"Recovery at Risk" Warns Road Haulage Association

The pump price for both petrol and diesel are now at their highest this year with fears of even more hikes before the end of the year.

Israel and U.S. Missile Defense Exercise Counters Iran

WASHINGTON, November 23 - Riki Ellison, President and Founder of the Missile Defense Advocacy
Alliance (MDAA) www.missiledefenseadvocacy.org discusses the relevance of the
largest joint U.S. - Israeli missile defense exercise held earlier this month
in respect to the volatility of the current and future situation in Iran and
the rest of the Middle East. His comments are below:

U.S. Department of State Launches Second Annual ExchangesConnect Video Contest to Amplify U.S. Public Diplomacy: "Change Your Climate, Change Our World"

WASHINGTON, November 23 - Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton today launched the Department
of State's second annual ExchangesConnect Video Contest, "Change Your
Climate, Change Our World," with a video message on the ExchangesConnect
social network at connect.state.gov.

Natalya Chistyakova-Ionova Becomes an Ambassador of Friendship

MIAMI and MOSCOW, November 19 - Natalya Chistyakova-Ionova, the esteemed Russian singer and Pop
sensation, has joined forces with Best Buddies International to generously
support the charitable organization's mission of establishing one-to-one
friendships between student volunteers — from various Moscow schools — and
youth with intellectual disabilities. Best Buddies was founded by U.S.
President Kennedy's nephew, Anthony Kennedy Shriver, and today operates
worldwide, in 44 countries that positively impact more than 400,000
individuals annually throughout six continents.

Australia to Join JES & Co.'s Achievement Standards Network

WASHINGTON, November 19 - At the annual National Science Distributed Learning conference sponsored
by the National Science Foundation (NSF), participants learned how JES &
Co.'s Achievement Standards Network (ASN) framework is being used by
Australia's Curriculum Corporation in an effort to link educational resource
data globally. Representing Australia's nationally funded Le@rning Federation
Initiative was Jillian Dellit, for 9 years Director of The Le@rning
Federation Secretariat. Diny Golder, the executive director of JES & Co., the
home of the ASN, has been working with Ms. Dellit for over 10 years in an
effort to launch an international exchange of learning resources,
discoverable by learning objective or achievement standards. Stuart Sutton,
the lead scientist for the ASN project, has worked closely with Curriculum
Corporation's Steve Sunter and Les Kneebone to align Australia's rich
educational vocabularies to existing ASN properties.

CURRENT Group, a Leader in Providing Smart Grid Solutions to Utilities Worldwide, Has Been Selected As One of The World's Top Ten Smart Grid Innovators at GreenBeat 2009

CURRENT CEO Tom Casey Speaks on the Game Changing Power of Grid-based Demand Management Solutions through CURRENT's leading System Optimization Technologies for the Distribution Grid at GreenBeat 2009

New Report Finds Four Forces Will Shape the Future of Mobile Banking

Governments, industry can make choices to increase financial inclusion in the next decade

Rally Driver Speaks Out on Race To Erase Poverty from the Planet During East African Safari Classic Rally

WHAT: INTERVIEW AVAILABILITIES RACE4CHANGE & EAST AFRICAN SAFARI CLASSIC

Peter Gabriel, Susan Sarandon, and Cyndi Lauper Urge Zimbabwean Government to End Politically Motivated Violence Against Women

NEW YORK, November 17 - Peter Gabriel, Susan Sarandon, Cyndi Lauper, and Citizen Cope have signed
a petition calling on Prime Minister of Zimbabwe, Morgan Tsvangirai, to help
end politically motivated violence against women. Their actions were inspired
by remarks made by Kuda Chitsike, Program Manager at the Research and
Advocacy Unit in Zimbabwe and keynote speaker at the WITNESS Focus for Change
Benefit Dinner and Concert in New York last week.

SAE International Releases Test Results of the Low GWP Refrigerant for Mobile Air-Conditioning

WARRENDALE, Pennsylvania, November 10 - A Cooperative Research Program conducted through SAE International to
investigate the safety and environmental performance of a new refrigerant for
mobile air conditioning systems, announced today the successful completion of
its research. Based on these results, the sponsors of the SAE CRP1234 have
concluded that HFO-1234yf can be used as the global replacement refrigerant
in future mobile air conditioning systems. From the evaluation and test
results it has been concluded that HFO-1234yf can be safely accommodated
through established industry standards and practices for vehicle design,
engineering, manufacturing, and service.

Travis Pastrana Joins Race 4 Change in Drive to End Poverty!

NEW YORK -

Nine-time X Games Gold Medalist and Rally legend, Travis Pastrana (www.travispastrana.com/), is ready to rev up the movement to race to end poverty on this planet. Pastrana, who is already a Rally Racing Champ in America, has entered his endorsement of car #20, Race4Change (www.race4change.org), in the East African Safari Classic (www.eastafricansafarirally.com/) - one of the toughest rallies in the world. He joins the efforts of Race4Change in raising awareness, on an international level, about microcredit and is encouraging people to donate money to two of the worlds leading poverty fighting organizations, the Microcredit Summit Campaign (www.microcreditsummit.org) and the on-the-ground Kenyan microfinance legend, Jamii Bora (www.jamiibora.org/), lead by microfinance eco-pioneer Ingrid Munro.

U.S. and European Experts Applaud Creation of New Transatlantic Task Force on Global Antibiotic Resistance Threat

WASHINGTON -

Experts on both sides of the Atlantic applaud President Barack Obama and Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, representing the European Union (EU) Presidency, for establishing a transatlantic task force to address antibiotic resistance, an urgent and growing problem that threatens patient safety and public health worldwide. During a summit held this week in Washington, D.C., President Obama and Prime Minister Reinfeldt joined forces to address the urgency of the problem and the need for solutions by signing an international agreement that seeks cooperative ways in which the United States and EU countries can help combat the global health crisis.

UNIFEM Launches Global Action Platform to End Violence Against Women

NAIROBI, Kenya -

UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) today launched the advocacy initiative Say NO - UNiTE to End Violence against Women which will stimulate, count and showcase actions on ending violence against women.

Unique Online Tool Helps International Students Calculate GPA

NEW YORK -

International students now have an online tool that can quickly and accurately convert their non-US grades and calculate their grade point average (GPA) on a 4.0 scale, the WES iGPA Calculator. More and more, higher education institutions are asking for students to give a self-reported GPA on their applications, to enable them to quickly determine eligibility. For American-educated students this is an easy task, but for internationally-educated students who are not used to the 4.0 scale it causes confusion and undue stress. That’s why World Education Services (WES) decided to offer this new tool.

Cambodia: World AIDS Day HIV Campaign, ‘Testing Millions,’ to Again Launch During Cambodia’s National Water Festival

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia -

- During Last Year’s ‘One Million Tests’ World AIDS Day 2008 Campaign, AHF/Cambodia CARES and Cambodian Partners Surpassed Country’s 30,000 Testing Goal by Testing 35,034

U.S. FDA Officials to Speak at RAPS Medical Device Workshop in Brussels

ROCKVILLE, Maryland -

The Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society (RAPS), the leading international membership organization for regulatory professionals in the healthcare product sector, will bring together medical device industry experts and regulators from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in Brussels for a workshop on U.S. device submission and compliance. The two-day event, Medical Device Submission and Compliance Strategies for the U.S. Market, will take place 9-10 November at the Sheraton Brussels Hotel.

George Soros Unveils New Blueprint for World Financial System

BUDAPEST, Hungary -

- CEU Convenes Global Conversation with Opinion Makers

George Soros on Monday delivered the first of a series of lectures that reflects the culmination of a lifetime of thinking on finance, politics, and open society.

Frost & Sullivan: Urgent Need for Foreign Investors in Russia to Fix Investment Climate and to Better Weather Economic Storms

MOSCOW -

The investment climate in Russia is the primary concern for foreign investors. When compared to other emerging economies, Russia does not perform well in transparency rankings or in terms of ease of doing business. In its “Doing Business in 2010″ report, the World Bank places Russia in 120th place out of 183 countries. However, the global recession and plummeting oil prices have made the government realise that supporting and protecting foreign investment are vital to long term economy growth.

TrustAfrica Board of Trustees Applauds Decision Not to Award Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership This Year

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia -

The TrustAfrica Board of Trustees, which met here October 24-25 for its biannual meeting, strongly endorsed last week’s announcement by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation that it would not award the Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership this year.

The Asia Foundation Releases 2009 Afghan Public Opinion Poll

KABUL and SAN FRANCISCO -

- Citizens across all 34 provinces surveyed on security, reconstruction, and governance

Innovative Thinkers Join Forces to Meet Challenges of Global Economic Crisis

NEW YORK and BUDAPEST, Hungary -

- Leading Economists and Policymakers Including Nobel Laureates George Akerlof, Sir James Mirrlees, A. Michael Spence and Joseph Stiglitz Join to Foster New Thinking.

Practitioners and Advocates Promote the Power of Information in Global Development

STOCKHOLM -

- An engaged public increases aid effectiveness, experts tell EU conference

George Soros Shares Latest Insights on Economics and Politics

BUDAPEST, Hungary -

The following was issued today by the Open Society Institute:

WHAT: George Soros Shares Latest Insights on Economics and Politics

Global Solutions Required for Global Problems

SAO PAULO -

The huge challenges facing the world economy demonstrate — if such demonstration was needed — that we live in a global economic system and there is no escape behind protectionist trade barriers. World leaders, acting together, have taken decisive steps to reduce the risk of catastrophic failure of the financial system. In recognition of the need for global action, the G-20, a far more globally representative group than the G-8, has assumed the mantle of global economic coordination.

Results Revealed of Expanded Treasury Benchmarking Survey to Europe

COPENHAGEN -

- Partners AFP, IBM and Deutsche Bank Release “Optimal Delivery of Treasury Services” Survey for Europe and North America

AFP Taps International Specialist to Serve Treasurers, CFOs

BETHESDA, Maryland -

- Networking events in financial hub cities to focus on treasury best practices

Detailed Results from RV 144 HIV Vaccine Trial Published Today in The New England Journal of Medicine and Presented at the AIDS Vaccine 2009 Conference Provide Insight for Future Research

PARIS -

Detailed results from the Prime-Boost HIV Vaccine Clinical Trial involving more than 16,000 adult volunteers in Thailand show that an investigational HIV vaccine regimen was safe and modestly effective at reducing the rate of HIV infection compared to placebo. These results were presented today by the trial collaborators to researchers gathered at the AIDS Vaccine 2009 Conference in Paris, France and published online by The New England Journal of Medicine.

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Rewards 76 New Ideas to Fight Infectious Disease

ARUSHA, Tanzania -

- Scientists from Africa and Europe selected for their unconventional projects to accelerate the eradication of malaria, HIV and AIDS, tuberculosis and other infectious diseases

IASP Sponsors Global Year Against Musculoskeletal Pain

SEATTLE -

- Initiative calls for more research, improved treatment methods, greater public awareness

Early Signs of Economic Recovery in Ukraine, but Conditions Remain Challenging

WASHINGTON -

Over two hundred international experts on Ukraine gathered in Washington, D.C. and Kyiv on October 15th 2009 to evaluate the country’s progress in recovering from the recent global liquidity crisis. The first annual International Forum on the Economic Development of Ukraine ( www.edfukraine.com) concluded that while there are signs of an economic recovery in Ukraine, conditions will remain challenging in the near future.

Bill Gates to Call for United Action to Support World’s Poorest Farmers

DES MOINES, Iowa -

- Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to Announce US$120 Million in New Agriculture Grants

CGAP Survey Reveals Financial Services Gap Between Rich and Poor

WASHINGTON -

Policy makers facing urgent demands to reform national financial systems have a key opportunity to help their poorest citizens gain access to useful financial services. But to seize that opportunity, they need much better information on the extent of access to services in their countries: Who has access? What policies can be adopted to achieve this goal?

INTERPOL and United Nations Seek Greater Support for Police Role in Peacekeeping Missions

SINGAPORE -

INTERPOL and the United Nations have partnered to secure international commitments for greater support for the role of police in peacekeeping operations worldwide. This increased support is seen as a key element to restoring the rule of law in post conflict zones, fragile states and achieving sustainable peace.

The First Africa Virtual Job Fair Launched Successfully During the U.S.-Africa Business Summit

SILVER SPRING, Maryland -

- Web-based Job Fair Creates Platform for Making Powerful Connections

University of Edinburgh Business School Selected as Member of Graduate Management Admission Council

MCLEAN, Virginia -

The Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), the association of international graduate business schools and owner of the GMAT exam, has admitted the University of Edinburgh Business School as a new member.