US President George Bush ruled out raising taxes to pay the massive costs of Gulf Coast reconstruction, saying other government spending must be cut to pay for a recovery effort expected to swell the national debt by $200bn (€164bn) dollars or more.

US President George Bush said today the Gulf Coast must be rebuilt with an eye toward wiping out the persistent poverty and racial injustice plain to all in the suffering of the black and the poor in Hurricane Katrina’s wake.

Eight countries are to hold an international exercise to test reactions to a biological, chemical or radio-nuclear terrorist incident amid fears of a further attack by al-Qaida, and Iraq’s weapons capability.