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<title>News From Around The World</title>
<description>News and Information from all over the web brought to you by The Technology Lounge</description>
<link>http://www.phatjoints.com/</link>
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<title>EU climate package explained</title>
<description><![CDATA[The original package presented by the European Commission in January 2008 is expected to be watered down to some extent, because the financial crisis has amplified concern about the economic cost of green energy. EU countries are divided over how to share out that burden and limit the economic pain.

The package focuses on three areas: emissions cuts, renewables and energy efficiency.

The EU's credibility is at stake as it aims to be a model in the run-up to a new global climate pact to be signed in Copenhagen in a year's time. That pact will succeed the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which runs out in 2012.

But pressure is mounting from EU member states for other major polluters worldwide to adopt similar targets.

France, which holds the EU presidency until January, has the tricky task of keeping all 27 member states on board at the EU summit on 11-12 December.]]></description>
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<link>http://www.technologylounge.co.uk/rss/details.php?id=4</link>


<title>Microsoft tackles auction pirates</title>
<description><![CDATA[The legal action targets sellers in 12 nations including the US, UK, Germany and France.

Most of those Microsoft has targeted have been selling fake "Blue Edition" versions of Windows XP.

Microsoft said the operating system was proving popular on auction sites as it is reaching the end of its commercial sales cycle.

Windows XP stopped being installed on new PCs at the end of June 2008 to make way for the newest version of Windows, Vista.

While Microsoft has claimed strong sales for Vista many businesses and consumers have shunned it in favour of the older software.

Global trade

In a statement David Finn, Microsoft's general counsel on worldwide anti-piracy and anti-counterfeiting, said auction sellers were taking advantage of unsuspecting customers.

"These dealers are peddling bogus products that can put customers and their personal information at serious risk," he said.

Research by Microsoft into the quality of fake software sold on auction sites found that 34% did not install properly and 43% contained tampered code that could expose buyers to identity theft or other attacks.

Many of the fake copies of Windows were being pushed with the help of a bogus marketing campaign based around a so-called Blue Edition of the software.

"Consumers should be aware that the so-called 'Blue Edition' software is nothing more than low-quality counterfeit software burned onto a CD," said Mr Finn.

Mr Finn said Microsoft provided tools and information to help customers spot fake software.

In pursuing auction sellers Microsoft has found that the trade in counterfeit software is now global. One of the cases it is handling spans four continents and involves peddlers in New Zealand selling Chinese copies of XP to customers in the Australia, North America, the Netherlands, New Zealand and the UK. ]]></description>
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<title>US job losses reach 34-year high</title>
<description><![CDATA[In a dramatic indication of the worsening situation in the economy, the US jobless rate rose to a 15-year high of 6.7% from 6.5% in October.

Since these latest figures were compiled, further jobs losses have been announced, including big cuts at AT&T.

The grim economic data pushed Wall Street shares down by 2.5% while oil fell to a near four-year low of $40.

Recent data has fuelled fears that the world's biggest economy is set for a deep, long downturn.

	
In the past six months the US has lost 1.55 million jobs, almost as many as were lost in the whole 2001 recession
Ian Shepherdson, High Frequency Economics

Oil prices fall after jobs data

"This was much worse than was expected and represents wholesale capitulation. The threat of a widespread depression is now real and present," said Peter Morici, a professor at the University of Maryland School of Business.

Reacting to the unemployment data, US President-elect Barack Obama said: "There are no quick or easy fixes to this crisis, which has been many years in the making, and it's likely to get worse before it gets better."]]></description>
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<link>http://www.technologylounge.co.uk/rss/details.php?id=2</link>


<title>Sales growth slows down at Tesco</title>
<description><![CDATA[The figure, which excludes new stores and sales of petrol, compares with growth of 4% in the previous quarter and 4.8% in the same period last year.

The growth rate in the UK is its slowest since the recession of the early 1990s.

Tesco put much of the fall down to its new discount brands, but said they had attracted 300,000 new customers a week.

Tesco also sells more non-food items than other supermarkets. Non-food has been harder hit by the downturn than food.

While growth slowed in the UK, Tesco's worldwide sales grew by an impressive 11.7%.

"We are pleased with our progress but we are also realistic - the current economic climate, and the strain this is putting on consumers everywhere, is something that all businesses are feeling, including ours," said Tesco chief executive Terry Leahy. ]]></description>
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<title>Thai Airport Protests Called Off</title>
<description><![CDATA[Passenger flights from the main international airport are to resume on 4 December, say correspondents.

Protests had shut down Thailand's two main airports for more than a week.

The deal follows a court ruling that forced Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat to step down over election fraud and disbanded his governing party.

The constitutional court ordered Mr Somchai's governing People Power Party (PPP) and two of its coalition partners to disband. The parties' leaders were also barred from politics for five years.

After fewer than three hours in session, the head of the nine-judge panel, Chat Chonlaworn, announced that the court had found the People Power Party (PPP), the Machima Thipatai party and the Chart Thai party guilty of vote-buying. ]]></description>
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