Authenticity Means Being Confidently Vulnerable. “Honesty and transparency make you vulnerable.
Be honest and transparent anyway.” — Mother Theresa (1910-1997) Catholic Nun & Humanitarian This week a client asked me what I felt was the most important quality of a successful leader. My response was authenticity because, like a knife, it can cut through undiscussed issues, opening up conversations and making a lot of other problems solvable. Ebola crisis: The economic impact. 20 August 2014Last updated at 19:03 ET By Richard Hamilton BBC News Military road blocks are preventing the movement of goods and workers With more than 1,300 reported deaths from Ebola in West Africa, the virus continues to be an urgent health crisis, but it is also having a devastating impact on the economies of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
"The economy has been deflated by 30% because of Ebola," Sierra Leone's Agriculture Minister Joseph Sam Sesay told the BBC. Risks grow for first-time buyers. Britain is a country divided.
A country divided between housing haves and housing have-nots. Each time a new house price survey is published - almost inevitably showing prices rising to a new record high - you can almost hear the groans from Britain's army of would-be first-time buyers. With each month that passes, greater numbers of people are seeing their property-owning dream disappear over the horizon. The reason is simple. House prices have been racing away from incomes. According to the Halifax, house prices have risen by an average of 187% across the UK since 1996. The average UK house price has risen from £62,453 in the first quarter of 1996 to £179,425 in the third quarter of 2006 - an average increase of 10.6% a year, way ahead of income growth.
But many first-time buyers, egged on by lenders, are refusing to accept the inevitable. Complex picture. Lloyds expected to cut 9,000 jobs. 22 October 2014Last updated at 20:04 ET.
Fake Britain. Watchdog. Vulnerable people 'being kept prisoner in care homes' Tens of thousands of the most vulnerable patients are effectively being kept prisoner in care homes and hospitals through misuse of mental health laws, a damning House of Lords investigation has found.
In the worst cases, safeguards aimed at protecting patients with a range of conditions are being used to oppress people and force decisions on them, peers said. Abuse-risk children 'let down by Sheffield police' 22 October 2014Last updated at 12:04 ET By Michael Buchanan Social Affairs correspondent, BBC News Ann Lucas: "The police were just very blinkered on what their targets were" Hundreds of young people at risk of child sexual exploitation in Sheffield were let down by police, a whistleblower has claimed.
Ann Lucas, who ran the city's sexual exploitation service, told BBC News she had regularly passed details about alleged abusers to senior officers. They had repeatedly failed to act, she said, adding the force's priorities had been "burglary and car crime". South Yorkshire Police said the allegations would be investigated. The force is already facing an investigation following the publication of an independent report in August that accused it of failing child-exploitation victims in Rotherham. Mark Reckless defects to UKIP from Tories. Vunerable. Miliband promises new immigration laws if he wins election. 23 October 2014Last updated at 15:25 ET Ed Miliband has promised to bring in an immigration bill creating "clear, credible and concrete changes" within months, if Labour wins next year's general election.
The party leader also said there would be an end to "false promises" on the subject if he became prime minister. Mr Miliband pledged action on border checks, exploitation and opportunities available to UK workers. David Cameron has promised "further action" to curb immigration. Official figures published in August showed UK net migration - the difference between those entering and leaving - increased by more than 38% to 243,000 in 2013-14. Mr Cameron has said his aim of reducing the figure to below 100,000 is still achievable. In recent days, it has been reported that the coalition could seek an "emergency brake" to stop EU migration after it reached a certain level or to limit the number of National Insurance numbers issued to new arrivals from the EU. Millions of customers vulnerable to fraud, warn banks.
13 October 2014Last updated at 08:08 ET The UK's High Street banks are warning that millions of account holders are vulnerable to fraud - online or over the phone.
With help from the police, the banks have now launched a campaign to make customers more aware of the threat. They have published a list of eight things that a bank will never ask account holders to do. The list includes asking for a full Pin or a banking password over the phone, or via email. "Being defrauded is a devastating experience for anyone, which is why we are launching this campaign," said Anthony Browne, the chief executive of the British Bankers Association (BBA). "The more people know about fraud, the less likely they are to become victims," he said. Couriers The campaign highlights the dangers of "vishing", otherwise known as voice phishing.