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Brain find sheds light on autism 9 Health
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No. 1038
HIV funding cut as science brings ‘decisive moment'
Although there is still no vaccine against HIV, key trials in the past year have confirmed that the combination drug treatment makes people with HIV less infectious and more men in Africa are being circumcised, to help prevent the virus being transmitted. But just as the science is bringing much-needed new results, funding is tailing off for the first time. Two leading experts expressed concern, and even anger, during separate interviews in London. Professor Francoise BarreSinoussi is a Paris-based virologist who jointly won the Nobel Prize along with a colleague, Luc Montagnier - for discovering the Aids virus in 1983. 'Upset and furious' She said science on HIV/Aids had moved "beautifully, wonderfully" in recent years - but she said she was "upset and furious" about cuts to international funding for tackling HIV. And she warned that governments who had taken the "unacceptable" decision to cut funds for Aids programmes in poorer countries would be responsible for any resurgence in the epidemic. A series of features on Aids and HIV, as the UN marks World Aids Day on 1 December A joint report by the World Health Organization (WHO), UNAids and Unicef shows that after years of considerable increases, international funding for HIV programmes fell last year from
$8.7bn to $7.6bn. And the Global Fund, which channels money from governments and other donors into tackling Aids and other key diseases, announced last week that it was unable to give any new grants before 2014. It blamed low interest rates and the substantial budget problems in some donor countries. The director of WHO's HIV department, Dr Gottfried Hirnschall, said: "We feel this is a decisive moment. It's so important at this time not to falter with committing the resources that are needed, to further bring down the level of new infections. "Our priority for the next few years is the countries that are lagging behind in progress - such as Russia, Ukraine, some of the Central Asian republics, and parts of North Africa and the Middle East. "The Global Fund announcement makes us nervous, although it wasn't completely unexpected. It will trigger conversations about how we can sustain the essential services that are needed. Forthright Prof Barre-Sinoussi, who describes herself as an activist as well as a scientist, was particularly forthright in her views. She pointed out that in Cambodia, 90% of people with HIV are on treatment - but all patients there depend on The Global Fund. Prof Barre-Sinoussi said: "If these people don't have access any more to the Fund in the next five or ten years, the patients will have to
Photos: AP
This year's World Aids Day comes at what many scientists and campaigners agree is a decisive moment in the 30-year history of the epidemic.
Combating HIV has proved one of the great challenges for science
stop their treatment and they will start to die again. "If you stop treatment, you get a strain of the virus that becomes resistant. And viruses don't have frontiers. "And the scientific research will slow down. It's not just a question of progress on HIV /Aids - the virus can teach us about abnormal inflammation and other chronic conditions, such as cancer. The right to live Citing trials which have shown antiretroviral drugs can cut the risk of transmitting HIV by 96%, she added: "This demonstrates that we're making very important progress on all the basics.
"And we're starting to see results, with fewer new infections in some countries. It's not acceptable that the Global Fund has had to cancel its next round of grants. "The scientists are taking responsibility - but the decisionmakers aren't. They'll be responsible if the HIV epidemic re-emerges. As the International Aids Society's president-elect, Prof Barre-Sinoussi is leading efforts for a research strategy which could come up with a cure for HIV, or at least a mechanism which drives the virus into remission. In a statement to mark World Aids Day, Oxfam said the pledge made by governments in June to
increase the number of people receiving HIV treatment to 15 million by 2015 would be worthless without additional resources. The charity's senior policy adviser, Mohga Kamal-Yanni, said: "If world leaders are serious about eliminating HIV and about preventing countless unnecessary deaths, they need to put their hands in their pockets and stump up the missing contributions." Oxfam said Italy, Germany, Japan, Spain and the European Union have all either delayed or cancelled payments to the Global Fund. www.bbcnews.com
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World Aids Day: Obama Tourism & Evironment The US is making $50m (ÂŁ32m) of new funding available for HIV/Aids clinics and drug assistance schemes, President Barack Obama has said.
In the sparse surroundings of a former classroom on a spring day in 1991 - a decade after the rise of Aids - a group of 12 artists gathered to discuss a new project. They were photographers, painters, film makers and costume designers, and they sat around in the shared gallery space known as PS122 in New York's East Village. Within an hour or so of brainstorming, they had come up with a simple idea that later became one of the most recognised symbols of the decade - the red ribbon, worn to signify support for people with HIV/Aids. The ribbon was the latest project by Visual Aids, a New York arts organisation that raises awareness of HIV/Aids. When they sat down in the shared gallery space of PS122 in May 1991, they wanted to get people talking about the illness that was decimating their professional and social network, in the face of public indifference and private shame. People were dying without even telling their friends why they were sick, and the artists wanted a visual expression of compassion for people living with Aids and their carers. Their inspiration came from the yellow ribbons tied on trees to denote support for the US military fighting in the Gulf War, he says. Pink and the rainbow colours were rejected because they were too closely associated with the gay community, and this was an illness that went well
to do more to show them that their lives matter." "When black women feel forgotten even though they account for most of the new cases among women, we need to do more." Former Presidents George W Bush and Bill Clinton also participated in the World Aids Day event via satellite.
Bipartisan push Other initiatives backed by the US aim to bring antiretroviral drugs to 1.5 million HIV-positive pregnant women to prevent them from passing the virus to their children, and to distribute more
Drugs that suppress HIV have cut Aids deaths dramatically in the rich world
we work together. We've got leaders of both political parties standing behind something that works," said Gayle Smith, the senior director for development at the National Security Council.
Hanging Out How a red ribbon conquered the world
In 2003, then-President Bush launched a $15bn plan for Aids relief, and in 2008, US Congress tripled the budget to $48bn over five years. www.bbcnews.com
Photo: AP
"This fight isn't over," Mr Obama said. "Not for the 1.2m Americans who are living with HIV right now." Mr Obama also pledged to increase access to antiretrovirals in hardest-hit countries by the end of 2013. The World Aids Day announcement comes as a report shows that global funding for HIV programmes fell in 2010. "The rate of new infections may be going down elsewhere, but it's not going down here in America," Mr Obama told a World Aids Day event in Washington. "When new infections among young, black, gay men increase by nearly 50% in three years, we need
than one billion condoms in the developing world. Also included is funding for 4.7 million voluntary male circumcisions in eastern and southern Africa, which research has shown reduces the risk of femaleto-male transmission by more than 60%.The US-based funding will include $35m for state medicine programmes that help people living with HIV and Aids. According to the Obama administration, more than 6,500 Americans are on waiting lists for medication. The rest of the domestic funds $15m - will go to HIV/Aids medical clinics, especially to areas where infections have increased and treatment is not readily available. Funding for Aids research and treatment has been a topic of emphasis for recent Democratic and Republican presidents. "Here's what we can do when
Photo: AP
in $50m Aids funding boost
The US is making $50m (ÂŁ32m) of new funding available for HIV/Aids clinics and drug assistance schemes, President Barack Obama has said. beyond. "Red was something bold and visible. It symbolised passion, a heart and love." The shape had no significance but was easy to make. Initially there was a text that went with it, to explain why they were being worn, although this was later dropped because it became superfluous. A few weeks after that first meeting, the group sent a box of 3,000 ribbons to the Minskoff Theatre on Broadway, ahead of the Tony Awards for the theatre industry. Some of them were making ribbons and watching the televised event as actor Jeremy Irons, one of the presenters, came on to the stage wearing one. Demand increased to such a degree that supply needed to be outsourced, and Visual Aids used a charity working with homeless women to make the ribbons. They sent out 10,000 ribbons for one Oscars ceremony, and over the coming years they made about 1.5m. Stars like Bette Midler and Richard Gere were not only wearing them, but openly discussing
The red ribbon has become a global symbol
Riviera Maya why it was important. A ribbonsporting culture developed within the acting profession. The ribbons first crossed the Atlantic in large numbers on Easter Monday in 1992, when more than 100,000 ribbons were distributed at an Aids benefit concert in London's Wembley Stadium for Freddie Mercury. They also began to proliferate in mainstream American life. Schools and churches across the US touched by the illness started to contact Visual Aids for advice on how they could explain it to children and parishioners - the answer was to hold a ribbon-making event. One unforeseen consequence has been the number of awareness
ribbons that have been adopted since - pink for breast cancer being the most well known. The artists purposefully never trademarked it - the point of the project was to invite more people in, says O'Connell - which meant it could appear anywhere without Visual Aids' permission or any payments. It even turned up on a US Post Office stamp. But he and some of the other artists behind the concept believe the proliferation and merchandising of the ribbon - ornamental ribbons selling for $19.95 in department stores and red ribbon mugs - has commercialised and trivialised their idea. In a spirit more in tune with the
Champions League
one envisaged by Visual Aids, the ribbon is replicated in many different forms for memorials on World Aids Day, and its symbolism no longer needs any explanation. In the poorest parts of the world, ribbon production has been central to efforts to raise funds and change attitudes, says Sir Nick Partridge, chief executive of the Terrence Higgins Trust in the UK. Women's collectives make ribbons and adorn them before selling them in their community. Those 12 artists never worked together again as a group, but with the battle against the illness ongoing, their activism continues. www.bbcnews.com The International weekly
3
International December 2 - 8, 2011
Clinton pledges improved Burma ties if reforms continue After talks with Mr Thein Sein in the remote capital, Nay Pyi Taw, Mrs Clinton met pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in the main city, Rangoon. The US maintains tight sanctions on senior leaders in Burma's hierarchy.But a series of reforms this year has led to speculation that decades of isolation could be about to end. "The United States is prepared to walk the path of reform with you if you keep moving in the right direction," Mrs Clinton said. "These are incremental steps and we are prepared to go further if reforms maintain momentum. In that spirit, we are discussing what it will take to upgrade diplomatic relations and exchange ambassadors," Mrs Clinton told reporters. "Over time, this could become an important channel to air concerns, monitor and support progress and build trust on both sides," she said. The US has been represented by a lower-ranking diplomat as a protest since Burma's military rulers refused to accept the results of the 1990 elections widely estimated to have been won by Ms Suu Kyi's party. Mrs Clinton and Ms Suu Kyi had a private dinner in Rangoon before holding a more formal meeting at Ms Suu Kyi's residence on Friday. It is the first time the pair have met in person. Mrs Clinton has often referred to Aung Sang Suu Kyi as a personal inspiration. Ms Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy recently re-registered as a political party, and she
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has pledged to improve ties with Burma if current reforms continue. is expected to stand for parliament in forthcoming by-elections. The NLD had operated outside the political system for two decades, and Ms Suu Kyi spent much of that time in detention. She was freed shortly after the current government came to power. During her trip, Mrs Clinton also: •urged Burma to cut "illicit ties" with North Korea and said the regime had given assurances it was not co-operating with Pyongyang •urged Burma to end ethnic violence and put a stop to "some of the world's longest-running internal conflicts" •said the US would open talks with Burma to start joint searches for the remains of troops killed in World War II •passed on a personal letter from US President Barack Obama to President Thein Sein on the new phase in relations in return for democratic reforms. In it, Mr Obama says Burma has taken some encouraging steps towards reform, but still has much to do President Thein Sein hailed a "new chapter" in relations during talks with Mrs Clinton - the most senior US official to visit Burma in more than half a century. Mrs Clinton's talks with
Burma's leadership got under way on Thursday when she met Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin before the talks with President Thein Sein. "I am here today because President Obama and myself are encouraged by the steps that you and your government have taken to provide for your people," Mrs Clinton told Thein Sein as the two sat down for talks. Thein Sein said her visit would prove to be a "milestone". "Your excellency's visit will be historic and a new chapter in relations," he said before the start of the closed-door meeting. BBC state department correspondent Kim Ghattas, travelling with Mrs Clinton, says the top US diplomat's visit is both a reward for the reforms that have already taken place and an incentive for Burma's government to do more. The US secretary of state said before the trip she was quite hopeful that "flickers of progress" could transform into a real movement for change.
'No resistance' Mrs Clinton is the first secretary of state to visit Burma since John Foster Dulles in 1955. The country was taken over
EU to slap new sanctions on Iran's officials and firms The European Union has agreed to impose fresh sanctions on 180 Iranian officials and firms over Tehran's controversial nuclear programme. Ministers meeting in Brussels also agreed to work on other measures that could target Iran's energy sector. The sanctions follow a UN report linking Iran to the development of a nuclear weapon. Iran denies the claims.The EU measures also come two days after hundreds of Iranian protesters stormed the UK embassy in Tehran. Britain announced on Wednesday it was expelling all Iranian diplomats from London, after pulling its own out of Tehran. A spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton told the BBC that the new sanctions would target 39 people and 141 companies and would include the freezing of assets and travel bans. EU ministers said in a statement: "The council agreed to broaden existing sanctions by examining, in close co-ordination with international partners, additional measures including measures aimed at severely affecting the Iranian financial
4 The International weekly
system, in the transport sector, in the energy sector." Correspondents say foreign ministers failed to agree on an oil embargo against Iran because some EU countries are dependent on Iranian oil. Ministers said a decision on future measures would be taken no later than January. Officials say the latest sanctions are not linked to the storming of the British Embassy in Tehran on Tuesday.However, ministers denounced the attack and said the EU would take "appropriate measures in response". The statement did not specify what those would be. Ahead of the Brussels talks, UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said he wanted "an intensification of the economic pressure", particularly the isolation of Iran's financial sector.
'Nuclear device' Last week the US, Canada and the UK announced new sanctions against Iran
in the wake of the report from the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), that said Iran had carried out tests related to "development of a nuclear device". Tehran insists that its nuclear programme is solely for peaceful purposes. The 27-member EU has already frozen the assets of hundreds of Iranian companies and has adopted measures to prevent new investment and technological assistance to Iran's gas producing and refining industry. The EU is yet to release details about the 180 officials and entities targeted by the sanctions. Despite the IAEA report, Iran was not referred to the UN Security Council because Russia and China were opposed to the move. Iran expressed regret for the attack on the UK embassy - and another UK diplomatic compound in Tehran - and said a number of protesters had been arrested. However, the semi-official Fars news agency said on Thursday that police had freed 11 people held over the attacks. There was no explanation for their release. www.bbcnews.com
by the military in 1962 and ruled by a brutal and unpredictable junta until last year, when the army ceded power to a nominally civilian government. Although the government is still dominated by figures from the previous military regime, it has introduced several important reforms, and released groups of political prisoners.The visit comes weeks after President Obama toured Asia and made a series of announcements bolstering American commitments in the region. Observers have portrayed the new US focus on Asia as an attempt to counter China's attempts to become the pre-eminent power in the area. And Chinese state media has reacted furiously to Mrs Clinton's visit to Burma.
The Global Times, which often runs bombastic nationalistic editorials, warned the US not to impinge on China's interests. "China has no resistance toward Myanmar [Burma] seeking improved relationship with the West, but it will not accept this while seeing its interests stamped on," said a comment piece in the paper. China has invested heavily in Burma, particularly in the energy sector. But big Chinese-funded projects such as a hydroelectric dam in the north have provoked resentment among Burmese and led to an upsurge in fighting between ethnic rebels and the army. www.bbcnews.com
Latin America poverty level lowest in 20 years, says UN From 1990 to 2010, the rate fell from 48.4% to 31.4%, which means 177 million people currently live in poverty. Eclac says the main reason for the reduction in poverty and inequality is the rise in household incomes. But progress is hindered by the big gaps between productive and better paid sectors and work that is poorly paid and of low productivity, Eclac says. "Poverty and inequality continue to decline in the region, which is good news, particularly in the midst of an international economic crisis," said Alicia Barcena, Eclac's executive secretary. "However, this progress is threatened by the yawning gaps in the productive structure in the region and by the labour markets which generate employment in low-productivity sectors." According to Eclac's report, Social Panorama of Latin America 2011, the rate of extreme poverty or indigence also fell from 22.6% to 12.3%. The body forecasts that by the end of the year, 174 million people will be classed as living in poverty. However, a rise in food
Poverty in Latin America is at its lowest level for 20 years, the UN's regional economic body, Eclac, says. price is set to see the indigence rate increase slightly to 12.8%. Caribbean challenge Among the countries that saw the biggest drops in poverty are Peru, Ecuador, Argentina, Uruguay and Colombia. Poverty increased only in Honduras and Mexico.Eclac welcome the increase in social spending by governments but said more was needed to achieve a more balanced distribution of income. Eclac's report for the first time includes a chapter devoted to the Caribbean. Among the major risks it notes are high unemployment and HIV rates among young people. The reports notes that the HIV rate, equating to 1% of the total population, is the secondhighest in the world, surpassed only by sub-Saharan Africa. www.bbcnews.com
International December 2 - 8, 2011
China regulator bans TV advertisements during dramas Photo: AP
Adverts will not be allowed in the middle of programmes lasting for 45 minutes from 1 January next year. The authorities said this was in line with the "spirit" of a recent Communist Party meeting. Senior leaders said then that they wanted to develop a "socialist culture", although they did not elaborate on exactly what that means. TV stations are clear about what this latest move means for them though - they say it will result in a loss of revenue. The latest announcement was made by China's State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) on its website. It said the regulation was being introduced as part of a new attitude towards culture, outlined at the party's Central Committee meeting in October. "Radio and television are a mouthpiece of the party and the people - an important propaganda front in cultural thought," read the SARFT statement. An organisation spokesman told Xinhua, the state-run news agency, that the aim was to make TV shows conform to "public interests and aspirations". "In the long-run, the move will help TV dramas develop in a scientific and healthy manner," said the unidentified spokesman. Business impact The Communist Party has
Action Comics Superman debut copy sells for $2.16m
The Communist Party has always maintained tight control over cultural activities
China has ordered a ban on advertisements during TV dramas as part of its reform of cultural activities. always kept close control over cultural activities such as television programming. A few months ago it told a successful commercial station to stop broadcasting a popular talent contest called Super Girl. At the recent Central Committee meeting, China's senior leaders appeared to indicate they wanted to keep an even closer eye on broadcasters. This latest move will have an effect on the money made by these companies though. "The government could really take our lives if it bans all commercial breaks during the most-watched TV series," one unidentified
executive with a mainland TV station is reported to have said. A spokeswoman for Hunan Satellite TV said this new regulation came after most advertising deals for next year had already been signed. "TV stations bosses around the country will be having many sleepless nights," she said. China's TV advertising industry was worth nearly 500bn ($78bn, ÂŁ50bn) yuan last year. The rights for one top slot before the main evening news on China Central Television - the nation's top broadcaster - cost 440m yuan for eight months at a recent auction. www.bbcnews.com
A copy of the first issue of Action Comics, featuring Superman's debut, has become the world's most expensive comic, fetching $2.16m (ÂŁ1.4m). It was auctioned online for a starting bid of just $1, with a reserve price of $900,000. The buyer or seller's name was not disclosed, but there is speculation it was owned by actor Nicolas Cage. It is the first time a comic book has broken the $2m barrier. The issue was published in 1938 and cost 10 cents. About 100 copies of Action Comics No 1 are thought to be in existence, and only a handful of those are in good condition. Another copy of the same issue sold for a then record-breaking $1.5m in March last year. But that one was not in as good condition as the copy that sold on Wednesday through New York-based ComicConnect. It is said to have been stolen
Action Comics No 1 sold originally for 10 cents
in 2000 and was thought lost until recovered in a California storage shed in April this year just like an issue owned by Nicolas Cage. The Hollywood star - who has a son called Kal-El, the Man of Steel's birth name - bought his copy of Action Comics No 1 for $150,000 in 1997. Connoisseurs of the comic world say this type of investment has become popular during troubled economic times because rare collectibles hold their value more reliably than property or shares. www.bbcnews.com
The International weekly
5
International December 2 - 8, 2011
Photo: AP
Shares jump as central banks try to ease financial woes Global stock markets surged as some of the world's big central banks launched plans for co-ordinated action aimed to support the financial system. gaining almost 1.5 cents against the dollar to $1.345. Against the pound, the euro was up slightly at 85.68 pence."You don't have to fix everything, you have to be on a path towards fixing things," said Tobias Levkovich, chief US equity strategist at Citigroup. "Markets will reward you for the efforts you are making as long as you are moving in the right direction. It's the carrot and the stick; you get rewarded when you do the right thing, and you get punished when you do the wrong thing," he said. US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner welcomed the move by central banks, which he hoped would take pressure off the European financial system. Mr Geithner said: "We welcome and support the actions taken by central banks around the world today to help ease pressure on the European financial system and help foster the global economic recovery." Mr Geithner, and also President Barack Obama, have strongly urged Europe to get to grips with its debt crisis.
'Boost' As the eurozone debt crisis has deepened, banks have found it harder to access finance. They are concerned that some governments they have lent money to may be unable to pay it back. This means they are becoming increasingly reluctant to lend to one
The Bank of England is one of six central banks taking part in the co-ordinated action
another - a key mechanism through which banks access finance. For example, on Tuesday night banks deposited 300bn euros ($405bn; ÂŁ257bn) with the ECB, 100bn euros more than two weeks ago. Analysts said the central banks' move would help to relieve some of this strain within the global financial system. "This shows that central banks across the world continue to cooperate and that the ECB, and its partners, are very aware of the funding stress that European banks are under at the moment," said Chris-
Eurozone unemployment rate rises to 10.3% The number of people unemployed rose by 126,000 from September to 16.3 million. The rate in Germany fell to 5.5% from 5.7%, while that in Spain rose to 22.8% from 22.5%, Eurostat said. Youth unemployment in Spain rose to 48.9%. Separate figures also released by Eurostat showed the eurozone inflation rate unchanged at 3% in November. Earlier this month, the European Central Bank cut eurozone interest rates to 1.25% from 1.5%, and at the time said the inflation rate would remain at "elevated levels" for a number of months. However, the bank forecast that inflation would fall to below 2% next year. The latest figures come as EU finance ministers prepare to meet to discuss ways to resolve the eurozone debt crisis.
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The International weekly
Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG and PwC could be forced to split into audit and consulting arms.EC commissioner Michel Barnier said there were conflicts of interest and issues exposed by the financial crisis that needed addressing. The firms rejected claims they were "an oligopoly", and said their auditing expertise would be harmed by a split. Mr Barnier, internal market commissioner, said: "Investor confidence in audit has been shaken by the crisis and I believe changes in this sector are necessary." Auditors have been criticised that they gave a clean bill of health to financial institutions, many of which ran into trouble shortly afterwards.
'No evidence' Unemployment in Spain is the highest in the eurozone
Ahead of the meeting, EU Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said ministers were "entering the critical period of 10 days to complete and conclude the crisis response". An EU summit is scheduled to take place on 9 December. www.bbcnews.com
cheaper funding, "a great deal of tension will be removed from the system, both in terms of liquidity and market sentiment", he added. Earlier on Wednesday, China's central bank unexpectedly said it would cut the limit on the amount of cash the country's banks have to hold in reserve in a move designed to boost lending. The bank had been increasing the rate to reduce lending in order to dampen demand and tackle rising prices. www.bbcnews.com
European Commission proposes breaking up audit firms Photo: AP
The eurozone unemployment rate rose slightly to 10.3% in October, up from a revised 10.2% in September, official figures have shown
tian Schulz at Berenberg Bank. "This decreases the cost of funding in US dollars or other currencies so it's small, but it's a boost to banks' profitability and gives them a better chance to shore up their capital ratios." Richard Hunter at Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers said the joint action was "designed to prompt an increase in lending, whilst at the same time reducing some of the strains under which credit lines are currently operating". If banks take advantage of the
Mr Barnier, who has also pushed for changes among credit ratings agencies such as S&P and Fitch, criticised the Big Four's concentration of power. They audit the books of about 85% of major corporations in many EU states, a situation the Commission said was "in essence an oligopoly". Under the proposals, the audit firms would have to rename and rebrand operations, radically changing their business model.
Photo: AP
Wall Street's Dow Jones index saw its biggest gain since March 2009, rising 4.2%, after jumps on European bourses. It came after the US Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, and the central banks of the UK, Canada, Japan and Switzerland acted to improve lending. Their move includes making it cheaper for banks to buy US dollars.It is hoped that this will ultimately help businesses and households get access to finance more easily. As well as cheaper US dollars, the central banks will also provide easier access for banks to other major currencies as and when they need it, beginning 5 December. Investors cheered the move, sending Wall Street's other key indexes, the S&P 500 and tech-rich Nasdaq, also more than 4% higher. Germany's Dax index closed 5% higher, while France's Cac 40 jumped 4.2% and the UK's FTSE 100 rose 3%. Banks were particular beneficiaries. Wall Street titans JP Morgan and Bank of America rose 8.4% and 7% respectively. In the UK, Barclays surged more than 6% and shares in Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland ended more than 7% higher. In France, BNP and Societe Generale each rose 4.6%, while Credit Agricole closed 8.4% up. In Germany, Deutsche Bank rose 6.2%. The euro also rose on the news,
Michel Barnier believes the financial crisis has shaken confidence in audit firms
EU states and the European Parliament have the final say on Mr Barnier's proposals, a process that could take up to 18 months. Audit firms criticised the proposals. KPMG's European head Rolf Nonnenmacher said: "The capability of firms to provide quality audits will be diminished if auditors are separated from wide-ranging advisory expertise including, crucially, risk management in the financial sector." PwC's UK chairman Ian Powell said Mr Barnier had not provided "any concrete evidence for any positive impact of these proposals on audit quality or properly assessed the additional cost burdens for business. www.bbcnews.com
December 2- 8, 2011
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Liquid living worms survive space Hanging Out The result, published in a Royal Society journal, means worm colonies can be established on space stations without the need for researchers to tend to them. The animals are helping scientists understand the effects of weightlessness and high radiation levels experienced in space. Lessons learned could one day assist humans to explore the Solar System.In 2001, Stephen Hawking is reported to have said: "I don't think the human race will survive the next 1,000 years, unless we spread into space. There are too many accidents that can befall life on a single planet. But I'm an optimist. We will reach out to the stars." But space is no easy amble. Humans must first learn to cheaply and safely propel themselves into space regularly, and then, once there, must adapt to high levels of radiation and to weightlessness. In preparation for longer spaceflight, scientists have designed shields to deflect harmful energetic particles, and continue to study the ill-effect of weightlessness on astronauts. The gravity studies have mostly focused on a group of muscles broadly known as anti-gravity muscles - that seem to deteriorate without the gravitational pull of the Earth.
Worms have survived their first space mission in liquid form
However, there is some evidence for the weakening in all muscles, including the hearts of astronauts. Weightlessness not only sees animals use their muscles less, but causes changes in the chemical reactions within the muscle cells, explained Nathaniel Szewczyk from the University of Nottingham, who is the lead author on the new study in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface. Dr Szewczyk, and his team, looked at the effects of weightlessness on the muscles of worms, because these multicellular animals share many genes with humans, and can therefore help scientists gauge the long-term impacts of deep spaceflight on human life. The recent mission saw Dr Szewczyk's worms return to Earth with the space shuttle Discovery after 6 months in orbit. It was the longest time worms have survived and been recovered, he said.
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Liquid lunch
This was possible because the international team established an automated setup for growing worms that transferred a subset of
the animals to fresh food every month, filming the worms' progress as they went. The technique was dependent on establishing that worms fare just as well in liquid as they do on their usual agar plates. He explains that "because we had the bad experience with shuttle STS-107, which of course is the shuttle that broke up, we are keen [to] avoid being dependent on getting the worms back." This way, the researchers can gather data on the worms from space, and automating the worm culturing also means less work. Dr Szewczyk, like all UK scientists, is currently dependent on collaborating with international space programmes to get their animals into space. However, the UK is in the process of considering whether to join the European Programme for Life and Physical Science (Elips), a European Space Agency-run programme that would give British scientists more direct access to the space station. The decision will be taken next year. www.bbcnews.com
In its annual briefing to the UN climate summit, the agency says 2011 is so far the 10th warmest year on record. But continued warming was masked by cooling La Nina conditions, it adds. At the summit itself, in the South African city of Durban, delegates discussed Monday's news that Canada may formally renounce the Kyoto Protocol. The government is concerned that its economic development could be hindered if it takes stronger action on greenhouse gas emissions than the US, its main trading partner. The developing world is split between countries that share Canada's concern that curbing emissions could damage economic competitiveness, and those that insist curbs are absolutely necessary in order to safeguard their existence against projected climate impacts such as sea level rise. The WMO briefing will not have given comfort to any delegates hoping that the slowdown in temperature rise observed over the last decade meant global warming had stopped. Although provisional figures put 2011 as only the 10th warmest on record, the WMO says it has been hotter than any previous year on record that experienced such strong La Nina conditions. Here, the appearance of relatively cold water at the surface of the eastern Pacific Ocean reduces
Photo: AP
Warm blast hits UN climate summit
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Despite non-record temperatures this year, the Earth's surface is continuing to get warmer, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). the average temperature in the atmosphere. This year's La Nina conditions were also associated with droughts in East Africa, Pacific islands and the southern US, and flooding in southern Africa, eastern Australia and southern Asia. The agency also points out that the 13 warmest years on record have all occurred in the 15 years since 1997, and that the summer Arctic melt saw sea ice decline to the smallest volume on record. "Our science is solid, and it proves unequivocally that the world is warming and that this warming is due to human activities," said WMO secretary-general Michel Jarraud. "Concentrations of greenhouse gases... are very rapidly approaching levels consistent with a 2.02.4C rise in average global temperatures, which scientists believe could trigger far-reaching and irreversible changes in our Earth, biosphere and oceans."
ment that it would not accept further emission cuts under the treaty. On Monday, Canada's environment minister Peter Kent confirmed the government's decision to reporters in the capital Ottawa. The current emission targets expire at the end of next year. Though this helps align Canada with its giant southern neighbour, it has embarked on a collision course with developing nations. As formal negotiations on the protocol began in Durban, Argentinian delegate Silvia Merega spelled out what the powerful 132-nation G77/China bloc of developing countries was anticipating. "The Group of 77 and China expects that developed countries put forward ambitious quantified emission reduction commitments under the Kyoto Protocol," she said. "The protocol, its mechanisms, its rules and its compliance system must be preserved and strengthened for the preservation of the legally-binding, international, multilateral rules-based system created under the [UN climate] convention." The Canadian CTV network said the country would begin the year-long process of formally withdrawing next month, which Mr
UEFA CUP A huge swathe of East Africa has seen severe drought for several years
Kent declined to confirm or refute. Russia and Japan have also said they will not make further emission cuts under the protocol, though it is not known whether they plan formally to withdraw. In Durban, the US deputy climate negotiator Jonathan Pershing said he did not foresee governments changing their existing pledges on curbing emissions by 2020. "The idea that countries would change their current pledges that they listed in the Cancun agreements [from last year's summit in Mexico] seems unlikely to me," he told reporters. "I don't see the major economies shifting those actions." At a meeting of the Major Economies Forum (MEF) earlier this month - the body that brings together 17 of the world's biggest
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Inside the conference halls in Durban, one of the climate convention's sharpest divides - the future of the Kyoto Protocol - was thrown into sharp relief by Canada's announce-
greenhouse gas emitters - India and Brazil joined the US in wanting to delay beginning talks on a new global climate agreement until at least 2015. The EU and many smaller developing states want to reach agreement in Durban on starting talks as soon as possible, reaching agreement by 2015 and cutting emissions by 2020. Reports by numerous organisations, most recently the International Energy Agency, have concluded that in order to meet the goal of keeping global average temperature rise since pre-industrial times below 2C, emissions should peak and begin to fall around 2020, if not earlier. www.bbcnews.com The International weekly
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Sciencie & Techologic December 2 - 8, 2011
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Judge orders Google, Facebook to remove fake sites A US Judge has ordered Google, Yahoo, Twitter and Facebook, among others, to delist domain names linked to websites selling counterfeit goods It represents a significant step in the ongoing battle against the sale of fake items online. The case was brought by luxury goods maker Chanel against 600 sites which it had identified as trading in counterfeits. Many experts were surprised at the scope of the Nevada judge's ruling.US firm GoDaddy, which manages around 45 million domain names, has been given control of the web addresses of the 600 firms. It has been told to ensure that none of the sites can be accessed. Judge Dawson also ordered: •Google, Bing, Yahoo, Facebook, Google+ and Twitter to remove the domain name from any search results pages. •The defendants to stop using Chanel's name and images, and to stop selling any Chanel products. •GoDaddy to link the web addresses involved to a site outli-
ning the case.
Whack-a-mole Chanel's counterfeit investigative team identified the websites by ordering goods from them which it then determined to be fakes. Writing about the case in his blog, laywer Eric Goldman said: "Wow, I'm sympathetic to the "whack-a-mole" problem rights owner face, but this relief is just extraordinarily broad and is on shaky procedural grounds." Others have questioned how much jurisdiction the court would have over domains that had been registered outside of the US. "One of the problems is that the internet is a global phenomenon and you would need similar judgements in all jurisdictions," said Rachel Barber, assistant at law firm Wiggin.She linked the case to the L'Oreal versus eBay judgement earlier this year.
Facebook settles privacy case with US regulators The Federal Trade Commission said Facebook would tighten consent rules on privacy, and close access to deleted accounts in 30 days or less. The case began in 2009, when Facebook changed settings to make public details users may have deemed private. In a blog post, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said the company had made a "bunch of mistakes". But he added that this has often overshadowed the good work that the social networking site had done. Facebook had addressed many of the FTC's concerns already, he said. The FTC said Facebook, which has 800 million users, had agreed to get consumers' approval before changing the way it shares their data.
'Express consent' Facebook did not admit guilt and was not fined, but it was barred from "making any further deceptive privacy claims" and will undergo regular checks on privacy practices, the FTC said. "The proposed settlement requires Facebook to take several steps to make sure it lives up to its promises," the FTC said in a statement. That includes giving consumers "clear and prominent notice and obtaining consumers' express consent before their information is shared beyond the privacy settings they have established". Mr Zuckerberg said in his blog: "We're making a clear and formal long-term commitment to do the things we've always tried to do and planned to keep doing giving you tools to control who can see your information and then making sure only those people you intend can see it." www.bbcnews.com
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Chanel is involved in big crackdown on counterfeit goods
In July the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that eBay and others should play a more active role in stopping their sellers from trading in counterfeit L'Oreal goods. The court said that websites such as eBay might be liable for trademark
infringements if they played an "active role" in promoting fake goods. "It is acknowledged that third party intermediaries are best placed to tackle online infringement and that when intermediaries have knowledge of this based on good evidence that can't just sit on
their hands," said Ms Barber. Google said that it had no comment to make at this stage because it was yet to be served with the judgement. Facebook said was looking into the matter. www.bbcnews.com
Antique Stradivarius violin ‘replicated' by radiologist The US-based group used a computerised axial tomography (CAT) scanner on the 307year-old instrument to reveal its secrets. They then used the data recovered to build "nearly exact copies". The team said the technique could be used to give musicians access to rare musical equipment. Their findings have been presented to the Radiological Society of North America at a conference in Chicago.
Gunshot Radiologist Steven Sirr first had the idea of using a CAT scanner to take images of violins in 1988.He was an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota at the time and often brought his violin to his office to practise when it was quiet. One weekend he was called to supervise the scan of a gunshot wound victim. "I put the violin of the side on a table near the scanner and then after the patient went to surgery I turned round and saw my violin and thought - well it would be interesting to scan that," Dr Sirr told the BBC. He had expected to see a wooden shell surrounded by air, but was proved wrong. "There is a lot of anatomy - I'm used to evaluating anatomy in people and I saw a lot of detail that I had no understanding of, so I took the CT scan to my friend John Waddle, who is a violin maker, and I gave him the images," he said.
Replicas Over the following years the two men scanned many hundreds of instruments, including guitars, mandolins and other violins. Scans of the older instruments revealed worm holes, small cracks and other damage that helped create their distinctive sounds. Eventually the two men borrowed a Stradivarius known as "Betts" from the US Library of Congress which still had an original label placed by its Italian creator, Antonio Stradivari, inside its body. Teaming up with another violin maker,
Steve Rossow, they proceeded to create three replicas.
Computer cut To do this they took more than 1,000 CAT scan images from the original instrument and converted them into a file format used to resemble three-dimensional object in computer-aided design (CAD) software. "We used the scans to determine the density of the woods that made up the violin - that could only otherwise be done if the violin was dissected and measured - and of course that would never happen," Dr Sirr said. The files were then fed into a CNC (computer numerical control) machine. It used the data to carve the violins' back and front plates, neck and the "scroll" carving at the neck's end using various woods picked to match the originals as closely as possible. These were then assembled and varnished by hand. "The copies are amazingly similar to originals in their sound quality," said Dr Sirr. "When we make the violin we copy the changes that have occurred over more than 300 years including the shifts in the wood the small deformations in the front and back plates that occur over time because of the forces of the strings and the other parts of the violin."
Cheap classics Dr Sirr said he hoped to repeat the process with other antique instruments and hoped that his work would one day pave the way for students to have access to "nearly exact copies" of the originals. The dean of the world-famous Juilliard school in New York, welcomed the possibility. "Every string player graduating from any great conservatory faces an immense crisis of how do you obtain a violin that is at the level that you need to have a really first rate career," said Ara Guzelimian. "With the inflation of prices of rare old violins - and obviously Stradivari at the top of that list - it's far out of the reach of anyo-
A Stradivarius violin has been "recreated" using an X-ray scanner normally used to detect cancers and injuries, according to researchers. ne but investors and investment trusts. So if there was a way of putting a superb violin in the hands of a young violinist at a fraction of the cost it would be a huge step forward." A well-preserved Stradivarius known as the Lady Blunt was sold in June for $15.9m (£10.2m) at a charity auction. That was more than four times the previous record price for an instrument made by the Italian craftsman.
Experience Renowned luthier Samuel Zygmuntowicz noted that violin makers have long studied Stradivari, Guarneri and other classic instruments to match their sound. He said Dr Sirr's work may have helped democratise the process by making it possible for more people to study such antique violins. But he added that the most highly skilled luthiers would remain in demand. "This process will streamline that effort to copy an instrument," said Mr Zygmuntowicz. "But the very last stretch - the very last 2% - still involves exact judgements about relative thicknesses of the wood, the exact strength of the bracing, the exact varnishes and wood preparations and general optimising of the whole form. So I would say a skilled maker with this in his hands could save himself a lot of work, and an unskilled maker would save himself a certain amount of education." www.bbcnews.com
December 2-8, 2011
Brain find sheds light on autism The Stanford University team turned skin cells from people with "Timothy syndrome" into fullyfledged brain cells. The abnormal activity found in these cells could be partially corrected using an experimental drug, Nature Medicine reports. UK researchers warned the findings might not apply to everyone with autism. Compared with the hundreds of thousands of people worldwide thought to show characteristics of autism, "Timothy syndrome" is vanishingly rare, affecting an estimated 20 people across the planet. People who have the syndrome frequently display autistic behaviour, such as problems with social development and communication. Because it is caused by a single gene defect rather than a combination of small genetic flaws, each making a tiny contribution, it presents a useful target for scientists
looking to examine what goes wrong in the developing brain of a child with autism.
Ready for work The US researchers used a technique developed recently to generate brain cells called neurons from only a sample of the patient's skin. This allowed them to examine their development in the laboratory, and even use them to test out possible treatments. They found obvious differences between neurons grown from Timothy syndrome patients, and those from healthy "control" subjects. The healthy neurons developed into different subtypes, ready for work in different regions of the brain. In contrast, the proportion of neurons developing into each subtype was different in the Timothy syndrome samples more were equipped to work in
the upper part of the cerebral cortex, and fewer in the lower part. This meant there were fewer neurons equipped to work in a part of the brain called the corpus callosum, which has the role of helping the left and right "hemispheres" of the brain communicate. These differences echoed those already observed in mice specially bred with the Timothy syndrome genetic fault. In addition, the neurons were making too much of a particular body chemical linked to the manufacture of dopamine and norepinephrine, which play a significant role in sensory processing and social behaviour. Dr Ricardo Dolmetsch, who led the study, said that the abnormalities found tallied with other evidence that autism was due in part to poor communication between different parts of the brain. The team managed to reduce significantly the number of these malfunctioning neurons by adding a drug as they developed. This, they said, meant it might be possible one day to treat this defect in a real patient, although the drug used was not currently suitable
Photo: AP
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Cells taken from people with a rare syndrome linked to autism could help explain the origins of the condition, scientists suggest
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for children due to side-effects. The National Autistic Society gave a cautious welcome to findings, but warned that they did not necessarily offer insights into every form of autism. Researcher Georgina Gomez said: "Timothy syndrome is only one
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form of autism and so these findings only give a very limited picture of what might cause the condition. "More work would need to be done to substantiate this particular piece of research." www.bbcnews.com
The benchside tests showed sperm were less able to swim and had changes in the genetic code that they carry. Experts stress this does not mean the same would occur in a real-life setting and say men should not worry unduly. But they are recommending more studies. The preliminary research, published in the journal Fertility and Sterility, looked at semen samples from 29 healthy donors. Each donor sample was separated out into two pots. One of these pots was then stored for four hours next to a laptop that was wirelessly connected to the internet. The other was stored under identical conditions, minus the laptop. The scientists, from Argentina and the US, suspect that the effect seen is unrelated to the heat kicked out by a laptop, although heat can damage sperm.
Under investigation The UK's Health Protection Agency has been closely monitoring the safety of wi-fi. It says people using wi-fi, or those in the proximity of wi-fi equipment, are exposed to the radio signals it emits - and some of the transmitted energy in the signals is absorbed in their bodies. However, the signals are very low power. The HPA says there is no
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Scientists question if wi-fi Scan can spot 'curable cause Culture of high blood pressure' laptops can damage sperm Conn's syndrome - a disease of the adrenal glands that sit above the kidneys - is thought to be the cause behind one in 20 cases of hypertension. But until now it has been difficult to detect, requiring a complex series of tests on blood taken from a vein supplying the adrenal gland. Experts at the University of Cambridge say a simple scan can spot the problem. The hi-tech PET-CT scan looks for small growths in the adrenal glands that are about the size of a five pence piece, the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism reports. These benign growths or tumours - called adenomas pump out too much of a hormone called aldosterone, which in turn raises blood pressure. The researchers developed a special radioactive tracer called 11C-metomidate, which lights up culprit adenomas in the scan. Once the problem is identified the condition can be treated either by surgically removing the affected gland or by using a drug to block the effects of aldosterone. This is important because high blood pressure greatly increases the risk of heart attack and stroke. After initial success in 44 patients, the Cambridge team is now using the scan on any
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consistent evidence to date that exposure to radio signals from wi-fi adversely affects the health of the general population. UK fertility expert Dr Allan Pacey, senior lecturer in andrology at the University of Sheffield, said: "The study is very well conducted, but we should be cautious about what it may infer about the fertility of men who regularly use laptops with wi-fi on their laps. "Ejaculated sperm are particularly sensitive to many factors because outside the body they don't have the protection of the other cells, tissues and fluids of the body in which they are stored before ejaculation. Therefore, we cannot infer from this study that because a man might use a laptop with wi-fi on his lap for more than four hours then his sperm
will necessarily be damaged and he will be less fertile. "We need large epidemiological studies to determine this, and to my knowledge these have not yet been performed." He said men should still be cautious about balancing a laptop on their thighs for hours on end. "We know from other studies that the bottom of laptops can become incredibly hot and inadvertent testicular heating is a risk factor for poor sperm quality. "There is a case report of a man who burnt his penis after using a laptop resting on his lap for a long time. Therefore, there are many reasons to try and use a laptop on a table where possible, and this may in itself ameliorate any theoretical concerns about wi-fi."
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patients they suspect to have Conn's syndrome.
Reassurance Lead researcher Prof Morris Brown said: "We were excited to see our technique work so well, and shortcut the delays and discomforts associated with the alternative test. "We're using PET-CT on our patients already, but we also plan a larger study to work out who will benefit the most." He says the test could be especially important for older patients. "We often see growths in the adrenal glands during a routine CT scan. Often these growths are not Conn's adenomas, but it's difficult to be sure and they create a lot of anxiety in patients and doctors. "In the future PET-CT could be a quick way to reassure a lot of patients without the need for detailed investigations." Dr Shannon Amoils, of the British Heart Foundation, which part-funded the work, said getting an accurate diagnosis would mean thousands of patients could potentially be cured of high blood pressure. "There are drugs that can control the high blood pressure caused by Conn's syndrome, but the only cure is surgery, so making the diagnosis is very important." www.bbcnews.com The International weekly
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Health December 2 - 8, 2011
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Reading William Shakespeare could give physicians a fresh insight into the links between emotion and illness, a retired doctor and scholar believes. Dr Kenneth Heaton says many doctors fail to connect psychological problems with physical symptoms - and argues the playwright could help them do it. He listed dozens of examples in which Shakespeare described these phenomena in his works. "They could learn to be better doctors by studying Shakespeare," he said. While traditional medical school training never strays far from the science of diagnosis and treatment, there has been growing interest in recent years in including courses on health-related art, history or literature as part of the curriculum. Dr Heaton, from North Somerset, who studied Shakespeare after retiring from his post as a gastroenterologist, believes that a broader perspective could make it easier to understand the viewpoint and needs of a patient, particularly in general practice.
'Reluctance' His latest research, published in the journal Medical Humanities, focuses on real symptoms such as dizziness, fatigue, fainting, and disturbed hearing, produced by underlying emotional distress, which can some-
times confuse doctors as they have no obvious physical cause. The frequency of these psychological illnesses in Shakespeare should be a mark not only of his "body-conscious" approach, but also of their importance to doctors, he believes. Notable examples include the fatigue suffered by Hamlet, grief-stricken for his murdered father, who complains of his "weary, stale, flat and unprofitable" existence, and the headache suffered by the cuckolded Othello. In King Lear, when Gloucester is led to the point of attempting suicide, his son Edgar notes that his "senses grow imperfect" because of his anguish. In Romeo and Juliet, feelings of both coldness and faintness are used to convey shock. In all Dr Heaton found at least 43 references to physical problems caused by psychological stress in Shakespeare's works - far more than in other authors of the same period. He said that the reluctance of modern doctors to attribute physical symptoms to emotional disturbance could cause delayed diagnoses, and unnecessary tests and treatment. "Shakespeare had an extraordinary insight into the psychology
Can some people remember minute details of almost every day of their lives?
Romeo and Juliet was one of Shakespeare's works that could help doctors, it was argued
of human beings, extending to the emotional effects on the body. "Some medical schools have more in the way of humanities teaching than others, but many doctors would be able to learn something from Shakespeare." Dr Paul Lazarus, a senior clinical educator from the University of Leicester, is one of those advocating a broader curriculum at medical schools, possibly including subjects such as the history of medicine, its depiction in literature and art, and even the architecture of hospitals. He said: "While it isn't for everyone, it can help make students more capable of being able to view problems from a wider range of perspectives." www.bbcnews.com
Why anything can be addictive But in this week's Scrubbing Up, gambling studies expert Mark Griffiths warns that if the rewards are there people can become addicted to almost anything. For the past 25 years I have been studying gambling and I passionately believe that gambling at its most extreme is just as addictive as any drug. The social and health costs of problem gambling are large and have many things in common with more traditional addictions, including moodiness, relationship problems, absenteeism from work, domestic violence, and bankruptcy. Health effects - for gamblers and their partners - include anxiety and depression, insomnia, intestinal disorders, migraine, stress related disorders, stomach problems, and suicidal thoughts. If behaviours like gambling can become a genuine addiction, there is no theoretical reason why some people might not become genuinely addicted to activities like video games, work or exercise. Research on pathological gamblers has reported at least one physical side effect when they undergo withdrawal, including insomnia, headaches, loss of appetite, physical weakness, heart palpitations, muscle aches, breathing difficulty, and chills. In fact, pathological gamblers appear to experience more physical withdrawal effects when attempting to stop their behaviour
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when compared directly with drug addicts.
'Most important thing' But when does an excessive healthy enthusiasm become an addiction? Excessive behaviour on its own does not mean someone is addicted. I can think of lots of people who engage in excessive activities but I wouldn't class them as addicts as they don't appear to experience any detrimental effects from engaging in the behaviour. In a nutshell, the fundamental difference between excessive enthusiasm and addiction is that healthy enthusiasms add to life whereas addiction takes away from it. For any behaviour to be defined as addictive, there have to be specific consequences such as it becoming the most important activity in the person's life or being the way they improve their mood. They may also begin to need to do more and more of the activity over time to feel the effects, and experience physical and psychological withdrawal symptoms if they can't do it. This may lead to conflict with work and personal responsibilities, and people may even experience "relapses" if they try to give up. The way addictions develop whether chemical or behavioural is complex. Addictive behaviour
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Shakespeare ‘could help doctors become better'
For many people the concept of addiction involves taking drugs such as alcohol, nicotine, cocaine and heroin. develops from a combination of a person's biological/genetic predisposition, the social environment they were brought up in, their psychological constitution - such as personality factors, attitudes, expectations and beliefs, and the activity itself. Many behavioural addictions are "hidden" addictions. Unlike, say, alcoholism, there is no slurred speech and no stumbling into work. However, behavioural addiction is a health issue that needs to be taken seriously by all those in the health and medical profession. If the main aim of practitioners is to ensure the health of their patients, then an awareness of behavioural addiction and the issues surrounding it should be an important part of basic knowledge and training. Behavioural addictions can be just as serious as drug addictions. www.bbcnews.com
A professor seeks proof of people with miracle memories A psychologist from Hull University is looking for people in the UK who have a rare condition that allows them to recall an apparently incredible amount of detail about their own lives. So far it has been found in just a handful of people, all of them in the US. And if the condition really does exist it challenges the current models of how memory works. But that is the question does it really exist? The condition was first described in a paper in the journal Neurocase in 2006 by three academics from the University of California which reported the case of a woman who could tell researchers exactly what she was doing on a particular date. The paper describes how the woman, known as AJ, "spends an excessive amount of time recalling her personal past with considerable accuracy and reliability". Since then a number of other people identified themselves as having similar powers but all of them have been from the US. There is even a US TV show on CBS channel in which an implausibly attractive female detective has amazing powers of autobiographical recall. The title? Unforgettable, of course.
'Clear and vivid' Now Prof Giuliana Mazzoni of Hull University is keen to track down anyone in the UK who has similar powers of recall. "The characteristics of this type of memory are a very clear and vivid memory for almost every day in a person's life. "People are given dates - like 14th April 1981 - and they're able to tell what they were doing, where they were, what they were wearing, with whom they were speaking, what happened to them in life." And unlike those who can perform amazing feats of memory - like recalling sequences of cards and numbers - these people seem to be able to recall details with very little effort and without using memory training
techniques. And if genuine, Prof Mazzoni says the condition poses a challenge to existing ideas on how memory works - and our own potential for developing greater powers of recall. "For a few years now we have been thinking that in order to remember we have to abstract information. "It is scattered information from this episode or that episode. We just maintain the gist of the information but we lose all the details. "But apparently these people are able to remember visual details, auditory details, what they said and what they heard. "If it is true it means that we might be able to actually have all this detailed information stored in our memory and then maybe we can all do that." But is it real? Prof Mazzoni was initially sceptical over reports of people seem to have an almost total recall of their autobiographical memory. But the more she read about the condition, the more she was convinced it could be feasible. "The evidence that I have seen up until now has overcome my initial scepticism. "At the beginning I really thought that it was a made-up situation. "But after having read the main scientific article and having read what these people report about their lives and having seen that their memory is accurate, I think it is a real condition that deserves to be studied." "I'd really love to find them. I'd really love to know everything about them. "I think the number will be relatively limited but we are setting up a study in which we will study their memory and can compare their memory to the memory of people like me who has a very normal autobiographical memory." www.bbcnews.com
December 2 - 8, 2011
The International weekly
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Tourism
December 2-8, 2011
BONAMPAK AND YAXCHILAN Bonampak is famous for its murals, its stelae and its dated lintels, as well as for its masonry buildings, representative of this great civilization. It is located within the 17 square miles of the Lacandon Forest, near the Lacanjá River, some 18.5 miles from the frontier with Guatemala. It was declared a Natural Monument on the August 21 1992. The city flourished during the Late Classical period (600 to 900 AD) and was abandoned around 800 AD. It was discovered in the 1940s of the last century. The name in Maya means “painted walls” since one of the buildings contains within its three rooms mural paintings of unquestionable quality. The only parts of the complex which have been excavated are the Great Plaza and the Acropolis. In the former stands Stele 1, which shows Chaan Muan II dressed in great luxury to celebrate the fifth year of his reign. On the Acropolis, which follows the uneven terrain, stands the building with the paintings, which has three chambers. In the first we can se a ceremony for the procession
of musicians. Chamber two has a battle and the subsequent presentation and sacrifice of the prisoners. The third chamber shows a sumptuous ceremony celebrating the victory. Among other things, the unearthing of Bonampak has allowed us to discover the painters’ extraordinary conception of color and line.
YAXCHILAN This site, noteworthy for its large number of monuments filled with inscriptions, is situated in thick tropical forest on the banks of Usumacinta River, near Palenque in Chiapas, and Tenosique, in Tabasco. Development of the site took place between 350 and 810 AD. Architecturally, the layout was adapted to the characteristics of the terrain and the presence of the river, since the building stretch out from east to west along a plaza bordered to the south by series of elevations on which the buildings stand. This is one of the great cities of the Classical period in the Mayan region. Its importance is believed to date from the reign of Skull-Mahk´ina I, lord of Yaxchilan was the port for the Palenque area. The presence at the other locations of the glyph-emblem of the city demonstrates that, apart from exercising some political influence over places such as El Chicazapote, Anaife, La Pasadita, El Cayo and La Mar, it seems probable that after the ascent of the abovementioned ruler, the city became capital of the region. In 600 AD there was a marked interruption in the erection od stelae, probably due to a period of political instability. The city`s most important period of expansion withing the region began with the ascent to he throne of Shield- Jaguar I, in 681 AD; his reign was characterized by constant struggles with other cities, over which he maintained his control. Under Bird- Jaguard IV, Yazxchilan`s rulers is on lintel 10, the lastest date on which is around 808 AD. The ruler Mahk´ina-Skull III, appears on this monument apparently a son of Shield-Jaguard II. www.bbcnews.com
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The International weekly
December 2-8, 2011
The International weekly
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Culture December 2 - 8, 2011
Real EstateWAS CHOSEN HOW THE KING OF BIRDS Long ago, In Maya Land flowers, birds, trees butterflies and mammals appeared in other colors and shapes than those of today. HalachUinic, the Great Spirit guarded over all the Maya World. His will was law. One day be grew tired of the constant chatter and fighting among the birds. At a meeting in the center of the forest, he announced that the birds must choose a king to keep peace. Of course, each bird thought it possessed the best qualifications. Col-pol-che, the cardinal sang, "Look at me. No one else is bright red and so beautiful. All the birds admire me. I should he king." And he strutted in front of the impressed bird audience, fluttering his wings and raising his crest. X-col-col-chek, the tropical mockingbird, trilled out, "I'm the only bird with such a lovely voice. Everyone listens to me." Enlarging his throat, X-col gave a short performance of enchanting and complicated melodies. This was a tremendous sensation among the birds and went far in convincing them that the mockingbird should be king. Then the wild turkey, Cutz, strode into the circle and gob-
bled, "There's no doubt that I should be king because I'm the biggest and strongest bird. With my size and strength, I can stop fights and also defend any bird. You need a powerful king. I'm the one!" And so, throughout the day various birds displayed their qualities. The only one that kept quiet was Kukul, the quetzal. This bird was very ambitious and proud. He had elegant manners and a graceful body, but his plumage was shabby. Kukul thought it would be impossible to be chosen as king while he was dressed so poorly. After thinking carefully he flew over to his friend, Xtuntun-kinil, the roadrunner. "I want to make you a proposition, my dear friend," he said. "Your feathers are so handsome as any bird's here, but you are too busy with your work as messenger of the roads to become king. Also, I don't think you posses quite the flair and sophistication that is necessary for this job. I'm afraid I can't loan these qualities to you, but you could loan me your feathers just for this occasion. After I'm elected king, I'll share the wealth and honors with you." It was a tempting offer, yet the roadrunner did not feel too eager to part with his plumage. Kukul kept persuading and assuring Xtuntun of his integrity and fine intentions. He painted bright visions of the riches to come. At last, he convinced his trusting friend. One by one, the feathers disappeared from Xtuntsun's body and the clever quetzal adjusted them to his own. Within minutes, they had multi-
plied and grown so that the ambitious bird was attired in the most splendid costume imaginable. Kukul's tail hung in a sweeping curve of jade green plumes. His body shimmered with soft, iridescent hues of blue and green like the Maya sky and jungle. His breast blazed with the colors of a tropical sunset. And his beak turned yellow as corn. Swinging his exquisite 4-foot tail in an arc, the bold bird promenaded into the circle where the birds of Maya Land were congregated. His entrance caused a hush. Then cries of "Bravo," "Hurrah," "Oh" and "Ah" filled the forest. Halach-Uinic was very pleased with the miraculous change from the quiet, drab bird to this radiant, proud creature before him. Calling the audience to order, the Great Spirit declared: "I name the quetzal to be king or the birds." A loud applause followed this announcement and each bird hopped over to the quetzal with congratulations. Finally, they all flew home and left Kukul to begin his new duties. He found himself extremely busy so he never had time to return the borrowed feathers. In fact, he forgot all about his promise to the roadrunner. One day, a group of birds noticed that the roadrunner had not appeared in several days. In fact, no one had seen him since the great election. They began to suspect Kukul of some trick, so they organized a search. Deep into the forest behind a bush, they found Xtuntun-kinil, naked, trembling with cold and almost dead of hunger. Quickly, the birds gave him some black (honey drink) to help him recover. When he was able, the roadrunner told them of the cruel deception played by the quetzal. He kept saying, "Puhuy? Puhuy?" which means "Where is he? Where is he?" in the Maya language. All the birds felt sorry for the roadrunner and decided each should donate a few feathers to cover him. The mockingbird even sang a jolly song to raise the courage of the embarrassed bird. That is why today the roadrunner's feathers are so oddly colored and varied in pattern, and why he always watches the Maya roads. He is still searching for the quetzal that took away his plumage and still running anxiously in front of travelers asking, "Puhuy? Puhuy?"
Fashion & People Restaurantes Hoteles
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The International weekly
Culture December 2-8, 2011
But now its new Egyptian galleries will let visitors discover far more about one of the world's great civilisations. The old Egyptian galleries at the Ashmolean Museum were so crowded that there was no space for what will surely become one of the big draws - the mummies newly taken out of storage. The most striking is a Roman mummy from around AD130 which shows the invading power picking up on Egyptian traditions. Unusually the facial portrait remains clear and intact, showing a woman wearing a fine set of pearls.
'Playful and innovative' But the glory of the Ashmolean collection remains its holdings from Egypt's earlier predynastic era, even outdoing those at the British Museum in London. The predynastic period dates from 5500BC and ending with the formation of a recognisable Egyptian state in 3100BC. It's a huge period of time, longer than that separating us from the birth of Christ. The first thing visitors see on entering the new galleries, designed by the architect Rick Mather, is two big statues of the fertility god Min.
Photo: AP
Ashmolean Museum's Egyptian gems seen in new light The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford has the best collection outside Cairo of artefacts from the earliest years of Ancient Egypt. They were excavated in Coptos in 1893 by Flinders Petrie, regarded by some as the father of modern archaeology. In both cases, Min has lost the phallus which represented his potency to the Egyptians. Some objects are more domestic. There's a kitchen colander from the Kingdom of Kush, remarkably well-preserved and whose intricate patterning suggests it came from a high-status tomb. At the other end of the scale is the impressive shrine of the Pharaoh Taharqa, built at Kawa in around 690BC. Kawa was in Nubia (now Sudan) and one of the stories the galleries tell is the competitive relationship between the Egyptians and the Nubians. The Ashmolean's Liam McNamara says the idea is to take visitors on a chronological journey, while still drawing them into specific themes such as attitudes to death or Egypt's relationship with Greece and Rome. "Compared to earlier layouts,
when there was much less space available, we think the museum is now quite playful and innovative in giving a real sense of what Ancient Egypt was like across the millennia," he explains. "Some things changed but much of the culture was consistent. So if you know a lot about Ancient Egypt - or almost nothing - you can still enjoy the visit." One gallery looks at the Amarna period, in many ways the pinnacle of Egyptian power. "The empire stretched from what's now Sudan to the Middle East and there were strong connections to the Mediterranean world and beyond. We tried to use our new space to shed light on that story," says Mr McNamara. He adds that another aim is to show visitors how dynamic the study of this area remains. "We're learning new information every year. And that breathes new life into existing collections in the world's museums." "We regularly return to investiga-
The Egyptian life after death gallery at the Ashmolean has some new displays
tion reports from the 1800s to discover new information which wasn't so obvious then. In fact there are more excavations than ever, although mainly they're smaller than in what is regarded as the golden age." With the completion of the Ashmolean's galleries, two years on from its major re-opening in
Portrait Gallery to open after £17.5m revamp Following the first major refurbishment in the gallery's 120-year history, previously inaccessible parts of the building have been opened up. Public space in the gallery has also been increased by more than 60%. The building on Edinburgh's Queen Street has undergone two years of work. It was the world's first purpose-built portrait gallery which opened in 1889. Entry will be free. The gallery is home to 300 paintings and sculptures, 25,000 prints and drawings and 38,000 photographs of some of Scotland most famous people. More than 600 exhibits are new to the portrait gallery, with 211 having never been shown in public before. Portraits on display include Mary Queen of Scots, Sean Connery, Bonnie Prince Charlie and Dr Who star Karen Gillan. For the first time, there will be a space dedicated to showing photographs, and photos will also be integrated throughout the rest of the displays. John Leighton, director-general of the National Galleries of Scotland,
said: "The new Scottish National Portrait Gallery will be a superb setting to showcase rich traditions of Scottish art and photography. "It is also a forum where issues of history and identity come to life through art, perhaps, above all, it is a place where individual and collective stories and memories come together to create a fascinating and imaginative portrait of a nation." Unique collection James Holloway, director of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, said: "Scotland's national portraits at last have a home worthy of them. "Our great iconic building now looks tremendous and is the perfect showcase for our rich and unique collection." First Minister Alex Salmond said: "The Scottish National Portrait Gallery celebrates wellknown Scots from throughout the ages; whether they are some of our greatest thinkers or our modern actors and actresses. "All aspects of Scottish life and achievement are encapsulated in the many artworks which will now be displayed to their utmost as part of this ambitious £17.6m restoration project.
The gallery has more than 600 new exhibits
"The improvements to the magnificent building will allow visitors to experience much of what architect Sir Robert Rowand Anderson envisaged in his original design as it continues to showcase Scotland's greatest asset - its people." www.bbcnews.com
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British Museum acquires Picasso etchings with £1m donation Photo: AP
The Scottish National Portrait Gallery is to reopen on Thursday following a £17.6m restoration project.
2009, visitors can investigate four big ancient civilisations: Egypt, Rome, Greece and China. It put the museum in a position to shed light on how, over the centuries, political power has been won and lost around the globe.
The museum said the etchings, produced during a "critical period in Picasso's career", would be the only complete set held by a public museum in the UK. The works were acquired following the donation from City fund manager Hamish Parker on behalf on his late father. The complete Vollard Suite will go on show at the British Museum next summer. It is believed to be the first time the suite - created between 1930 and 1937 - has been shown in Britain in the past 50 years. Picasso himself described his etchings as a "visual diary" and a way of keeping track of ideas he was developing. The suite includes the artist's 17-year-old muse, MarieTherese Walter, while others show the studio where Picasso was creating new sculptures. It takes its name from Paris art dealer and print publisher Ambroise Vollard, who commissioned the etchings and gave Picasso a Renoir and a Cezanne painting in exchange for the work. Some 313 sets were printed but Vollard died before they could be distributed. The British Museum's set has been acquired from the heirs of French dealer Henri Petiet - who purchased most of the prints from the Vollard estate - following the donation by the Hamish
A businessman's gift of £1m has allowed the British Museum to buy a complete set of 100 Picasso etchings never before seen in public. Parker Charitable Trust. Prints and drawings curator Stephen Coppel said he was "astonished" to receive an email in April from Mr Parker regarding the donation, made in honour of his late father, Maj Horace Parker, who was a fan of the museum. Although a handful of museums outside Britain have sets in their collections, the Vollard Suite is said to be "one of the very best impressions". The etchings will be exhibited from 3 May - 2 September 2012. www.bbcnews.com The International weekly
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Scarface remake ‘hires Training Day writer' Photo: AP
Photo: AP
December 2 - 8, 2011
Training Day writer David Ayer has been recruited to pen Universal Pictures' planned remake of crime film Scarface, industry website Deadline reports
Tourism & Evironment
Brad Pitt won best actor for his performances in baseball film Moneyball and Terrence Malick's cosmic drama The Tree of Life. Silent film The Artist was named best film of the year and also won best director for Michel Hazanavicius. The awards will be handed out at a ceremony on 9 January. The other acting prizes went to Jessica Chastain for her supporting roles in The Help, The Tree of Life and Take Shelter, while veteran actor Albert Brooks won best supporting actor for Drive. Werner Herzog's 3D documentary Cave of Forgotten Dreams also picked up best nonfiction film, with financial industry thriller Margin
Meryl Streep has been named best actress for her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher in upcoming film The Iron Lady by the New York Film Critics Circle. Call winning best first feature for JC Chandor. Iranian drama A Separation was voted best foreign film. The New York Film Critics brought forward their annual vote this year in a move that was widely seen as a bid for greater relevance in the award season. Chairman John Anderson did not deny the move was to increase their influence, but said other reasons were foremost.
The International weekly
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Hanging Out
A polka dot chiffon dress worn by singer Amy Winehouse on the cover of her hit album Back to Black has been sold for £43,200 at an auction
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movie and the De PalmaPacino version and found some universal themes." Earlier this year, Pacino said he had been "surprised" by the enduring success of his version, directed by Brian De Palma and written by Oliver Stone. "It's got an afterlife," said the actor, who famously played Tony 'Scarface' Montana as a ruthless Cuban drug lord.
"I thought it would be interesting for us to be able to vote without other awards having been given out," he said."Subconsciously or consciously, people are affected by other groups' voting." Anderson added the organisation might return to voting at a later time next year because a number of members were opposed to fitting film screenings into a tighter time frame. www.bbcnews.com
Amy Winehouse's Back to Black dress sold for £43,200 The north London singer's dress was bought by the Museo de la Moda, a fashion museum in Santiago, Chile. Winehouse's father Mitch said he was "over the moon" that the designer, Disaya, donated the proceeds to a foundation set up in her memory. The 27-year-old singer was found dead at her flat in Camden in July. Unreleased tracks
Al Pacino musing earlier this year on Scarface's enduring success
Photo: AP
Meryl Streep named best actress by New York critics
The film will be a contemporary update of the violent gangster story, filmed previously with Paul Muni in 1932 and again with Al Pacino in 1983. Speaking to Deadline, Ayer said there were "enough opportunities in the real world today... to do this right". The film-maker's other credits include The Fast and the Furious and U-571. "I see it as the story of the American dream, with a character whose moral compass points in a different direction," Ayer is quoted as saying. "I studied both the original Ben Hecht-Howard Hawks
Mitch Winehouse was present at the sale in central London which was organised by Kerry Taylor Auctions. He said: "We are just over the moon and we owe a great debt to the designer, Disaya, who donated the proceeds from the sale." A new album of the singer's unreleased tracks, titled Lioness: Hidden Treasures, will be released on Monday with £1 from each album sold going to the founda-
tion, which has donated £30,000 to three children's charities. "We are particularly keen to make donations in Camden, a place very close to the family's hearts as Amy's home", Mr Winehouse said. Dresses worn by Elizabeth Taylor and Audrey Hepburn were also on sale. An ivory lace dress worn by Hepburn in the 1953 film Roman Holiday, for which she won an Oscar, sold for £84,000. It had been expected to fetch between £40,000 and £60,000 but failed to reach its reserve price during the auction. Kerry Taylor Auctions said it was only after the sale had finished that a private buyer came forward.
The character Oswald the Lucky Rabbit is believed to be the prototype to Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse prototype film found by Herefordshire firm Hungry Hobos starring Oswald the Lucky Rabbit was made in 1928 but has been missing since before World War II. Robert Dewar, from the archives, said: "This is not just any old lost film, it marks the advent of Disney as a new successful commercial animator." The 16mm film is expected to fetch £25,000 at auction next month. Mr Dewar said: "Oswald the Lucky Rabbit is a very prototype Mickey, that is where Walt Disney really developed his huge animal theme that he carried right through in his career." It is believed Walt Disney made 26 films using the cha-
Riviera Maya www.bbcnews.com
racter Oswald before he started his own company and created the character of Mickey Mouse, based on many of the rabbit's features. Amanda Huntley, from the archives, said: "How we ended up with the film I don't know, it was probably collected by my father who started the company and it has been sitting on our shelves for decades. "We have decided to sell it because it is not really what we specialise in and we can use the money to preserve other films we have." The film will be auctioned at Bonhams Entertainment Memorabilia in the US. www.bbcnews.com
Entertainment December 2-8, 2011
Photo: AP
50/50 tackles cancer with comedy 50/50 is a comedy starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen as best friends whose lives are changed by a cancer diagnosis. But can such an emotive and sensitive subject be funny? Cancer is usually the subject of Hollywood weepies, but in recent years the illness has been embraced by comedies on the big and small screen, with US shows The Big C and Breaking Bad. New film 50/50 is a fictionalised version of what really happened to screenwriter Will Reiser, who was diagnosed with a tumour on his spine when he was 25. And while the movie shows the difficult and painful side of cancer, it also throws in a surprising dose of comedy. Inception actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars as radio producer Adam, dealing with his diagnosis and subsequent treatment, and how it impacts on relationships with his family, girlfriend, therapist and best friend Kyle. Seth Rogen, who also produced the film, plays Kyle - a role based on himself. He and Reiser first became friends while working together on the US version of Da Ali G Show. "There are some things that did happen in real life - like Seth really did change the dressing on my wound after my surgery, and he really did get me medicinal marijuana," says Reiser. "But what happens in the movie is not necessarily how it went down in my own personal life," he adds. "It's more of the absurdities and dysfunction that I experien-
ced," The moment Adam tells Kyle he has cancer is one of the set pieces in the film: Kyle lists a host of celebrity cancer survivors - but includes the late Patrick Swayze. On hearing Adam's 50/50 survival rate, he adds: "If you were a casino game you'd be the best odds." When Reiser told Rogen of his diagnosis however, it was not so light-hearted - although Rogen was sitting on the toilet at the time.
Awkward humour "In real life that conversation was not very funny and was more brief," Rogen says. "Even though I was on the toilet, it was a much more serious, which made it more absurd in retrospect." The actor says Kyle's attitude to Adam's cancer in the film was similar to his own at the time. "Kyle doesn't know how to talk about it seriously, so he just makes jokes about it - we didn't want to talk about how we actually felt," he says. Reiser adds: "We didn't know how to. When you're in your early 20s you don't talk about your feelings - at least guys don't - so we used humour." Hollywood can often be melodramatic about cancer, with any comedy element falling somewhat flat. Previous efforts have included
Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Set Rogen star in 50/50
2009's Funny People, also starring Rogen and Adam Sandler, and 2007 film The Bucket List, starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. Reiser's brave approach would ordinarily have been a hard-sell. The writer believes the project may not have got off the ground had not had cancer himself, nor would he have even considered writing a script about it. "I don't think that it would have been as accepted had I not gone through a similar experience," he says. "I don't think studios would have cared at all," adds Rogen. "We wouldn't have been able to make the movie in our way had we not actually experienced it."
Martin Scorsese wants antidote to 'theme park films' Martin Scorsese says Hollywood needs an alternative to "theme park" movies that have come to dominate the box office.
He told the BBC that effects-led blockbusters had "taken away serious film-going and serious film consideration". "We have to react against the theme park film, as well made as they are, and as enjoyable as some of them are."The director's latest film, Hugo, is in part a celebration of cinema's history. It received a Royal premiere on Monday. The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall attended the screening in London's Leicester Square, alongside stars Sir Ben Kingsley, Chloe Moretz and Asa Butterfield. The family-focused film marks Scorsese's first foray into 3D. Critics have applauded his use
of the format to complement the story - about a young orphan who lives in the bowels of a bustling French railway station in the 1930s, maintaining its many giant clocks. "What Marty has done is push 3D around a corner and given a gimmick a huge amount of heart and potential," Sir Ben told the BBC. "I think there's a reaction against these [popcorn] movies," he continued."There are six or seven myths around which all our literature is based. I think there is an anxiety amongst certain filmmakers that the thread that connects what we do to these ancient, life-affirming myths is going to snap.""And once that disconnect happens, the film is drifting. It's just a series of noises and effects." Scorsese, a passionate cineaste, was part of the "new wave" of American movies in the 1970s, which produced gritty, heavyweight classics such as The Godfather, Dog Day Afternoon and The Deer Hunter. His own movies include influential psychodramas such as Taxi Driver and 1990's Goodfellas.
Colonel Blimp Today, the director is actively involved in the restoration and theatrical presentation of old movies. During his promotional trip to London, he will be presenting a new print of 1943's The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp at the British Film Institute. The military satire, directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, starred Roger Livesey in the pompous title role, and has been called "the most wonderfully British movie ever made". Even so, its story - which features a friendship between a British and German officer - was considered disloyal, and Prime Minister Winston Churchill tried to have it banned. The new print, overseen by Scorsese's Film Foundation and Powell's widow, presents the Technicolor epic in its unedited form. www.bbcnews.com
The label "cancer comedy" probably mis-sells 50/50 as it is also a poignant drama - with GordonLevitt's performance, sometimes heartbreakingly so - but it can be laugh-out loud hilarious. The main challenge was to make it funny without being flippant or offending anyone - and for Reiser, it was important to strike the right balance. "It was all about making it feel real and honest," he says. "The humour and drama all feel organic and I never let it go too far in either direction." So, on the one hand you have Kyle encouraging Adam to exploit his illness to get girls to sleep with him, and on the other you see Adam
endure his surgery and treatment. The film has been received well by critics and has even prompted some awards buzz for GordonLevitt, Rogen and Reiser - although the latter two say they have no acceptance speeches prepared. More importantly, it has also been met positively by those who have had experience of cancer themselves. "It was so personal to us, we didn't know how representative this tone was," Rogen says. "But it seems like many people are thankful and strong enough, even in the face of their own mortality, to have a sense of humour and a lot of movies ignore that." www.bbcnews.com
Lenny Kravitz accepts French honour Culture minister Frederic Mitterrand made the musician an Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters at a ceremony in Paris. He told Kravitz, whose hits include Let Love Rule and Are You Gonna Go My Way, "you freed yourself of the barriers between black and white sound". The star said he got his first break at a French music festival in 1989. The Trans Musicales festival in Rennes transformed his career "overnight", he told the Associated Press news agency. "I know it sounds like a fairy tale but it's true," he said. He added that he was "particularly touched" to be decorated in France, a country that believed in him when he was misunderstood at home. "In my early days, it didn't work at all in the United States but that night triggered everything, as if all the good energy was concentrated here." Inter-racial issues The star has a long association with France, living in the country several months of the year and recording tracks at the Chateau des Condes, a castle located abut 100km from Paris. He also wrote and pro-
Rock star Lenny Kravitz has been presented with one France's highest cultural awards. duced French star Vanessa Paradis' self-titled 1992 album, which spawned the international hit single Be My Baby. Kravitz's albums regularly chart in upper reaches of the country's top 100, his latest album peaking at number seven - much higher than it managed in either the US or UK. Called Black and White America, the record tackles inter-racial issues - in particular those faced by his black mother and white father in 1960s New York. Other people to be inducted into l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres include Paradis, Martin Scorsese, Bob Dylan, George Clooney and Super Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto. www.bbcnews.com The International weekly
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December 2 - 8, 2011
The duo had not been on speaking terms after colliding six times this season. "It was good to have a nice chat with Felipe," said Hamilton. "I have great respect for him and I'm looking forward to racing him again next year." Massa added: "I was pleased that Lewis came around to see me. It was a very nice gesture on his part." Hamilton and Massa have clashed in a number of incidents this season, most notably in Monaco and Singapore, where Hamilton was blamed by officials and received drive-through penalties. The pair most recently came together in India with Massa this time receiving a drive-through penalty. Afterwards Massa said that he was not going to do any more to heal his rift with the 2008 world champion. There was another heated battle on track in Sao Paulo, where Red Bull's Mark Webber won the race, but Hamilton dived back to the pits before he was able to pass Massa and then retired from the race with gearbox failure. And as the curtain fell on the 2011 season, Hamilton and Massa appeared to patch things up as the Englishman visited Massa when he
Photo: AP
Lewis Hamilton finally ends feud with Felipe Massa Lewis Hamilton has brought an end to his long-running feud with Felipe Massa by giving the Ferrari driver a hug after the Brazilian Grand Prix. was speaking to Brazilian journalists. "Even in this race we've had the magnetic attraction between Lewis and Felipe which has sometimes gone wrong," said McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh. "For a few moments there we thought it might just happen again. In fact at that point Lewis didn't have a seventh gear so although he was quite a lot quicker, getting past was going to be a bit of a challenge for him. "So it was nice at the end of it, in an impromptu way, for Lewis to have a hug with Felipe. "Hopefully that story will now end and we'll move on to a great championship fight for next year. Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali agreed saying: "I was very pleased to see today Hamilton come in here and hugging Felipe. "At the end of the day that is what it is all about. It was a good
gesture and I am very happy that today this was pretty clear." Hamilton also apologised to this McLaren team for an up-anddown season which saw him finish fifth in the championship. "Thank you to the team and apologies for any mishaps that have occurred," added Hamilton. "Just know that I'll be there strong next year, 2012 will be a good one for us. "We've had some good times this year so we'll have some time to reflect and come back and attack next year." Meanwhile, Jenson Button was delighted to become the first of Hamilton's team-mates ever to finish the season ahead of him. "It's never easy when you have a team-mate like Lewis who is extremely quick and is also a world champion," said Button. "It's never going to be easy to score more points than Lewis and
Hamilton and Massa's troubled history
over the next few years it's not. "But it's a challenge for both of us to beat each other and in doing so that really drives us on to do better. "We have a great working relationship. It's a competitive environment in the team. It's good." Looking ahead, Button said McLaren would need to hit the ground running in preparation for the 2012 season. "I know we've said it many times, but we've got to come out
in testing and have a car that we can do mileage in and do set-up work with," he added. "At the start of this year, we weren't able to do any of that because we had issues with the exhaust. So we did no testing before the first race. "You've got to start strong, especially when you're fighting people like Ferrari and Red Bull."
Tourism & Evironment
David Millar will not challenge BOA lifetime ban The 34-year-old Scot was banned in 2004 after admitting taking performance-enhancing drugs. However, despite the World Anti-Doping Agency ruling against the British stance, Miller has no plans to push for a place at the London 2012 Games. "In all honesty, I'd written off the Olympics a long time ago," said Millar.Under British Olympic Association rules, athletes who have tested positive are given a lifetime ban. However WADA has has told the BOA that its punishment for athletes found guilty of doping is no longer compliant with their rules. Millar expressed surprise at the speed at which the dispute between the BOA and WADA over the British ban had escalated. "I though it would be something that would more likely happen in the future, maybe even postOlympics, so to have WADA react so quickly is quite good," he said. He also expressed concern
18 The International weekly
that the current BOA lifetime ban ruled out any possibility of offenders' rehabilitation. "There's a place for lifetime bans in sport, but I'd like to think that what I've been through is a shining example of the worth of second chances," said Millar. "Every case needs to be judged on its own merits. I don't think every athlete should be treated the same way. "Imagine you have a 16-yearold who's been given something by their coach and goes positive and receives a lifetime ban, that doesn't seem fair. "But maybe, if you have a 34year-old multi-millionaire who lives in Monte Carlo, with a team of medical staff, who goes positive, maybe they should get a lifetime ban for a first offence. "But those two cases are so different that they can't be judged the same."Millar, who is now an athlete's representative for WADA, believes that all countries should apply the same rules when it comes to doping.
"If we have individual countries having their own rules in place - and it's understandable that people feel very strongly about these rules - every country has to be under the same umbrella, if you like," he said. "If the UK has the choice of having a lifetime ban for the Olympics, why can't another country just punish six months?" But despite the prospect of the BOA's lifetime ban rule being overturned, Millar has revealed he will not be seeking to challenge it and is not thinking of competing at the Olympics. "I just considered that the lifetime ban was in place and it wasn't something I wanted to challenge," he added. "There are certain fights I don't want to fight and that was one of them. "I just don't fancy being vilified any more. It's been a tough couple of years."
Manchester City top Premier League list of agent fees Tottenham spent the secondhighest amount, committing £7.57m to agents with Liverpool third on £7m. Champions Manchester United spent £4.46m, the seventh-highest amount. The £71.87m total spent by the clubs between 1 October 2010 and 30 September is the highest since the Premier League first published the figures in 2008. It is a rise of £4.73m on the £67.14m spent between over the previous 12 months. City, who lead the Premier League by five points, have invested heavily to bring in a series a high-profile players since Sheikh Mansour took over the club in September 2008. Over the most recent accounting period, Atletico Madrid's Sergio Aguero arrived for a reported transfer fee of £38m and Wolsburg's Edin Dzeko and Arsenal's Samir Nasri also signed in bigmoney moves. The three lowest spenders included two promoted sides
Hanging Out www.bbcnews.com
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Manchester City spent more than any other Premier League side on agents' fees over the past year with £9.66m going to player representatives. in Swansea (£248,000) and Norwich (£710,000), with Wigan having spent £659,000. Blackpool, who stayed within strict financial constraints during their unsuccessful fight against relegation from the Premier League last season, spent just £45,000 on agent fees between October 2009 and September 2010. www.bbcnews.com
Sports December 2-8, 2011
Photo: AP
NBA lockout: Tentative agreement reached NBA commissioner David Stern says a "tentative understanding" has been reached to end the five-month lockout. NBA COUNTDOWN
Chelsea not in crisis - Villas-Boas
Andre Villas-Boas needs time at Chelsea - Avram Grant The 34-year-old Portuguese, who was only appointed in June, has come under pressure after three defeats in five games left Chelsea fifth in the Premier League, 10 points off the top. But Grant told BBC Sport: "It's tough times there but they signed a coach that deserves support."The results are not so good but they need to give him time." The Blues were knocked out of the Carling Cup by Liverpool this week and will exit the Champions League at the group stage should they lose at home to Valencia on Tuesday. Grant, who was sacked despite leading Chelsea to the Champions League final and second place in the Premier League in 2008, added: "They need to give him all the support that he needs. "It's one of the things you need to give a new manager, especially him because he's young. He's facing new situations." Villas-Boas is confident he can turn things around and believes he will continue to get the backing of owner Roman Abramovich - even if they exit the Champions League next week and fail to close the gap on leaders Manchester City.
He told a news conference on Thursday: "We just have to pull ourselves together again. I was brought in for a three-year project and we believe in that." Grant thinks Chelsea will remain behind Villas-Boas. He added: "In this situation, you need to be strong. There are serious people in charge and they know the situation is not so good. "But they know there's a lot of time to recover. It will be good for everybody to be more patient patience is always a good thing. I think it will happen." Chelsea's next game is a Premier League fixture against Newcastle United, who lie one point above them in the table. Villas-Boas said the Magpies were "surprising everybody" with their impressive form and praised manager Alan Pardew for the way they had performed this season. He said: "Pardew has brought stability to Newcastle and a sense of serenity to the football club. "They went on a fantastic run and gained an inner belief to continue further." www.bbcnews.com
The Dallas Mavericks will be hoping to defend their NBA title
Players' union executive director Billy Hunter said: "We're happy that we've been able to reach a tentative litigation settlement with
regard to many issues that are pending before the various courts. "We're going to turn it all over to the lawyers and have them work
out all the details and we'll be able to then talk with you (the media) further as the process proceeds." www.bbcnews.com
Rory McIlroy confirms he will play at 2012 Irish Open McIlroy's participation had been in doubt because of a clash of dates with the AT&T National at Congressional, the scene of his US Open victory. "I am happy to announce that I will definitely play the Irish Open next season," confirmed McIlroy. "For me, the Irish Open has always been, and will continue to be, one of the most important events on the global golf calendar." The tournament will be staged from 28 June to 1 July. "It's our national Open and it's obviously a title that I would love to win at some stage in my career. "A lot has been made of me joining the PGA Tour again next year, but in reality, it's not a drastic change to the schedule I have played in recent seasons. "It just means that I will be adding a few more events to my schedule in America in 2012. "Taking my PGA Tour card again does not mean that I'm going to neglect my European Tour status. I'll continue to play a similar schedule of events in Europe and will obviously fulfil my commitment to the European Tour." McIlroy said he is still looking to improve his game after a year in which he has won the US Open and moved up to number two in the world rankings. "I've had chances to win and not taken them. I've won twice this year but I feel I could've won at least two or three more times," added McIlroy. "It's been a great year, the most successful of my career so far, but I feel I can still improve. "There are still areas of my game that can get better." McIlroy believes 2011 could have turned out even better as he looks to finish the season strongly, starting at this week's Hong Kong Open.After missing out on the Masters in April thanks to a final round of 80, McIlroy bounced back to win the US Open title in spectacular fashion two months later. He also claimed the non-sanc-
Photo: AP
In the previous collective bargaining deal that expired in June, players were guaranteed 57%.The new agreement, which could see a triple-header of fixtures on Christmas Day with a shorter season of 66 games, is yet to be ratified but Stern added: "We've reached a tentative understanding that is subject to a variety of approvals and very complex machinations, but we're optimistic that will all come to pass. "We're very pleased that we've come this far, there's still a lot of work to be done with a lot of committees, player groups and the like but we're optimistic that it will hold and we'll have ourselves an NBA season."
Photo: AP
The start to the new season had been delayed owing to negotiations over a collective bargaining agreement between the league and players' association. After a meeting between parties, an end now looks in sight with the possibility of the NBA season beginning on Christmas Day."We're optimistic that the NBA season will begin on December 25," Stern said. Several issues became the cause of the lockout, with team owners insisting on a 50-50 split revenue share, while players had proposed a 52.5% share. No details of the new agreement have yet been released.
McIlroy says the Irish Open is on his list of tournaments he is keen to win
tioned Shanghai Masters but it is the number of top-five finishes on both the European and PGA Tours that also stand out for the 22-year-old. "I suppose I was a little bit surprised at myself how quickly I bounced back from Augusta, I thought it might've taken a little bit longer to get over it, but apart from that, it feels like I could've won a few more tournaments - I had chances to win and didn't take them." McIlroy enters the Hong Kong Open still with an outside chance of pipping Luke Donald to the European money list title. Fanling has previously proved to the Northern Irishman's liking, losing in a thrilling play-off to Lin Wen-tang in 2008 before again finishing runner-up the following year to Gregory Bourdy. "I've come close a couple of times," said McIlroy, who finished sixth last year. "I was involved, for me, in one of the best experiences I've ever had on a golf course in 2008 in the play-off with Lin Wen-tang. "It was getting dark, we both hit a couple of incredible shots from the trees, it was a really fun play-off to be part of but it didn't
quite work out for me. "You feel like you go out on this golf course and the worst you can shoot is 66 but it never really turns out that way because it's a tricky golf course, you put yourself in wrong positions and it can really punish you. "Ian [Poulter] proved last year that you can go very low on this golf course, I think he won with 22 under par. "That's the sort of golf you need to win around here. You need to get off to a good start but I've played some good golf here and I feel like I can do it again. "I've played very, very well this year, climbing to number two in the world rankings is a big achievement for me, and to get another win a few weeks ago in Shanghai was nice. "It would be great to finish off the season well with a good result here. "It's a tournament I've wanted to win for a few years and haven't been quite able to do it. "It's been a great year, there's been a few changes on the golf course, off the golf course, and I've enjoyed every minute of it." www.bbcnews.com The International weekly
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Fashion & People December 2-8, 2011
Louboutin World
Restaurantes
20 YEARS OF LOUBOUTIN
Hoteles
hen you hear the name of Christian Louboutin, the RED sole is the first image that dances in your mind, you almost can feel the higher on your feet. In November 21, 1991 a French footwear designer named Christian Louboutin open his first boutique on 19 rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Louboutin revolutionized the world of fashion when in 1992 incorporated shiny, red-lacquered soles in his designs, becoming his signature. Bringing stilettos back into fashion in the 90´s and 2000´s, where he explored and designed dozen of styles with heel heights of 120mm (4.72inches) and sometimes higher, the designers professed that “Ain´t No High Heel High Enough”, establishing that the main core of his work is “dedicated not to pleasing women but to pleasing men.” Twenty years since the red-soled crash orbited onto planet fashion, to celebrate the French designer Christian Louboutin is releasing a book dedicated to his most fantastical designs to date. The book is due for release by Rizzoli at the end of October.
W
Business
Tourism
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Fashion & People December 2 - 8, 2011
London 2012: Royal trio to be Team GB ambassadors
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The east end of the church is Norman and dates back to the 11th Century
Poole church bells to ring in time for 2012 Olympics the church is Norman and dates back to the 11th Century. A spokesperson for the church bell ringers said: "In recent years they have become increasingly difficult to ring. "It is hoped that an improvement will attract new ringers to the tower so that the bells of Canford
Albert for Christmas 1858. The Christmas tree was first popularised in Britain by Prince Albert, who brought the tradition over from Germany. The exhibition runs until 8 January.
three days hands-on experience in the Olympics environment in London followed by a one-day workshop after the Games. The programme started before the 2008 Beijing Olympics and triathlete Jonathan Brownlee, 1,500m runner Hannah England and modern pentathlete Mhairi Spence, who all attended, are now battling for places in next year's British Olympic team.
Prince Charles is new university's royal patron The Prince of Wales has agreed to serve as royal patron of the new university formed by the merger of Trinity St David, Swansea Metropolitan and the University of Wales (UoW).
A ÂŁ24,370 grant from SITA Trust will pay for "much needed" repairs to six disused bells at Canford Magna Parish Church, Poole. Five of the bells date back to 1739, and the sixth was added in 1897 for the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria. The east end of
A Christmas tree will be suspended from the ceiling
Photo: AP
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry have been appointed as official Team GB ambassadors for next year's Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Photo: AP
Photo: AP Prince Harry and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will actively encourage the public to support Team GB
takes British Paralympians to their hearts."We're sure that the presence of their Royal Highnesses will help us achieve this goal and it will give the athletes a tremendous lift to know that they are going to be supporting them." The Ambition Programme will choose about 200 athletes and coaches who hope to be involved at the Winter Olympics in Sochi in 2014 and the following summer Olympics in Brazil two years later. They will spend two days at the Team GB Prep Camp and have
Queen Victoria's Christmas will be recreated this year at Windsor Castle. The State Dining Room and Octagonal Dining Room at the castle in Berkshire will be transformed with displays of Victorian festive dining. A Christmas tree will be suspended from the ceiling, as it would have been displayed in the 19th Century. There will also be a reconstruction of Victoria and Albert's Christmas gift tables, with examples of presents they exchanged. Among the presents on display will be a painting by Sir Charles Eastlake commissioned by Victoria in 1844 as a gift for Albert. There will also be a sculpture of Queen Victoria's daughter Beatrice as a baby lying in a shell, given to her by Prince
Photo: AP
The trio will promote Britain's athletes in the run-up to and during next year's Games and said they were "honoured" to take on the position. They began their role with a message of support for the Team GB Ambition Programme, which has just launched. The Duke said: "We are looking forward to this incredible competition." He added: "We are also looking beyond next summer's Games to the springboard it will provide for future success and excellence. "The athletes and coaches taking part in the Ambition Programme are part of that future success - potential medal winners and sources of inspiration to come. "We hope they enjoy the experience of London 2012 to the full, and learn from it how to become successful British Olympians of the future." The royal trio are likely to visit the teams over the next few months. British Olympic Association chief executive Andy Hunt said: "It is a great motivation for Team GB that the Duke and Duchess and Prince Harry are supporting their efforts next year. "We hope together we can ensure that the whole of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is behind our athletes in their quest for Olympic success." British Paralympic Association chief executive Tim Hollingsworth said: "The Paralympic Games are coming home in 2012 and we want to use this opportunity to raise the profile of Paralympic sport in this country and ensure that the nation
Windsor Castle recreates Queen Victoria's Christmas
Magna continue to ring out for services, weddings and national celebrations for many more years." Repairs to the bells will begin on 10 January in Abingdon, Oxford. www.bbcnews.com
He is chancellor of the troubled UoW, which has been tarnished by recent scandals exposed by BBC Wales.Vice-chancellor Prof Medwin Hughes said it was an honour and privilege to have the prince's support. The UoW is effectively being abolished in the merger and will be rebranded. Future students will receive University of Wales: Trinity Saint David college degrees instead of University of Wales ones. It is expected that the three institutions will have merged by 1 August next year. Dr Geoffrey Thomas, chair of the Trinity Saint David council said: "At this historic juncture for the University of Wales: Trinity Saint David, the university council acknowledges the commit-
ment that His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales has made in becoming our royal patron. "As the two oldest charters in Wales come together, the council looks forward to supporting strategic change which will deliver for the nation."
'Let Wales down' Dr Gerry Lewis, chairman of Swansea Metropolitan University's board of governors, said he hoped the university would make significant contributions to the economy and culture of Wales in the future. The UoW has faced a torrid period, with Education Minister Leighton Andrews claiming it had "let Wales down" and should be given a "decent burial". An investigation by BBC Wales' Week In Week Out programme found overseas students were being made offers to cheat their way to UoW-validated degrees and UK graduate work visas. The heads of some Welsh universities said they believed the UoW title should be scrapped. www.bbcnews.com The International weekly
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What to do December 2-8, 2011
What to do DECEMBER Collective Exhibit “Trazos del Caribe” Cultural Center of Bellas Artes Until December 10 Monday to Friday Chetumal. 10 am to 7 pm Exhibit “Casualidad” By Pérez Gutiérrez "el Coze" Drawing-painting urban art Until December 30 (Wednesday to Sunday) Artezissimo Gallery Puerto Morelos. 2pm to 6 pm.
Showcase Christmas in the Mayan Riviera Until December 8 Place: Plaza 28 de Julio Playa del Carmen. 6 to 7 pm
Concert Academia Suzuki By Adriane Fischer House of Culture´s Hall Cancun. 6 pm
Saturday 3
Friday 2 Theater “Cats the musical” Explayarte Bachillerato Naciones Unidas Date: 2 to December 4 Cover: 180pesos Xcaret Open Forum Playa del Carmen. 7:30 pm
Christmas Bazaar Colegio El Papalote Playa del Carmen. 11 am to 5 pm
Wednesday 7 Theater “The woman alone” (monologue) By Dario Fo
Wednesday 7 and 14 Directing: Maria Cordoba Performance By Gina Saldaña Duration: 70 minutes Xbalamque Theatre Cancun. 8:30 pm
Thursday 8 Theater “Divorciadas Jaja” (Teatro Standupero) By Humberto Robles Algarabía Theater Cover: 100pesos Direction: Gina Saldaña Acting: Tere Mendoza,
Titah Migoyah and Paloma Andulce Date: 1, 8 and December15 Xbalamque Theater Cancun. 9 pm Short Film Contest Exhibit “Historias En Corto” Museum of the Island Cozumel. 7 pm Festival of choirs “Let the children sing” Place: Bellavista Hall Chetumal. 6 pm
W. H. Auden Quotes English Poet (February 21, 1907 - September 29, 1973)
“A poet is, before anything else, a person who is passionately in love with language.” “A real book is not one that we read, but one that reads us.” “All sins tend to be addictive, and the terminal point of addiction is damnation.”
“All that we are not stares back at what we are.”
“If equal affection cannot be, let the more loving be me.” “Thousands have lived without love, not one without water.” “We are all here on earth to help others; what on earth the others are here for I don't know.”
“Death is the sound of distant “You owe it to all of us thunder at a picnic.” all get on with what “Evil is unspectacular and always human, and shares our bed and eats at our own table.”
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you're good at.”
December 2-8, 2011
Weekly Horoscope
Sudoku
December 2-8, 2011
Aries
Libra
Hold the thought that Mercury is now retrograde - and yes, that might coincide with communication mix-up. It's as likely that someone is going through legal clauses with a fine tooth comb - pressing them to finish early might not be wise. And yes, by the time the Sun forms a right angle to Mars (your ruling planet) so you could be mightily irritated. It may be indicative of the restoration of good relations with someone you've worked with in the past. This time and with attention to the finer points of a contract - this union could bring dividends next summer. You might also exceed a personal best.
Home improvement moves up your agenda and gains momentum - the good news being that you probably won't find it hard to choose the decor you want. Of course it's also possible that the need to replace a large piece f furniture will require attention. All this runs alongside increased contact with those who live and work a long way away (or those who are particularly academic). A partnership may be discussed. If there's a problem it's that you may wonder if you're taking on more than you can handle.
Taurus It's just possible that health matters - along with tax, inheritance and subjects often considered taboo - will require discussion. There may be blessings here too. You could attract someone who really does have your best interests at heart, this may be someone you've worked with before. The fact that it's necessary to go back over old ground and yes, even open old wounds, may need to be viewed as part of the
Scorpio Mercury is retrograde but this too could work in your favour. Alliances could be formed. Another possibility is repatriation of funds i.e. what's been owing might be repaid. As the Sun moves into a first quarter phase with Mars you might find reason to be mad with an administrator (who presumably doesn't know your history) and yes, you might need to spell things out clearly in a document. But this is nothing you haven't done before and doesn't have to be a hassle (unless, of course, you'd like some drama!). A further possibility is that you could happen to an accident through rushing - so do try to go steady.
process. This shouldn't take too long - though agreed it could spoil your leisure time since others might need information from you before they can proceed and really get things done.
Each Sudoku has a unique solution that can be reached logically without guessing. Enter digits from 1 to 9 into the blank spaces. Every row must contain one of each digit. So must every column, as must every 3x3 square.
Chicken Chalupas Ingredients 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and chopped 12 tostada shells 2 jalapeno peppers, sliced
into rings 1 small white onion, diced 8 ounces Monterey jack cheese, shredded Salsa and lime wedges, for serving
To prepare (12 servings) Chop or shred the chicken meat and reheat in a skillet or in a microwave. Set your oven to broil and slice the jalapenos, dice the peppers and shred the cheese while the oven heats. Top each tostada shell with chicken, cheese, jalapeno rings and diced onion and place on a baking sheet. Put the baking sheet into the broiler until the cheese is melted and begins to brown. Remove from heat and serve immediately with plenty of salsa and lime wedge
Gemini It would be quite 'normal' for you to be going through a period of adjustment - this time with more than a little reflection given that Mercury is retrograde. There may be people from your past with whom you now feel you should reengage. Perhaps there are lessons to be learnt and perhaps what you've both learnt could be helpful to you both. So it is likely that you might take a bite of humble pie or otherwise 'lance a boil' later this week. At a different level, consider what your signature says about you. Is it time to adjust this.
Cancer Mercury is retrograde and it's probable you'll be facing constant challenge to your daily routine and, most likely, a long list of repairs. Viewed positively, this could stand you in excellent stead ready for the New Year. Coming just before the holiday season though these tests could prove demanding - especially if transportation matters are involved. There's no easy answer to any of this but perhaps you could leave extra time so that f you have to resort to crisis management you can do so without getting into a flap.
Leo Yours is one of the Fire signs - think blowing hot and cold. You can go from dying embers to burning forest fire in quick time. And it's that which could happen toward the end of this week. A financial or emotional alarm bell might ring. To spare yourself this hassle, listen carefully as there should be clues as to what lies ahead: principally that someone you're already involved with wants to contain a situation before it gets worse. Perhaps they're aware of how over the top you can be through the holiday season. Perhaps it's time to consider involving an expert and applying their therapy or advice.
Virgo Though Mercury is still retrograde and we are in the fortnight between eclipses, your confidence may be growing. What started out as a 'mad-cap' idea some months ago now seems to be gaining momentum. Before the weekend, thoughts as to how best fund a project that's been a long-term goal are set to increase. You may find a 'backer' or supporter through an educational establishment or via someone who lives overseas. You may need to rein in someone who as yet hasn't thought through practicalities.
Sagittarius A dynamic but not dramatic period in your life - possibly brought about by what's happening on the relationship front, to mark endings and beginnings and you may find that you close one chapter in order to open another. All that could happen relatively quickly. Another possibility is that something promised a short time ago doesn't materialise exactly as you'd hoped. Get ready for a little contractual disturbance as you negotiate administrative rapids. On the very considerable up-side a Libra friend may be more than happy to assist and guide you through options.
Capricorn At roughly this time of year every year you'll surely have cause to consider unions and partnerships and how equitable these are. Though the process may be long, you are building a power base and securing assets. Of course there may be niggles for you to deal with - either tax related or the discovery that someone isn't as highly trained as you thought and has made a careless error that threatens to cost you hard cash and time. Be ready too for back office hassles when post doesn't arrive in a timely manner thus creating another difficulty to resolve.
Aquarius There are periods that seem more like the phrases put between brackets in a sentence: little asides if you like. And now there may be several of these. Anticipate echoes from the past and yes, some moments when you have doubts as to whether or not actions were as wise as you thought they were at the time. Dealings with those with long memories threaten to be messy. Think of these as lessons in patience too - it may be that some people can't let go as easily as you can. True, it may well appear to others that it's you who's being irrational or seeking too much perfection. Before the weekend health tests or at least thinking about your diet and exercise regimes may be necessary and could even lead to a change of routine to one that's easier to adopt than you'd have thought.
Pisces We are now between two eclipses - one which accented work-change and the other demanding attention to emotional (and family) matters. Of course you may well have felt the effects of all this long before now. In this fortnight though (through to December 10th), tuning into new frequencies and realising who (and what!) is good for you becomes easier to identify. This might result in a fast almost spontaneous decision to partner before the weekend or the exact opposite - determining to split because it's just not wise to continue. A period of potential drama -yes - but possibly also therapeutic. Fact is that a tidying up process seems to be taking place and with the assistance of a woman in authority (a Capricorn?) could be efficient and painless.
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Cancún & Riviera Maya
December 2-8, 2011
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Week in Pictures
A Russian Soyuz spacecraft landed safely in Kazakhastan, bringing three crew members back from the International Space Station (ISS). US astronaut Mike Fossum, Japan´s Satoshi, Furukawa and Russia´s Sergei Volkov spent 165 days on ISS.
Ecuador´s government is urging those living in villages near the Tungurahua volcano to evacuate because of increased activity.
A black-headed gull swoops in for food at Dianchi Lake in Kunming, south-west China. According to local media, tens of thousands of black-headed gulls fly to Kunming from Siberia to spend the winter.
A pedestrian walks past the newly constructed upside-down architectural clubhouse, Caracella Club, which stands in part of a recent development at Indirapuram, southeast of Delhi.
Cambodians work late into the night recycling garbage as fires burn. Many children work part-time in the dump to help support their families while attending school during the day.
A woman lights candles, as a crowd looks on, during a ceremony to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the end of the Bangladesh War of Independence in 1971, at Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy in Dhaka.