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EU finance ministers are set to meet in Brussels to discuss establishing a new "stabilisation mechanism" to prevent the Greek debt crisis from spreading.

The mechanism, which is being compared to a European-style IMF, would be available to the 16 member states in the eurozone.

Some leaders want details agreed before markets open on Monday, to prevent investor fears over the euro spreading.

But other countries, including the UK, oppose such large-scale support.

On Friday, the leaders of the 16 countries that use the single currency approved an 110bn euro ($145bn; £95bn) loan package to Greece, which is backed by the EU and IMF.

They also agreed to take whatever steps were needed to protect the euro, and to accelerate budget cuts and ensure deficits were addressed.

Correspondents say they are looking to agree on funding of about 70bn euros that could be made available immediately to countries in trouble.

While bail-outs are banned under EU rules, the commission reportedly plans to extend an existing clause in the Lisbon Treaty originally designed to allow it to provide aid to member states experiencing serious difficulties that was used to help Hungary and Latvia.

‘Watertight defence’

But the Commission is also seeking approval for a much more ambitious mechanism that could be used to fund hundreds of billions of dollars of loans.

The BBC’s Jonny Dymond in Brussels says officials at the European Commission have laboured throughout the weekend to rush through these plans.

Under the proposals, the Commission would borrow money for the stabilisation mechanism directly on the markets to gurantee troubled country’s debts.

Officials hope the loan guarantees would prevent the crisis in Greece spreading to other eurozone countries with high deficits or debts as well as low economic growth, most notably Portugal, Spain and Ireland.

"Between now and Sunday night we will have a watertight line of defence," Eurogroup Chairman Jean-Claude Juncker said on Saturday.

"We have to make it clear that all eurozone countries are ready to defend each and every eurozone country, because they want to defend the eurozone as a whole," he added.

Our correspondent says political acceptance from EU nations is critical.

The UK may be happy with the 70bn euro emergency package, it is not prepared to be part of any EU-style IMF guaranteeing loans.

What went wrong in Greece?

Greece’s economic reforms that led to it abandoning the drachma as its currency in favour of the euro in 2002 made it easier for the country to borrow money.

Greece went on a debt-funded spending spree, including high-profile projects such as the 2004 Athens Olympics, which went well over budget.

It was hit by the downturn, which meant it had to spend more on benefits and received less in taxes. There were also doubts about the accuracy of its economic statistics.

Greece’s economic problems meant lenders started charging higher interest rates to lend it money and widespread tax evasion also hit the government’s coffers.

There have been demonstrations against the government’s austerity measures to deal with its 300bn euro (£267bn) debt, such as cuts to public sector pay.

Now the government is having to access a 110bn euro (£95bn; $146.2bn) bail-out package from the European Union and International Monetary Fund.

Greece’s problems have made investors nervous, which has made it more expensive for other European countries such as Portugal to borrow money.

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Deciding the contribution of each country to the stabilisation mechanism could also be a stumbling block.

Fears that a debt default by Greece could paralyse the world’s financial system – just as the collapse of Lehman Brothers did two years ago – caused European, US and Asian stock markets to plunge in the past week.

On Friday, bankers urged the European Central Bank to become the "buyer of last resort" of eurozone government bonds to steady markets.

The president of the European Central Bank, Jean-Claude Trichet, said it had not yet discussed the move but was willing to respond to unfolding events.

The Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy have cancelled foreign trips because of the severity of the crisis.

In an interview with Russian media on Saturday, US President Barack Obama said: "I am very concerned about what’s happening in Europe. But I think it is an issue that the Europeans recognise is very serious."

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Senior Conservatives and Liberal Democrats are to hold more talks in a bid to agree terms for a power-sharing government.

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A family of four whose yacht hit an iceberg in the south Atlantic are being taken to the Falkland Islands after being rescued by a warship.

Carl Lomas and Tracey Worth, of Chelmerton, Derbyshire, were sailing to Cape Town with their two teenage daughters Caitland and Morgause.

They got into difficulties 300 miles north-east of South Georgia on Friday.

They were rescued by the crew of HMS Clyde. The family were not injured, a Coastguard spokesman said.

They are expected to reach the Falkland Islands – which are 1,000 miles away – by the middle of next week.

Engine failure

According to their online blog, the couple had been sailing since March 2007.

It said they had left from Ipswich and visited Santander, Cape St Vincent, Salvador, Buenos Aires, Robinson Crusoe Island, Cape Horn, and recently South Georgia.

They had been sailing to South Africa when their yacht hit a low-lying iceberg known as a "growler" which is difficult to see because most of the ice mass is below the surface.

The 60ft-long (18m) yacht Hollinsclough had taken on water and suffered engine failure.

Falmouth Coastguard picked up their emergency signal north-east of South Georgia and HMS Clyde, which was 200 miles (320km) south of their position, was sent to rescue them.

Outgoing Marine Engineer Officer Lt Robert Satterley said: "When we approached the yacht, we were relieved to see that there were four people alive and well.

"The yacht had sustained severe damage and lay low in the water and it was clear that the family had been through quite an ordeal.

"Unfortunately nothing could be done to save the yacht and we were just glad to get them back to the ship safely."

‘Similar to Titanic’

A Coastguard spokesman said: "All four are safe and well now and on their way to the Falklands.

"They are okay, but I would imagine they are a bit shaken."

He said "growler" icebergs are particularly dangerous because "hardly any" of the ice is visible.

He added: "It is very similar to what the Titanic hit.

"You can track them by radar or visual lookout, but you can’t see them all."

Hannah Turner, from the Church Inn pub in Chelmorton, said the couple – who go by the names of Lord and Lady Hollinsclough – were rarely seen in the village.

She said: "They don’t really stay in the village that much so nobody really knows them."

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British air passengers could be facing further disruption from a volcanic ash cloud that has continued to affect European flight schedules.

Many flights to Spain, France and Portugal were grounded on Saturday, and some Scottish island flights were hit.

The Met Office said weather patterns were expected to change, possibly bringing the ash cloud back into parts of UK airspace on Sunday and next week.

The ash closed 16 Spanish airports on Saturday, including hub Barcelona.

A no-fly zone also affected Stornoway on Lewis and Benbecula in the Outer Hebrides, as well as some Loganair services to Orkney and Shetland.

The disruption could continue into next week if northerly winds bring ash over western Scotland and Ireland.

Disruption warnings

On Saturday evening Ryanair said it expected airspace over Italy’s Milan Bergamo airport and Porto, in Portugal, to be closed or restricted on Sunday morning, and listed a number of flights it may cancel.

Earlier Ryanair had cancelled Saturday’s flights to and from destinations including Spain, Portugal and France.

At London Stansted Airport, 22 Ryanair flights to the Canary Islands, mainland Spain and Portugal were cancelled, along with three EasyJet flights.

Flights from Gatwick to Portugal, Alicante and Madrid were cancelled and at Heathrow some flights to La Coruna in northern Spain were also grounded.

Ryanair also cancelled some services from East Midlands, Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds and Liverpool airports and warned airspace over southern France could also be restricted.

It urged passengers to check details of their flights before travelling to the airport.

Most flights between Europe and North America are being diverted because of the ash cloud’s location, officials at European air traffic agency Eurocontrol said.

Volcanic activity

On Saturday the Met Office said the ash was still to the west of the UK.

"As a result Nats (National Air Traffic Service) continues to advise aircraft about airspace restrictions affecting transatlantic flights, allowing them to cross the Atlantic safely.

"The ash cloud has drifted across parts of southwest Europe, leading to disruption.

"Later in the weekend weather patterns are set to change and may bring the ash cloud back into parts of UK airspace toward the end of the weekend and into next week."

The volcano has become more active in recent days and flights are being re-routed north and south of the 1,200 mile (2,000km) long cloud.

On Saturday passengers at Heathrow Airport were told to expect delays of between 10 to 15 minutes to allow time to fly around the ash cloud.

But a spokesman for the airport said that disruption to European services was minimal, with only a small number of flights going to La Coruna affected.

Recent images have shown activity in the Eyjafjallajokull volcano intensifying.

Experts at the Met Office said it was sending ash up to heights of 30,000 ft (9,100m).

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Seven miners have been killed by a methane blast at a Russian coal mine.

Many miners were brought to the surface safely at the mine in Siberia’s western Kemerovo region, but 64 are still underground. Four miners are injured.

A total of 312 miners were inside the Raspadskaya mine near Mezhdurechensk at the time of the blast, Russia’s emergency situations ministry said.

Many of the country’s mines have poor safety standards and have not been updated since the fall of communism.

The governor of Kemerovo, Aman Tuleyev, has taken charge of the rescue operation.

The mine, about 300km (190 miles) east of Moscow, produces about eight million tons of coal a year, according to its website.

Kemerovo is part of the major coal-producing Kuzbass region.

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Voters in Germany’s most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), are voting in a regional election that could change national politics.

A defeat for Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives and their liberal allies would end the coalition’s majority in the upper house of parliament.

The campaign has been overshadowed by the government’s decision to contribute to a huge rescue package for Greece.

Meanwhile many cities in NRW are on the brink of bankruptcy.

Angela Merkel is not standing in this regional election, but she has campaigned here until the last minute.

It is the first political test for her centre-right coalition since it came to power six months ago.

North Rhine-Westphalia matters: home to 18 million people, it is Germany’s industrial heartland and a weathervane for national politics.

The regional coalition between Chancellor Merkel’s conservatives and the pro-business Liberal-Democrats, which mirrors the one at the federal level, is struggling.

With the economic crisis dominating the campaign, Mrs Merkel tried to delay a decision on the hugely unpopular rescue package for Greece until after the poll, but failed.

Meanwhile, local councils are sinking into debt. Kindergarten fees have gone up, libraries and swimming-pools are closing. In Wuppertal, even the theatre is under threat.

Scandals about party financing may also prompt voters to punish the centre-right in NRW and revive the fortunes of the Social-Democrats, the Greens and the former communist Left Party.

A new coalition here would also spell the end for Chancellor Merkel’s majority in the upper house of parliament, the Bundesrat, jeopardising long-promised tax cuts and health system reforms.

Europe’s biggest economy could enter a phase of political uncertainty it can ill afford.

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The conservative Tea Party movement in the US has blocked a three-term Republican senator from Utah, Bob Bennett, in his bid for re-election.

Sen Bennett came third at a Republican Party convention in Salt Lake City.

The two challengers, one backed by the Tea Party, will face each other in a primary next month for the right to contest November’s Midterm elections.

It is the first major victory for the grassroots movement that objects to big government and opposes high spending.

Sen Bennett was criticised by Tea Party activists for supporting the Wall Street bail-out, co-sponsoring a bipartisan bill mandating health insurance coverage and aggressively seeking funding "earmarks" for his state.

"The political atmosphere obviously has been toxic and it’s very clear that some of the votes that I have cast have added to the toxic environment," he told reporters after Saturday’s convention vote.

"Looking back on them, with one or two very minor exceptions, I wouldn’t have cast any of them any differently even if I had known at the time they were going to cost me my career."

Sen Bennett is barred by state law from running as an independent, but he has not ruled out standing as a write-in candidate – whose name does not appear on the ballot and so must be written on the ballot by the voters.

"I do think I still have a lot of juice left in me," he added.

The two candidates in June’s primary, businessman Tim Bridgewater and Tea Party-bakced lawyer Mike Lee, both claimed during the campaign that they were better suited to rein in government spending than Sen Bennett.

"There is a mood that has swept across this country and has certainly swept across Utah that is demanding a new generation of leaders. Leaders committed to constitutionally limited government," Mr Lee told the Reuters news agency.

Correspondents say the winner of the Republican nomination is all but guaranteed victory in November because Utah is so conservative.

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Thousands of well-wishers lined the streets of Edinburgh to welcome home troops from the 3 Rifles battlegroup following their gruelling tour of Afghanistan.

As the men of the 3 Rifles marched smartly along the Royal Mile, still tanned by six months under a harsh Afghan sun, crowds stood six deep to welcome them back.

And it was a heartfelt welcome. Many standing to watch, wave and cheer them on were their own families, the strain of six months of waiting and worrying only just beginning to wear off.

The emotion was too much for some – one rifleman’s young daughter burst into tears as her father marched past.

At Holyrood Palace, a more sombre atmosphere reigned as the families of at least 20 of the 30 men who died in this battlegroup’s unimaginably tough tour of Helmand waited to take the salute from the men who did come home.

It was an unusual tribute from the battlegroup, and one aimed at making public their own gratitude to, and respect for, the men who had served with them and made the ultimate sacrifice.

Battle injuries

Watching the families as they stood in dignified silence, we could only begin to wonder at the strength it must take to watch and welcome others’ sons, fathers and husbands as they marked their return home, while still mourning the loss of their own.

At the medals parade at Redford Barracks later, the same stoicism and fortitude was on display.

Some 80 men suffered battle injuries in Helmand; 17 of them with life-changing injuries, ranging from lost limbs to young spines shattered by enemy bullets.

A huge cheer went up from family and friends as those too badly-injured to march on to the parade ground came forward slowly, some on crutches and others in wheelchairs, to receive their campaign medal alongside their comrades.

The six months this battlegroup spent in Helmand, southern Afghanistan, saw some of the harshest challenges for any soldier in the British Army, in one of the most hostile areas of all.

The soldiers and officers here, many barely in their 20s, continued to carry out their jobs, going out on patrol each day even after losing friends and comrades.

Their commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Nick Kitson was praised by many of the well-wishers for his inspirational leadership in Sangin.

But he, like all here, was keen to stress that the sacrifices had not been in vain and that the men of 3 Rifles themselves felt a real sense of progress in Sangin, despite the challenges.

In his own introduction to the medals parade, Lt Col Kitson paid tribute to his men, to the injured, and to those who made the ultimate sacrifice and their families.

He ended by saying: "And we salute our courageous wounded comrades, re-united today on parade after those frenetic moments together on some dusty or muddy battlefield.

"Some have already achieved more than they ever thought possible. Some have a long journey of unfamiliar challenges ahead."

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British soldiers will march in Red Square in Moscow for the first time on Sunday to mark the 65th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany.

Seventy six soldiers from 2 Company 1st Battalion Welsh Guards will march beside more than 10,500 Russian troops and others from the US and France.

The multi-million pound parade will include a 1,000-strong military band, tanks, missiles and 127 aircraft.

The forces are taking part at the request of the Russian government.

The British detachment will also include members of the Royal Air Force band.

The commanding officer of the Aldershot-based 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, Lt Col Rupert Thorneloe, was killed during their tour of Afghanistan six months ago.

He is the most senior British army officer to die in action since the Falklands conflict. Lt Col Thorneloe died alongside Trooper Joshua Hammond when a roadside bomb hit their vehicle.

"It was an emotional tour," said Guardsman Thomas James.

"This is the first time I’ve been on official parade in my tunic since we’ve been back. It’s an honour to be here."

Guardsman Ian Mundy said: "There is a sense of pride to be in this massive parade on Red Square.

"It seems that everyone is interested in us as well and I’m proud to be a part of that."

The Welsh Guards are staying at the Moscow Military Academy as guests of the Russian Army.

Ahead of the event, they have been given a guided tour of the Kremlin, invited to concerts and taken part in a cultural tour of the city via a boat trip up the Moscow River.

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The US homeland security secretary has been touring Nashville, which, along with other areas in the American South, was hit by flooding this week.

More than 30 people died as flood waters swept through the states of Tennessee, Mississippi and Kentucky, destroying homes and businesses.

Janet Napolitano said she expected government workers to be still cleaning up in six months time.

The cost of repairing the city is estimated to be at least $1.5bn.

The floodwaters that swept through Nashville last week didn’t discriminate, ruining trailer homes, as well as the mansions of country music’s elite.

Multi-award winning singer Keith Urban was just one artist who lost his stock of guitars to water damage.

More than 16,000 Tennessee residents have already registered for federal assistance.

But, as she toured Nashville on Saturday, the Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano warned there were limits to what the government could do.

"There will be individuals who will be suffering financial damage and I’m not going to say we’re going to guarantee everybody is going to be made whole," she said.

"We will do as much as we can in every possible way that we can."

As waters receded, volunteer cleanup efforts are gathering pace, with hundreds turning out on Saturday to provide food and shelter to those whose homes have been gutted.

Many Nashville residents had never considered protecting themselves against the risks of flooding.

"I just can’t believe it.It’s just so devastating.When I moved here I didn’t even think about getting flood insurance," said one person.

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An Elvis Presley impersonator has been forced to abandon a world record singing attempt on medical advice.

Simon Goldsmith, of Little Bealings, Suffolk, planned to sing for more than 43 hours, 11 minutes and 11 seconds.

But the 36-year-old delivery driver was advised to stop after singing Elvis hits non-stop at a pub for 35 hours.

He began singing at 0800 BST on Friday at the White Lion pub in Lower Ufford and was raising £1,000 for St Elizabeth Hospice, Ipswich.

Mr Goldsmith, who performs under the name Harry Isaac Presley, made the world record attempt in memory of his father who died of cancer at the hospice last year.

The Guinness World Record was set by Thomas Gothje, from Germany, in 2004.

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When Hayley Cowan was 14 she was barely five foot tall.

Some children at her secondary school bullied her badly, constantly referring to her size.

"I hated going to school because people kept making comments about my height.

"They called me very unoriginal names, like ‘midget’," she said.

"You start to think your height is your defining feature.

"I was always short, but I got progressively lower than average as my friends grew taller so the difference between me and my friends grew."

Hayley, now aged 18 from Hertfordshire, was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency.

Doctors started her on a growth hormone and within four years she had grown four inches.

But not all children are as lucky as Hayley and medics worry that some are slipping through the net.

Hormone controversy

Now Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry have launched an appeal to fund a new child health research centre to look into diseases like abnormal growth.

Adrian Clark, Professor of Medicine at Barts, said: "New research is urgently needed to increase our understanding of these serious health problems as, if they are not treated early, they can cause even greater difficulties in later life.

"Our aim is to raise £2.4 million to fund a team of researchers which will translate into better care for sick children and improvements in their long-term health."

In the past there has been controversy surrounding the use of growth hormone, with suspected links to Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease (CJD) – or so-called "mad cow disease" – low IQ and an increase in tumours.

But Dr Helen Storr, consultant in paediatric endocrinology at William Harvey Research Institute, Barts, said that these studies were old and no longer relevant.

This is particularly the case with the CJD link, as the hormone used is synthetic rather than taken from a pituitary gland as in the past.

And growth hormone was not linked with an increase in tumour risk – unless a child has a tumour already – Dr Storr added. Nor was there a link with a decrease in intelligence.

She said children reaching a normal height tended to have better health with stronger bones and better muscle tone, as well as an increase in confidence.

"Hayley was helped and many children like her do have a positive outcome," she said.

Borrow clothes

Hayley said she had no qualms taking a growth hormone and that it had transformed her life.

"They did consult me about the side effects, but I really wanted to try it because I was so unhappy I have would tried anything. But I didn’t really have any problems.

"I am happy with my height now.

"My body has become more adult. I used to think I was quite fat. I hated the way I looked, now I am much happier.

"Now I can buy clothes and can borrow my friends’ clothes because they are the same size."

And best of all Hayley, who has been offered a place at Oxford to study maths, said the bullying has stopped.

"The difference in my attitude towards school now and six years ago is unimaginable.

"I used to dread going to school and count down the time until I could leave.

"I had much lower self-esteem than my friends, which probably was not helped by the continual questioning of my age by people at cinemas, shops and restaurants.

"But now, thanks to the growth hormones, I look the same age as my friends and can match them in self-assurance."

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US Defence Secretary Robert Gates orders a far-reaching review of administration costs at the Pentagon.

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Seven miners have been killed by a methane blast at a Russian coal mine.

Many miners were brought to the surface safely at the mine in Siberia’s western Kemerovo region, but 64 are still underground. Four miners are injured.

A total of 312 miners were inside the Raspadskaya mine near Mezhdurechensk at the time of the blast, Russia’s emergency situations ministry said.

Many of the country’s mines have poor safety standards and have not been updated since the fall of communism.

The governor of Kemerovo, Aman Tuleyev, has taken charge of the rescue operation.

The mine, about 300km (190 miles) east of Moscow, produces about eight million tons of coal a year, according to its website.

Kemerovo is part of the major coal-producing Kuzbass region.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Spain has closed 15 airports as a cloud of ash from an Icelandic volcano drifts south over Western Europe.

National airport management agency Aena said nine airports closed early on Saturday and six more shut from 1200 local time (1000 GMT).

The restrictions would be in place until at least 1800, Aena said

Most flights between Europe and North America are being diverted because of the ash cloud’s latest drifting, officials at Eurocontrol said.

Flights are being rerouted north and south of the 1,200 mile (2,000km) long cloud.

On average, 600 airliners make the Atlantic crossing every day, correspondents say.

Aena said the airports affected were Bilbao, San Sebastian, Vitoria, Zaragoza, Pamplona, La Rioja, Santiago, La Coruna, Vigo, Asturias, Santander, Leon, Valladolid, Burgos and Salamanca.

Eurocontrol, the agency that co-ordinates aviation safety in Europe, said airports were also expected to close in northern Portugal and parts of southern France.

In the UK, some flights to Spain were being affected.

At London Stansted, 22 Ryanair flights to the Canary Islands, mainland Spain and Portugal were cancelled, along with three EasyJet flights.

Flights from Gatwick to Portugal, Alicante and Madrid were cancelled and at Heathrow some flights to La Coruna in northern Spain were also grounded.

Last month, thousands of travellers were stranded after ash shut down airspace across Europe.

Recent images have shown activity in the Eyjafjallajokull volcano intensifying.

Experts at the UK’s Met Office said it was sending ash up to heights of 30,000 ft (9,100m).

Flights across Ireland and parts of the UK were disrupted earlier this week.

Are you in Spain? Have you been delayed by the ash cloud? Send us your comments.

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