The Japanese prime minister, under pressure from the US, used the constitutional provision allowing him to override the upper house for the first time since 1951. The bill was opposed by the opposition Democratic Party of Japan, which on Friday morning presented a counter-proposal, including direct assistance to Afghanistan. Mr Fukuda has staked considerable political capital on restarting a six-year mission that was suspended in November when the opposition blocked enabling legislation. Opposition by the DPJ, which has characterised refuelling operations as slavishly following Washington's lead, helped bring down the previous government of Shinzo Abe.

Following passage of the bill, Japanese ships are expected to set sail for the Indian Ocean within weeks. Thomas Schieffer, US ambassador to Japan, said: "The US appreciates the fact that the Japanese government has taken this important step in support of the international community's efforts to create a stable and democratic Afghanistan."

He added: "By passing this legislation, Japan has demonstrated its willingness to stand with those who are trying to create a safer, more tolerant world." Some political analysts, however, suggested that the new bill, which restricts Japanese ships to supplying oil and water for anti-terrorism measures related to Afghanistan, was purely symbolic. Writing in the Oriental Economist, a specialist newsletter, Richard Katz said: "To get it through the Diet Fukuda has stripped it of what content it already had. One floating gasoline station in the Indian Ocean is symbolism not substance in the war on terror."

At a press conference afterwards, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said, "Peace in the world starts from here, from the Holy Land." Bush himself said, "If given a chance the Palestinian people will work for freedom," and said he was confident that there will be "a signed peace treaty by the time I leave office."

Bush showed sympathy for each sides' complaints, but applied no apparent pressure. On Wednesday Bush backed Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's assertion that Abbas needs to stop Hamas rocket attacks before there can be progress on peace. On Thursday he said he understood frustration over continuing limits Israeli forces place on Palestinian movements. Yet neither Israeli nor the Palestinian leaders showed signs of having been squeezed to take action. Said Olmert, "The President didn't ask for me to make any commitments other than the ones that Israel made already."

The big-talk, little-action approach takes place against a backdrop of continuing tension. Rocket attacks from Gaza into Israel continued right up to Bush's arrival in Jerusalem. And Israeli forces raided Nablus in the West Bank earlier this month.

At least 23 riot police were killed and another 58 police and passers-by were injured when a man detonated his vest packed with ball bearings outside Lahore's High Court, according to Police Superintendent Aftab Cheema. Police have recovered the suicide bomber's head, which was thrown some 100 meters across a busy commercial square by the force of the blast. The suicide attack - a first for Lahore, Pakistan's second largest city - took place just moments before the scheduled start of a rally by lawyers protesting the rule of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf.

Today's bombing took place on the eve of Muharram, the Islamic month of mourning, and it could augur a new series of such attacks. Muharram has historically been associated with increased violence between the country's Sunni Muslims and its Shi'ite minority. While Muharram is important to both sects, it is particularly revered by Shias who stage elaborate processions mourning the death of the prophet Mohammad's grandson in battle - the very event that eventually led to the central schism of Islam. In 2005 a bomb in a Shi'ite shrine in southwestern Pakistan killed 50. Already sectarian violence has taken hundreds of lives in the northern district of Khurram. Leaders are pleading for peace, and security agencies are boosting security at holy sites across the country.

Upcoming parliamentary elections, which were supposed to take place on January 8 but were postponed until February 18 following Bhutto's assassination, only heighten the danger. Election rallies, the cornerstone of politicking in a country where only half the population is literate and only a third have access to television, will be irresistible targets for extremists seeking to create more mayhem.

But he sounded a note of caution about how early it might be achieved with a warning that much remained to be done. Mr Blair spoke after meeting US President George W Bush in Jerusalem. Mr Bush wrapped up his landmark tour by visiting a Holocaust museum, a day after he urged Israel to stop occupying some Palestinian territory. He also suggested a solution to the issue of Palestinian refugees that would involve paying them compensation. It was thought to be Mr Bush's strongest public statement pressing Israel to give up land it seized in the 1967 war.

His three-day visit was part of his attempts to seal a peace agreement between Israeli and Palestinian leaders before he leaves office in 2009. He will fly to Kuwait next on the first leg of a tour of Gulf Arab states aimed at gaining support for his peacemaking efforts and policy on Iran. In a television interview following his meeting with Mr Bush, Mr Blair said he was "cautiously optimistic" that a peace deal was achievable by January 2009, when the president leaves office.

"Sure, it is absolutely possible to have a peace deal by the end of the year if people want to make it happen," he said. "I think given the determination there is to succeed and given the desire on the part of the American leadership, the Israeli leadership, the Palestinian leadership to see it happen, I think people could be surprised this year," he said.

The former UK prime minister said there was "no option" but to have both a state of Israel and a Palestinian state "living side by side". He added that in the longer-term, most "sensible Israelis" knew the only real solution to security problems was a peace deal with the Palestinians. "There is no alternative but to push forward and to do so with determination."

The BBC's Matthew Price in Jerusalem says Mr Blair has spent much of the last few months on the ground here in the Middle East trying to work out how to help the Palestinians build better institutions. If he can do that, the hope is that he will manage to lay the foundations for a Palestinian state, our correspondent says.

They say between 150,000 and 200,000 people could be affected over the coming weeks if forecast rains fall in upper reaches of the valley. January is usually the middle of the wet season for southern Africa but it is rarely as wet as this. The Zambezi has already burst its banks in some areas forcing tens of thousands of people to flee their homes.

And the river is continuing to rise. Across northern Zimbabwe, southern Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique, relentless rain has waterlogged fields, destroyed fields and washed out roads and villages. The worry for Mozambique, though, is that most of that water drains out to the east along the Zambezi River valley through the centre of the country.

- The results were delayed for more than a day, at a time when ODM candidate Raila Odinga was leading

- Many thousands of people seem to have only voted in the presidential election but not the parliamentary or local polls held at the same time

- Some of these results came from areas known to be pro-Kibaki

- In the parliamentary race, Mr Odinga's ODM won twice as many seats as Mr Kibaki's Party of National Unity (PNU)

- Results in some constituencies were different when announced nationally, to when they had previously been announced locally

- The head of the election commission has admitted that turnout in one constituency was 115%.

According to the official results, Mr Kibaki won with a tiny margin of 230,000 votes out of a total cast of some 10 million. This means that the alleged malpractices could easily have changed the outcome. Top US official for Africa, Jendayi Frazer, has also suggested that both sides could have been responsible for rigging. But some of the most glaring discrepancies seem to have come from Central Province, Mr Kibaki's home region and known as a stronghold of his Kikuyu community. The Law Society of Kenya has condemned the results as "not credible" and said Mr Kibaki, who was sworn in straight after the official results were declared, should step down.

The announcement follows the failure of efforts to mediate in the crisis by Ghana's President John Kufuor, who is the African Union chairman. He has left Kenya, unable to persuade opposition leader Raila Odinga to meet President Mwai Kibaki. Violent protests over alleged election fraud have left some 600 people dead and the police have banned all rallies.

Opposition Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) members will march to a Nairobi police station to notify the authorities of their plan to hold nationwide protests next Wednesday, an ODM source has told Reuters news agency. "We have recognised that the government is not interested in any mediated resolution to the crisis in our country," ODM spokesman Salim Lone told the AFP news agency. Mr Odinga claims he was robbed of victory and insists that Mr Kibaki steps down.

European Union observers said they had concerns about the way the votes were added up, which could have affected the official results. But Mr Kibaki has sworn in most of his key ministers and says the election is "finished". Minor ministerial posts have not been filled, leaving the way open for a possible government of national unity. Mr Odinga, however, has refused to join a power-sharing administration led by Mr Kibaki.

The opposition leader refused an offer to meet Mr Kibaki, unless it was led by mediators - a condition rejected by the president. As well as the deaths, some 250,000 have fled their homes, following clashes between rival political and ethnic groups.

AU Chairman John Kufuor said both sides had agreed to work with an African panel headed by former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan. But President Mwai Kibaki and opposition chief Raila Odinga neither met nor agreed how to end the crisis. Controversy over Kibaki's re-election in a December 27 vote triggered political and ethnic bloodletting that has displaced 250,000 people, dented the stable reputation of east Africa's biggest economy and disrupted supplies to nearby countries.

Odinga says Kibaki rigged the election. Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) distributed the text of a draft agreement it said had been drawn up with representatives of both Kibaki and the ODM under the facilitation of the World Bank's country director, Colin Bruce. The text agreed to re-examine the elections and hold fresh polls if needed, but the ODM said Kibaki refused to sign.

Kibaki has insisted the poll results stand despite inviting Odinga to direct talks on Friday -- an offer the opposition leader has dismissed unless it is internationally mediated. Behind closed doors, Kibaki watched the swearing-in of a core cabinet whose appointment on Tuesday prompted more violence in Nairobi slums and western towns dominated by Odinga. A U.S. State Department spokesman criticized Kibaki's move. "He (Kibaki) announced a cabinet in a way that caused serious problems in the political process," he said. "We did not think the move was appropriate at the time."

In relation to the Government's manifesto pledge to hold a referendum on the Treaty, he dismissed calls for a vote saying previous treaties like Maastricht had not had one. He went on to add that issues like giving up of national vetoes "are boring debates [that] fascinate maybe 200 people across Europe." While calling for a "mature debate", he claimed that critics of the EU Constitution see the issue as "SIMILAR TO THE THREAT FROM NAZI GERMANY".

The Telegraph reports that Gordon Brown is facing a court case over his refusal to allow a referendum on the revised Constitution. Stuart Bower, a former Labour activist, has persuaded Brighton county court to hear his claim that the PM is in breach of a contract with voters to hold a vote in its 2005 manifesto.

The job could pay Mr Blair about £500,000 a year, according to Wall Street recruitment consultants. Since he left office last June, several international banks are said to have wooed Mr Blair, hoping to make use of his extensive contacts with governments around the world. He will act part-time for JP Morgan and is likely to take similar advisory roles elsewhere.

He said he expected to accept "a small handful" of similar roles with international firms in the coming months. "I have always been interested in commerce and the impact of globalisation," he told the Financial Times in New York. "Nowadays, the intersection between politics and the economy in different parts of the world, including the emerging markets, is very strong." Jamie Dimon, JP Morgan's chief executive, said Mr Blair would be "enormously valuable" to his bank. "There are only a handful of people in the world who have the knowledge and relationships that he has."

On Saturday, Mr Blair will fuel speculation about his becoming the first permanent European Union president when he shares a platform in France with President Nicholas Sarkozy, who has backed him for the post.

The pound dropped more than a cent and a half against the dollar to $1.9583 - the lowest since last March. It has slid all the way from a level of above $2.10 in the past six months alone. It also came within a whisker of the 75 pence mark against the euro, dropping to a level of 74.91p against the single European currency.

Jim O'Neill, chief economist at Goldman Sachs, said he expected the pound's decline to continue throughout the year. He said: "Last month saw close to the biggest single monthly drop of the pound since the ERM exit days at the start of the 1990s and clearly suggests the world is developing a different view of the UK. This seems pretty justified in my opinion, as there are lots of reasons to be bearish on the Pound.

"The 'Northern Rock' factor has badly dented the UK's reputation for being the world's pre-eminent financial centre," he added, saying sterling could drop as low as 81p against the euro.

PRESIDENT BUSH IS A TRUE FRIEND OF ISRAEL. In contrast to his predecessors, once he recognized the evil and duplicitous nature of Yasser Arafat, he severed relations and effectively marginalized him. He also brought to an end the era of moral equivalency during which Palestinian murderers and Israeli victims were both regarded as equal components of a senseless cycle of violence.

In addition, BUSH ENDORSED ISRAEL'S RIGHT TO DEFENSIBLE BORDERS and became the first Western leader to state that when boundaries are finalized, demographic facts on the ground will need to be taken into account - a clear endorsement for Israeli retention of the major settlement blocs. And at Annapolis, despite all its ambivalences, THE PRESIDENT UNEQUIVOCALLY REITERATED THAT ISRAEL IS A "JEWISH STATE," bluntly contradicting the Palestinians, who vowed that they would never come to terms with a Jewish entity.

Indeed, unless the White House reverses these policies, history will judge President Bush as the most pro-Israeli president to date, a leader who resisted pressures from many of his allies to appease the Palestinians and courageously maintained a principled approach toward the Jewish state. President Bush should be reminded that the Israeli presence in Judea and Samaria is not the by-product of an Israeli invasion but the response to an Arab invasion designed to wipe Israel off the map. Even so, the majority of Israelis would today support the creation of a Palestinian state; but certainly not an extended Hamastan.

OUR PRIME MINISTER MUST SURELY URGE PRESIDENT BUSH TO DEMAND THAT THE PALESTINIANS NOW CONFRONT REALITY. In recent weeks, three young Israelis have been brutally murdered by members of the Fatah militia under the control of Abbas. Surely President Bush will appreciate that if, under such circumstances, Israel continues making unilateral concessions, all the wrong messages will be conveyed to the Palestinians. If there is to be a serious process, President Bush must demand that Abbas now substitute action for his duplicitous words and belatedly dismantle the terrorist militias under his jurisdiction.

The president should also be reminded that VICIOUS INCITEMENT AGAINST ISRAEL CONTINUES UNABATED AT EVERY LEVEL OF PALESTINIAN SOCIETY. And that it is unconscionable to demand that Israel collaborate in creating a state under whose jurisdiction, shaheeds (suicide bombers) will continue to be sanctified and their families compensated with state pensions. NOT TO MENTION AN EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM WHICH ENCOURAGES PALESTINIAN CHILDREN TO ACCEPT MARTYRDOM WHILE KILLING JEWS AS A NOBLE SACRIFICE.

Above all, our prime minister should impress upon President Bush that before Israel considers further concessions in the framework of a final status agreement, THE PALESTINIANS MUST COME TO TERMS WITH ISRAEL AS A JEWISH STATE. So long as the Palestinians persist with their so-called Arab right of return, they are effectively proclaiming that they will never reconcile themselves to coexisting with Jewish sovereignty. THAT REMAINS THE SOURCE OF THE CONFLICT.

PRESIDENT BUSH must now take a public stand. He would demonstrate that he is no lame duck by BLUNTLY TELLING ABBAS THE TRUTH, insisting that if he remains either unwilling or unable to undertake steps to curb terrorism and incitement, HE CAN NO LONGER QUALIFY AS A PEACE PARTNER.

Finally, President Bush should be reminded of his repeated declarations warning that THE APPEASEMENT OF JIHADISM HAS IN EVERY INSTANCE ONLY SERVED TO EMBOLDEN TERRORISTS EVERYWHERE.

Abbas will claim that he is doing the best he can, and respond by demanding that Israel dismantle outposts and freeze settlements. AND NOTHING WILL CHANGE. This sort of pointless, circular maneuvering has, at best, continued for the past 14 years, since the signing of the Oslo principles in 1993. At worst it has degenerated into terrorism and war.

While Israel rejects the legitimacy of the Palestinian claim that "THE SETTLEMENTS MADE ME DO IT," in 2005 Israel attempted to remove this excuse by withdrawing from the Gaza Strip and dismantling all the settlements there, along with a few settlements in Samaria. The result was not more Palestinian compliance but less - MORE TERROR AND RADICALISM FROM PRECISELY THE AREA ISRAEL HAD LEFT.

Yesterday, Bush said the first thing he would ask Abbas is "what are you going to do about the rockets" that are being fired from Gaza into Israel. As much as we appreciate this question, a more salient one might be: "WHY IS YOUR TELEVISION GLORIFYING SUICIDE BOMBERS?" Just last month, PA television, which Abbas brought under his personal authority when he took office, started re-broadcasting a video that ran dozens of times at the height of the suicide bombing campaign against Israel. The video begins with an imagined scene of a woman shot dead in the back by Israeli soldiers. She then rises to an Islamic paradise to join the "72 virgins" who await any suicide bomber. Next a young man swears to avenge the woman, is also killed by Israelis, and is seen joining this group of young women for his eternal reward. THIS IS EDUCATION FOR ANYTHING BUT PEACE.

Then there are the dozens of schools named after suicide bombers. There are the recent textbooks that teach that Palestine was stolen by "Zionist gangs" and deny any Jewish connection to the land. THERE ARE THE OFFICIAL PA MAPS AND EMBLEMS THAT DEPICT PALESTINE NOT AS THE WEST BANK AND GAZA, BUT ALL OF ISRAEL AS WELL. The most important thing Bush can do in Ramallah is to say to the Palestinians that if they want a state they must stop spewing hatred and glorifying terrorism.

"Bush can and must order Israel to halt the construction in all settlements," said one official. "Otherwise, efforts to bring about peace will never succeed. The settlements are the biggest obstacle to peace. We see no difference between a settlement in the West Bank and a Jewish settlement in Jerusalem."

Abbas is also expected to tell Bush that the PA can't stop the rocket attacks on Israel because its forces are no longer in control of the Gaza Strip, a top Abbas aide said. "We will remind President Bush that we are only in control of the West Bank," he said. "We don't have any security presence in the Gaza Strip." Meanwhile, PA SECURITY OFFICIALS EXPRESSED CONCERN OVER GROWING THREATS BY PALESTINIAN GROUPS TO KILL BUSH, and expressed hope the US president won't cancel his visit to Ramallah in their wake.

"Bush is not welcome in Palestine," Hamas representative Mushir al-Masri said in a speech before the demonstrators. OUR PEOPLE HAVE CHOSEN THE PATH OF JIHAD TO LIBERATE PALESTINE AND WE WILL NEVER ABANDON THIS CHOICE." He added that the US WEAPONS that had been given to Fatah were now being USED BY HAMAS TO ATTACK ISRAEL.

Jerusalem police closed the Temple Mount to Jews, telling those who arrived that an ancient Muslim holiday was discovered to be taking place, thereby precluding entrance by Jews. They could not name the holiday when asked, however. "It seems that the Temple Mount, Judaism's holiest site, will be the first thing to be handed to [U.S. President George W.] Bush on a silver platter," read a statement to the media by the Movement to Prepare the Holy Temple.

The statement called for Jews all over the world to fight the possible transfer of control of the site to the Palestinian Authority in upcoming negotiations. "The Jewish nation must oppose in every way the abandonment of the Temple Mount and Jerusalem to foreigners. We must be faithful and act with self-sacrifice against the initiatives of our enemies, both without and within."