• Banking onsolicitors

  Within two weeks the Law Society, which regulates how solicitors operate, has closed the legal practices of two of its members and done so in worrying circumstances. Evidence has been presented to the High Court indicating major financial irregularities in the operation of their two firms. The solicitors concerned, Michael Lynn and Thomas Byrne, had both borrowed huge sums of money from a range of banks. And they did so by securing multiple mortgages on the same properties. p
  

• Protecting the planet

  Twenty years ago a landmark study of the world's environment highlighted how human activity is making it more unsustainable. The Brundtland Commission's Our Common Future warned that only a short time remained to take effective action against global warming, growing species destruction and degradation of natural resources. p
  

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