France has cut its forecast for economic growth next year following a meeting between the president and senior finance ministers.

It now thinks the economy will grow by 2% next year, down from the previous forecast of 2.5%.

This year it will "meet or exceed" 1.4%, the government said.

President Nicolas Sarkozy asked ministers to interrupt their summer holidays to discuss how France is going to cut its deficit.

They met at his official retreat, Fort de Bregancon.

Deficit measures

Afterwards, the president asserted that the reduction of the government deficit in 2011 from a record 8% to 6%, whatever the level of growth, was "a major objective" for the country.

Mr Sarkozy will need to find 100bn euros in savings if he is to slash the deficit from 8% of GDP to the EU limit of 3% by 2013.

Public expenditure would be reduced, the president said. He also repeated his pledge not to increase VAT, income tax or tax on companies.

But he said 10bn euros of tax breaks would be abolished in the autumn.

France's 1.4% forecast for this year's growth is in line with that of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). However, for next year the IMF thinks expects the French economy to grow by 1.6% - less than the government's forecast.

Some economists agree and consider the new 2011 figure optimistic.

"I think it's still quite ambitious," said Deutsche Bank's Gilles Moec, who is forecasting growth for France of nearer 1% next year.

"The current environment is not consistent with such an acceleration in growth," he said.

"I think they were trying to strike a balance here. They wanted to acknowledge that the previous forecast was too optimistic without having to unveil new measures."

The White House has called for the man convicted in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing to be returned to prison in Scotland.

President Obama's counterterrorism adviser, John Brennan, said the US had expressed "strong conviction" to Scottish officials that Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi be brought back to jail.

Scottish ministers freed Megrahi, who has cancer, citing medical advice that he would likely die in three months.

Analysts say the anniversary of his freeing adds weight to the US call.

Mr Brennan called the release of Megrahi, who was set free from prison one year ago, an "unfortunate and inappropriate and wrong decision".

He added: "We've expressed our strong conviction that Megrahi should serve out the remainder - the entirety - of his sentence in a Scottish prison."

Mr Brennan said the US had had productive discussions with Libyan officials and would use "diplomatic channels to convey our sentiments on a broad range of issues to include Mr al-Megrahi".

The BBC's Steve Kingstone, in Washington, says that US position is not new, but it carries additional force - coming form President Obama's counter-terrorism adviser on the anniversary of Megrahi's release.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also said in a statement on Friday that the US continued to "categorically disagree" with the decision to release Megrahi.

"As we have expressed repeatedly to Scottish authorities, we maintain that al-Megrahi should serve out the entirety of his sentence in prison in Scotland. We have and will continue to reiterate this position to the Scottish and Libyan authorities," she said.

The Scottish government says the decision to free Megrahi was taken in good faith.

Megrahi was welcomed in Libya after his release from Scotish prison in 2009

Following his release from a Scottish prison in August 2009, Megrahi got a hero's welcome in Tripoli.

Of the 270 people who died in the bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland, 189 of them were Americans.

'Outstanding questions'

Meanwhile, a group of US senators says a "cloud of suspicion" still hangs over Megrahi's release.

Senator Robert Menendez called on Britain and Scotland to answer a number of "outstanding questions" over the case.

Mr Menendez said there was anger and frustration in the US that the convicted bomber was "still very much alive and very much free".

In letters to UK Prime Minister David Cameron and Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond, the four US senators setting up an inquiry into issues around the release have reiterated what they call the "persisting uncertainty about medical, legal and diplomatic issues related to" the release.

Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill, who took the decision to release Megrahi, has said that he is prepared to meet the US senators.

He said: "What's quite clear is the people of Scotland think the decision should be made here in Scotland, by the justice secretary, and they do believe it was made in good faith without any intervention, or indeed any consideration, of political, diplomatic or economic considerations."

Mr MacAskill has always maintained the decision to release Megrahi followed due process and was in keeping with the ideals of the Scottish justice system.

Megrahi was sentenced to life in prison in 2001 for the bombing.

Tens of thousands of people in southern Pakistan are fleeing a threatened flood-surge, three weeks after heavy monsoon rains first hit the country.

In one village in Sindh province, Shahdadkot, people are trying to salvage their belongings amid fears a protective barrier will be breached.

An estimated 4m people have now been displaced in the city of Sukkar alone.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) says diseases are spreading in affected areas.

Sindh in the south is now being described as the country's worst-hit province, with officials saying at least 200,000 residents have fled in the last 24 hours.

'Laden carts'

In Shahdadkot, villagers have been leaving en masse in an attempt to reach safe ground in case a mud embankment holding back the water back is breached.

The BBC's Jill McGivering, who is in the village, says the wall - about four feet high - is the last defence.

There are people pushing in all directions, mostly trying to leave the area. Many of them are travelling with carts laden with family members and belongings.

Sindh province is now being described as the worst affected

Jam Saifullah Dharejo, Sindh provincial irrigation minister, said that most people had been escorted to safety, but efforts were under way to help those still stranded.

"We are trying to save the city from the unprecedented flood," he said.

Some residents say they do not want to leave.

"This is the place where I earn my bread and butter. I live here and will die here," Mohammad Jaffar, a shopkeeper, told Reuters news agency.

Mr Dharejo added that the floods did not pose a risk to Hyderabad, the province's second largest city.

Diarrhoea cases

Our correspondent says that, in Sukkar, a fraction of people are in relief camps - but the vast majority are out in the open, fending for themselves.

The WHO says displaced communities are highly vulnerable to epidemics because of a lack of sanitation and hygiene.

The organisation in its latest report said that over 200,000 people have reported acute diarrhoea, with about the same number suffering acute respiratory problems.

Millions of livestock are also at risk, according to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), which said that at least 200,000 animals had died already as a result of the disaster.

The floods, which began last month in Pakistan's north-west and have since swept south, have killed at least 1,600 people and affected about 20 million.

Earlier, the International Monetary Fund said Pakistan faced a "massive economic challenge".

It is due to begin talks with Pakistani officials in Washington on Monday and said it would help Pakistan review the country's budget and financial prospects.

Official figures out later will show the strength of Japan's economy in the second quarter of the financial year.

Exports helped lift the economy by 1.2% in the first quarter between January and March, but there are fears they may be dropping off as the yen strengthens.

The data should confirm that China remains poised to overtake Japan as the world's second biggest economy.

That will become clearer early in 2011 when GDP figures for the whole of 2010 become available for each country.

China was close to overtaking Japan as the second largest economy in 2009.

Analysts believe that Japan's economy will have continued to grow during the April to June period, but at a slower pace.

Deflation

Latest figures showed that Japanese exports rose in June but at a slower pace than in recent months, raising questions about the strength of the country's economic recovery.

The yen hit a 15-year high against the US dollar last week - adding to worries about the impact on exporters.

Demand at home in Japan has been weak too, with deflation, or a fall in prices, returning to the economy.

The country's industrial production also fell in June compared to the month before, although it was up on the same time a year before.

Analysts have also warned that austerity measures introduced by governments around the world to reduce debt levels could also hit Japan's exports later this year.

'Financial measures'

"With the need to rebuild its public finances, the Japanese government has its hands tied," said Norinchukin Research Institute economist Takeshi Minami, who believes further stimulus is needed.

"Japan needs to quickly implement measures to tackle the strong yen, including currency intervention.

"The government will shift its focus towards financial measures through the Bank of Japan, such as currency intervention or pumping extra money. It needs to continue maintaining an easy monetary policy."

Japan's new Prime Minister, Naoto Kan, recently said the country was at "risk of collapse" under its huge debts.

The country's central bank also announced a scheme to offer 3tn yen in low interest loans in an effort to spur economic growth.

At least eight people have been killed and 12 injured at an off-road motor race in California.

A vehicle crashed into a crowd of spectators at the California 200 desert night race near Lucerne Valley, 100 miles (160km) from Los Angeles.

Many of the injured were airlifted to hospital, officials told the AP news agency.

The California 200 is a race for powerful, all-terrain vehicles over a 50 mile (80km) off-road track.

The driver was not injured in the crash and fled the scene to avoid an angry crowd who began throwing rocks at him, reports said.

Tens of thousands of spectators attend the annual race and stand close to the path of the off-road vehicles, sometimes with little or no protection.

Crushed

A witness said the crash happened moments after the start of the race.

"When [the vehicle] came up, it like caught air and flew sideways, and I just saw people started scrambling at that point," the witness, who wasn't named, told AP.

"As soon as it hit, it rolled right on top and it just hit people and people flew, went in all kinds of directions. People were scattering, people were running and trying to help people."

Photographer, David Conklin said the car sped over a jump known on the course as "the rockpile" and went out of sight.

"I saw one woman with a major head wound lying in a pool of blood. Someone else was crushed beneath the car," he said.

Pictures of previous races show spectators standing close to the path of the vehicles.

The annual race goes through a dry river bed in the southern California desert at night, illuminated only by roof-mounted spotlights.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has described as "heart-wrenching" the destruction he witnessed on a visit to flood-devastated Pakistan.

Mr Ban said the scale of the disaster was greater than anything he had seen before.

He again urged the world to speed up aid to the country, saying shelter and medicine were desperately needed.

The Pakistani government says up to 20 million people have now been affected by the monsoon floods.

Health experts are warning that the threat of epidemics in flood-hit areas is growing.

The UN has already confirmed at least one case of cholera among the victims.

Deep concern

"This has been a heart-wrenching day for me and for my delegation," Mr Ban said at a press conference, stood alongside President Asif Ali Zardari.

"I will never forget the destruction and suffering I have witnessed today.

"In the past I have seen scenes of natural disaster around the world, but nothing like this. The scale of this disaster is so large. So many people in so many places in so much need."

He announced a further $10m from the UN's central emergency response fund and repeated his calls for the international community to come to Pakistan's aid.

"The people of Pakistan need food, emergency shelters, medicines, clean water," he said.

"We are all deeply concerned about the spread of diarrhoea and other water-borne diseases. All our combined medical capacity will be needed to provide the right drugs and care."

On Wednesday the UN launched a $459m (£294m) appeal for emergency aid for Pakistan. It said that billions of dollars would be needed in the long term.

Colorado Senator Michael Bennet has won the state's Democratic nomination for the November Senate election.

Mr Bennet was appointed to the seat in 2008 and was endorsed for election by President Barack Obama.

He beat former State Representative Andrew Romanoff, who had former President Bill Clinton's endorsement.

Elsewhere, Connecticut Republicans have chosen former professional wrestling executive Linda McMahon as the party's Senate candidate in November.

Ms McMahon spent $22m (£18m) of her own fortune on the race, defeating Peter Schiff and Congressman Rob Simmons.

She will face Democratic Attorney General Richard Blumenthal in the race to succeed retiring Senator Chris Dodd.

Meanwhile, officials were still counting votes in primary elections in Georgia and Minnesota.

Ms McMahon, former chief executive of World Wrestling Entertainment, won after blanketing the state's airwaves with advertisements. She campaigned as a political outsider and has vowed to spend up to $50m of her own money on the race.

At a victory rally, she decried what she described as out-of-control spending by the federal government, which she said was "suffocating our small businesses and... killing our jobs."

She asked Connecticut Republicans to unite behind her in the November election.

Mr Bennet, former superintendent of the Denver, Colorado state school system, fended off Mr Romanoff's aggressive anti-establishment campaign.

World stock markets have tumbled as investors worry about the health of the US economy after the Federal Reserve warned that the recovery was likely to be "more modest" in the short term.

The Dow Jones opened 196 points lower, while European markets were down 2%.

On Tuesday, the Fed said it would use proceeds from investments in mortgage securities to buy long-term government debt, to try to bolster the economy.

Separately, data showed the US trade deficit rose to a 20-month high.

The Commerce Department said the deficit widened to $49.9bn (£31.9bn) in June, which surprised economists who were expecting a smaller trade gap.

Weakening dollar

Earlier, Asian markets had set the tone for traders elsewhere by falling, with news that China's industrial growth slowed further in July also hitting sentiment.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index closed 2.7% lower at 9,293, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index shed 179 points to close at 21,294.

In afternoon trading in Europe, leading share indexes in London, Paris and Frankfurt were all down by more than 2%.

The Fed's assessment of the US economy also put more pressure on the dollar, which hit a 15-year low against the yen.

The US currency fell to 84.73 yen, the lowest level since 5 July 1995, before it later pulled back to stand at 85.25 yen.

But the pound weakened against the dollar after the Bank of England warned that the UK faced "a choppy recovery" and downgraded its growth forecasts.

Analysts said the Bank's Inflation Report suggested that interest rates were likely to remain low for some time.

Patrick Fuller, Red Cross and Red Crescent: "The unfolding disaster as it is - the numbers are spinning out of control"

The UN has launched an appeal for $459m (£290m) to help victims of Pakistan's flood disaster, which has affected at least 14 million people.

UN humanitarian chief John Holmes made the announcement at the organisation's headquarters in New York, saying the aid would cover the next 90 days.

The disaster was "one of the most challenging that any country has faced in recent years", Mr Holmes said.

So far, about 1,600 people have been killed by the monsoon floods.

Mr Holmes said the funds would be used for food, clean water, shelter and medical supplies.

The "emergency response plan" would be revised after 30 days as more information came in, he added.

Earlier, a UN agency warned of serious threats to the livelihoods and food security of millions.

Devastation left by flood waters in the north and centre of the country might worsen as they continued to head south, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said.

It had reports of "100% crop losses... in many areas" and "tens of thousands" of animals dying.

'Among most challenging'

Mr Holmes pointed out that almost one in ten of Pakistan's population had been affected by the floods, and at least 6 million were in need of immediate humanitarian aid.

"The floodwaters have devastated towns and village, downed power and communications lines, washed away bridges and roads and inflicted major damage to buildings and houses," he said.

Pakistan's government had led the response to the floods by initiating rescue and relief operations and evacuating hundreds of thousands of people, but could not cope on its own, Mr Holmes argued.

"While the death toll may be much lower than in some major disasters, taking together the vast geographical area affected, the numbers of people requiring assistance and the access difficulties currently affecting operations in many parts of the country, it is clear that this disaster is one of the most challenging that any country has faced in recent years," he added.

"That is why the international humanitarian community has been asked to support the response by covering gaps where the needs inevitably exceed the government's response capacity, and to help prepare the initial floods response plan we are launching today."

Russia is to ban the export of grain from 15 August to 31 December after drought and fires devastated crops.

"I think it is advisable to introduce a temporary ban on the export from Russia of grain and other agriculture products made from grain," Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said.

Russia, one of the biggest producers of wheat, barley and rye, exported a quarter of its 2009 grain output.

Mr Putin's announcement sent wheat prices to a 23-month high.

They had already hit 22-month highs earlier this week due to concerns about the impact of the drought and fires on Russian wheat exports.

However, many commodities analysts insist there is currently a surplus of wheat in global markets following record harvests in 2008 and 2009.

They say that speculators have been driving wheat prices artificially high because they are hoping to make a profit from the worries over Russian exports.

Analysts add that while there is likely to be a knock-on increase in bread prices in the short term - about five pence on the price of an average loaf in the UK - wheat prices should soon fall back down again.

They say this is because the US - the world's number one exporter - is predicting a bumper harvest of its current crop.

Extra help

Russia is banning the export of grains including wheat, barley, rye and maize.

It will also ask its regional customs union partners - Kazakhstan, another leading grain exporter, and Belarus - to follow the suit.

Mr Putin said that grain from the state reserves would not be auctioned but would be distributed to regions with the greatest need.

"The aim in this case is not to make more money, but to aid those farmers that need help today," the prime minister said at a government meeting.

He added that the government would provide 10bn roubles ($335m, £211m) in subsidies and another 25bn roubles in loans to agricultural companies affected by the drought.

Meanwhile, the wildfires in Russia are showing little sign of abating.

Officials said on Thursday that fire crews were still fighting to extinguish nearly 600 fires in an emergency that has now claimed 50 lives.

Middle East markets

Russia produces a soft type of wheat that is unsuitable for making the traditional loaf of bread seen in the UK.

As a result Britain buys only a nominal amount of Russian wheat.

Russia instead sends most of its wheat exports to the Middle East, where they are used to make unleavened flatbreads.

Egypt is its largest export market, followed by Turkey, Syria, Iran and Libya.