Senior Roman Catholic and Anglican bishops have already warned that the move will undermine social structures dating back thousands of years. Mr Cameron is facing a backlash from his own supporters, with senior Tory MPs, including several ministers, expected to vote against the reforms. However, he argues that the Conservatives should support gay marriage on the grounds that stability and commitment in relationships of any kind should be encouraged.

Last week, ministers published a consultation on how the changes to civil marriage laws will be introduced. The plans explicitly rule out alterations to religious marriage. However, the Muslim Council of Britain said the case for the government’s proposals was “strikingly weak”. Farooq Murad, Secretary General of the MCB, said: “Whilst we remain opposed to all forms of discrimination, including homophobia, redefining the meaning of marriage is in our opinion unnecessary and unhelpful.

“With the advent of civil partnerships, both homosexual and heterosexual couples now have equal rights in the eyes of the law. Therefore, in our view the case to change the definition of marriage, as accepted throughout time and across cultures, is strikingly weak. In common with other Abrahamic faiths, marriage in Islam is defined as ‘a union between a man and a woman’,” he said. “So while the state has accommodated for gay couples, such unions will not be blessed as marriage by the Islamic institutions.”

The contours of such a society are starting to take shape in this high-tech nation, frustrating those who prefer coins and bills over digital money. In most Swedish cities, public buses don't accept cash; tickets are prepaid or purchased with a cell phone text message. A small but growing number of businesses only take cards, and some bank offices — which make money on electronic transactions — have stopped handling cash altogether.

"There are towns where it isn't at all possible anymore to enter a bank and use cash," complains Curt Persson, chairman of Sweden's National Pensioners' Organization. He says that's a problem for elderly people in rural areas who don't have credit cards or don't know how to use them to withdraw cash. The decline of cash is noticeable even in houses of worship, like the Carl Gustaf Church in Karlshamn, southern Sweden, where Vicar Johan Tyrberg recently installed a card reader to make it easier for worshippers to make offerings. "People came up to me several times and said they didn't have cash but would still like to donate money," Tyrberg says.

The prevalence of electronic transactions — and the digital trail they generate — also helps explain why Sweden has less of a problem with graft than countries with a stronger cash culture, such as Italy or Greece, says economics professor Friedrich Schneider of the Johannes Kepler University in Austria. "If people use more cards, they are less involved in shadow economy activities," says Schneider, an expert on underground economies. In Italy — where cash has been a common means of avoiding value-added tax and hiding profits from the taxman — Prime Minister Mario Monti in December put forward measures to limit cash transactions to payments under 1,000 euros ($1,300), down from 2,500 euros before.

Russia, one of President Bashar al-Assad's strongest allies despite international condemnation of the government's violent crackdown on the country's uprising, has repeatedly blocked the United Nations Security Council's attempts to halt the violence, accusing the US and its allies of trying to start another war.

Now the Russian Black Sea fleet's Iman tanker has arrived in the Syrian port of Tartus on the Mediterranean Sea with an anti-terror squad from the Russian Marines aboard according to the Interfax news agency. The Assad government has insisted it is fighting a terrorist insurgency. The Russian news reports did not elaborate on the Russian troops' mission in Syria or if they are expected to leave the port. The presence of Russian troops in Syria could be a "pretty obvious" show of support to the regime, according to Russian security expert Mark Galeotti.

"No one thinks of the Russians as anything but Assad's last friends," said Galeotti, professor of global affairs at New York University. Moscow has long enjoyed a cozy relationship with the Assad regime, to which it sells billions of dollars of weapons. In return Russia has maintained a Navy base at Tartus, which gives it access to the Mediterranean. Last week Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia had no plans to send troops to Syria.

Reverting to Hebrew, he said, “It’s not too late to change the corrupt regime and return to your glorious Persian heritage of culture and values, rather than bombs and rockets.”

“Sometimes I wonder,” the president continued, “how such a civilized people could allow such an extreme, blind, and hateful group [of leaders] to shame its historical heritage. I wonder how the nation allows the regime to sow fear, to deny its people freedom, to rock the young generation…” Peres said that Tehran was investing all its money in its nuclear program at the price of letting children starve, adding, “Enriched uranium can’t feed hungry Iranians.”

Iran is controlled by a small group of extremists, he said, and it was time for the people to regain control over their lives. Now was the time for freedom, he said. Just like young Arabs were ousting the old regimes, it was time for Iranians to get rid of theirs. “Have a good holiday,” he ended. “Look back proudly, look ahead wisely.”

The Israeli Foreign Ministry, by contrast, expressing shock over the attack, said Israel was confident the French authorities would do “everything possible” to bring the perpetrator to justice. Opposition head Tzipi Livni posted on her Facebook page, calling it a sad day. “The state of Israel and the Jewish people are partners in battling anti-semitism and hate crimes,” she said. Livni said France must protect its citizens from events like this one, adding that she trusts the French authorities will find the person responsible.

The UK board of Jewish Deputies issued a press statement, saying the attack is “a terrible reminder of the threat” minorities in Europe face. A rabbi, two of his children and a young girl were killed when a man on a motorbike shot them in front of a Jewish school in Toulouse. The man fled, and French police were searching for him.

In the wake of the deadly attack, MK Danny Danon (Likud), called for an urgent session Tuesday of the Knesset’s Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs Committee, which he chairs, to discuss the attack. “We will not allow the pogroms of the beginning of the 20th century to return to Europe,” Danon said.

In a culinary crisis that has been dubbed "Marmageddon", the country's only Marmite factory in Christchurch closed in November due to earthquake damage and will not resume production of the thick, black savoury concoction until July. Mr Key said the shortage was already impacting on the prime ministerial breakfast. "I'm going to have to go thin I'm afraid. I have a very small amount in my office and once that runs out I'm obviously aware that supplies are very short," he told TV3 on Tuesday.

JUST 10 OF WESTERWELLE'S EUROPEAN COLLEAGUES have apparently been invited to the informal gathering at the Foreign Ministry in Berlin. A diplomatic source in Sweden, which was not among the countries invited, told Spiegel that Westerwelle was not contributing to EU cooperation by leaving some countries out. While the Danish foreign minister did make the cut, Copenhagen reportedly sees Westerwelle's diplomatic initiative as a slight to its position at the helm of the EU's rotating presidency, which Denmark holds for the first half of 2012.

Westerwelle also faces criticism in Ireland, where the recently negotiated fiscal pact still needs to be approved by referendum. From Dublin's perspective, Westerwelle's debate on the future of Europe is seen as unhelpful at the present moment, in light of the currency union's current challenges.

Last week, German news reports quoted sources within the Foreign Ministry saying that they aimed to spearhead a foward-looking strategy "at a time of diminishing enthusiasm" for the European project. They reportedly want the bloc to look beyond Europe's current crisis, and have suggested that the meeting on Tuesday could pave the way for future discussion.

And private companies will be told to overhaul paperwork and computer databases containing the words. Marriage certificates could even be affected by the Coalition proposals, with rules possibly axing terms such as bride and bridegroom.

The reforms – promised by Prime Minister David Cameron last autumn and set out in a consultation paper launched yesterday – intend to open civil marriage to gay and lesbian couples for the first time.

A different category – religious marriage – will be reserved for male and female couples. The proposals have triggered a furious row, with the Church of England accusing the Coalition of misunderstanding the law of marriage. But Equalities Minister Lynne Featherstone warned religious leaders not to ‘fan the flames of homophobia’ with ‘inflammatory’ language.

New versions of documents will ‘replace references to husband and wife with the more neutral terms spouses and partners’. The cost of the red tape revolution demanded by the ‘Equal Civil Marriage’ plans will run into millions, according to an official analysis published alongside the consultation paper. Businesses will be given ‘lead-in time’ – a period of grace to change their websites and databases before their failure to recognise same-sex marriage runs foul of the law.

A senior MP who defended the institution of marriage has received death threats and hate mail, it emerged last night. Tory David Burrowes, a ministerial aide to Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude, said he has been sent scores of intimidating emails and messages on social networking sites over his opposition to gay marriage. Mr Burrowes, a Christian father of six, was forced to pass on the messages to police. He said he was more worried about the intolerance displayed in the threats than the actual risk to his life.

The proposal, made in a speech that also called for tighter borders to keep illegal immigrants out of Europe, was part of a flurry of promises designed to help Sarkozy catch up with Socialist frontrunner Francois Hollande before a presidential vote in late April and May. Sarkozy said European companies should have priority when European states award contracts, but economists warned that the measures, while perhaps smart politics, would face stiff legal and political challenges.

If Europe embraces protectionism "it will be difficult to sustain it against countries like China whose borders we want opened," said Christophe Destais, deputy director of the Paris-based CEPII economic think tank. Measures boosting investment should be "non-protectionist", the EU Financial Services Commissioner Michel Barnier said, while adding that the European Union was working on achieving better reciprocity on investment from trading partners.

Thibault Lanxade from France's MEDEF business lobby supported the idea of an Act but warned that France and other nations had made a commitment to the World Trade Organization in 1994 to compete fairly on public contracts. And preferring Europeans could dash existing efforts towards getting China to join WTO agreements on attributing public contracts, warned Patrick Messerlin, professor of economics at the Institut d'Etudes Politiques in Paris.

But WTO or not, Europe would certainly face problems if European companies were officially preferred. And economist Destais wondered whether it was even possible in the 21st century to distinguish local companies from foreign ones. "How can you measure benefits to Europe ... when the manufacturers involved are globalised and use suppliers from all over the world?" Destais asked.

Bailouts for debt-laden countries and a Europe-wide squeeze on public spending are casting doubt over the cost of the whole EU integration project. Nigel Farage, leader of the UK Independence Party, said: “The high-handed actions of the European elite are succeeding in turning the entire Continent against them.

“No longer are the British people alone in condemning the project. While taxpayers across the Continent have a greater belief in the dream, even they are beginning to have qualms about the practical costs of that dream in these times of austerity.” The poll, the most in-depth survey of its kind in recent years, was carried out by new think tank YouGov-Cambridge, which questioned more than 11,000 voters across the EU. It reveals that Britain and the eurozone countries are heading in “two starkly different directions”.

While the majority of voters in France, Germany and Italy favour more integration, support for the project in the UK drains away. Six out of 10 Britons want a renegotiation of our relationship with Brussels or complete withdrawal. Six out of 10 also back a national referendum.

In contrast 62 per cent of Germans, 61 per cent of Italians and almost half of French voters want greater integration. There is even a majority in Italy in favour of a United States of Europe, an idea also given the backing of four out of 10 French voters. The vast majority of British voters want to reclaim national control in almost all policy areas.

Members of Unasur, the South American equivalent of the EU, called on the UK to negotiate over the islands. The organisation – whose 12 members include Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Uruguay – urged Britain “to restart negotiations as soon as possible with a view to ending the dispute”. Referring to the islands by their Spanish name, it added: “The British military presence in the Malvinas is contrary to regional policy which supports the search for a peaceful solution in the dispute over sovereignty.”

“We reject the development of unilateral activities by Great Britain in the disputed area, which include exploration and exploitation of natural resources as well as military exercises.” Venezuelan foreign minister Nicolas Maduro said: “What Britain has done in the last few weeks is rude.”

“David Cameron and William Hague’s attitudes are ones of arrogance, high-handedness and scorn towards Argentina. And if it’s towards Argentina, it’s towards all of us.”

The situation will worsen this week as governors in two Argentine provinces discuss banning planes from the islands landing except for humanitarian reasons and stop shops displaying clothes with a Union Flag on them. The UK has accused Argentina of a campaign of intimidation towards the Falkland Islands.

The ministry is considering whether to deploy ground-based Patriot Advanced Capability-3 interceptors and Aegis-equipped destroyers carrying Standard Missile-3 ballistic missile interceptors, Tanaka told reporters at the Air Self-Defense Force's Hyakuri air base in Omitama, Ibaraki Prefecture.

"We are currently doing a mental exercise to prepare (for the planned rocket launch), using the previous incident as our guide," Tanaka said, referring to the government's decision at the time of the launch of long-range ballistic missile by Pyongyang in April 2009.

In March 2009, Yasukazu Hamada, defense minister at the time, issued an order for the Self-Defense Forces to destroy a North Korean rocket or its debris in the event that it fell onto Japanese territory.

With the issuance of the order, the ASDF dispatched units capable of launching PAC-3 missiles to Iwate and Akita prefectures in northeastern Japan as well as the Tokyo metropolitan area, while the Maritime Self-Defense Force deployed three Aegis guided-missile destroyers in the Sea of Japan and the Pacific.

In the common practice of dumping government documents on a Friday afternoon, just as the news cycle is wrapping up for the week – a move critics say allows the administration to avoid widespread coverage of embarrassing actions – the White House released an executive order on “National Defense Resources Preparedness.”

Filled with language about “government-owned equipment” and a “defense executive reserve,” among other vague statements, rumors began to spread that the executive order expanded the president’s power to do everything from seizing whole industries to drafting private armies.

A Canada Free Press article titled “Obama Executive Order: Peacetime Martial Law!” spread concerns of gasoline ration cards; while an Examiner article declared the order would “nationalize everything” and “allow for a civilian draft.” Facebook, email and Twitter were suddenly abuzz, and even the extremely popular Drudge Report posted a link to the White House release under the title “Martial Law? Obama Issues Executive Order.”

Read the order:- http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/03/16/executive-order-national-defense-resources-preparedness

The UN estimates more than 8,000 people have now died in a year-long uprising against President Bashar al-Assad. Al-Mezze has previously been the scene of large anti-government protests. One resident told Reuters news agency that there was "fighting near Hamada supermarket and the sound of explosions there and elsewhere in the neighbourhood". He added: "Security police have blocked several side streets and the street lighting has been cut off."

Opposition activist Amer al-Sadeq told the BBC's World Today programme he had spoken to a contact in al-Mezze who reported four blasts within five minutes and then heavy gunfire. The latest incident follows bomb blasts in Damascus and the northern city of Aleppo over the weekend. The car bomb that exploded in Aleppo on Sunday killed at least two people and injured 30 others.

A day earlier, at least 27 people were reported to have been killed and 97 wounded in two explosions in the capital. State TV described the blasts as "terrorist" attacks.

In the largely ceremonial office of president, Gauck poses no threat to Merkel's domination of national politics, but his moral authority, independence of mind and lack of party affiliation could make him an awkward partner for her government as it struggles to overcome Europe's economic crisis. Gauck, 72, won 991 votes in the federal assembly comprising members of parliament and regional delegates that elects German heads of state. His main rival, veteran anti-Nazi campaigner Beate Klarsfeld, got 126 votes.

Germans hope Gauck, a prominent player in the peaceful protests that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, can restore dignity to the presidency, a post tarnished by financial scandals that toppled his predecessor Christian Wulff. "I take up this post with the endless gratitude of a person who, after a long trek through the political desert of the 20th century, has finally and unexpectedly found his home again and was able to witness in the last 20 years the joy of shaping a democratic society," he said after taking the oath of office.

His victory was never in doubt after all the main political parties, including Merkel's centre-right Christian Democrats, threw their weight behind his candidacy. Merkel played down suggestions that the feisty theologian would use his office as a pulpit to harangue Germany's politicians or that they might clash over policy issues. Eighty percent of Germans trust Gauck, according to an opinion poll by Infratest, yet two thirds said they thought he would be an "uncomfortable" president for the political parties.