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submitted by Tim Siftar

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Health officials are watching in horror as bacteria become resistant to powerful carbapenem antibiotics — one of the last drugs on the shelf.

nature.com - by Maryn McKenna - July 24, 2013

As a rule, high-ranking public-health officials try to avoid apocalyptic descriptors. So it was worrying to hear Thomas Frieden and Sally Davies warn of a coming health “nightmare” and a “catastrophic threat” within a few days of each other in March.

The agency heads were talking about the soaring increase in a little-known class of antibiotic-resistant bacteria: carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CREs).

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Anti-war protesters gather on College Green outside the Houses of Parliament on Aug. 29, in London, England. Lawmakers there voted against plans for a UK military response to chemical weapons attack in Syria. (Dan Kitwood/AFP/Getty Images)

globalpost.com - by Benjamin Shingler - August 30, 2013

The architects of the UN's 'Responsibility to Protect' doctrine say it gives countries a mandate to attack Syria in order to stop mass atrocities.

MONTREAL, Quebec — As US President Barack Obama pushes to muster foreign support before dropping bombs on war-ravaged Syria, options for a broad international coalition are shrinking.

An aerial view shows the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant and its storage tanks for contaminated water (bottom) August 20. Leakage from a temporary storage tank has raised new concerns about the ongoing problems at the plant.  Photograph by Kyodo/Reuters

The latest leakage at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant comes from a different, more contaminated water source and raises new questions about TEPCO's ability to manage the crisis.

nationalgeographic.com - by Patrick J. Kiger - August 21, 2013

In the latest crisis to strike the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan, operator Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) has discovered that 300 tons (nearly 72,000 gallons) of highly radioactive water has leaked from a holding tank into the ground over the past month.

Anti-fracking protesters in Balcombe, West Sussex, last month. Photograph: Lewis Whyld/PA

Prime minister says the UK needs to share in the energy benefits and need not worry about environmental concerns

theguardian.com - August 12, 2013

David Cameron has insisted the UK should accept fracking, claiming the controversial method of extracting gas will attract "real public support" when the benefits are explained.

The prime minister said the process would not damage the countryside and cause only "very minor change to the landscape".

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Cameron said: "I want all parts of our nation to share in the benefits: north or south, Conservative or Labour.

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