Why Buildings Collapse Around the World

There have been a number of major building collapses in different parts of the world in recent weeks. The World’s Alex Gallafent looks at some of systemic problems that contribute to such disasters.

The End of the USSR

Twenty years ago on Christmas Day, the Soviet Union ceased to exist. Brigid McCarthy takes a look back at why the USSR came crashing down.

Overhauling America’s financial system

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President Barack Obama has called on Congress to approve an overhaul of the US regulatory regime. In a speech marking one year since the collapse of Lehman Brothers bank, he also mounted a vigorous defense of his administration’s economic policies. Marco Werman talked with the BBC’s Economics Correspondent Andrew Walker (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Download MP3

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• Audio Slideshow: Lehman’s Last Day