Badgers: 'TB threat to cattle' Badgers: 'TB threat to cattle'
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If you're a badger look away now. 

The UK's chief scientists has called high noon for badgers - he claims that those shuffling denizens of the night are a threat to the nations' bovines, as they could spread TB to the cattle herds of Britain. 

Defra has said it welcomed Sir David King's report and would be considering how to respond - there are some 300,000 badgers and the incidence of TB in them rose by 18 per cent last year. More tonight at seven on four.


PKK to sign a ceasefire?
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Peace in our time or perhaps more precisely PKK in our time. It looks like these 'plucky mountain warriors', or to use others' terminology 'terrorists', have thrown in the towel. Having scythed their way through the Turkish armed forces in the last few weeks killing 12 at a time and provoking the potential of the most appalling Turkish reprisals - we are told they are going to declare a ceasefire tonight. 
 
They seem to have done the Kurdish cause a profound disservice but tonight we shall try to unravel what they're all about and how close to regional war Turkey came. We'll be talking to the redoubtable historian Norman Stone now resident in Ankara, and Nick Paton Walsh will be putting the pieces together at this end. 
 
Q&A: why might Turkey attack Iraq?
Read more: http://tinyurl.com/2772r4


Polish liberals voted in
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The terrible twins have been divided. One remains president of Poland the other is now the ex-pm of Poland. The incoming government courtesy of yesterday's general election is pledged to revolutionise the country's relationship with the outside world - the troops come home from Iraq; Europe is engaged - the economy will be rebooted thus potentially stemming the flow of refugees and conceivably encouraging some to go home. So if you need a plumber do it now, while Polish stocks last. 
 

Is freighted food still organic?
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Now that event that all of you must have been waiting for - the decision from the Soil Association as to what actually is organic food. Faisal Islam is mapping out the dispute behind it ahead of the announcement this week. 

The Soil Association apparently takes the view that bestowing the label 'organic' is only appropriate to food produced in the UK and which doesn't travel thousands of air miles to these shores. The government doesn't agree, and we're trying to find out what Britain's supermarkets think of what would be a significant change to the growing market for organic produce. Not great news for African farmers either.    

Read more: http://tinyurl.com/yr5nbe

 
Targets have little effect on literacy
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The beginning tonight of a terrific Channel 4 literacy season finds Lucy Manning in prison - where she meets the over large number of people who end up there unable to read or write. Critics claim that teachers are now so focused on getting average pupils to reach a government targets that they're neglecting those who have the greatest difficulty and may be perceived as beyond hope. At what cost?
 
Read more: http://tinyurl.com/ytvqec


Interview: Craig Venter
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I've had one of those challenges that leave one wishing one had done science at school. I've had to interview Craig Venter who appears to be a few weeks away from creating artificial life. Actually more specifically an artificial chromosome, it's fascinating stuff but during the interview I sometimes wonder whether my questions were so confused that he couldn't understand them or whether his science was so pure that I couldn't understand it. But the result you will be unsurprised to learn is a spell-bindingly interesting exchange. 
 
See you at seven as ever is, 
 
Jon Snow. 
 

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Business
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At the time of sending the FTSE-100 index was XX 
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Weather
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Sponsored by Worcester, Bosch Group - www.worcester-bosch.co.uk 

Monday 22 Oct 2007
Rain in the northwest, otherwise dry, bright or sunny intervals. 

Today
England and Wales, bright spells but cloudier than recently. Generally dry but a little rain in the northwest and near southeastern coasts of England. Scotland and Northern Ireland, bright in eastern Scotland but mostly cloudy, occasional rain or drizzle. 

Tonight
Clearing skies across many parts allowing patchy mist and a rural ground frost. Cloud and brisk breezes will keep it milder further northwest where spots of drizzle are likely. 

Tuesday
For most, a dry day with a good deal of sunshine after any early mist or fog clears. Low cloud and drizzle may linger in the far northwest, though.
http://www.channel4.com/weather


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