Scraps 250608

Sarko tells it straight to the Israeli government…:“there can be no peace without stopping settlement[s in the West Bank]“

…then forced into making a hasty getaway:

Big business undeterred by strife in Zimbabwe:“UK-based mining giant Anglo American is reported to be investing $400m (£200m) in a Zimbabwe platinum mine”

‘Success’ in Afghanistan remains decades away:“head of the armed forces warned that building up Afghanistan from its present “medieval” status would take decades”

British banks still struggling to make accounts balance; continue looking to Middle East/Asia for capital:“Barclays led the way in courting foreign investors when it sold a stake in its business to China Development Bank last year”

Overall economy looks gloomy but public transport operators still riding high:“Rail and bus firm Stagecoach has hailed a “fundamental shift” in attitudes to public transport as it reported a healthy jump in profits”

Burlesconi keeps corruption charges at bay by passing new bill:“The bill would freeze some long-running trials for a year”

Government pledge to beef up civil service’s data handling provisions:“[commissioned] report said the loss was “entirely avoidable”"

5 reasons for why the Anglican Church may be on the verge of splitting:“homosexuality”, “gay priests”, “female priests”, “shared doctrines”, “conversions”

The world’s toxic waste dumped in and damaging Africa:“hundreds of people have been exposed to lead poisoning [] those affected break apart car batteries to resell the lead”

Torch procession over, (some) protesters released and now Tibet opens again for business:“Tibet is safe. We welcome the domestic and foreign tourists.”

And finally:

British soldiers living on beans…:“Beans again. Beans for breakfast, beans for lunch and beans for supper”

Images courtesy of ap.google.com and news.bbc.co.uk