Perhaps the most crucial is the public's right to know what is being discussed before it is adopted in Brussels - A PRACTICE THAT WOULD NEVER BE TOLERATED AT NATIONAL LEVEL.

Moreover, two of the Commission amendments are highly retrogressive. The new definition of a document would mean that if an official does not register it then it is not a "document" - A RECIPE FOR ABUSE. And the obligation of institutions to give public access to the full text of documents would be limited to legislative measures - and not cover the hundreds of thousands of other documents produced and received.

The Amsterdam Treaty was agreed 11 years ago (1997) and WAS MEANT TO HERALD A NEW ERA OF OPENNESS AND TRANSPARENCY - we are still waiting for this to happen.

Terry Battersby, 53, from Manchester, has been removed from his job as head of information technology at the Brussels-based Centre for the Development of Enterprise (CDE) and placed on a short-term contract. Battersby uncovered evidence that the agency's former director, Hamed Sow, who is now the Energy Minister of the west African country of Mali, approved the award of lucrative European Union contracts to a company in which he had a financial interest.

Sow is alleged to have arranged for the CDE to back a loan of nearly £3m to a textile company in Mali, without disclosing that he owned up to 20% of the company and was receiving payments from the firm. The CDE, set up to support the private sector in poor countries, receives more than £14m a year in taxpayers' money from the EU.

Israel's Water Authority announced on Sunday that the Kinneret had dropped nearly two-and-a-half inches over the week of Passover alone. The lake is expected to fall below its "Black Line" in July. When the water level falls below the Black Line, the openings of the water pumps are exposed, making further pumping impossible. The Kinneret fell below its Lower Red Line last year, though pumping continued despite the risk of rising pollution levels. The lake is Israel's primary source of fresh water, but has been hit hard by seven consecutive dry winters.

Meanwhile, Israel this month began feeling the effects of a global shortage of staple foods such as rice and flour that has already led to rioting in some developing nations. Israeli analysts originally believed the Jewish state may not be affected by the shortages, but local media reported at the weekend that prices of rice, flour, sugar, coffee, oil and other essential foods are expected to rise by up to 80 percent in the coming days. Many grocery stores across Israel have started limiting the quantity of rice that customers may purchase.

Officials have blamed the mounting global crisis on exploding population rates that are outpacing food production, increased cultivation of crops for biofuels and natural disasters such as floods and droughts. Israeli experts insisted that Israel could avoid any serious damage to local food supplies by beginning to grow its own wheat.

Growing relief that the global economy has so far escaped the worst case scenario from the eight-month-old credit crisis has stabilised financial markets. Many central banks, faced with the twin problem of the credit crisis and rising prices, have cut interest rates to ease the flow of credit, leaving inflation issues for tomorrow.

Japanese inflation, which hit a decade-high in March triggering one of the biggest ever sell-offs in yen bonds on Friday, is a case in point. "IF THE GLOBAL ECONOMY HAS STRUGGLED OUT OF THE FRYING PAN OF THE CREDIT CRUNCH, IT SEEMS DESTINED TO FALL INTO THE FIRE OF HIGH INFLATION ... High inflation is cruel to the owner of financial assets," said Tim Bond, head of global asset allocation at Barclays Capital.

Dr. William Gray, who once said that pro-global warming scientists are "brainwashing our children," claims that Colorado State University will no longer promote his yearly North Atlantic hurricane forecasts due to his controversial views.

Gray contends that global warming is all a hoax contrived BY SCIENTISTS HUNGRY FOR RESEARCH FUNDING, MEDIA PROFESSIONALS THIRSTING FOR PULITZER PRIZES AND FOREIGN POWERS SEEKING TO CREATE A SINGLE WORLD GOVERNMENT. In fact, he says, the warming cycle will soon end, and the earth will begin a period of temporary cooling.

BP's pre-tax profits rose 48 per cent in the first quarter to $6.6 BILLION (£3.3 BILLION) while Shell increased its profits 12 per cent to A RECORD $7.8 BILLION (£3.9 BILLION). The increase has been driven by the rising oil prices, which the companies have passed on to consumers in the form of higher petrol and diesel costs.

He said the priority was to feed the hungry by closing a $755m (£380m) funding gap for the UN's World Food Programme (WFP) this year. He urged donor countries to make more money available now. The WFP believes 100 million people are currently going short of food. It says only 62% of the $755m it needs to feed them has been pledged so far, and, of that, only $18m (£9m) has actually been received.

"We consider that the dramatic escalation in food prices worldwide has evolved into an UNPRECEDENTED CHALLENGE OF GLOBAL PROPORTIONS that has become a crisis for the world's most vulnerable, including the urban poor," the UN said in a statement after a meeting of agency heads in the Swiss capital Berne. "The challenge is having multiple effects with its most serious impact unfolding as a crisis for the most vulnerable," it went on.

THIS INCREASES THE CHANCE THAT THE 1 JANUARY 2009 DEADLINE FOR THE DOCUMENT TO COME INTO FORCE ACROSS THE EU WILL BE DELAYED, ACCORDING TO EUOBSERVER.

Libération journalist Jean Quatremer says: "Some of you have asked me what would happen if Ireland, the only country to hold a referendum on the Treaty, voted no on 12 June. I think that an Irish no vote would not have the same impact as the French no had. The Danes voted no in 1992, and the Irish voted no to Nice in 2001. Well, the member states concocted some derogations for them and they then voted yes. A small, geographically peripheral country can only become more politically peripheral, not block the EU.

Brutally put: EUROPE WITHOUT FRANCE OR GERMANY MAKES NO SENSE, WITHOUT IRELAND OR DENMARK, IT DOES. The Union survives very well without Norway, Iceland, and even Switzerland..."

A senior European government source is quoted saying: "Changes that enter into force with the Treaty are more far reaching than people think." However, Waterfield notes "THESE ARE CHANGES THAT WILL ONLY BECOME APPARENT AFTER THE NEW EU TREATY HAS BEEN RATIFIED, BYPASSING ANY POSSIBILITY OF PUBLIC SCRUTINY OR ACCOUNTABILITY TO THE DECISIONS TAKEN."

Meanwhile, in an interview with Le Soir, Valery Giscard d'Estaing does not rule himself out as a future EU President. He also says he does not see the link between NATO and European defence. He says: "I don't really see the link between these two questions! WE NEED TO GIVE EUROPE A DEFENCE CAPACITY. Europe has a currency, a market, the beginnings of citizenship: it must have a defence, like all the other great human organisations.

Poland has indicated it would support a boost in Europe's defence activities, including setting up the bloc's own military planning headquarters. "We are in favour of a much stronger role for European defence, and that would include a military headquarters," said Polish Defence Minister Bogdan Klich

A piece in Le Monde argues that the EU Foreign Minister, who will also be a Vice-President of the Commission, could emerge as the strongest position in the system. It notes: "Everything will depend on the personality chosen and the shape of his future diplomatic service."

Billions of people, particularly in Africa, Asia, and Central and South America, are victims of a GRADUAL AND UNSUSTAINABLE RISE IN THE PRICES OF ALL FARM PRODUCTS - wheat, soybean, rice, maize, milk, and meat. Riots are breaking out daily, and at least three dozen countries urgently need wheat and rice shipments. Why are farm prices so high? Improving diets in China, India, and many other countries are one reason. But the growing consumption of meat comes at a steep cost: FIVE TIMES MORE LAND IS REQUIRED TO FEED PEOPLE ON MEAT THAN ON CEREALS. The soaring costs of fuel and fertilizer are another major factor.

LITTLE CAN BE DONE TO CHANGE THOSE TRENDS IN THE NEAR FUTURE. But there is a policy that's rapidly aggravating the situation: repurposing land needed to produce food for biofuel production. This is putting food into conflict with fuel - at a time when both are scarce. IT'S A REAL, TRAGIC CONFLICT, AND WE MUST CHANGE COURSE. According to the latest surveys, using existing biofuel production technologies, the energy balance is only marginally positive, if not negative. Some distinguished experts maintain that 30 PERCENT MORE ENERGY IS NEEDED TO PRODUCE BIOFUELS IN THE UNITED STATES THAN THE ENERGY ACTUALLY PRODUCED.

People can no longer be allowed to starve to death in Africa simply because there are some people in the US or inside the European Union who consider that THE VOTES OF FARMERS OR LANDOWNERS ARE WORTH MORE THAN THE SURVIVAL OF MILLIONS OF MEN AND WOMEN. It is true that today's policies were decided at a time when we thought we were living in an energy-poor and food-rich world. But that is no longer the case today. It's imperative that we change policies as soon as possible, because the remedies that have been adopted so far are worse than the sickness they were designed to cure. GLOBALIZATION IS DEMANDING THE ADOPTION OF THESE SOUND POLICIES, and Italy certainly cannot evade her responsibilities.

Romano Prodi is Italy's outgoing prime minister.

Mr. Ahmadinejad and Pakistani leader Pervez Musharraf said Monday - during the Iranian leader's first stop - that no barriers remained to signing a $7.6 billion pipeline deal that will provide both energy-starved Pakistan and India with natural gas. But the biggest challenge on Ahmadinejad's latest goodwill trip TO COUNTER US INFLUENCE AND REKINDLE DIPLOMATIC FRIENDSHIPS WOULD BE IN INDIA.

"Iran will undoubtedly be trying to woo New Delhi, especially now because India is a rising economic power," says M.J. Gohel, a security analyst and director of the Asia-Pacific Foundation in London. "India is very short on energy, so there are economic reasons for India to maintain a working relationship with Iran," he adds. "However India's long-term and strategic relationship is definitely with Washington, and I think that has been made very, very clear."

"THERE IS A GREAT DEAL HAPPENING BETWEEN INDIA AND IRAN WHICH IS NOT IN THE PUBLIC REALM," India's National Security Adviser M. K. Narayanan said last week. India would not take part in "conflict diplomacy," Mr. Narayanan said, adding that Iran has "tremendous influence" in the region and that "India is better poised, better placed than anyone else" to talk to Iran.

Shoppers at some branches of supermarket chains Supersol and Mega on Friday and Saturday were amazed to find signs limiting purchases to two kilograms of rice per customer. In a statement released Sunday, Supersol explained that its policy was an outcome of record rice prices, leading to concerns that hoarders might try to purchase significant stocks of rice and sell them once supplies dwindle. "The Supersol chain has limited the sale of rice to prevent merchants from hoarding the product and making a fortune at the expense of consumers," said Supersol in response to the move.

David Finkelstein, CEO of Sugat, which imports 70% of Israel's rice, said that while no shortage was expected, the company was forced to raise prices as commodity prices surged. Finkelstein said he realized price increases were going to have a serious effect on many Israeli consumers, especially the country's poor. "It's not just rice; its potatoes and pasta and everything else," said Finkelstein. "There are no alternatives."

But Guy Rotenberg, CEO of MarketPlace, points to another factor which is pushing up prices, one which has no connection to either farmers or consumers, but rather to the markets that bridge between them. "Today there are no good alternatives for investments," said Rotenberg in a GlobesTV interview. "So there is a very heavy flow of capital into the commodities market. I believe that this is the main factor driving up prices. World rice exporters, including India and Vietnam, have taken the matter into their own hands, curbing exports in order to ensure adequate domestic supply. That has forced prices up even farther."

MORE THAN 700 PEOPLE ARE KILLED BY HEROIN IN BRITAIN EVERY YEAR: most die from overdoses, accidental and deliberate, but many victims are addicts whose bodies simply succumb to years of abuse and neglect. Then there is the collateral damage: the victims of the countless muggings, thefts and burglaries committed in pursuit of the next fix; the squalid lives of the young women driven by the craving for drugs to sell sex cheaply on the streets and make themselves vulnerable to beatings, rape and - in the case of the five heroin-addicted victims of the Suffolk Strangler - murder.

TERRORISM, BY CONTRAST, KILLED NO ONE IN BRITAIN LAST YEAR, NOR THE YEAR BEFORE and has not claimed a life since July 7, 2005, when Mohammad Sidique Khan and his cohort murdered 52 London transport passengers. Since then there have been plots and attempted attacks - some sophisticated and ambitious, others crude and inept - but al-Qaeda has been thwarted.

Yet it is terrorism that Gordon Brown says we must fear above all else. There are, he and his ministers and security officials keep telling us, 30 active plots against Britain - although keen observers might note that the number never seems to change no matter how many conspiracies are foiled. Terrorism is a high-visibility threat and rightly commands a well-resourced and highly visible response. Serious organised crime prefers to operate in the shadows - beatings behind the locked doors of brothels, drug deals done in dank stairwells on sink estates. But out of sight should not mean out of mind.

It believes that hot money accounts for between $20 to $30 of the recent increase in oil prices and that about $40 billion (£20 billion) has been invested in the sector so far this year - equal to all the money pumped into oil last year. The price rise comes despite a 400,000 barrel-a-day reduction in physical demand from the United States, which is consuming less because of its economic slowdown. This has been more than offset by funds seeking alternative investments to the falling US dollar.

Michael Waldron, energy analyst for Lehman Brothers, said: "There has been an increase in financial demand as many funds have poured into oil as a hedge against inflation and the weakening US dollar. This has been the main factor in driving the price in recent months. We do not think the fundamentals justify oil at $120 and, without financial demand, we think it would be trading at $20 to $30 below that level."

The high price of oil is having an impact on the global economy, with airlines failing and drivers paying more to fill their cars. Eos, the business-class-only airline, went into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection yesterday and joins at least six other carriers that have also been grounded in the past two weeks by high costs.

For years, the original iron and concrete shelter that was hastily constructed over the reactor has been leaking radiation, cracking and threatening to collapse. The new one, an arch of steel, would be big enough to contain the Statue of Liberty. Once completed, Chernobyl will be safe, said Vince Novak, nuclear safety director at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development which manages the $505 million project.

The new shelter is part of a broader $1.4 billion effort financed by international donors that began in 1997 and includes shoring up the current shelter, monitoring radiation and training experts. The explosion at reactor No. 4 on April 26, 1986 was the world's worst nuclear accident, spewing radiation over a large swath of the former Soviet Union and much of northern Europe. It directly contaminated an area roughly half the size of Italy, displacing hundreds of thousands of people.

In the two months after the disaster, 31 people died of radioactivity, but the final toll is still debated. The U.N. health agency estimates that about 9,300 will eventually die from cancers caused by Chernobyl's radiation. Groups such as Greenpeace insist the toll could be 10 times higher. The old shelter, called a "sarcophagus," was built in just six months. But intense radiation has weakened it, according to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and rain and snow are seeping through cracks. The first step, shoring up the sarcophagus, is almost complete, Ukrainian and EBRD officials say. Later, the 20,000-ton arch ? 345 feet tall, 840 feet wide and 490 feet long ? will be built next to the old shelter and slid over it on railtracks.