"Not only has no one ever found a void this big, but we never even expected to find one this size," said astronomy professor Lawrence Rudnick. Writing in the Astrophysical Journal, Rudnick and colleagues Shea Brown and Liliya Williams said they were examining a cold spot using the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe satellite, and found the giant hole.

"We already knew there was something different about this spot in the sky," Rudnick said. The region stood out as being colder in a survey of the Cosmic Microwave Background -- the faint radio buzz left over from the Big Bang that gave birth to the Universe.

"What we've found is not normal, based on either observational studies or on computer simulations of the large-scale evolution of the Universe," Williams said in a statement. The astronomers said the region even appeared to lack dark matter, which cannot be seen directly but is usually detected by measuring gravitational forces.

The void is in a region of sky in the constellation Eridanus, southwest of Orion.

With billions of people moving around the planet every year, the U.N. agency said in its annual World Health Report: "An outbreak or epidemic in one part of the world is only a few hours away from becoming an imminent threat somewhere else."

WHO director-general Margaret Chan said mass travel could facilitate the rapid spread of infectious diseases.

"No country can shield itself from invasion by a pathogen incubating in an airline passenger or an insect hiding in a cargo hold," Chan told reporters.

The U.N. agency warned that there was a good possibility of another major scourge like AIDS, SARS or Ebola fever with the potential of killing millions appearing in the coming years. "Infectious diseases are now spreading geographically much faster than at any time in history," the WHO said. It said it was vital to keep watch for new threats like the emergence in 2003 of SARS, or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, which spread from China to 30 countries and killed 800 people. "It would be extremely naïve and complacent to assume that there will not be another disease like AIDS, another Ebola, or another SARS, sooner or later," the report warned.

Since the 1970s, the WHO said, new threats have been identified at an "unprecedented rate" of one or more every year, meaning that nearly 40 diseases exist today which were unknown just over a generation ago.
Over the last five years alone, WHO experts had verified more than 1,100 epidemics of different diseases. It was therefore vital for countries to share information on outbreaks so risks can be assessed and mitigated, Chan said.

The prophet, Daniel, recorded his visions in the book that bears his name. Daniel's vision outlined the rise and fall of four successive world empires; the fall of Babylon to the Medo-Persians, which later fell to Alexander the Great's Greek Empire, which then fell to Rome. Daniel foretold Rome's collapse, and its subsequent revival, concurrently with the restoration of Israel, at some point in future history.

But when Daniel was given the vision of events in the last days, the prophet was staggered at what he witnessed. Imagine, for a moment, being someone living in the fifth century before Christ and being given a peek at the world as it exists today. Then, having seen the unimaginable, Daniel was instructed to write down what he saw.

When Daniel emerged from the vision, the angel instructed him, "But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase."

Daniel was dumbfounded. "Although I heard, I did not understand. Then I said, 'My Lord, what shall be the end of these things?'" For the second time in the same chapter, the angel told Daniel, "The words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end" (Daniel 12:8-9 NKJV).

The prophecies of Daniel were indeed "sealed" for centuries following the Reformation. The early Reformation leaders like Luther and Calvin gave Daniel little attention, pronouncing both Daniel and Revelation either symbolic or allegorical. But in this generation, the prophecies of both books are unsealed. Daniel's vision of a global government headed by a prince of a revived Roman Empire is all but fulfilled in this generation.

For the first time in 1,600 years, there exists a modern version of the old Roman Empire, although, as Daniel predicted, "partly strong and partly weak," compared to the iron of Imperial Rome. There exists, for the first time since before the prophet Daniel was born, a geopolitical entity called "Israel." Neither existed until this generation. Israel was reborn in 1948. The Benelux Treaty that kicked off the unification of Europe was signed in 1948. That same year, Bell Labs introduced the transistor, whose invention marked the birth of the Computer Age.

The angel told Daniel his vision would be unintelligible to generations other than the one to whom it was addressed, a generation whose hallmark would be that of ever-increasing knowledge. Thanks to Bell Labs' 1948 invention, Moore's Law of Computer says that today's computers get twice as smart every 18 months to two years. That means we get twice as smart.

The angel also identified the generation of the time of the end as one in which "many would go to and fro" - the generation that witnessed the birth of rapid mass transportation. According to World Health Organization Director-General Margaret Chan, "An outbreak or epidemic in one part of the world is only a few hours away from becoming an imminent threat somewhere else." Chan specifically identified mass travel as facilitating the rapid spread of infectious diseases. "No country can shield itself from invasion by a pathogen incubating in an airline passenger or an insect hiding in a cargo hold," Chan told Reuters.

She also warned that there was a good possibility of another major scourge like AIDS, SARS or Ebola fever with the potential of killing millions appearing in the coming years. "Infectious diseases are now spreading geographically much faster than at any time in history," Reuters quoted the World Health Organization as saying. "Faster than at any time in history," is the assessment of the most advanced medical technology the world has ever known, caused by our ability to "go to and fro" from one continent to the next - for the FIRST time in history.

"But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase."

Many run "to and fro," knowledge is increasing at an exponential rate, and more books have been written about the prophet Daniel in this generation than in the last 2,500 years combined.

What is that telling you?

Dry weather has caused droughts in 22 of China's 31 provinces, among them major grain production bases, resulting in a loss of grain that was "greater than in previous years", the Ministry of Agriculture said. About 11 million hectares of arable land have been struck by drought so far this year, 1.7 million hectares more than last year, said ministry figures.

Meanwhile, floods have submerged about 8 million hectares, pushing the total amount of disaster-hit land to about a fifth of the country's 100 million hectares of arable land. Song Tingmin, vice-president of the China National Association of Grain, estimates the autumn harvest will be 10 percent smaller than normal due to the weather.

The autumn harvest usually accounts for 70 percent of the annual grain production.

Norway is concerned that its national animal, the moose, is harming the climate by emitting an estimated 2,100 kilos of carbon dioxide a year through its belching and farting. Norwegian newspapers, citing research from Norway's technical university, said a motorist would have to drive 13,000 kilometers in a car to emit as much CO2 as a moose does in a year.

Much like cows, bacteria in a moose's stomach create methane gas which is considered even more destructive to the environment than carbon gas. Cows pose the same problem. Norway has some 120,000 moose but an estimated 35,000 are expected to be killed in this year's moose hunting season, which starts on September 25, Norwegian newspaper VG reported.

NEW YORK Don't forget to bundle up if you're headed out in New York City today. After all, it is August 21.

The city along with the rest of the tri-state region is feeling the chilly effect of a cold front sweeping through the region, accompanied by cool rain showers.

Tuesday's high temperature in Central Park was just 59 degrees. The normal high for today is 82 degrees. The normal low is 67. "This unusual blast of cold air smashed our previous record for the coldest high temperature on August 21, which is 64 degrees, set back in 1999," CBS 2 meteorologist Jason Cali told wcbstv.com.

In fact, the 59-degree high tied the record for the coldest high temperature ever for the month of August in New York City, when it reached just 59 degrees in 1911. Today's highs are more common in the city for the final days of October, when the average high ranges from 59 degrees to 61 degrees.

The unusually cold air mass has come down from Canada, colliding with the moisture from the remnants of Tropical Storm Erin.

The rain moved into Ohio, where roads flooded, schools canceled classes and residents were rescued from flooded homes by boats.

The death toll from the two storm systems - one in the Upper Midwest and the remnants of Tropical Storm Erin in Texas and Oklahoma - climbed to 22 when searchers found the body of a man tangled in a tree about four miles from his wrecked, upside-down car near a creek south of Lewiston, Minn. Firefighters used boats to rescue families from flooded homes in Bucyrus after nearly 9 inches of rain fell, and the Upper Sandusky school district in north-central Ohio canceled the first day of school.

In Wisconsin and Minnesota, thousands of homes were damaged. A preliminary survey by the American Red Cross in Minnesota identified about 4,200 affected homes, including 256 complete losses, 338 with major damage and 475 that are still inaccessible, said Kris Eide, the state's director of homeland security and emergency management.

Preliminary damage reports in Wisconsin topped $38 million Tuesday and were expected to keep rising. Gov. Jim Doyle declared a state of emergency in five counties and began the process for requesting federal disaster assistance. In Oklahoma, which recorded a gust of 82 mph and rainfall of 11 inches, about 300 homes and businesses were damaged in the Kingfisher area and in Caddo County in southwestern Oklahoma, officials said.

Numerous flood warnings remained in effect through Wednesday and Thursday, and Gov. Brad Henry declared a state of emergency in 24 counties.

Elmar Brok, a centre-Right MEP and close ally of German chancellor Angela Merkel, effectively told Britain to sign up to the so-called reforming treaty or consider pulling out of the EU.

He insisted that the new draft was substantially different from the "old" constitution and that Britain had "got what it wanted" with a series of opt-outs and "red lines".

"Gordon Brown's government has said there is no justification for a referendum and the UK should stick to this commitment," said Brok, the European parliament's representative on inter-governmental negotiations on the treaty.

"It would be very unfair of the UK if, having more or less got what it wanted in the new treaty, it would then turn round and put this to a popular vote."

Brok, a member of the European convention that drafted the old constitution, asked: "The UK got its various opt-outs so what's the problem? How would it seem to other EU member states if Britain were now to hold a referendum? For me, that would undermine the negotiations on the treaty and even go as far as to question Britain's credibility as an EU member.

"Britain is a valued member of the EU but we should perhaps remember that the treaty contains an article which gives any member state the right to leave the EU if it so wishes." He added: "The chapter is closed. We should be able to have a new treaty as soon as possible. We have a commitment from all to meet these requirements."

Nigel Farage, leader of the UK Independence Party, criticised Brok's intervention, saying: "For an arrogant, bullying German politician to be telling the British what they should or should not do is, I would have thought, likely to help the pro-referendum case.

"I would be delighted if he agreed to visit every major British city and repeat his comments."

Reid Bryson, founding chairman of the Department of Meteorology at the University of Wisconsin said, " the temperature of the earth is increasing, but that it's got nothing to do with what man is doing. Of course it's going up. It has gone up since the early 1800s, before the Industrial Revolution, because we're coming out of the Little Ice Age, not because we're putting more carbon dioxide into the air."

"Anthropogenic (man-made) global warming bites the dust," declared astronomer Ian Wilson after reviewing the newest study, now accepted for publication in the peer-reviewed Journal of Geophysical Research. The project, called "Heat Capacity, Time Constant, and Sensitivity of Earth's Climate System," was authored by Brookhaven National lab scientist Stephen Schwartz.

"Effectively, this (new study) means that the global economy will spend trillions of dollars trying to avoid a warming of (about) 1.0 K by 2100 A.D.," Wilson wrote in a note to the U.S. Senate committee on environment and public works Sunday. He was referring to the massive expenditures that would be required under such treaties as the Kyoto Protocol.

"Previously, I have indicated that the widely accepted values for temperature increase associated with a double of CO2 were far too high, i.e. 2-4.5 Kelvin. This new peer-reviewed paper claims a value of 1.1 +/- 0.5 K increase," he added.

Another leader, Ivy League geologist Robert Giegengack, chair of the Department of Earth and Environmental Science at the University of Pennsylvania, said he doesn't even consider global warming among the top 10 environmental problems.

WND also reported on NASA-funded study that noted some climate forecasts might be exaggerating estimations of global warming. The space agency said climate models possibly were overestimating the amount of water vapor entering the atmosphere as the Earth warms.

The theory many scientists work with says the Earth heats up in response to human emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, causing more water to evaporate from the ocean into the atmosphere. In addition, WND reported that Dr. Fred Singer, professor emeritus of environmental sciences at the University of Virginia, maintains there has been little or no warming since about 1940.

"Any warming from the growth of greenhouse gases is likely to be minor, difficult to detect above the natural fluctuations of the climate, and therefore inconsequential," Singer wrote in a climate-change essay. "In addition, the impacts of warming and of higher CO2 levels are likely to be beneficial for human activities and especially for agriculture."

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released data showing there were 13,470 deaths in 2006 involving drivers and motorcycle operators with blood alcohol levels of .08 or higher, which is the legal limit for adults throughout the country. The number was down slightly from 2005, when 13,582 people died in crashes involving legally drunk drivers.

The overall number of deaths involving drivers and motorcycle operators with any amount of alcohol in their blood was 17,602 last year. That was up from 17,590 in 2005, according to spokeswoman Heather Ann Hopkins. "The number of people who died on the nation's roads actually fell last year," U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said at a news conference in this Washington suburb. "However the trend did not extend to alcohol-related crashes."

Transportation officials announced the new figures as they unveiled a $11 million nationwide advertising campaign as part of a Labor Day weekend campaign "Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest."

Authorities in both countries have boarded up tourist resorts and Mexico has shut down offshore oil facilities.

The storm has reached Category Five, the highest strength, with winds of up to 160mph (255km/h).

The hurricane has already claimed at least 11 lives in the eastern Caribbean, but largely spared the low-lying Cayman Islands on Monday. It is due to make landfall in a sparsely populated marshy area near the Mexico-Belize border early on Tuesday. The people who are there live in poorly built houses, so the damage for them is expected to be severe.

In the US, the return of the space shuttle Endeavour was brought forward by a day, to Tuesday, in an attempt to beat the hurricane should it eventually reach Texas, where Nasa's mission control is based.

Two Asian tiger mosquitoes, which can transmit up to 23 infections - including West Nile virus and dengue fever - were found in a suburban back garden. Illnesses passed on when the aggressive insect bites humans include a parasitic worm which attaches itself to one of the lung's arteries, causing serious breathing complications. The species is normally only found in the forests of Asia, Africa and South America.

But following its discovery in Gloucestershire - the first-ever sighting in Britain - experts fear the insect may have now settled here permanently. The mosquito, which is just a quarter of an inch long and has distinctive yellow stripes, is believed to have entered the UK on shipments and then thrived in this year's very wet summer.

The insect is particularly perilous because it bites throughout the day and not just in the evening, as with other mosquito species. West Nile virus, which has killed hundreds of people in mainland Europe and North America, lives mainly in birds, but can be passed to humans when they are bitten by a mosquito which has already bitten an infected bird.

The disease, which first emerged in Uganda in 1937, can lead to fever and headache, but more severe cases involve inflammation of the brain, or deadly meningitis. The virus is especially dangerous to the young and those over 50. Dengue fever, which is most common in Africa, India and the Far East, can also prove fatal.

Symptoms include a sudden high fever, painful aches in the bones, joints and muscles and a rash which leaves the palms and soles of the feet bright red and swollen. One form of dengue fever causes internal bleeding which can be lethal if not treated. The Asian tiger mosquito is also the carrier of a parasitic worm called diarofularia, which lodges in the pulmonary artery, causing severe breathing problems.

For a little over a week in early July this year, I, having no knowledge of education other than the dreary days of my schooling, spent my time marching off to an office aptly situated next to a prison. I signed an entry sheet, received my visitor's pass and sat down at a computer to a mark a single GCSE English Language question hundreds of times over.

These markers were recruited by an agency put together in a hastily assembled West End office, whose recruiters had only begun work themselves the previous day. A quick literacy test, a flash of our degree certificates, AND ONE HALF-DAY OF TRAINING LATER, we were left to our marking.

THE PAYSCALE WAS BUILT AROUND THE NUMBER OF PAPERS MARKED AN HOUR. FEWER THAN TWENTY EARNED ONLY THE MINIMUM WAGE, WHILE DOING OVER FIFTY PUSHED YOUR PAY UP TO £8 AN HOUR. So, to earn a half-decent amount, a lot of papers had to be churned through fast.

Inevitably, the markers admitted over their canteen lunches, they had quickly gone FROM A THOROUGH WEIGHING UP OF A CANDIDATE'S MERITS TO A READ-THROUGH OF OPENING AND CLOSING PARAGRAPHS, with the bulk of the response barely glanced at. In some cases, questions were marked entirely ON THE QUALITY OF THE HANDWRITING.

To be fair to them, the mark I thought something merited in the first paragraph was the one I almost always found it deserved when I finished reading the whole thing. I decided it was best to believe one boy was guilty of exaggeration when he said HE GAVE A MARK SOLELY BASED ON HOW MUCH HE WAS ENJOYING THE CURRENT TRACK ON HIS IPOD SHUFFLE.

THE WHOLE AIM, MOST MARKERS PRESUMED, WAS TO GET AS MANY PAPERS DONE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE SO THAT THEY COULD THEN BE MARKED BY OTHERS A SECOND AND EVEN THIRD TIME. If the marks were wildly different for all three, they called in a more professional moderator to take a look at it. Perhaps this is the only way to get through such a large number of papers in the short time before the results have to be issued, but I doubt the candidates would perceive it as a method that serves them well.

IS THIS THE ONLY SATISFACTORY WAY OF RUNNING A NATIONAL AND MANDATORY QUALIFICATION? I SIMPLY DON'T KNOW ENOUGH ABOUT EDUCATION TO SAY.

With prices for metallic garbage rising, it's not just banks being knocked off any more. If you want glory, of course, it might be better to knock off your local bank or jewellery store. But for many thieves around the world these days, swiping scrap metal is offering an attractive way to make an extra buck. Prices for the stuff, after all, have been on the rise for years. And recently, so too have the number of thefts.

On Thursday, the most recent offense hit the headlines: A four-member gang in Serbia had spent the last few months absconding with fully 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) of train tracks in the eastern part of the country. The perpetrators have now finally been taken into custody.

In Detroit this week, robbers made off with brass from a building's water supply system, causing a number of apartments to flood. In England, church bells are especially popular among scrap metal snitches. In the US, the beer industry is complaining about the number of kegs that end up sold as scrap. The prices paid on the recycling market are often higher than the $10 to $30 left behind as deposits on the kegs.

Lacher says that, whereas a ton of scrap steel cost €110.70 (around $148) in 2002, it now goes for almost €250. Prices at the recycling yard for other metals, such as copper, nickel and tin are likewise high. But it has become increasingly difficult to ignore the number of shockingly brazen thefts of metal, from manhole covers to guard rails, that have hit the headlines recently.

Like the case at the beginning of this year in Windesheim, not far from Frankfurt. A thief spent months carting away 6.6 tons of organ pipes from a warehouse belonging to a firm specializing in repairing church organs -- including pipes belonging to a nearby synagogue. The loss has been valued at over €100,000 -- the trial against the 34-year-old suspect began last Friday.

The Army's 38 available combat units are deployed, just returning home or already tapped to go to Iraq, Afghanistan or elsewhere, leaving no fresh troops to replace five extra brigades that President Bush sent to Baghdad this year, according to interviews and military documents reviewed by The Associated Press.

That presents the Pentagon with several painful choices if the U.S. wants to maintain higher troop levels beyond the spring of 2008:
- Using National Guard units on an accelerated schedule
- Breaking the military's pledge to keep soldiers in Iraq for no longer than 15 months.
- Breaching a commitment to give soldiers a full year at home before sending them back to war.

For a war-fatigued nation and a Congress bent on bringing troops home, none of those is desirable.