Washington had promised Israel a substantial increase in its financial support to bolster it against Iran. But US officials decided to amend their pledge because of escalating costs, including the need to spend $750 million (£375 million) to fly thousands of armoured troop carriers to Iraq to protect troops against Iranian-made roadside bombs.

The Pentagon has come under intense pressure to speed up deployment of the new Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle (MRAP), which boasts a V-shaped hull and a raised chassis and is proven to withstand a range of explosive projectiles common in Iraq. The army has ordered 8,000 MRAP vehicles at a cost of $12 billion. But a request by the Pentagon for an emergency transport budget illustrates the increasing danger faced by troops on the ground. Officials said extra funds would be used to get 3,400 MRAPs to Iraq by the end of the year.

The diversion of funds has caused a budget shortfall in Israel that forced Ehud Olmert, the prime minister, to convene an emergency cabinet meeting yesterday. Officials discussed ways of dealing with the £250 million deficit in next year's budget, which Israeli commentators said would result in austerity measures.

More worryingly for Israel, there are fears the shortfall will have a significant impact on the ability of the country to defend itself as military training and procurement are cut back.

The tension over the delayed American money has tarnished relations between the two countries, which were boosted only last week when Israel confirmed it would enjoy a surge in American defence aid of 25 per cent over the next 10 years.

China has been plagued by a summer of heavy rainfall in which 936 people have died in floods, landslides and house collapses, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said on its website.

This is three times more than the number of homes needed for immigrants under the last Conservative government. A team of independent researchers, who carry out work for MPs, said an average of 19,000 immigrant households a year were established between 1992 and 1997.

But the figure has since soared to 66,000 a year, which has helped to price many British first-time buyers out of the market. Between 1997 and 2005, the latest period for which figures are available, 592,000 houses were needed solely for immigrants.

JERUSALEM - Fresh from bulldozing a synagogue near Judaism's third holiest site, destroying another synagogue near Judaism's second holiest site and calling up 3,000 soldiers to forcibly evict two Jewish families from a Jewish market, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's government now has ordered a rabbi and his mobile yeshiva to vacate Hebron, the oldest Jewish city.

Rabbi Danny Cohen, an emissary to Hebron for the Chabad Lubavitch Worldwide Jewish Outreach Movement, says he was surprised when earlier this week he received an eviction notice from the Israeli government demanding he remove his mobile structure from the city.

Cohen teaches Torah and organizes prayer quarams for Hebron residents from his headquarters - a mobile trailer parked in Hebron's Jewish neighborhood. The rabbi says he was forced to set up religious shop in the trailer because of extreme Israeli government regulations against building new Jewish structures in Hebron, an important biblical city that once served as the Jewish capital.

While rampant illegal construction in Arab sections of Hebron remains largely unregulated, the Israeli government strictly enforces construction regulations in the city's Jewish sections, which are cordoned off to about 25 percent of Hebron's territory; the rest of Hebron is Arab.

Aryeh King, chairman of the Jerusalem Forum, said Jerusalem municipal workers told him they were instructed by Olmert's office to ignore illegal Palestinian construction in Jerusalem.

"Ehud Olmert gave the order not to deal with the problem and not to put Israeli security forces to the duty of taking down the illegal Arab complexes," said King. "Senior municipal workers told me Olmert said not to bother with the illegal Arab homes because eventually eastern Jerusalem would be given to the Palestinian Authority."

Nile tilapia, a fish more usually seen on Kenyan dinner tables, was introduced to several abandoned fishponds in the west of the country. By consuming mosquito larvae it managed to reduce numbers of two of the main malarial mosquitoes by more than 94%. The BMC Public Health study noted the fish could prove critical as mosquitoes are becoming resistant to pesticides.

Nile tilapia's taste for mosquitoes has been known since 1917 but this is the first time field data has been published detailing their use in mosquito control, the researchers from the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology said. The authors suggested that for Kenyans, the fish could prove a win-win investment. In addition to limiting mosquito populations they could also be used for food, and even generate income, too.

Joanne Greenfield, malaria advisor for the World Health Organization in Kenya, was more circumspect, while describing the findings as "positive". "This method may well work in a defined area of water, but mosquitoes spread in all sorts of places - including small pools in the mud and puddles - where you obviously can't introduce fish," she said. "It just wouldn't work for many areas."

But she added: "We recommend a spectrum of methods to combat malaria, and this could certainly be a useful tool."

Commuters faced huge delays when floods hit subways and overground train lines during Wednesday morning's rush hour.

New York state Governor Eliot Spitzer ordered an assessment of the system's drainage after the third major failure of the system in seven months. Some areas of New York experienced more than 3in (7.6cm) of rain in three hours on Wednesday morning, causing havoc on the transport system.

Elsewhere in the US, heavy downpours caused havoc - with parts of Nebraska being drenched by four inches (10cm) of rain in just one hour. And more flood warnings were issued on Wednesday in northern Illinois, where flooding a day earlier had forced dozens to evacuate their homes.

The farm is believed to be adjacent to a field in the village of Normandy where the first outbreak occurred.

Laboratory workers at Pirbright today face rigorous background checks as security services look into claims that the foot and mouth outbreak could have been the result of sabotage. Investigators are checking every worker with access to the powerful experimental vaccines and potentially lethal disease samples stored at two laboratories at the Surrey facility.

They are searching for an individual or group of workers with a motive to devastate Britain's farming industry, or with a grudge against either the private Merial Animal Health laboratory or the Government's Institute of Animal Health. There is a "strong possibility" that Pirbright was the source of the outbreak which has been confirmed at two nearby farms, a preliminary report by the Health and Safety Executive has concluded.

Asked if the outbreak could have been sabotage, Environment Secretary Hilary Benn said: "The truth is, we don't know. We're all very, very anxious." The theory would be investigated as "a matter of urgency", he added. Inspectors are examining various potential routes for "accidental or deliberate transfer of material from the site.

Excessive sunbathing, obesity, binge drinking and smoking have been linked to spiralling rates of cancer, according to a new cancer charity study.

Rates of melanoma, the most dangerous form of skin cancer, have risen by over 40 per cent in the past decade, making it the fastest rising cancer in the UK. Incidence of mouth, womb, and kidney cancers has also shown rapid increases in the last 10 years.

The study by Cancer Research UK suggests around half of all cancers could be prevented by lifestyle changes.

Trees were uprooted, smashing into cars and blocking streets, roofs were torn off houses and power cuts reported. The storms led to tornado and flash flood warnings, but gave way later to hot, humid weather.

A woman died when her car got stuck in an underpass and was hit from behind, city Mayor Michael Bloomberg said. Many workers stayed at home, as transport officials advised commuters to avoid the morning rush hour.

Every subway line going into the central Manhattan area was subject to delays during the rush hour. Rail routes to the city from neighbouring New Jersey were also affected. Flights from John F Kennedy airport were delayed by up to an hour and a half, and from LaGuardia by about an hour.

Temperatures were expected to rise above 38C (100F) during the day. The National Weather Service confirmed that the storm brought with it Brooklyn's first ever tornado, measured to be an F2 twister. The tornado brought winds of approximately 111 miles per hour.

The statewide average through July was 27.11 inches, nearly 11 inches above the norm of 16.21 inches, National Weather Service meteorologist Victor Murphy said Tuesday. "When we broke the drought, we broke it with a bang." The previous record for the first seven months was 25.88 inches in 1941. July was the third-wettest since 1895, and the wettest since 1903. The month was also the coolest since 1976 and the fourth coolest in 113 years.

Things are changing, though. The Dallas-Fort Worth area was supposed to hit 100 degrees for the first time this year Wednesday, and many other areas in Texas also could see their first triple-digit heat.

Murphy said, "Everyone's been cursing the rain, but when the rain shuts off, the heat's soon to follow, drier conditions could be on the way as well."

"Believe it or not, it looks like La Nina is starting to shape, the equatorial waters of the central Pacific Ocean have started to cool off the past couple of weeks, and that might be the precursor of the incoming La Nina event." If those conditions develop this fall, it would probably mean dry conditions from October through March.

We all know what exile is. Exile is when you get kicked off your land. A nation may be forcibly exiled from its land, but if the nation longs to return, sets days to mourn the eviction, remembers every inch of the land, remembers its history there, reveres the holy places and burial sites of their forefathers, and teaches every successive generation to remember - IN SUCH A SCENARIO, THE EXILE IS NEVER COMPLETE BECAUSE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE PEOPLE AND THEIR LAND IS NEVER FULLY SEVERED.

But what then is a full exile? A FULL EXILE IS WHEN THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE LAND AND THE PEOPLE IS FORGOTTEN. In terms of emotional connection, Rachel's Tomb is unequaled for the Jewish people. THE MEMORY OF RACHEL'S TOMB IN THE OLIVE ORCHARDS OF BETHLEHEM HAS KEPT US CONNECTED TO THIS PLACE THROUGHOUT THE LONG EXILE.

Go to Rachel's Tomb today - if you can. A monstrosity of walls, pillboxes, gates, and chains has been erected to ostensibly keep the would-be intruder away. The place is downright ugly. Take your children there. As you pass into the prison-like fortress try to teach your children about our mother Rachel. You will not succeed because you will not be able to communicate a sense of the value of the place. It is too ugly, too military, too filled with fear, it is simply unattractive both physically and emotionally.

ONLY THOSE WHO REMEMBER RACHEL'S TOMB THE WAY IT USED TO BE CAN STILL HAVE AN EMOTIONAL CONNECTION TO THE PLACE. JUST AS WE ARE EXILED FROM THE PHYSICAL RACHEL'S TOMB, RACHEL'S TOMB IS BEING EXILED FROM OUR MINDS.

This phenomenon of exile is not only at Rachel's Tomb - it's everywhere. The Tomb of Joseph in Nablus is gone, destroyed by Arabs, abandoned by Israel. Hebron, home and burial place of the patriarchs is constantly in the crosshairs of destruction. THE TEMPLE MOUNT, THE PLACE OF TWO JEWISH TEMPLES, IS BEING SYSTEMATICALLY NEUTERED OF ITS HISTORY (let alone its future value). Judea and Samaria, the biblical heartland, is now being cut off by a snaking wall, which scars the land and cuts us off from our history and heritage. THE EXILING FORCES SEEM TO ATTACK THE VERY PLACES WHERE OUR COLLECTIVE MEMORY WAS STRONGEST.

The Jewish people's historical connection to the land has been systematically un-taught. In schools, MANY JEWISH CHILDREN LEARN TO HATE THE BIBLE, LEARN A REVISIONIST ANTI-ZIONIST HISTORY, AND ARE SIMPLY NEVER TAUGHT THE STORIES AND THE EMOTIONAL CONNECTION TO PLACES LIKE RACHEL'S TOMB. On the other hand, a new milieu and accompanying lingo fill the void left in the young mind: Occupation, Palestine, Peace, and Post-Zionism. OUR HISTORY AND WITH IT, OUR EMOTIONAL CONNECTION TO OUR LAND, IS BEING ERASED.

TODAY, THOSE WHO STILL TEACH AND PREACH A CONNECTION WITH THESE PLACES ARE BRANDED EXTREMISTS, SO THEIR MESSAGE MAKES LITTLE SENSE TO OUR PEOPLE. Say the word "Hebron" to a young disconnected Israeli and he will only conjure up an occupied Arab city with a few cantankerous crazy Jews who cause all the problems. IT IS NO WONDER THEN THAT FOR HIM IT MAKES SENSE TO "GIVE IT BACK" SINCE NOTHING SEEMS TO TIE US TO THESE PLACES IN THE FIRST PLACE.

Today's post-Zionist leaders have made Israel into a State of Exile, exiling our people from their homes, exiling our land by cutting it off and giving it away, and exiling the minds and hearts of the Jewish people by teaching them to forget. AFTER WAITING FOR TWO THOUSAND YEARS TO RETURN, JEWS ARE BEING TAUGHT THAT HEBRON ISN'T JEWISH, THAT BETHLEHEM ISN'T JEWISH, THAT NABLUS ISN'T JEWISH, THAT THE TEMPLE MOUNT ISN'T JEWISH. A methodical exile is taking place, the exile of place and the exile of mind.

THIS STILL MEANS NEARLY A QUARTER OF A MILLION PUPILS WILL MOVE UP TO SECONDARY SCHOOL NEXT MONTH WITHOUT HAVING MASTERED THE SKILLS OF READING, WRITING AND MATHS.

The scale of under-performance in the subjects regarded as crucial by parents and employers is unchanged since last summer despite pressure on primaries to achieve year-on-year improvements. IT FOLLOWS INVESTMENT OF BILLIONS OF POUNDS OVER THE PAST DECADE IN LITERACY AND NUMERACY DRIVES.

Almost one in ten boys still start secondary school with the reading age of an average seven-year-old.

MINISTERS WERE FORCED TO ADMIT THEY HAD "FURTHER TO GO" AS IT EMERGED JUST 60 PER CENT OF ALL PUPILS - AND 56 PER CENT OF BOYS - REACHED THE EXPECTED LEVEL FOR THEIR AGE IN THE THREE RS COMBINED. It means some 234,000 pupils are unable to punctuate basic sentences, spell words with more than one syllable, pick out basic themes from text and recall the six times table.

The results also revealed a massive gulf in standards between state and fee-paying schools. Almost every prep school pupil reached the standard expected of 11-year-olds - so-called "level four" - in English, maths and science. Twice as many fee-paying pupils are so far ahead in the three Rs they are meeting an even tougher level - the standard expected of 14-year-olds.

In its first reaction to the new US visa law, the European Commission said it was "considering" a so-called electronic traveller authorisation scheme - similar to the American plan - that would require foreigners heading to the EU to give notice of their travel plans before departure.

The threat has been conveyed to senior US officials and lawmakers, with one letter sent last month stressing that a European system would "of course operate on a reciprocal basis".

A spokesman for the EU executive said no final decision had been taken, but the idea had received "new impetus" by the adoption of a US counter-terrorism bill last week that requires travellers to give US authorities at least 48 hours' notice of their plans to visit the country.

A major lapse in security at a Government research laboratory complex was identified last night by an official report as the most likely cause of the foot and mouth outbreak. A Health and Safety Executive inquiry said there was a "strong possibility" that the virus came from the Government-licensed Pirbright complex in Surrey, which is just three miles from the two farms that have been contaminated.

It is likely workers at the site - shared between the Institute for Animal Health (IAH) and its commercial partner, Merial Animal Health - were to blame for spreading the disease, the report said. In a further twist, the HSE said that sabotage at the labs could not be ruled out. Ironically, the Government has just asked Merial to produce 300,000 foot and mouth vaccines.

Other developments yesterday included:
- The two farmers whose herds have been infected with the disease spoke of living through a "nightmare" and told of how their businesses had been ruined.
- Farmers spoke of their anger that footpaths within the protection zone had not been closed sooner following the outbreak, allowing walkers to potentially spread the disease for several days.
- Others warned there would be "hell to pay" if it transpired that MOVING THE DEAD INFECTED ANIMALS 80 MILES ACROSS COUNTRY FOR INCINERATION helped to spread the disease.
- Supermarkets began reporting a SHORTAGE OF MEAT caused by movement restrictions.
- The Daily Telegraph can also reveal that officials are investigating A FURTHER POSSIBLE 20 CASES OF FOOT AND MOUTH, thought to be close to the centre of the outbreak, where farmers have reported concerns about their animals.

As the investigators hunted the source of the leak, Defra officials inspected a number of allotments, close to the farm where the outbreak first occurred, on which Pirbright workers are believed to grow vegetables.