But the fatal failure of the 40-year-old structure may be worse news in the long run for the nation than had it fallen victim to an attack, says Thomas Rooney, president of Insituform Technologies of St. Louis, Mo. "The U.S. Department of Transportation says 100,000 bridges in this country are structurally deficient," he says. "If 1 percent of 1 percent of these dangerous structures collapse, that is not accidental. That is predictable."

As bad as they are, bridges are in better shape than the rest of our infrastructure, says Rooney. The EPA reports 3.5 million people got sick last year from 73,000 sewer pipe breaks around the country. "Maybe some were accidents," he says. "But when something happens 73,000 times, that is no longer accidental. That is negligence."

Water pipes are even worse. In some parts of America, 50 percent of the drinking water leaks from bad pipes after it is treated but before it reaches the home, reports Rooney. "Water officials mistakenly believe that it is cheaper to shove more water through leaky pipes than fix them," he says. Rooney said last month's pipe explosion in Manhattan was also discounted as a mere accident.

"But these catastrophes were not accidents," says Rooney. "Not if the word has any meaning. Immediately following the bridge collapse, Minnesota officials said the same things as their counterparts in Manhattan just a few weeks ago. They had recently inspected the bridge and the pipe. And so it could not have been their fault."

Rooney continues: "As president of the largest sewer, oil and pipe repair company in the world, I've heard that excuse before - 73,000 times last year alone."

About 30 percent of America's nearly 500,000 bridges are categorized as "deficient" and in "urgent need of repair." In 11 Northeastern states, 50 percent of bridges not only need urgent repairs but are not designed to handle current traffic levels. Many of the bridges are 50 years or older - considerably older than the bridge in Minneapolis.

In New York, the Brooklyn Bridge opened in 1883. The George Washington Bridge opened in 1931. It still carries 300,000 vehicles a day. An estimated $1.6 trillion is needed over five years to bring America's infrastructure up to 'safe standards.' "The nation is failing to even maintain the substandard conditions we currently have," said the report card from the American Society of Civil Engineers, "a dangerous trend that is affecting highway safety, as well as the health of the economy."

"Ignoring bad infrastructure and hoping it will do no harm is not an option anymore," says Rooney. "Places that take care of their infrastructure are safer, healthier and more prosperous."

Roads have been washed away and hundreds of villages have been cut off by swollen rivers. A BBC correspondent in the Indian state of Assam says the air force is organising food drops, but they are nowhere near enough. Almost 200 people have died in the floods in the last few days.

THE AFFECTED AREAS
India: 125 people killed and 12 million stranded, mostly in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Assam
Bangladesh: 64 people have been killed and seven million are marooned
Nepal: Thousands of people displaced in the south

There is growing concern among MPs and civil liberties groups about the number of children under 10 and young black men on the database - the biggest in the world. But a number of police forces in England and Wales are backing proposals that would add millions more samples to it.

THE ASSOCIATION OF CHIEF POLICE OFFICERS GAVE A WARNING, HOWEVER, THAT ALLOWING POLICE TO TAKE SAMPLES FOR NON-RECORDABLE OFFENCES - CRIMES FOR WHICH OFFENDERS CANNOT BE IMPRISONED - MIGHT BE PERCEIVED AS INDICATIVE OF "THE INCREASING CRIMINALISATION OF THE GENERALLY LAW-ABIDING PUBLIC."

There are almost four million samples on the database, including more than 100 of children aged under 10, even though they have not attained the age of criminal responsibility. A further 883,888 records of children aged between 10 and 17, and 46 records of people aged over 90, are held on the database, which cost more than £300 million. Baroness Scotland of Asthal, QC, the Attorney-General, admitted when she was a Home Office minister that three quarters of the young black male population would soon be on the DNA database.

The Human Genetics Commission, the Government's independent DNA watchdog, yesterday announced the first public inquiry into the database. Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws, QC, chairwoman of the commission, said: "THE POLICE IN ENGLAND AND WALES HAVE POWERS, UNRIVALLED INTERNATIONALLY, TO TAKE A DNA SAMPLE FROM ANY ARRESTED INDIVIDUAL, WITHOUT THEIR CONSENT. WE WANT TO HEAR THE PUBLIC'S VIEWS ON WHETHER STORING THE DNA PROFILES OF VICTIMS AND SUSPECTS WHO ARE LATER NOT CHARGED OR ACQUITTED IS JUSTIFIED BY THE NEED TO FIGHT CRIME."

Lady Kennedy added: "The database has a preponderance of young men, with a third of black males currently on it. And anyone on it is there for life. On the other hand, a steadily increasing number of serious crimes, including murders and rapes, are being solved and criminals brought to book with its help. These are issues that need to be considered and we need to know what the public think."

David Davis, the Shadow Home Secretary, said last night: "IT IS INCONCEIVABLE THAT THE POWERS OF THE POLICE COULD BE EXTENDED WITHOUT A SERIOUS AND SUBSTANTIVE DEBATE IN PARLIAMENT. THEY HAVE ALREADY ENCROACHED ON PEOPLE'S PRIVACY WITHOUT PROPER DEBATE ON THIS MATTER AND THIS CAN GO NO FURTHER."

Home Office spokesman said: "The DNA database has revolutionised the way the police can protect the public through identifying offenders and securing more convictions. The consultation is about maximising police efficiency and ensuring that appropriate and effective safeguards are in place. No decisions have yet been made and any detailed proposals will be subject to a further public consultation next year."

A spokesman for the Iraqi Consensus Front told a press conference that the six ministers who are members of the alliance would submit their resignations, although front member Tariq al-Hashemi would remain as vice-president.

Rafie al-Issawi, a front parliamentarian, said his coalition took the step after the government of Nouri al-Maliki, the Shia prime minister, failed to respond to a series of demands, notably the release of detainees held without charge and the disbandment of militias.

"The government is continuing with its arrogance, refusing to change its stand and has slammed shut the door to any meaningful reform," Mr Issawi said.

The front had issued an ultimatum last week but, given the slow pace of Iraqi decision-making, its demands were almost certain to have been unmet. The group's decision to keep Mr Hashemi as vice-president suggests it wants to keep options open.

You know, the four-letter kind. The one most rap "artists" sprinkle into their lyrics for poetic effect and poise. Perhaps they'd use "tolerance," too, if it weren't for all those syllables. Even with their quick (and foul) mouths, most rappers would have trouble spitting out that word to any kind of rhythm while sounding cool and intimidating at the same time.

But forget about the way the word sounds when rappers use it and think about the way it is used by liberals. IN THEIR WORLD, TOLERANCE IS USED TO JUSTIFY VIRTUALLY EVERY KIND OF DEGENERATE BEHAVIOR YOU CAN IMAGINE, THE KIND OF BEHAVIOR FOUR-LETTER WORDS CUSTOMARILY DESCRIBE.

If a man wants to "marry" another man, tolerate it! If a woman wants to "abort" an inconvenient pregnancy, tolerate it! If homosexual activists want "access" to kids at our schools, tolerate it! Accept it. Celebrate it. Tolerate it. That is, tolerate it - or else! That is how liberals use the word today. It wasn't always like this.

The word "tolerance" finds its origins in the English-Common Law tradition. TOLERANCE IN THAT CONTEXT REFERRED TO THE DISCRETIONARY (NOTE THAT - DISCRETIONARY) ACCEPTANCE OF AN OPPOSING RELIGIOUS VIEW. The English Parliament of 1689 passed a law that granted partial freedom of worship to dissenters from the established Church of England. They called it the "Toleration Act."

In that context, the word tolerance DID NOT MEAN TO SANCTION, ENDORSE OR "EMBRACE FOR THE SAKE OF DIVERSITY" the views of those not associated with the Church of England. IT SIMPLY MEANT THAT THEY AGREED TO DISAGREE FOR THE SAKE OF CIVIL PEACE. That is all it meant.

We are told: "Words are what you want them to mean." And tolerance doesn't mean "to discreetly accept with conditions." NO, FOR LIBERALS IT MEANS YOU EITHER ENDORSE THEIR POINT OF VIEW OR SHUT UP.

Nothing demonstrates this more than when a conservative engages the public square on the current social acceptance and promotion of homosexuality. JUST TRY TO EXPRESS AN OPPOSING VIEW ON THE NORMALIZATION OF HOMOSEXUALITY, ONE THAT REFLECTS THE NATURAL ORDER, HUMAN HISTORY AND A HISTORIC CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE, AND YOU'LL QUICKLY DISCOVER JUST HOW "TOLERANT" POST-MODERN LIBERALS REALLY ARE.

You should just read some of the "tolerant" letters I receive on a regular basis. For example, because I believe in the one-man/one-woman covenant union called "marriage," one person ended his diatribe on my so-called lack of tolerance by saying: "You're a pig." Another said, "I wish you'd shut up and die, you @#&!" Such is the sophistication of liberal "tolerance."

They illustrate my point, that tolerance has become the politically correct swearword of choice for secular-liberals. For while they screech on about my so-called lack of "tolerance" for all things lascivious and degenerate, these liberals take great pride in demonizing those of us who believe in the Judeo-Christian foundation of North America and take a stand against their immorality.

"Tolerance" in the secular-liberal world is a one-way street. It is what they want it to mean that matters, not what the word actually means. And if you don't accept THEIR DEFINITION, relative as it is, if you don't endorse, sanction and otherwise acquiesce to them, well then you might as well ...
You know, tolerate it or just "@#&!!!!"

Hojjatollah Ghanimifard, the head of the National Iranian Oil Company, or NIOC, has confirmed the company has asked Japan to open letters of credit in yen in preparation for NOIC issuing oil invoices in Japanese currency. In April, WND reported Iran successfully pressured China to begin paying for Iranian oil in euros, not dollars.

To date, Iran has not followed up on the announcement that it would create an Iranian oil bourse to quote oil in euros, instead of dollars. According to Hojjatollah Ghanimifard, 70 percent of Iran's oil income is now paid in currencies other than the U.S. dollar.

Iran produces approximately 2.3 million barrels of crude oil per day, with approximately 65 percent of that volume headed for Asia, largely to China and Japan.

A new government study is being condemned by the Christian ministry the Barnabas Fund because its proposals WOULD MOVE CLOSER TO IMPOSING ISLAM IN THE UNITED KINGDOM AS "A RELIGION OF STATE."

Among the proposals from the study being considered for implementation is the provision by universities for Islamic studies for all students. The report was initiated by BILL RAMMELL, THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION AND LIFELONG LEARNING, officials said. He appointed Ataullah Siddiqui, senior research fellow at the Islamic Foundation, to write it.

The Barnabas Fund, in an analysis, said the report "signals another step toward the Islamisation of Britain and its education system - SHOULD THIS REPORT BE IMPLEMENTED, EDUCATION WILL BE HANDED OVER MORE AND MORE TO MUSLIMS WHO WILL TRAIN AND SHAPE THE NEXT GENERATION," THE ANALYSIS SAID.

"It is well known that the Islamic Foundation is an Islamist institute founded by high ranking members of the Pakistani Islamist party, Jama'at-I Islami," the group said. "However, in answer to questions in the House of Commons about possible links between Ataullah Siddiqui and Jama'at-i-Islami, Rammell stated that 'Dr Siddiqui has assured me categorically that he has no links to the Jamaat-e-Islami Party.'"

" THIS REVEALS THAT RAMMELL DOES NOT UNDERSTAND HOW ISLAMISTS USE DISSIMULATION (TAQIYYA) TO HIDE THEIR REAL GOALS WHILE CLAIMING TO BE MODERATE AND LIBERAL," the analysis said.

Among the other recommendations are that UNIVERSITIES SHOULD EMPLOY MUSLIM SCHOLARS TO TEACH ISLAMIC THEOLOGY, ALL UNIVERSITIES MUST EMPLOY MUSLIM CHAPLAINS AND PROVIDE MUSLIM PRAYER ROOMS, ISLAMIC STUDENT SOCIETIES SHOULD BE BETTER RECOGNIZED AND ENCOURAGED, AND UNIVERSITIES SHOULD COOPERATE WITH ISLAMIC SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES TO BREAK DOWN THE DIVISIONS BETWEEN BRITISH SOCIETY AND THE MUSLIM COMMUNITY.

The study also recommended Islamic studies should be linked to job opportunities such as teaching, chaplaincy and Islamic banking, and guidance should be given to all universities on Friday prayers, Ramadan and halal food. The Barnabas Fund said it's simply a demand for a "privileged position for Islam in the universities."

"It's a part of the larger goal," the Barnabas Fund said. "The aim is to expand Islamic domination into all spheres. THE WHOLE SYSTEM OF WESTERN ACADEMIC EDUCATION MUST, SAY THE ISLAMISTS, BE RECAST AND REMOLDED ON ISLAMIC LINES AS IT IS TAINTED BY CHRISTIAN AND PAGAN INFLUENCES."

"Implementing these recommendations, as the British government has promised to do, would be likely to narrow the scope of university Islamic studies and make them more intolerant and radical," the critique said.

According to the China Meteorological Administration (CMA), 141 people died in lightning strikes in July. More than 700 people have died in floods in central China, while millions of others have been hit by drought. "Extreme weather has incurred frequent natural disasters such as rainstorms, floods and droughts across the country this year," CMA chief Zheng Guoguang said on Wednesday.

Elsewhere in China, meteorologists issued their first heatstroke warning of the year. Forecasters said temperatures in southern China and the western Xinjiang region could hit 40 degrees Celsius. They urged residents to try to stay out of the sun during the hottest parts of the day.

The warning came as the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters warned that severe drought had left some 7.53 million people short of drinking water. Millions of hectares of arable land have been affected, the office said.

Experts warned the worst was yet to come, with vegetables such as potatoes, peas and brussels sprouts likely to rise by 20 per cent as a result of many crops being wiped out. Wheat prices have soared by 15 per cent and industry insiders predict the price of an average loaf of bread will increase by between 5p and 10p. Prior to the floods, wheat prices had increased by 65 per cent in the past 12 months.

The flooding, which has covered vast swathes of England, has forced First Milk, Britain's largest dairy co-operative and a supplier to supermarkets north of the Border, to invoke a highly unusual "force majeure" clause. IT EFFECTIVELY TELLS SUPERMARKETS AND SUPPLIERS THAT CIRCUMSTANCES OUTSIDE ITS CONTROL MEAN IT CAN NO LONGER FULFIL ITS CONTRACTS TO SUPPLY THEM.

A source in the brewing industry revealed that beer prices would also be hit. "Barley is one of the key ingredients and crops in the UK have been badly devastated in the floods," he said. "We can import barley from Russia, but it won't make a noticeable difference to what is a major cost," he said.

Tim Mudge, a spokesman for the Processed Vegetable Growers Association, said some two-fifths of this year's pea crop had been wiped out. "Normally at this time of year, we have around 150,000 tonnes of peas for freezing, but we are down to 90,000 tonnes, which means we are six million bags short in the retail sector. It is a huge loss. Unfortunately, we will not be able to plug this gap by importing from overseas."

"The rise in the price of milk is a result of farmers being forced to feed cows silage indoors instead of grass outdoors, meaning the animals produce less milk. And farmers whose winter animal feed is already running low will have to pay more to replace it because of rising grain costs."

James Withers, the deputy chief executive of the National Farmers Union Scotland, said consumers were facing difficulties but not a crisis. "It will be some time before the full effect of the flooding in England is felt," he said. "We're not going to see bare supermarket shelves, but there is no doubt that supplies of basic foods like potatoes, wheat, fruit and vegetables will be reduced. There is likely to be a rise in supermarket prices, but nobody should be pressing the panic button."

STELZER WARNS BROWN THAT REFUSING TO HOLD REFERENDUM IS THE "GREATEST THREAT" TO WINNING NEXT ELECTION.
In an article in the Telegraph Irwin Stelzer argues that Gordon Brown's refusal to hold a referendum on the EU Constitution represents "perhaps the greatest threat to his ability to win the next election. It is not only that Brown's decision to bulldoze ratification through the Parliament will make most of the media line up against him - no matter how problematic they find the PR-dominated candidacy of David Cameron. It is that Brown will with one stroke undermine his reputation as a straight-talking, spin-free politician."
Telegraph

BOLTON: RE-EMERGENCE OF EU CONSTITUTION MEANS BROWN MUST MAKE DECISION ON THE SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP.
Former US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton has a comment piece in the FT arguing that Gordon Brown must clarify his position on European integration, which he believes will have a fundamental impact on the nature of the US-UK 'special relationship'. HE ARGUES THAT "THE RE-EMERGENCE OF A EUROPEAN 'CONSTITUTION' - UNDER WHATEVER NAME - HAS BROUGHT BRITAIN TO A CLEAR DECISION POINT" ON THE ISSUE.

What is Britain's most important 'relationship'? Does Mr Brown regard the EU as a 'state under construction', as some EU supporters proclaim, or not? The answers to these questions are what Washington really needs to know. WHAT LONDON NEEDS TO KNOW IS THAT ITS ANSWER WILL HAVE CONSEQUENCES." Bolton draws attention to the proposed creation of an EU 'foreign minister' as a key concern in this respect.

On Iran, Bolton writes that "Here the US has followed the EU lead in a failed diplomatic effort to dissuade Iran from pursuing nuclear weapons. If Mr Bush decides that the only way to stop Iran is to use military force, where will Mr Brown come down? Supporting the US or allowing Iran to goose-step towards nuclear weapons? I WILL WAIT FOR ANSWERS TO THESE AND OTHER QUESTIONS BEFORE I DRAW CONCLUSIONS ABOUT 'THE SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP' UNDER MR BROWN. BUT NOT FOREVER."
FT

EU COMMISSION HOPES NEW TREATY WILL LEAD TO EUROPEAN PUBLIC PROSECUTOR
EUobserver reports that EU Home Affairs Commissioner Franco Frattini is set to pave the way to a single European prosecutor who would have powers to initiate and proceed with the investigation of cross-border crimes.

The new EU treaty explicitly provides for the creation of a European Public Prosecutor (EPP) to be set up. The British government has long opposed the creation of an EPP - even if such a move were subject to unanimity. The new Treaty in fact makes the creation of the post easier, adding on A NEW CLAUSE TO THE TEXT OF THE ORIGINAL EU CONSTITUTION WHICH ALLOWS A GROUP OF AT LEAST NINE MEMBER STATES TO SET UP THE EPP IF UNANIMITY CANNOT BE FOUND. This means the UK would not be able to stop the prosecutor being set up under the new version of the EU Constitution.
Euobserver

ANOTHER 200 JEWS ARRIVE HOME by Hillel Fendel
Another 200 new immigrants to Israel have come home from North America, landing on their new/old home turf in Ben Gurion International Airport Tuesday morning. They were greeted by cheering crowds and government officials.
By the end of 2007, NBN will have brought over 3,500 olim during the year from the US, Canada, and the UK. Aliyah from North America is expected to be a 25-year record high, following a steady climb over the past five years.

MIDEAST PRESS: NEW 'ZIONIST PLOTS' INVOLVE HARRY POTTER, DARFUR by Nissan Ratzlav-Katz
In two articles appearing in Middle Eastern newspapers this week, Islamist leaders pointed out what they said were new Zionist plots. In an Iranian publication, the worldwide Harry Potter phenomenon was declared a global Zionist conspiracy, while an Arab newspaper quoted a Sudanese leader blaming Jews for Sudan's own Arab-on-Black genocidal civil war.

Kayhahn, an Iranian publication closely affiliated with the ruling mullahs and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, called the Harry Potter series "a billion-dollar Zionist project." The Potter books were designed by Zionist plotters, according to the Kayhahn editorial, to "disrupt young minds."

In another accusation of a conspiracy by seemingly all-powerful Jews, Sudan's Defence Minister Abdelrahim Mohammad Hussein blamed Jews for the ongoing violence and ethnic cleansing in southern Sudan. According to Hussein, the Jews are wielding their control of the international media and financial markets on behalf of "rebel elements" inside Darfur, including by direct financial and political support. He made the comments during an interview this week with the Saudi Arabian Okaz daily.

RUSSIA BACKING ABBAS, SUPPLYING IRAN
by Nissan Ratzlav-Katz
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has thus far received enthusiastic support from Moscow during his three-day trip to Russia this week.
"We strongly support you as the legitimate leader of Palestine and praise your efforts aimed at restoring law, achieving unity among the Palestinian people and continuing the peace process," Foreign Minister Lavrov said at the start of a meeting with Abbas on Monday. Lavrov also stated that the PA and Russia would "map out concrete steps in Russia's assistance to the Palestinian National Authority."

PERES TAKES ON IRAN'S AHMEDINAJAD
by Hillel Fendel
Speaking with U.S. National Public Radio on Monday, President Shimon Peres said Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinajad is an "unbelievable joke."
In apparent explanation of this strange accusation, Peres went on to express doubt that the Iranian leader was as religious as he claimed to be. IT APPEARS HE "WORSHIPS THE BOMB MORE THAN HE WORSHIPS ALLAH," PERES SAID.

RICE TO ISRAEL: GET OUT OF JUDEA AND SAMARIA
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, speaking on Arabic-language Radio Sawa Wednesday (based in Washington and Dubai), stated, "The future of Israel is in building a strong Israeli state in places like the Negev and Galilee... I believe that Israel understands ... that it has obligations that need to be met and need to be met now, because the future of Israel is not in the continued occupation of the West Bank [sic]". Rice did not deal with the question of what to do with the 275,000 Jews living in Judea and Samaria. Israel has still not yet been able to solve the problems of the 10,000 Jews it evicted from Gaza two years ago; those Jews are still living in transient camps of temporary pre-fab houses, with no long-term housing or employment solutions in sight.
[JNW, Arutz Sheva, Jerusalem Post]

ISRAEL IMPORTS RIFLES TO ARM TERRORISTS
Some 3,000 rifles were delivered to the Arab security forces in Arab-controlled Jericho on Thursday, an Arab security source told YNET. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert allowed the flood of Russian-made rifles and other material into the heart of Israel in order to further bolster Fatah terrorist leader Mahmoud Abbas against a Hamas coup in Samaria and Judea. [YnetNews, JNW]

ROCKET ATTACKS CONTINUE AGAINST ISRAEL
Arabs fired two Qassam rockets at the Negev city of Sderot Sunday afternoon, and a woman sustained shrapnel wounds. Arabs fired more rockets from Gaza into Israel on Thursday and Friday. At least 22 missiles were launched this week, said the Israel Defense Forces. [Jerusalem Post, YnetNews, Arutz Sheva]

OLMERT CONFIRMS INTENTION TO GIVE AWAY LAND TO TERRORISTS
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert confirmed Wednesday that he intends to engage in negotiations with Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas on the formation of [another] an Arab state.

OLMERT TRIED RECENTLY TO EXPLAIN THE REASONS WHY THE JEWISH PEOPLE HAVE "NO CHOICE" BUT TO SURRENDER TO THEIR ENEMIES THE CRADLE OF THEIR NATIONHOOD AND THE LAND PROMISED TO ABRAHAM, ISAAC, AND JACOB. Anyone who believes that Israel can maintain its current hold on all Judea and Samaria is "living in a dream," he insisted. Israel "needs to withdraw."

Olmert's appeasement approach is shared by a seeming majority of Israelis who--despite the miracle of their nation's survival against mountainous odds--do not believe G-d can save them out of their predicament, or that He will fight their battles for them if they would only put their trust in Him. ONLY A MINORITY OF JEWS TRUST G-D TO DELIVER THEM. Most of these are settlers -- that group of Jews most hated and opposed by the world. [Ha'aretz, JNW]

100,000 JEWS AT WESTERN WALL FOR TISHA B'AV
Over one hundred thousand Jews flooded the Kotel (Western Wall) Plaza on Monday night and Tuesday to say traditional Tisha B'Av lamentations for the loss of the First and Second Jerusalem Temples. Thousands encircled the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem, as well, to mark the day of mourning. [OH, THAT THEY WOULD HAVE TAKEN THE TEMPLE MOUNT BACK!--ED] Tisha B'Av, the ninth day of Av in the Hebrew calendar, is a sundown-to-sundown day of fasting and mourning marking the destruction of the First and Second Jewish Temples in Jerusalem, the subsequent exile from the Land of Israel, as well as other historical calamities that befell the Jewish People on the same date. Traditional rabbinical literature links the ninth of Av date with the day that the spies in the Biblical account brought back their negative report of the Land of Israel, which the children of Israel believed and over which they wept on this day. [Arutz Sheva]

Msgr. Georg Ganswein, the Pope's secretary, was interviewed in Friday's edition of Germany's Sueddeutsche Zeitung Magazine. Though the interview covered many different issues, his comments about Islamic influence in Europe, and what Catholics should do about it, may prove to be the most controversial.

Msgr. Ganswein was asked about Pope Benedict's September 2006 speech in Regensburg, Germany, and its criticism of violent trends within Islam. Though the Pope may have intended to warn against religious terrorism, his remarks aroused fury throughout the Moslem world, developing into actual violence in several places. Arabs in Palestinian Authority-controlled areas attacked seven Christian churches, a nun was murdered in Somalia, a call for the Pope's death was issued in London, and Iraqi groups threatened the Vatican.

"I BELIEVE THE REGENSBURG SPEECH, AS IT IS KNOWN, WAS PROPHETIC," MSGR. GANSWEIN TOLD THE GERMAN MAGAZINE, BECAUSE IT COUNTERED A "CERTAIN NAIVETE" AMONG PEOPLE WHO DO NOT RECOGNIZE THAT VARIOUS CURRENTS EXIST WITHIN ISLAM.

"ATTEMPTS AT THE 'ISLAMIFICATION' OF THE WEST CANNOT BE DENIED," he said, according to an English translation in the Catholic Explorer. "AND THE ASSOCIATED DANGER FOR THE IDENTITY OF EUROPE CANNOT BE IGNORED OUT OF A WRONGLY UNDERSTOOD SENSE OF RESPECT... THE CATHOLIC SIDE SEES THIS CLEARLY AND SAYS AS MUCH." True respect, Ganswein said, is shown in a dialogue with Muslims that is frank, open and honest.

The Pope's speech in Regensburg included a quote from a 14th-century Christian Emperor, who said, "SHOW ME JUST WHAT MUHAMMAD BROUGHT THAT WAS NEW, AND THERE YOU WILL FIND THINGS ONLY EVIL AND INHUMAN, SUCH AS HIS COMMAND TO SPREAD BY THE SWORD THE FAITH HE PREACHED." Several days afterwards, the Pope related to the speech and the storm it caused. He did not apologize or retract his words, but rather expressed his "deep regret" at its consequences, saying the quote was misunderstood to be his own opinion. He also noted his "high regard" for Islam.

IT REMAINS TO BE SEEN WHAT TYPE OF ISLAMIC REACTION WILL BE CAUSED BY THE PAPAL SECRETARY'S WARNING AGAINST THE ISLAMIFICATION OF EUROPE AND THE "ASSOCIATED DANGER FOR THE IDENTITY OF EUROPE."

At least 60 were injured when part of the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis fell down at 1805 (2305 GMT) on Wednesday. Fire Chief Jim Clack said seven had died as the structure buckled, hurling up to 50 vehicles into the water.

The US Department of Homeland Security said there was no reason to suspect the fall of the bridge, which had been undergoing repairs, was terror-related. Mr Clack said: "At this point we have seven confirmed fatalities, and we expect that number to go up." He added that rescuers did not expect to find any more survivors.

Traffic had been "bumper-to-bumper" at the time of the incident as only one lane was open in either direction on the eight-lane road because of the construction work on the arched bridge. He added that the 40-year-old bridge was last inspected in 2006 and no significant structural problems had been found.

Minneapolis police chief Tim Dolan said officials had accounted for all but one of the construction workers who had been on the bridge at the time of the collapse. Tons of concrete crashed 64 feet (20 metres) into the water as the interstate bridge crumbled. A freight train passing underneath was crushed as a 500ft (150m) span of steel and concrete collapsed.

Russia's Akademik Fyodorov research vessel is expected to reach the North Pole on Wednesday evening at the end of an 8-day voyage accompanied by ice-breakers from Murmansk, on the north west coast of Russia, Itar-Tass reported.

The unprecedented expedition is led by Artur Chilingarov, an Arctic explorer who is a legend in Russia as well as deputy speaker of the country's parliament. The expedition's main goal is to back the claim of an increasingly assertive Russia that part of the Lomonosov Ridge, a huge underwater mountain range stretching from Greenland to Siberia, is an extension of its own territory.

"We must prove the North Pole is an extension of the Russian continental shelf," said Mr Chilingarov. "We will be the first to plant a flag there. The Arctic is ours and we should manifest our presence."

Canada and Denmark also claim that the Lomonosov Ridge, which geologists say could hold billions of barrels of oil reserves, is linked to their lands. The UN committee that administers the Law of the Sea rejected a Russian claim to the area submitted in 2002, saying there was insufficient evidence to support it.

The Professional Association of Teachers (PAT) says many who begin formal schooling aged just four are not ready for an academic curriculum. Deborah Lawson from PAT said it was vital that children should have more freedom to play in nurseries without being told what to do by adults. The government said primary schools followed an age-appropriate curriculum.

Speaking at the PAT annual conference, in Harrogate, Ms Lawson said: "There is evidence that by starting school earlier, our children are not better off than those children who are starting later. As practitioners and parents we have all seen children who really were not ready to start school."

She said toddlers developed social and language skills by playing in a way that was natural to them. "We are not giving children sufficient time and space to learn for themselves - child initiated play activities."