News Headlines - 26 August 2011

▽Japan prime minister: Why the choice of leader matters - BBC
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14683202
A Japanese prime minister is often merely a figurehead who sits above an army of generally competent government officials who make the real decisions...
However, having seen how badly Prime Minister Naoto Kan has performed, we do sense that the choice of leader does matter, especially in these turbulent times.

▽Bernanke offers hint of Fed action - Financial Times
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/9c0d852e-cfeb-11e0-a1de-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1W9KDbNzx
The US Federal Reserve “is prepared to employ its tools as appropriate to promote a stronger recovery”, chairman Ben Bernanke said in a speech at Jackson Hole on Friday, dropping a broad hint that the US central bank will soon do more to support an ailing economy.

▽US East Coast Prepares for Hurricane Irene - Voice of America
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/US-East-Coast-Braces-for-Hurricane-Irene-128461883.html
Millions of people along the U.S. East Coast are scrambling to prepare for a powerful hurricane that authorities fear will cause widespread flooding and power outages.

▽Notting Hill Carnival: record number of police on duty after riots - Telegraph.co.uk
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/8724914/Notting-Hill-Carnival-record-number-of-police-on-duty-after-riots.html
Just three weeks after the start of the worst rioting in Britain for a generation, Scotland Yard will deploy twice as many officers in the city as it did for the Royal Wedding.

▽Online defamation cases in England and Wales 'double' - BBC
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14684620
The number of court cases brought by people who say they have been defamed online has more than doubled in a year, experts have said.