In the News: Oct-03

Company charged with fraud in Afghan war contracts - 3 Oct 2008 at 2:22pm - WASHINGTON -- A Houston security company has been indicted on charges of defrauding the U.S. government for work done during the Afghanistan war and rebuilding efforts.

House passes $700 billion financial bailout - 3 Oct 2008 at 1:41pm - NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House of Representatives approved a $700 billion bailout package for U.S. banks, under pressure from all sides as the effort to head off a spreading financial crisis hung in the balance.

California may seek Treasury financing - 3 Oct 2008 at 12:58pm - SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has told Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson that the most populous U.S. state may need to turn to the federal government for short-term financing because a $7 billion sale of notes may be foiled by weak credit markets.

Democrats question independence of prosecutor - 3 Oct 2008 at 11:38am - WASHINGTON -- Democrats are questioning the independence of a special prosecutor named to investigate whether laws were broken in the partisan political firings of U.S. attorneys.

Iraq clears way for provincial elections - 3 Oct 2008 at 8:27am - A spokesman says Iraq's presidential council has agreed on a law that paves the way for U.S.-backed provincial elections to be ...

Skype's China spying sparks anger, despair - 3 Oct 2008 at 7:53am - HONG KONG/BEIJING (Reuters) - Savvy Internet users in China began avoiding the version of Skype offered by its Chinese partner two years ago, but news it filtered and recorded text messages has sparked new worries about the global firm's commitment to privacy.

France slips into recession: official forecast - 3 Oct 2008 at 7:15am - PARIS (AFP) - French leaders scrambled to reassure consumers, voters and investors Friday, after the official statistics agency warned that the eurozone's second largest economy had slipped into recession.

Thought for the day:
Ninety percent of the politicians give the other ten percent a bad reputation. -Henry Kissinger (1923 - )