Apple’s war chest is bursting at the seams: The company is now sitting on $76.2 billion in cash, which happens to be more than the gross domestic product of 126 nations. Its sum has increased 15.8% just since March, thanks to a surprisingly strong quarter announced Tuesday—and…
Continue reading …James Murdoch misled Tuesday’s Parliamentary hearing, saying the hush-money payout to one prominent phone-hacking victim was about $402,000, when in fact it was 70% more, a hefty $684,000, reports the Guardian . Despite protesting that phone-hacking settlements were not “astronomic sums,” with legal costs and other fees, News of…
Continue reading …Girls eat only half their five-a-day of fruit and vegetables, research finds
July 21, 2011 No Comment
Doctors express concern over high levels of saturated fat and too little fruit, vegetables and iron in many teenagers’ diets Doctors have voiced fears about teenagers’ health after new government research showed that many children’s diets contain too much saturated fat and too little fruit, vegetables and iron. Girls’ eating habits emerged as a particular concern: those aged 11 to 18 consume on average only 2.7 of the recommended five portions a day of fruit and vegetables, with just 5% eating what official guidelines say are needed for good health. Boys the same age eat too little as well, with an average of 3.1 portions a day, and just 13% having the full five a day. Teenage girls are meant to consume 8mg a day of iron, but 44% do not do so, according to findings from the annual National Diet and Nutrition Surveys for 2008/09 and 2009/10. That suggests that they are eating too little bread, cereals, meat, meat products, fish, eggs and nuts. The results prompted the Department of Health to warn that children’s “poor eating habits risk storing up a number of potential problems for later life, such as heart disease and some cancers”. The survey also showed that children of all age groups continue to consume more than the recommended amount of saturated fats Adults typically get 12.8% of their food energy from these, which should not exceed 11%. It is the same with sugar: intake of non-milk extrinsic sugars – sugars that have been added to food or released during processing – provides more than the recommended 11% of food energy in 19- to 64-year-olds and children aged four and over. “These new figures show that a significant number of children are overweight, and equally worryingly, the majority of our teenagers don’t eat as healthily as they should,” said Professor Terence Stephenson, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. “It’s naive to think we can defuse the ‘ticking time-bomb’ of long-term effects on health with simply a nudge here and a nudge there. Voluntary agreements with industry are fine as far as they go but what will make a difference is an evidence-based, and possibly regulatory, approach to protecting and promoting our children’s health.” Kawther Hashem, co-ordinator of the Children’s Food Campaign, said: “We are highly concerned that teenagers’ diets are becoming increasingly unhealthy, boosting their risk of heart disease, cancer and other illnesses as adults. The government has failed to acknowledge the role the junk food industry plays in undermining young people’s health. As long as children and teenagers are bombarded by junk food marketing, they will be encouraged to make unhealthy dietary choices.” Health minister Paul Burstow admitted that the population’s food habits were a concern. “Over the last ten years we have not seen the improvements we should have,” he said. He insisted the coalition’s controversial public health policies, especially its responsibility deal involving food and alcohol producers as well as some health charities, would help tackle obesity. But Hashem said it was “ridiculous for government to argue that companies like Mars, McDonald’s, PepsiCo and Pizza Hut should write the government’s health policies. They have no interest in young people eating more fruit and vegetables. They make their profits peddling sweets, fizzy drinks and processed foods.” More encouragingly, the Department of Health, which co-funded the studies, said: “Younger children’s eating habits are improving, with parents taking positive steps to give their kids a healthier diet with fewer sweets, fizzy drinks, chocolate, and also switching them to high-fibre cereals. Comparing this survey with the previous survey in 1997, younger children (age 4-10) appear to be switching to high-fibre breakfast cereals from non-high-fibre cereals, eating more fruit and vegetables, and less confectionery and soft drinks,” said a spokesman. Growing numbers of adults are now using lower-fat milk than before, while the general intake of transfats, which have been linked to heart disease, is well below the recommended maximum. Professor Dame Sally Davies, the chief medical officer, said it was important for teenagers to have a balanced diet in order to help ward off illnesses such as cancer and heart disease as adults. Health Doctors Children Health policy Denis Campbell guardian.co.uk
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Demonstrations over fuel shortages, inflation and unemployment target Malawian president Bingu wa Mutharika At least 18 people have been killed, officials say, in two days of public unrest in Malawi, an unlikely stage for one of the biggest anti-government protests in sub-Saharan Africa this year. The protests, sparked by worsening fuel shortages, rising prices and high unemployment in the southern African country, have seen calls for president Bingu wa Mutharika to step down. Malawi’s health ministry spokesman Henry Chimbali confirmed 10 deaths in the northern cities of Karonga and Mzuzu, where protesters ransacked the offices of Mutharika’s Democratic Progressive party (DPP) on Wednesday. The others died in the capital, Lilongwe, and the southern commercial hub of Blantyre after police and troops fired teargas to disperse crowds demanding that Mutharika quit. “These figures are based on those casualties that are coming through to the hospitals,” Chimbali told Reuters. “Some died in hospital, while some were brought by police already dead.” A further 41 people were injured, six critically, he added. The fierce crackdown in the normally peaceful nation is likely to intensify public anger against Mutharika. The campaign against him is led by a coalition of 80 groups which claim that Malawi is facing its worst shortages in 47 years of independence and is turning into an “autocratic kleptocracy”. The pressure has intensified this year since Britain, Malawi’s former colonial ruler and its biggest donor, indefinitely suspended aid to the country. This followed a diplomatic row over a leaked embassy cable referring to Mutharika as “autocratic and intolerant of criticism” that led to the expulsion of Britain’s ambassador to Lilongwe. In response, Britain expelled Malawi’s representative in London and suspended aid worth $550m over the next four years. As riot police confronted groups of young men in the capital, Mutharika took to the airwaves to appeal for calm, saying he was happy to hear the grievances of opponents who accuse him of ignoring civil liberties and ruining the economy. Mutharika, who came to power in 2004 and was re-elected in 2009, vowed to “ensure peace using any measure I can think of.” He demanded of the protesters: “If you break shops and banks, will you have fuel? You demonstrated yesterday and throughout the night until today, but is there fuel today because of the demonstrations? I think God will do something to help us, will bless us, because these people are not being led by God, they are being led by Satan.” But his words had little effect as offices and vehicles of the ruling party were torched. Scores of shops owned by locals and foreigners were looted, including some owned by Chinese expats. The police hit back hard, using live ammunition and killing at least four people on Thursday. Rights activist Moses Mkandawire, director of the group Church and Society of the Protestant Church of Central Africa Presybeterian, said the victims would be buried on Friday, in a ceremony likely to ignite emotions. “We are taking over the whole responsibility to bury our colleagues. The police are not doing anything,” he said. The “Arab spring” that has convulsed north Africa this year has been less evident south of the Sahara, although countries such as Uganda and Swaziland have witnessed street demonstrations. Political analyst Noel Mbowela said events in Malawi show “people have been baptised and every time they see something bad, they will always go into the streets”. Amnesty International said eight journalists were beaten by police during Wednesday’s protests, and a female radio reporter was seriously wounded. Amnesty researcher Simeon Mawanza said the president’s regime is becoming increasingly intolerant of dissenting voices. “The tension there won’t die down just because of yesterday’s events,” he told the Associated Press. “It could intensify, as people died at the hands of police.” Elections are not due again in Malawi until 2014, and Mutharika is barred from seeking a third term. Malawi, which gained independence from Britain in 1964, is among the world’s least developed nations and UNAIDS estimates there are 920,000 people living with HIV/AIDS here. Madonna, who has adopted two children from the country and plans to build schools there, said on Wednesday she hoped Malawi would find a peaceful way out of its troubles. “I am deeply concerned about the violence today in Malawi, especially the devastating impact on Malawi’s children,” Madonna told AP. “Malawi must find a peaceful solution to these problems that allows donors to have confidence that their money will be used efficiently.” Malawi Africa Protest Godfrey Mapondera David Smith guardian.co.uk
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The summit in Rome on Monday will look at humanitarian responses to the Horn of Africa drought The United Nations is to convene an emergency meeting to discuss the response to Horn of Africa drought, which it says has already killed tens of thousands of people. Famine was declared in two regions of Somalia on Wednesday – the first time this has occurred since 1992 – with 3.7 million people needing urgent humanitarian assistance. A further 8 million people require food in neighbouring countries such as Kenya and Ethiopia. The UN’s Food and Agricultural Organisation said the meeting at its Rome headquarters on Monday would be attended by its 191 member countries, as well as NGOs, other UN organisations and the regional development bank. France, the current president of the G20 group of leading economies, called the meeting. Topping the agenda will be discussions on how to deliver aid safely and effectively into Somalia. While the drought has been severe across the Horn, with some areas receiving the lowest rainfall for 60 years, Somalia has been worst affected because of conflict, lack of governance and the security risks facing aid groups. Having had no effective government since the overthrow of Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991, the country is gripped by an Islamist insurgency led by the hardline Al-Shabab militia. The group, which controls much of southern Somalia, lifted a ban earlier this month on international humanitarian groups, including the World Food Programme (WFP), but aid organisations are seeking guarantees the food will not be diverted and aid workers will be safe. About 135,000 Somalis have fled the country since January, mainly to Ethiopia and Kenya. In recent weeks, the exodus has increased sharply, with more than 3,000 people crossing the borders each day in search of assistance. Those arriving at refugee camps such as Dadaab in northern Kenya have described their harrowing journeys to get there. Other Somalis have fled to the capital Mogadishu in search of help. On a visit to the city on Thursday, WFP executive director Josette Sheeran said the organisation would start airlifts of food within days and was “testing the ground” to find the best ways of getting life-saving assistance to people in famine-affected areas such as Bakool and Lower Shabelle, which used to be regarded as a breadbasket for the country. “People in the south of Somalia are too ill and weak to go in search of food, so we must bring it to them,” Sheeran said. “WFP is preparing to open up a number of new routes, by land and air, into the core of the famine zone to establish the necessary operating conditions, including those that will secure the safety of humanitarian personnel.” The American government designated al-Shabab as a terrorist group last year, meaning no US aid could flow to areas under the group’s control. But the US Agency for International Development said this week that it would send assistance to areas held by the insurgents, but only if it was given assurances that the rebels would not hamper distribution, levy taxes or demand bribes from aid organisations. The Kenyan government, which already hosts more than 370,000 Somalis in Dadaab, says the flow over its border is unmanageable. Government spokesman Alfred Mutua said on Thursday that aid drops were required to get food to those affected in Somalia and to slow the flow of refugees. He also called for feeding centres to be set up within southern Somalia. Famine Somalia United Nations Kenya Ethiopia Aid Refugees Africa Malnutrition Xan Rice guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …If you’ve always wished for a few extra inches, you might want to reconsider: A new study finds that taller people are at greater risk of getting cancer. For every extra four inches of height in women, the overall risk rises by about 16%, the Wall Street Journal reports. The…
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Shrien Dewani’s in-laws say 31-year-old will get a fair trial in South Africa, where he is accused of arranging wife’s murder The family of Anni Dewani, who was murdered on her honeymoon in South Africa, told how they wanted “closure” as extradition proceedings against her husband, Shrien, drew to a conclusion. Howard Riddle, the district judge at the extradition hearing before Westminster magistrates at Woolwich crown court, south-east London, retired to consider whether Shrien Dewani, 31, should be sent back to South Africa to face trial for allegedly arranging his wife’s death. Dewani’s lawyers deny that he had any involvement in the killing and say he is too ill to be extradited. They say his human rights will be infringed if he is sent back to South Africa because of jail conditions. Outside court at the end of the hearing, Anni’s uncle, Ashok Hindocha, said the family believed Dewani could get a “fair trial” in Cape Town. He said: “We do believe it will be a fair extradition process here in England and a fair trial in South Africa. This should be a matter of justice and only justice. How long it takes, God knows, but the sooner the better for the whole family. The enormous support we have from the British people and South African people gives us energy.” Anni’s father, Vinod Hindocha, 62, who with other family members attended the hearing, said: “We’re really asking the court: ‘Finish this, get us a closure so that we can move along with our lives.’” Anni Dewani, 28, was shot dead in what South African police allege was a fake car-jacking organised by her husband. Shrien Dewani has severe post traumatic stress disorder and is being treated at a psychiatric hospital in Bristol. About 20 members of Anni’s family, from the UK and Sweden, have been in court to watch the extradition hearing. In his final submissions Hugo Keith QC, for the South African authorities, said it was ridiculous to think Dewani would be neglected if extradited. “No one can suggest the South African authorities would receive an evidently ill man and say: ‘We don’t care, let him rot, he won’t get treatment.’ It cannot be said that South Africa, a civilised and in many respects modern country, does not have the ability to sufficiently cope with the illnesses he suffers.” He said it was likely that Dewani would not be judged fit to stand trial now if he were extradited, but that he might be fit to do so in the future. If he was considered to be ill when he arrived in South Africa he would be treated in a psychiatric hospital, the Valkenberg in Cape Town. Clare Montgomery QC, for Dewani, called for the extradition to be postponed until her client was “a more stable mental state”. She said: “If he is going to get better he will get better quicker here and then he can be extradited.” The judge will decide on 10 August if Dewani should be extradited. Dewani murder case South Africa Extradition Steven Morris guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Shrien Dewani’s in-laws say 31-year-old will get a fair trial in South Africa, where he is accused of arranging wife’s murder The family of Anni Dewani, who was murdered on her honeymoon in South Africa, told how they wanted “closure” as extradition proceedings against her husband, Shrien, drew to a conclusion. Howard Riddle, the district judge at the extradition hearing before Westminster magistrates at Woolwich crown court, south-east London, retired to consider whether Shrien Dewani, 31, should be sent back to South Africa to face trial for allegedly arranging his wife’s death. Dewani’s lawyers deny that he had any involvement in the killing and say he is too ill to be extradited. They say his human rights will be infringed if he is sent back to South Africa because of jail conditions. Outside court at the end of the hearing, Anni’s uncle, Ashok Hindocha, said the family believed Dewani could get a “fair trial” in Cape Town. He said: “We do believe it will be a fair extradition process here in England and a fair trial in South Africa. This should be a matter of justice and only justice. How long it takes, God knows, but the sooner the better for the whole family. The enormous support we have from the British people and South African people gives us energy.” Anni’s father, Vinod Hindocha, 62, who with other family members attended the hearing, said: “We’re really asking the court: ‘Finish this, get us a closure so that we can move along with our lives.’” Anni Dewani, 28, was shot dead in what South African police allege was a fake car-jacking organised by her husband. Shrien Dewani has severe post traumatic stress disorder and is being treated at a psychiatric hospital in Bristol. About 20 members of Anni’s family, from the UK and Sweden, have been in court to watch the extradition hearing. In his final submissions Hugo Keith QC, for the South African authorities, said it was ridiculous to think Dewani would be neglected if extradited. “No one can suggest the South African authorities would receive an evidently ill man and say: ‘We don’t care, let him rot, he won’t get treatment.’ It cannot be said that South Africa, a civilised and in many respects modern country, does not have the ability to sufficiently cope with the illnesses he suffers.” He said it was likely that Dewani would not be judged fit to stand trial now if he were extradited, but that he might be fit to do so in the future. If he was considered to be ill when he arrived in South Africa he would be treated in a psychiatric hospital, the Valkenberg in Cape Town. Clare Montgomery QC, for Dewani, called for the extradition to be postponed until her client was “a more stable mental state”. She said: “If he is going to get better he will get better quicker here and then he can be extradited.” The judge will decide on 10 August if Dewani should be extradited. Dewani murder case South Africa Extradition Steven Morris guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …As lawmakers scramble to hammer out a debt deal, Wall Street firms are working on ways to deal with America defaulting on its debt—and on ways to make a buck out of any upheaval. Treasury bonds function like a currency on Wall Street and default after the August 2…
Continue reading …After six months of testing, the TSA has finally unveiled software to make us look a little less naked to its airport scanners. The software, which works on the millimeter wave machines installed at 41 airports, replaces the blurry image of a passenger’s actual body with a generic gray body…
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