Hordes of rats have swept through the forests of Mizoram - home to just under a million tribespeople - feasting on the fruits of wild bamboo, which flowers every 48 years. Experts say that the rich protein content of the bamboo fruits increases the rats' reproductive power, and, when they finished off the fruits, the rats turned their attention to farmers' crops. The last time the bamboo flowered was in 1959 -- and the armies of rats that came in its wake decimated paddy fields across the region, leading to severe food shortages.

In 2007, the government hoped to be better prepared. But the rats could not be stopped because of bad planning and alternative rice supply plans went wrong, aid agencies said. "The government is reluctant to accept that the situation is rapidly slipping out of its control." Local people call the famine which follows bamboo flowering "mautum", which means "bamboo death" in the local language. In 1959, New Delhi brushed off local warnings of a famine as tribal superstition.

Mizoram needs around 15,000 metric tonnes of rice a month, but only about one-fifth of that was available now at subsidised rates. "Sufficient rice is not available with the food supply department. There is a huge shortfall of rice," Dominic Lalhmangaiha, a consultant with the state-run Disaster Risk Management programme, told Reuters. "Villagers are going to jungles to dig out roots to supplement their regular food."

Speaking on the last day of parliament, Mr Wen said the exiled Tibetan leader's claim of "cultural genocide" in Tibet was nothing but lies. Mr Wen said the protests were intended to "sabotage" the Beijing Olympics. China says 13 people were killed by rioters in Lhasa. Tibetan exiles say at least 80 protesters were killed in a crackdown by Chinese security forces. A spokesman for the Dalai Lama said Mr Wen's accusations were "baseless".

The Dalai Lama, who in 1989 was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his consistent opposition to the use of violence in the quest for Tibetan self-rule, has repeatedly called for dialogue with China. The protests began on 10 March - the anniversary of a Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule - and gradually escalated, culminating in a day of violence late last week. There have been no moves so far for an international boycott. On Monday, European Union ministers ruled out such a move, saying it would only punish athletes.

But on Tuesday, Ma Ying-jeou, the front-runner in Taiwan's presidential election, to be held on Saturday, said he would "not rule out" a boycott if the crackdown worsened. China says Tibet has always been part of its territory but Tibet enjoyed long periods of autonomy before the 20th Century and many Tibetans remain loyal to the Dalai Lama, who fled in 1959.

AT THESE PRICES, WE HAVE A TRILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF OIL sitting under a section of frozen tundra the size of Dulles Airport near Washington, D.C. We could go get it. Instead we prefer to shovel billions of our dollars to thugs like Chavez while the same politicians who lock up our domestic energy praise him when he offers "cheap" home heating oil to states in the Northeast.

Chavez has said he's changed his mind about cutting off supplies to the U.S., but it's BECAUSE HE'D HAVE A HARD TIME SELLING VENEZUELA'S HEAVY CRUDE -- WHICH REQUIRES SPECIAL REFINING -- ANYWHERE ELSE. He's not doing us any favours. Unfortunately, neither is the U.S. Senate. Oil futures closed above $100 for the first time after the February 18 explosion at Alon USA's refinery in Big Spring, Texas. It could be shuttered for two months. YET THE NIMBYS (NOT IN MY BACK YARD) WON'T LET NEW REFINERIES BE BUILT, AND THE GREENIES WON'T LET THE DOMESTIC OIL BE REFINED.

The heads-in-the-tundra crowd is led by Hillary Clinton. She has voted no fewer than nine times to block drilling in a tiny, frozen part of ANWR. (Arctic National Wildlife Refuge) Her husband first blocked ANWR development in 1995. After Hurricane Katrina disabled offshore oil platforms, revealing our energy vulnerability, MRS. CLINTON SAID: "IT MAKES NO SENSE TO RESPOND TO A DISASTER IN THE GULF BY MAKING A DISASTER IN ALASKA."

Never mind that the caribou and other critters have thrived despite drilling in Prudhoe Bay, which recently delivered its 15 billionth barrel of oil through the Alaska pipeline. BARACK OBAMA, who has voted twice against drilling in ANWR, has noted that a "large portion of the $800 million we spend on foreign oil every day goes to some of the world's most volatile regimes." Still, he says that "WE CANNOT DRILL OUR WAY OUT OF THE PROBLEM." CALL THIS THE AUDACITY OF HELPLESSNESS.

In his book "The Audacity of Hope," Obama writes: "Instead of subsidizing the oil industry, we should end every single tax break the industry currently receives and demand that 1% of the revenues from oil companies with over $1 billion in quarterly profits go toward financing alternative energy research and infrastructure." YET HE'D SUBSIDIZE THE ETHANOL INDUSTRY, WHICH CONTRIBUTES TO RISING FOOD PRICES AND HURTS THE ENVIRONMENT THROUGH INCREASED AGRICULTURAL RUNOFF.

THE SANHEDRIN COURT FOR MATTERS OF PEOPLE AND STATE ORDERED HER IMMEDIATE RELEASE. "Every day and every hour that Tzvia Sariel spends behind bars is a wrongdoing to this girl," Rabbi Ariel ruled. "Justice demands to release her immediately. It is a serious stain on the judiciary system in Israel. ACCORDING TO THE TORAH LAW OF ISRAEL, we are demanding her immediate release without conditions and to erase the indictment."

The hearing was marked by uncertainty over legal procedure, according to IsraelJustice.com. "Attorneys did not understand what role was given to the rabbinical court in a criminal case and whether the rabbis were granted any authority over the civil court judge who approved the procedure. Usually, Rabbinical courts are only authorized to hear cases that concern marriage and divorce. There is a question of authorities," Honenu's Meidad explained.

Sariel was arrested in December and has been held for three months for allegedly pushing an Arab who entered her town to pick olives. Judges decided to keep her in prison without formal charges after she refused to cooperate with the secular justice system. Sariel, 18, remains in prison even after two Arab men, witnesses called by the prosecution, testified that she was not involved in the alleged physical assault.

THE SANHEDRIN COURT called for the establishment of a committee to act as bridge between the state's law and Torah law, in light of the legal precedent set by the Israeli court's recognition of the court and its findings. "IT IS NO COINCIDENCE THAT THE HEARING TOOK PLACE ON THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE PASSING OF MOSES OUR TEACHER, THE FATHER OF HEBREW LAW, and close to the days of Purim, when it is said that THE JEWS REACCEPTED AND AFFIRMED THEIR COMMITMENT TO THE LAW OF THE TORAH," a statement from the court said.

After the verdict was read, the court's rabbis, wrapped in prayer shawls, stood and recited the special prayers accepting the justice of the Almighty, according to IsraelJustice.com: "Everyone in the courtroom followed in a loud chant to say the words, 'Hear O' Israel, the L-rd is our G-d, the L-rd is One,' despite an attempt by prison guards to prevent supporters, including Ruth Sariel, Tzvia's mother, from entering the hearing." Following the hearing, the officials present from the Prisons Authority affirmed their commitment to carry out the verdict of the Sanhedrin court. Prisons' Authority warden Hila Furis reportedly told those present: "THE PRISONS' AUTHORITY RECOGNIZES THE AUTHORITY OF THE SANHEDRIN COURT AND WILL ACT TO IMPLEMENT THE VERDICT."

The nascent Sanhedrin, headed by Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz, was established in 2004, with the renewal of Semikha (ordination) in order to create the infrastructure necessary to fulfill the Torah obligation of reestablishing the supreme Jewish legal body of 71 Torah scholars. The Court for People and State has been one of the most active projects of the nascent Sanhedrin. Those now participating are committed to stepping aside when greater or more prominent scholars take their seats.

THE CENTRAL BANK SEEMS TO BE WADING FURTHER INTO SHARK-INFESTED WATERS BY THE DAY as it looks to shore up a blighted credit market that threatens to prolong the pain for a U.S. economy that many analysts fear is already in recession. The Fed had little choice but to act after investment bank Bear Stearns became the biggest casualty to date of the seven-month-long credit crisis, analysts said.

THE FIRM AGREED TO A $2 PER SHARE BUYOUT FROM JPMORGAN CHASE & CO ON SUNDAY. ITS SHARES HAD TRADED AROUND $60 ON THURSDAY AND $160 LAST APRIL. In a surprise move, also on Sunday, the central bank made an emergency quarter-percentage point cut to the discount rate that it charges on loans to banks, and announced a central role in the Bear Stearns deal. The discount rate was dropped to 3.25 percent.

ANALYSTS SAID RISKS TO THE U.S. FINANCIAL SYSTEM APPROACHING THOSE SEEN DURING THE GREAT DEPRESSION FORCED THE FED'S HAND. "The U.S. financial system probably is under more strain now than for at least several decades. Let's hope (the Fed's) determined efforts eventually get 'traction,'" said Rory Robertson, analyst at Macquarie Bank in Sydney.

In New York the Dow Jones Industrials tumbled 194 points, more than 1.5%, in early trading before recovering. London's FTSE 100 index was down 2.7%, in Paris the Cac 40 slumped 2.9% and Frankfurt's Dax fell 4.1%. European banks have been hit. UBS plunged 13.1%, Societe Generale fell 9.1% and Commerzbank was down 7.9%. Asian stocks also fell, with Tokyo's Nikkei average closing 3.7% lower and Hong Kong's Hang Seng slumping 5.2%. In Mumbai, the Sensex was down 6.5%. Investors are worried that the collapse of Bear Stearns, one of Wall Street's biggest names, is a sign that the credit crunch is getting worse and lending might seize up.

CENTRAL BANKS HAVE BEEN TRYING TO RESTORE SOME CONFIDENCE TO THE FINANCIAL SYSTEM. The Bank of England on Monday made an extra £5bn ($10bn) available for banks to borrow - and found that THE FUNDS WERE FIVE TIMES OVER-SUBSCRIBED. On Sunday, the US Federal Reserve reduced its discount rate - the interest rate at which banks lend to each other - from 3.5% to 3.25% and offered to buy up the assets of other troubled banks. THE FED IS EXPECTED TO LOWER ITS GENERAL INTEREST RATES ON TUESDAY BY UP TO 1%.

"DESPERATE TIMES NEED DESPERATE MEASURES. The Federal Reserve is doing what it takes to restore stability and if it means cutting the discount rate on a Sunday night in the US, then so be it," said Craig James, Chief Equities Economist at Commsec in Sydney. Investors' confidence has been hit by the problems at BEAR STEARNS. The investment bank was forced to seek emergency funding from the US Federal Reserve last week and WAS SOLD OVER THE WEEKEND TO JP MORGAN CHASE FOR A TINY FRACTION OF ITS EARLIER VALUE.

The bank got into trouble when other banks refused to lend it money over fears that it had too many bad debts due to the sub-prime mortgage crisis. THE FED HAS AGREED TO TAKE OVER UP TO $30BN OF BEAR STEARNS' ASSETS, REMOVING THE RISK FOR JP MORGAN.

Worries about the credit crisis and the health of the banking industry also undermined the dollar. It fell to 95.72 yen, its lowest level in more than 12 years. The euro hit a record against the dollar, buying $1.5903. The weak dollar boosted commodities, with oil rising to another record, light sweet crude traded at $111.80 before falling back. The dollar is also falling because of the expectation that the US Fed will cut interest rates further, making it less attractive to hold dollars as opposed to other currencies.

It follows years of the opposite, known - unsurprisingly - as leveraging. In the leveraging era, THE WORLD'S BANKS AND OTHER GREAT LENDERS LENT FAR TOO MUCH - to businesses, to various financial speculators, such as hedge funds and private-equity investors, to homeowners, to shoppers, and even to each other. A GREAT BUBBLE OF DEBT WAS CREATED. That bubble was punctured last summer, when lenders suddenly realised that some of their loans - the sub-prime ones to US homeowners with poor credit histories - weren't ever going to be repaid in full.

Since then lenders have been asking for their money back from those perceived to be a lousy credit prospect - and pushing up the cost of credit for almost everyone. This de-leveraging process, which has gone in fits and starts, moved up a gear in the past fortnight, as lenders became increasingly fearful about the outlook for the biggest economy in the world, that of the US. Borrowers dependent on certain parts of the US economy, especially its ailing housing market, are increasingly perceived as bad risks.

That's what caused the crises last week at Carlyle Capital Corporation and Bear Stearns. IN THE COMING DAYS YOU CAN EXPECT MORE BAD NEWS FROM FINANCIAL FIRMS WHOSE SOURCES OF FINANCE ARE DRYING UP.

So is there nothing that governments can do to minimise the dislocation caused by de-leveraging? Well in a way our own government has actually been encouraging de-leveraging, by supporting the plan of Northern Rock - the nationalised bank - to shrink its balance sheet by around £60bn. The impact of that is to cut the amount of mortgage finance available in the UK by up to a fifth. AS FOR CENTRAL BANKS, THEY INCREASINGLY LOOK NOT LIKE SUPERMEN BUT SEVEN-STONE WEAKLINGS.

Worse still, perhaps, the cost of longer-term loans is being pushed up, because lenders and investors believe THE FED IS DEVALUING THE DOLLAR AND STOKING UP INFLATION. As the distinguished economist Joseph Stiglitz has observed, much of central banks' evasive action looks as effective as pushing on a piece of string.

Meeting over the weekend, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke cut the so-called discount rate at which it is prepared to lend to banks to 3.25pc and said it will lend more to the 20 big banks that make the market for US government debt. Coming a day before the Fed was scheduled to meet on interest rates, the action signals that THE CENTRAL BANK IS INCREASINGLY FEARFUL OF AN IMPLOSION IN MARKETS.

Vincent Reinhart, a former director at the Fed, told Bloomberg News THAT THE MOVE'S "GOT TO TELL YOU THE ECONOMY IS IN A PRETTY PRECARIOUS STATE." The news sent shares in Asia tumbling, with Japan's Nikkei 225 down more than 3pc, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index off more than 4pc and THE DOLLAR CRASHING TO A NEW LOW AGAINST THE EURO.

The greenback, which has been battered so far this year, also fell against the yen and reached parity with the Swiss Franc. David Goldman, a strategist at Asteri Capital in New York, said: "SOMETHING IS SYSTEMICALLY VERY WRONG AND WE'RE AT A VERY DANGEROUS MOMENT." JP Morgan Chase last night sealed the eleventh hour deal to buy stricken investment bank Bear Stearns at a bargain price after the Federal Reserve agreed to provide a $30bn funding lifeline.

A link between hyperactive behaviour and the substances used to colour sweets, drinks and medicines was established in a British study published last year. University of Southampton researchers warned the additives "damage the psychological health" of children. The study was funded and designed by scientists from Britain's Food Standards Agency.

However, the European Food Safety Authority has decided flaws in the way the research was drawn up mean it does not offer definitive evidence of a risk to the general population. This means there is no legal reason for manufacturers to remove the suspect additives. Products known to include the additives range from Cadbury Creme Eggs to Fanta and Calpol. The Southampton research team is adamant it identified "significant adverse effects" among healthy children given drinks containing a cocktail of additives. The campaigning food and health group, Sustain, condemned the European authority's stance and called on Britain to impose a unilateral ban. Campaigns director Richard Watts said: "No one now disputes these artificial additives pose a threat to children's health and well being.

The additives linked to hyperactive behaviour are the colours Tartrazine (E102); Quinoline Yellow (E104); Sunset Yellow (E110); Carmoisine (E122); Ponceau 4R (E124); and Allura Red (E129). The preservative Sodium Benzoate(E211) is also implicated.

"ENOUGH WITH THE SLAUGHTERS. ENOUGH WITH THE VIOLENCE. ENOUGH WITH THE HATRED IN IRAQ!" Benedict said to applause at the end of Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter's Square. On Thursday, the body of Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho was found near the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, from where he had been abducted on Feb. 29. No one has claimed responsibility, but al-Qaida retains its last urban stronghold in the area.

BENEDICT HAS CALLED RAHHO'S DEATH AN "INHUMAN ACT OF VIOLENCE" THAT OFFENDED HUMAN DIGNITY. The Vatican strongly opposed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. In its aftermath, Benedict has frequently criticized attacks against Iraqi Christians by Islamic extremists. Last year, he urged U.S. President George W. Bush to keep the safety of Iraqi Christians in mind.

Benedict is due to preside over a memorial service at the Vatican on Monday in honor of Rahho. Typically, the pope only presides over such services when a cardinal dies.

"Everyone in the family has been ordered to take a shower immediately after they've been out," said Wong, a 33-year-old father of two and insurance agent at Prudential Plc. "It reminds me of SARS. We're taking the same precautionary measures." On Thursday, Hong Kong shut all kindergartens and primary schools, affecting more than 500,000 children. The schools will remain closed through March 28, the end of a scheduled Easter holiday break. In 2003, severe acute respiratory syndrome decimated Hong Kong's economy and wrecked the tourism industry. People hid behind surgical masks and locked themselves inside their homes, leaving once bustling streets deserted. The territorial government was criticized for responding too slowly to SARS. This time it isn't taking chances.

The WHO estimates that the flu causes 250,000 to 500,000 deaths a year worldwide. Several strains of flu and other common respiratory viruses are circulating in the city, said Susan Chiu, associate professor at the University of Hong Kong's department of pediatrics and adolescent medicine. In addition, the disease spreads easily in a crowded city like Hong Kong, with almost 7 million people. "When people live, work and play in close proximity to each other, the chances of transmitting a virus are higher, and Hong Kong is certainly a densely populated city," said Gregory Hartl, a WHO spokesman in Geneva.

THOSE CHEMICALS HELP FEED CROPS ON LAND, BUT AS THEY BUILD UP IN THE STILL, WARM WATERS OF THE GULF, THEY IN TURN FEED EXCESS GROWTH OF ALGAE. When algae dies and decomposes, the process sucks much of the oxygen out of the water. A sea without oxygen is little different from the surface of the moon - nothing can live there. Fish and other sea life flee, or suffocate. That's the Gulf's dead zone, and LAST YEAR IT REACHED 7,915 SQ. MI (20,500 SQ. KM) - NEARLY THE SIZE OF NEW JERSEY. Worse, the dead zone is getting bigger, with last year's bloom the third largest in history.

THAT'S CAUSE FOR CONCERN AS AMERICAN FARMERS PLANT INCREASING AMOUNTS OF CORN, A CROP THAT REQUIRES HEAVY FERTILIZER, TO MEET THE GROWING GLOBAL DEMAND FOR GRAIN AND TO SUPPLY AMERICA'S CORN-HUNGRY ETHANOL MAKERS. According to a separate study published by University of British Columbia and University of Wisconsin researchers this week in the Proceedings of the National Journal of Sciences, ethanol is directly linked to the Gulf of Mexico dead zone. If farmers produced enough corn to meet the congressional goal of producing 15 billion gallons of ethanol by 2022, nitrogen runoff into the Gulf would increase by 10% to 19%, the study's authors reported, and shrinking the dead zone would be "practically impossible."

Mulholland backs that conclusion. Our inland waterways can barely handle the nitrogen fertilizer we're already using in order to grow record yields of corn and other crops. Truly ramping up biofuel production - unless it can be done in a way that uses much less fertilizer, perhaps with experimental techniques that harness plant waste matter instead of food crops - might overwhelm that system. "We have to be very careful about biofuels in terms of what kind of crops we grow and where we grow them," says Mulholland. "The great expansion of corn could be a real problem." IT WOULD BE A POOR TRADEOFF IF WE KILLED THE SEAS TO FUEL OUR CARS.

A quick tally of the record of civil liberties erosion in the United States since 9/11 suggests that the majority of Americans are ready to trade diminished privacy, and protection from search and seizure, in exchange for the promise of increased protection of their physical security. Polling consistently supports that conclusion, and Congress has largely behaved accordingly, granting increased leeway to law enforcement and the intelligence community to spy and collect data on Americans. Even when the White House, the FBI or the intelligence agencies have acted outside of laws protecting those rights - such as the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act - the public has by and large shrugged and, through their elected representatives, suggested changing the laws to accommodate activities that may be in breach of them.

Civil libertarians are in a state of despair. "People don't realize how damaging it is to a democratic society to allow the government to warehouse information about innocent Americans," says Mike German, national security counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union. For now, however, civil libertarians will have to continue to argue that THE DANGER LIES NOT IN HOW THE GOVERNMENT'S EXPANDED POWERS ARE BEING USED NOW, BUT HOW THEY MIGHT BE USED IN THE FUTURE. So far, that argument hasn't convinced the people.

Western powers embroiled in a deepening standoff with Tehran over its disputed nuclear plans condemned Friday's election as unfair after many reformist politicians, the hardline president's staunchest critics, were barred from running. But even though pro-reformers will only have a minority in the new legislature of world's fourth-largest oil-producer, analysts say they could team up with more moderate conservatives who have voiced concern about Ahmadinejad's economic policies blamed for surging inflation.

Iranian officials have hailed the election as a victory over the United States, the Islamic Republic's arch-foe, which on the day of voting said the result was "cooked". "More than 70 percent of parliament seats belong to principlists," Shahabeddin Sadr, projected to win a seat for the conservatives in Tehran, told Reuters. "It is a great honor that people put their trust in us again." But the European Union, whose main members agree with U.S. suspicions that Iran is making nuclear weapons, said the election was "neither fair nor free".

Bernanke and the four Fed governors voted yesterday to become creditors to Bear Stearns Cos., a securities firm that isn't a bank, by invoking a law that hasn't been used since the 1960s. Three days earlier, the Fed said it would swap Treasury notes on its balance sheet for privately issued mortgage-backed securities held by Wall Street firms. "It's a re-drawing of the relationship of the Federal Reserve with the rest of the financial system," said Vincent Reinhart, former director of the Division of Monetary Affairs at the Board. Risks of so-called moral hazard, where firms will now come to count on bailouts by a federal agency, "are considerable," he said.

Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers said THE FED IS TRYING TO NAVIGATE THROUGH A ONCE-IN-A-GENERATION FINANCIAL AND ECONOMIC STORM. Panic selling is lowering the value of stocks and bonds, spurring more selling. Unemployment is rising, reducing incomes and spending, and falling asset prices -- including homes -- are leading to a contraction in credit.

"That three-way combination feels like something we have not seen in this country in a very, very long time," Summers, now a professor at Harvard University, said in a Bloomberg Television interview in Washington. "It's a near-certainty we are in a recession and there is a real prospect that it could be a serious one without strong policy action. THE NAME OF THE GAME IS PREVENTING DISASTER," said NYU's Gertler. "BY LETTING ONE HOUSE BURN DOWN, YOU MIGHT HAVE THE WHOLE NEIGHBORHOOD BURN DOWN. YOU WANT TO AVOID THAT."