THU 8th OCT 2009

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Warning over global oil 'decline'   BBC News    Sarah Mukherjee

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There is a "significant risk" that global production of conventional oil could "peak" and decline by 2020, a report has warned.

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Peak oil could hit soon, report says   

guardian.co.uk

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Era of cheap, easy oil is over, warns study   

Telegraph.co.uk

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China calls time on dollar hegemony  

Ambrose Evans-Pritchard  Telegraph

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You can date the end of dollar hegemony from China's decision last month to sell its first batch of sovereign bonds in Chinese yuan to foreigners.

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Will California become America's first failed state?   guardian.co.uk

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Los Angeles, 2009: California may be the eighth largest economy in the world, but its state staff are being paid in IOUs, unemployment is at its highest in 70 years, and teachers are on hunger strike.

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"Lucky break" slows spread of swine flu    guardian.co.uk

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Britain's swine flu outbreak is slowing down, possibly as the result of a "lucky break" in the way the virus has behaved, the chief medical officer said today.

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7th OCT 2009

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The demise of the dollar   Independent

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In a graphic illustration of the new world order, Arab states have launched secret moves with China, Russia and France to stop using the US currency for oil trading

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The end of the dollar spells the rise of a new order   Independent

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This radical proposal is a reflection of a changing economic world

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Colin Campbell: "What are the financial consequences of Peak Oil"?   LATOC Archives

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Matt Savinar: The Most Important Thing You Don't Know About "Peak Oil"    LATOC Archives

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Richard Heinberg: "Will you be eating after the economy collapses?"    LATOC Archives

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6th OCT 2009

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Peak Oil: The End Of the Oil Age is Near, Deutsche Bank Says   

Wall Street Journal

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Police opt for electric Mitsubishi   Channel 4

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Police forces in the UK are turning to electric power for their new fleets of panda cars. West Midlands Police force will be the first force to run Mitsubishi's all-electric i-MiEV city car for operational use and the Japanese company says more

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Potential end of dollar-based oil deals helps gold shine    Marketwatch

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Gulf Arab states, along with China, Russia, Japan and France, are planning to put an end to dollar-based trading in the oil market, according to an exclusive report published Tuesday in the U.K. by The Independent.

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House prices: rise 'unsustainable'    Telegraph.co.uk

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A leading firm of economists have said that the five consecutive months of house price rises reported by the Nationwide Building Society are unsustainable.

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Glaxo sees huge demand for vaccine    

The Press Association

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Drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline said that it was shipping another 149 million doses of its swine flu vaccine as governments step up their fight against the pandemic.

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The great swine flu mystery   Independent - Alistair Dawber 

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It's a bonanza! At least that is how some describe the drug industry's expected windfall from the swine flu pandemic

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3rd OCT 2009

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Obama Meets Top Afghan Commander as He Mulls Change in War Strategy   

New York Times

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COPENHAGEN - President Obama held an unannounced meeting here on Friday with Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, his Afghanistan commander, to discuss a possible change in strategy and a proposed troop buildup in the eight-year-old war.  General McChrystal has requested as many as 40,000 more troops for the effort in Afghanistan and issued a dire report warning that without more forces the mission there would fail. Mr. Obama already sent an additional 21,000 troops earlier this year, for a total of 68,000 by this fall.

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2nd OCT 2009

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Five hundred more British troops set to be sent to Afghanistan   

Mirror.co.uk

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Five hundred more British troops will be sent to Afghanistan under plans due to be presented to the Cabinet next week. Pm Gordon Brown said yesterday: "Barack Obama and I are looking at how we can train up the Afghan army and Afghan police and improve ...

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1st OCT 2009

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Credit collapsing on both sides of Atlantic   

Ambrose Evans-Pritchard   Telegraph

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Private credit is contracting on both sides of the Atlantic. The M3 money data is flashing early warning signals of a deflation crisis next year in nearly half the world economy. Emergency schemes that have propped up spending are being withdrawn, gently or otherwise.

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I.M.F. Calls for Overhaul of Financial System   New York Times

WED 30th SEPT 2009

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Hillingdon PCT unveil Swine Flu vaccination plan   Uxbridge Gazette

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NHS chiefs in Hillingdon have released a plan of action ready for when a vaccine against Swine Flu is made available- and it does not include children.  The PCT argue that while children are disproportionately affected by swine flu, the vast majority make a full recovery, so experts are not advising that children, other than those in at risk groups, should be vaccinated initially.

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Wood chip power station given go-ahead   WalesOnline

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A new power station that will use wood chip to produce enough electricity to supply half a million homes was given the go-ahead by the Environment Agency today.

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Four degrees of warming 'likely'   

BBC News

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In a dramatic acceleration of forecasts for global warming, UK scientists say the global average temperature could rise by 4C (7.2F) as early as 2060.

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Prince of Wales launches campaign to save rainforest   

Telegraph.co.uk

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The Prince of Wales has launched a ground-breaking "SOS" text campaign to save the rainforests, backed by some of the world's biggest companies and celebrities including Sting, Joanna Lumley and Stephen Fry.

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What it felt like to lose everything  Times Online

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We once had limitless money. My husband had a hedge fund on Wall Street - his tax return in one year alone was $50m. In New York, money is king; if you're making a great deal of it, you're a rock star.

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Up to the waist in Brown's slurry on my new farm  Times Online - Jeremy Clarkson

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Last week I bought a farm. Though financially speaking, it's entirely possible I've bought the farm. But let's look on the bright side.

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29th SEPT 2009

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B-Prep Note: Lots of interesting news today...

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Forced Vaccinations for New York State Workers   Newsday

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Forced Mandatory flu vaccination splits workers 

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Ten Reasons for an Imminent Stock Market Crash  Seeking Alpha

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The coming Population Wars: a 12-bomb equation  

marketwatch

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Can Gates' Billionaires Club stop these inevitable self-destruct triggers?

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Robocops Employ Scary Crowd-Stopping Technology at Pittsburgh Protests   

AlterNet

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An arsenal of "crowd control munitions," was deployed with a massive, overpowering police presence in Pittsburgh during last week's G-20 protests.

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28th SEPT 2009

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Flu vaccine rekindles debate over connection to autism  Calgary Herald 

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The much-anticipated H1N1 vaccine has given new life to an ongoing debate about whether vaccinations in children can cause autism, a discussion ...

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Swine flu vaccine to contain axed additive   

Gulf Times

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Fear the vaccine, not the swine flu itself   

Standard Freeholder

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Cyclists benefit from £14m 'hubs'  BBC News

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Plans for £14m of investment to improve facilities for cyclists who use railway stations have been announced. Ten stations in England will get "cycle hubs" which will provide storage facilities, repair services and bicycle hire schemes.

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FRI 25th SEPT 2009

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Mass swine flu vaccination could begin within weeks  

guardian.co.uk 

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Mass vaccination against swine flu could begin within weeks, following the approval of two vaccines by the European regulator today

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UK swine flu vaccine 'approved'  BBC News

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Swine flu on the rise, as 66 schools report fresh outbreaks   

guardian.co.uk

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Swine flu cases in England almost doubled last week with at least 66 schools reporting outbreaks, according to the Department of Health ...

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Swine flu cases double as children return to school Daily Mail

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G20 to police new world economic order  Telegraph.co.uk 

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The Group of 20 rich and developing countries is to take on a new role as caretaker of the global economy, giving rising stars such as China and India more say in world affairs.

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Video: G20 protest in US: Police silence freedom of speech RT

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HSBC moves East in power base shift  

This is Money

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HSBC plans to base all of its future chief executives in Hong Kong, signalling its belief that the shift in economic power towards the East will not be reversed.

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Wilcke to head toxic asset protection scheme  guardian.co.uk 

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The Treasury has picked a former management consultant and private equity boss to oversee the scheme. Photograph: Cate Gillon/Getty The Treasury has picked a former management consultant and private equity boss to take charge of its mammoth £585bn bank ...

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BoE economist warns against too much Qauntitive Easing  

Money Marketing

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Bank of England chief economist Spencer Dale has warned that there is a danger of creating a new bubble in the markets if quantitative easing is over-used.

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Venezuela seeking uranium with Iran's help  The Associated Press 

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CARACAS, Venezuela - President Hugo Chavez's government says Iran is helping to detect reserves of uranium in Venezuela. Mining Minister Rodolfo Sanz says Iran has been assisting Venezuela with geophysical survey flights and geochemical analysis of the ...

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Loss of soil threatens food production, UK government warns   

guardian.co.uk

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World consumption plunges planet into 'ecological debt'  guardian.co.uk

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Rich consumers are still voraciously gobbling up the world's resources, despite the worst recession in a generation, with their appetite pushing the planet into "ecological debt" from today , according to a report by think-tank the new economics ...

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Fruit and veg have 'unacceptable' levels of pesticides  Telegraph.co.uk 

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Many fruit and vegetables sold in supermarkets and greengrocers contain pesticide residues that are above the maximum legal level, an in-depth report has said.

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Chemicals Found In Schools' Free Fruit  

UK Express

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.24th SEPT 2009

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HSBC bids farewell to dollar supremacy  

Telegraph.co.uk  

Ambrose Evans-Pritchard 

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The sun is setting on the US dollar as the ultra-loose monetary policy of the US Federal Reserve forces China and the vibrant economies of the emerging world to forge a new global currency order, according to a new report by HSBC.

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FDIC weighs extraordinary steps to shore up fund

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23rd SEPT 2009

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Australia engulfed by dust storms  

guardian.co.uk

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Storms of red dust have produced a glowing orange sky over much of Australia's east coast as the country experiences freak weather conditions.

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21st SEPT 2009

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Tamiflu warning as swine flu cases rise  

Shields Gazette

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PARENTS whose children have been given Tamiflu for swine flu are being urged to contact their GPs if their conditions worsen. The symptoms of swine flu can be similar to other illnesses that Tamiflu is not effective in treating.

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19th SEPT 2009

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Babcock buys commercial arm of UK Atomic Energy Authority  Times Online

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One of the last remnants of Britain's once-mighty state-owned nuclear industry is to be transferred into private hands, the Government said yesterday.

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Britain's nuclear caretaker privatised in Babcock sale  

guardian.co.uk

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Paul Reichmann gives up Canary Wharf stake  Telegraph.co.uk

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The founder of Canary Wharf, Paul Reichmann, has given up his stake in the London Docklands development, effectively marking the end of his 22-year involvement with the site.

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Lloyds forced to abandon toxic asset plan  Citywire.co.uk

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18th SEPT 2009

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Is Leeds rubbish war a sign of things to come for Britain?  Independent 

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Ten days into a strike by the city's bin men and the dispute over Leeds' rubbish collection was already proving a dirty affair.

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Blackstone bags a bargain and gets cut-price City offices from British Land  Daily Mail

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Property giant British Land has finally sold half of its £2.2billion Broadgate office complex to Blackstone - but for just £77million in cash.

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Public debt hits £800m - the highest on record  

Times Online

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Britain is clocking up debt at a rate of £6017 per second as the Government struggles to balance the books. With tax receipts plummeting because of the recession, state borrowing grew by £16.1 billion last month - almost twice the entire budget for the ...

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17th SEPT 2009

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Obama shelves Europe missile plan  BBC News

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President Barack Obama shelves controversial US missile defence plans for Europe, in a major foreign policy shift.

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Britains Year 2000 Fuel Protests Offer Chilling Preview of Future  

LATOC Archives / Peak Oil Blues

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Chavez Seeks to Boost Oil Output With $16 Billion China Deal  

Bloomberg

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Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said that China will invest $16 billion to boost oil production in the country, as part of a strategy to reduce dependence on the US and strengthen oil ties ...

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Rise in swine flu cases signals second wave could have begun  

Telegraph.co.uk

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The rise in cases was mainly seen among school age children, with six schools across the country reporting suspected outbreaks

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Mass swine flu coffins warning  Scotsman

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MINISTERS have been urged to have thousands of cardboard coffins ready for mass deaths should swine flu take a turn for the worse

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16th SEPT 2009

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Rolls-Royce set for key role in UK nuclear project  Telegraph.co.uk

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Rolls-Royce is set to play a key role in the revival of Britain's nuclear industry after revealing plans to collaborate with EDF Energy on the construction of four new power plants.

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UK Coal raises £100 million to pay down debt  Times Online

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UN announces ozone-killing sprays now completely banned worldwide  Ha'aretz

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UNEP hails Timor-Leste's signing of Montreal protocol  

Xinhua

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New Japanese leader is sworn in to start reform  Independent 

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Japan's new Prime Minister took office yesterday, launching an untested government which has pledged to radically change how the nation is run and make domestic demand, not exports, the engine of economic growth.

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Pilgrims Need Flu Certificates for Mecca Hajj  Holiday hypermarket 

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Pilgrims planning to travel to Mecca for the annual Hajj will now have to produce valid flu certificates.

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Tories pledge to end the database state  

ZDNet UK

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The Conservative Party has promised to reduce government databases and introduce stronger measures to protect people's privacy, if it wins the next general election.

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Renewables focus for Wales' first 'low carbon town'  New Energy Focus 

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15th SEPT 2009

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The financial reality that Obama will not acknowledge  

Times Online

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Lehman: 'alarm bells should still be ringing'  

Times Online

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gps will be handed a £4000 bonus for swine flu jabs  Daily Mail

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gps will receive bonuses worth thousands of pounds to deliver the swine flu vaccine, it has been announced. Despite having seen their pay soar in recent years, they will be given more cash from the hardup NHS to carry out the ...

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14th SEPT 2009

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A risk of total collapse   

Guardian Archive 2005

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Stiglitz Says Bank Problems Bigger Than Pre-Lehman 

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Joseph Stiglitz, the Nobel Prize- winning economist, said the U.S. has failed to fix the underlying problems of its banking system after the credit crunch and the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.  “In the U.S. and many other countries, the too-big-to-fail banks have become even bigger,” Stiglitz said in an interview yesterday in Paris. “The problems are worse than they were in 2007 before the crisis.”

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Ambrose Evans-Pritchard: EU faces 'existential' danger from economic crisis  

Telegraph

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Revealed: The ghost fleet of the recession - the pictures economic csensors don't want you to see  Daily Mail

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The biggest and most secretive gathering of ships in maritime history lies at anchor east of Singapore. Never before photographed, it is bigger than the U.S. and British navies combined but has no crew, no cargo and no destination  -  and is why your Christmas stocking may be on the light side this year.

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Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/moslive/article-1212013/Revealed-The-ghost-fleet-recession.html#ixzz0R7QSX2Uy

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What The Bankers Got Away With   Newsweek

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Swine flu claims life of first 'healthy' victim  

Scotsman

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A MIDDLE-AGED man has become the first person in Scotland to die from swine flu without having an underlying health condition. The 53-year-old, from Fife, is the eighth person in Scotland to die with the H1N1 infection.

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Climate change: melting ice will trigger wave of natural disasters  guardian.co.uk

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Scientists at a London conference next week will warn of earthquakes, avalanches and volcanic eruptions as the atmosphere heats up and geology is altered.

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Factbox: Chavez's ties with Russia: arms, energy, politics  Reuters

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Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Thursday recognized the pro-Russian rebel regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states.

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Medvedev says Venezuela key partner of Russia   Xinhua

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13th SEPT 2009

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Latest UK Swine flu update from the NHS  

Gov Monitor

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Britain "close to winning" H1N1 flu fight - official  Reuters UK

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Lehman collapse: the drama of a mad 48 hours that will never fade  Telegraph.co.uk

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The collapse of Lehman Brothers started a chain of events that has cost governments $9 trillion. Here, we look back at its final days.

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10th SEPT 2009

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Britain heading back to the dark ages  Telegraph

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The UK is facing a tipping point over the next few years in its ability to generate enough power to satisfy an ever-increasing demand.

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Why $200 Oil is Just Around the Corner   

Rigzone News

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Washington Finally Admits: Peak Oil Is Real  whiskey & gunpowder

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Tamiflu swine flu policy 'should be reviewed urgently'   

Pulse 

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Prescribing experts have called for an urgent review of the NHS's use of Tamiflu in tackling the swine flu pandemic - amid concerns that the public have been misled about the drug's effectiveness.

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Electric car charging points plan  BBC News 

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Nine cities and towns in the UK are to have charging points for electric and hybrid fuelled vehicles under an £11m development plan.

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Critical care doubled for return of swine flu  guardian.co.uk 

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The government's chief scientist says a second wave of swine flu is inevitable. 

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Secret documents reveal Thatcher's fears that a united Germany would gain more ground than Hitler  

Daily Mail

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Factbox: Chavez's ties with Russia: arms, energy, politics  Reuters

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Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Thursday recognized the pro-Russian rebel regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states.

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Medvedev says Venezuela key partner of Russia   Xinhua

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9th SEPT, 2009

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Carbon rationing may be needed by 2012, says IPPR  The Ecologist 

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The report, Plan B? The prospects for personal carbon trading, says existing measures on reducing individuals' carbon impact, such as smart meters and the Low Carbon Buildings Programme should be given time to succeed.

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North Sea oil fields could store carbon  

Telegraph

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Vast quantities of carbon dioxide could be stored in porous rocks beneath the North Sea, providing a potential money-spinner for the UK on a par with off-shore oil, it was claimed.

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Storing carbon dioxide could be Britain's new oil industry  Times Online

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Pesticides fingered in UK honeybee wipeout  

Register

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A new study appears to have confirmed suspicions that the neonicotinoid group of pesticides is in part responsible for the dramatic decline in UK honeybee numbers, the Telegraph reports.

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8th SEPT 2009

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U.S. Dollar Will Weaken, Currency Crash Possible, Roubini Says    

bloomberg

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China Alarmed by U.S. Monetary Expansion Policy    bloomberg

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Meltdown 101: Why does $1000/ounce gold matter?  

The Associated Press

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7th SEPT 2009

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***** B-Prep Note: The following three articles are a MUST-READ for anyone who wants a detailed overview of the financial collapse of 2008, and to further understand just how fragile our global systems are:

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Missing Lehman Lesson of Shakeout Means Too Big Banks May Fail   bloomberg

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UK was hours from bank shutdown - FSA ready to close cash machines during crisis guardian.co.uk

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Britain was within hours of a banking shutdown last autumn as the government battled to piece together a rescue plan for the stricken Halifax and Royal Bank of Scotland, it has emerged.

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Dark days when banks reached brink of oblivion  guardian.co.uk

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After Lehman Brothers collapsed a year ago, financial contagion spread like a virus around the world. Here Jill Treanor and Larry Elliott tell the inside story of the manoeuvres to save British banking Sir Fred Goodwin went white and silent.

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Thousands set for Offshore Europe  

BBC News 

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Tens of thousands of people are expected to generate millions of pounds of business as the world's biggest oil and gas conference begins in Aberdeen.

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Chavez ready to export gasoline to Iran  Xinhua 

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TEHRAN, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said that his country is ready to provide Iran with gasoline, the local satellite Press TV reported on Monday.

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Activists to target City firms over international arms fair   This is London

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Brazil, France close to seal major arms deal  

PRESS TV 

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Brazil has announced plans to ink a substantial arms contract with France, which would allow the South American state to buy 36 fighter jets.

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Ministers 'waved through' sale of riot equipment to Libya  

Times Online 

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Ministers waved through an export of water cannon to Libya despite concerns that they could be used for internal repression

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Ian Dalton's swine flu update   Nursing Times

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National director for NHS flu resilience Ian Dalton discusses the revised planning assumptions for the pandemic

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Short-haired bumblebee to be reintroduced in Britain  Times Online

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A bumblebee species that has been extinct in Britain for almost a decade is to be reintroduced next year, from a colony of the insects that was exported to New Zealand over a century ago.

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6th SEPT 2009

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Health chiefs stockpile drugs in case of swine flu epidemic   

guardian.co.uk 

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Health service chiefs have outlined plans to stockpile billions of doses of essential medicines in readiness for the swine flu epidemic that is expected to hit Britain later this year.

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Swine flu death estimate 'reduced by two-thirds'  

Telegraph.co.ukP

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