party's Sept. 17 primary amid a corruption scandal.

While Mofaz accused the Iranian government of "buying time" in its resistance to international pressure to suspend uranium enrichment, he said the diplomatic "track" should continue. "We don't want war, we want peace," Mofaz said. "But we will not let the second Holocaust take place."

The comments from Mofaz, who also serves as transportation minister, echoed statements he made last month to the Jerusalem Post that "all options are on the table. If there won't be a choice other than a nuclear Iran or a military option, it's clear what our decision has to be."

Banks' primary credit borrowings averaged $17.45 billion per day in the latest week, the second straight week this had hit a record and up from $16.38 billion the previous week, Fed data showed on Thursday. "It shows there's a shortage of liquidity in the system," said Christopher Low, chief economist at FTN Financial in New York.

Secondary credit the Fed extended, which is usually taken out by banks in need of emergency cash, rose to $89 million in the latest week, from $34 million the week before. Although these numbers are still very small compared with primary credit, "What that tells you is that there's an increasing number of banks that the Fed is classifying as 'unsound' or inadequately capitalized," Low said.

"The panic of last year is over. It's more orderly now, but the financial stresses remain and there will be more difficulties to come," said John Canavan, market analyst at research company Stone & McCarthy in Princeton, New Jersey.