First Inventory Of Life At Polar Region,Comprehensive Inventory

The first comprehensive inventory of the sea and land animals living in a polar region has been carried out by British and German scientists.

A team from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and Hamburg University found that Antarctica’s South Orkney Islands were surprisingly rich in life.

More than 1,200 species were counted, including five new to science.

The data, published in the Journal of Biogeography, will help to monitor how the animals respond to future changes.

David Barnes, from BAS, said: “This is the first time this has been done, not just anywhere in Antarctica, but anywhere in either polar region.”

The researchers studied scientific literature dating back more than 100 years, as well as more recent surveys of the land, sea and shores of the archipelago.

They concluded that there were 1,224 species in total, of which 1,026 were found in the Antarctic waters – including sea urchins, worms, crustaceans and molluscs.

Dr Barnes told BBC News: “There is a widely held belief that life is very rich in the tropics and decreases through temperate areas, through to polar regions, which are thought to be barren.

“That is partly because we see life from the land point of view – and when we see the Arctic and Antarctic, we just see ice.

“But below the surface of the sea, it is an incredibly rich environment, and diving there is a bit like diving on a coral reef.”

He added: “If we look at other archipelagos across the globe that are also isolated, we can see that the South Orkney Islands are actually richer than the Galapagos in terms of the number of species we find in the sea.”

The team also discovered five species that were new to science, including moss-like animals and marine “woodlice”.

Compared with other surveys in the polar regions, this is a relatively low number.

However, finding so few new species was an indication that the team had picked the right spot to survey, said Dr Barnes.

He said: “This is some of the best-studied land anywhere in the Antarctic, because there have been biologists on it continuously for decades.

“Ironically – when you have a place where you don’t find lots of new species, it tells you that you know the life that occurs there fairly well.”

The scientists will now use the inventory to monitor how this area will respond to future environmental changes.

Dr Barnes said: “If we are trying to measure change over time, and try and ascribe different amounts of change to things like response to regional warming or response to ocean acidification, you need to have this kind of baseline and you need to have confidence in that baseline.”

England Cricket Team,Offered New Tour Schedule

England have been offered a revised schedule for their tour of India but will await a security report before making any decision.

The England and Wales Cricket Board has said players will not be forced to go following the terror attacks in Mumbai.

Indian cricket bosses say the ECB has agreed to the Ahmedabad and Mumbai Tests switching to Chennai and Mohali, the first starting on 11 December.

A planned three-day warm-up match has been cancelled.

The England squad returned to the UK on Friday after the last two one-day matches in India were cancelled.

“The players have returned home, they’ll have spoken to their families and young children and it’s a tremendous pull on the heart-strings,” said Gooch.

“Cricket teams around the world have [previously] been caught up in terrorist situations but have never been a target.

“But it’s been stated in this case that British and American passport holders were a target, so you’d have to think, sadly, that an England team and their supporters would be targets.

“If one individual decides they cannot go then others will probably follow.”

Spinner Graeme Swann, battling to secure a place in the side, admitted he had a “tricky” decision to make, despite not being 100% happy to return.

Ranuka Shetty, chief operating officer for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), told the BBC: “In principle [the England team] do feel that the tour has to go on but I think a clear picture will emerge by [Monday] evening or tomorrow morning as to how we will proceed in this matter.

“I think a team which visits and then took a break and went back – when it comes back I think it sends a great deal of positive signal to the world.”

Last week’s terror attacks in Mumbai saw at least 172 people killed.

With the last two one-dayers between India and England already cancelled, the two-Test series depends on the security report’s outcome.

It is understood that travel will be limited as much as possible, with England flying directly to the venue of the first Test.

ECB managing director Hugh Morris could not confirm reports of Andrew Flintoff and Steve Harmison refusing to travel.

“I’ve not had confirmation from either Andy or Steve,” Morris told BBC 5 Live’s Sportsweek programme on Sunday.

“What we are doing is pulling information together over the next 24 to 48 hours and we will be putting that to the players and their representatives.”

Morris said the team would only go back to India if their safety could be guaranteed, but it remained unclear as to which players a returning England team would.

He said England could send a weakened squad if regular first-teamers declined to go, conceding: “Clearly we would have to potentially face that issue.”

“But until that report comes back, I’m not keen at the minute.”

Meanwhile, Lalit Modi, vice-president of the Indian cricket board (BCCI), expects England to return – if safety assurances are met.

“Player safety and fans safety is paramount for us,” Modi said.

“But on the other hand we must make sure events like this don’t give the opportunity to terrorists around the world to get away with this. We need to carry on.

“I’m sure families will want to influence players and rightfully so, but they need to make their own decision.

“I really do believe it will happen though. The ECB, the security teams and governments are all checking it out and I’m sure it will be all right.”

He also said the BCCI would not press the ECB for compensation should the series be shelved.

International Cricket Council chief executive Haroon Lorgat urged the series to go ahead if it was safe to do so.

“If safety and security allow then I would urge the England Test tour of India to go ahead,” he said, “and if it does so, then representatives of the ICC will be there to show solidarity with the competing teams.”

U.S. Stocks Drop Sharply, Following Europe and Asia

After five days of gains, a quick 300-point decline was to be expected.

Wall Street started a new week on Monday with a steep correction, as the Dow Jones industrial average tumbled more than 350 points in the first half hour of trading. The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index fared even worse, shedding 4.6 percent.

There was a time when such sharp losses would strike terror into the minds of market watchers. But analysts said the drop was expected as investors sought to bank their profits from the last five days of big gains.

Last week’s 12 percent rally in the S.& P. marked the longest winning streak in months and a hopeful sign for investors seeking a temporary reprieve to the current tumult.

“We’re giving back some of the appreciation in equities that we gained in the last few weeks,” said Robert Talbut, a fund manager at Royal London Asset Management.

The decline on Wall Street came after stocks in Europe and most of Asia moved lower, as investors re-focused their attention on a gloomy economic outlook.

Benchmark indexes in Paris and Frankfurt were down more than 4 percent, and London’s FTSE-100 dipped 3.6 percent. The declines were minor compared with the 13 percent increase that European stocks enjoyed last week.

“I think in terms of valuations there are some good deals starting to appear,” Mr. Talbut said. “But valuations are never enough in themselves.”

Any serious market recovery would require a determined response from global governments, he said, but investors have lots of questions about how the policy measures that have already been announced will work.

Investors were also troubled by mounting evidence that consumer spending in the United States would fall sharply this holiday shopping season, choking off one of the prime fuels of American economic growth. Retailers received more business than expected over the Thanksgiving shopping weekend, but the steep discounts they used to lure customers may undermine profits.

ShopperTrak said Black Friday sales were 3 percent higher than the year before.

Asian stocks ended mostly lower. The Tokyo benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average fell 1.4 percent, while the S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney fell 1.6 percent.

The Kospi index in Seoul declined 1.6 percent. But the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong rose 1.6 percent, and the Shanghai Stock Exchange composite index rose 1.3 percent.

United States government debt was strong amid the poor economic outlook and expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates again soon.

The yield on the two-year Treasury note, which moves in the opposite direction of the price, fell to a record just below 0.95 percent, while the yield on the 10-year note fell to 2.86 percent, the lowest on record.

Investors expect the Bank of England, the Reserve Bank of Australia and the European Central Bank all to cut interest rates this week amid evidence that inflation is easing and growth flagging. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development projected last week that the economies of its 30 member countries would decline in 2009 by 0.4 percent over all, after growth of 1.4 percent this year.

“Evidence continues to build suggesting that these central banks have further aggressive monetary easing to undertake in order to stem the risks of a dramatic shift in price expectations going forward,” Derek Halpenny, a foreign exchange strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ in London, wrote in a note to investors.

The Federal Reserve’s main rate is targeted at 1 percent, currently, though the effective rate in the market is 0.5 percent, because of the enormous quantity of cash that the Fed has pumped into the market to keep foundering financial institutions afloat.

Crude oil futures for January delivery fell $2.31 to $52.13 a barrel in premarket trading in New York.

Weatherproof Your Home,Environmental Issue,Going Green

There’s a sexy side to green technology. Have you heard of solar panels that use nanotechnology? Algae that can be raised to make carbon-neutral biofuel? How about devices that generate power from the motion of the ocean, or even  backpack wind turbines— O.K., maybe not.

But for all the interest in Silicon Valley science fiction, the most cost-effective green technology can be found in our own homes, simply by improving the energy efficiency of our houses and apartments. On average, heating an American home with natural gas creates about 6,400 lbs. of CO2 a year; using electricity will produce about 4,700 lbs of emissions. Both numbers can be larger if you live in a cold part of the country. The problem is that many American houses are poorly constructed and insulated, leaking heat in winter and cool air in the summer — and that’s not cheap. Oil and gas prices may have declined in recent months — of course, fuel costs in the U.S. have also been historically low, compared to our counterparts in much of Europe — but most experts believe that’s only temporary and expect to see significantly higher costs to heat and cool our homes in the future. For poor families, especially those on fixed incomes, a drafty house can eat up a large chunk of their income in the winter. The leakier the home, the more money you’re wasting — and the more carbon you’re spewing.

“Think of your house as a boat,” says Richard Trethewey, the mechanical systems expert for PBS’ home-improvement series This Old House. “If all the holes in your house that are letting out air were letting water in, it would sink your boat.” (Listen to Trethewey talk about how to improve the energy efficiency of your home on this week’s Greencast.)

Trethewey’s advice is simple: Plug up those holes. “If you see light coming through from outside, that means heat is leaving the building,” he says. Windows can be particularly tricky: It’s easy to forget to lock your windows (unless you live in my New York City neighborhood), but unlocked windows, even when shut, can bleed heat on a cold day. “You might walk by that window outside and think it’s nothing, but if you took that thin crack and turned it into a circle, you’d have a hole as big as a nickel or dime,” says Threthewey. You can feel for leaks in walls — especially at corners or where different materials meet — and fill the gaps with caulk.

Trethewey also suggests investing in a home energy audit to help figure out exactly where the holes are. Such audits aren’t cheap — they can range up to $800 — but as “fuel costs rise, the payback improves,” notes Trethewey. A good auditor will use a blower test, which lowers the air pressure inside a home — air from the outside will then rush through openings, revealing any leaks. A truly high-tech test will use thermographic cameras, which detect infrared light, to detect exactly where heat might be leaking.

Another quick fix is to simply to use less heat — without freezing to death. Trethewey notes that many homes are overheated, equipped with boilers or heating systems that are far stronger than necessary. If a building uses about 100,000 BTU of heat, it doesn’t need a system that supplies twice that — yet that’s how many buildings operate. “It would be correct for about two percent of the year, and overpower you for the rest,” says Trethewey. “It’s like a V12 engine in a Volkswagen — it leads to wasted energy.”

These fixes may not be free, but the good news is that there are federal tax credits — you can earn up to $500 for improving your insulation, and up to $200 for putting in more energy-efficient windows. But if America is going to get serious about weatherproofing the country and saving all the energy leaking out of its homes, the country needs stronger policies that will make going green the smart choice economically, not just environmentally. “We don’t have it,” says Trethewey. Low energy costs “have made us all pretty lazy and stupid.” Winter’s coming, though — even as the world gets warmer — and we need to get smarter, fast.

Angry Mumbai Wants Answers, Changes,Mumbai Updated Terrorist Attack

The candlelight procession that drew hundreds of Mumbai residents out onto Marine Drive Sunday was more than just a symbolic gesture of solidarity with those who had died or lost loved ones in the three-day terror attack. The marchers were expressing their defiance in the face of those who had come to kill, but also their anger at the authorities for failing to protect their city, and at leaders seeking political advantage from the tragedy. Amid the mounting outrage at the authorities, the central government’s Home Minister, Shivraj Patil — already under pressure in the wake of previous attacks — resigned, claiming moral responsibility for that failure.

Terror attacks in India have increased in scale and frequency over the past decade. This year alone, the country’s biggest cities — New Delhi, Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Jaipur, among others — have suffered bomb blasts that have killed hundreds of people. Mumbai, the country’s financial centre, was attacked in a series of bombing in 1993 that killed 257 people, and again in the 2006 train bombings that killed 184. Each time, the city has dusted itself off and gotten back to work, bouyed by the seemingly indomitable “Mumbai spirit”. But this time, however, the Mumbaikers aren’t in a rush to restore normalcy  they want answers and they want changes.

“We’ve been attacked before,” says Rohini Ramanathan, a radio talk-show host whose morning program has been flooded with emotional phone calls from listeners reacting to the massacre. “But after these recent attacks, people are saying let’s not pretend everything’s alright. We don’t need to make a show of the Mumbai spirit when what we need now is to make sure this will not be forgotten, all will not be normal again.”

The overwhelming sentiment among many residents is one of having been let down. “Mumbai has been a bad scene for so many years,” says Sheetal Javeri, an administration professional, emerging from CST, the railway terminal struck by terrorists on Wednesday night. “But the government has taken no steps. If five-star hotels can be targetted so easily, where is the common man to go?” She has little option but to use the commuter rail line despite attacks on trains and the station. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t fear for my safety, or my family’s safety. They still don’t know how many terrorists there were, and how many may still be at large.” Trisha Sethi, a media professional, agrees: “We’re looking over our shoulders now. We’re judging people now.”

Each new detail that emerges about the city’s three-day ordeal points to  multiple failures of the security agencies — failure to intercept and heed intelligence; failure to contain the terrorists and the damage they were able to inflict; and failure to capture more than one alive in order to ascertain their identity, motives, origins and affiliation. But these failures are neither startling nor new. Indian security experts have for decades pointed at the need for a better intelligence-gathering system right from the police post up. They have pointed out that India needs more police officers — at the moment, the country has 122 cops for every 100,000 people, as against the U.N.-mandated norm of at least 222. And no more than 1.5% of police personnel are dedicated to intelligence duties.

So, for many Mumbai residents, the question is whether and how fast the authorities will repair the intelligence and security system to withstand the challenges of the 21st century. “The terrorists have accomplished what they wanted,” says Niranjan Ashar, who lives a few metres from CST. “We need to know what the government is going to do to make us feel safer. We need to know what systems they will devise. How will they ensure such an attack will never happen again.”

Eighty-year-old Behram Contractor loves the city that his Parsi community has played a vital role in building. “The Taj was built by a Parsi, because the big hotel, The Watson, wouldn’t let Indians in,” he says. But the city’s politicians have lost his confidence. “Today Mumbai lies shattered, because it is ruled by people with no conscience,” he says, referring to the blame game currently on between the ruling Congress Party and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). On Novermber 28, while Mumbai was still in the grip of terror, the BJP a campaign ad for state elections in Delhi that said: “Brutal terror strikes at will. Weak government: unwilling and incapable.” Mumbai residents have also expressed disdain over political leaders’ and parties’ banners across Mumbai “saluting” slain police officials, with their sponsors’ names mentioned prominently underneath.

While censure for the government is a common theme in the wake of terror attacks, some also believe Mumbai’s people will have to lead a movement for change. Asit Bhansali is a financial advisor who has lived in his Marine Drive home for over 40 years. “Normally, Mumbai has a dog-eat-dog mentality, there’s no emotion, it’s all about making money,” he says, “But this time, the threat is too serious and too real… Now, we need change, we need to look beyond ‘my life, my family, my business’. Someone’s got to push this change, and it has to be us.” As Ramanathan has been telling her radio listerners: “Start with getting your voter registration. Start by voting.” Of course, it’s precisely that expected backlash at the polls that politicians are positioning themselves to exploit.

James Jones: Obama’s National Security Surprise

A year ago it would have seemed all but impossible. Barack Obama, the Democratic candidate with the earliest and most outspoken record of opposition to the war in Iraq, wouldn’t name the man who led the Marines during the run-up to the war — and failed to publicly criticize the operation’s flawed planning — as his closest national security aide.

But he has.And it’s a testament to both Obama’s needs as a young and untested Commander-in-Chief  and the political abilities of Gen. James Jones, Marine Corps commandant from July 1999 through January 2003, that Jones will fill one of the most powerful positions in America, National Security Advisor. At first glance, Jones doesn’t make a ton of sense as the man to help Obama through his now-familiar litany of challenges: two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a global anti-terror campaign, Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons, rising India-Pakistan tensions and a moribund Middle East peace process. Add to that list a new, self-created challenge:the selection of Hillary Clinton and Robert Gates — two smart, strong and politically opposed people — to head the traditionally antagonistic State and Defense Departments.

Obama doesn’t really know Jones. Back in October, then-candidate Obama said he’d valued Jones advice, but in fact, he’d only spoken with him twice at that point, and Jones was never in his close circle of advisors during the primaries or general election. Jones’ political affiliation is not clear, though he has never been called a Democrat, and his lack of public complaint during the planning for the war drew criticism, despite later reports that he had argued with Donald Rumsfeld and then-Joint Chiefs Chairman Peter Pace. But those who know Jones say his strengths vastly outweigh his perceived weaknesses. In Jones, Obama gets someone with instant and deep understanding of military plans and details. He gets a 6′5″ Marine Corps veteran at his side who has firsthand experience of combat theaters from Vietnam to Bosnia and who earned Defense Distinguished Service Medal, a Silver Star and a Bronze Star with “V” for valor. While the uniformed military will follow the orders of the Commander-in-Chief no matter what, the public is more likely to support them when they’re being enforced by a decorated veteran with a long career on the battlefield.

Equally important, Jones has, by all accounts, exceptional political skills. “He obviously brings strong military discipline, but he is also a great diplomat, he’s very smooth,” says former Republican Congressman Amo Houghton, who worked with Jones as the senior Marine veteran in the House. “He knows how to salute, but at the same time he’s diplomatically firm.”

He will need to be, particularly in handling Clinton and Gates. He’ll start with a leg up. “[Clinton] has a great relationship with him which is based on her service in the Senate Armed Services committee,” says one Clinton foreign policy advisor. They have spent time in private discussions and informal dinners abroad. The advisor adds that Jones’ has managed to distance himself failures of pre-war Iraq planning under Rumsfeld: “He strikes me and others as being untainted by the Rumsfeld politicization of the officer corps.” Clinton’s relations with Gates are less warm, and managing that dynamic will be Jones’ hardest job. Clinton did vote to approve Gates and respects him, aides say, but even if their relationship was mutually fawning, institutional rivalries would inevitably make that short lived. One thing Obama can count on is that he’s getting in Jones an experienced military hand who should be able to handle two tough players in the cabinet. Whether all four can actually work together to tackle the global crises the country faces is another matter.

Best Crime Of The Century:10 of 25

THE TATE-LABIANCA MURDERS, 1969

On Aug. 9 and 10, 1969, two sets of grisly murders took place in Los Angeles. On the 9th, a gang of four people brutally killed the actress Sharon Tate, who was married to director Roman Polanski and eight and a half months pregnant, four of Tate’s friends and the son of her gardener. Tate begged for the life of her unborn child but was told by one of the female assailants, “Look bitch, I don’t care about you. I don’t care if you are having a baby. You are going to die and I don’t feel a thing about it.” Tate’s blood was used to write the word PIG on the home’s front door. The next day supermarket executive Leno LaBianca and his wife were killed in a similar fashion, a fork used to carve the word WAR on his belly left sticking out of his corpse. This time, the leader of the gang took part in the slaughter. Authorities would take nearly five months to track down Charles Manson and his so-called Family. And when they did, America discovered a terrifying mix of a libertine counter-culture and stupefying mind-control. Manson sent out his mostly female agents like the Furies of Greek mythology, to take down those whom he saw as his enemies. His trial ended in 1971 with a death sentence which was vacated by the U.S. Supreme Court’s declaration of the penalty’s unconstitutionality. He is up for parole this year but is unlikely to receive it.

Armageddon 2008 Predictions,Triple Threat Match,Select The Winner

At Armageddon, newly-crowned WWE Champion Edge will defend his gold in a Triple Threat Match against Jeff Hardy and Triple H

Vote For The Candidate To Win WWE ChampionShip

Space Shuttle Touches Safely,NASA Eventful Mission

The space shuttle Endeavour has returned to Earth after an eventful mission to repair parts of the International Space Station (ISS).

The shuttle’s landing site was switched from Florida to Edwards Air Force Base in California due to bad weather.

The shuttle touched down safely at around 1325 local time (2125GMT).

The mission had been extended by a day because Nasa wanted the shuttle’s crew to make repairs to a machine which makes drinking water from urine.

Lost tool bag

The shuttle, with a crew of seven, was piloted by Commander Christopher Ferguson.

“Welcome back. That was a great way to finish a fantastic flight,” Mission Control radioed.

“And we’re happy to be here in California,” Commander Ferguson replied.

Earlier on Sunday a Russian space vessel docked with the ISS, delivering food, clothes and Christmas presents.

Russian flight engineer Yury Lonchakov remotely guided the Progress spaceship to a docking port after an automated system failed.

Endeavour’s mission saw the shuttle and its crew spend 16 days in space.

The equipment to provide drinking water from astronauts’ urine had failed several times since it was delivered two weeks ago.

During four spacewalks, the crew serviced the station’s two Solar Alpha Rotary Joints, which allow its solar arrays to track the sun, and installed new hardware that will support future assembly missions.

The work was slower than expected because astronaut Heide Stefanyshyn-Piper lost her tool bag during the first spacewalk.

Inside the station, ISS commander Mike Fincke supervised work on the malfunctioning water regeneration system which distils, filters, ionises and oxidises wastewater – including urine – into fresh water.

Earlier, the system’s centrifuge – needed to separate solid particles from liquid as part of the distillation process – became unbalanced as it spun and shut down before the intended four-hour cycle was complete.

Nasa needs the new system operating before it can expand the station’s crew from three to six people, which is currently scheduled for May 2009. To that end, the shuttle mission also delivered additional sleeping quarters, a second toilet and an exercise device.

The extended mission meant Endeavour’s crew celebrated Thanksgiving in space and did not leave the station until Friday.

Endeavour’s mission was the fourth and final orbiter mission of 2008.

The orbiter will now be transported from California to Florida’s Kennedy Space Center on the back of a modified 747 jumbo jet.

Once at Kennedy, the shuttle will be separated from the aircraft to begin immediate processing for its next flight, targeted for May 2009.

Next up to the station will be the Discovery shuttle in February. It will deliver the final pair of solar arrays, which will be installed on the starboard end of the station’s truss, or backbone.

Chelsea 1-2 Arsenal,Arsenal’s Up

Arsenal’s up and down season is in the ascendancy again after Robin van Persie struck twice in three second-half minutes to stun Premier League leaders Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Johan Djourou turned Jose Bosingwa’s cross into his own net after 31 minutes to give Chelsea the lead as Arsenal’s title challenge looked to be in danger of suffering a potentially fatal blow.

And then, with Chelsea the dominant force, Van Persie delivered two crucial blows to earn Arsene Wenger’s side a priceless victory.

He looked well offside when he drilled home the equaliser after 59 minutes, then was on target again on the turn to complete a remarkable turnaround in fortunes.

Arsenal are turning into the Premier League’s great enigmas, responding with victories against Manchester United and now Chelsea just when they were being written off as serious title contenders.

Chelsea, meanwhile, are suffering at the place that was once their greatest strength – Stamford Bridge.

After four years of impregnability at home, Chelsea have now lost to Liverpool and Arsenal this season and have won only three out of eight league games at Stamford Bridge.

Arsenal knew they could not afford to slip up if they were to maintain a serious title challenge, and they started with real attacking intent.

Chelsea keeper Petr Cech was in action in the 13th minute, plunging to save from Samir Nasri’s low shot, with William Gallas – taunted mercilessly by the home fans – just failing to apply a crucial touch from the rebound.

Cesc Fabregas then tested Cech again before Chelsea demonstrated their threat, with a slick exchange between Frank Lampard and Deco almost creating an opening for Nicolas Anelka.

Arsenal’s early promise was then undermined when they conceded the sloppiest of goals just after the half hour.

Goalkeeper Manuel Almunia gifted Chelsea possession with a wayward throw, and when Bosingwa drove in a dangerous low cross from the right, Djourou could only slide the ball into his own goal at the near post.

In contrast to his strike partner Adebayor, Van Persie had been industrious and he tested Cech with a shot on the turn as Arsenal looked to fashion a quick response to Chelsea’s goal.

Arsenal’s carelessness at the back almost allowed Lampard to double Chelsea’s advantage six minutes after the break, the England midfield man failing to make a proper connection with an opening on the edge of the box.

Wenger’s side needed a lifeline from somewhere, and they were thrown one by the officials as they equalised in dubious circumstances just before the hour.

Van Persie looked well offside as he was found inside the area by Denilson’s pass, and as Chelsea waited for a flag that never came the Dutch striker flashed an emphatic finish high past Cech.

And a remarkable turnaround was complete three minutes later when Van Persie struck against to put Arsenal in front.

Adebayor rose to head down Fabregas’ free-kick, and Van Persie produced a stunning low finish to beat Cech again.

Chelsea, inevitably, pressed but Arsenal looked just as likely to add a third, with Cech saving well from Denilson deep in injury time.

Arsenal boss Wenger celebrated with his staff at the final whistle, an indication of just how important he feels this victory can be.

Chelsea’s fans, in contrast, greeted the final whistle with jeers.

Chelsea: Cech, Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Terry, A Cole, Mikel (Malouda 69), Deco (Stoch 81), Ballack, Lampard, Kalou, Anelka.
Subs Not Used: Hilario, Bridge, Ferreira, Mineiro, Alex.

Booked: Terry, Ivanovic.

Goals: Djourou 31 og.

Arsenal: Almunia, Sagna, Gallas, Djourou, Clichy, Denilson, Fabregas, Song Billong, Nasri, Adebayor (Bendtner 83), Van Persie.
Subs Not Used: Fabianski, Vela, Ramsey, Silvestre, Wilshere, Gibbs.

Goals: Van Persie 59, 62.

Att: 41,760.

Ref: Mike Dean (Wirral).