Last week, Romanian authorities announced four new cases of infected domestic birds from the village of Caraorman, in the Danube delta region. They said the village, which has no road access, would be quarantined and 2,000 birds would be slaughtered.

Romania was the first European country to detect the deadly strain of the disease in poultry last month. The tests on four hens were carried out by a British laboratory. "Regarding the samples in Caraorman, the laboratory in London confirmed it was the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus," Romania's agriculture ministry said on its website. Romanian Agriculture Minister Gheorghe Flutur told news channel Realitatea TV: "We are keeping things under control."

The H5N1 virus has killed more than 60 people in South East Asia since the latest outbreak began in 2003. Scientists believe it is only a matter of time before the virus changes and develops the ability to spread easily among humans.

The country's scientists have been working on the new vaccine for four years, according to state media. It costs a fifth of current treatments, and there are hopes it could also help provide the basis for human protection against the deadly H5N1 strain of flu. China is about halfway through the vaccination of its all domestic poultry - some 14 billion chickens and ducks.

Mass production of the new vaccine has been given the go-ahead, and a billion shots will be produced by the end of the month.

It unleashed a devastating tsunami that travelled thousands of kilometres across the Indian Ocean, taking the lives of more than 200,000 people in countries as far apart as Indonesia, the Maldives, Sri Lanka and Somalia. A new BBC One programme, featuring the harrowing stories of survivors, gives a scientific account of the disaster.

THE EARTHQUAKE: Two hundred and forty kilometres (150 miles) off the coast of Sumatra, deep under the ocean floor, at the boundary between two of the world's tectonic plates, lies a 1,200km (745 miles) trench called the Andaman-Sumatran subduction zone.

At about the same speed as your fingernails grow, the lower plate, carrying India, is being forced or subducted beneath the upper plate, carrying most of South-East Asia, dragging it down, causing huge stresses to build up.

These stresses were released on 26 December. Shaking from this giant mega-thrust earthquake woke people from sleep as far away as Thailand and the Maldives.

Unlike the more frequent strike-slip earthquakes of Kobe or Los Angeles, which last for a matter of seconds, subduction zone quakes last for several minutes. The shaking during the Indonesian event went on for eight minutes.

Nobody knows how many died in the actual quake itself, but scientists have since visited the nearby island of Simueleu and found something astonishing. The whole island has been tilted by the force of the earthquake, causing coral, submerged beneath the ocean for thousands of years, to be thrust out of the water on the east side; bays in the west have been drained. "We were astonished to find ourselves walking through a pristine marine ecosystem, missing only its multitude of colours, its fish, and its water," said Professor Kerry Sieh, from the California Institute of Technology, US.

Yet, when the shaking from the earthquake subsided, no-one had any idea that the tremors had set in motion something far more deadly - a tsunami.

THE TSUNAMI: Deep under the Indian Ocean, at the epicentre of the quake, the 20m (65ft) upward thrust of the seafloor set in motion a series of geological events that were to devastate the lives of millions. Billions of tonnes of seawater, forced upward by the movement of the seabed now flowed away from the fault in a series of giant waves. The only people in the world to have any idea what had happened were thousands of kilometres away on the island of Hawaii.

But, relying on seismic data alone, the scientists at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center had no idea the earthquake had unleashed an ocean-wide tsunami. It was a full 50 minutes after they first picked up the tremors that they issued a warning of a possible local tsunami.

Thirty minutes after the shaking had subsided, the first wave, travelling eastwards, crashed into Sumatra.

On the shores directly facing the epicentre, the waves reached heights of 20 metres (65 feet), stripping vegetation from mountain sides 800 metres (0.5 mile) inland, capsizing freighters and throwing boats into the trees.

The city of Banda Aceh, just a few kilometres further round the coast was almost completely destroyed, killing tens of thousands of people in just 15 minutes.

WHAT THE ELEPHANTS KNEW: Leaving a devastated Sumatra behind, the series of waves continued across the Andaman Sea towards Thailand. A herd of elephants in the mountains seemed to know it was coming. They began behaving strangely, stamping the ground and tugging at their chains, eventually breaking away to run to the hills. Elephants have special bones in their feet that enable them to sense seismic vibrations long before we can. Animals taking to the hills was not the only sign that something was about to happen.

Due to the complex way in which the seafloor ruptured, some waves set off travelling with the crest first, others travelling trough first. The trough, reaching the shores of Thailand, caused the sea to disappear off the beaches. It is one of the classic warning signs of an approaching tsunami. Tragically, many tourists went down to the beach to look, some to rescue fish left flapping on the sand. A few minutes later, the first wave hit Thailand.

A thousand tonnes of water crashed down on each metre of beach. At Khao Lak, the wave reached 10 metres (30 feet) and caused billions of pounds of damage. The human cost was far greater - nearly 5,000 confirmed dead and 3,000 still missing.

At the same time, the westbound series of waves were heading for Sri Lanka. In the deeper waters of the Indian Ocean, barely noticeable at just a 30 cm (1 foot) above the surface, they were travelling at some 800km/h (500 miles per hour).

SRI LANKA: The first wave hit Sri Lanka with no recede and no warning. The waves, up to six of them, weighing over 100 billion tonnes, rushed inland like a giant tide. As they hit Sri Lanka's southern tip, they began to change direction, an effect called refraction. The part of a wave closest to the shore slowed down in the shallow water, leaving the outer part, travelling at faster speeds, to bend around the island. The southwest coast of Sri Lanka, the side that should have been safe, was suddenly in the waves' direct line. Cities such as Galle were destroyed; over 4,000 people died in this region alone.

The waves carried on further north to India, where they killed 10,000 people.

THE MALDIVES: Next in the waves' line, was one of the lowest lying countries on Earth - the Maldives. Miraculously, although 80 people died here, this country escaped relatively unscathed. It seems that due to their unique geography, being the tips of underwater volcanoes and without a continental shelf to push the wave height up, the tsunami just washed through. Coral reefs are also thought to have protected the country, acting like a giant underwater colander, stripping the waves of energy. As the waves left the Maldives, they passed through a narrow gap between the island chains, focusing their energy directly at Somalia, where 300 people lost their lives.

In Kenya, the waves, when they hit were small; their energy further removed by the land masses of the Seychelles and Diego Garcia. They had also seen the news reports and evacuated the beaches; only one person died. He was the last victim of a natural disaster that had claimed 300,000 with hundreds still unaccounted for.

More than 200,000 people were killed when an earthquake beneath the ocean sent giant waves crashing ashore. Places as far apart as Sri Lanka, Thailand and Somalia were affected by the disaster. Worst affected was the Indonesian province of Aceh, closest to the quake epicentre, where more than two-thirds of the deaths occurred.

A minute's silence was held in the provincial capital Banda Aceh to mark the exact moment the first waves came ashore, and a siren then sounded to inaugurate Indonesia's new tsunami warning system. A massive reconstruction effort is under way in Aceh, but it will take years to rebuild the shattered province.

Tens of thousands of survivors are still living in tents and it is estimated that at least 80,000 new houses need to be built.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono paid tribute to those who had tried to rebuild their lives over the past year. "You have reminded us that life is worth struggling for," he said.

The BBC's Rachel Harvey, in Banda Aceh, says that despite the dignitaries and flags of the formal ceremonies, the day is about the ordinary people of Aceh - the 130,000 people who died, the 37,000 still officially listed as missing and the survivors who were behind to grieve.

Train disaster: Sri Lanka has been paying tribute to more than 30,000 people who were killed on the island. Around the island, small private ceremonies were held to mark the moment the waves struck. The government held the official ceremony at Peraliya on the southern coast, where more than 1,000 people died when a train was swamped by the incoming water.

Temple bells signalled the beginning of a two-minute silence at a ceremony led by President Mahinda Rajapakse and attended by an array of local and international dignitaries. The BBC's Dumetha Luthra, in Peraliya, says the site of the train derailment has come to symbolise Sri Lanka's national devastation. But she adds that a year on, the line has been reconstructed, the train is once again running and that all along the coast, while still remembering the dead, people are continuing their lives.

Tourist toll: Thailand has been remembering more than 5000 people who lost their lives there in the tsunami, two-fifths of them foreign tourists. Worst hit was the stretch of coastline at Khao Lak in southern Thailand, where local Thais and the foreigners who were caught up in the disaster bowed their heads in silent contemplation before laying flowers in memory of those who died.

"I think you need to come back," Swedish survivor Pigge Werkelin, who lost his two young sons and his wife in the disaster, told Reuters news agency. "You need to go to the beach, you have to see children on the beach, you have to see everything... I must do it and then afterward I can put it behind me."

Aid model: Around 1.5 million people were left homeless in the region after the wall of water stripped away trees, houses and whole communities, and reconstruction could take between five years and a decade.

But just as the scale of the devastation was shocking, the BBC's Catherine Davis notes, so the international response was unprecedented.

The United Nations says it was the most generous and most immediately funded emergency relief effort.

About $12 billion is estimated to have been raised and the massive aid effort has also acted as a test case for how the international community responds to disasters.

She praised the "quite remarkable" humanitarian responses by people of all faiths to the tragedies.

"This last year has reminded us that we live in a world which is not easy or safe, but it is the only place we have," she said.

Addressing thousands in St Peter's Square, the pope said people of the 21st Century risked becoming "victims of their intellectual achievements".

He decried the "menace" of terrorism, the "humiliation" of worldwide poverty and said pandemics and environmental destruction were dangerous new threats.

The purpose of the DS100 is to portray as close a picture as possible of the corporate environment in OIC member countries. It continues to include Government and Private enterprises, for whom data was verified through public sources, to reflect their disproportionately significant role in the Muslim world economies. At the same time, more than half of the list is comprised of publicly listed companies (57 of the 100) representing the growing public markets of the Muslim world.

This year's ranking continues to recognize the rich diversity of corporate activity in the Muslim world, states Rafi-uddin Shikoh, Editor of Dinar Standard. "With the tremendous global media interest in the first DS100 ranking, we are confident that the ranking is playing its part in raising the spirit of competitiveness in the region, as well as serving as a means of motivation and pride to the ever-important workforce and corporate leaders alike.

Saudi Aramco, the world's top oil producer, continues to lead the DS100 as the largest business enterprise of the Muslim world with an estimated 36% rise in its revenues from the previous year. Overall, the energy sector dominates the top of the list with 8 of the top 10 being state-owned Integrated Oil & Gas companies. However, it is the diversified conglomerates that have the highest representation on the list (22 of the 100), with Turkish family owned conglomerates Koc Holding, Sabanci Holding, and Dogus Holding having the highest revenues.

The largest growth companies this year are part of the Orascom Group of Egypt with its publicly listed companies Orascom Telekom recording a 113% growth and Orascom Construction recording 98% revenue growth compared to previous year.

Turkish companies continue to lead the list with 25 represented enterprises, followed by 18 from Malaysia, 15 from Saudi Arabia, and 11 from Indonesia. Other countries represented include the UAE, Pakistan, Iran, Nigeria, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Egypt, Bahrain, and Algeria.

Major General Farooq Ahmad Khan, who regularly briefs the press on the relief and rehabilitation work, confirmed that more than 9,000 people in the earthquake-affected area were still unaccounted for.

More than 30% of people's livestock in the area have died due to the drought, Mandera's district commissioner said. These reports come two days after UN agencies warned that 2.5 million Kenyans could face famine next year unless food aid pleas are met.

The drought in the area along the border with Somalia has led to competition for land and water. This has led to frequent clashes in Kenya and Somalia with conflicts between pastoralists and farmers.

Mandera District Commissioner Kimani Waweru told Kenya's media that lack of rain had caused the situation to deteriorate badly. "We have moved from a situation of drought to one of famine. The situation is not just bad, it is very, very bad," he said. Mohammed Molole, 80, told the East African Standard that the last of his 289 head of cattle died at the weekend.

"I have walked all over the plains and there is nothing at all to give the cattle," he said. The newspaper says that there are fears that more deaths could have gone unreported because residents would usually bury their dead within 24 hours.

The World Food Programme is appealing for $127 million for emergency operations in the drought-affected areas while the UN children's fund, Unicef, says it needs $4 million to save more than 20,000 children hit by famine in northern Kenya.

The government also says more than 100,000 people are faced with food shortages on the east coast due to a prolonged drought.

While Iran's nuclear program is Israel's main concern, its space capabilities are also considered a point of no return, which determined the actual timing of the Israeli strike. "The Iranians' space program is a matter of deep concern to us," said an Israeli defense official. If and when we launch an attack on several Iranian targets, the last thing we need is Iranian early warning received by satellite."

Iran wants to master space technology as soon as possible, amid fears the West will seek to impose restrictions on its satellite program like those placed on its nuclear plans. According to an article on Global Research.ca, the Sinah-1 is just the first of several Iranian satellites set for Russian launches in the coming months. The Islamic republic is also working on a Shahab-4 missile that could carry an Iranian-built satellite on its orbit.

Thus the Iranians will soon have a satellite network in place to give them early warning of an Israeli attack. However, Iran's satellites won't be as efficient as more powerful Israeli and American space spies that can track the slightest movements; cameras on Israel's Ofek-5 spy satellite have been monitoring the activities in Arab countries and Iran since 2002.

Moreover, Russia signed a $1 billion contract to sell Iran an advanced defense system that can destroy guided missiles and laser-guided bombs, the Sunday Times reports. This too will be ready in the next few months.

The timing of the Israeli attack is closely linked to Israel's political situation. With a parliamentary elections on March 28, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who quit the right-wing Likud to form a new centrist party, wants to look strong. Former PM Benjamin Netanyahu, the newly elected Likud leader, pledged that if Sharon doesn't act against Iran, "then when I form the new Israeli government, we'll do what we did in the past against Saddam's reactor, which gave us 20 years of tranquility."

This all pushed Sharon to rally the country, and stave off this lunge from the right, with a strike against Tehran. "Israel and not only Israel cannot accept a nuclear Iran," the Israeli Prime Minister said recently. "We have the ability to deal with this and we're making all the necessary preparations to be ready for such a situation."

A strike against Iran would be popular in Israel, where everyone agrees that Iran cannot be allowed to have the kind of nuclear weapons that Israel itself possesses in such bristling abundance. By the late 1990s, the US intelligence community estimated that Israel possessed between 75-130 nuclear weapons, including missiles and bombs, according to the Federation of American Scientists.

Israel did its homework. The March deadline also comes with an International Atomic Energy Agency report on Iran's nuclear program, which could lead to UN sanctions against Tehran, as Israel and the United States want. According to the Sunday Times, Sharon had already ordered Israel's special forces to be at the highest stage of readiness for the strike. Commenting on the report, a top White House official said that the threat of a nuclear Iran was moving to the top of the international agenda, and the question "what next? Would have to be answered in the next few months" (meaning: 'Sure, March could work for us').

Only a fool would believe that the Bush administration gave up its ambitions for full-spectrum dominance in the Middle East just because Iraq turned into a disaster. To Washington, Iraq has always been a step towards Iran; which was never punished for removing the US's puppet, the shah, and seizing the American Embassy in Tehran.

In fact, Iran is the first step to Washington's ultimate goal; planting US-controlled hands on Middle Eastern and Central Asian oil, thus halting the political rise of China and India, and ensuring a new American century of unchallenged profit and privilege. For the elite, of course; as always, those back home have to deal with the bills and the body bags from these war games.

The United States and Israel have already begun a covert war against Iran. With defiant Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Bush and Sharon will have little trouble gaining support for such an attack. In the next few months, we'll see the usual charade of diplomacy as military plans are being finalized.

Three weeks of flooding in southern Thailand have left 52 people dead and thousands stranded without provisions in remote areas while 69 people have perished in central Vietnam, some of them in landslides. Northern Malaysia, where nine are reported dead, is suffering the worst floods in 30 years.

In Thailand, a local government official said tens of thousands of people were stranded without necessary supplies as floods affected nine of 14 provinces in the south.

"Food and water are running out for thousands of families who live in remote areas that the rescue team has not yet reached," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he did not want to be seen as criticizing the government.

Pensri Kheawkumpai, a disaster official in Nakorn Srithammarat, said 12 people have died in the province. Kaj Sentoyep, a disaster official for the deep south of Thailand, said 40 people have died in the seven southernmost provinces.

Local officials estimate one million people are affected and that it will take at least one month for the floods to recede from most parts of Pattani, Songkhla and Phattalung provinces.

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has played down the severity of the floods, saying Wednesday that "they were not as bad as the tsunami." State-owned media have reported only 19 people killed.

The opposition Democrat party has accused Thaksin of being slow to help flood victims because the southern region did not support his political party in the last election.

"The government has played down the situation and ignored the plight of the people in southern Thailand because the people in the south did not vote for Thai Rak Thai (Thai Love Thai) party," said Sathit Wongnongtoey an opposition lawmaker. This year's flooding is regarded as the country's worst in 40 years.

In Vietnam, the coastal Khanh Hoa province has been the worst hit with 32 deaths. Nearby Phu Yen province had 14 deaths while Binh Dinh province had 11 and central Quang Ngai province had five deaths.

Roy Wilsher, chief fire officer in Hertfordshire County, told reporters that blazes at 17 tanks had been extinguished using 4 million gallons of water and more than 66,000 gallons of foam concentrate. He expected the fire to be out completely later Tuesday.

People across Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire were awoken early on Sunday morning by an explosion, later described by Hertfordshire's Chief Fire Officer Roy Wilsher as "the largest incident of its kind in peace time Europe".

The Fire Brigade and other emergency services were called to attend Buncefield Oil Depot in Hemel Hempstead following reports of a huge explosion just after 6.00am. The depot, situated near to Junction 8 of the M1 is one of the largest fuel supplying facilities in the country and maintains fuel deliveries to Luton, Heathrow and Gatwick airports.

In total there were 20 petrol tanks involved in the fire, each said to hold three million gallons of fuel. The noise of the explosion is being reported to have been heard as far away as the Netherlands.