tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56184349482901798142024-02-08T22:36:46.232+03:00SocietyStyleNews, Society, family, children, parents, Conflicts, right, Hospitals, epidemic, disease, operation, charity, help, motorists, protests, Regions, money, work, wage, Education, Schools, Teacher, StudentsdAppErhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00817390034884496337noreply@blogger.comBlogger262125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5618434948290179814.post-5892230754285651982009-07-01T14:54:00.000+04:002009-07-01T14:54:18.116+04:00Briton says "best job in world" no holiday<H2>(WORLD, TOURISM, AUSTRALIAN, SOUTHALL, CAMPAIGN, QUEENSLAND)</H2><br /><img src="http://www.reuters.com/resources/r/?m=02&d=20090701&t=2&i=10703605&r=2009-07-01T093629Z_01_BTRE5600QOY00_RTROPTP_0_AUSTRALIA" alt="Briton says best job in world no holiday" title="Briton says best job in world no holiday" align="left" hspace="10" border="1" width="340" >SYDNEY (Reuters Life!) - It may sound like a paid holiday, but the winner of "best job in the world" said he intends to work hard promoting tourism to an Australian state as he set off for his first day in the office: a tropical island.<SPAN id=midArticle_byline></SPAN><br />Briton Ben Southall flew out on Wednesday to Hamilton Island, in the Great Barrier Reef, to start his six-month caretaker duties, for which he will be paid A$150,000 ($121,000).<br />Southall, 34, was picked from 16 finalists in a highly publicised contest that was part of an innovative marketing campaign by Tourism Queensland which attracted almost 35,000 video entries from some 200 countries.<br />"Everyone`s promoting this as the ultimate six month`s hammock time," Southall told Australian media.<br />"To me and to the rest of Tourism Queensland we know that it`s a job. We know it`s a real position and there is a lot of hard work to come. I`ve got to be an ambassador for Queensland, selling it to the world."<br />Southall`s duties include exploring the islands of the Great Barrier Reef and reporting back to Tourism Queensland and the world via blogs, a photo diary, video updates and interviews.<br />If he wants, he can also clean the pool and feed the fish.<br />Southall, accompanied by his girlfriend, said he was looking forward to living on a "nice piece of paradise," but added he would miss his mother`s cooking.<br />"I probably will miss my mum`s Sunday roasts, but I`m going to be learning new foods on the barbecue, I suppose," he said.<br />The "Best Job in the World" campaign began in January, and within days was one of the most popular items on the Internet, highlighting the marketing potential of social networking sites such as YouTube and Facebook.<br />Tourism Queensland hailed the advertising campaign as an enormous success, calculating the $1.7 million spent had reaped almost $200 million in global publicity.<br />The campaign also set a record at the Cannes International Advertising Festival in June when it took out an unprecedented three Grand Prix awards in recognition of the global media exposure it generated.<br />($1=1.240 Australian dollar)<br />(Writing by Miral Fahmy; Editing by Jerry Norton)<br /><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5601YE20090701" target="_blank">Original article</a>dAppErhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00817390034884496337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5618434948290179814.post-66044548041409455112009-07-01T14:42:00.000+04:002009-07-01T14:42:54.220+04:00Wining and dining still popular in downturn<H2>(MASTERCARD, PERCENT, PEOPLE, PACIFIC, AFRICA, SPENDING)</H2><br /><img src="http://www.reuters.com/resources/r/?m=02&d=20090701&t=2&i=10702117&r=2009-07-01T070916Z_01_BTRE5600JWM00_RTROPTP_0_MEDITERRANEAN-DIET-SPAIN" alt="Wining and dining still popular in downturn" title="Wining and dining still popular in downturn" align="left" hspace="10" border="1" width="340" >By Miral Fahmy<SPAN id=midArticle_byline></SPAN><br />SINGAPORE (Reuters Life!) - The economic downturn appears to go down better with a meal and a glass of wine, with a survey showing consumers outside Europe and the United States do not intend to cut back on dining out and having fun.<br />The poll, conducted by MasterCard and released on Wednesday, said nearly 70 percent of people surveyed in 21 countries in the Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa see dining and entertainment to be their top spending priority in the next six months.<br />Fashion and accessories, fitness and wellness, children`s extra-curricular education and electronic goods rounded up the top-five non-essential, or discretionary, purchasing priorities for the majority of more than 9,200 people surveyed.<br />"Socializing is important in Asia, the Middle East and Africa, and it`s a relatively small expenditure that`s affordable in this global recession," Yuwa Hedrick-Wong, MasterCard`s Asia-Pacific economic adviser, told reporters.<br />"Having dinner and drinks is not buying a car."<br />According to the MasterCard Worldwide Index of Consumer Purchasing Priorities, just over half the consumers said they would continue to spend on non-essential items over the next six months.<br />But nearly two-thirds said they would cut back on buying extras, with an overall 72 percent planning to increase their precautionary savings, or money set aside for lean times.<br />China, whose economy has not been as badly hit by the downturn as other nations, had the highest number of people still willing to spend at the same levels, followed by the oil-rich Gulf Arab countries of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.<br />Overall, a minority -- or under 10 percent in Asia Pacific and less than 12 percent in the Middle East and Africa -- were splurging more during these tough times.<br />"People are still spending on small and big-ticket items, but they`re spending less, and are attracted by bargains," Hedrick-Wong said. "Belt-tightening is the order of the day."<br />The survey was conducted in March and April in Australia, China, Egypt, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, South Africa, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and Vietnam.<br /><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5601BI20090701" target="_blank">Original article</a>dAppErhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00817390034884496337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5618434948290179814.post-39223904868958581212009-07-01T14:31:00.000+04:002009-07-01T14:31:26.948+04:00Life in North Korea: lies, potatoes and cable TV<H2>(NORTH, THEIR, PEOPLE, STATE, REFUGEES, GENERAL)</H2><br /><img src="http://www.reuters.com/resources/r/?m=02&d=20090701&t=2&i=10703544&r=2009-07-01T092852Z_01_BTRE5600QCI00_RTROPTP_0_KOREA-NORTH" alt="Life in North Korea: lies, potatoes and cable TV" title="Life in North Korea: lies, potatoes and cable TV" align="left" hspace="10" border="1" width="340" >By Jack Kim<SPAN id=midArticle_byline></SPAN><br />SEOUL (Reuters) - North Koreans who recently arrived in the South live in a world of contradictions where their upbringing instills them with reverence for Kim Jong-il but their daily struggle leads them to believe he is a brutal despot.<br />By all accounts, they say North Korea is gradually spiralling out of control, its economy dysfunctional while people are suspicious of one another because of a network of informants.<br />They also speak of a sense of normalcy in the North. Most left for the chance of a better life in the South but they are uncertain if they can find their way in the competitive capitalist state.<br />The following is a snapshot of life in North Korea, compiled from accounts given by refugees who recently arrived in the South. Their identities are not disclosed because they fear persecution for family and relatives back home.<br />"SAD TO SEE THE DEAR GENERAL SO FEEBLE"<br />It is a political crime to talk about the family of leader Kim Jong-il but many recently arrived refugees said the average North Korean is probably aware of foreign media reports that Kim`s youngest son Jong-un may likely take over. Most North Koreans have no idea that Kim, 67 and thought to have suffered a stroke a year ago, has three sons.<br />"In Pyongyang, you take it for granted that leadership will be inherited," one refugee Park said, adding she knew Kim Jong-il had two daughters and a son and his name was Jong-nam. That is the portly and oldest of Kim`s three known sons, believed to have fallen from his father`s favor years ago after being arrested for trying to enter Japan on a forged passport.<br />"I don`t want to say Kim Jong-il is bad," another refugee Choi said. "It`s the people who report to him who are not doing their job right. They make false reports." Choi said she knew from experience that crop production is something that gets most often falsified "so as not to make the General worry."<br />Most refugees still call Kim Jong-il the "General" as has been taught to them by state propaganda and have bought into, at least partially, his carefully crafted cult of personality.<br />Park said she knows Kim often stays up at night worried about the lives of the people. "It is true that he has sacrificed so much for the people," she said. "The general has aged a lot," she said of her impression of seeing recent pictures of Kim looking frail and perhaps debilitated by the stroke.<br />"SOLDIERS FOR FIGHTING? NOT HERE"<br />North Korea is the world`s most militarized state compared to its population with a standing army of more than 1.1 million. Service is mandatory and can be as long as 10 years. The might of the army is "invincible," according to state media but the refugees are rather cynical about the ill equipped force.<br />"When I look at them, the army that I`ve seen will be busy running away from a war," another refugee Kim said. "Maybe they have the real army for war kept away at some other place."<br />Low morale and corruption in the military are so widespread that it is the norm rather than the exception for soldiers to be extorting bribes from merchants crossing the Chinese border.<br />"We say something is wrong with you if you did not save enough in 10 years of service at the border to go home, get married and start a family," Kim said. <SPAN class=label><STRONG>Continued...</STRONG></SPAN><br /><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5601XL20090701" target="_blank">Original article</a>dAppErhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00817390034884496337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5618434948290179814.post-34257890736138326292009-07-01T14:20:00.000+04:002009-07-01T14:20:02.252+04:00Book Talk: Author Adichie doesn`t mind her own business<H2>(ADICHIE, NOVEL, FICTION, STORIES, ABOUT, STORY)</H2><br />By Pauline Askin<SPAN id=midArticle_byline></SPAN><br />SYDNEY (Reuters) - Award-winning author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a professional eavesdropper: she admits a lot of what she writes is based on what she`s overheard.<br />Adichie, whose second novel "Half of a Yellow Sun" won her the Orange Prize for fiction in 2007, says that while most of her characters are inspired by the stories her family tell, she`s also heard some incredible tales at cafes in the United States or while shopping at markets back home.<br />She recently released a collection of short stories, "The Thing Around Your Neck," that tell even more tales -- deceptively simple stories set in Nigeria and abroad that explore complex themes such as loneliness, cultural alienation and relationships.<br />Born in Nigeria in 1977, Adichie grew up in the university town of Nsukka. She moved to the United States to attend college, graduating with a major in communication and also holds masters degrees in creative writing and African studies.<br />Adichie`s first novel, 2003`s "Purple Hibiscus," earned her rave reviews, the Best First Book award in the Commonwealth Writers` Prize and comparisons with renowned Nigerian author Chinua Achebe, author of the widely read "Things Fall Apart."<br />Adichie, who was in Sydney recently to attend a writers` festival, spoke to Reuters about the art of telling stories:<br />Q: You are praised for your story-telling abilities. How different is a story-teller from an author?<br />A: "I don`t know really. I think of myself as a story teller. I think there are writers that are less interested in stories in the conventional sense and more interested in using words to create atmosphere or mood."<br />Q: So what inspired the stories in your book?<br />A: "I love eavesdropping! For me fiction is using stories I have heard or read or seen, so I`m very much an eavesdropper. I never mind my business and I ask people personal questions and I use it in my fiction, but I make changes to it. So a lot of my fiction starts from that, from real stories. Not necessarily about myself, I don`t like writing about myself."<br />Q: What do you find attractive about the short story format compared to the novels you`ve written?<br />A: "I like both forms really. Sometimes there`s a sense when people talk about short stories as somehow they are the less accomplished sibling of the novel. I think both are complete forms and both difficult to write."<br />Q: What does the title of your book signify?<br />A: "`The Thing Around Your Neck` is the title of one of the stories in the book. It`s about immigration, about the alienation one feels when one leaves home and goes to a different place. In some ways most of the stories are about that, so it seemed right to make sense to call it that."<br />Q: What other themes run through your book? <SPAN class=label><STRONG>Continued...</STRONG></SPAN><br /><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5600UP20090701" target="_blank">Original article</a>dAppErhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00817390034884496337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5618434948290179814.post-63313811769727284572009-07-01T09:26:00.000+04:002009-07-01T09:26:09.232+04:00Cheap is the new cool but will America stay thrifty?<H2>(YEAGER, THEIR, CONSUMER, SPENDING, SAVING, MONEY)</H2><br /><img src="http://www.reuters.com/resources/r/?m=02&d=20090701&t=2&i=10699562&r=2009-07-01T011725Z_01_BTRE56003L800_RTROPTP_0_FINANCIAL-USA-CHEAPSKATES" alt="Cheap is the new cool but will America stay thrifty?" title="Cheap is the new cool but will America stay thrifty?" align="left" hspace="10" border="1" width="340" >By Claudia Parsons<SPAN id=midArticle_byline></SPAN><br />NEW YORK (Reuters) - When Jeff Yeager`s book "The Ultimate Cheapskate" came out 18 months ago, he felt like a voice crying in the wilderness telling people to ditch their cell phones, hoard their pennies and pay off the mortgage.<br />Now the Internet abounds with self-proclaimed penny-pinchers offering tips on living frugally as the recession bites into America`s shop-`til-you-drop lifestyle.<br />The rise of thrift may be bad news for a U.S. economy where in 2006 consumer spending accounted for 70 percent of gross domestic product.<br />"Cheap is the new cool," said Yeager, who also has a blog called "The Ultimate Cheapskate" offering advice on enjoying life more by spending less. An Internet search for "cheapskate" finds a string of similar blogs.<br />"When the book came out, it and I were viewed as quaint little novelties, but now it`s being taken much more seriously," Yeager said.<br />When he advised people to focus on paying off their mortgage as soon as possible and stay in their first home forever, Yeager said his publisher warned him to tone down his "radical" ideas.<br />Now the subprime mortgage crisis has shown the fallacy of acting as if house prices always go up and people are saving like rarely before. Official data last week showed that U.S. savings jumped to a record annual rate of $768.8 billion, the highest level since records began in 1959, and the saving rate climbed to a 15-year high of 6.9 percent of income.<br />Yeager said it was discouraging that hopes of an economic recovery are pinned on consumer spending rather than manufacturing and production.<br />"Some of the lessons we should be taking away from this -- like we can`t live on borrowed money, we can`t live beyond our means -- part of the solution being put forward for getting out of this mess goes back to that," Yeager said.<br />It is a paradox that Lauren Weber, a journalist and author of the forthcoming book "In Cheap We Trust," a history of thrift in America, said is part of the national character.<br />Thrift, hard work and simple living were deeply embedded in America`s early values, embraced by the Puritans and founding father Benjamin Franklin whose aphorism "a penny saved is a penny earned" is often invoked today.<br />"We`re very confused," Weber said. "We`re told that saving money is good for the soul, it`s virtuous to save money. On the other hand, we`re told it`s basically unpatriotic, it`s like burning the flag, to cut up your credit cards."<br />Credit card debt soared 25 percent in the past decade as consumers were flooded with offers of easy money, pushing spending up at rates that far exceeded wage growth.<br />In the last decade, American households piled on $8 trillion in debt, an increase of 137 percent, taking total consumer debt to around $14 trillion by late 2008, including home mortgages, credit and store cards and auto loans.<br />With the collapse of home prices and stock investments, consumers are changing their ways, at least for now. <SPAN class=label><STRONG>Continued...</STRONG></SPAN><br /><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE56000C20090701" target="_blank">Original article</a>dAppErhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00817390034884496337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5618434948290179814.post-7769665721935888912009-07-01T03:06:00.000+04:002009-07-01T03:06:14.507+04:00New book spotlights black America in Obama era<H2>(BLACK, PRESIDENT, AMERICAN, THEIR, SUCCESS, SIEGEL)</H2><br /><img src="http://www.reuters.com/resources/r/?m=02&d=20090630&t=2&i=10698104&r=2009-06-30T220911Z_01_BTRE55T1PJH00_RTROPTP_0_OBAMA" alt="New book spotlights black America in Obama era" title="New book spotlights black America in Obama era" align="left" hspace="10" border="1" width="340" >By Matthew Bigg<SPAN id=midArticle_byline></SPAN><br />ATLANTA (Reuters Life!) - A new book attempts to dig beneath the euphoria that swept black America when Barack Obama became president to ask the question: what, if anything, actually changed?<br />"Family Affair: What it Means to be African American Today" is a collection of short, autobiographical essays in which 76 black professionals detail how their families played a role in their success, either as springboards, or barriers to be overcome.<br />It`s one of a slew of books published since the November election in which authors examine the changes in U.S. society that allowed Obama, the first African American president, to run successfully.<br />In essay after essay in "Family Affair", the short answer to the `what changed?` question comes through: everything and nothing.<br />Many of the contributors argue that Obama`s election -- and their own success -- reflect changes brought about by the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s.<br />A number credit self-belief in their success, while some also cite their reliance on the classic American virtues of hard work and self-reliance.<br />"The idea was to provide a platform for African Americans to discuss their issues on their own terms. The black community is often at times framed through someone else`s lens," said editor Gil Robertson.<br />"It was high time that we take control of how that identity is and how it is seen," he said in an interview.<br />"MORE OPEN CLIMATE" TO DISCUSS RACE<br />The book`s contributors include actors, singers, models and business leaders, but surrounding them is the sense that they have emerged from a community that struggles.<br />Black Americans, who represent around 13 percent of the U.S. population, lag national averages in terms of income, life expectancy, infant mortality, education and health.<br />Max Siegel, who grew up in an abusive and unstable household and is now an influential sports executive, attributes his success to high self-esteem promoted by some of those who brought him up, despite the challenges.<br />"They constantly reassured us that we were special and good and that we should be comfortable with that," said Siegel, who is now president of global operations at Dale Earnhardt, the top motor sports franchise in the NASCAR (North American Stock Car Auto Racing).<br />Siegel argued that the increasing openness to dialogue about misunderstandings between racial groups was one benefit of last year`s election that would have a lasting impact.<br />"As a society, even though we have a long way to go, the climate is such that we can talk about some of these issues more openly," he said in an interview. <SPAN class=label><STRONG>Continued...</STRONG></SPAN><br /><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE55T7FU20090630" target="_blank">Original article</a>dAppErhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00817390034884496337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5618434948290179814.post-35744097323319354452009-06-30T22:28:00.000+04:002009-06-30T22:28:53.887+04:00First $1 million find for U.S. Antiques Roadshow<H2>(MILLION, APPRAISAL, ANTIQUES, ROADSHOW, RECORD, STATEMENT)</H2><br /><img src="http://www.reuters.com/resources/r/?m=02&d=20090630&t=2&i=10691885&r=2009-06-30T143232Z_01_BTRE55S1OWD00_RTROPTP_0_ARTS-TAIWAN-CHINA" alt="First $1 million find for U.S. Antiques Roadshow" title="First $1 million find for U.S. Antiques Roadshow" align="left" hspace="10" border="1" width="340" >By Claudia Parsons<SPAN id=midArticle_byline></SPAN><br />NEW YORK (Reuters) - A woman who inherited some Chinese carved jade from her father has scored the first $1 million appraisal from experts on the U.S. television program "Antiques Roadshow," the producers said on Monday.<br />In a record for the show, four pieces of Chinese carved jade and celadon from the Chien Lung Dynasty (1736-1795), including a large bowl crafted for the Emperor, were given a conservative auction estimate of up to $1.07 million.<br />"For 13 years, we`ve been hoping to feature a million-dollar appraisal on `Antiques Roadshow;` it`s been our `Great White Whale,`" executive producer Marsha Bemko said.<br />"We`re thrilled that, despite this year`s slow economy, `Roadshow` finally captured this elusive trophy," she said in a statement released by Boston-based production company WGBH, which licensed the format from the British show of the same name produced by the BBC.<br />On both shows, members of the public bring in items to be appraised by professionals in the hope of discovering that junk from the attic is actually a valuable treasure.<br />A spokeswoman said the appraisal was a record for the U.S. show, which is not affiliated with the BBC original. According to British media, the BBC`s version had its first million pound appraisal ($1.655 million) last November -- a scale model of Anthony Gormley`s artwork, "The Angel of the North."<br />The statement said the owner of the jade inherited the collection from her father, who bought the objects in the 1930s and 1940s, while stationed in China as a military liaison.<br />She brought them to an "Antiques Roadshow" event in Raleigh, North Carolina on Saturday.<br />Asian arts appraiser James Callahan said the fine quality of the pieces indicated they were not made for tourists.<br />"He was rewarded by finding a mark on the bottom of the jade bowl that translates as `by Imperial order,`" the statement said.<br />The previous highest appraisal on the show was a 1937 painting by American Abstract Expressionist artist Clyfford Still, found in Palm Springs, California, in 2008. The painting had been given a retail estimate of $500,000.<br />The appraisal of the jade items will be shown in the next series of "Antiques Roadshow" starting January 4 on PBS, the producers said.<br /><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE55S6OA20090630" target="_blank">Original article</a>dAppErhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00817390034884496337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5618434948290179814.post-3571433622942889032009-06-30T22:16:00.000+04:002009-06-30T22:16:36.147+04:00Rockers go green at Denmark`s Roskilde festival<H2>(ROSKILDE, FESTIVAL, CAMPSITE, CLIMATE, COMMUNITY, GREEN)</H2><br />By Henriette Jacobsen<SPAN id=midArticle_byline></SPAN><br />ROSKILDE (Reuters Life!) - Music and partying are the main ingredients to a good rock festival, but Denmark`s Roskilde Festival also aims to encourage guests to save the planet.<br />One of Europe`s largest rock music extravaganzas has created an environmentally friendly campsite for this year`s event which starts on Thursday and comes six months before the United Nations` climate conference in the Danish capital Copenhagen.<br />"We have created this Climate Community because we want our visitors to take a stand on climate changes and especially the consequences of the changes in the third world countries," spokesman Esben Danielsen told Reuters.<br />Campers are encouraged to recycle their garbage, and to hop on wired exercise bikes to generate electricity to recharge their mobile phones or iPods.<br />Only low-energy LED lighting and recycled materials are being used at the campsite.<br />To join Climate Community guests need to create profiles on a festival website and prove they have taken "green footsteps," such as throwing a green Roskilde pre-party, making a green dinner, riding a bike or public transport to the festival.<br />Visitors who have got three footsteps out of 10 choices will get special bracelets entitling them to reserve a spot at the campsite and take part in activities at the camp.<br />The activities include CO2 limbo dancing, where the bar is low for low-carbon nations and high for the industrial West, and a silent disco where dancing makes the dance floor light up.<br />Spokespeople from various non-governmental organizations and climate scientists will give lectures on climate change.<br />"It`s important to combine fun and serious elements," the festival`s spokesman said.<br />To be a climate role model the festival has bought its own wind turbine, bought carbon dioxide emissions quotas and made a deal with an energy company to get most of its electricity from wind turbines.<br />The organizers hope that 65,000 people will visit the festival this year and that more than a thousand of them will stay at the Climate Community camp.<br />(Editing by Paul Casciato)<br /><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE55T4I120090630" target="_blank">Original article</a>dAppErhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00817390034884496337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5618434948290179814.post-85664790609209584332009-06-30T21:40:00.000+04:002009-06-30T21:40:07.917+04:00Koons, with eye for pop, brings Popeye show to UK<H2>(KOONS, SERIES, POPEYE, SYMBOL, INFLATABLE, THROUGH)</H2><br /><img src="http://www.reuters.com/resources/r/?m=02&d=20090630&t=2&i=10692889&r=2009-06-30T152604Z_01_BTRE55T16VO00_RTROPTP_0_ARTS-KOONS" alt="Koons, with eye for pop, brings Popeye show to UK" title="Koons, with eye for pop, brings Popeye show to UK" align="left" hspace="10" border="1" width="340" >By Mike Collett-White<SPAN id=midArticle_byline></SPAN><br />LONDON (Reuters Life!) - Artist Jeff Koons has presented a series of Popeye paintings in London, saying the cartoon hero born of the 1929 Depression was a symbol of self confidence, before adding enigmatically: "May be art is the spinach."<br />The 54-year-old American, one of the world`s most successful artists dubbed the "king of kitsch" for his shiny, balloon-like creations and references to pop culture, is marking the first major survey of his work to be held in a public English gallery.<br />"Jeff Koons: Popeye Series" opens at the Serpentine Gallery in London on July 2 and runs until September 13.<br />As well as the Popeye canvases, it features a series of Koons`s trademark casts of inflatable toys in the shape of lobsters, walruses, turtles and monkeys.<br />Some of them appear to be pushing through wire fencing or garden chairs in what some critics see as a symbol of people determined to get through the recession.<br />"I always see a little bit of my father in Popeye," Koons told reporters at a preview of the show.<br />"But something that`s not so personal is that it`s `I yam what I yam`, and it`s this self-acceptance.<br />"And for art to function ... you first have to trust in yourself and when you trust in yourself you can follow your interests and follow them on a profound level."<br />Speaking of his fascination for inflatable animals, which he reproduces in minute detail using aluminum and paint, he added:<br />"In our own life we`re inflatables. We take a breath as a symbol of optimism, we exhale and it`s a symbol of death. We`re in a permanent state of being optimistic."<br />"FEEL-GOOD ART"<br />Koons said he wanted his art to make the viewer feel good about life.<br />"Art`s this vehicle that connects you with human history and that`s what these works are about. I want the viewer to come into contact with the work and to feel that everything about their life to that moment is perfect, absolutely perfect."<br />Another recurring theme in the show is the inflatable lobster, a reference to surrealist Salvador Dali`s use of the animal in his art as well as his elongated mustache.<br />In the 2003 canvas "Elvis," the creature is painted over two images of a semi-naked woman staring voluptuously at the viewer, a sexual reference that also runs through Koons` art. <SPAN class=label><STRONG>Continued...</STRONG></SPAN><br /><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE55T4LU20090630" target="_blank">Original article</a>dAppErhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00817390034884496337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5618434948290179814.post-49298605949009236202009-06-30T21:15:00.000+04:002009-06-30T21:15:46.844+04:00Jewish museum to be built on site of Warsaw Ghetto<H2>(WARSAW, POLES, MUSEUM, POLAND, JEWISH, TRUTH)</H2><br /><img src="http://www.reuters.com/resources/r/?m=02&d=20090630&t=2&i=10692582&r=2009-06-30T150940Z_01_BTRE55T164E00_RTROPTP_0_POLAND" alt="Jewish museum to be built on site of Warsaw Ghetto" title="Jewish museum to be built on site of Warsaw Ghetto" align="left" hspace="10" border="1" width="340" >By Gareth Jones<SPAN id=midArticle_byline></SPAN><br />WARSAW (Reuters Life!) - With psalms, poems and popular Yiddish songs, Poles and Jews celebrated on Tuesday the start of construction of a new museum that will chronicle Poland`s rich and colorful Jewish heritage.<br />The Museum of the History of Polish Jews, set for completion in 2011, is being built on the site of the Warsaw Ghetto, razed by the Nazis in 1943 after an abortive Jewish uprising.<br />"This is going to be a living museum located in a place scarred by death," Warsaw`s mayor, Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz, said at a ground-breaking ceremony also attended by Poland`s culture minister, foreign ambassadors and U.S. Jewish groups.<br />For centuries, Poland was home to one of the world`s largest Jewish communities, providing a climate of relative tolerance for Jews fleeing persecution elsewhere in Europe.<br />Most of Poland`s 3.5 million Jews were murdered by the Nazis during World War Two.<br />Organizers say the five-storey, multi-media museum, which will include a library, a cinema, a concert hall and cafes, is intended to document a millennium of Jewish life in Poland. Only a relatively small section will cover the time of the Holocaust.<br />"There are already a number of museums devoted to the Holocaust. But this museum is going to show the civilization and culture that the Holocaust destroyed," said Marcin Swiecicki, chairman of the Polish committee supporting the museum.<br />"This museum aims to show the importance of pluralism as well as allowing visitors to see how their ancestors lived."<br />The museum will tap into a revival of interest among Poles in their Jewish heritage, providing "virtual journeys" through time that will explore how Jews, Poles and other ethnic and religious groups lived together and interacted.<br />SEEKING TRUTH<br />Organizers said the museum would also encourage discussion and debate and not lay down a single view of the past.<br />"This museum will show the truth about how Jewish life flourished here, the truth also about how there were problems here," Michael Schudrich, chief rabbi of Poland, told Reuters, adding that he would welcome lively debate.<br />"The point about dialogue is understanding what causes pain to the other side. As long as we remember that, there is a chance we can get closer to the truth... A nation that does not have truth can`t really know its past or build for its future,"<br />After the ground-breaking ceremony, cantors -- singers of liturgical chants at Jewish religious services -- gave a performance next to the monument to the victims of the Warsaw Ghetto.<br />Here, in 1970, West German Chancellor Willy Brandt famously kneeled during a visit to then-communist Poland in an act of silent repentance and apology for the atrocities committed by his countrymen against Jews and Poles. <SPAN class=label><STRONG>Continued...</STRONG></SPAN><br /><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE55T4EB20090630" target="_blank">Original article</a>dAppErhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00817390034884496337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5618434948290179814.post-49136688063592505932009-06-30T21:03:00.000+04:002009-06-30T21:03:38.036+04:00EU health chief proposes stricter laws on smoking<H2>(SMOKING, PUBLIC, WORKPLACES, TOBACCO, SMOKE, VASSILIOU)</H2><br /><img src="http://www.reuters.com/resources/r/?m=02&d=20090630&t=2&i=10691771&r=2009-06-30T142726Z_01_BTRE55T13Z100_RTROPTP_0_EU-HEALTH" alt="EU health chief proposes stricter laws on smoking" title="EU health chief proposes stricter laws on smoking" align="left" hspace="10" border="1" width="340" >BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union`s health chief proposed on Tuesday that uniform laws be drafted for all 27 countries in the bloc to regulate smoking more strictly in public areas and workplaces.<SPAN id=midArticle_byline></SPAN><br />Many EU countries have laws limiting exposure to second-hand, or passive, smoking. The rules are strictest in Britain and Ireland, where smoking is banned in enclosed public places, public transport and workplaces, including restaurants and bars.<br />"Each and every European should be entitled to full protection from tobacco smoke," EU Health Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou told a news conference.<br />The recommendation calls on all member states to implement laws that will limit exposure to tobacco smoke in public places, workplaces and public transport, and aims to protect children.<br />"We have come a long way from the days when smoking was considered glamorous," Vassiliou said.<br />She said in countries with looser regulations on smoking, nearly one in five people were exposed to tobacco smoke in the workplace.<br />Second-hand, or passive, smoke has been linked to heart disease and lung cancer. According to estimates given by Vassiliou, 19,000 non-smokers in the EU died due to second-hand smoke at home and in workplaces in 2002.<br />Member states decide the level of their smoking restrictions. In Belgium, for example, smoking is allowed in restaurants in separate rooms where no food is served, and smoking is banned in all enclosed workplaces.<br />Greece, Europe`s heaviest smoking nation, is to introduce a ban on tobacco in indoor public places from Wednesday. The country breaks all European records, with more than 40 percent of the population smoking and six out of 10 being exposed to smoking at work, according to an EU poll.<br />Only 10 member states have comprehensive laws, Vassiliou said.<br />A poll last year by EU survey group Eurobarometer said 84 percent of respondents supported smoke-free offices and other indoor workplaces, 77 percent were in favor of smoke-free restaurants, and 61 percent supported smoke-free bars and pubs.<br />(Reporting by Caroline Linton, editing by Mark Trevelyan)<br /><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE55T3WM20090630" target="_blank">Original article</a>dAppErhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00817390034884496337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5618434948290179814.post-29438907354826270052009-06-30T20:52:00.000+04:002009-06-30T20:52:13.782+04:00Faulty British coins a cash bonanza for finders<H2>(POUNDS, BRITISH, PENCE, WHICH, BATCH, CIRCULATION)</H2><br />LONDON (Reuters Life!) - A specialist coin dealing firm has offered to pay 50 pounds ($82.93) to finders of faulty British 20 pence coins, sending people scrambling.<SPAN id=midArticle_byline></SPAN><br />However, other coin dealers have advised people who find one of the approximately 50,000 undated coins to hold on, because they may be worth as much as 300 pounds in the next decade.<br />Specialist coin company the London Mint Office made its offer for 20 pence pieces which had been cast with a new design that resulted in a batch of coins with no date on them.<br />The letters "F.D." have been printed where the date "2008" should have been.<br />A coin with mismatched sides is known as a "mule" and they are extremely rare. The last time one appeared in circulation was during the reign of Charles II more than 300 years ago.<br />The 20 pence coins first appeared at the end of 2008, after a batch which included between 50,000 and 200,000 of the faulty 20 pence coins entered circulation.<br />The last time a mistake was made on the casting of a coin was in 1983, when a batch of 2 pence coins went into circulation with the words "New Pence" rather than "Two Pence" on the reverse side. These coins fetched up to 650 pounds in top condition.<br />The Royal Mint, which produces Britain`s coin, has stated that the coins are legal tender, but has not made any further comment on their current or potential value.<br />Modern-day British currency includes coins for one pence, two pence, five pence, 10 pence, 20 pence, 50 pence, one pound and two pounds. 100 pence make up 1 British pound.<br />(Reporting by Nat Arkwright; Editing by Stefano Ambrogi and Paul Casciato)<br /><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE55T3NT20090630" target="_blank">Original article</a>dAppErhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00817390034884496337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5618434948290179814.post-77993825309920956672009-06-30T20:40:00.000+04:002009-06-30T20:40:53.228+04:00French restaurants prepare for VAT cut<H2>(RESTAURANTS, PRICES, LOWER, PARTNERS, WHICH, WOULD)</H2><br />By James Mackenzie<SPAN id=midArticle_byline></SPAN><br />PARIS (Reuters) - French restaurants prepared to cut prices on meals and soft drinks ahead of a new lower sales tax rate that comes into effect on Wednesday after years of lobbying European partners by successive governments.<br />Value added tax on restaurants and cafes will fall to 5.5 percent from July 1 from 19.6 percent previously after a deal hammered out with European Union partners in March following a 7 year-long campaign by Paris.<br />As part of the deal, restaurant trade bodies signed up to a so-called "contract for the future" under which they agreed to step up hiring and create 40,000 new jobs over the next two years including 20,000 apprentice positions.<br />They also pledged to cut prices of many items from a cup of coffee to entrees, "plats du jours" (daily specials), desserts and soft drinks, by 11.8 percent.<br />"This contract is based on confidence and the responsibility that restaurants are assuming in price, employment and the quality of service," Economy Minister Christine Lagarde told reporters on Tuesday.<br />The lower VAT rate comes as a welcome boost to the restaurant sector, which has complained of falling sales and the impact of a ban on smoking that came into effect at the beginning of last year.<br />"We`ve already seen a strong rise in sales," said Barbara Cohen, owner of "La Grange aux Dimes," a restaurant in Wissous, south of Paris where she cut prices earlier this month ahead of the official start of the new rates.<br />"We`ve been seeing clients who would come four or five times a month now coming seven times a month. It`s really impressive."<br />LONG BATTLE<br />France`s rich culinary tradition has made the issue of restaurant VAT particularly symbolic but the sector is also one of the country`s big employers.<br />According to government figures, France has a total of some 180,000 restaurants and cafes of all types and more than 80,000 canteens and employs some 680,000 people.<br />"This is a unique opportunity for the sector to play its part as an industrial jobs motor," said Dominique Giraudier, head of Groupe Flo, one of France`s biggest restaurant operators, which employs more than 5,200 people.<br />Lagarde said government inspectors would be monitoring price announcements to ensure that restaurants which advertised reduced prices really offered them but she said people would naturally avoid restaurants that did not pass on lower costs.<br />"The customer will be the best judge," she said. "The state will be vigilant but customers will be the ones that make the difference."<br />Former French President Jacques Chirac pushed hard for the cut but was blocked by EU partners including Germany, which feared it would lose out in cross-border trade to French restaurants and was reluctant to match the proposed cuts because of budget ramifications. <SPAN class=label><STRONG>Continued...</STRONG></SPAN><br /><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE55T3S720090630" target="_blank">Original article</a>dAppErhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00817390034884496337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5618434948290179814.post-37884376994648661382009-06-30T17:08:00.000+04:002009-06-30T17:08:24.495+04:00Anxious Japan new hires opt for overtime over dates<H2>(OVERTIME, SURVEY, SHOWED, ABOUT, PERCENT, EMPLOYEES)</H2><br />TOKYO (Reuters Life!) - Most newly hired Japanese would opt for overtime rather than a date, a survey showed, reflecting growing anxiety about employment in the country`s recession-hit economy.<SPAN id=midArticle_byline></SPAN><br />Japan`s jobless rate rose to 5.2 percent, the highest since September 2003, data released on Tuesday showed, while the jobs-to-applicants ratio slid to 0.44, meaning only about four jobs were available for every nine applicants. That ratio was the lowest since the data started in 1963.<br />A survey by the Japan Productivity Center, a private think tank, showed that more than 80 per cent of newly recruited employees would choose overtime over a date.<br />"The financial and economic recession and fears of corporate restructuring and bankruptcy are motivating new employees to prioritize work over private life," Tetsu Takano, an official at the think tank told Reuters.<br />The trend was more pronounced among women, of whom 88 percent favored overtime over romance, compared to 78 percent for men.<br />Eighty-four per cent of respondents agreed with the statement "the era of lifetime employment is over. I cannot depend on my company," and 46 percent expressed worry about future lay-offs.<br />The survey covered about 3,200 new recruits, of which 40 percent work for large corporations with more than 5,000 employees.<br />(Reporting by Yumi Otagaki, editing by Miral Fahmy)<br /><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE55T1X520090630" target="_blank">Original article</a><br /><br />Related articles:<br /><A href="http://ensocietystyle.blogspot.com/2009/06/downturn-creates-more-working-mothers.html">Downturn creates more working mothers in Asia</A>dAppErhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00817390034884496337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5618434948290179814.post-18779191861659618582009-06-30T16:56:00.000+04:002009-06-30T16:56:50.227+04:00Bendy cucumbers, strange leeks return to EU shops<H2>(SHAPE, THOSE, FRUIT, VEGETABLES, RULES, STANDARDS)</H2><br />By Jeremy Smith<SPAN id=midArticle_byline></SPAN><br />BRUSSELS (Reuters Life!) - Bendy cucumbers, strangely shaped turnips and carrots. The stuff of EU myth and legend returns to real shops this week. All those wonky fruit and curiously sized vegetables will be back on supermarket shelves from July 1 after the European Union scrapped longstanding rules that control minimum size and shape standards for household fruit and vegetables.<br />EU marketing standards are standard fodder for one of the most popular jibes about EU over-regulation, where desk-bound European Commission bureaucrats are portrayed as zealous to set permitted sizes, lengths and "bendiness" for farm produce.<br />Now, the Commission has sliced through the red tape to get rid of what it calls "unnecessary marketing standards."<br />"July 1st marks the return to our shelves of the curved cucumber and the knobbly carrot," EU Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel said.<br />"More seriously, this is a concrete example of our drive to cut unnecessary red tape. We don`t need to regulate this sort of thing at EU level ... It makes no sense to throw perfectly good products away just because they are the `wrong` size and shape."<br />EU rules defining minimum shapes and sizes will be repealed for 26 fruits and vegetables -- including apricots, aubergines, cherries, garlic, leeks, peas, spinach and watermelons.<br />Ten standards will remain, including those for apples, citrus fruit, kiwi, peaches, pears, table grapes and tomatoes. Those 10 account for three-quarters of the value of EU cross-border fruit and vegetable trade. But even for these 10 categories, countries will be able to allow shops -- for the first time -- to sell products that do not meet the EU standards, provided they are labeled to set them apart from `extra`, `class I` and `class II` fruit.<br />"In other words, the new rules will allow national authorities to permit the sale of all fruit and vegetables, regardless of their size and shape," the Commission said.<br />(Editing by Paul Casciato)<br /><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE55T2OB20090630" target="_blank">Original article</a>dAppErhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00817390034884496337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5618434948290179814.post-17879435986721470412009-06-30T16:45:00.000+04:002009-06-30T16:45:31.035+04:00Corsican wines fight their corner for survival<H2>(CORSICAN, ISLAND, PRODUCTION, HECTOLITERS, PERCENT, THERE)</H2><br />By Marcel Michelson<SPAN id=midArticle_byline></SPAN><br />BORDEAUX (Reuters Life!) - Corsican wine growers are seeking recognition beyond their faithful band of followers as European Union uprooting plans and high transport costs in crisis times threaten to sound a death knell for the sector.<br />Corsica is the third wine producing island in the Mediterranean, behind Sicily and Sardinia of Italy and its production of some 350,000 hectoliters (9 million U.S. gallons) of wines make up just a few percentages of the total French production. But the sector is the biggest export activity in value and volume of the island and, together with the tourism sector, one of the pillars of an insular economy.<br />According to Bernard Sonnet, the director of the Corsican winemakers organization CIV Corse, demand for Corsican wines tops at least 500,000 hectoliters a year, but prices are relatively low -- most are below 10 euros ($14) a bottle, many below 5 euros.<br />That is partly the fault of the Corsicans themselves.<br />In the 1960s, Algerian independence saw many Corsicans flock back to the island, where a race to production ensued and the island made some two million hectoliters of wines a year. Not all of it was of good quality.<br />More recently, however, there has been a lot of attention to quality and there are now nine AOC wines (appelation d`origine controllee) that have to adhere to quality guidelines.<br />The production of the year 2007-2008, at 340,340 hectoliters, was for one third in AOC and two thirds in vins de pays and vins de cepages.<br />"There is too much wine in Europe and France and the decision by the European Union to impose uprooting campaigns has reduced our production," Sonnet said, adding that another 10 percent of the wine growing area was set to be cleared.<br />And there lies a danger -- the average production of the past five years was 370,000 hectoliters which comes down to 54 hectoliters per 1 hectare (2.5 acres) of vines and that, according to CIV Corse, is the absolute critical economic floor below they should not descend.<br />"My biggest challenge is to make the wines of Corsica known," said CIV Corse president Jean-Marc Venturi told Reuters at Vinexpo -- the big wine and spirits industry fair held every two years in Bordeaux.<br />The Corsicans were out in force at the fair with a big tented restaurant where star Corsican chefs prepared meals and guests could taste the many different Corsican wines.<br />The people from the island claim they have been making wines for at least 20 centuries, with a specific climate of high and snowy peaks and a record sunny hours for France, at 2,885 hours per year.<br />There are 950 wine growers, often still family-owned operations as specific tax exemptions given by Napoleon to his birth island mean that the land owners do not pay death tax. Some 1,500 people work in the sector that has annual sales of 120 million euros.<br />The Corsicans drink about half of their wine themselves, at 44 percent, another 28 percent goes to the rest of France and there remains 28 percent for export to countries such as Germany, Belgium and the United Kingdom.<br />Of the AOC wines, 56 percent is rose and the rose wines are experiencing a bit of a trend at the moment. The reds make up 33 percent and the whites 11 percent. <SPAN class=label><STRONG>Continued...</STRONG></SPAN><br /><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE55T2JI20090630" target="_blank">Original article</a>dAppErhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00817390034884496337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5618434948290179814.post-3164503713777914912009-06-30T16:33:00.000+04:002009-06-30T16:33:52.948+04:00Finland`s Saariaho: "Music is mystery - like love"<H2>(COMPOSER, MUSIC, OPERA, ABOUT, THERE, BECAUSE)</H2><br />By Michael Roddy<SPAN id=midArticle_byline></SPAN><br />LONDON (Reuters Life!) - Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho`s music has taken the opera houses, concert halls and audiences of the world by storm. Just don`t ask her why.<br />"I think music is really one of the big mysteries in our life and for me it`s in the same category as love," Saariaho, who is 56 and whose music has been described as "dreamlike" and haunting, told Reuters in an interview.<br />"Music has enormous powers and it`s part of everybody`s life in some form -- so I cannot answer that question, really."<br />The slender, bright-eyed, elfin Saariaho spoke on the eve of the London premiere of "L`Amour de Loin" (Love from afar), an opera for three singers and chorus based on a true story about an unconsummated "courtly" love affair between the pining troubadour Jaufre Rudel from France and Clemence, the Countess of Tripoli, in whose arms he dies after a voyage to see her.<br />The opera had its premiere in Salzburg in 2000 and has had many productions since, but the version at the English National Opera is one Saariaho admits she would not have permitted nine years ago. It will be sung in English, instead of the original French, and will have acrobats from Cirque du Soleil on stage.<br />"Well, yes, there seem to be people who are quite acrobatic...but this thing about the director`s view, I`ve gotten used to it because this is the seventh production so there have been...very different kinds of `L`Amour de Loins`.<br />"It is living its own life so I told myself, `Why not?`" Here`s what else she had to say about her music, her influences, and why living in France is good therapy for a Finn.<br />Q: Your music is described as a "dreamscape" or as having an "icy beauty." Would you subscribe to any of that?<br />A: "When one says `dreamlike` it`s often like `dreamy` and if that`s a description I don`t like it because there is so much more. If you think about your dreams, they can be very violent and they can be very sweet and they can be painful and if you think about all these characteristics and you say, `Your music is like that`, then I like it. It depends on definitions."<br />Q: You once said you would never write an opera but there will be three soon -- or four, if you count your oratorio about the French Jewish philosopher Simone Weil. Do you see yourself as an opera composer, and if so, with a feminist viewpoint?<br />A: "Why not? I`m a woman and of course I choose the subjects that interest me...and I pick different things than some of my male colleagues. But no, I don`t consider myself to be an opera composer, I love to do different kinds of things. But opera is interesting because...it`s like a meeting point with other artists. Plus the other thing is that the musicians must stay with your music a long time and the singers need to learn the music by heart, so it takes the music to another level."<br />Q: You`ve said of "L`Amour de Loin" that the writing of it somehow allowed you to reconcile being a woman with being a composer -- that you joined two parts. How so?<br />A: "At one point I understood why I was so intrigued by this story because there is (the troubadour) and the lady Clemence who has left her country and there is the destiny of the pilgrim who wants to bring them together and I had a feeling that I was drawn into that story because I wanted to be both -- I wanted to bring them together too."<br />Q: When you were young and realised what Mozart had done by the time he was your age, you almost gave up -- but you didn`t. What are the big influences on your musical palette?<br />A: "Mozart, Debussy, Messiaen`s (opera) `St. Francois d`Assise` -- that and one billion other pieces. Stravinsky, Sibelius, Berlioz...Jimi Hendrix, Billie Holiday...There is Bach...Is there any composer or musician who doesn`t love Bach? It`s unfair to pick out one or two because there`s so much." <SPAN class=label><STRONG>Continued...</STRONG></SPAN><br /><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE55T2MO20090630" target="_blank">Original article</a>dAppErhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00817390034884496337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5618434948290179814.post-82822072302719643112009-06-30T16:11:00.000+04:002009-06-30T16:11:06.174+04:00El Bulli chef branches out into the art world<H2>(RESTAURANT, ADRIA, BOOKING, BULLI, TABLE, WOULD)</H2><br />By Tim Castle<SPAN id=midArticle_byline></SPAN><br />LONDON (Reuters Life!) - Reservations are so tight at the world`s best restaurant that even head chef Ferran Adria is unable to get a booking for friends at short notice.<br />Only open for half the year, Spain`s El Bulli restaurant on the Barcelona coast is fully booked for months in advance, even at the 300 euros ($415) per person cost of its 30-40 course menu.<br />Adria says that even if a Nobel Peace Prize winner called for a table he could only make room in the 50-head establishment if there was a cancellation. And those are few and far between.<br />"If you had a booking and you couldn`t come, what would you do?" Adria, 46, told Reuters in an interview.<br />"You would ring a friend of yours and you would say, `I have a booking at El Bulli`. So this is what happens, we have no cancellations."<br />Voted best restaurant in the world four times in a row by Restaurant Magazine, El Bulli serves its guests a stream of micro-sized dishes, each exquisitely presented and the result of months of culinary experimentation. Some call it molecular gastronomy.<br />Adria and his team of 70 staff use tools such as liquid nitrogen, centrifuges and precision scales to create hot jellies, grilled fruit and novelties such as melon caviar.<br />The dishes are designed to entertain as much as to nourish, while some are deliberately provocative.<br />An innocent-looking wafer called "Electric Milk," made from the flower of a Sichuan pepper, delivers a numbing shock to the tongue akin to licking the two poles of a battery.<br />"Never in your life have you had that sensation in your palate," said Adria.<br />A new book recording the experiences of diners at El Bulli reveals that some found the provocation too much.<br />In "Food for Thought, Thought for Food," American journalist Bill Buford said his wife had almost walked out after the unexpected blast delivered by the Sichuan dish.<br />"That thing had just incinerated her tongue," he told a round table discussion of critics who had been invited to eat at El Bulli.<br />The book details how El Bulli became for 100 days in 2007 an official outpost of the international art festival "documenta" held every five years in Kassel, Germany.<br />Each day two people were chosen at random from the exhibition halls and flown to El Bulli for their evening meal. <SPAN class=label><STRONG>Continued...</STRONG></SPAN><br /><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE55T2IX20090630" target="_blank">Original article</a>dAppErhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00817390034884496337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5618434948290179814.post-19332281313558361872009-06-30T15:59:00.000+04:002009-06-30T15:59:32.286+04:00India`s "silent" village of deaf-mutes<H2>(INDIA, VILLAGE, BIRTH, CHILD, THERE, HEALTH)</H2><br /><img src="http://www.reuters.com/resources/r/?m=02&d=20090630&t=2&i=10687045&r=2009-06-30T100318Z_01_BTRE55T0RXO00_RTROPTP_0_INDIA-DEAF" alt="India`s silent village of deaf-mutes" title="India`s silent village of deaf-mutes" align="left" hspace="10" border="1" width="340" >By Sunil Kataria<SPAN id=midArticle_byline></SPAN><br />DADHKAI, India (Reuters Life!) - Silence reigns in the sleepy village of Dadhkai, nestled high up in the Himalayan mountains in northern India and where the majority of residents are either deaf or mute.<br />Each of the 47 families in this village in Jammu and Kashmir state have a least one member who can neither hear nor speak. The first reported case dates back to 1931 and now the numbers have swelled to 82.<br />"The birth of a child is a very happy occasion, meant to be celebrated. But here the birth of a child leads to harassment not only for the parents but for the entire village," said Hashmiddin, a village elder who only goes by one name.<br />"A deaf and mute child only aggravates problems and increases miseries," he told Reuters Television.<br />The village with a picture-postcard setting stands in isolation from the rest of the region, as there are no roads, and no transport connecting it to the outside world. A river cuts it from the neighboring region.<br />Three years ago, a team of scientists and doctors came from an Indian health institute to study the village`s case, but no conclusive findings have been made public so far.<br />Some villagers blame it on pollution in the water or air, while others believe they could be cursed, as adjoining villages have not reported any similar disorders.<br />But an age-old custom of marrying within the community, coupled with lack of access to medical facilities and immunization, probably led to the large number of deaf and mute cases, says Jan Mohammed, an instructor for the deaf.<br />"I think it is because of a genetic problem," Mohammed said. "Close relatives marry here. In the past there was no immunization given and also there is a lack of iodine and salt."<br />Lack of education, and hearing aids, has left many locals disillusioned about the future.<br />"These days it is so difficult to find matches for well educated normal girls, how will I get my deaf and dumb daughters married," says Lal Hussain, who has two daughters.<br />But there have been a lucky few.<br />Bano Begum, who is not hearing impaired, was married to a deaf and mute man and said their relationship was initially a huge struggle as they could not communicated with each other.<br />But the couple gave birth to three normal children and learnt to communicate with each other through sign language.<br />Some experts say the locals should be forced to marry outside their village, which the community rejects. India`s Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad recently said another health team would be sent to the village soon.<br />(Editing by Bappa Majumdar and Miral Fahmy)<br /><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE55T22Q20090630" target="_blank">Original article</a>dAppErhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00817390034884496337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5618434948290179814.post-84114493199635953332009-06-30T12:46:00.000+04:002009-06-30T12:46:45.080+04:00Green triumphs over mean in global car choice survey<H2>(GREEN, SURVEY, PEOPLE, WOULD, RESPONDENTS, PERCENT)</H2><br /><img src="http://www.reuters.com/resources/r/?m=02&d=20090630&t=2&i=10685699&r=2009-06-30T081125Z_01_BTRE55T0MR800_RTROPTP_0_BRITAIN-BUDGET" alt="Green triumphs over mean in global car choice survey" title="Green triumphs over mean in global car choice survey" align="left" hspace="10" border="1" width="340" >By Miral Fahmy<SPAN id=midArticle_byline></SPAN><br />SINGAPORE (Reuters Life!) - Is green becoming mainstream? A new global survey shows nearly six in 10 people would choose an environment-friendly car over a petrol-powered one, even if they had all the money in the world.<br />The survey of 13,500 city dwellers in 18 countries, by market research firm Synovate, also showed that over a third of respondents said they would either use public transport, walk, or cycle more often this year, partly to save on fuel costs but also for the sake of the environment.<br />"More and more, owning a car may not be viewed as that responsible," said Scott Miller, CEO of Synovate Motoresearch. "But car makers are producing more and more options that will appeal to this fast-growing group of green-inclined people.<br />"Cars are freedom, and people value freedom. If they continue to enjoy guilt-free freedom, the car will stay a large part of daily lives for many people," he said in a statement.<br />The survey asked respondents to forget about cost and choose between "green" or "dream" -- that is an electric or hybrid car versus a luxury, powerful sports car.<br />The survey, conducted in March, included the world`s top passenger car markets, China and the United States.<br />Even with money being no object, nearly 40 percent of respondents said green would be their preferred purchase. An additional 20 percent said green cars were their "dream" car.<br />More than 70 percent of Chinese said they would buy a green car, compared with 42 percent of Americans, the survey showed.<br />Chinese, at nearly 40 percent, were also the people most likely to take public transport more often in the next year, while Americans -- at 2 percent -- were among the least.<br />The nation most likely to choose green cars over petrol-powered ones, regardless, was Germany, with nearly two-thirds choosing the environment over their dream cars.<br />The environment, however, meant little to a third of all respondents, which the survey showed would choose the car they desired the most, green-be-damned.<br />The majority of these buyers were in South Africa and India, where cars are regarded as a status symbol, Synovate said.<br />Overall, 15 percent of respondents said they would buy a new car in the next 12 months, despite the economic downturn.<br />The new car would-be buyers were topped by India, Egypt and Turkey, which Synovate said showed developing countries presented a good opportunity for car manufacturers.<br />Least likely to be buying a new car were Australians and Germans, while 6 percent of overall respondents say they would buy a used car in the next year. <SPAN class=label><STRONG>Continued...</STRONG></SPAN><br /><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE55T1LF20090630" target="_blank">Original article</a>dAppErhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00817390034884496337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5618434948290179814.post-38503182050747707162009-06-30T11:21:00.000+04:002009-06-30T11:21:50.247+04:00Urban hunters kill, grill shrimp in Taipei<H2>(TAIPEI, SHRIMP, FISHING, WHICH, PEOPLE, HUNTING)</H2><br /><img src="http://www.reuters.com/resources/r/?m=02&d=20090630&t=2&i=10684141&r=2009-06-30T054827Z_01_BTRE55T0G4X00_RTROPTP_0_TAIWAN-SHRIMP" alt="Urban hunters kill, grill shrimp in Taipei" title="Urban hunters kill, grill shrimp in Taipei" align="left" hspace="10" border="1" width="340" >By Ralph Jennings<SPAN id=midArticle_byline></SPAN><br />TAIPEI (Reuters Life!) - America`s Wild West motto of "you kill it, we grill it" has come to life in the densely populated east Asian capital of Taiwan. The prey? Shrimp.<br />About 50 largely indoor fishing ranges in and around Taipei give customers rods and bait to catch live shrimp that is bred in shallow pools, and then roasted on site, often with beers.<br />Fishing is a pastime many aspire to, but few have time for, in fast-paced Taipei, which makes these city ranges very convenient for wannabe fishermen -- or hunters.<br />There is also a website dedicated to this sort of shrimp fishing, fish.esheng.com.tw/, which has logged nearly 2 million visits mainly from people asking for hunting buddies.<br />The tradition began in fishing-intensive southern Taiwan more than 20 years ago, and worked its way indoors, with shrimp replacing harder-to-get fish to satisfy time-poor urbanites.<br />"It`s cheap, there`s some fun and something to eat. It`s nicer than a roadside restaurant," said Liu Wen-chung, 41, who runs an advertising firm and takes some of his clients shrimp hunting at a poolside in central Taipei.<br />"You don`t have to go out and get sun-burned," he said.<br />And even though its contrived, hunters like Liu can still experience the thrill of the chase: although shrimp carpet the pool bottom, they can`t always see bait, so the line must be jostled periodically to get their attention.<br />When the bob suddenly sinks, it means a shrimp has bitten, and some claw back with the strength of a small fish.<br />Shrimp farms usually charge the equivalent of $6 to $9 per hour, and it`s all-you-can catch. Grills are provided for free at the dingy but spacious grounds, some of which have outdoor areas, and most stay open till 2 a.m. -- if they close at all.<br />Some Taiwanese say shrimp hunting peaked five years ago and call it a low-class sport associated with excessive drinking. But it remains popular, with several farms seeing good business.<br />At Chuan Chia Leh, a 19-year-old downtown Taipei shrimp range, owner Tsai Yao-cheng said all kinds of people have come through to try their luck.<br />"Taiwanese people like to fish, but it can be problem to go to the coast for fishing," Tsai said. The coast is an hour away.<br />The Bamboo Shoot Shrimp Farm outside Taipei sees a few dozen customers per day, mostly younger people just off work, said a manager surnamed Lin. "The coast is more remote," she said.<br />(Editing by Miral Fahmy)<br /><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE55T0Z520090630" target="_blank">Original article</a>dAppErhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00817390034884496337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5618434948290179814.post-11308079475876426612009-06-30T11:09:00.000+04:002009-06-30T11:09:42.599+04:00In U.S. scandals, wives don`t stand by their men<H2>(WOMEN, PUBLIC, HUSBAND, AFFAIR, ABOUT, EDWARDS)</H2><br /><img src="http://www.reuters.com/resources/r/?m=02&d=20090630&t=2&i=10683904&r=2009-06-30T051618Z_01_BTRE55T0ENJ00_RTROPTP_0_USA-POLITICS-SANFORD" alt="In U.S. scandals, wives don`t stand by their men" title="In U.S. scandals, wives don`t stand by their men" align="left" hspace="10" border="1" width="340" >By Tabassum Zakaria<SPAN id=midArticle_byline></SPAN><br />WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Standing by your man suddenly seems to be going out of fashion for some American women in the public eye.<br />This month, the wives of at least two famous men caught cheating -- sexually and financially -- very openly declared that their spouses` behavior was actually quite scandalous.<br />Ruth Madoff, reacting to her husband Bernard being sentenced to 150 years in prison for bilking investors with a massive Ponzi scheme, said she felt "embarrassed," "ashamed" and "betrayed" by a man she had known for half a century.<br />"The man who committed this horrible fraud is not the man whom I have known for all these years," she said in a statement shortly after her husband`s sentencing on Monday.<br />Last week, after South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford tearfully admitted to an affair with a woman in Argentina, his wife Jenny -- who was not by his side at his public confession -- left little doubt about her feelings.<br />"His career is not a concern of mine," she told reporters at a vacation home. "He`s going to have to worry about that. I`m worried about my family and the character of my children."<br />Political analysts said the new attitude reflects generational and social change -- at least for some women in the United States.<br />"The old model didn`t work," said Karlyn Bowman, an analyst of U.S. public opinion at the American Enterprise Institute.<br />The image of the tearful wife, hiding behind sunglasses, next to her husband while he unloaded his sins to the world, was "intensely embarrassing" and some women are deciding they do not have to follow that path, she said.<br />"It may be that women just feel that they can do whatever they want," Bowman said.<br />Of course, the quiet, supportive wife remains a public pillar for many scandal-hit men -- just look at former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer`s wife Silda, whose wordless turn at his side last year when he admitted visiting prostitutes drew some sharp commentary.<br />And it wasn`t that long ago when Hillary Clinton, then first lady, weathered the storm beside her husband, President Bill Clinton, over his affair with intern Monica Lewinsky in the White House in the late 1990s.<br />More recently, Elizabeth Edwards, whose husband John Edwards ran for president as a Democrat last year, publicly spoke out about his infidelity while promoting her memoir "Resilience."<br />Edwards, who is battling cancer, told talk show host Oprah Winfrey of her shock at hearing from her husband that he had continued an affair with campaign worker Rielle Hunter after telling her in December 2006 he had slept with another woman.<br />"All the work we`d done, all the trust we had tried to build in the past year-plus, all thrown out the window," she said.<br />(Editing by John O`Callaghan)<br /><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE55T0UX20090630" target="_blank">Original article</a>dAppErhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00817390034884496337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5618434948290179814.post-44925171753658669362009-06-30T10:33:00.000+04:002009-06-30T10:33:21.775+04:00Police question Michael Jackson`s doctor<H2>(MICHAEL, JACKSON, ANGELES, POLICE, DEATH, MURRAY)</H2><br /><img src="http://en.beta.rian.ru/images/15536/94/155369431.jpg" alt="Police question Michael Jackson`s doctor" title="Police question Michael Jackson`s doctor" align="left" hspace="10" border="1" >Michael Jackson, the King of pop <br />Michael Jackson - pop music legend<br />Russia had special romance with Michael Jackson - expert <br />Fans sing Michael Jackson’s songs on Los Angeles streets<br />MOSCOW, June 28 (RIA Novosti) - Los Angeles police have held an "extensive interview" with the cardiologist who tried to resuscitate Michael Jackson before his death, amid uncertainty over the causes of the pop legend`s cardiac arrest.<br />Dr Conrad Murray reportedly disappeared several hours after Jackson`s death at the age of 50 on Thursday, and failed to sign a death certificate.<br />"Dr. Conrad Murray, the physician who was with Michael Jackson at the time of his collapse, voluntarily contacted the Los Angeles Police Department," a police statement released on Saturday night said.<br />Detectives "met with Dr. Murray and conducted an extensive interview. Dr. Murray was cooperative and provided information which will aid the investigation."<br />The death of the `King of Pop` has dominated the global media over the past three days, and social networking and video sites have been flooded with tributes. While grieving fans have been celebrating Jackson`s musical legacy, several questions have arisen over the circumstances of his death.<br />The Rev Jesse Jackson, a long-serving politician who has been maintaining close contact with Michael Jackson`s family, told reporters that the doctor had failed to speak to relatives after the death, and that many questions remained unanswered.<br />"When did the doctor come? What did he do? Did he inject him? If so, with what? Was he on the scene twice? Did he use the Demerol? It`s a very powerful drug. Was he injected once? Was he injected twice?"<br />However, a lawyer for Murray insisted that his client was not being treated as a suspect in Jackson`s death.<br />"It`s a human tragedy and he`s upset obviously over the loss of Mr. Jackson. But he is not a suspect in the death of Mr. Jackson," Matthew Alford said<br /> <br /><a href="http://en.rian.ru/world/20090628/155374483.html" target="_blank">Original article</a>dAppErhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00817390034884496337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5618434948290179814.post-45989193283565293292009-06-30T10:21:00.000+04:002009-06-30T10:21:13.860+04:00Lightning kills 2 after graduation ball in Russia`s Far East<H2>(STUDENTS, GRADUATION, LIGHTNING, POLICE, PRIMORYE, OFFICER)</H2><br /><img src="http://en.beta.rian.ru/images/15516/73/155167334.jpg" alt="Lightning kills 2 after graduation ball in Russia`s Far East" title="Lightning kills 2 after graduation ball in Russia`s Far East" align="left" hspace="10" border="1" >VLADIVOSTOK, June 27 (RIA Novosti) - Two students celebrating their high school graduation died early on Saturday morning in Russia`s Far East when they were struck by lightning, local police said.<br />One boy and one girl were killed in the lightning strike in the village of Zarubino in the Primorye Territory`s Khasansky region, while another girl and a policeman suffered burns and were taken to a local hospital.<br />"The tragedy occurred on Saturday at 5 a.m. Vladivostok time [19:00 GMT on Friday]. After a graduation ball 15 students went to the beach to watch the sun rise. They were accompanied by a police officer, who was keeping order," a Primorye police source told RIA Novosti.<br />"A loud rumble of thunder was heard, and lightning flashed. Two students - a boy and a girl - died at the scene. Another girl and the police officer were hospitalized with burns," he added.<br />The source said the lightning struck as the group passed near overhead electric power lines.<br />He added that several other graduation balls in area passed without incident, and all had police officers present to ensure order.<br /> <br /><a href="http://en.rian.ru/russia/20090627/155368226.html" target="_blank">Original article</a>dAppErhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00817390034884496337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5618434948290179814.post-80491060315759229872009-06-30T10:08:00.000+04:002009-06-30T10:08:51.663+04:00Police in west Urals search for security guard who stole $8 mln<H2>(POLICE, GUARD, MILLION, RUSSIA, LARGEST, SHURMAN)</H2><br /><img src="http://en.beta.rian.ru/images/15517/37/155173730.jpg" alt="Police in west Urals search for security guard who stole $8 mln" title="Police in west Urals search for security guard who stole $8 mln" align="left" hspace="10" border="1" >NIZHNY NOVGORD, June 26 (RIA Novosti) - Police in the west Urals are searching for a security guard who stole 250 million rubles ($8 million), a local police spokesman said on Friday.<br />The theft, one of Russia`s largest, took place at about 12:00 p.m. local time (06:00 GMT) on Thursday. Alexander Shurman, 36, was one of three guards carrying cash for Russia`s largest bank Sberbank.<br />Threatening to shoot his colleagues, he forced them to stop the vehicle in a forest, and transferred the money to another vehicle driven by accomplices.<br />"A search is underway," the spokesman said.<br />A $10,000 reward has been announced for any information leading to Shurman`s arrest, and an investigation has been launched. Over 50 police investigators are involved in the hunt.<br />A police source told the Komsomolskaya Pravda tabloid that Sberbank security guards had had their wages cut last month.<br />"Carrying huge sums daily and hardly making ends meet - anyone would go nuts," the source said.<br />Neighbors said Shurman, who has two children, one with a second wife, did not drink or smoke and played tennis and went running every morning.<br /> <br /><a href="http://en.rian.ru/russia/20090626/155364323.html" target="_blank">Original article</a>dAppErhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00817390034884496337noreply@blogger.com0