World News Australia

Seven hours 'the magic number' for sleep

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 03:40:45 GMT

Sleeping fewer than five hours a day, including naps, more than doubles the risk of being diagnosed with angina, coronary heart disease, heart attack or stroke, the study conducted by researchers at West Virginia University's (WVU) faculty of medicine and published on Sunday in the journal Sleep says.

And sleeping more than seven hours also increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, it says.

Study participants who said they slept nine hours or longer a day were one-and-a-half times more likely than seven-hour sleepers to develop cardiovascular disease, the study found.

The most at-risk group was adults under 60 years of age who slept five hours or fewer a night. They increased their risk of developing cardiovascular disease more than threefold compared to people who sleep seven hours.

Women who skimped on sleep, getting five hours or fewer a day, including naps, were more than two-and-a-half times as likely to develop cardiovascular disease.

Short sleep duration was associated with angina, while both sleeping too little and sleeping too much were associated with heart attack and stroke, the study says.

A separate study, also published in Sleep, showed that an occasional long lie-in can be beneficial for those who can't avoid getting too little sleep.

In that study, David Dinges, who heads the sleep and chronobiology unit at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, found that 142 adults whose sleep was severely restricted for five days - as it is for many people during the work week - had slower reaction times and more trouble focusing.

But after a night of recovery sleep, the sleep-deprived study participants' alertness improved significantly, and the greatest improvements were seen in those who were allowed to spend 10 hours in bed after a week with just four hours' sleep a night.

"An additional hour or two of sleep in the morning after a period of chronic partial sleep loss has genuine benefits for continued recovery of behavioural alertness," Dinges said.

In the study about sleep and cardiovascular disease, researchers led by Anoop Shankar, associate professor at WVU's Department of Community Medicine, analysed data gathered in a national US study in 2005 on more than 30,000 adults.

The results were adjusted for age, sex, race, whether the person smoked or drank, whether they were fat or slim, and whether they were active or a couch potato.

And even when study participants with diabetes, high blood pressure or depression were excluded from the analysis, the strong association between too much or too little sleep and cardiovascular disease remained.

The authors of the WVU study were unable to determine the causal relationship between how long a person sleeps and cardiovascular disease.

But they pointed out that sleep duration affects endocrine and metabolic functions, and sleep deprivation can lead to impaired glucose tolerance, reduced insulin sensitivity and elevated blood pressure, all of which increase the risk of hardening the arteries.

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends that most adults get about seven to eight hours of sleep each night.

Shankar suggested that doctors screen for changes in sleep duration when assessing patients' risk for cardiovascular disease, and that public health initiatives consider including a focus on improving sleep quality and quantity.

Sleep is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society.

Abbott pledges $935m aged care package

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 03:31:20 GMT

Mr Abbott said the Coalition would spend more than $300 million to get 3,000 bed placements already allocated operational for high care patients.

"We are investing the same as the Government proposes to invest, but we think this will produce more concrete results," he said.

"It's very important we give senior Australia the kind of help and assistance that we need."

Under the scheme, the Opposition also pledged $14 million for pet therapy programs, in addition to a further $12 million to promote wellbeing and funding for companionship programs.

The Opposition Leader, who has been on the hustings in Sydney on Sunday, says the policy is sustainable.

The Coalition also says it would negotiate a landmark four year aged care provider agreement.

"We believe it's very important that we work with the sector for much needed reform," said Coalition aged care spokesperson Concetta Fierravanti-Wells.

"We need to give the sector a viable future, a feasible future so it is for the benefit of all Australians."

PM to boost super

The announcement comes following Prime Minister Julia Gillard pledging the government would allow workers to choose a low fee superannuation program.

Ms Gillard praised the MySuper scheme, saying it will lower fees of up to 30 per cent and would boost retirement savings for a 30 year old full time worker by $40,000.

"It's not like you get a monthly bill," she said.

"Those charges eat away at your super savings and make a real difference as to how much money you're going to have to retire on in the future."

Earlier, Treasurer Wayne Swan said the scheme was a key recommendation of the Cooper review of Australia's superannuation regime.

The new product will have no unnecessary fees or charges.

Abbott 'too tightlipped'

Meanwhile Minister for the Status of Women Tanya Plibersek hit at out Mr Abbott, saying he's been too tight lipped about his election plans.

"I think we all know Tony Abbott has sometimes exhibited impulse control problems and he's been told by Liberal party strategists that he has to say as little as possible during this campaign," Ms Plibersek said.

"We know that the real Tony Abbott will be right back there on August 22 with all his extreme views, all his plans to cut health, to cut education, to cut the National Broadband Network, to cut Australian jobs."

"He's on a short leash because he doesn't dare tell Australians what he's got planned for them from August 22."

Mysterious file posted on WikiLeaks

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 02:25:35 GMT

Wired magazine said the 1.4-gigabyte "insurance file" appeared on WikiLeaks' "Afghan War Diary" page several days after the site released tens of thousands of classified documents related to the war in Afghanistan.

Cryptome, another whistleblower site, said it may have been "pre-positioned for public release" in the event of a "takedown" of WikiLeaks by US authorities or if something happens to its founder, Julian Assange, an Australian national.

"In either scenario, WikiLeaks volunteers, under a prearranged agreement with Assange, could send out a password or passphrase to allow anyone who has downloaded the file to open it," Wired said.

The file is also available on a file-sharing site in addition to the WikiLeaks page.

Cryptome.org speculated the "insurance file" may contain the 15,000 Afghan files whose release WikiLeaks said it had delayed "as part of a harm minimisation process demanded by our source."

WikiLeaks has never identified the source of the Afghan files but suspicion has fallen on Bradley Manning, a US Army intelligence analyst who is under arrest for allegedly leaking video of a 2007 US Apache helicopter strike in Baghdad in which civilians died.

Wired said the "insurance file" may contain more material from Manning, including war logs from Iraq, video from Afghanistan and 260,000 US State Department cables.

Wildfire smoulders in desert north of LA

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 01:41:12 GMT

The fire has charred nearly 57 sq kilometres of brush in the Antelope Valley. It was 62 per cent contained on Saturday afternoon and no structures were threatened, said Los Angeles County Fire Captain Sam Padilla.

Some 1300 firefighters were assigned to the fire near Palmdale, and the city of 139,000 was filled with thick smoke.

Crews hoped to close the fire's south flank near Portal Ridge, Rancho Vista and Ana Verde as temperatures rose into the 90s (Fahrenheit) and dry winds whipped up again as predicted.

"We're getting a handle on it," Padilla said. "As soon as we contain that south end we'll be in better shape."

Padilla said there were no open flames - just smouldering embers - which has slowed the fire's spread.

Officials were prepared to again activate water-dropping aircraft, which helped hold back the fire late Friday when flames jumped an aqueduct and menaced power lines that deliver electricity to Southern California.

Winds apparently carried embers across the wide concrete channel, with flames rapidly spreading to backyard fences. As many as 2300 structures were threatened at the height of the fire late Thursday. Evacuation orders were lifted on Friday morning, but some roads remained closed.

One house and three mobile homes were destroyed, authorities said.

Deputy Fire Chief Michael Bryant said an investigation into the cause of the fire is centring on workers who were hammering on some bolts to remove a tyre rim.

Crews also were battling a fire that has burned about 4.8 hectares of heavy brush in the Angeles National Forest above Glendora, west of Pasadena.

Kunitomi said about 115 firefighters were assigned to the blaze that started on Saturday morning, and at least two helicopters were providing air support. Most of the fire was burning inside the forest and no structures were threatened, he said.

Chelsea Clinton weds at New York estate

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 01:22:35 GMT

Bill and Hillary Clinton announced in a statement that their daughter wed investment banker Marc Mezvinsky on Saturday after weeks of secrecy and buildup that had celebrity watchers flocking to the small village for the evening nuptials.

More than 400 guests were expected at the historic estate, and some of the celebrities spotted in Rhinebeck for the event included actors Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen, fashion designer Vera Wang and Madeleine Albright, who was secretary of state during Bill Clinton's second term as president.

Details of the wedding have been difficult to come by, with shopkeepers, innkeepers, vendors and restaurateurs sworn to secrecy.

PM pledges new superannuation scheme

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 01:05:07 GMT

Ms Gillard praised the MySuper scheme, saying it will lower fees of up to 30 per cent and would boost retirement savings for a 30 year old full time worker by $40,000.

"It's not like you get a monthly bill," she said.

"Those charges eat away at your super savings and make a real difference as to how much money you're going to have to retire on in the future."

Earlier, Treasurer Wayne Swan said the scheme was a key recommendation of the Cooper review of Australia's superannuation regime.

The new product will have no unnecessary fees or charges.

Super fees more than mobile bills: Swan

"Australians currently pay around $85 a month in superannuation fees, which is more than the average person's monthly mobile phone bill," Mr Swan said in a statement.

The government will insist that My Super providers not charge entry fees, and limit exit fees to cost recovery.

There will be a ban on commissions, a feature of retail funds.

Labor previously announced a phased-in hike to the superannuation guarantee, taking it from nine per cent now to 12 per cent by 2020.

Taken with MySuper, the measures would add almost $150,000 to the retirement superannuation balance of an average 30-year-old worker, Mr Swan said.

Abbott tight lipped on super

Meanwhile Opposition Leader Tony Abbott would not commit a coalition government to the MySuper plan, but nor did he rule out support.

"What we've said is we will carefully consider those (Cooper review) recommendations," he told the Nine Network, adding the coalition had yet to provide a formal response to the review.

Earlier, the Opposition Leader said he didn't apologise for changing his old fashioned views on some issues.

In the past year the opposition leader has changed his stance on climate change, paid parental leave, immigration and industrial relations.

Mr Abbbott's told the Nine Network he doesn't apologise for moving to positions which better reflect coalition values and he'll leave it to the public to judge him.

Obama bored with his BlackBerry

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 00:34:59 GMT

Obama also demonstrated a passing knowledge of popular culture, in the first-ever appearance by a sitting president on a daytime television talk show, as he increases campaign-style events ahead of November's congressional polls.

The president said that only 10 people have the address of the BlackBerry he was issued, and the conversation is a bit stilted because messages will likely be archived along with all other White House documents.

"I've got to admit, it's no fun because they think that it's probably going to be subject to the presidential records act, so nobody wants to send me the real juicy stuff," Obama said on ABC's The View.

"It's all very official. 'Mr President, you have a meeting coming up and we'd like to brief you.'"

Obama however was happy to reveal the contents of his iPod, which tears down musical barriers, including Jay-Z, Frank Sinatra and opera legend Maria Callas.

The president said he had no tracks by teen heartthrob Justin Bieber, but did once meet the singer when he performed at the White House.

"He's a very nice young man."

Obama however admitted he had never heard of Snooki, a star of the popular MTV reality show Jersey Shore.

Some commentators have questioned whether the dignity of the presidency is called into question with such informal performances.

But from Bill Clinton on, US presidents and candidates have sought out such appearances on light-hearted shows, where they can expect softball questions and reach audiences normally beyond the political circuit.

Politicians are also conscious that voters often want to make a personal connection with their leaders.

This may be especially applicable to Obama, as many polls have shown that the president is more popular than some of his domestic policies - a fact that may help him during his expected 2012 reelection effort.

The View is a round-table show presented by veteran journalist Barbara Walters, actress and comedienne Whoopi Goldberg and several other hosts. It has a large following among women, who form a crucial voting block.

Obama, who joked that he chose the show because his wife Michelle watched it, was happy to talk about his family and his daughters, before offering his take on more meaty issues, including the Afghan war and unemployment.

Teen sailor to launch solo world bid

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 00:00:38 GMT

"It is great that I can now officially go, and that will be on Wednesday 4 August at 9am," Dekker announced on her Internet site on Saturday.

A district court has rejected a request by a child care council to extend state supervision over the teenager to stop her from attempting the record sail, citing fears for her social and emotional well-being.

Dekker will on Wednesday sail from the small southeastern port of Den Osse with her father, with whom she has lived on a boat there since March, the ANP news agency reported.

"The trip officially starts from Portugal and so it is not a problem if people, in this case my father, sail with me to that point," she said.

Dekker said her father will help her to test her yacht Guppy, and "improve the last little things" before she takes the boat around the world.

The date for the launch of her official solo bid has not yet been fixed, she said.

Dekker, who has the backing of her parents for the venture, would have to complete the trip at the latest four days before her 17th birthday on September 20, 2012, in order to set a new record.

She had planned to set sail in September 2009 but was thwarted by the intervention of child care authorities and a subsequent court ruling placing her under the supervision of the child care council.

Pakistan flood kills 800

Sat, 31 Jul 2010 22:27:35 GMT

The United Nations said almost a million people had been affected by the flooding, and at least 45 bridges destroyed around worst-hit Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Hundreds of homes and vast swathes of farmland were destroyed in the northwest and Pakistani Kashmir, with the main highway to China reportedly cut and communities isolated as monsoon rains caused flash floods and landslides.

65 dead in Afghanistan

In neighbouring Afghanistan, flash floods have killed at least 65 people and affected more than 1,000 families, officials said.

Pakistani television footage and photos shot from helicopters showed people clinging to the walls and roof tops of damaged houses as gushing waters rampaged through inundated villages.

Carrying their belongings and with children on their shoulders, some even walked barefoot through the water to seek safety.

"This is the worst ever flood in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the country's history," provincial information minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said.

"The death toll in floods and rain-related incidents has risen up to 800 across the province," he said.

Further 150 missing

Another 150 people were missing in the northwestern province, where many impoverished families live in remote mountain villages.

More than one million people have been affected, the minister said, adding that more than 3,700 houses had been swept away by floods and that the number of homeless people was rising.

Peshawar, the main city in the northwest, and the districts of Swat and Shangla were cut off from the rest of country as roads and highways were submerged, he said.

An AFP reporter saw hundreds of people arriving in Peshawar, many of them without any belongings.

Muqaddir Khan, 25, who arrived with nine other family members, told AFP he had lost everything in the floods.

"I've lost everything"

"I laboured hard in Saudi Arabia for three years and set up a small shop which was swept away by flood in minutes. I have lost everything," Khan said.

Razia Bibi, 48, said she and her family spent the night awake as water kept rising.

"My house is now gone under water and I could escape with a few belongings," Bibi told AFP.

Authorities are using school buildings in Peshawar to shelter those affected by the floods.

Rescuers working overtime

The army said it had sent boats and helicopters to rescue stranded people and its engineers were trying to open roads and divert water from key routes.

The European Commission said it had given 30 million euros (39-million-dollar) in humanitarian aid to help the most needy.

"Pakistan has been hit by terrible floods and more rain is forecast. Our thoughts are with those affected by them," said Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva.

The flooding capped a week of tragedy for Pakistan, after an airliner crashed into hills near Islamabad Wednesday, killing 152 people on board.

Pakistan's weather bureau said an "unprecedented" 312 millimetres (12 inches) of rain had fallen in 36 hours in the northwest but predicted only scattered showers during coming days.

Malakand worst hit

Provincial relief commissioner Shakil Qadir said the worst-hit area was Malakand, where 102 people died and 16,000 were marooned because bridges had collapsed and road links been cut.

Qadir said that around 2,800 Pakistani holidaymakers were stranded in the Swat valley, where the military maintains a heavy presence after a massive operation against Taliban insurgents last year.

Efforts were being made to airlift the holidaymakers to safety in helicopters, he said.

The Karakoram Highway, which links Pakistan to China, was closed as rains washed away a bridge in Shangla district, also cutting off Gilgit-Baltistan from other parts of the country, media reports said.

Northwest Pakistan has been hardest hit but monsoon rains have also killed 25 people in the southwestern province of Baluchistan over the past few days, a senior officer of the disaster management authority, Ataullah Khan, told AFP in the provincial capital, Quetta.

Flash floods had affected eight districts, he said, adding that around 275,000 people had been affected and more than 15,000 houses destroyed.

Rudd takes legal advice over leak

Sat, 31 Jul 2010 22:15:59 GMT

Former foreign minister Alexander Downer has told News Ltd that as an ambitious Labor backbencher in opposition, Mr Rudd sought to undermine the ALP's then foreign affairs spokesman Laurie Brereton by giving information to the media.

Mr Rudd, who eventually took over the shadow portfolio in 2001, wholly denied the claims on Sunday.

"These are serious allegations ... they are completely and utterly false," a spokesman for the Queensland MP said.

"Mr Rudd is taking legal advice with a view to initiating legal proceedings on this matter.

"As there are potential legal proceedings, it is inappropriate to provide any further comment at this time."

Mr Downer also issued a statement on the matter from overseas, saying his comments had been misinterpreted.

"Kevin Rudd was not used by me or other members of the Liberal Party as a so-called `double agent' to leak material against other members of the Labor Party," he said.

"Unfortunately, (the journalist) has created a more controversial story than my comments warranted."

Mr Rudd is currently recovering in the Mater Private Hospital in South Brisbane following keyhole surgery to remove his gall bladder.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said he understood Mr Downer had disputed the story.

"I doubt that it (the report) is true," he told the Nine Network on Sunday.

Smog equivalent of 40 cigarettes

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 07:38:26 GMT

The city of more than 10 million has been sweltering under a record breaking heatwave exacerbated by peat fires in areas surrounding the capital.

With street temperatures hitting almost daily all-time highs, the peat fire's smoke and its cinder smell have crept into sultry offices, homes and restaurants.

"The concentration of carbon monoxide and suspended particles in Moscow surged up to 10 times above the limit last night," Alexei Popikov, chief specialist at Mosekomonitoring, a city government agency overseeing air pollution, told Reuters.

Alexander Chuchalin, Russia's chief pulmonologist, told a news conference of the dangers of those kind of levels.

"(The current level of) carbon monoxide damages an average of 20 percent of red blood cells in a human body which equals to the effect of two packs of cigarettes smoked within three or four hours."

He advised residents to wear masks, take antioxidants such as vitamin E, try to stay indoors as much as possible and use nebulizers to clear their lungs.

On Monday temperatures reached 37.4 degrees Celsius (99.3 degrees Fahrenheit), the highest figure since records began 130 years ago. On Wednesday temperatures were 37.3 degrees Celsius.

Alexei Yablokov, an internationally renowned biologist who heads Russia's Green Party, said on Tuesday that air pollution caused by the smog could kill hundreds more people than usual in the Moscow region.

Moscow region chief Boris Gromov asked Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Tuesday to allocate 25 billion rubles ($827 million) to fight the fires around Moscow.

The smog may begin to clear on Thursday evening, when an atmospheric front moving over from the west is expected to bring rain showers to the Moscow region, Dmitry Kiktev, deputy director of the Roshydromet meteorological service told Reuters.

He said the heatwave would retreat over the weekend, with extreme temperatures falling by four or five degrees Celsius.

(Editing by Matthew Jones)

I am not religious: Gillard

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 07:16:55 GMT

Earlier today, Perth Archbishop Barry Hickey said Ms Gillard's atheism could influence Christian voters not to vote Labor at the August 21 poll.

"While there is no indication that the present prime minister will undermine the special privileges that churches enjoy, some wonder what the future will bring," Archbishop Hickey told The West Australian newspaper.

"Many Christians are concerned that someone who does not believe in God may not endorse the Christian traditions of respect for human life, for the sanctity of marriage and the independence of churches, church schools and church social welfare agencies."

Ms Gillard said she was someone who respected the religious views of others.

"In terms of the work that the Catholic church does, that other churches and religious groups do in our society I am a big respecter," she told reporters in Melbourne.

"And my history has been to be a big supporter." In her former role as education minister, Ms Gillard said she had worked respectfully with the Catholic education community.

"That's the approach I will continue to take as prime minister," she said, adding Labor had delivered record capital investment in the Catholic education system.

Mr Abbott, a Catholic who once studied to join the priesthood, distanced himself from Archbishop Hickey's comments.

"I'm not going to comment on anything that may have been said by any churchmen," he told reporters in Melbourne.

"I think that we should respect people's private religious views.

"I think that every contender and candidate in this election should be judged on competence and policies, not personal beliefs or religious convictions."

Mr Abbott said the coalition had no plans to change the tax status of charities, including church groups.

"I think that would inevitably hinder the good work that they do," he said.

Mr Abbott's religious bent could be a vote clincher but Archbishop Hickey said he would not seek to influence his flock on which way to vote.

"Some will undoubtedly vote for Mr Abbott because they appreciate his strong Christian faith," he said.

"We have church lobbies, mostly in Sydney and Canberra, that urge both major parties to protect the activities of the church, such as our huge education sector and our welfare sector."

Archbishop Hickey later clarified his comments on ABC Radio in Perth, saying he had made the comments to The West Australian three weeks ago.

"It mightn't have been expressed as well as I would have liked but I wasn't attacking Julia.

"I think she's declared herself, she's honest, she said she would respect religious beliefs and I think that's all good."

But Archbishop Hickey said he did have a problem with a secularist view that was growing in Europe and pushing religious views aside.

"Long term I am concerned about a secularist viewpoint." Archbishop Hickey said it was not his intention to influence voters to vote one way or another.

Della Bosca quits politics

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 06:06:13 GMT

Mr Della Bosca's announcement follows today's announcement by his wife, federal MP Belinda Neal, that she will not contest her central coast seat of Robertson as an independent.

Their combined exit from politics brings to a close the career of one of the premier power couples in Labor politics.

A former NSW party general secretary, Mr Della Bosca entered parliament in 1999 and was reelected in 2007.

His seat, which does not come up for reelection until 2015, will be filled internally by the Labor Party and its Right faction.

No 'normal' in mental health guide

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 04:07:12 GMT

Leading mental health experts gave a briefing on Tuesday to warn that a new edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), which is being revised now for publication in 2013, could devalue the seriousness of mental illness and label almost everyone as having some kind of disorder.

Citing examples of new additions like "mild anxiety depression," "psychosis risk syndrome," and "temper dysregulation disorder," they said many people previously seen as perfectly healthy could in future be told they are ill.

"It's leaking into normality. It is shrinking the pool of what is normal to a puddle," said Til Wykes of the Institute of Psychiatry at Kings College London.

The DSM is published by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and contains descriptions, symptoms, and other criteria for diagnosing mental disorders. It is seen as the global diagnostic bible for the field of mental health medicine.

The criteria are designed to provide clear definitions for professionals who treat patients with mental disorders, and for researchers and pharmaceutical drug companies seeking to develop new ways of treating them.

Wykes and colleagues Felicity Callard, also of Kings' Institute of Psychiatry, and Nick Craddock of Cardiff University's department of psychological medicine and neurology, said many in the psychiatric community are worried that the further the guidelines are expanded, the more likely it will become that nobody will be classed as normal any more.

"Technically, with the classification of so many new disorders, we will all have disorders," they said in a joint statement. "This may lead to the belief that many more of us 'need' drugs to treat our 'conditions' -- (and) many of these drugs will have unpleasant or dangerous side effects."

The scientists said "psychosis risk syndrome" diagnosis was particularly worrying, since it could falsely label young people who may only have a small risk of developing an illness.

"It's a bit like telling 10 people with a common cold that they are "at risk for pneumonia syndrome" when only one is likely to get the disorder," Wykes told the briefing.

The American Psychiatric Association did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The scientists gave examples from the previous revision to the DSM, which was called DSM 4 and included broader diagnoses and categories for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism and childhood bipolar disorders.

This, they said, had "contributed to three false epidemics" of these conditions, particularly in the United States.

"During the last decade, how many doctors were harangued by worried parents into giving drugs like Ritalin to children who didn't really need it?," their statement asked.

Millions of people across the world, many of them children, take ADHD drugs including Novartis' Ritalin, which is known generically as methylphenidate, and similar drugs such as Shire Plc's Adderall and Vyvanse. In the United States alone, sales of these drugs was about $4.8 billion in 2008.

Wykes and Callard published a comment in The Journal of Mental Health expressing their concern about the upcoming DSM revision and highlighting another 10 or more papers in the same journal from other scientists who were also worried. DSM 5 is due to be published in May 2013.

French couple arrested over dead babies

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 04:03:39 GMT

'World's oldest Twitter user' dies in UK

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 03:20:05 GMT

Ivy Bean, who had about 57,000 followers on the micro-blogging site - under the name "IvyBean104" - died in the early hours of Wednesday.

During her final days, nursing home staff posted regular tweets on her condition, before finally confirming the sad news with one which said: "Ivy passed away peacefully at 12:08 this morning."

Pat Wright, manager of the Hillside Manor Residential Home in Bradford, northern England, said Bean was introduced to Twitter in 2008 after the home got some laptops, which staff encouraged residents to start using.

"She was just a normal mum and grandma that wasn't frightened of trying new things," Wright told AFP.

"She would tweet about what she were having for her dinner, whether she'd played any games - but she wouldn't tweet when 'Deal Or No Deal' (a television game show) was on, everything stopped then."

Earlier this year, Bean, a former housekeeper, met the then prime minister Gordon Brown at Downing Street for a reception "celebrating our ageing society".

News of her death prompted followers from around the world to send messages of condolence via Twitter.

Her followers included several celebrities, including singer Peter Andre, and she also used Facebook.

She is survived by her daughter Sandra, several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Rome's Colosseum needs a facelift

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 02:14:52 GMT

"We face a very big challenge that will be a national and international example of bringing together private and public funds," Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno told a news conference.

He likened the plan to a multi-million dollar restoration of Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel completed in 1994 with the help of private funds.

The government will seek prospective sponsors in a six-week appeal to be launched next Wednesday, the organisers said.

Restoration work may begin as soon as October and last two years, according to Italian Culture Minister Sandro Bondi, who said resorting to sponsors to help fund the work was necessary in "the difficult economic climate".

Sponsors face limits to advertising their involvement in the project - no logos on the scaffolding, for example - and it must be "compatible with the value and decorum of the Colosseum, the culture ministry said in a statement.

The ancient Roman arena's facade is weather worn and blackened by the fumes of some 2000 cars driving past it per hour.

The monument's dilapidated state was dramatised in May when large chunks of mortar and lime fell from the walls.

The Colosseum will remain open to visitors during the phased overhaul, which will include restoration of the facade, modernising the electrical, surveillance and lighting systems, and the building of a new visitors' centre.

New parts of the monument will be opened to the public including underground areas where gladiators and wild animals awaited their entrance into the arena.

The influx of visitors has surged from one million to six million per year over the past decade, partly due to the success of the 2000 film Gladiator by Ridley Scott.

The egg-shaped arena some 188 metres long, 156 metres wide and 48.5 metres high, completed in 80 AD under the Emperor Titus, was the Roman Empire's largest amphitheatre.

With a capacity of up to 75,000 spectators, it was used for gladiator fights and other spectacles for nearly 500 years.

Today it is the symbol of a worldwide campaign against capital punishment.

Global warming undeniable: scientists

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 23:40:01 GMT

According to a report climatic shifts are ushering in extreme weather that is plaguing the globe which saw Australia have its third hottest year ever in 2009.

The climatic shifts and extreme weather played their part in the ‘Black Saturday’ bushfires which saw 173 people die in Victoria.

"A comprehensive review of key climate indicators confirms the world is warming and the past decade was the warmest on record," the annual State of the Climate report declares.

Compiled by more than 300 scientists from 48 countries, the report said its analysis of 10 indicators that are "clearly and directly related to surface temperatures, all tell the same story: Global warming is undeniable."

Concern about rising temperatures has been growing in recent years as atmospheric scientists report rising temperatures associated with greenhouse gases released into the air by industrial and other human processes. At the same time, some sceptics have questioned the conclusions.

The new report, the 20th in a series, focuses only on global warming and does not specify a cause.

"The evidence in this report would say unequivocally yes, there is no doubt," that the Earth is warming, said Tom Karl, the transitional director of the planned NOAA Climate Service.

Deke Arndt, chief of the Climate Monitoring Branch at the National Climatic Data Centre, noted that the 1980s was the warmest decade up to that point, but each year in the 1990s was warmer than the '80s average.

That makes the '90s the warmest decade, he said.

But each year in the 2000s has been warmer than the '90s average, so the first 10 years of the 2000s is now the warmest decade on record.

The new report noted that continuing warming will threaten coastal cities, infrastructure, water supply, health and agriculture.

"At first glance, the amount of increase each decade - about a fifth of a degree Fahrenheit - may seem small," the report said.

"But," it adds, "the temperature increase of about 1 degree Fahrenheit experienced during the past 50 years has already altered the planet. Glaciers and sea ice are melting, heavy rainfall is intensifying and heat waves are becoming morecommon and more intense."

Last month was the warmest June on record and this year has had the warmest average temperature for January-June since record keeping began, NOAA reported last week.

A study by Princeton University researchers released on Monday suggested that continued warming could cause as many as 6.7 million more Mexicans to move to the United States because of drought affecting crops in their country.

The new climate report, released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and published as a supplement to the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, focused on 10 indicators of a warming world, seven which are increasing and three declining.

Rising over decades are average air temperature, the ratio of water vapor to air, ocean heat content, sea surface temperature, sea level, air temperature over the ocean and air temperature over land.

Indicators that are declining are snow cover, glaciers and sea ice.

The 10 were selected "because they were the most obviously related indicators of global temperature," explained Peter Thorne of the Cooperative Institute for Climate and Satellites, who helped develop the list when at the British weather service, known as the Met Office.

"What this data is doing is, it is screaming that the world is warming," Thorne concluded.

Iraq car bombs kill 21 in holy city

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 09:00:28 GMT

The suicide blasts in Karbala, where religious commemoration ceremonies are due to begin on Wednesday, occurred at around 7pm and left at least 47 wounded, a provincial health official said.

Eyewitnesses said one of the vehicles exploded at a security checkpoint on the southern outskirts of the city, which is the site of revered shrines to Imam Hussein and Imam Abbas, while the second detonated a short time later just metres away.

"Most of the killed and wounded are policemen and civilians," said Salim Kadhim, spokesman for Karbala's health directorate, adding that 21 people had died and 47 were wounded.

Russia slams EU sanctions against Iran

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 08:42:27 GMT

"We have already said many times that we consider unacceptable the practice of unilateral or collective sanctions measures against Iran, that go beyond the Security Council sanctions regime in operation in the country," it said.

Tuesday's statement came after EU foreign ministers on Monday formally adopted new sanctions on Iran's key energy sector in a bid to force it to return to talks on its controversial nuclear program.

Canada followed suit, and the United States, which has led international efforts to curb Iran's nuclear drive, said the punitive steps would bite.

Iran is under four sets of UN sanctions over its refusal to heed repeated Security Council ultimatums to suspend uranium enrichment, the most controversial part of its nuclear program.

Iran says that it is enriching uranium purely for peaceful use but Western powers are concerned that it intends to develop a nuclear weapon.

Russia said on Tuesday that the EU sanctions showed "disregard for the carefully regulated and co-ordinated provisions of the UN Security Council".

Meanwhile, Iran vowed on Tuesday to press ahead with its nuclear program even as it expressed readiness to resume talks about the controversial issue despite being slapped with tough new EU sanctions.

"Iran will resume nuclear talks with the West in September," President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying by the Islamic republic's English-language Press TV.

But he added "Iran wants Turkey and Brazil to participate in the negotiations", in the comments posted on the channel's website from an interview late on Monday.

Brazil and Turkey refused to back sanctions against Tehran in June before the UN Security Council, where they are non-permanent members.

Foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said Iran "deeply regrets and condemns" the new EU sanctions.

"These sanctions will not help in resuming talks and will not affect Iran's determination to defend its legitimate right to pursue a peaceful nuclear program," Mehmanparast was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency.

The EU sanctions follow similar measures meted out by the United States by going beyond the fourth set of sanctions that the United Nations imposed on June 9 over Iran's refusal to freeze uranium enrichment.

They are aimed at reviving stalled talks between Iran and six world powers - Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States.

Among their measures are a ban on the sale of equipment, technology and services to Iran's energy sector, and steps to hit activities in refining, liquefied natural gas, exploration and production, EU diplomats said.

New investments in the energy sector were also banned.

Iran is the world's fourth largest producer of crude oil but imports 40 per cent of its fuel needs because it lacks enough refining capabilities to meet domestic demand.

The country's banking sector was also hit by restrictions, forcing any transactions of more than 40,000 euros ($A57,607) to be authorised by EU governments before they can go ahead.

Iran also has the world's second-largest reserves of natural gas after Russia but the development of its giant gas fields has been delayed due to a lack of investment in a country faced with severe gas needs of its own and because of difficulties in procuring the required technology.

Several top global energy majors have already quit Iran, or have been considering an exit since the fresh set of UN sanctions.

The last high-level meeting between Iran and the six world powers was held in Geneva in October 2009 when the two sides agreed a nuclear fuel swap deal that has since stalled.