International

A United Nations report has revealed millions of people world wide have no access to safe drinking water.

The new GLAAS Report, which is published by UN Water and the World Health Organization, found funding for the provision of water services in poor countries has fallen by nearly 40 per cent in the past decade.

It says 900 million people have no access to clean water while 2.6 billion people do not have adequate sanitation.
 

Dr Robert Bos from the World Health Organization

Dr Robert Bos from the World Health Organization

Hillary Clinton will arrive at the Moscow summit tomorrow as anger over Israeli settlements hinders the peace progress in the Middle East..

Mrs Clinton will join the meeting of the Quartet of International Mediators in Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, due to start on Friday.

Hope for successful peace discussions were diminished earlier this week when Israel declared it would build 1,600 new homes in East Jerusalem. The US Secretary of State said the move was "a deeply negative signal" for the Middle East peace process. 

A French policeman has been shot dead near Paris after his patrol was fired upon by suspected Basque separatists. If confirmed, it would be the first killing of a French policeman by Eta.

Police officer Jean-Serge Nérin and his colleagues stopped a speeding car stolen from a BMW garage in the east Paris suburb of Dammarie-les-Lys. A police witness said at least one of the men spoke Basque.

Two soldiers from 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment, part of the Household Cavalry Regiment Battle Group, have been killed in southern Afghanistan.

The soldiers died yesterday in an explosion that occurred in an area north of Musa Qal'ah District in Helmand Province.

Both families have been informed.

Task Force Helmand spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel David Wakefield, said:
"It is with deep sadness I must inform you that a single IED explosion yesterday afternoon killed two British soldiers.

The Thai financial markets are strengthening despite protests in Bangkok, which left the presidential residence smeared with human blood.

Stocks have hit a 19-month high and the currency is at its strongest level for 22 months.

In the past few days thousands of protestors have flooded the streets of Bangkok to rally against the Prime Minister and demand new elections.

Oil prices have risen to more than $80 a barrel as ministers from the world's 12 largest petroleum-producing countries meet in Vienna.

They climbed to over $82 a barrel on New York’s Mercantile Exchange(NYMEX) while London’s Brent Crude rose to over $80 a barrel ahead of the meeting of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

Oil prices have fluctuated between $70 and $80 a barrel for the last nine months as global economies struggle to recover from the economic downturn.

Greece, Spain and Ireland are still among the worst affected by the world’s economic recession, which started over a year ago.

Greece’s manufacturing sector is weakening, unemployment in Spain has reached 19 per cent and Ireland is now facing a €1bn bill to pay for university students.

Greece

A survey earlier this week revealed that Greece’s financial crisis will last longer and deeper than had previously been predicted.

The South African President Zuma has arrived in the UK amid a torrent of insults, causing fears of a diplomatic row.

"Vile buffoon" and "sex-obsessed bigot" were among the UK headlines that have sparked controversy at the start of President Zuma's first state visit to the UK since his inauguration last May.

High on the agenda for discussions with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown are the World Cup, Zimbabwe, Education and Climate Change.

Marcus Low, TAC editor, questions the president's actions

Marcus Low, TAC editor, questions the president's actions

Research has emerged which will please latte lovers everywhere, Coffee could actually be good for you.

Four cups of coffee a day could lower heart palpitations, a new study from the American Heart Association has revealed.

It looked at the effect of coffee on over 130,000 participants. Those who drank four cups a day were said to have an 18 per cent lower chance of having to go to hospital for heart palpations, drinking 1-3 cups a day meant the number dropped to 7 per cent.

A total of 13 million vehicles across the world have been recalled after car manufactures admitted defects during production.

The latest manufacturer to announce a recall is General Motors (GM), which wants to check 1.3 million cars.

This latest action is likely to have a negative effect on the brand identity of the car manufacturers.  The car industry is facing cut-backs as sales continue to fall.  It is feared the timing of the recalls will reduce consumer confidence in the carmakers and hit sales.