Some Catholics fear the treaty will create loopholes allowing the EU to force Ireland to relax its strict abortion laws, permit same sex marriages and erode what they regard as traditional religious values. "PRAYER CAN CHANGE THE COURSE OF HISTORY," said Murphy, who runs a Catholic centre in the capital Dublin. "We cannot delegate to a more centralised authority our decision-making rights on matters so close to home."

Ireland is the only EU state planning a referendum on the treaty and a "no" vote could sink a treaty designed to end years of diplomatic wrangling over reform of the bloc's institutions. A number of Catholic prayer groups have put rejection of the treaty at the centre of their supplications. Some have sent text messages urging the devout to recite the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy, a rosary-like prayer cycle which they believe is especially effective.

Ann Harland, a part-time bank worker, said she was praying about the outcome on June 12. "I WANT THE LAWS OF GOD AND CHRISTIAN VALUES TO BE UPHELD. WITHOUT IT, ANYTHING GOES," SHE SAID.

Local authorities will be urged to consult widely before coming forward, and may win financial support. Ministers hope to have the site open for business within about 20 years. Meanwhile, Business Secretary John Hutton told energy companies that THE UK SHOULD BECOME THE WORLD'S NUMBER ONE LOCATION FOR NEW NUCLEAR INVESTMENT. The government is keen to see at least 10 nuclear reactors starting operations around 2020, as existing installations reach the end of their lives, with more to follow.

The community finally chosen to host the waste would gain economically through the creation of new jobs, but could also receive funds from the government - which opponents of the scheme characterise as "bribery. In the surreal world of Labour's nuclear obsession, waste dumps are now being presented as an economic opportunity," said the Scottish National Party's Westminster energy spokesman Mike Weir.

"A NUCLEAR DUMP WILL REQUIRE EXCEPTIONAL LEVELS OF SECURITY FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS. What sort of blight and legacy is that for a local community?"

Peers dismissed a Conservative proposal by a margin of 62 votes. The Tories argued the treaty was largely similar to the discarded EU Constitution - on which a referendum was promised by all major parties. But the government and Lib Dems said it was not needed as the treaty would not alter the UK's own constitution. The Lords vote - by 280 to 218 - clears the way for the bill ratifying the EU treaty to become law next week.

However, the treaty - which paves the way for greater European integration, an EU presidency and the abolition of a host of national vetoes - will effectively be killed off if Ireland votes "no" on Thursday, as it must be passed by all 27 member states. The Lords vote came after judgement was reserved in a legal challenge brought by millionaire Tory donor Stuart Wheeler, who claims the government promised a referendum and is now obliged to hold one.

Ministers insist the pledge to hold a referendum - made by all three main parties at the last general election - related only to the EU Constitution, which was abandoned in 2005. They argue that the current treaty is significantly different. But, during the debate, Conservative Lord Howell said: "What has happened is that the treaty drafters and this government have achieved an illusion by using a methodological device which is used to say the constitution position is abandoned."

He added: "The public is being hoodwinked and the public knows that as well."

A decline in religious observance over the last century was directly linked to a rise in average intelligence, he claimed. Professor Lynn, who has provoked controversy in the past with research linking intelligence to race and sex, said university academics were less likely to believe in God than almost anyone else. A survey of Royal Society fellows found that only 3.3 per cent believed in God - at a time when 68.5 per cent of the general UK population described themselves as believers.

A separate poll in the 90s found only seven per cent of members of the American National Academy of Sciences believed in God. Professor Lynn said most primary school children believed in God, but as they entered adolescence - and their intelligence increased - many started to have doubts.

Dr David Hardman, principal lecturer in learning development at London Metropolitan University, said: "It is very difficult to conduct true experiments that would explicate a causal relationship between IQ and religious belief. Nonetheless, there is evidence from other domains that higher levels of intelligence are associated with a greater ability - or perhaps willingness - to question and overturn strongly felt institutions."

While it is too early to say that the fire fighting on Wall Street is over, there is growing evidence that the extended fall in real estate is putting stress on Main Street as well. Commercial banks in the U.S. face a complex and difficult situation: margins are compressed and there is increasing stress on a range of assets, from mortgages to consumer loans to debt backing commercial and residential real estate development.

For bank investors this means that WE ARE ONLY AT THE BEGINNING OF LOWER DIVIDENDS, more dilutive capital raisings and share price falls, as well as the odd failure. This credit crunch will run and run. Unfortunately, the difficulties in real estate seem to have a compounding effect on the way down, just as the bubble was self-reinforcing on the way up.

Just under 2.5 percent of mortgages are now in foreclosure, the most since records began the early 1970s. This is sure to pressure prices further, as lenders seek a clearing price to just get the stuff off their books. Unemployment is rising too, which will heighten pressure on commercial and residential real estate. DON'T BE TOO SURPRISED IF MORE BANKS FAIL, AND IF THE NAMES BECOME A BIT MORE FAMILIAR.

The Beijing Olympic organizing committee issued a stern, nine-page document Monday that covers 57 topics. Written in Chinese only and posted on the official Web site, the guide covers everything from a ban on sleeping outdoors to the need for government permission to stage a protest.

Visitors also should know this:
Those with "mental diseases" or contagious conditions will be barred.
Some parts of the country are closed to visitors - one of them Tibet.
Olympic tickets are no guarantee of a visa to enter China.

Fearing protests during the August 8-24 Olympics, China's government has tightened controls on visas and residence permits for foreigners. It has also promised a massive security presence at the games, which may include undercover agents dressed as volunteers. The guide said Olympic ticket holders "still need to visit China embassies and consulates and apply for visas according to the related rules."

The government hopes to keep out activists and students who might stage pro-Tibet rallies that would be broadcast around the world. It also fears protests over China's oil and arms trade with Sudan, and any disquiet from predominantly Muslim regions in western China.

The document also warns foreigners that not all areas of the country are open to visitors. One such area is Tibet, which is also off limits to journalists. "Not all of China is open to foreigners, and they shall not go to any venue not open to them," the statement said. Foreigners staying with Chinese residents in urban areas must register at a local police station within 24 hours of arriving. For those planning on sleeping outdoors to save a little money - forget it. This is banned to "maintain public hygiene and the cultured image of the cities."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi long ago declared the prospects for impeachment proceedings "off the table." Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, insists that his resolution deserves more consideration. He spent more than four hours Monday night reading his 35 articles of impeachment into the record, including charges that Bush manufactured a false case for going to war against Iraq.

Kucinich's articles also charge Bush with failing to provide troops with vehicle armor, illegally detaining both foreign nationals and Americans, condoning torture, mishandling the government's response to Hurricane Katrina and undermining efforts to address global warning.

"It is imperative that members of Congress have a thorough opportunity to read the articles of impeachment and study the documentation," Kucinich said in a statement.

The article's tone was mocking and biting, but it said nothing that conservative magazines and blogs in the United States did not say every day without fear of legal reprisal. Things are different here. The magazine is on trial. Under Canadian law, there is a serious argument that the article contained hate speech and that its publisher, Maclean's magazine, the nation's leading newsweekly, should be forbidden from saying similar things, forced to publish a rebuttal and made to compensate Muslims for injuring their "dignity, feelings and self respect."

The British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal, which held five days of hearings on those questions in Vancouver last week, will soon rule on whether Maclean's violated a provincial hate speech law by stirring up animosity toward Muslims.

In his opening statement in the Canadian magazine case, a lawyer representing the Muslim plaintiffs aggrieved by the Maclean's article pleaded with a three-member panel of the tribunal to declare that the article subjected his clients to "hatred and ridicule" and to force the magazine to publish a response. "You are the only thing between racist, hateful, contemptuous Islamophobic and irresponsible journalism," the lawyer, Faisal Joseph, told the tribunal, "and law-abiding Canadian citizens."

Steyn, the author of the Maclean's article, said the court proceeding illustrated some important distinctions. "The problem with so-called hate speech laws is that they're not about facts," he said in a telephone interview. "They're about feelings. WESTERN GOVERNMENTS ARE BECOMING INCREASINGLY COMFORTABLE WITH THE REGULATION OF OPINION."

Spurred by the weak dollar and the strong euro, European travelers to the U.S. have been lapping up everything from Gap boxers to iPhones to luxury condos in Palm Beach.

Among the first and, at the time, tallest of New York City's signature skyscrapers when it was completed in 1902, the 22-story Flatiron is instantly recognizable for its triangular shape at the intersection of Fifth Avenue, Broadway, and 23rd Street. Though it was dwarfed 30 years later by the Empire State building, 11 blocks up Fifth Avenue, the Flatiron is a favorite of architecture buffs and a lasting star in the skyline, featured in the opening credits of the David Letterman show and serving as the fictional headquarters for the Daily Bugle in the recent Spider-Man movies.

It has been a National Historic Landmark since 1989. Though not quite the shock of the Mitsubishi Group's purchase of Rockefeller Center, the FLATIRON'S FALLING INTO FOREIGN HANDS NEVERTHELESS CARRIES SYMBOLIC WEIGHT as international investors take advantage of the upheaval in the real estate market and weakness of the U.S. dollar. The euro closed Monday at $1.56.

Sources say the super-rich Abu Dhabi Investment Council is negotiating an $800 million deal for a 75 percent stake in the Art Deco treasure that has defined the Midtown skyline since 1930.

The Chrysler assets would be purchased from TMW - the German arm of an Atlanta-based investment fund that's been eager to cash out of its Chrysler stake. The deal follows last month's sale of the GM Building and three other Macklowe/Equity Portfolio properties for $3.95 billion to a group of investors including the wealth funds of Kuwait and Qatar and Boston Properties.

Anna Creek station, which is bigger than Israel, encompasses 9,267 square miles of scrub, sand dunes and savannah in the Outback of South Australia. It is normally capable of supporting 16,000 cattle but the "Big Dry" - the worst drought in a century - has exhausted the land, forcing the herd to be whittled down to less than 2,000. Half the cattle were sold for slaughter, while the rest were moved to other properties owned by S Kidman & Co, one of Australia's best known pastoral companies.

THIS IS ONLY THE THIRD TIME THE RANCH HAS BEEN CLEARED OF CATTLE SINCE IT WAS ESTABLISHED MORE THAN A CENTURY AGO. "Since the European settlement of this part of Australia, we've only experienced these conditions twice before. We've had four years of below average rainfall, and last year and the first six months of this year have been particularly savage," said Greg Campbell, managing director of Kidman, which was founded by cattle baron Sir Sidney Kidman in 1899.

"The drought is very severe. Before the weekend, when there were a few millimetres of rain, Anna Creek hadn't had rain since December."

Vatican security forces now include an anti-bomb squad and a rapid response team, according to Domenico Giani, the head of the Holy See's 130-man gendarmerie. The Vatican will also work more closely with Interpol to gather information on any threats, he said. The deal with Interpol, the pan-European police agency, will give the Vatican access to a large data bank of suspects and information on the latest anti-terrorism techniques.

"The teams report directly to the head of the Gendarmerie," said Mr Giani in an interview with L'Osservatore Romano, the official Vatican newspaper. "The rapid response team will carry out investigations across the spread of information channels and will be supported by a sophisticated technical team. It will be able to intervene immediately in case of danger," said Mr Gianni. The Swiss Guards have also been given anti-terrorism training, and now carry SIG P75 pistols and Heckler-Koch MP5 sub-machine guns, as well as their traditional halberds.

"The second group is made up of highly-specialised experts, armed with sophisticated and innovative technology," he added. He said the two teams would not be confined to the Vatican, but would also travel with the pope.

With supplies unable to get through the country was gradually brought to its knees as PETROL PUMPS RAN DRY AND SUPERMARKET SHELVES EMPTIED. Car manufacturing plants warned that if the stoppage continues the entire industry and its daily production of 13,000 vehicles will grind to a halt because parts for assembly are not reaching factories.

Around 50,000 POLISH lorry drivers held one-hour protests across the country.
DUTCH truckers announced plans to block roads at 18 points across the country.
In THAILAND truck drivers voted to begin strikes next week and block roads to the capital with 400,000 lorries.
In HONG KONG about 500 minibuses, lorries, garbage trucks and coaches staged a go-slow protest.
Communists burned tyres and blocked roads in parts of eastern INDIA angered by fuel price rises.
In SOUTH KOREA truckers voted to strike on Monday, ignoring a $10.2 billion (£5 billion) government aid package.

They are power-washing jet engines more often to get rid of grime, carrying less water for the bathroom faucets and toilets, and replacing passenger seats with lighter models. The financial pain of higher fuel prices is particularly acute for airlines, as it is their single biggest expense. EIGHT YEARS AGO, 15 PERCENT OF THE PRICE OF AN AIRPLANE TICKET WENT TO PAY FOR JET FUEL; NOW, IT IS 40 PERCENT, according to the Air Transport Association, the industry trade group.

If prices stay where they are, U.S. airlines will collectively spend $61.2 billion this year on jet fuel - more than five times what they spent in 2002, when travel fell sharply after the September 2001 terror attacks. Every increase in the price of fuel, already up 84 percent compared with last year, increases the pressure on the carriers, which pump about 7,000 gallons, or 26,498 liters, into a Boeing 737 and as much as 60,000 gallons into the biggest 747 jet.

Airlines are raising fares and adding surcharges and fees as fast as they can to offset the higher costs, BUT AT A CERTAIN POINT, PASSENGERS STAY HOME. That is why the carriers are looking for any new savings they can find.

The disciplinary proceedings are in effect a formal warning to curb borrowing, cut spending or both. The UK cannot be fined as it is not in the Eurozone, but the launch of proceedings is unlikely to reflect well on the UK government. The European Commission watches the economies of all EU countries, whether they use the Euro as a currency or not.

It says it foresees a situation when Britain's deficit is over 3% of its GDP, breaching the rules on economic management set down in Europe's Growth and Stability pact. The UK is the only EU country to face such a censure this year but warnings have been issued to France and Germany in the past, backed with the threat of fines.

Graham Mather, president of the European Policy Forum, said: "At the moment it looks as though Gordon Brown is going to face an excruciating embarrassing period in which all these proceedings will be brought to bear on Britain.