33 missing as ferry sinks near Tonga

Searchers rescued at least 53 people and about 33 are missing after a ferry capsized in the Pacific Ocean overnight near Tonga’s capital, Nuku’alofa, a search and rescue officer said early Friday. The surprise measure takes the total sum injected into the economy via government-backed “quantitative easing” to £175 billion ($294 billion).

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Bank of England pumps $84B into UK economy

The Bank of England announced plans Thursday to pump another £50 billion ($84 billion) into the UK economy in a fresh effort to steer the country out of a recession which it admitted had been "deeper than previously thought." The surprise measure takes the total sum injected into the economy via government-backed “quantitative easing” to £175 billion ($294 billion). The sum exceeds the £150 billion ($252 billion) the bank was authorized to create when the plan was announced in March. But in an exchange of letters with UK finance minister Alistair Darling, Bank of England Governor Mervyn King said an extension of the scheme was necessary to meet the government’s 2 percent inflation target

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What Insurers Are Trying to Get Out of Health Reform

Insurance companies have always been an effective villain in the health-care reform debate, but this year the industry thought things might be different. Recognizing the growing sentiment for some kind of change and fully aware that universal coverage would help bulk up their rolls as baby boomers age into the Medicare system, private insurers early on declared their support for President Obama’s health reform effort

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Chinese villages eye health care for 1 RMB

One of the most telling things about China’s health care is a quote I once read from a construction worker who earns about $150 a month: "If you get cancer in China, don’t bother going to the hospital. They might not cure you, but you will go broke." That pretty much sums up the current state of health care for millions of people in this country.

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Chavez criticizes Colombia over weapons claims

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Wednesday blasted accusations that his government supplied Colombian guerrillas with shoulder-fired anti-tank weapons and accused the neighboring country of blackmail. The remarks follow a freezing of diplomatic relations between the countries over the weapons issue and over negotiations that could lead to American military bases in Colombia.

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Democrats say Republicans staging town hall protests

Democrats are accusing Republicans of organizing "angry mobs" to disrupt town hall meetings across the country, but conservatives say the protests are a sign of the opposition to President Obama’s health care plans. The Democratic National Committee released a Web video Wednesday charging that Republican operatives “have no plan for moving our country forward, so they’ve called out the mob.” The video shows footage of angry constituents and protesters at recent events and then flashes pictures of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Minority Leader John Boehner, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, and even conservative talk radio icon Rush Limbaugh on the screen

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Lloyds results stung by bad loans at HBOS

Lloyds Banking Group Wednesday reported a loss of £4 billion ($6.8 billion) for the first half of 2009 — much of it incurred from its takeover of troubled UK rival HBOS earlier in the year. The banking group took a charge of $22.8 billion, mainly for bad loans — 80 percent of which came from HBOS. “Our first half loss was driven by the high levels of impairment,” Group Chief Executive J Eric Daniels said in a statement.

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