Flu virus outbreak in Mexico

BBC 24th April 09 Experts probe deadly Mexico flu
BBC 25th April 09 Mexico bid to contain deadly flu
BBC 26th April 09 Mexico flu 'a potential pandemic'

Q&A: Swine flu

Flu virus outbreak in Mexico kills 70 and causes fear
The outbreak of swine fever in Mexico has killed nearly 70 people and spread into the United States, raising fears of a global pandemic.
In Mexico, sports stadiums have been empty, schools and museums have shut and public events cancelled.
Mexicans have started wearing surgical masks which soldiers handed out in the streets.
Officials from the WHO said the virus from 12 of the Mexican patients was the same genetically as a new strain of swine flu, designated H1N1
Genetic analysis shows the flu strain is a never-before-seen mixture of swine, human and avian viruses

article on migration - IB

Number of eastern European migrants falls 40% as UK recession bites
Guardian

Volcano erupts in Japan

Fantastic footage on the BBC website here
and an article here

Key points:

• Mount Asama volcano erupted at 1:51 a.m. Monday 2nd Feb 2009
• Situated 145km NW of Tokyo.
• Mount Asama is 2,568m (8,425 ft) high, with snow-covered peaks.
• No lava flows could be seen.
• Smoke billowed about 2,000 meters into the air and caused ash to drift over parts of the capital, Tokyo.
• Rocks were thrown more than 1 km from the crater
• There have been no reports of injuries or serious damage.
• The meteorological agency issued a crater proximity warning Sunday after detecting swelling at the top of the volcano, which is seen as a precursor of an eruption. It also raised the alert level from level 2 (do not approach the crater) to level 3 (do not go within four kilometers of the crater).
• Traffic in the area has been restricted and 45,000 local people warned to be ready to leave their homes should the danger intensify.
• It last erupted in August, 2008, causing no major damage.
  The last major eruption of Mount Asama took place in September 2004, when it spewed ash and rock as far as 200km away.
  
  Questions:
  What is 'ash'?
  This volcano lies within the Pacific Ring of Fire. What type of plate boundary exists here and can you name the plates?

Polish migrants return to Poland

Soaring pay lures Poles back home - BBC news article
Polish plumbers pack their bags as pickings get richer back east Times online

Population hits the headlines...

Figures released can be viewed from the National Statistics site here

1. Ageing population - The population timebomb
Independent
BBC
Times Online
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/pressass/20080821/tuk-over-60s-outnumber-children-in-uk-6323e80.html

2. Boom in births brings UK population to almost 61m
Useful article from The Guardian

3. Immigration and births to non-British mothers pushes British population to record high
Read this article here

4. Reduced immigration from Eastern Europe into UK
Read more from Daily Mail here
Independent
Times Online
BBC

Population paradox: Europe's time bomb

Article from Independent