United Kingdom

Gasoline, oil futures jump on tight supply report - Gasoline and oil futures rose sharply today after the Energy Department reported an unexpected jump in gasoline demand and a big drop in supplies. Prices at the pump returned to record levels, and appeared poised to extend their march higher.

Bernanke Nods at Possibility of a Recession - In his bleakest economic assessment to date, the Federal Reserve chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, said Wednesday that the American economy could contract in the first half of 2008, meeting the technical definition of a recession, and he encouraged Congress to help homeowners caught up in the mortgage crisis.

U.S. and Britain at Odds Over Guantánamo Inmate - The Bush administration and the British government are at odds over how to treat one of the last two British residents held at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, officials from the countries involved in the case and his lawyer say.

Mugabe's Zanu-PF loses majority - Robert Mugabe's party has lost its majority in parliament for the first time since Zimbabwean independence in 1980, official results show. President Mugabe's Zanu-PF party has taken 97 of the 210 seats, while opposition parties have won 109, the Zimbabwe Election Commission says.

Cubans on new freedoms: 'We'll see how far we go - In the past week, President Raúl Castro has legalized cell phone use for ordinary Cubans; granted Cubans access to previously off-limits tourist hotels; and legalized the sale within Cuba of microwaves, DVD players and personal computers. Cubans are welcoming the change, even if the costs are out of their reach.

Files Released by Colombia Point to Venezuelan Bid to Arm Rebels - Files provided by Colombian officials from computers they say were captured in a cross-border raid in Ecuador this month appear to tie Venezuela’s government to efforts to secure arms for Colombia’s largest insurgency.

Clinton rejects calls to quit Democratic race - Sen. Hillary Clinton on Saturday rejected calls by supporters of rival candidate Barack Obama to quit the Democratic presidential race, and Obama said Clinton should remain in race "as long as she wants."

Blu-ray copy protection 'cracked' - A company claims it has cracked the anti-piracy technology on Blu-ray discs. Slysoft says the new version of its AnyDVD programme allows users to make "backup security copies" of high definition movies. The claim is a blow to Sony which developed the Blu-ray format.

Sadr Makes Truce Offer - Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is offering to pull his fighters off the streets of Basra and other cities if the government halts raids against his followers and releases prisoners held without charge. The offer is contained in a nine-point statement issued by his headquarters in Najaf.

'Open Skies' heralds new era in air travel - The first plane has landed under the "Open Skies" agreement between the United States and Europe, heralding what many hope will be a new era in air travel. The Continental Airways flight from Newark to Heathrow touched down under rainy London skies at dawn on Sunday morning.

It seems texting can be dangerous if you happen to be walking at the same time. I would have to also add that it is as dangerous when you drive. I dislike it when I see people communicating via text message with people while driving. People already have a hard enough time driving under normal conditions.

The UK has come up with a nifty idea to protect those that love to text while they walk in London. In order to protect them from running into lamp posts or rubbish bins they have installed padding. They will gauge the successfulness of the strategy and quite possibly implement it throughout the city of London as a whole. That is if it were not a clever public relations ploy by a company to promote their services. The charade only lasted about 24 hours but it has stirred a debate on the issue.

The TIME Magazine article shed light unto the trend of texting as you walk and I felt that the only reason it isn't as common here in the U.S. is because we don't walk as much as they do in the U.K. It does entertain the idea though of what the role government should approach when it comes to protecting its residents. In New York for example a bill was, "prompted by the death of two constituents who were killed crossing the street while listening to their iPods, sought to ban pedestrians from using earphones in crosswalks in New York's large urban areas." It did not pass and State Senator Carl Kruger of Brooklyn will attempt to reintroduce it this year.

Perhaps accidents while walking are not due to people texting or listening to music on their iPod. In fact, most accidents occur because people are jay-walking. States are banning texting while driving and traffic engineers are developing methods of alerting drivers of heavily congested pedestrian traffic crossings. Whatever the end result is though legislators have taken a pro-active approach to the matter . . . and that's what really matters.

TIME Magazine had an intresting article about homeless that pose as passangers in order to sleep inside Airports. It seems to be a trend that has caught fire and it is hard to tackle with increasing delays by airlines. The story focuses on Heathrow's Airport, London's busiest airport.

Eben Harrell states, "Each night, scores of London's homeless men and women take advantage of modern travel delays by posing as stranded passengers in order to sleep in a warm and safe place." That doesn't mean that airport officials or law enforcement have not noticed the trend. They have been playing a cat and mouse game but that failed strategy has prompted a new strategy.

Harrell notes, "Heathrow commissioned a local homeless outreach organization, Broadway, to visit the airport once a week and survey its homeless population, while also trying try to coax them into temporary accommodation." This is a similar approach that Chicago intiated in the 90's with their bustling O'Hare Airport. There are social programs in place both here in the U.S. as well as abroad in the U.K. that are attempting to rectify the issue. Their approach is to help those individuals find a permanent living situations. At times that also involves certain individuals to receive help for their drug or mental issues.

Here are some intresting headlines from around the world:

Dollar dives as Fed rate cut eyed - The dollar slipped against the euro Monday, but traded above the all-time lows from last week when investors recoiled from dire U.S. jobs figures. The 15-nation currency bought $1.5386 in morning European trading. The euro could reach $1.55 this week - particularly if the Federal Reserve continues to cut its interest rate.

War cost in Iraq: $12 billion per month - In 2008, its sixth year, the war will cost approximately $12 billion a month, triple the "burn" rate of its earliest years, Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph E. Stiglitz and co-author Linda J. Bilmes report in their book The Three Trillion Dollar War.

Survey: Gas prices rise 9 cents in 2 weeks - Gas prices rose more than 9 cents over the past two weeks, to a national average of $3.20 per gallon of self-serve regular, a survey said Sunday. The Lundberg Survey, which compared prices tallied March 7 with those tallied February 22 at about 5,000 gas stations nationwide, found the highest prices in San Francisco ($3.58) and the lowest in Cheyenne, Wyo. ($2.99).

Socialists Re-elected in Spain, After a Bitter Campaign - Spain’s governing Socialists triumphed in elections on Sunday, giving Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero a fresh mandate to pursue his agenda of sweeping social, cultural and political liberalization.

Camera 'looks' through clothing - A camera that can "see" explosives, drugs and weapons hidden under clothing from 25 metres has been invented. It is based on so-called "terahertz", or T-ray, technology, normally used by astronomers to study dying stars. Although it is able to see through clothes it does not reveal "body detail" or subject people to "harmful radiation", according to the designers.

According to a BBC investigation it has concluded that British folowed closley by Americans eat the most fast food than any other country. It observed a trend of obesity throughout the world except Asia. It claimed that, "45% in the UK" would not give up fast food due to the taste. Obesity related illness pose a great threat to healthcare systems worldwide.

This article was an intresting read as it shed light unto health practices around the world. Although I am not suprised by the finding, since it was the U.S. that practically coined the world and concept, it makes sense why we love our fast food. The fact that many countries outside of the U.S. and U.K. have the same relationship to fast food speaks of the globalization and commercilization of western ideals throughout the world. I would be a hypocrite if I were to claim that I do not eat fast food but as with anything one must consume it with moderation. Our ancestors in the past were much active than we are nowadays. You can attribute that to technology but that does not excuse the fact that we should assume a lifestyle with excercise. Its a new year . . . do something about it!