Just last week, geneticists Jeffrey Rosenfeld and Chris Mason wrote a commentary for the Washington Post that warned about the consequences of companies owning the rights to our gene sequences.

FORBES: Myriad Genetics CEO Claims He Owns Your Genes

The dispute is threatening Christmas post and the Welsh Rugby Union has also warned that tickets for Sunday's Barbarians clash with South Africa may not arrive in time.

BBC: Appeal for end to post strike

Last week's TUC conference supported an emergency motion from the CWU, which warned that hundreds of post offices would close and the universal postal service would end if the business was sold off.

BBC: Royal Mail worker

But in 2004 the commission chairman warned that the AU needed the kind of financial lifeline that the US gave to post-war Europe.

BBC: Profile: African Union

Other post will be sent by boat and the company warned this would delay deliveries by 24 hours.

BBC: Guernsey Post helicopter at Guernsey Airport

It also trimmed its forecasts for Asia and warned of considerable risks, even as it still expects the region to post stronger growth than last year.

WSJ: IMF's Asia Chief Anoop Singh Says China Slowdown Fears Overblown

Legal experts in Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's centre-left coalition of Social Democrats and Greens have warned against giving the police powers, arguing they are forbidden by Germany's post-war constitution.

CNN: Germany tightens security net

Firms hit by strike action in the last few months include South West Trains, carmaker Vauxhall, and post office operator Consignia, which in June warned that jobs would go unless industrial relations improved.

BBC: Union revival 'risks industrial peace'