Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Andrew have visited Prince Philip in the London hospital where he is being treated for a bladder infection.
Earlier, Buckingham Palace said Duke of Edinburgh’s condition had “improved considerably” but he was likely to stay in the King Edward VII Hospital for a few days.
Prince Philip, 90, has spent two nights in hospital, missing the end of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations.
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said the duke was in “good spirits”.
The duke was admitted to hospital on Monday, hours before the Jubilee Concert outside Buckingham Palace.
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Andrew have visited Prince Philip in the London hospital where he is being treated for a bladder infection
On Wednesday, the Queen attended a lunch with Commonwealth leaders, as she continued to mark 60 years of her reign.
Prime Minister David Cameron was among the 70 guests at the lunch, at Marlborough House on Pall Mall.
The engagement saw a protest by some members of the UK’s Tamil community, as Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa arrived. They were demonstrating about the country’s record on human rights.
The duke, who had treatment for a blocked coronary artery in December, turns 91 on Sunday.
A palace spokesman said earlier: “The treatment of his infection continues with antibiotics.
“He is likely to remain in hospital over the next few days. He is in good spirits.”
The Queen arrived at the hospital, in central London, at 17:10 BST and left at 17:55. The Duke of York left the hospital at about 18:40 BST.
Prince Andrew told reporters that his father was “mending very well”.
Meanwhile, the Prince of Wales, who earlier opened a sheep industry show in Scotland, told well-wishers the duke was “doing well”.
Dorothea Holland, 60, from Stranraer in Galloway, said she asked Prince Charles how the duke was.
“He said he was doing well and thanked me for asking. He just said it was a shame that he hadn’t been able to take part yesterday, and said they had all had a very busy few days,” she said.
On Tuesday, the Earl of Wessex, his youngest son, said the duke was “feeling better” and had been watching the Jubilee events on television.
Asked how the Queen was coping without her husband, Prince Edward added: “She’s bearing up but missing him, obviously.”
As well as the concert, which saw performances from artists including Stevie Wonder and Sir Paul McCartney, the duke missed the national service of thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral on Tuesday.
In his sermon, the Archbishop of Canterbury said “our prayers and thoughts” are with the duke.
The service was followed by receptions at Mansion House and the Guildhall, a lunch at Westminster Hall and a carriage procession to Buckingham Palace, then by a balcony appearance by the Queen, the Royal Family and a flypast.
Buckingham Palace said Prince Philip was “understandably disappointed” about missing the rest of the celebrations.
On Tuesday evening the Queen released video message to the nation, describing the four days of celebration as a “humbling experience”.
“It has touched me deeply to see so many thousands of families, neighbors and friends celebrating together in such a happy atmosphere,” the Queen said.
With water demand rising, forests and fish stocks declining, and lack of action on climate change, life on Earth may be at risk to an irreversible change, the UN warns.
The Global Environmental Outlook says significant progress is seen on only four out of 90 environmental goals.
Meanwhile, a team of scientists warns that life on Earth may be on the way to an irreversible “tipping point”.
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) urges leaders to agree tough goals at this month’s Rio+20 summit.
Where governments have agreed specific treaties, it says, major change has transpired.
However, negotiations leading up to the summit appear mired in problems, with governments failing to find agreement since January on issues such as eliminating subsidies on fossil fuels, regulating fishing on the high seas and obliging corporations to measure their environmental footprint.
“GEO-5 reminds world leaders and nations meeting at Rio+20 why a decisive and defining transition to awards a low-carbon, resource-efficient, job-generating ‘green economy’ is urgently needed,” said Achim Steiner, UNEP’s executive director.
“If current trends continue, if current patterns of production and consumption of natural resources prevail and cannot be reversed, then governments will preside over unprecedented levels of damage and degradation.”
This is the fifth edition of the Global Environmental Outlook, UNEP’s blue-chip five-yearly assessment of the natural world.
With water demand rising, forests and fish stocks declining, and lack of action on climate change, life on Earth may be at risk to an irreversible change
The last, published in 2007, warned that factors such as rising demand for freshwater were affecting human wellbeing.
For the current edition, researchers assessed progress in 90 important environmental issues.
They concluded that meaningful progress had been made on just four – making petrol lead-free, tackling ozone layer depletion, increasing access to clean water and boosting research on marine pollution.
A further 40 showed some progress, including the establishment of protected habitat for plants and animals on land and slowing the rate of deforestation.
Little or no progress was noted for 24, including tackling climate change, while clear deterioration was found in eight, including the parlous state of coral reefs around the world.
For the remainder, there was too little data to draw firm conclusions.
This is despite more than 700 international agreements designed to tackle specific aspects of environmental decline, and agreements on alleviating poverty and malnutrition such as the Millennium Development Goals.
Among the report’s “low-lights” are:
• air pollution indoors and outdoors is probably causing more than six million premature deaths each year
• greenhouse gas emissions are on track to warm the world by at least 3C on average by 2100
• most river basins contain places where drinking water standards are below World Health Organization standards
• only 1.6% of the world’s oceans are protected.
A few hours after GEO-5’s release, the journal Nature published a review of evidence on environmental change concluding that the biosphere – the part of the planet that supports life – could be heading for rapid, possibly irreversible change.
The authors, headed by Anthony Barnofsky from the University of California, Berkeley, combined information on major transformations in the Earth’s past (such as mass extinctions) with models incorporating the present and the immediate future.
More than 40% of the Earth’s land is used for human needs, including cities and farms; and with the population set to grow by a further two billion by 2050, that figure could soon exceed 50%.
Rising demand for resource-expensive foods such as beef could mean it happens by 2025, Prof. Anthony Barnofsky’s modelling suggests.
“It really will be a new world, biologically, at that point,” he said.
“I think that if we want to avoid the most unpleasant surprises, we want to stay away from the 50% mark.”
At the core of the Rio+20 agenda is the idea of changing many of the factors driving this pattern of environmental decline while also raising living standards for the world’s poor.
UNEP adds its voice to many others urging world leaders to seize this baton when they assemble in Rio on 20 June.
Population growth, unsustainable consumption in western and fast-industrializing nations, and environmentally destructive subsidies all need urgent action, it says.
A few years ago the World Bank concluded that destructive fishing practices, fuelled largely by subsidies, had depleted stocks so much that society was missing out on $50 billion per year worth of fish it could otherwise have eaten.
The G20 has previously agreed to phase out fossil fuel subsidies – calculated at over $400 billion per year – without setting firm targets or a timetable. UNEP says leaders should make specific moves on this in Rio.
The summit – which marks 20 years since the Rio Earth Summit and 40 years since the very first UN environmental gathering in Stockholm – is likely to agree to develop a set of sustainable development goals (SDGs), a concept that UNEP endorses.
It points out that factors such as air pollution and climate change are also imposing costs on the global economy – in the US, for example, air pollution is calculated to cut crop yields by $14-26 billion each year.
“The moment has come to put away the paralysis of indecision, acknowledge the facts and face up to the common humanity that unites all peoples,” said Achim Steiner.
“Rio+20 is a moment to turn sustainable development from aspiration and patchy implementation into a genuine path to progress and prosperity for this and the next generations to come.”
Spain’s economy minister Luis de Guindos has dampened speculation that the country is about to seek a bailout of its bank sector.
Luis de Guindos said no decision would be made until audits of the banks were completed, possibly by the end of June.
There have been reports in the past few days that Spain was seeking an immediate bailout from eurozone funds.
Luis de Guindos was speaking in Brussels, where plans have been published that aim to ensure that taxpayers do not have to fund future bailouts of banks.
An IMF audit of Spain’s banks is due next week, with further independent reports completed about two weeks after, Luis de Guindos said.
“I have absolutely not discussed any intervention in Spain’s banks today,” he told reporters on the sidelines of meetings in Brussels.
Asked if Spain was preparing a request for EU aid, Luis de Guindos said: “We are not preparing anything… we have a road map.”
With investors demanding higher returns to lend money to Spain, its finance minister said the credit markets were “effectively shut” to Spain, inflaming worries that the country would be forced to join Greece, Portugal and Ireland and seek outside help.
Spain has to find at least 80 billion Euros ($100 billion) to strengthen its banks’ capital buffers.
A key test will come on Thursday, with Spain due to auction up to 2 billion Euros of bonds.
Spain's economy minister Luis de Guindos has dampened speculation that the country is about to seek a bailout of its bank sector
Spain is keen to avoid having to ask for a European Union bailout as this would come with strict conditions.
It is instead seeking funds which could be injected directly into the banking system.
Reports suggesting EU officials are looking at how this could happen contributed to a rally on European markets late in the afternoon.
UK Prime Minister David Cameron and US President Barack Obama kept up pressure on European leaders, calling for an “immediate plan” to restore confidence, after the two men spoken on the telephone last night.
David Cameron is due to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday to discuss the issues.
The European Central Bank (ECB) appeared unlikely to take any immediate action to provide further financial support, despite president Mario Draghi acknowledging the seriousness of the eurozone’s crisis.
After the ECB left interest rates unchanged at 1% on Wednesday, Mario Draghi suggested that further monetary policy was not the answer.
The ECB has provided 1 trillion Euros for the banking system with two re-financing operations, or LTROs, designed to ease borrowing costs.
Despite signs that borrowing costs are once again rising sharply, Mario Draghi said: “The issue now is whether these LTROs would actually be effective. Some of these problems in the euro area have nothing to do with monetary policy… and I don’t think it would be right for monetary policy to fill other institutions’ lack of action.”
On Wednesday, the European Commission unveiled proposals designed to stop taxpayers’ money being used to bail out failed banks.
The aim is to ensure losses are borne by bank shareholders and creditors and minimize costs for taxpayers.
However, new legislation is unlikely to come into force before 2014 at the earliest, too late to protect taxpayers from any further immediate bank failures.
“The proposal we have today may be only useful for the future but it does not solve the current problems we face,” said Sharon Bowles, chair of the European Parliament’s economic and finance committee.
There would be new requirements for countries to prepare for a bank collapse, collecting money through an annual levy on banks that would be used to provide emergency loans or guarantees.
The European Commission plans involve drawing up a EU-wide framework that would allow:
• Financial regulators to be more “intrusive” in the running of banks as firms’ stability worsens
• Forcing banks to draw up explicit “recovery” and “resolution” plans in the event of their finances deteriorating
• Countries to enforce the sale of all or a part of failed banks, overriding the rights of shareholders or creditors
• Appointment of a “special manager” at a bank to “restore its financial situation”
• Laying the foundations for an “increasingly integrated EU-level oversight of cross-border entities”
The changes form part of commitments agreed by the leaders of the G20 group of major economies in September 2009.
Michel Barnier, the commissioner who unveiled the plans, said: “We must equip public authorities so that they can deal adequately with future bank crises. Otherwise citizens will once again be left to pay the bill, while the rescued banks continue as before knowing that they will be bailed out again.”
If it wins the backing of EU countries and the European Parliament, the law would mark a step in the direction of the banking union supported by European Central Bank president Mario Draghi.
Drew Barrymore certainly achieved something “tasteful and timeless” for her wedding day in her stunning Chanel wedding dress as she exchanged vows with new husband Will Kopelman last weekend.
Pregnant bride Drew Barrymore looked gorgeous and glowing in her muslin and organza gown, which featured a skirt embroidered with tulle flowers, feathers and a black belt to accentuate her growing tummy.
In the first official romantic snap for People magazine, art director Will Kopelman is seen tenderly cradling her baby bump as she smiles and near nuzzles into her new husband.
Drew Barrymore’s dress was accessorized with Chanel Fine Jewelry, including a pair of Fils de Camelia 1.42 carat diamond earrings and a 14 carat white and black diamond vintage Eventail cuff.
The bride wore a traditional veil and carried a bouquet of flowers featuring cherry blossoms, pink peonies, pink garden roses and pink spray roses.
The wedding was held at Drew Barrymore’s $5.7 million Mediterranean style mansion in Montecito, California.
“The day was perfect,” she gushed to People magazine.
“Everyone we love and care about was there. It was fun and meaningful as we could ever have hoped.”
In the first official romantic snap for People magazine, art director Will Kopelman is seen tenderly cradling Drew Barrymore’s baby bump as she smiles and near nuzzles into her new husband
Drew Barrymore’s father died several years ago, and she was walked down the aisle by her father-in-law, former Chanel CEO Arie Kopelman.
“[She] looked gorgeous, completely relaxed and beautiful,” a source said of the pregnant bride.
“She was radiant.”
The vows were exchanged under a rose and lace adorned Chuppah in a traditional Jewish ceremony.
Drew Barrymore’s best friend and rumored bridesmaid Cameron Diaz reportedly read the pregnant bride E.E Cummings famous poem, I Carry Your Heart With Me, which she also famously recited in the hit 2005 movie In Her Shoes.
Wedding planner Stephanie Cove said that the romantic day was “special”.
“Everyone was so happy for them,” Stephanie Cove said.
“The way Drew and Will looked at each other was just so special.”
The couple’s reception was said to be very food-orientated, and included gourmet appetizers such as lobster rolls, pork buns, foie gras on pink peppercorn shortbread, and steak tartare with quail egg.
Meanwhile the formal dinner was more family-style, and included fried chicken and steaks, People magazine reports.
After partying the night away, guests were once again treated to more treats from some food trucks, before the couple left the reception to stay the night at nearby ranch.
In a limo on their way to their first night as a married couple, Drew Barrymore, 37, and Will Kopelman looked like they just couldn’t wait to be alone as husband and wife.
The actress, who is heavily pregnant with the couple’s first child, couldn’t wait to share an intimate moment with her new husband as they both tenderly leaned in for a kiss as they were picked up from the ceremony.
As well as Drew Barrymore’s best pal Cameron Diaz attending the wedding, Reese Witherspoon and her husband Jim Toth, Busy Phillips, Jimmy Fallon and his wife Nancy Juvonen were all on hand to join in the celebrations.
And all of them had been present at a rehearsal dinner the day before.
Will Kopelman proposed to Drew Barrymore during a holiday in Sun Valley, Idaho, in January.
The marriage is Drew Barrymore’s third, after she was wed to Welsh bar owner Jeremy Thomas between March and April 1994 and comedian Tom Green, who she married in July 2001, but filed for divorce from before the end of the year.
The world premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is planned to take place in New Zealand on November 28.
The screening at Wellington’s Embassy Theatre will take place two weeks ahead of the film’s release on 14 December.
Oscar-winning Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson said it was fitting to hold the premiere “where the journey began.”
Based on the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit is set 60 years before the Lord Of The Rings trilogy of films.
The world premiere of The Hobbit, An Unexpected Journey is planned to take place in New Zealand on November 28
In An Unexpected Journey, Bilbo Baggins attempts to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from Smaug, the dragon.
The film’s cast includes Sherlock’s Martin Freeman, who takes on the lead role of Baggins.
Elijah Wood, Orlando Bloom, Cate Blanchett and Sir Ian McKellen, who all starred in Jackson’s Oscar-winning trilogy, also appear in the movie.
British actor Andy Serkis has reprised his motion-capture animated role of Gollum.
The film is split into two parts, with the second installment – The Hobbit: There And Back Again – due for release in December 2013.
The 3D movies were shot at a rate of 48 frames per second, compared with the industry standard of 24 frames.
Following a preview of unfinished footage at the CinemaCon convention in Las Vegas in April, some critics claimed it “looked like a made-for-TV movie”.
Peter Jackson admitted: “It does take you a while to get used to.”
He added: “Ten minutes is sort of marginal, it probably needed a little bit more.”
He wrote the screenplay with partner Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and Mexican director Guillermo del Toro.
A new research suggests that combining exercise with conventional treatments for depression does not improve recovery.
In the NHS-funded study – published in the British Medical Journal – some patients were given help to boost their activity levels in addition to receiving therapy or anti-depressants.
After a year all 361 patients had fewer signs of depression, but there was no difference between the two groups.
Current guidelines suggest sufferers do up to three exercise sessions a week.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) drew up that advice in 2004.
At the time it said that on the basis of the research available, increased physical activity could help those with mild depression.
“This is a huge disappointment because we were hoping exercise would help lift depression. But we need to bear in mind that these were patients already on medication, so it considers exercise on top of medical care. It did not look at mild depression nor did it consider exercise as an alternative to medication.
“The message mustn’t be to stop exercising. Exercise has so many other benefits – it is good in terms of heart disease, lowers blood pressure, has a beneficial effect on the balance of fats in the blood, strengthens muscles, and burns up calories. A lot of people who have depression may have other problems too. And an active body helps to produce a healthy mind,” said Prof. Alan Maryon-Davis, professor of public health, King’s College London.
A new research suggests that combining exercise with conventional treatments for depression does not improve recovery
The latest study, carried out by teams from the Universities of Bristol and Exeter, looked at how that might actually work in a real clinical setting.
All 361 people taking part were given conventional treatments appropriate to their level of depression.
But for eight months some in a randomly allocated group were also given advice on up to 13 separate occasions on how to increase their level of activity.
It was up to individual patients what activity they chose to increase and by how much.
This approach produced good results in terms of encouraging people to do more over a sustained period of time – something which could have benefits to their general physical health.
But at the end of a year, researchers found no additional reduction in the symptoms of depression in the more active group.
Prof. John Campbell, from the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry, which also took part in the study, said: “Many patients suffering from depression would prefer not to have to take traditional anti-depressant medication, preferring instead to consider alternative non-drug based forms of therapy.
“Exercise and activity appeared to offer promise as one such treatment, but this carefully designed research study has shown that exercise does not appear to be effective in treating depression.”
But he added that GPs were often faced with patients with a number of health problems for whom encouraging an active lifestyle might be of overall benefit.
“The message of this study of course is not that exercise isn’t good for you, exercise is very good for you, but it’s not good for treating people with what was actually quite severe depression.
“That buzz we all get from moderate intensity of exercise is certainly acknowleged but it’s not sustained and it’s not appropriate for treating people with depression.”
At present, the NHS can refer patients for a course of supervised exercise sessions as part of treatment for a number of illnesses, including depression.
These findings are therefore likely to be taken into account when NICE next reviews its guidelines.
The research was funded by the National Institute for Health Research, a British government-backed programme.
More packages with body parts have been found at two Vancouver schools, in what could be the latest twist in the case of Luka Rocco Magnotta, who is suspected of murdering and dismembering his lover Jun Lin.
The packages contained a human hand and foot, Canadian police said.
Canadian police declined to confirm whether the incident was linked to suspect Luka Rocco Magnotta.
Luka Rocco Magnotta, 29, on Tuesday appeared in a Berlin court – a day after he was arrested at an internet cafe.
The Canadian authorities are now preparing papers to request his extradition, and Luka Rocco Magnotta has reportedly said he will not fight the move.
Luka Rocco Magnotta is suspected of killing Chinese student Jun Lin, 33, in Montreal, and posting severed body parts to political parties in Canada.
Luka Rocco Magnotta is suspected of killing Chinese student Jun Lin in Montreal, and posting severed body parts to political parties in Canada
Jun Lin’s relatives have now arrived in Montreal and are expected to meet police shortly.
On Tuesday, Canadian police said a package with what appeared to be a human hand was opened at Vancouver’s False Creek Elementary School.
Another parcel with what looked like a human foot was found at St George’s school for boys in the western Canadian city.
“There is no indication any student or staff has been targeted at any school,” Vancouver Deputy Police Chief Warren Lemcke told a news conference.
He added that “this must have been a very traumatic incident” for pupils and teaching staff at the schools.
Jun Lin’s hand and foot were discovered last week after they were mailed to Canada’s political parties.
Police say Jun Lin’s other hand, foot and head are still missing.
Police say Luka Rocco Magnotta flew from Montreal to Paris on 26 May, eventually travelling by coach from France to Germany.
Montreal Police Commander Ian Lafreniere said investigators were extremely relieved and pleased about the arrest.
“We said from the beginning that the web has been used to glorify himself and we believe the web brought him down,” he added.
“He was recognized because his photo was everywhere.”
Luka Rocco Magnotta was picked up in the cybercafe in Berlin’s Neukoelln district, where he had reportedly been reading articles about himself.
“A colleague recognized him from his photo because he’d just read the newspaper,” the cafe owner told the Associated Press news agency.
The employee, Kadir Anlayisli, ran outside and flagged down a passing police van.
Police said there had been no struggle when Luka Rocco Magnotta was arrested on Monday.
Confronted by seven police officers, Luka Rocco Magnotta “tried at first giving fake names”, police spokesman Guido Busch said.
“But in the end he just said: <<You got me>>.”
The suspect had reportedly worked as a bisexual porn actor and model.
Jun Lin, who was from Wuhan in China, had been enrolled as an undergraduate to study engineering and computer science at Concordia University in Montreal.
Investigators say a video posted online, in which a man apparently uses an ice pick to kill another man, is believed to show Jun Lin’s murder.
Luka Rocco Magnotta faces charges in Canada of murder and threatening Canadian politicians.
Li Wangyang, a leading Chinese dissident imprisoned after the 1989 Tiananmen pro-democracy protests, has been found dead under strange circumstances, his relatives and rights groups said.
Officials said Li Wangyang, who was freed from jail a year ago, hanged himself in hospital, where he was being treated for heart disease and diabetes.
But Li Wangyang’s brother-in-law questioned the death, says the dissident showed “no signs of suicide” in a recent meeting.
Li Wangyang spent more than 22 years in jail.
Li Wangyang, who was freed from jail a year ago, hanged himself in hospital, where he was being treated for heart disease and diabetes
Zhao Baozhu said he saw the body of his brother-in-law in a hospital in the central Chinese city of Shaoyang.
Li Wangyang was found in his room with a white strip of cloth around his neck connected to a window bar above, Zhao Baozhu said.
He said the authorities had then taken away Li Wangyang’s body without approval from the family.
“Last evening we were together, Li Wangyang did not show any signs of suicide; it is strange,” Zhao Baozhu told AFP news agency.
“Li Wangyang is a man with a strong mind and strong spirit,” he added.
He told the news agency he did not want to comment further as he was afraid his phone was being monitored.
The Hong Kong-based Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in China said Li Wangyang died “unusually”.
“We cannot rule out that security guards monitoring him tortured him to death and faked a suicide,” the centre said in a statement.
Li Wangyang, a labor rights activist, was sentenced to 13 years in prison for his role in the 1989 Tiananmen protests, the centre said.
He was released in 2001 but later sentenced to another 10 years for “inciting subversion”.
Science-fiction author Ray Bradbury has died in Southern California at the age of 91.
Ray Bradbury’s daughter Alexandra confirmed that her father died on Tuesday night in Los Angeles.
He wrote hundreds of novels, short stories, plays and television and film scripts in a career dating back to the 1940s.
Ray Bradbury’s most famous novels include Fahrenheit 451 and Something Wicked This Way Comes.
The writer’s grandson, Danny Karapetian, said: “He influenced so many artists, writers, teachers, scientists, and it’s always really touching and comforting to hear their stories.
“His legacy lives on in his monumental body of books, film, television and theatre, but more importantly, in the minds and hearts of anyone who read him, because to read him was to know him.”
Science-fiction author Ray Bradbury has died in Southern California at the age of 91
Ray Bradbury was born in Illinois, and as a teenager moved with his family to Los Angeles.
For three years after leaving school he earned a living selling newspapers, writing in his spare time.
From the early 1940s, his short stories started to appear in magazines like Weird Tales, Astounding Science Fiction and Captain Future.
In 1947, Ray Bradbury married Marguerite “Maggie” McClure and published his first book, Dark Carnival.
Three years later, Ray Bradbury began to establish his reputation with The Martian Chronicles, a collection of stories about materialistic Earthmen colonizing and ruinously exploiting Mars.
His most celebrated novel, Fahrenheit 451, published in 1953, depicts a future society in which books are banned.
The story, which gets its title from the temperature at which paper supposedly ignites, proved to be uncannily prophetic – the characters are addicted to television soap operas, while miniature headphones, known as “ear thimbles”, provide a constant stream of music and news.
A film version, directed by Francois Truffaut, was released in 1966.
For years, Ray Bradbury tried to prevent the publication of Fahrenheit 451 as an e-book. He told the New York Times that electronic books “smell like burned fuel” and called the internet “a big distraction”.
“It’s meaningless; it’s not real. It’s in the air somewhere,” he said.
But he relented in 2011, when his publishing deal was renewed. His agent said: “We explained the situation to him, that a new contract wouldn’t be possible without e-book rights. He understood and gave us the right to go ahead.”
Ray Bradbury also wrote several works for film and television. He wrote the screenplay for John Huston’s film Moby Dick and scripts for many TV series, including Suspense, The Alfred Hitchcock Show and The Twilight Zone.
Ray Bradbury was passionate about literature. In 2008, he told The National Endowment for the Arts: “If you know how to read, you have a complete education about life, then you know how to vote within a democracy.
“But if you don’t know how to read, you don’t know how to decide. That’s the great thing about our country – we’re a democracy of readers, and we should keep it that way.”
Ray Bradbury had four daughters – Susan, Ramona, Bettina and Alexandra. His wife died in 2003.
Prosecutors in Paris have opened a preliminary investigation into Bahraini ambassador Naser Mohamed Youssef Al-Belooshi’s alleged sexual harassment of an employee.
A former domestic worker for the Bahraini envoy said she was inappropriately approached by Naser Mohamed Youssef Al-Belooshi over a year before being fired in October 2011, AFP reported on Tuesday.
The incidents allegedly took place at the ambassador’s home in the Paris suburb of Neuilly.
Prosecutors in Paris have opened a preliminary investigation into Bahraini ambassador Naser Mohamed Youssef Al-Belooshi’s alleged sexual harassment of an employee
The 44-year-old plaintiff had initially accused Naser Mohamed Youssef Al-Belooshi of raping her on more than one occasion, but later told investigators that she was able to thwart those attempts.
The initial probe will determine the veracity of the allegations, which if proven, could lead to charges.
The alleged victim has also claimed that the ambassador’s son threatened her with a gun in September 2010.
Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld seems to be discovering his paternal side after welcoming Choupette the Siamese cat into his Paris home after he revealed last year that he could never imagine having children of his own.
Over the past few months Karl Lagerfeld, 78, has invested time teaching his female feline the art of fine dining and, gearing her up for the modern world, how to work an iPad.
The fashion mogul even congratulated Choupette on her progress by posting a Twitter picture of her busy playing on the Apple device.
“She has lunch and dinner with me on the table, with her own food. She doesn’t touch my food.
“She doesn’t want to eat on the floor. She sleeps under a pillow and she even knows how to use an iPad.” Karl Lagerfeld told WWD.
Karl Lagerfeld congratulated Choupette on her progress by posting a Twitter picture of her busy playing on the Apple device
And while he’s away on business Karl Lagerfeld revealed that he has recruited two personal maids to provide Choupette with round-the-clock care.
He added: “She is beyond spoiled.”
Choupette was given to Karl Lagerfeld by his French model muse Baptiste Giabiconi in January and she has since become his primary preoccupation.
He even gets his maids to keep a diary of her moods, movements and eating patterns if he’s not with her.
“In the nine months, we already have almost 600 pages… I think it could be funny to make a little book of Choupette’s diary.”
But we won’t be seeing Choupette fashioning custom-made Chanel wares anytime soon, as Karl Lagerfeld described the act of humanizing pets as “circuslike”.
Last year while sat with former Vogue Paris editor-in-chief Carine Roitfeld for Interview’s September issue, Karl Lagerfeld said: “If I were a woman, I would love to have lots of kids. But for men, I don’t believe in it.”
Miley Cyrus announces that she is engaged to The Hunger Games actor Liam Hemsworth.
Liam Hemsworth, 22, proposed to the former Disney princess on May 31 with a 3.5-carat diamond ring from jeweller Neil Lane.
Miley Cyrus, 19, told People magazine: “I’m so happy to be engaged and look forward to a life of happiness with Liam.”
Australian magazine WHO reports that the ring is a cushion-cut diamond set in an Art Noveau-inspired gold band.
Miley Cyrus tweeted a day after the proposal: “Heaven is a place on earth.”
Today she quoted: “I love you more today than yesterday but I love you less today than I will tomorrow,” and also wrote: “Life is beautiful.”
Miley Cyrus announces that she is engaged to The Hunger Games actor Liam Hemsworth
Miley Cyrus’ parents Billy Ray and Tish have yet to release a statement but a source close to the family say the couple are “thrilled” and have always seen Liam Hemsworth as “one of the family”.
The actress once named Liam Hemsworth as her “first serious boyfriend” after teenage romances with Nick Jonas and model Justin Gaston.
The couple met while working together on The Last Song in 2009 and Liam Hemsworth has previously admitted while he wanted to be professional on the film, they couldn’t help but fall in love after working so closely together.
Liam Hemsworth said: “What happened happened, and we’ve been together since.
“She makes me really happy. When you start, you want to be professional, but when you’re filming those scenes with someone and pretending to love them, you’re not human if you don’t feel something.”
It hasn’t been the smoothest of relationships. The couple announced that they had split in August 2010 but were back together within a month. They broke up again in November last year before reconciling again.
Former Hannah Montana star Miley Cyrus is one of the highest-earners in showbusiness, and topped a list of the ten richest teens in Hollywood last year with a personal fortune of $120 million.
Liam Hemsworth, meanwhile, is a rising star, who this year broke into the big time with his starring role in The Hunger Games.
Previously, he was best known for his relationship with Miley Cyrus and as The Avengers star Chris’ younger brother.
It has been a happy time in the Hemsworth family of late, with Chris becoming a father for the first time just last month.
Miley Cyrus has been eager to shed her former squeaky clean Disney image for the past few years, and last month voiced her opinion on “magical, beautiful” sex.
“Sex is actually really beautiful,” Miley Cyrus said during an interview on The Conversation.
“It’s the only way we create, and it’s the only way the world keeps going.
“So it’s ignorant not to talk to your kids about it or not make it seem as magical or cool as it actually is. Kids have a TV, so they know what sex is. So educate them and let them know… it’s a beautiful thing, and it is magic, and it’s when you connect with somebody.”
LinkedIn is investigating claims that over six million of its users’ passwords have been leaked onto the internet.
Hackers posted a file containing encrypted passwords onto a Russian web forum.
They have invited the hacking community to help with decryption.
LinkedIn, which has over 150 million users, has not released a formal statement, but tweeted: “Our team is currently looking into reports.”
LinkedIn is investigating claims that over six million of its users' passwords have been leaked onto the internet
The news comes as the social networking website was forced to update its mobile app after a privacy flaw was uncovered by security researchers.
Skycure Security said the mobile app was sending unencrypted calendar entries to LinkedIn servers without users’ knowledge.
The information included meeting notes, which often contain information such as dialling numbers and passcodes for conference calls.
In response LinkedIn said it would “no longer send data from the meeting notes section of your calendar”.
The company stressed that the calendar function was an opt-in feature.
However, the researchers who uncovered the flaw said the transmission of the data to LinkedIn’s servers was done without a “clear indication from the app to the user”.
In a statement posted on the company’s blog, LinkedIn’s mobile product head Joff Redfern said a new “learn more” link would be added to the app so users have a clearer picture about how their information is being used and transmitted.
Cissy Houston has agreed to write a book about Whitney Houston that will give fans “something to treasure”, book publisher HarperCollins announced on Monday.
Cissy Houston, 78, agreed to write a memoir the publisher says will reveal the “unabridged and unbelievable story” of her daughter, who died in a Beverly Hills, California, hotel bathtub in February at 48.
The still untitled book is scheduled to come out next February.
“When I lost my daughter Nippy [Whitney Houston’s nickname], the world lost one of the most beautiful voices and an extraordinarily beautiful and charitable woman,” Cissy Houston said in a statement released by the publisher.
“In sharing our story in this book, I hope to give her fans something to treasure, the way we all treasured Whitney. We are still receiving thousands of letters each day from her fans, and I hope reading this book will provide a deeper understanding into my daughter’s true story.”
Cissy Houston has agreed to write a book about Whitney Houston that will give fans “something to treasure”
HarperCollins wouldn’t divulge how much they’re paying Cissy Houston but said “a portion” of the proceeds will be donated to the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, N.J., where Whitney Houston, whose many hits included The Greatest Love of All and I Will Always Love You, sang as a child.
Whitney Houston’s funeral was also held there.
Cissy Houston has had meetings with several publishers and the word in media circles is the book deal could be worth seven figures.
According to HarperCollins, Cissy Houston will write with “candor, honesty and respect” about her daughter’s remarkable career. She’ll also address Whitney Houston’s drug problems and her troubled marriage to fellow singer Bobby Brown.
Cissy Houston also will tell of her own grief.
“She will tell the unabridged and unbelievable story of her daughter’s life as well as her own, addressing Whitney’s brightest and darkest moments while helping fans around the world understand the complexities of this extraordinary star who died much too soon,” HarperCollins announced.
“Ultimately, Cissy will go behind the headlines to show the true, human side of this strong, successful yet complicated musical icon, capturing the dramatic depths and soaring range of an extraordinary woman, along with the pain and heartbreak of a grieving mother as she struggles with impossible loss.”
Cissy Houston recently released a new album of gospel tunes called Walk on By Faith, her first new music in more than a decade.
This will be Cissy Houston’s second book. She wrote the memoir, How Sweet the Sound, in 1998.
Sheena Monnin, this year Miss Pennsylvania, has sensationally resigned from her position, claiming that the weekend’s Miss USA 2012 pageant was rigged.
Announcing the resignation on her Facebook account, Sheena Monnin claimed one of her fellow contestants had seen a list of the competition’s top five girls – before the show had even begun.
The unidentified contestant went on to name all five women correctly before they were announced, Sheena Monnin, 27, said in the posting.
But Miss Universe Organization has refuted the claims, saying that in a resignation email, Sheena Monnin said she was quitting as she was against new rules allowing transgender contestants to take part.
Sheena Monnin added on her post that the Miss Universe Organization, which oversees the pageant, is “fraudulent, lacking in morals, inconsistent, and in many ways trashy”.
Sheena Monnin, from Cranberry Township, won her title in December 2011. She did not place in the top 16 contestants on Sunday, leading some to brand her remarks as the mutterings of a “bad loser”.
But 12 hours after her first Facebook post, Sheena Monnin insisted her claims were correct and gave further insight into what sparked her decision.
“I witnessed another contestant who said she saw the list of the Top 5 BEFORE THE SHOW EVER STARTED proceed to call out in order who the Top 5 were before they were announced on stage,” she said.
The contestant told Sheena Monnin she had seen a folder lying open with a page reading: “FINAL SHOW Telecast, June 3, 2012” on the morning of the show – along with the “top five” filled in.
After the 51 contestants were whittled down to 16, the woman told Sheena Monnin and another contestant what she had seen.
Sheena Monnin went on: “I said <<who do you think they will be?>>. She said that she didn’t <<think>> she <<knew>> because she saw the list that morning. She relayed whose names were on the list.”
The field was then narrowed further as the contestants went through the swimswuit, evening gown and interview rounds, with eventually the final five named.
She went on: “After it was indeed the Top 5 I knew the show must be rigged; I decided to distance myself from an organization who did not allow fair play and whose morals did not match my own.”
After Miss Georgia, Miss Rhode Island, Miss Nevada, Miss Ohio and Miss Maryland completed the Q&A round, Olivia Culpo from Rhode Island was crowned the winner.
Miss Universe Organization, which is co-owned by NBC and Donald Trump, confirmed Sheena Monnin had resigned – but gave very different reasons.
“In an email to state pageant organizers, she cited the Miss Universe Organizations’ policy regarding transgendered contestants, implemented two months ago, as the reason for her resignation,” the statement said.
“Today she has changed her story by publicly making false accusations claiming that the pageant was fixed, however the contestant she privately sourced as her reference has vehemently refuted her most recent claim.”
The statement went on: “We are disappointed that she would attempt to steal the spotlight form Olivia Culpo of Rhode Island on her well-deserved Miss USA win.”
Sheena Monnin, this year Miss Pennsylvania, has sensationally resigned from her position, claiming that the weekend's Miss USA 2012 pageant was rigged
In the email written on Monday by Miss Universe Organization, Sheena Monnin wrote that she was resigning.
She said: “I refuse to be part of a pageant system that has so far and so completely removed itself from its foundational principles as to allow and support natural born males to compete in it.
“This goes against ever moral fiber of my being. I believe in integrity, high moral character, and fair play, none of which are part of this system any longer.”
These sentiments echo her first Facebook post – before she qualified her story.
It is not the first time a Miss USA contestant has raised eyebrows with her prejudiced views. In 2009, Carrie Prejean, representing California, was asked if she believed every state should legalize same-sex marriage.
Carrie Prejean responded: “I believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman, no offense to anybody out there. But that’s how I was raised and I believe that it should be between a man and a woman.”
After Sheena Monnin posted the claims on Facebook, fans and friends commended her resignation, congratulating her for “taking the high road” and thanking her for telling the truth.
But she was also labeled a bad loser by others, including Miss USA 2010 winner Rima Fakih.
“To Miss Pennsylvania 2012,” Rima Fakih wrote on Twitter.
“So you didn’t win or place in Miss USA last night but don’t you dare disrespect my organization! Maybe that’s y u lost.”
The pageant named Olivia Culpo, a 20-year-old cellist, the winner after she made it clear that she embraced all beauty queens – transgender or otherwise – during the interview portion.
In the dreaded final question round, Olivia Culpo was faced with the most difficult question of the night: Would it be fair for a person born a man to be named Miss Universe after becoming a woman?
Olivia Culpo never stumbled as she embraced the Miss Universe Organization’s recent decision to admit transgender contestants.
“I do think that would be fair,” she said.
“But I could understand how people could be apprehensive to take that road.”
Miss Iowa USA Rebecca Hodge was named Miss Congeniality, and Miss Oregon USA Alaina Bergsma was named the most photogenic. They both won $1,000, but didn’t make the top 16.
Miss USA 2011 Alyssa Campanella crowned her successor at the end of the night.
Olivia Culpo will represent the United States at the 61st Miss Universe pageant later this year. An American has not been named Miss Universe since Brook Lee won the title in 1997.
THE ORGANISATION LACKS MORALS: MISS PENNSYLVANIA’S CLAIMS
On her Facebook page, Sheena Monnin wrote:
“I have decided to resign my position as Miss Pennsylvania USA 2012. Effective immediately I have voluntarily, completely, and utterly removed myself from the Miss Universe Organization.
“In good conscience I can no longer be affiliated in any way with an organization I consider to be fraudulent, lacking in morals, inconsistent, and in many ways trashy. I do not support this system in any way. In my heart I believe in honesty, fair play, a fair opportunity, and high moral integrity, none of which in my opinion are part of this pageant system any longer.
“Thank you all for your support and understanding as I walk a road I never dreamed I’d need to walk, as I take a stand I never dreamed I’d need to take.
“After 10 years of competing in a pageant system I once believed in, I now completely and irrevocably separate myself in every way and on every level from the Miss Universe Organization. I remove my support completely and have turned in the title of Miss Pennsylvania USA 2012.”
Sheena Monnin later qualified her remarks by adding:
“Many people have sent me messages requesting and at times demanding that I come forward if I know information that has led to my abrupt and surprising resignation.
“I agree that it is my moral obligation to state what I witnessed and what I know to be true. I will relay to you the reasoning behind my resignation.
“I witnessed another contestant who said she saw the list of the Top 5 BEFORE THE SHOW EVER STARTED proceed to call out in order who the Top 5 were before they were announced on stage.
“Apparently the morning of June 3rd she saw a folder lying open to a page that said <<FINAL SHOW Telecast, June 3, 2012>> and she saw the places for Top 5 already filled in. Thinking she was just seeing a rehearsal fake top 5 from a previous day she walked away, then realized that it had without a doubt been labeled as the Final Show Telecast, June 3rd.
“After the Top 16 were called and we were standing backstage she hesitantly said to me and another contestant that she knew who the Top 5 were. I said <<who do you think they will be?>>. She said that she didn’t <<think>> she <<knew>> because she saw the list that morning. She relayed whose names were on the list. Then we agreed to wait and see if that was indeed the Top 5 called that night.
“After it was indeed the Top 5 I knew the show must be rigged; I decided at that moment to distance myself from an organization who did not allow fair play and whose morals did not match my own.
“That is all I know about this. If this contestant would like to step forward as an eye witness and as being the one who saw the sheet with the Top 5 already selected before the judges ever saw the Top 16, then perhaps action can be taken. As for me, I believe her words and I will not encourage anyone to compete in a system that in my opinion and from what I witnessed is dishonest.”
Sheena Monnin’s email, according to Miss Universe Organization:
“I am officially and irrevocably resigning the title of Miss Pennsylvania USA 2012. I refuse to be part of a pageant system that has so far and so completely removed itself from its foundational principles as to allow and support natural born males to compete in it.
“This goes against ever moral fiber of my being. I believe in integrity, high moral character, and fair play, none of which are part of this system any longer.
“I hereby return the title of Miss Pennsylvania USA 2012.”
A European study has found that while almost all Swedes brush their teeth, only one in 10 does it in a way that effectively prevents tooth decay.
Here is the advice from the British Dental Health Foundation:
Place the head of your toothbrush against your teeth, then tilt the bristle tips to a 45 degree angle against the gum line. Move the brush in small circular movements, several times, on all the surfaces of every tooth.
Brush the outer surfaces of each tooth, upper and lower, keeping the bristles angled against the gum line.
Use the same method on the inside surfaces of all your teeth.
A European study has found that while almost all Swedes brush their teeth, only one in 10 does it in a way that effectively prevents tooth decay
Brush the chewing surfaces of the teeth.
To clean the inside surfaces of the front teeth, tilt the brush vertically and make several small circular strokes with the toe (the front part) of the brush.
Brushing your tongue will freshen your breath and clean your mouth by removing bacteria.
A European study has found that while almost all Swedes brush their teeth, only one in 10 does it in a way that effectively prevents tooth decay.
Prof. Pia Gabre from the University of Gothenburg, led two studies into the tooth brushing habits of more than 2,000 Swedes aged 15-16, 31-35, 60-65 and 76-80.
They were asked various dental care questions like how long they brushed for and how much toothpaste they used.
The researchers were aghast to discover 90% of the population did not clean their teeth in the most effective way.
Many failed to brush twice a day, while others rinsed out their mouths afterwards so diluting the protective effect of the fluoride toothpaste.
A European study has found that while almost all Swedes brush their teeth, only one in 10 does it in a way that effectively prevents tooth decay
“Swedes generally do brush their teeth, but mostly because of social norms and to feel fresh rather than to prevent tooth decay,” said Prof. Pia Gabre.
“Most of the interviewed subjects learned to brush their teeth as children, by their parents. Even if they have been informed about more effective techniques later in life, they continue to brush their teeth like they always have.”
The British Dental Association recommends using a toothbrush with a small head as it’s easier to get into all the nooks and crannies. Most people should opt for a medium or soft brush.
Meanwhile the best technique is a circular action rather than scrubbing up and down, taking time to reach areas at the very back of the mouth where bacteria can accumulate.
Teeth should be cleaned for a minimum of two minutes twice a day.
Toothpaste should contain fluoride at a concentration of at least 1,350 ppm. Most leading brands will contain these levels.
Flossing between teeth is important to remove a build up of detritus.
Despite their shortcomings, 80% of Swedes were generally happy with how they took care of their teeth.
The researchers concluded that knowledge about tooth brushing must be improved and that the provided advice must be made simpler, clearer and more easy to use.
Meghan Vogel, a high school runner competing in a 3200-metre race in Ohio, is receiving national attention, not for winning or a feat of athleticism, but for an extraordinary act of kindness after she helped a struggling competitor finish the race.
Meghan Vogel, a 17-year-old junior at West Liberty Salem High School in western Ohio, is now being praised for her sportsmanship, and has had to deal with an overwhelming response to the now-famous photograph.
The teenage said she appreciates the accolades but said today that she is a bit overwhelmed by the praise that has been pouring in since Saturday’s track meet in Columbus.
Meghan Vogel was in last place in the 3,200-meter run as she caught up to Arlington High School sophomore Arden McMath, whose body was giving out.
Instead of zipping past Arden McMath to avoid the last-place finish, Meghan Vogel draped the runner’s arm around her shoulders, half-dragging and half-carrying her about 30 metres to the finish line.
The memorable picture, taken by the Piqua Daily Call photographer Mike Ullery, has helped the runner’s story go national, the Dayton Daily News reported.
Meghan Vogel is now being praised for her sportsmanship, and has had to deal with an overwhelming response to the now-famous photograph
Now Meghan Vogel, who pushed Arden McMath over the line before crossing it, has been getting Facebook and Twitter messages and mail from friends and strangers saying she has inspired them with her sportsmanship.
“It’s an honor and very humbling,” Meghan Vogel told the Associated Press in a telephone interview from her West Liberty home.
“I just thought I was doing the right thing, and I think others would have done the same.”
But Arden McMath, 16, of Findlay, said in a telephone interview from her northwestern Ohio home that she’s not so sure.
“I’ really don’t think just everyone would have done that,” Arden McMath said.
“I just couldn’t believe what she did – especially pushing me in front of her – and I’m so grateful.”
Both girls are a little hazy about the details.
“The last thing I remember was seeing Arden fall and then trying to get her to the finish line,” Meghan Vogel said.
Arden McMath, meanwhile, remembered feeling like she was “blacking in and out” and falling a few times before Meghan Vogel helped her.
Meghan Vogel, who had won the 1,600-meter race earlier, said she was emotional and tired from that when she began the longer race.
She also felt “a little woozy” afterward and found herself next to Arden McMath in the training room, where the Arlington student was being treated. Arden McMath says her sodium levels were low, but she has recovered.
Meghan Vogel’s mother, Ann Vogel, is West Liberty-Salem’s track and field coach. Technically both runners should have been disqualified, but the official decided not to make that call, she said.
Neither runner scored any points, so team standings weren’t affected. Arden McMath finished 14th, and Vogel finished last at 15th.
Ann Vogel said she’s very proud of her daughter, and the response has been amazing.
“People were coming up to us in tears and hugging both of us after the race,” the mother told the AP.
She said she was surprised by some negative comments on the Internet and talk radio criticizing her daughter for a lack of competitiveness.
“I can’t believe people would twist an act of kindness like that,” she said.
The girls say they hope to stay in touch and expect the public attention to die down soon.
“It’s been nice, but it also will be nice to get back to normal,” Meghan Vogel said.
Solar Impulse, a solar-powered plane, has landed in Rabat, Morocco, after flying from Spain, completing the second leg of its pioneering journey.
Pilot Bertrand Piccard landed the Solar Impulse in Rabat, 19 hours after taking off from Madrid.
The plane – the size of a jumbo jet – was powered by 12,000 solar cells turning four electrical motors.
The 2,500 km-trip (1,550 miles), begun in Switzerland in May, is described as a rehearsal for a world tour in 2014 .
Solar Impulse, a solar-powered plane, has landed in Rabat, Morocco, after flying from Spain, completing the second leg of its pioneering journey
Made of carbon fibre, Solar Impulse is the size of an Airbus A340 but only weighs as much as an average family car, according to its creators.
People were able to follow the aircraft’s flight progress via a virtual dashboard on Solar Impulse’s website, which showed the plane’s battery status, altitude and speed.
Bertrand Piccard was also posting live updates of his journey on Twitter (@bertrandpiccard). In one of his tweets, the former balloonist described the “great feeling” of gliding across southern European skies with solar-powered engines.
The Solar Impulse project was launched in 2003 by Bertrand Piccard and Swiss pilot Andre Boschberg who flew the first leg of the journey from Switzerland to Madrid in late May.
The aircraft made history in July 2010 when it became the first manned solar plane to complete a 26-hour nonstop flight.
The landmark flight proved that the sun’s energy was enough to keep the plane in the air, even at night.
The organizers now hope to go on a round-the-world tour with a new and improved Solar Impulse model in 2014.
People dangerously underestimate the health risks linked to smoking cannabis due to lack of awareness, experts have warned.
The British Lung Foundation (BLF) carried out a survey of 1,000 adults and found a third wrongly believed cannabis did not harm health.
And 88% incorrectly thought tobacco cigarettes were more harmful than cannabis ones – when the risk of lung cancer is actually 20 times higher.
The BLF said the lack of awareness was “alarming”.
Latest figures show that 30% of 16-59 year-olds in England and Wales have used cannabis in their lifetimes.
People dangerously underestimate the health risks linked to smoking cannabis due to lack of awareness
A new report from the BLF says there are established scientific links between smoking cannabis and tuberculosis, acute bronchitis and lung cancer.
Cannabis has also been shown to increase chances of developing mental health problems such as schizophrenia.
Part of the reason for this, say the experts, is that people smoking cannabis take deeper puffs and hold them for longer than when smoking tobacco cigarettes.
This means that someone smoking a cannabis cigarette inhales four times as much tar as from a tobacco cigarette, and five times as much carbon monoxide, the BLF says.
Its survey found that young people are particularly unaware of the risks.
Almost 40% of the under-35s surveyed – the age group most likely to have smoked it – thought cannabis was not harmful.
However, each cannabis cigarette they smoke increases their chances of developing lung cancer by as much as an entire packet of 20 tobacco cigarettes, the BLF warned.
BLF chief executive, Dame Helena Shovelton, said: “It is alarming that, while new research continues to reveal the multiple health consequences of smoking cannabis, there is still a dangerous lack of public awareness of quite how harmful this drug can be.
“This is not a niche problem – cannabis is one of the most widely-used recreational drugs in the UK, with almost a third of the population having tried it.
“We therefore need a serious public health campaign – of the kind that has helped raise awareness of the dangers of eating fatty foods or smoking tobacco – to finally dispel the myth that smoking cannabis is somehow a safe pastime.”
The BLF’s report says there should be a public education programme to raise awareness of the impact of smoking cannabis and increased investment in research into the health consequences of its use.
Media giant Walt Disney has decided to ban junk food commercials on its TV, radio and online programmes.
Walt Disney Company, which also runs famous theme parks, said it was setting new nutrition standards to tackle America’s growing problem of child obesity.
US First Lady Michelle Obama described the initiative as a “game changer”.
However, the new rules will not come into effect until 2015, and much will depend on how Disney defines junk food.
Makers of junk food and sugary drinks spend about $1 billion a year on commercials directed at children under 12 years.
Walt Disney has decided to ban junk food commercials on its TV, radio and online programmes
Disney said that any cereals with 10 grams or more of sugar per serving or a full meal with more than 600 calories would not be advertised.
Sugary drinks and high sodium products would also be off the air, the company said.
CEO Bob Iger acknowledged there might be a short-term dip in advertising revenue, but added that the company would adjust and create new products that meet standards.
Michelle Obama, an active campaigner to curb child obesity, welcomed the plan.
“Just a few years ago if you had told me or any other mom or dad in America that our kids wouldn’t see a single ad for junk food while they watched their favorite cartoons on a major TV network, we wouldn’t have believed you,” Michelle Obama was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency.
Recent studies have shown that almost a third of America’s children are overweight or obese.
Inevitably, there is skepticism about Disney’s move.
Still, it is all part of a growing campaign to fight obesity.
Last week, in the first move of its kind by an American city, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg proposed to ban sales of super-sized sugary drinks in restaurants, delis, cinemas and sports arenas.
Indian women have been raised to believe that fairness is beauty, and this has given rise to a vast and ever-growing skin-whitening industry, which is now encouraging women to bleach far beyond their hands and face.
The desire for lighter skin is nothing new in India. For centuries women in South Asia have been raised with the belief that a fairer complexion equates to beauty.
That the industry should reach a new low, excuse the pun, has reopened the age old fairness debate.
Should such products be on sale? Is applying bleach to your skin healthy, and what are the psychological effects on girls who are told they’re only pretty if they’re paler?
For centuries women in South Asia have been raised with the belief that a fairer complexion equates to beauty
But, despite repeated concerns, the lightening industry is booming, and diversifying. One market research firm even reported that more skin lightening creams are sold in India than Coca Cola.
The market, which initially focused on beauty conscious women, is now pitching to men too.
“The first fairness cream that fights sweat” read the large white letters on a bus stop billboard.
It was accompanied by a photo of one of Bollywood’s actors of the moment, John Abraham, his chiselled face promising fragrant fairness to all who buy the product.
If those variants weren’t considered enough, you can also find deodorants for fairer underarms and talcum powders for whiter skin.
Advertisers specializing in this field, must spend hours devising new campaigns for their products.
“Do you think twice before wearing certain clothes because they don’t seem to suit your body’s uneven skin tone?” asked one half-page advert in a respected newspaper.
“Notice how the color of your hands is different to the color of your face?” asked another.
It seems illogical that such prejudices should continue to exist in modern day India, but they do.
One wannabe actress said she failed to get parts in films because directors bluntly told her she was too black.
You only have to look at posters and ads in India to see glamorous Bollywood stars who, thanks to a bit of graphics software, have dramatically lighter skin tones – with others going the whole hog and endorsing the products.
These are the stars who are worshipped by so many in India, and if many of them are complicit too, then it’s fair to assume that this industry will only continue to grow.
Venus has put on a spectacular show for skywatchers by moving across the face of the Sun as viewed from Earth.
Venus transit was a very rare astronomical event that would not be seen again for another 105 years.
Observers in north and central America, and the northern-most parts of South America saw the event start just before local sunset.
The far northwest of America, the Arctic, the western Pacific, and East Asia witnessed the entire passage.
While the UK and the rest of Europe, the Middle East, and eastern Africa waited for local sunrise to try to see the closing stages of the transit.
Venus appeared as a small black dot moving slowly but surely across the solar disc. The traverse lasted more than six and a half hours.
Some of the best pictures of the event were provided by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, which studies the Sun from a position 36,000 km above the Earth.
“We get to see Venus in exquisite detail because of SDO’s spatial resolution,” said agency astrophysicist Dr. Lika Guhathakurta.
“SDO is a very special observatory. It takes images that are about 10 times better than a high-definition TV and those images are acquired at a temporal cadence of one every 10 seconds. This is something we’ve never had before.”
Many citizens keen to observe the transit first hand attended special events at universities and observatories where equipment for safe viewing had been set up.
In Hawaii, one of the best places to see the whole event, the university’s Institute of Astronomy set up telescope stations on Waikiki beach.
“We’ve had 10 telescopes and the queues have been 10 deep to each telescope all day long,” said the institute’s Dr. Roy Gal.
“It’s a great opportunity to get people excited and teach them stuff. I was hoping for a big turn-out, and it’s been fantastic,” he said.
Venus transit was a very rare astronomical event that would not be seen again for another 105 years
Joe Cali viewed the transit on the edge of the Outback in New South Wales, Australia, another ideal vantage point.
“It is exciting. It may look like just a black dot on the Sun but if you think about it, it’s one of the few times you get to see a planet in motion,” he said.
“But we’ve been improving our chances by connecting with the Shetland Islands and the people up there have done rather better than we have. We’ve been seeing the transit through [a feed] of one of their telescopes,” he explained.
Scientists observed the transit to test ideas that will help them probe Earth-like planets elsewhere in the galaxy, and to learn more about Venus itself and its complex atmosphere.
Venus transits occur four times in approximately 243 years; more precisely, they appear in pairs of events separated by about eight years and these pairs are separated by about 105 or 121 years.
The reason for the long intervals lies in the fact that the orbits of Venus and Earth do not lie in the same plane and a transit can only occur if both planets and the Sun are situated exactly on one line.
This has happened only seven times previously in the telescopic age: in 1631, 1639, 1761, 1769, 1874, 1882 and 2004.
The next pair will not now occur until 2117 and 2125.
The phenomenon has particular historical significance. The 17th- and 18th-Century transits were used by the astronomers of the day to work out fundamental facts about the Solar System.
Employing a method of triangulation (parallax), they were able to calculate the distance between the Earth and the Sun – the so-called astronomical unit (AU) – which we know today to be about 149.6 million km (or 93 million miles).
This allowed scientists to get their first real handle on the scale of things beyond Earth.
Modern instrumentation now gives us very precise numbers on planetary positions and masses, as well as the distance between the Earth and the Sun. But to the early astronomers, just getting good approximate values represented a huge challenge.
This is not to say the 2012 Venus transit was regarded as just a pretty show with no interest for scientists.
Planetary transits have key significance today because they represent one of the best methods for finding worlds orbiting distant stars.
NASA’s Kepler telescope, for example, is identifying thousands of candidates by looking for the tell-tale dips in light that accompany a planet moving in front of its host sun.
These planets are too far away to be visited by spacecraft in the foreseeable future, but scientists can learn something about them from the way the background star’s light is affected as it passes through the planetary atmosphere.
And observing a transiting Venus, which has a known atmospheric composition, provides a kind of benchmark to support these far-flung investigations.
Researchers also took a close look at Venus itself during the transit, used the occasion to probe the middle layers of the planet’s atmosphere – its mesosphere.
They were looking for a very thin arc of light, called the aureole, which can only be seen when Venus appears to just touch the edge of the Sun’s disc at ingress and egress.
The brightness and thickness of the aureole depends on the density and temperature of the atmospheric layers above Venus’s cloud tops.
Observations of the aureole were being combined with data from Europe’s Venus Express spacecraft in orbit around the planet to provide information on high-altitude winds.
The Venusian atmosphere experiences super-rotation. That is – the whole atmosphere circles the planet in four Earth days, on a body that turns around just once in 243 Earth days.
Ashton Kutcher made his anticipated return to Punk’d on Sunday with a trick on Kim Kardashian, with the help of her sister Kourtney’s partner Scott Disick.
Ashton Kutcher had big things planned for Kim Kardashian and said: “Kim, you’re about to learn what a real reality show looks like.”
Kim Kardashian and Scott Disick were at a gas station when they encountered an actor pretending to be a huge fan, who excitedly snapped photos of himself with each of the famous faces.
When Scott Disick returned to the car, he discovered his wallet was missing and attempted to chase the fan, however he left the gas nozzle in the car and as he drove away, there was an explosion.
Kim Kardashian quickly grew anxious and said: “OK, something weird is really going on.”
Ashton Kutcher made his anticipated return to Punk’d on Sunday with a trick on Kim Kardashian, with the help of her sister Kourtney’s partner Scott Disick
A man then came over to shout at the pair for blowing up his car and Kim Kardashian’s fear was evident as she said: “I am literally shaking.”
The police arrived and handcuffed Scott Disick despite his and Kim Kardashian’s protests that the fan stole the wallet, and Kim dashed off to the car to call Kourtney and fill her in.
Meanwhile the fan was upset and comes over to shout at her.
At first she was apologetic but when he said: “I’m a huge fan of yours. Not anymore,” Kim Kardashian simply shrugged.
After Kim Kardashian found the wallet in their car, Ashton Kutcher arrived and the reality star took it all in good humor.
Earlier in the show, Drake showed a different side to himself when he faced what he believed was an earthquake.
Ashton Kutcher admitted he has always wanted to put the MC in such a scenario and in order to make sure Drake would be there, he arranged a hoax meeting with the Vice President.
The funnyman said: “We’re gonna shake things up for Drake a bit. I highly anticipate Drake urinating; he might scream a little bit.”
Drake was in the car with actors pretending to be the Secret Service and was clearly scared when everything suddenly began to shake.
He said: “That is no joke,” before adding: “That’s my first earthquake ever.”
But Ashton Kutcher wasn’t done with the pranks and several fake aftershocks occurred, leaving Drake terrified.
Things quickly worsened for the star as strangers piled into the car despite Drake’s protests, and he got into a screaming match with a couple.
Drake was on the brink of tears when Ashton Kutcher came running in.
While Drake’s mood quickly lightened, he told a giggling Ashton Kutcher: “Yo, that s***’s no joke. So we don’t get to meet the vice president? I called my mum and everything.”
He then admitted: “I said very early on in my career that this is such a sign of feeling like you really accomplished something when Ashton decides to punk [you].
“So today is a semi-feeling of accomplishment, but at the same time, f*** you. I do not appreciate that at all!”
At the end of the episode, Ashton Kutcher said: “I feel like it’s complete. Everything I learned from Beyoncé to Kanye to [Justin Timberlake] and everyone we did before, it all built to this moment.
“It’s been a good year. I feel like the Drake bit completed a cycle for me. It might be time to put the old hat away and call it a year.”
