News by Blacka

Weeks ending 03 September 2008

2008-09-27T02:47:00.000-07:00

News from 17/08/08 to 03/09/08

Violence in NW Pakistan triggers exodus

US to take over Afghan mission

Plans are being drawn up to send as many as 15,000 extra troops to Afghanistan with a single US general always in command, as in Iraq, defence sources said.

Pentagon Plans to Send More Than 12,000 Additional Troops to Afghanistan

Russia’s new nuclear challenge to Europe

The Great Consumer Crash of 2009

Oceanic Dead Zones Continue to Spread

US and Poland seal missile deal

Russia recognises Georgian rebels

President Dmitry Medvedev has declared that Russia formally recognises the independence of the breakaway Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Ukraine in crisis as ruling coalition collapses

Russia may push forward with S-300 sales to Iran

Russia may eventually retrieve its military presence in Cuba and Vietnam

Also of interest:
Tallest Skyscraper in the World Almost Completed, Defies Belief

Weeks ending 16 August 2008

2008-08-16T00:36:00.000-07:00

News from 04/08/08 to 16/08/08

Georgia forced to accept a Russian occupation

Georgia crisis: Medvedev promises to guarantee any vote by rebel states to break with Tbilisi

US and Poland sign defence deal

Russia: Poland risks attack because of US missiles

'2 US aircraft carriers headed for Gulf'

The next wave of mortgage defaults

Hundreds of banks will fail, Roubini tells Barron's

US junk-bond defaults may quadruple

Defaults on American corporate junk bonds could more than quadruple in the next year as the declining economy in the United States severely restricts companies' ability to repay their debts, the Standard & Poor's ratings agency has said.

One Third of New Owners Owe More Than House Is Worth

Indonesia warns oil output to finish in 10 years’ time

Violence in NW Pakistan triggers exodus

About 100,000 Pakistani villagers have fled clashes between security forces and militants in a northwestern region raising the danger of a big humanitarian problem, a government official said on Friday.

ECB slammed as Europe crumbles

The economies of Germany, France and Italy all contracted in the first quarter and may now be in full recession, shattering assumptions that Europe would prove able to shrug off the effects of the credit crunch.

Weeks Ending 03 August 2008

2008-08-03T05:27:00.000-07:00

News from 20/07/08 to 03/08/08

'Nuclear bomber base' raises fears of a new Cuban crisis

The Russian military, furious at American plans to install a missile defence shield in Eastern Europe, is talking up the prospect of turning Cuba into a base for its long-range nuclear bombers.

NAB sends a bleak message to the world

NAB's decision to book an $830 million charge against $1.2 billion of US home loan exposure to carry write-downs to 90% of the original value sends an extremely gloomy message to the global banking system and the world's sharemarkets.
...The mortgages concerned are not subprime junk. In fact, they had received an AAA credit rating originally, which as Stewart said yesterday, implied a one in 10,000 chance of default.

The huge threat to the US economy

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: Congress backs rescue package

America's house price time bomb

"This is becoming a tsunami of voluntary defaults," Professor Roubini says.
"The losses for the financial system from people walking away could be of the order of one trillion dollars when the entire capital of the US banking system is only $1.3 trillion."

Russian Navy prioritizes construction of nuclear submarines

Britain plans to spend £3bn on new nuclear warheads

U.S. biofuel plants go bankrupt on feedstock costs

Zimbabwe runs short of paper to mint money

Zimbabwe slashes ten zeros off its currency

Sexual assault in [U.S.] military 'jaw-dropping,' lawmaker says

Iran says OPEC to consider oil rationing

Haiti: Mud cakes become staple diet as cost of food soars beyond a family's reach

China’s Guerrilla War for the Web

Fuel cell cars still 15 years away at best-study

Graph of Total Borrowings of Depository Institutions from the Federal Reserve

------------
Also of interest:

Photos of the Large Hadron Collider

Photos of current and future developments in Dubai

Week Ending 19 July 2008

2008-07-18T23:57:00.000-07:00

News from 10/07/08 to 19/07/08

Crisis wipes $1 trillion from financial stocks

'Bush gave Israel amber light to attack'

Saudis offer Moscow billions to break with Tehran

IndyMac Bank seized by federal regulators

US moves to bolster lending firms

The US government has announced sweeping measures to shore up the nation's two largest mortgage finance companies, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.
The two firms own or guarantee almost half of all US home loans - more than $5 trillion (£2.5 trillion) of debt.

The Fannie and Freddie doomsday scenario
It's time to wonder what would happen if Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac failed.

Chinese Government is Top Foreign Holder of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Bonds

OPEC warns against military conflict with Iran

Drought devastates Iraq's wheat crops

Russia and China veto U.N. Zimbabwe sanctions

Russian customs bid to break the BNY

Housing Market Meltdown Will Cause Massive Losses in Household Wealth

China on brink of electricity shortfall

Week ending 9 June 2008

2008-07-09T00:13:00.000-07:00

News from 30/06/08 to 09/07/08

US planned nerve gas tests on Australian soldiers

U.S. escalating covert operations against Iran: report

The Shrinking Influence of the US Federal Reserve

Officials with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have informed Bernanke about a plan that would have been unheard-of in the past: a general examination of the US financial system. The IMF's board of directors has ruled that a so-called Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) is to be carried out in the United States. It is nothing less than an X-ray of the entire US financial system.

BMD Focus: Medvedev's missile pledge

Russia's new President Dmitry Medvedev has pledged to maintain the top-priority modernization of the Russian Strategic Missile Forces designed to be able to swamp America's ballistic missile defense systems.

[UK] Government asks stores to stockpile food to overcome hauliers strike

Unprecedented capital inflows test Chinese regulators

According to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), as of the end of May, forex reserves stood at 1.797 trillion U.S. dollars.

Dow ends flat but suffers worst 1st half since '70

Russia says Georgia could spark new war in Abkhazia: agency

Weeks ending 29 June 2008

2008-06-29T02:35:00.000-07:00

News from 15/06/08 to 29/06/08

Dow Chemical hiking prices 25%
Chemical company cites soaring energy costs for new price boost, following a 20% jump three weeks ago.

Scientists warn of lack of vital phosphorus as biofuels raise demand

A Pretty Stunning Graph of World Cement Production

RBS issues global stock and credit crash alert

The Royal Bank of Scotland has advised clients to brace for a full-fledged crash in global stock and credit markets over the next three months as inflation paralyses the major central banks.

U.S. Says Israeli Exercise Seemed Directed at Iran

Israel carried out a major military exercise earlier this month that American officials say appeared to be a rehearsal for a potential bombing attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Pentagon ‘three-day blitz’ plan for Iran

Alexis Debat, director of terrorism and national security at the Nixon Center, said last week that US military planners were not preparing for “pinprick strikes” against Iran’s nuclear facilities. “They’re about taking out the entire Iranian military,” he said.

'US builds 4 bases on Iraq-Iran border'

French army falling apart, documents show

Iraqi refugee crisis grows as West turns its back

Taliban Destroying Bridges, Planting Mines In Prep For Battle With Afghan Troops

Efforts to train Afghan troops slump

Only two of the 105 Afghan army units are capable of performing their primary mission, the Government Accountability Office reported.

Drugs cartel led by woman turns Mexican town into shooting gallery

[The] United States’ seemingly insatiable demand for cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine...has sparked the bloodiest drugs war in the Americas and cost more than 4,000 lives in the past 18 months.

Honey Bee Crisis Could Push Food Prices Even Higher

US nuclear weapons 'leave British soil at last' after half a century of controversy

An Epidemic of Psychological Wounds

Poll: 44% of Americans favor torture for terrorist suspects

Global military spending soars 45 pct in 10 years

Month ending 14 June 2008

2008-06-14T07:59:00.000-07:00

News from 17/05/08 to 14/06/08

Today's food crisis isn't a blip

For anyone wondering where food prices are really headed, the news that Beijing has begun buying up farmland in Africa and South America offers a troubling hint.

US Warns Tourists of 'Small-Unit Combat' at Mexico Border

13,000 displaced by SAfrica mobs as Mbeki urges calm

Fight to save wheat falters

In the face of a devastating new plant disease that threatens the world's wheat crops, the U.S. government has cut the budget for research that might head off the infestation.

Abkhazia: the frozen conflict that is thawing rapidly

Heavy gunfire breaks out along border between Georgia, Abkhazia

George Soros: 'We face the most serious recession of our lifetime'

Energy Watchdog Warns Of Oil-Production Crunch

Nine meals from anarchy - how Britain is facing a very real food crisis

It was Lord Cameron's estimation that it would take just nine meals - three full days without food on supermarket shelves - before law and order started to break down, and British streets descended into chaos.

US property foreclosures up 65%

The Financial Tsunami has not reached its Climax
Credit Default Swaps: Next Phase of an Unravelling Crisis

US rail network facing congestion 'calamity'

China’s Cyber-Militia

Worries Mount as Farmers Push for Big Harvest

At a moment when the country’s corn should be flourishing, one plant in 10 has not even emerged from the ground, the Agriculture Department said Monday.

Surgeon: one in three [UK] trauma patients has been knifed

Pentagon says AFRICOM Will Be Ready for Full Operations October 1

Rate of Violence Skyrocketing in Afghanistan

In terms of enemy fire, May 2008 was the second deadliest month of the war since hostilities began in Afghanistan shortly after 9/11. This also marked the end of the deadliest 12-month period for U.S. troops in combat in Afghanistan since the war began nearly seven years ago.

Through the floor
America's house prices are falling even faster than during the Great Depression

Home price drop means $4 trillion in lost capital

Zimbabwe faces worst harvest on record as Robert Mugabe stops charity food handouts

Opposing Robert Mugabe is now 'treason' in Zimbabwe

Traders predict [UK] house prices will fall by 50% in four years

Surging inflation will stoke riots and conflict between nations, says report

Apocalypse in the Oceans

Weeks ending 16 May 2008

2008-05-16T19:03:00.000-07:00

News from 26/04/08 to 16/05/08

Burma junta kicks out aid foreign workers

Fuel shortage forces UN to halt Gaza food aid

The UN is to halt food handouts for up to 800,000 Palestinians from tomorrow because of a severe fuel shortage in Gaza brought on by an Israeli economic blockade.

Chinese nuclear submarine base

'The world is sending us their junk'

According to Food and Drug Administration records examined by the Post-Dispatch, inspectors turned away nearly 400 shipments of tainted seafood in a year's time from China... "When you look at less than 1 percent of shipments, and sample and test maybe one-fifth of those, there's no way you can protect the American food supply,"

Iraq mulls reintroducing the draft

Famine fears for North Korea

Pakistani Coalition nears collapse

United States is drawing up plans to strike on Iranian insurgency camp

Second carrier group deployed to Gulf as U.S. approves plans for Iran counterstrike

Russia new missile base response to US

Hospitals struck by new killer bug

A new hospital superbug resistant to all antibiotics could be killing hundreds of patients, experts have warned.
The infection, known as 'Steno', is on the increase and could be harder to tackle than MRSA and C.difficile.

Egypt's tax, prices hikes stun the nation, fuel concern of more discontent

Survey: 36% of bee hives lost in U.S.

Autism Risk Linked To Distance From Power Plants, Other Mercury-releasing Sources

Exclusive report: [UK] Soldiers need loans to eat, report reveals

U.S. Army's 'stop-loss' orders up dramatically over last year

Pols fail to comprehend breadth of [US] infrastructure crisis

Congress to Saudis: Give Us Oil or No Guns

A group of Democratic senators wants to make a massive arms sale to Saudi Arabia contingent on getting cheaper oil

US foreclosure filings surge 65 percent in April

More U.S. homeowners fell behind on mortgage payments last month, driving the number of homes facing foreclosure up 65 percent versus the same month last year and contributing to a deepening slide in home values, a research company said Tuesday.

The global slump of 2008-09 has begun as poison spreads

"Companies are heading into this recession with a much more toxic mix. Their margin for error is razor-thin,"
...Two-thirds have a "speculative" rating, compared to 50pc before the dotcom bust, and 40pc in the early 1990s.

Queensland mine flooding spurs huge coal price rises

Price of fertiliser soars with food crisis

The general manager of distributor AG Plus, Matt Henry, said its two main fertilisers, MAP or monammonium phosphate and DAP or diammonium phosphate, were worth between $420 and $450 a tonne two years ago.
...The price is now above $1400 a tonne.

UN alert: One-fourth of world's wheat at risk from new fungus

[UK] Bank bail-outs to be kept secret

Ferocious and unprecedented secrecy means taxpayers will never know the names of the banks that have been supported through the special liquidity scheme, which was unveiled by Bank Governor Mervyn King last week.

----------------
Also of interest:

Cell Phone Spying: Is Your Life Being Monitored?

North Korea and the Supernote Enigma

5 Psychological Experiments That Prove Humanity is Doomed

Weeks ending 25 April 2008

2008-04-25T08:42:00.000-07:00

News from 12/04/08 to 25/04/08

China down to 12 days of coal stocks

UN says Darfur conflict worsening, with perhaps 300,000 dead

Japan's hunger becomes a dire warning for other nations

Egyptians can't afford daily bread

Ag Secretary: 'We have never been less secure' about wheat

Schafer told the International Food Aid Conference meeting that crop failures have left global wheat stocks at their lowest point in 30 years and U.S. wheat stocks are at 60-year lows.

Human Wave Flees Violence in Zimbabwe

Manufactured foodscape
[Short analysis of current food situation, and a good set of supporting links]

World current account balance ranking

What are the aircraft career battle groups for?

Three U.S. aircraft carrier battle groups are patrolling waters off southeast Taiwan. The task forces with the Kitty Hawk, Nimitz and Lincoln in the lead are believed to continue the patrol until May 20.

Weeks ending 11 April 2008

2008-04-11T07:29:00.000-07:00

News from 30/03/08 to 11/04/08

Russian intelligence sees U.S. military buildup on Iran border

Russia to fly 20-30 strategic patrol missions every month

North American Military Agreement Signed by the U.S. and Canada

In a political move that received little if any attention by the American news media, the United States and Canada entered into a military agreement on February 14, 2008, allowing the armed forces from one nation to support the armed forces of the other nation during a domestic civil emergency, even one that does not involve a cross-border crisis

Chinese Spy 'Slept' In U.S. for 2 Decades

"Chi Mak acknowledged that he had been placed in the United States more than 20 years earlier, in order to burrow into the defense-industrial establishment to steal secrets," Joel Brenner, the head of counterintelligence for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, said in an interview. "It speaks of deep patience," he said, and is part of a pattern.

Iraqi police in Basra shed their uniforms, kept their rifles and switched sides

Zimbabwe faces starvation as mobs rampage through farms

Food riots fear after rice price hits a high

A global rice shortage that has seen prices of one of the world's most important staple foods increase by 50 per cent in the past two weeks alone is triggering an international crisis, with countries banning export and threatening serious punishment for hoarders.

Food Stamp Users to Reach All Time High

The number of Americans receiving food stamps will reach an all-time high of 28 million in the coming year, the Congressional Budget Office projects.

Australia vulnerable to US 'tsunami', IMF warns

World's Biggest Importers Ban U.S. Beef

The biggest markets for U.S. beef around the world slammed shut Wednesday amid fears about a suspected case of mad cow disease in the United States, as Mexico, Japan and South Korea closed their borders to U.S. beef.

Weeks ending 29 March 2008

2008-03-30T04:47:00.000-07:00

News from 16/03/08 to 29/03/08

Pentagon: Inventory ordered of all U.S. nukes

JPMorgan to Buy Bear for $2 a Share

JPMorgan's acquisition of Bear Stearns represents roughly 1 percent of what the investment bank was worth just 16 days ago. It marked a 93.3 percent discount to Bear Stearns' market capitalization as of Friday, and roughly a 98.8 percent discount to its book value as of Feb. 29.

Fed acts Sunday to prevent global bank run Monday

Acting quickly to prevent a run on major global financial firms, the Federal Reserve cut its discount rate by a quarter percentage point to 3.25% and offered to lend money to a longer list of firms than ever before.

Greenspan: Economy worst since WWII
[What this article does not mention is the fact that it is former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan's policies were the cause of many of the current problems...]

Home equity slips below 50%

Federal Reserve says homeowners' debt on their houses exceeds their equity for the first time since 1945.

Slavery's staying power

...estimates from United Nations and other international researchers range from 12 million to 27 million slaves worldwide. The U.S. State Department estimates that from 600,000 to 800,000 people -- primarily women and children -- are trafficked across national borders each year, and that doesn't count the millions of slaves who are held in bondage within their own countries.

Cairo grappling with bread crisis

"There is No Way for NATO to Win This War"
Afghanistan: A River Running Backward

Water will be source of war unless world acts now, warns minister

His department warned that two-thirds of the world's population will live in water-stressed countries by 2025.

Russia may bring its troops to Kosovo to protect Serbs

Week ending 15 March 2008

2008-03-15T04:07:00.000-07:00

News from 09/03/08 to 15/03/08

Billions at risk from wheat super-blight

US Fed releases $200bn as credit crisis hits new depths

TIPS' Yields Show Fed Has Lost Control of Inflation

The yield on the five-year Treasury Inflation-Protected Security due in 2012 has been negative since Feb. 29, and traded today at minus 0.17 percent. The notes, which were first sold in 1997, have never before traded below zero.

Derivatives the new 'ticking bomb'

China asks armed forces to be 'combat ready'

"Preparations for military struggle shall be continued, which is now the most important, practical and imperative task", Jing Zhiyuan, commander of the Second Artillery Force of the PLA, said.

The remarks of Jin and other PLA members of Chinas parliament, National Peoples Congress, came at the ongoing NPC session just two days after China announced a steep 17.6 per cent hike in its defence budget for 2008 and issued a stern warning to Taiwan that it would pay a "dear price" for its "secessionist activities".

Russian-bomber flights alarm NORAD

Rising metal costs may see Aussie coins change

This year the metal value of the 5c, 10c and 20c coins will overtake their face value for the first time, News Ltd reported today.

Afghan violence at highest level since US invasion

Week ending 8 March

2008-03-08T04:18:00.000-08:00

News from 28/02/08 to 08/03/08

Threat of war as Venezuela and Ecuador order troops to Colombian border

Homeowner equity is lowest since 1945

Up to 70% of US aid to Pakistan 'misspent'

Since 2002, the US has paid the operating costs of Pakistan's military operations in the tribal belt along the Afghan border, where Taliban and al-Qaida fighters are sheltering.

Record-high ratio of Americans in prison

Using state-by-state data, the report says 2,319,258 Americans were in jail or prison at the start of 2008 — one out of every 99.1 adults. Whether per capita or in raw numbers, it's more than any other nation.

Zimbabwea bans 'unlawful hoarding'

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's government has made it illegal to possess more than Zim$500m in cash, it emerged Monday -the equivalent of 21 US dollars.

North American Natural Gas Production and EROI Decline

[Australian] Exports tipped to surge 30%

Tons of food aid rotting in Haiti ports

Beijing says snow storms destroy one tenth of China's forests

Week ending 27 February 2008

2008-02-26T22:46:00.000-08:00

News from 20/02/08 to 27/02/08

The new invasion of Iraq
Up to 10,000 Turkish troops launch an incursion which threatens to destabilise the country's only peaceful region

Global Cooling: Amazing pictures of countries joining Britain in the big freeze

Kenya election unrest toll above 1500

Economy.com: One in 10 Home Loans Under Water

Zimbabwe: IMF Estimates Inflation At 150 000 Percent

The three trillion dollar war
The cost of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts have grown to staggering proportions

High food prices may force aid rationing

The WFP crisis talks come as the body sees the emergence of a “new area of hunger” in developing countries where even middle-class, urban people are being “priced out of the food market” because of rising food prices.

Depression drugs don’t work, finds data review

Millions of people taking commonly prescribed antidepressants such as Prozac and Seroxat might as well be taking a placebo, according to the first study to include unpublished evidence.

[Link to study cited in article above]

Former Fed chief Alan Greenspan says dollar peg 'needs to go'

Biggest brain drain from UK in 50 years

No other nation is losing so many qualified people, it points out. Britain has now lost more than one in 10 of its most skilled citizens, while overall only Mexico has had more people emigrate.

The Oil factor in Kosovo independence

--------------------------
Also of interest:
Mysteries of computer from 65BC are solved
How Believing Can Be Seeing: Context Dictates What We Believe We See
Beyond Wikipedia: 19 References You Can't Do Without

Week ending 19 February 2008

2008-02-19T02:06:00.000-08:00

Iran Opens First Oil Products, Petrochemicals Bourse - AFP

Iran, OPEC's number two crude oil producer, Sunday inaugurated its first exchange for oil products and petrochemicals, in a bid to become a major player in the global downstream industry.

Kosovo MPs proclaim independence

Kosovo's parliament has unanimously endorsed a declaration of independence from Serbia, in a historic session.

Kosovo Independence: "End of Europe"
Top political analysts on Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov’s Kosovo warning

Russia angry, warns West

Russia has warned that it is preparing measures to respond against the US and other Western countries that officially recognize Sunday's unilateral independence declaration by the former Serbian territory of Kosovo.

OPEC considers dumping US dollar

Wheat market gone wild

Pakistanis Deal Severe Defeat to Musharraf in Election

Pakistanis dealt a crushing defeat to President Pervez Musharraf in parliamentary elections on Monday, in what government and opposition politicians said was a firm rejection of his policies since 2001 and those of his close ally, the United States.

Credit Default Swaps Are Next to Take the Crunch Test

Fidel Castro announces retirement

U.S. on the offensive in bid to secure energy supplies

David Walker, head of the US Government Accountability Office on US Government fiscal irresponsibility [YouTube]
Also note that David Walker has recently resigned.

---------------
Also of interest:
46 Best freeware utilities
Crowds 'pick leaders to follow'

Week ending 11 February 2008

2008-02-10T23:29:00.000-08:00

News from 06/02/08 to 11/02/08

Why the price of 'peak oil' is famine

China’s Inflation Hits American Price Tags

The world's rubbish dump: a garbage tip that stretches from Hawaii to Japan

Declining coal reserves add to energy supply worries

In mid-2000, Australian thermal coal bound for the Asian market -- mostly China -- was selling for $24.59 a tonne. Last week, it broke $116.

Some analysts speculate the price in 2008 might exceed $200.

"Euros Accepted" signs pop up in New York City

Tajikistan 'facing food crisis'

Obesity becoming world crisis

By 2030, obesity will be the Number 1 killer of poor people around the world, the World Health Organization says.

Week ending 05 February 2008

2008-02-04T20:06:00.000-08:00

News from 30/01/08 to 05/02/08

Fed delivers 50-point rate cut

The 50 basis point reduction in the Federal Funds rate came hot on the heels of last week’s emergency 75 basis point cut. The combined 125 basis point reduction represents the most abrupt easing of monetary policy by the US central bank since the early 1980s.

China snow leaves millions in cold and dark

Millions of Chinese faced a humanitarian crisis on Friday, as petrol and food reserves dwindled and yet more bad weather was forecast for a country paralysed by record-breaking cold and snow.

FBI opens subprime inquiry

The FBI said it was looking into possible accounting fraud, insider trading or other violations in connection with loans made to borrowers with weak, or subprime, credit.

Russia warns US, EU over Kosovo independence

Russia's Kosovo negotiator, Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko, declined to give any details about the steps, but said a recognition of Kosovo's independence by the West would lead to a humanitarian catastrophe in the province.

Ships did not cause Internet cable damage

Two cables were damaged earlier this week in the Mediterranean sea and another off the coast of Dubai, causing widespread disruption to Internet and international telephone services in Egypt, Gulf Arab states and South Asia.

A fourth cable linking Qatar to the United Arab Emirates was damaged on Sunday causing yet more disruptions, telecommunication provider Qtel said.

[Map of countries severely affected by cable damage]

Poor Haitians Resort to Eating Dirt

ACCC to investigate fertiliser prices

Two years ago, it cost $400 a tonne, but now costs $1,000 a tonne.

The Trillion Dollar Secret

Biggs's Tips for Rich: Expect War, Study Blitz, Mind Markets

Barton Biggs has some offbeat advice for the rich: Insure yourself against war and disaster by buying a remote farm or ranch and stocking it with ``seed, fertilizer, canned food, wine, medicine, clothes, etc.''...
Biggs is no paranoid survivalist. He was chief global strategist at Morgan Stanley before leaving in 2003 to form hedge fund Traxis Partners.

U.S. slump spreading around the globe, IMF warns

Financial turbulence is carrying the U.S. slump to the rest of the world, and now the global economy is in the midst of a serious slowdown, the International Monetary Fund said yesterday.

Greenback's days in Iran numbered

The Oil Bourse will serve as a place to trade oil products and crude oil.

The Ministry of Economy will be setting up the petrochemicals section by February 19.

Week ending 29 January 2008

2008-01-28T17:09:00.000-08:00

News from 22/01/08 to 29/01/08

The black box economy

As the derivatives business has grown more complex, it has also ballooned in scale. Broadly speaking, Das - author of a leading textbook on derivatives and complex securities - estimates that investors worldwide hold more than $500 trillion worth of derivatives. This number now dwarfs the global GDP, which tops out around $60 trillion.

CIA Admits Cyberattacks Blacked Out Cities

Hypothetical attack on U.S. outlined by China

Pre-emptive nuclear strike a key option, Nato told

"The first use of nuclear weapons must remain in the quiver of escalation as the ultimate instrument to prevent the use of weapons of mass destruction."

China's growth could spark political tensions

The rapid industrialisation of China’s economy means that it is likely to consume a majority of the world’s supply of all the major metals and minerals, potentially leading to clashes with other countries over access to resources. Rio Tinto, the world’s second-largest miner, said last week that China already accounted for 47 per cent of all iron ore consumption, 32 per cent of aluminium and 25 per cent of copper.

China to build 97 new airports by 2020

Putin decided for a stealth bomber development

According to several sources near Russian Kremlin, president Vladimir Putin given some time ago green light to the development of a new stealth bomber aircraft to replace and modernize the Russian air force attack aircraft fleet.

Home Prices Fell in ’07 for First Time in Decades

Is plastic making us fat?

Researchers are exploring whether exposure to common chemicals during early development could set us up for a lifetime battle with the bulge

Plague a growing but overlooked threat: study

Plague, the disease that devastated medieval Europe, is re-emerging worldwide and poses a growing but overlooked threat, researchers warned on Tuesday.
While it has only killed some 100 to 200 people annually over the past 20 years, plague has appeared in new countries in recent decades and is now shifting into Africa, Michael Begon, an ecologist at the University of Liverpool and colleagues said.

Hospitals on alert as superbug C diff becomes resistant to key drug

-----------------------
Also of interest:
A Cheaper Battery for Hybrid Cars
Colony collapse disorder in bees

Week ending 21 January 2008

2008-01-20T19:49:00.000-08:00

News from 17/01/08 to 21/01/08

Pakistan short of everything except crises

A Growing Foreign Stake in U.S. Banks

Russia could use nuclear arms pre-emptively: general

Russia's armed forces chief said on Saturday Moscow could use nuclear arms pre-emptively if under serious threat, his comments marking no change in defense policy but underlining a renewed military confidence.

Quality of nuclear devices questioned

Resting atop the Trident II missile, the W88 warhead is among the mainstays of the country's submarine-based nuclear arsenal. For years, however, testing the warhead's components to ensure the weapon produces the intended blast instead of a fizzle has been complicated by a lack of replacement plutonium triggers.

U.S. Hospitals Plagued by Ten Times More MRSA Superbug Infections than Previously Thought

Nearly five percent of patients in U.S. hospitals may have acquired a particular antibiotic resistant staph infection, according to a nationwide survey conducted by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC).

Experts fear superbug pandemic

A strain of the MRSA superbug caught in public places as opposed to hospitals could spread faster and wider than first thought, experts say.

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria which caused a global epidemic in the 1950s has evolved into a form of community-acquired MRSA (CA-MRSA), according to a new study.

The Peak Oil Crisis: We Are Starting To Dim.

China is the most interesting case. Growing at 11 percent a year, Beijing just announced that China’s electric generating capacity is now 700 gigawatts. This may not sound impressive, until you learn that they could be surpassing the U.S. in few years and last year they added more capacity than all of Britain’s power stations combined. Seventy-eight percent of this generating capacity comes from coal. To maintain this rate of growth, China, which used to export 100 million tons a year, has become a net-importer of coal with imports increasing 34 percent last year to 51 million tons. World coal prices increased 73 percent in 2007 because of this demand.

China Close To Becoming World’s Largest Internet Market By Users

New statistics released by the Chinese Government show that China is due to surpass the United States as the nation with the most internet users in the coming months.

---------------------
Also of interest:
7 More Abandoned Wonders of the World: Amazing American Abandonments
(Note: Check out the links just above the comments on the above linked page as well!)

Week ending 16 January 2008

2008-01-16T00:15:00.000-08:00

News from 10/01/08 to 16/01/08

Bush takes distance from key Iran findings

US President George W. Bush on Tuesday appeared to distance himself from what he called an "independent" US intelligence finding widely seen as dousing the likelihood of armed confrontation with Iran.

Norovirus reaches epidemic levels

Australia Joins China In Censoring The Internet

It's Not 1929, but It's the Biggest Mess Since

Russia to have 50 silo-based Topol-M ICBM systems by end of 2008

Mysterious $100 ‘supernote’ counterfeit bills appear across world

It’s an illegal parallel print of a genuine note.” He claims that the supernotes are of such high quality and are updated so frequently that they could be produced only by a U.S. government agency such as the CIA.

Heat is on for power supply

Southern China Shuts Power Capacity on Coal Shortage

China has shut down more than 6 percent of the power generating capacity in its southern provinces because of a coal shortage, with the region bracing for the worst electricity shortage in at least five years.

Serbians prepare plan for Kosovo

‘Panic Buying’ in the Grain Markets

----------------------
Also of interest:
2007 Darwin Awards

Week ending 9 January 2008

2008-01-09T01:22:00.000-08:00

News from 03/01/08 to 09/01/08

Military flags all-out onslaught in 'badlands'

PAKISTAN yesterday signalled it would launch a "massive military operation" into the al-Qa'ida- and Taliban-infested "badlands" of its North West Frontier Province, aimed at killing the jihadi militant leader blamed for the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.

Bush convenes Plunge Protection Team

What will we do if big two go bust?

They don't know it, but taxpayers stand to lose billions as the housing bubble bursts. And in a bipartisan effort to "do something" to save the housing market, President Bush and the Democratic Congress appear set to put taxpayers on the hook for billions more.

Iran to open oil bourse: Minister of Economy

China closes over 10,000 coal mines in last three years

Forget oil, the new global crisis is food

Helium supplies endangered, threatening science and technology

Solar activity threatens to mash up communications

No sign of the Higgs boson

The legendary particle that physicists thought explained why matter has mass probably does not exist. So say researchers who have spent a year analysing data from the LEP accelerator at the CERN nuclear physics lab near Geneva.

The elusive Higgs boson is so central to the standard model - the theory on which physicists base their whole understanding of matter - that it has been dubbed the "God particle". If there is no Higgs, they will be left totally unable to explain mass.

Week ending 2 January 2008

2008-01-02T19:01:00.000-08:00

News from 24/12/07 to 02/01/08

Iran to Get Russian Anti-Missile Defense

Russia is preparing to equip Iran with a powerful new air defense system that would dramatically increase its ability to repel an attack, Iran's defense minister said Wednesday.

City shuts down after Benazir Bhutto's death

On the second day of official mourning for Bhutto, most people were unable to buy food or petrol, with all shops, service stations, banks and offices closed.

Australia's controversial national ID program hits the dumpster

Pope's exorcist squads will wage war on Satan

Americans 'walk' from loans

Credit loss could hit $US1trillion

THE US economy could be heading into its blackest year since the Great Depression as estimates of losses from the housing slump and sub-prime mortgage implosion reach unprecedented levels.

Crisis may make 1929 look a 'walk in the park'

Russia starts selling GPS-Glonass navigator

Key Pentagon strategist plots global war on terror

U.S. Soldiers Stage Mutiny, Refuse Orders in Iraq Fearing They Would Commit Massacre in Revenge for IED Attack

Week ending 23 December 2007

2007-12-23T23:48:00.000-08:00

News from 18/12/07 to 23/12/07

Inside Ebola's zone of death

This new strain is feared to kill more slowly than previously, leaving more time for the disease to spread. There is no vaccine and no cure. The only hope is to contain the lethal virus, but Ebola moves fast and is hard to track. If just one infected person boards a plane, this could become a global outbreak.

ECB Lends 348.6 Billion Euros, Easing Year-End Cash Drought

The European Central Bank loaned 348.6 billion euros ($501.5 billion) for two weeks to banks to bring down the cost of money at year-end.

Cashed-up China set to hunt down more US bargains

The coming collapse of the modern banking system

HOUSING - SIMPLE AS THAT

Russia’s Big Energy Secret

Putin wields gas as a weapon. But the reality is that Russia can barely meet its own growing demand.

Bush orders cuts in nuclear stockpile

The $750,000 note that won't buy a loaf of bread

Zimbabwe's currency is fast losing value as annual inflation hovers above 14,000 per cent. Officially, Z$750,000 is worth £12.50. But at this week's widely-used parallel exchange rates, it is worth about 8p.

U.S. Senate Report: Over 400 Prominent Scientists Disputed Man-Made Global Warming Claims in 2007

$45 Trillion Gap Seen in US Benefits

Analysis: China's fuel oil reserves

Shopping giant falls as US crisis hits home

AUSTRALIA'S second-biggest shopping centre owner has joined the RAMS home loans provider as a casualty of the global liquidity crisis.

-----------------------------
Also of interest:
North American Union [YouTube]
A Christian Christmas in Snowy Iran
The Roundup Ready Gene—will it create world starvation?

Week ending 17 December 2007

2007-12-17T06:16:00.000-08:00

News from 10/12/07 to 17/12/07

World bankers resort to firebreak

Never before have the central banks of North America, Europe, and Britain, acted together as such a unified phalanx, but never before have transatlantic credit markets seized up with such violent effect.

Mobile Labs to Target Iraqis for Death

U.S. forces in Iraq soon will be equipped with high-tech equipment that will let them process an Iraqi’s biometric data in minutes and help American soldiers decide whether they should execute the person or not, according to its inventor.

U.S. Army To Lay-Off 200,000 Civilians, Contractors

Children are targets of Nigerian witch hunt

Evangelical pastors are helping to create a terrible new campaign of violence against young Nigerians. Children and babies branded as evil are being abused, abandoned and even murdered while the preachers make money out of the fear of their parents and their communities.

Kosovo President: Independence Days Away

Russia vows to stop unilateral Kosovan independence

Russia orders British Council to shut down operations

Russia plans no forces build-up after CFE freeze

Russia has no plans to mass armed forces near its Western borders after freezing compliance with a landmark arms treaty signed at the end of the Cold War, senior government and army officials said on Saturday.

But Russia's top general said the firing of a weapon from a U.S. anti-missile system in eastern Europe could be misread by the country's defenses, triggering the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile in return.

Ray of hope: Can the sun save us from global warming?

Oil-Rich Nations Use More Energy, Cutting Exports

The economies of many big oil-exporting countries are growing so fast that their need for energy within their borders is crimping how much they can sell abroad, adding new strains to the global oil market.

Derivative Trades Jump 27% to Record $681 Trillion

-----------------------
Also of interest:
A few facts about biological agents the government and media will never tell you about
Is a New Solar Cycle Beginning?

Week ending 9 December 2007

2007-12-09T06:09:00.000-08:00

News from 02/12/07 to 9/12/07

China warns US to keep out of Taiwan

A ROW between China and the US over port visits to Hong Kong has extended into a renewed move by Beijing to prevent foreign naval vessels sailing through the 180km-wide Taiwan Strait.

Warships head to Mediterranean in Russian show of strength

Russia has dispatched an 11-ship aircraft carrier group to the Mediterranean Sea as a first step towards re-establishing a naval presence in the region.
The manoeuvres are part of an effort to resume regular Russian naval patrols around the world, according to the Russian defence minister, Anatoly Serdyukov.

Iran ‘nuclear bombshell’ splits US

American intelligence agencies startled the world last week by judging “with high confidence” that while Tehran continued to enrich uranium – which could be used for nuclear power or bombs – it had halted its nuclear “weaponisation” programme in 2003, before the MI6 meeting.

US: Iran Still Poses Missile Threat

The United States says it will not alter plans to build a missile defense system in Europe despite findings by U.S. intelligence agencies that Iran does not have an active nuclear weapons program.

Iran drops dollar from oil deals: report

Major crude producer Iran has completely stopped carrying out its oil transactions in dollars, Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari said on Saturday, labelling the greenback an "unreliable" currency.

"Doomsday Seed Vault" in the Arctic

Bush mortgage plan freezes subprime rates for 5 years

Faced with a wave of costly home foreclosures, the Bush administration and financial institutions agreed to a five-year freeze on interest rates for certain Americans who face default on their subprime mortgages.

Hill Close To Deal on War Funds

House Democratic leaders could complete work as soon as Monday on a half-trillion-dollar spending package that will include billions of dollars for the war effort in Iraq without the timelines for the withdrawal of combat forces that President Bush has refused to accept...
If the bargain were to become law, it would be the third time since Democrats took control of Congress that they would have failed to force Bush to change course in Iraq and continued to fund a war that they have repeatedly vowed to end.

[U.K.] Psychotropic Drug Prescriptions to Children Skyrocket 400 Percent in Ten Years

Somalia violence kills nearly 6,000 since '06 - group

[U.S.] National Debt Grows $1 Million a Minute

Behind Chavez's Defeat in Venezuela

On Dec. 2, voters rejected Chavez's request to change the country's constitution to give him greater powers and allow him to serve as President for life.

Australian rice crop at record low

Bush handed blueprint to seize Pakistan's nuclear arsenal

---------------------
Also of interest:

NASA Sees Arctic Ocean Circulation Do an About-Face
Ex-Mexican prez: 'Amero' on the way
North American currency union - Wikipedia
The Story Of Stuff