Environment minister Phil Woolas said that the nation must ask itself whether GM crops are part of the solution to the food shortages and rising prices which have already caused rioting in several developing countries. It is understood Mr Woolas held preliminary talks with the Agricultural Biotechnology Council, an umbrella group formed in 2000 to promote the role of biotechnology in agriculture. He said: "There is a growing question of whether GM crops can help the developing world out of the current food price crisis.

There is no commercial cultivation of GM plants in the UK at present, and only one trial is under way, involving potatoes in Cambridgeshire. Supporters of the crops argue that they boost productivity and cut the use of pesticides, while critics are concerned about the contamination of conventional crops.

Gordon Brown is believed to have some sympathy for reconsidering the issue, in the light of the worsening food crisis.

In total there were 205,600 abortions carried out in England and Wales in 2007 a 2.2 per cent rise on the previous year. Of those 4,376 were carried out on girls too young to legally have sex. Women aged 19 were the most likely to have an abortion in 2007 with 36 procedures carried out for every 1,000 19-year-olds.

The rise in abortions amongst the very young showed the biggest increase with a 20 per cent rise in terminations for girls under 14, up from 136 in 2006 to 163 in 2007.

Monsignor Aldo Giordano, named earlier this month as THE PERMANENT OBSERVER OF THE HOLY SEE TO THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE, spoke Sunday with Vatican Radio about Ireland's June 12 referendum that put the Treaty of Lisbon in limbo. The treaty needs unanimous approval from the Union's 27 member states for it to go into effect.

"We are interested in the Europe of history, of culture, that Europe which today is able to confront the world," he said. "EUROPE MUST REDISCOVER ITS ROOTS, THE FOUNDATION OF ITS VALUES. Europe needs an ideal, but this ideal must be well-founded." Meanwhile, Monsignor Giordano considered the strength of the Church's voice in Europe, saying that he believes its position on morals "is heard". "Still," he affirmed, "THE KEY TO MAKING THE CHURCH'S VOICE STRONGER IS THROUGH ECUMENICAL AND INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE."

"On these important ethical topics, from the question of human life - from birth to its end - and the family, but also moral topics such as justice, peace and the environment, I SEE THAT THE VOICE OF THE CHURCH IS VERY MUCH HEEDED ON THE PART OF POLITICS," he said. "Of course, it is not just an issue of being heeded; THERE IS ALSO A CRITICAL DIMENSION."

"The Churches must come to a consensus among themselves and make a common contribution," the Holy See representative affirmed. And, "there is also the inter-religious question, because there is religious pluralism in Europe and we must be able to make proposals or give shared visions also at the level of religions. I BELIEVE THAT THE MORE WE ARE UNITED AS CHRISTIANS AND AS MEN OF RELIGION, THE MORE POLITICS WILL HEED THESE ETHICAL ISSUES."

The traditionalists dealt a serious blow to Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, by claiming that he can no longer hold the Church together. They warned that the Church was gripped by its most serious crisis since the Reformation. It could only be saved by the repentance of the Americans who triggered the row by ordaining a homosexual bishop, the Rt Rev Gene Robinson, five years ago.

The formal pronouncement of the schism is contained in an 89-page document titled The Way, the Truth and the Life, which has been drawn up by conservative Anglicans ahead of the breakaway Gafcon summit next week and which has been seen by The Telegraph. It is supported by the heads of key African churches including Nigeria, Uganda and Rwanda.

Archbishop Peter Akinola, the primate of Nigeria, states in one section: "THERE IS NO LONGER ANY HOPE, THEREFORE, FOR A UNIFIED COMMUNION."

"A VERY NASTY PERIOD IS SOON TO BE UPON US - BE PREPARED," said Bob Janjuah, the bank's credit strategist. A report by the bank's research team warns that the S&P 500 index of Wall Street equities is likely to fall by more than 300 points to around 1050 by September as "all the chickens come home to roost" from the excesses of the global boom, with contagion spreading across Europe and emerging markets. Such a slide on world bourses would amount to one of the worst bear markets over the last century.

Further into early July before short-lived momentum from America's fiscal boost begins to fizzle out, and the delayed effects of the oil spike inflict their damage. "GLOBALISATION WAS ALWAYS GOING TO RISK PUTTING G7 BANKERS INTO A DANGEROUS CORNER AT SOME POINT. WE HAVE GOT TO THAT POINT," he said.

Approved in this medieval French border city, which is home to a significant population of North Africans and Turks, the legislation establishes common rules for expelling foreigners who are detained on EU territory without permission to be there. Described by critics like Amnesty International as "severely flawed" and an erosion of human rights standards, but by supporters as a balanced approach, the so-called return directive passed in the European Parliament by a vote of 369 to 197, with 106 deputies abstaining.

"The member states must decide whether they need them - if so, then please legalize them," Manfred Weber, the German center-right legislator from Bavaria who shepherded the measures through the European Parliament, said of undocumented migrants in Europe. "If you don't need them for your labor markets, then send them home."

Europe, which has freedom of movement within its 25 Schengen states but no overarching policy on immigration, sees the law as a means to unify a patchwork of systems governing treatment of migrants who overstay their visas or who, in far lesser numbers, slip clandestinely across its borders.

A last-ditch Tory bid to delay the process for four months was defeated by a margin of 93, and peers later gave the EU Amendment Bill a third reading. Royal Assent is expected within 24 hours, as EU leaders are set to meet in Brussels to discuss the crisis caused by the Irish "No" vote. The PM says the treaty must be ratified by all 27 EU states to be accepted. During the Lords debate four protesters were removed from the public gallery after voicing their demands for a referendum.

The prime minister said he respected the Irish people's referendum vote, but the Irish government had asked for more time to discuss what to do in the wake of its outcome.

"Just as we have respect for the Irish, we should have respect for the other countries that are processing the treaty and ratifying the treaty as well," he said. "And perhaps we should also have respect for this House, which has also voted for ratification of the treaty." Mr Cameron hit back that he did not understand why Mr Brown could not bring himself to say the treaty was "dead". "THIS IS NOT A TREATY THAT BRITAIN WANTED OR NEEDED," HE SAID. "IT'S A TREATY YOU WERE SO ASHAMED OF YOU HAD TO SIGN IT IN A ROOM ALL ON YOUR OWN."

Under the terms of the truce, Israel will ease its blockade on Gaza and talks to release an Israeli soldier held by Hamas are expected to resume. Israeli PM, Ehud Olmert, has warned that the truce, which started at 0600 (0300 GMT), will be fragile. At least 40 rockets and mortars were fired from Gaza at Israel on Wednesday and Israel carried out air strikes. Another militant group, Islamic Jihad, who lost several members to Israeli air strikes in recent days, claimed responsibility for some of the attacks.

Mr Olmert has said the truce will be fragile and could be short-lived. He said Israel would abide by the ceasefire but its armed forces were ready to act if cross-border rocket attacks continued. "WE SHOULD NOT HAVE ILLUSIONS. THE TERROR ORGANISATIONS, AND HAMAS AMONG THEM, HAVE NOT CHANGED THEIR GOALS." The Hamas leader in Gaza, Ismail Haniya, said: "The calm is going to bring stability to Israel if they commit themselves to it."

After two weeks, talks will start involving Israel, Hamas, the Palestinian Authority and the EU on reopening the Rafah crossing into Egypt. And negotiations on the return of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, captured by militants in Gaza in June 2006, are supposed to resume within a few days, say Israeli security sources.

A total of 1.66 million people have been evacuated, the ministry said. The disaster knocked down 67,000 houses, damaged crops on 1.02 million hectares of farms and caused a direct economic loss of 14.45 billion yuan (2.06 billion U.S. dollars).

THE FRENCH PROPOSAL WOULD SEE A BRITISH AIRCRAFT CARRIER PLACED AT THE HEART OF A NEW EU NAVAL GROUP. The prospect of such close co-operation between two navies whose clashes include the Battle of Trafalgar is likely to outrage eurosceptics and is already said to have caused concern among British admirals. The plan for an EU naval force is being put forward by Nicholas Sarkozy, the French president.

Britain's multibillion pound plan to buy two new aircraft carriers has been hit by delays and budget troubles. France is also building a single new carrier. There is extensive Anglo-French industrial co-operation on the massive construction project, and there has been speculation that the two countries could save money by sharing a carrier.

The Conservatives plan to press defence ministers about the French proposal in a Commons debate on Thursday. Gerald Howarth, the Tory defence spokesman, said: "We need to know if this is an attempt by the Government to ingratiate itself with EU allies and in so doing SELL THE ROYAL NAVY DOWN THE RIVER."

IN 2006 U.S. FARMERS USED MORE THAN 21 MILLION TONS OF NITROGEN, PHOSPHORUS AND OTHER FERTILIZERS TO BOOST THEIR CROPS, and all those chemicals have consequences far beyond the immediate area. When the spring rains come, fertilizer from Midwestern farms drains into the Mississippi river system and down to Louisiana, where THE AGRICULTURAL SEWAGE POURS INTO THE GULF OF MEXICO.

Just as fertilizer speeds the growth of plants on land, the chemicals enhance the rapid development of algae in the water. When the algae die and decompose, the process sucks all the oxygen out of the surrounding waters, leading to a hypoxic event - better known as a "dead zone." The water becomes as barren as the surface of the moon. What sea life that can flee the zone does so; what can't, dies.

Unfortunately, the dead zone isn't simply an environmental failure, but also a consequence of our national agricultural policy, which subsidizes farmers to grow vast, heavily fertilized quantities of corn and other grains. "We have to decide how much we're willing to spend to save the Gulf fisheries," says Daigle. "Right now, we don't seem to be willing to invest much." PUT SIMPLY, THE GULF IS RUNNING OUT OF AIR - AND WE'RE RUNNING OUT OF TIME TO FIX IT.

The latest shoppers: Abu Dhabi for New York's Chrysler Building and a Belgian-Brazilian brewery for Anheuser-Busch. "IT'S THE SINGLE BIGGEST TRANSFER OF WEALTH IN THE SHORTEST PERIOD OF TIME IN THE HISTORY OF MANKIND," says Auggie Tantillo, executive director of the American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition, a group of mostly small manufacturers worried by their loss of business to foreign companies. "WE CAN'T CONTINUE TO TRANSFER US WEALTH AT THIS RATE." In 2007, foreigners bought $255 billion of the worldwide existing assets of US businesses, up 72 percent from 2006. They spent another $22 billion, up 29 percent, to establish new enterprises in the US. In a sense, America is for sale.

"We are basically selling off the furniture to pay for Thanksgiving dinner," says Peter Morici, a professor at the University of Maryland's business school in College Park. He roughly calculates that at the present rate of deficits, foreigners could own in a decade more than a fifth of the nation's total $35 trillion or so in assets of every kind - corporations, businesses, and real estate. "WE ARE VERY VULNERABLE NOW," says Mr. McMillion. To finance the trade deficit, the US must borrow money or sell assets worth $2 billion a day - a shift that will eventually erode American living standards, he argues.

The decision to allow him to return to his home in London - where he will receive around £1,000 per month in state benefits - made a mockery of the government's promise to crack down on terror suspects, and embarrassed the Home Office, which had pledged to deport Qatada to Jordan to face terror charges. The Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, said she was "extremely disappointed" at the court's decision to bail Qatada, while the Conservatives branded the decision "offensive".

Mr Justice Mitting signed an order to release Qatada on bail, with strict conditions, following an earlier Court of Appeal decision to refuse his deportation on the grounds that it would breach human rights law. Because Qatada has never been convicted of a criminal offence in the UK, and because he cannot be deported, the judge ruled that he had to be freed. Police are expected to maintain a constant presence outside Qatada's home to protect him from vigilante attacks, at an annual cost of tens of thousands of pounds. The taxpayer will also fund at least £12,000 per year in benefits for Qatada, his wife and five children.

Qatada, 47, has been accused of helping to inspire the September 11 attacks after videos of his sermons were found in the flat used by three of the hijackers, including their leader Mohammed Atta.

It could become the most productive copper mine anywhere on earth. Now it belongs, in effect, to China. When open-cast mining begins, in three or four years, a Chinese mining company, Chinalco, will send the copper back home to be turned into electrical wire. The plan is to use it to carry out the electrification of the whole of China.

The Peruvian government is happy with the $3bn (£1.53bn) that Chinalco will invest in the Toromocho mines. The Chinese will be even happier. They have got themselves a bargain. The copper Chinalco extracts from Toromocho will cost something like US$410 (£210) per ton. Today, the price for copper on the London Metal Exchange was $8,255 (£4,220) - 20 times more. Chinalco stands to make a 2,000% profit on its investment.

There is only one problem. In order to dig out the copper ore, the company will have to shift the inhabitants of an entire town, and move them across the valley. Morococha is a poor and depressing place. Many of the inhabitants lead the most basic of lives. But that makes them all the more willing to accept the compensation which Chinalco is offering. Two thousand dollars plus the promise of a small house or apartment is a powerful inducement if you live in a shanty with an open fire.

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.