LONDON -- Scientists on Thursday blamed Europe's worst recorded food-poisoning outbreak on a "super-toxic" strain of E. coli bacteria that may be brand new. But while suspicion has fallen on raw tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce as the source of the germ, researchers have been unable to pinpoint the food responsible for the frightening illness, which has killed at least 18 people, sickened more than 1,600 and spread to least 10 European countries. An alarmingly large number of victims - about 500 - have developed kidney complications that can be deadly. Chinese and German scientists analyzed the DNA of the E. coli bacteria and determined that the outbreak was caused by "an entirely new, super-toxic" strain that contains several antibiotic-resistant genes, according to a statement from the Shenzhen, China-based laboratory BGI. It said the strain appeared to be a combination of two types of E. coli

America risks losing its triple-A credit rating unless swift and significant progress is made over its debt ceiling, Moody's has warned, piling fresh pressure on the US a few hours before crucial employment data is released. The ratings agency is concerned by the lack of progress made by the US Treasury and Congress over whether to allow the US national debt to increase. It said that the risk of the US defaulting on its loans was "very small but rising", suggesting that the country might not deserve its AAA rating. "Although Moody's fully expected political wrangling prior to an increase in the statutory debt limit, the degree of entrenchment into conflicting positions has exceeded expectations," the agency said. "The heightened polarisation over the debt limit has increased the odds of a short-lived default. If this situation remains unchanged in coming weeks, Moody's will place the rating under review." Under US law, the country's national debt may not exceed $14.3 trillion (£8.75tn). That figure was reached last month, forcing America to dip into two government pension schemes to service its debts. That, though, will only tide the US over until the start of August.

E. Coli Outbreak Linked to Aggressive New Strain - As the E. coli outbreak continues to ravage Germany and other parts of Europe, the World Health Organization said Thursday that the aggressive intestinal bacteria is a new strain never seen before. Meanwhile fears of the illness prompted Russia to ban imports of vegetables from the EU. Researchers are still desperately searching for the origin of the E. coli bacteria that has left 18 dead and infected hundreds of others in Germany and Europe. The number of cases within Germany continues to rise, with up to 2,000 reported cases of infection, several hundred more than at the beginning of the week. Following the death of another victim in Hamburg overnight, the World Health Organization announced that preliminary genetic sequencing had revealed the deadly strain is likely a mutant form of two separate E. coli bacteria that is new to scientists. The "unique strain has never been isolated from patients before" and has "various characteristics that make it more virulent and toxin-producing," WHO food safety expert Hilde Kruse told news agency AP.
The mutant bacteria was identified through cooperation between scientists at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE) and the Beijing Genomic Institute. "This strain is only a very distant relative of conventional EHEC bacteria," said UKE bacteriologist Holger Rohde. The newly discovered enterohemorrhagic strain of the bacterium Escherichia coli (EHEC) causes watery or bloody diarrhea. In severe cases, EHEC also attacks the blood, kidneys and brain, causing a life-threatening complication known as hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS). Thousands of people in nine European countries have been infected by the bacteria, with nearly 500 developing the HUS complication.

Google US accounts hacked

Google has warned that computer hackers in China had broken into the Gmail accounts of several hundred people, including senior government officials in the US and political activists. The internet giant said all victims had been notified and their accounts had been secured. The attacks, announced on Google's blog, are not believed to be tied to a more sophisticated assault originating from China in late 2009 and early last year. That intrusion targeted Google's own security systems and triggered a high-profile battle with China's Communist government over online censorship. The tensions escalated amid reports that the Chinese government had at least an indirect hand in the hacking attacks, a possibility that Google did not rule out. In the latest incident, Google believes Chinese hackers tricked people into sharing their passwords in so-called "phishing" scams

In Athens, the spirit takes hold just before the sun has set.

In Athens, the spirit takes hold just before the sun has set. - It is then that Greeks, young and old, married and single, employed and unemployed flood the square in a wave of protest against the austerity and recession that has brought their country to the brink of despondency and despair. "Openly we say that we have been inspired by the demonstrators in Spain," said Simos Adamopoulos, an organiser who has spent three nights sleeping in a tent in the square. "Our motto is 'the battle that is never waged is never won.' We will stay here, and in squares up and down the country for as long as it takes." While even protestors admit their endgame remains unclear, their motivation beyond the realms of party or political creed has surprised even the most cynical. As in Spain the demonstrators – estimated in Athens alone to have exceeded 50,000 on Sunday – have been lured into action by Facebook. Motivated by a peaceful desire to vent their spleen, they have turned up at rallies with pots and pans rather the more lethal Molotov cocktail preferred by violence-prone youngsters. "But," says Adamopoulos, "we're also really disgusted with the system, with the political establishment, with all those crooks and thieves. As we've got poorer they've got richer and that you could say is also spurring us." Greece is in a terminal debt trap. Further government austerity will just kill the economy, decrease the GDP further and hence increase the debt/gdp ratio . More bailouts that will never be repaid, will temporarily prop up the Greek economy but will also increase debt and will also make the situation worse. So the question is; "why won't the central banks simply allow a haircut?" The only reasonable answer is that they know a haircut would tip other Euro countries and banks into insolvency and set off a domino effect . Hopefully all persons reading this have hedged their positions against such a cascading sequence of defaults. If not, act soon, or forever live with the consequences. For the common person who expects decent employment opportunities, a government pension, and free health care, there is simply nowhere to hide.

IMF to judge Greece as protests swell

ATHENS (Reuters) - European Union and IMF officials are expected to deliver their verdict this week on Greece's faltering drive to bring its budget deficit under control, but ordinary Greeks have warned that their patience is running thin. Greece last year won a 110 billion euro (95.4 billion pound) rescue package from the EU and International Monetary Fund, but since then has struggled to meet its deficit reduction targets, heightening the risk of a default on its 327 billion euro debt -- equivalent to 150 percent of economic output. European Central Bank board member Lorenzo Bini Smaghi issued a dire warning against default and told the Financial Times it was a "fairytale" to think that Greece's debts could be restructured in an orderly way. "If you look at financial markets, every time there is mention of a word like 'restructuring' or 'soft restructuring' they go crazy - which proves that this could not happen in an orderly way, in this environment at least," he said. He added: "If Greece defaulted, the Greek banking system would collapse. It would then need a huge recapitalisation -- but where would the money come from?" The Italian said Greece could instead reduce its debt by selling assets and changing its tax and expenditure systems. "If you look at the balance sheet of Greece, it is not insolvent." But Socialist Prime Minister George Papandreou has failed to win backing from the opposition to adopt fresh austerity steps, more economic reforms and faster sales of state assets, as demanded by the EU and IMF.