It is sold in more than 200 countries worldwide and is the biggest-selling soft drink in history

But not only has Coca-Cola become a byword for American world domination, it is now the most littered brand in the UK, according to figures released today.

A survey of litter dropped across the country found the firm's bottles and cans accounted for a total of 4.9 per cent of discarded trash.

Empty packets of Walkers Crisps made up for 4.1 per cent of litter whilst 3.4 per cent was McDonald's packaging.

The figures were compiled after an analysis of 7,796 items of litter picked up by 39 volunteers between September and October last year in mainly rural parts of England, Wales and Scotland.

The study--by anti-litter campaigner Tim Barnes of the campaigning group Litter Heroes--concluded that around 70 per cent of the nation's litter comes from the "food on the go" industry.

Drinks cans and bottles accounted for 34 per cent of litter, followed by confectionery wrappers at 16 per cent. Fast food packaging made up for 13 per cent, as much as 10 per cent of the litter picked up by the volunteers were empty cigarette packets whilst 8 per cent of the litter was crisp packets.

"Clearly, the people who drop litter are directly responsible for the problem, but manufacturers must accept some responsibility too," said Mr Barnes.

"Littering of these brands is degrading the environment on a national scale. The survey shows that almost everywhere you go in the UK you are likely to see a littered Coke can or a Walkers Crisp packet."

"It is time these companies took much greater responsibility for preventing littering of their products and for the cost of the clean-up."

He added: "It is clear that food-on-the-go products are highly likely to be littered, yet this survey found anti-litter markings on the worst littered brands are either non-existent or too small to be credible."

"Prominent anti-litter messages should be mandatory on these products."

Assailants in Yemen Attack British Diplomats, Frenchman

Yemeni officials say a rocket attack on a British embassy vehicle in Sana'a has wounded several people, while a gunman has killed a French man working at an energy facility outside the capital. Officials say the rocket exploded Wednesday near a car carrying Britain's number two diplomat in Yemen, damaging the vehicle and wounding three bystanders. Britain said the car was on its way to the embassy in Sana'a with five staff on board, one of whom suffered minor injuries.

In the other incident, officials say a security guard shot and killed the Frenchman inside a compound of Austrian oil and gas company OMV near Sana'a. The French man had been working for French engineering company SPIE under contract to OMV.Yemeni security forces later disarmed and detained the gunman, whose motive was not clear.

Snarky no more: UK issues Olympics etiquette guide

Hold off from hugging an Indian, don't be alarmed if the French are rude and never mistake a Canadian for an American.
Britain's national tourism agency issued guidelines Wednesday on the etiquette of dealing with the hundreds of thousands of foreign visitors who will be coming to London for the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Seeking to help the country's sometimes snarky citizens offer a warmer welcome, VisitBritain has updated its advice for anyone likely to work with travelers arriving from overseas — from hotel staff to taxi drivers.
Other tips: Don't go around asking Brazilians personal questions and never be bossy with visitors from the Middle East.
"Giving our foreign visitors a friendly welcome is absolutely vital to our economy," said Sandie Dawe, chief executive officer of the agency. "With hundreds of thousands of people thinking of coming to Britain in the run-up to the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012, this new advice is just one of the ways that VisitBritain is helping the tourism industry care for their customers."
About 30 million people visit Britain each year, spending about 16.6 billion pounds ($26 billion). The 2012 Olympics is likely to bring in an additional 2.1 billion ($3.3 billion) in tourism revenue, according to a government estimate, and about 320,000 extra visitors from overseas during the games in July and August 2012.
VisitBritain said research it had conducted found tourists believe Britons are honest and efficient — but not the most pleasant. Britain is ranked 14th out of 50 in the Anholt-GfK Roper Nation Brands Index on the quality of welcome offered to visitors, the tourism agency said.

Ratification of Nuclear Treaty Is Imperative

President Barack Obama is mounting an all-out push for U.S. Senate ratification of the New START nuclear treaty with Russia, calling it crucial for U.S. national security. The president summoned a bipartisan group of former White House officials to help efforts to gain ratification before the end of the year.

Seated with the president were Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, along with the Democratic chairman and ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, John Kerry and Richard Lugar.

Also there were former secretaries of state Madeleine Albright, James Baker and Henry Kissinger, former defense secretaries William Cohen and William Perry, former National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft and former Senator Sam Nunn.

Calling ratification a national security imperative, the president said failure to do so would endanger the entire U.S.-Russian verification framework.

"If we do not, then we do not have a verification regime. No inspectors, no insights into Russia's strategic arsenal, no framework for cooperation between the world's two nuclear superpowers."

New START was signed earlier this year to replace the expired START treaty. It would reduce U.S. and Russian long-range nuclear arsenals by as much as one third and provide mechanisms for verification by both sides.

During his just-completed Asia trip, Mr. Obama told Russian President Dmitry Medvedev that achieving Senate approval is his top foreign policy priority.

Hong Kong reports one H5N1 avian flu case

A 59-year-old local woman was found to have contracted H5N1 avian flu virus after visiting the mainland last month, Hong Kong Secretary for Food and Health York Chow said Wednesday.
Speaking at a press briefing Wednesday evening, Chow said the patient went to the mainland on Oct. 23 where she visited places including Shanghai, Hangzhou and Nanjing. She developed flu symptoms such as cough and fever on Nov. 2, one day after returning to Hong Kong, and was later admitted to Tun Mun Hospital.
Chow said since the patient, who is now in a serious condition, had been to wet markets in the mainland, he believed that the contraction was probably happened outside Hong Kong. But he did not rule out the possibility that it was a local case.
The Serious Response Level under the government's Preparedness Plan for Influenza Pandemic is activated, said the city's health chief, adding that the government will submit the case to the World Health Organization and various departments will call on a conference on Nov. 18.
There was an outbreak of the disease in 1997 in Hong Kong in which six people died. About 1.5 million poultry were killed to prevent further spread of the disease.

The conflict between Pakistani forces and Taliban fighters in the North-West Frontier Province topped the agenda

On his way home from his first official visit to the United States, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari stopped in London for two days of discussions.

His first meeting was with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown at his official residence.

At a joint news conference, Mr. Brown praised the current Pakistani army offensive against Taliban targets in the Swat valley.

"President Zardari's troops are risking their lives courageously fighting extremists as we speak, a vital task which of course has had an impact on human beings and their local communities many of whom have been displaced as a result," he said.

Because of this, Mr. Brown said Britain is pledging $18 million worth of additional humanitarian aid in the form of food, water, shelter and sanitation that will directed at those being displaced in the northwest.

In addition to the aid, the prime minister said he expects much more cooperation between Britain and Pakistan over a wide range of issues.

"We need a more comprehensive approach and we need therefore a new concordant spanning economic development, strengthening institutions, improved security through deeper cooperation on both counter-terrorism and other issues," said British prime minister.

Mr. Brown said helping the effort to tackle terrorism in Pakistan and improving health and education there were important priorities for his government.

Mr. Zardari said the fight against extremists in particular is a struggle that will not be solved overnight.

"It is the challenge of the 21st century," he said. "We have to acknowledge, accept and work with it. It is there to stay. It is not a short-term affair. It is a long-term endeavor and we both are united to fight against this endeavor, which is challenging our way of life and wants to challenge the way of life with the world."

　

Islamabad says 15,000 security troops have moved into the tribal areas.

Lone Star Will Sell Keb To Hana

Lone Star Funds has agreed to sell its 51% stake in Korea Exchange Bank to Hana Financial Group Inc., according to a person close to the transaction, a surprise deal that thwarts a rival attempt by Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. to purchase the stake.

Lone Star's stake is worth about $3.8 billion based on KEB's latest share price. While the exact terms of the deal weren't yet known, Hana would likely pay a premium of 10% or more to the current market value, the person said. Lone Star and Hana have signed a memorandum of understanding, and a sales and purchase agreement is expected to follow within several weeks, the person added.

The deal will require regulatory approval.

ANZ has been conducting due diligence on KEB with the intent of purchasing Lone Star's stake, which would have vastly boosted the Melbourne-based lender's efforts to expand in East Asia.

A Hana-KEB tie-up could create a strong domestic Korean player that marries Hana's strength as a retail commercial bank with KEB's dominance in trade finance and foreign exchange. But it also means Hana will likely steer clear of the bidding for the South Korean's government's 57% stake in Woori Finance Holdings Co. when that process moves forward. Hana and KB Financial Group Inc. have been considered the most probable suitors for Woori.

Dallas-based Lone Star's long-running attempts to sell the stake in KEB it acquired for $1.3 billion in 2003 have been dogged by scandal and court cases as well as bad timing. After the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, Lone Star and other foreign investors bought assets cheaply and sold some of them profitably as the country's economy recovered. But the size of those profits, and the fact that foreign private-equity funds weren't subject to South Korean taxes, later stoked local resentment.

In 2006, Lone Star reached a deal to sell its KEB stake to South Korea's Kookmin Bank for more than $7 billion, but a probe into the circumstances under which Lone Star bought KEB ended up derailing the transaction. A person involved in the sale process said the acquisition had become too politically sensitive for Kookmin to consider.

Lone Star's standing was also hurt when regulators discovered that its country head during the KEB purchase, Steven Lee, embezzled millions of dollars from his firm, causing Lone Star to file inaccurate tax returns. Upon looking into the matter, Lone Star discovered that Mr. Lee had submitted dozens of phony invoices during his seven years in Korea, diverting about $12 million to pay for property, works of art and cash gifts to family members. The firm has said it resolved tax discrepancies associated with Mr. Lee's actions.

In September 2007, Lone Star reached a deal to sell the stake to HSBC Holdings PLC for $6.3 billion, but regulatory approval was held up by ongoing court cases. After the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008, HSBC dropped its offer, citing the turmoil in global financial markets.

Among the legal cases that had help up approval of the HSBC deal was one in which a former government official and two former KEB employees were accused of making KEB's financial condition look worse than it actually was to facilitate Lone Star's 2003 purchase. In another case, Lone Star and one of its executives were found guilty of manipulating the stock price of a KEB affiliate, but the verdict was overturned on appeal.