Failed German Bond Auction: An Evil Portent?
WHAT IF THEY GAVE a bond auction and nobody came?
That is the ultimate doomsday scenario with the unprecedented fiscal deficits around the world -- that governments' credit lines could run out and they couldn't raise the cash they needed in the bond markets. At that point, after bailing out banks that had faced the same dilemma, who's there to bail out the governments?

Is the Bank Tax a Major Step Toward World Government?
Finance ministers and central bank governors are in Washington D.C. this weekend for a G-20 meeting, in preparation for the G-20 Summit to held in November in South Korea.

We've got to find £100bn in cuts or tax - give thanks we're not in the euro The third and final debate between the party leaders this Thursday focuses on the economy. On the latest evidence, how do things stack up? Last week's GDP figures were undoubtedly a disappointment. The reported increase of 0.2pc in the first quarter was only half what the market expected and it was well below the increase of 0.4pc recorded in the previous quarter. The economy is struggling

Labour's 'secret weapon' Blair makes £350,000 for four hours' work (to top up his £25m fortune)
Nice work if you can get it: Former PM Tony Blair was paid £350,000 for two short speeches in Asia
Tony Blair had just romped through a feelgood lecture to 3,000 would-be millionaires in a vast convention centre near Kuala Lumpur (sample sound-bite: 'Power is shifting east! You guys are at the cutting edge of things here in Malaysia!').

More than 7,000 parents hit by truancy convictions as courts punish soaring levels of school absenteeism
More than 7,000 parents a year are being convicted over their children’s truancy, figures show.

Future Police: Meet the UK's Armed Robot Drones
Police forces all over the UK will soon be able to draw on unmanned aircraft from a national fleet, according to Home Office plans. Last month it was revealed that modified military aircraft drones will carry out surveillance on everyone from protesters and antisocial motorists to fly-tippers, and will be in place in time for the 2012 Olympics.

Surveillance is only the start, however. Military drones quickly moved from reconnaissance to strike, and if the British police follow suit, their drones could be armed – but with non-lethal weapons rather than Hellfire missiles.

FURY OVER 1M ILLEGAL MIGRANTS
MORE than a million people have breached Britain’s chaotic border controls and are living here illegally, according to a shocking study.

Iran slams silence on US nuke threat
Iranian Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani has condemned international human rights groups for remaining tight-lipped on the recent nuclear threat made by the US against the Islamic Republic of Iran

‘LABOUR IS PLANNING TO HIT FAMILY HOMES WITH BIN TAX
LABOUR is planning to hit families with a pay-as-you-throw “bin tax” while cutting refuse collections to just one a month, Government documents reveal.

Millions of householders already suffer fortnightly collections as half the councils in England have cut their services.

They also face fines of up to £70 for leaving sacks beside bins, putting out refuse too early or in the wrong place, or leaving bin lids open a fraction