GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The London Wapping offices of News Corp, owner of British tabloid The Sun, were raided by Scotland Yard police early Saturday 28 January and during the morning Saturday four journalists and a police officer were arrested. The journalists are all current or former Sun journalists. The Metropolitan Police issued a statement that “Today’s operation is the result of information provided to police by News Corporation’s Management and Standards Committee. It relates to suspected payments to police officers and is not about seeking journalists to reveal confidential sources in relation to information that has been obtained legitimately.”
The raid and arrests are part of an investigation dubbed Elveden into police corruption that involves The Sun possibly paying police for news information.
Links to other sites: Financial Times, Guardian, Reuters
Two die as high winds sweep the region
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Winds of up to 100mph in Scotland and other parts of Britain 3 January are causing considerable damage, with some areas suffering power cuts and transport disrupted, including the London-Edinburgh trains. A man died in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, in southern England when a tree fell on his van and a sailor, one of three injured on a boat in the Channel, died after they were rescued.
Weather alerts remain in place, with strong winds expected throughout the night.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The Financial Times wondered Sunday if the UK will drop out of the European Union, but most media weren’t willing to take it quite that far. Europe was nevertheless adjusting this weekend to a new set of relations after Britain vetoed a new EU treaty that would bind the members more closely financially. The UK was the only one of the 27 member countries to do so. UK Prime Minister David Cameron goes before parliament Monday 12 December to explain why he vetoed the treaty. He said after last week’s vote that it left the financial services industry unprotected.
Ireland has said it will start bilateral talks with London soon, with the Irish Times reporting that “The Government intends to launch an intensive diplomatic engagement with Britain to ensure London is not left isolated as a result of its refusal to agree strict new fiscal rules in the European Union.”
Links to other sites: Guardian, Irish Times, Le Monde interview with Nicolas Sarkozy (Fr), Telegraph
GENEVALUNCH – The most comprehensive study ever of the source of cancers in Britain according to its authors shows that smoking, drinking, poor eating habits and excess weight trigger 43 percent of cancers in the country and are responsible for half of all cancer-related deaths.
The study is published today in the British Journal of Cancer and is receiving considerable media attention in the UK.
The biggest lifestyle changes men should make, the report suggests, is to eat more fruits and vegetables and to smoke less. Women should keep their weight down.
The authors, in their introduction to the special supplement to the regular journal say the results show “a limited number of important factors that can, at least to some extent, be affected by personal or political choices. The most important among these is continuation of the significant reduction in tobacco exposure. Next in importance are reductions in obesity and in heavy alcohol consumption, and certain other dietary changes. Each of these four main strategies for cancer control would also substantially reduce the burden of other non-communicable diseases, particularly cardiovascular, diabetic, renal and hepatic disease.”
The UK had 134,000 new cases of cancer diagnosed in 2010. Tobacco alone is responsible for about 20 percent of all cancers and 25 percent of cancer-related deaths.
“Over the past 40 years in the UK, the probability of death before the age of 70 years has been halved, and over the next few decades it could be halved again by continued improvements in the treatment of disease and by paying appropriate attention to the few major avoidable causes of disease.
Swiss photographer Michael Grob on his work with Cambodian landmine victims: "Unlike in Afghanistan which is still in a state of war, we had to learn to adjust to the reality of such an amount of mines still being in Cambodian soil so long after the fighting has stopped. It was at times very difficult for me to deal with the impression left by the very high number of mine inflicted casualties - especially those of injured children. The work of the UN in Cambodia is, in my eyes, of utmost importance. It is for some communities the only opportunity for some kind of future. The situation touched me deeply and profoundly...my work for the United Nations mine action - as insignificant as it might be in the bigger picture - shall go on as long as needed." (©2011 Michael Grob)
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Efforts to get rid of landmines are making good progress in many countries and funding is being maintained despite government budget constraints, a key meeting in Cambodia that closed 2 December shows. But work remains, with 4,000 new victims of landmines each year: six people died in Pursat Province, Cambodia, which hosted the meeting, Thursday 1 December when their truck triggered a mine.
The 11th meeting of the States Parties, the 158 nations that are part of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention finished in Phnom Penh with several strong commitments.
The Netherlands stated that “despite cuts in other areas, the government remains convinced of this matter” and it will maintain its €15 million annual contribution to demining and victim assistance.
Austria is increasing its 2012 funding slightly, to €1.9 million.
Cambodia funding stepped up
Austria announced its first contributions to demining and victim assistance in Cambodia, totaling €400,000. New Zealand, too, will contribute to a demining project in northeastern Cambodia: more than US$ 1 million in 2012.
Burundi bright spot
Cheering news came from Burundi, which says it has completed demining, a full three years ahead of the deadline to which it was committed. It is the 19th country to be declared mine-free.
Myanmar told the landmine ban meeting in Cambodia at the end of November that it is carefully considering the matter (Photo, ©2011, AP Mine Ban Convention)
The meeting, with 1,000 delegates taking part, marked progress in a number of areas and made media headlines over the first-ever participation by Myanmar, as an observer.
The isolated nation has been making commitments to reform, and at the land-mine ban meeting it said that “thorough study of the treaty will be continued”.
Its actions will be watched closely; it is one of three countries, along with Qaddafi’s Libya and Israel, who have been accused of laying mines in 2011.
“Convincing evidence” Syria is using mines
There is also “convincing evidence”, the group says, that Syria has used mines this year.
Tuvalu and South Sudan took their seats as the Convention’s newest adherents. Finland announced that it is on the verge of becoming the 159th to join the Convention.
Fifteen States that have not yet joined the Convention attended as observers, “signaling their openness to engage in a discussion on the devastating impact of anti-personnel mines”, a meeting press release states. The US is one of these and it reported that it is continuing to review its landmine policy.
Other signs of progress reported by the meeting: “Turkey reported the destruction of all stockpiled anti-personnel mines: 3 million mines. Burundi and Nigeria declared completion of their mine clearance obligations. Guinea Bissau, Jordan and Uganda announced that they will complete their demining programmes in coming months.”
A major and often under-funded part of the States’ commitments is helping survivors. Meeting host Cambodia, one of the most affected countries, says it is “assessing its national action plan on disability with a view to preparing a revised plan in 2012.”
Britain, Germany fail to meet commitments to demine
Germany is one of four countries with new reports of mine contamination that are falling far behind on their commitments to demine.
The town of Koblenz, Germany is the site this weekend of a massive project to defuse a bomb with 3,000 tons of explosives left over from the second world war; 45,000 people are being evacuated from their homes to allow the army and experts to get rid of it. The bomb became apparent this year due to lower water levels in the Rhine, reports NPR.
Britain has failed to clear any mines in the Falklands for the second year in a row.
“The UK has consistently failed to meet their clearance obligations under the treaty, and now have to clear more than 110 mined areas across over 7km2 in less than seven years,” the group notes.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Some 2 million public sector workers are slated to walk out Wednesday 30 November in the UK, affecting schools, hospitals, government offices and public transport, among other services. The strike is over changes to government pension plans, with workers being asked to work longer hours to earn their pensions. The government announced Tuesday it wants to bring forward to 2026 a plan to move the pension age to 67.
Early reports indicate that 75 percent of schools in Britain are affected by the strike.
Prime Minister David Cameron lashed out early Wednesday at the union, holding them responsible for taking labour action while negotiations are going on. The BBC cites General secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers Russell Hobby, that “blame for any rise in union militancy – particularly among moderate unions – belongs fairly and squarely at the government’s door: A failure to negotiate in any meaningful sense until the last minute”.
The 24-hour strike is widely expected to involve up to two million workers, with the BBC labeling it “what is set to be the biggest walkout for a generation”.
Links to other sites: Daily Mail, Guardian, the Scotsman, Telegraph
Chinese tourists overtake Italians, catching up with French, British
Chinese tourists on Mt Saentis 29 October, next to Switzerland's first mountain peak weather station, commissioned in 1882: on a clear day six countries are visible from this point
BERN, SWITZERLAND – The Swiss franc continues to have a strong impact on European and US visitors to Switzerland, with the number of overnight stays by foreigners in September down 6.8 percent compared to the same month a year earlier.
Foreigners accounted for a little more than half of the industry’s 3.3 million overnight stays in September.
The overall figure for the year to date is down 2 percent, but in September overnight stays fell 3.4 percent.
The decline in European stays continued, with Bern attributing this largely to the over-valued Swiss franc against sterling and the euro. Visits by foreigners were down 6 percent, but European visitors’ stays fell by 11 percent.
German tourist numbers were down 13 percent, British 13 percent, Dutch 12 and Italian 11 percent. US visitors are down 9.4 percent, although the number of overnight stays by Canadians rose
Chinese tourists to Switzerland: rapid increase as Alps tug Asians
Mt Saentis 30 October: a popular destination for German tourists, is attracting Chiense visitors
Asian numbers and in particular overnight stays by Chinese tourists continue to rise, with a 12 percent overall increase that includes a 43 percent increase by Chinese visitors, some 20,000 overnight stays. For the year to date, Chinese tourists show a 58.6 percent increase.
Germany remains by far Switzerland’s largest tourist client country, with some 470,000 overnights to date in September. The US was second with 172,000, Britain third with 152,000, France fourth with 100,000 – and then the surprise of China, with 67,000 overtaking Italy, with 65,000.
Wanted: British skiers, snowboarders, holiday fans and winter hikers
The British figures are likely to cause particular concern, with the crucial ski season coming up. Swiss statistics show 1.43 million overnights from January to the end of September, and the fourth quarter tends to be low, but the industry is holding its breath looking at winter ski season reservations.
British statistics register “visits” by its citizens abroad rather than overnight stays, and in 2010 the number of visits was down to 896,000 from a 2008 figure of 1.16 million. The first quarter of the year, with the ski season, saw 294,000 British visitors in 2011, compared to 350,000 a year earlier.
British tourists travelled again in the second quarter of 2011, but with the weakening pound, travel increased to North America, remained stable in the European Union and dropped to countries outside the EU, which includes Switzerland. Travel outside the EU during April to the end of June was at a level last seen in 2009 and before that, iln 2005.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – A 27-vehicle pileup on the M5 motorway in Somerset, England, has killed an unknown number of people but initial reports list 5 dead, at least 43 injured. The accident occurred at 20:35 Friday 4 November at exit 25 northbound, near Taunton, with the crashes sparking a huge fireball. It appears that six trucks and at least 20 cars were involved in the huge crash.
Heavy rain earlier in the day Friday and patches of fog may have been involved in causing the accident, but police investigations have not yet clarified what caused the huge fireball.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks, 2 November lost his high court appeal to avoid extradition to Sweden. His lawyers say they will decide in the next 14 days whether or not to appeal to Britain’s supreme court. Assange is wanted by Sweden for questioning over charges of sexual assault filed by two women in relation to an August 2010 visit by Assange to Stockholm.
ABC News in Australia reports that “his mother Christine told the Australian Associated Press news agency on Wednesday that her son was now ‘even closer to a US extradition or rendition. If [the Australian people] don’t stand up for Julian, he will go to the US and he will be tortured,’” she said.
Links to other sites: ABC News, Australia, Guardian, UK, Radio Sweden
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – British royals will be able to marry Catholics and older sisters of boys will take precedence for stepping up to the throne under new rules that will affect any children born to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who married in April.
The 16 nations that are members of the British Commonwealth with Queen Elizabeth as their monarch will seal an agreement, the royal equality act, that will change some aspects of current law affecting the monarchy. The 54 Commonwealth nations are meeting in Perth 28-30 October, with the queen opening the meeting of heads of government, held every two years, reports the Telegraph.
The Guardian writes, ”
Commonwealth leaders will pledge to amend legislation dating back to the 17th century to allow daughters of the monarch to take precedence over younger sons in the line of succession.
David Cameron will hail the agreement of the 16 Queen’s realms, the Commonwealth countries where the Queen serves as head of state, to amend ‘outdated’ rules that also prevent a potential monarch from marrying a Catholic.”
Catholics will still be barred from the throne, with the ruling monarch remaining the head of the Church of England.
TORONTO, CANADA – Tired but very happy after running the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in 8 hours, 25 minutes and 16 seconds, Fauja Singh was willing to share his secret for living to a ripe old age. He had just become the oldest person, at age 100, to run a marathon, a dream he realized after he took up running about 20 years ago, following the deaths of his wife and son.
The elderly sportsman trains by running 10km a day.
The secret? “The secret to a long and healthy life is to be stress-free. Be grateful for everything you have, stay away from people who are negative, stay smiling and keep running.”
Singh was born in the Punjab in India, and he moved to Britain, becoming a British citizen in the 1960s, He already held a world record for over-90 runners before this weekend’s feat, observed by a team from the Guinness World Records. He broke several sprint records for 100-year-old earlier last week.
Singh’s coach says he attributes his stamina to a light diet of curry, tea and toast.
Links to other sites: BBC, CBC, Toronto Star
UK residents with Swiss accounts affected in 2013
BERN, SWITZERLAND – The Swiss and UK governments Thursday 6 October signed an agreement reached earlier, that will allow the British government to tax income on assets held in Swiss banks by UK residents.
The Swiss government announced that “Federal Councillor Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf and the UK Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury David Gauke signed a tax agreement. Under this agreement, persons resident in the United Kingdom can retrospectively tax their existing banking relationships in Switzerland either by making a one-off tax payment or by disclosing their accounts. Future investment income and capital gains of British bank clients in Switzerland will be subject to a final withholding tax, and the proceeds of this will be transferred to the British authorities by Switzerland.”
In addition, says Bern, the new agreement will give Swiss banks better access to the UK financial market.
The agreement is similar to one signed in September with the German government and to one being negotiated with France.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – A journalist who works for the Observer and the Guardian has written a plea for police to stop trying to obtain information from his cell phone, amid a continuing row over journalists, their sources and the right of the police to obtain media images.
Henry McDonald, who covers Ireland, including Northern Ireland, for the media companies, was asked by police to hand over his cell phone following calls last weekend linked to possible violence in the north. He has been told by his management not to hand over the phone but the affair has reignited an old debate over police rights to information held by journalists. The incident follows earlier ones in August 2011 where police demanded film footage of riots in London.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Iceland’s president, Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, is making waves by saying Europe bullied the country into bailing out Icesave bank, which had large numbers of UK and Dutch investors, a bailout that was hugely unpopular at home, while the US was “absent” and India and China were helpful as the country faced serious debt problems. His remarks were initially made at the end of last week in an interview with the Financial Times following news that Iceland’s government has agreed to allow a Chinese investor to buy a large chunk of the island for an eco-tourism resort. He then repeated his remarks during a key radio broadcast Sunday, and he is asking the European Union to investigate the role of the UK and The Netherlands in the bank bailout.
The IMF has been involved in helping sort out the country’s debt problems and Iceland is eyeing European Union membership.
Links to other sites: China Post, The Financial Express, VOA blog
William Fox-Pitt, Britain, made history with a record sixth Burghley victory when winning on Parklane Hawk with just a single jumping time penalty to add to his dressage score (Photo, ©2011 Kit Houghton/FEI)
Stamford, UK – British rider William Fox-Pitt “earned a standing ovation from the rain-soaked crowd as he clinched a record sixth title at the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials, second-last leg of the HSBC FEI Classics”, according to FEI, the Lausanne-based international equestrian sports federation.
He has now overtaken Britain’s Ginny Elliot and Mark Todd of New Zealand, who each have five Burghley victories to their names, and he has equalled fellow Brit Lucinda Green’s Badminton record of six wins on six different horses.
Fox-Pitt, 42, has been a member of the British team since 1993. He has won Olympic team silver (2004) and bronze (2008) medals, world team gold, silver and bronze, plus individual silver in 2010 on Cool Mountain.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The spread of London’s riots to more parts of the city and to other cities is the headline news Tuesday 9 August, not just in the UK but in most English-speaking countries, overtaking news of stock markets diving and the continuing fall of the dollar and the euro in currency markets. London’s Met Police are reported to be delivering people who are arrested to jails outside the city because it’s own are filled.
Stock markets:Carlos Slim, the world’s richest man, is calculated by Bloomberg to have lost $6.7 billion in the past week as markets dived amidst gloomy debt and credit rating news in the US and Europe. Wall Street fell more than 6 percent in trading Monday, the first day of trading post-Moody’s credit downgrading, and Asian markets continued their downward spiral Tuesday before easing, with the Swiss franc holding strong ($1.32 and euro.93) in what Reuters describes as “a global rout triggered by fears that political leaders are failing to tackle debt crises in Europe and the United States.” Bloomberg notes that Asian markets responded positively to talk of the US Federal Reserve intervening.
Links to other sites: BBC, Bloomberg, The Globe & Mail, Guardian, Irish Times, Sydney Morning Herald
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Tottenham’s night of violence in the north of London, sparked by the death of a man shot by police, spread Sunday to several other London suburbs: Enfield, Walthamstow and Waltham Forest in north London, Brixton to the south, according to the BBC. Police have been the target of much of what the BBC calls the “disorder”, with 35 police officers reported to be wounded, police vehicles overturned and large gangs of youths looting shops, especially mobile phone stores. Some 100 people were arrested.
Links to other sites: BBC, Met Police statement, Sky News, Telegraph
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The arrest 20 July of 21 hackers, some of whom are part of the loose networks Anonymous and LulzSec, is part of a wider net to catch computer hackers that included 60 searches, according to the United States Justice Department, but reactions, mainly in the US and Europe, have been tempered by skepticism. Hacks on sites, possibly including Nato, have continued since the arrests and there are doubts that the 14 Anonymous people arrested are ringleaders. The group has close ties to Julian Assange of WikiLeaks and has been tied to attacks on PayPal’s eBay in retaliation for the company’s refusal to accept donations for WikiLeaks. Most of the arrests were in the US, but four people were arrested in The Netherlands and one in London, with police in both cases working with US authorities.
The US crime of conspiracy and intentional damage to a protected computer carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Each count of conspiracy carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Links to other sites: Christian Science Monitor, CNET, IP Watch, Main Justice
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – It would be easy to believe nothing is happening in Britain except the phone hacking scandal, judging by UK headlines, with a fresh crop of details Tuesday about the sagging Murdoch news empire. British Members of Parliament are scheduled to question Rupert Murdoch, his son James and their former News International head Rebekah Brooks for three hours Tuesday morning, 19 July. Parliament has delayed its summer recess over the affair and Prime Minister David Cameron cut short a trip to Africa to return for an emergency Cabinet meeting. He is expected to deliver a statement to Commons Wednesday.
United States Attorney General Eric Holder has confirmed that his office is conducting a preliminary investigation into News International’s US operations under the Corrupt Foreign Practices Act, to see if bribery was part of the company’s practices in the US, as it reportedly was in the UK.
The first whistleblower in the News of the World phone hacking saga was found dead in London, but police are not treating it as a suspicious death. The Sun reports that Sean Hoare, 47, a former showbiz reporter, had a longtime drinking and drugs problem and had recently told a friend he was seriously ill.
Brooks’ husband, described by the Guardian as “a former racehorse trainer and close friend of David Cameron”, has been talking to police about a bag that was found in a bin near the couple’s home, with a computer, phone and papers in it.
Monday, a second top Metropolitan police officer quit, just hours after the head of the Met, Paul Stephenson, after learning he was to be suspended while Scotland Yard investigates allegations of bribery of London police by News International journalists.
In a bizarre twist, News International’s web sites for the Times and the Sun were down late Monday after the tabloid Sun‘s site was hacked by a hacking collective called LulzSec, which claims to have access to the newspaper’s emails. The hackers ran a fake story briefly, saying that Rupert Murdoch had died. Tuesday morning’s paper’s most read story has nothing to do with the hacking, “History made as nipple is found on foot”.
Links to other sites: BBC, Guardian home page, Irish Times, Scotsman, Sun, Telegraph
Tabloid scandal (© Chappatte, distributed by Globe Cartoon. More cartoons on Chappatte's web site. Geneva-based Patrick Chappatte works for the International Herald Tribune, for Geneva newspaper Le Temps, and for NZZ am Sonntag. All cartoons reproduced with permission)
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Rupert Murdoch is reportedly looking for buyers for his British newspapers, including the fame and shame tabloid News Of the World, as the scandal over phone hacking, payments to police officers and the possible continues to unfold Wednesday 13 July.
Other reports suggest he is willing to pump billions into his ailing empire, with shares in News Corporation plummeting. Sky News reports that he and his son and News International chief executive Rebekah Brookes may be called before Parliament next week as part of the widening inquiry.
Murdoch’s News Corporation British stable includes the Sunday Times and Sky TV but the larger group includes major international media players such as Dow Jones, whose chief executive Les Hinton was photographed flying into London to join the emergency meetings.
Links to other sites: Daily Mail, Guardian, New Yorker, Scottish Daily Record
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – A 24-hour strike in Britain Thursday 30 June to protest planned pension cuts began to have an impact on flights in the UK Wednesday evening, as some UK Border Agency staff left their jobs. The strike is supported by three teachers unions and a public services union, so hundreds of schools, courts and job centres are closed Thursday.
Travellers are being told they will not be affected if leaving the UK, but arriving travellers using airports and ferry docks should expect delays Thursday.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – It took seven years to find him and another four to bring him in front of a judge, but the Bern man, now in his 60s, accused of breaking into the Aiglon college dormitories in Villars-sur-Ollon in 2000, is now on trial in Brig, canton Valais. He is charged, in the Aiglon case, with drugging then raping three students while they slept.
He is accused of sexually molesting more than 50 children between 1996 and 2007, most of them under the age of 16. He has admitted to some of the accusations.
The prosecution is demanding 10 years in prison, while the defense is asking for six years plus therapy.
The man was condemned to 10 years plus therapy in 1979 for sexual acts against children.
The Aiglon case was one of a series.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Nato forces pummeled the centre of Tripoli and the area around the Qaddafi compound early Tuesday 24 May, with 20 strikes in less than an hour, reports The Guardian. The attacks are being described by observers as the heaviest in the two months since Nato began hitting Libya. The extent of the damage is not yet clear, although one person was reportedly killed and a dozen people injured. France confirmed Monday that it will, along with Britain, send attack helicopters to help better target the air strikes. Nato says that since operations began in mid-March it has launched more than 3,000 strikes.
Links to other sites: Aljazeera, Guardian, Nato on Twitter
Escalating violence by Syrian government against its citizens drawing sharp rebukes
(video) Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The United States Wednesday 27 April in Geneva initiated a special session of the Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on Syria. France announced that it has called in the Syrian ambassador for an explanation of his government’s attacks on its own citizens, along with four other European governments: Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain.
Late Wednesday news agencies received a statement that 30 members of the ruling Baath party in the city of Banias, scene of protests, have resigned over deaths this week and the violence used on protesters.
Syria was accused by US ambassador Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe, representative to the UNHRC in Geneva, of “the killing of hundreds of civilians in connection with peaceful political protests last week.” Donahoe stated, in initiating the special session, that “we strongly condemn the killing, arrest and torture of hundreds of Syrians by the Syrian authorities. It is entirely appropriate that the Human Rights Council condemn willful government violence against peaceful political protestors. At the Special Session we expect Human Rights Council members to call on the government of Syria to meet its responsibility to protect its population and stop these attacks.”
The Daily Telegraph in the UK reports that the failure of three government offices to properly black out secret information sections of some government documents has resulted in details being openly available online. The offices appear to have failed to follow government protocol for publishing the material, unwittingly, for example, names of officials involved in discussions about submarines and other information that by law should remain secret. The culprit in many cases is incorrect use of software, such as placing a black mask over text, using Photoshop: the same information, copied and pasted into another program, can be viewed.
The documents were published Sunday 17 April under the Freedom of Information Act in Britain.
Regular exercise from an early age is one key to reducing obesity
Geneva / Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – A group of universities, including EPFL in Lausanne, is behind one of the latest encouraging signs of new treatments for diabetes, obesity and possibly several cancers. Their research into the cell metabolism action of a group of cancer drugs called Paribs indicates that the drugs do more than repair the DNA in cancer cells, the work for which they are now used.
At the same time, the UK has just published the results of an audit on the effectiveness of bariatric (weight loss) surgery at reducing Type 2 diabetes, which shows that 85 percent of patients who had the surgery showed significant improvement in their diabetes a year later.
The rapid increase in the rate of diabetes in the developed world has encouraged more research into solutions, often linked to obesity and excess weight. Geneva-based World Health Organization (WHO) says more than 220 million people worldwide have diabetes type 2, but in 2005 it forecast that the number could double by 2030.
EPFL’s press release on the university researchers’ findings, published 6 April in journal Cell Metabolism, explains how Paribs might help:
“Cancer cells have the property of using glucose as an energy source instead of burning fatty acids. The scientists have noticed that Paribs enable their metabolism to be modified so that they begin to use them. This has the effect of weakening them and therefore stopping the progression of the cancer. The cells of patients suffering from type 2 diabetes, obesity or oxidation disorders share this characteristic of running on glucose.”
New UK study shows that diabetes risk is greatly reduced by weight-loss surgery
Two countries who lost money now suing Iceland
Iceland’s citizens voted by more than 60 percent 10 April not to pay back Britain and The Netherlands for losses incurred when Landsbanki went under in 2008. The bank’s failure was part of the country’s economic failure, an early victim to the global economic crisis. British and Dutch investors were covered by domestic deposit insurance for the money they had in the bank’s Icesave unit, under European Union rules. The two governments are out $5.8 billion and have now vowed to take Iceland to court to collect the money.
The three came to an agreement on repayment, in December 2010, but Iceland’s President Ólafur Ragnar Grimsson ordered a national vote on the agreement, soundly rejected, just as a first one was. The no vote, The Netherlands has suggested, could put at risk Iceland’s application to join the European Union.
Links to other sites: BBC, Financial Times (registration), The Netherlands.com
Police in London have brought charges against 149 of 201 people arrested Sunday 27 March part of a violent group that spun off from a massive, peaceful rally in the British capital. At least 250,000 people took part in a march organized by the TUC, trade unions organization, to protest government spending cuts.
Police have told UK media that while there were advance indications on the Internet that violence was planned, virtually the entire city was targeted, making it difficult for the 4,450 police officers on duty to protect property. A luxury shop in Piccadilly, where a sit-in was staged, was one of the more visible targets.
The UK government says it is pushing ahead with its plans to make £81 billion in budget cuts.
Links to other sites: BBC, Guardian, Telegraph
Guardian video, March for the Alternative, Fortnum & Mason occupied
We will all know who Kate and William are by the end of April, even if we don’t now, thanks to the expected heavy media coverage of the million and one ways the British will celebrate the 29 April 2011 wedding of their likely next king. William is not first in line to the throne, but with his father nearing retirement age by non-royal standards, the son remains a good candidate for the job once Queen Elizabeth steps down or dies. The hoopla surrounding the wedding of Diana and Charles in 1981 is not what the couple reportedly want, but the mugs and more are already planned, and the national party was given a send-off Thursday 24 March with the first wedding cake.
The 4ft medieval wedding cake replicating the steeple and spire of St Bride’s Church in London was made for Visit London, the city’s tourism office, by royal cake maker, Dawn Blunden of Sophisticake. The city so far has a dozen tourist attractions planned around the wedding. You can visit Kate’s favourite haunts or take part in what is described as “a cheesy 80s-themed royal wedding party”.
The city says that “the famous landmark known as ‘The Cathedral of Fleet Street’ provided the inspiration for the traditional tiered wedding cake whose origin hails back to 18th Century London.” The St Bride’s Wedding Cake “took over 200 hours to create, 200 eggs, 120lb dried fruit and 18lb butter, was positioned on a rooftop overlooking the church and will be donated to St Bride’s Church to share with its parish and support their charitable causes.”
There was a lull for a few years after the British media bonanza years covering the country’s royal family, when Princess Di and her then sister-in-law “Fergie” made frequent headlines. Recent public debates over the role of Prince Andrew, second son of Queen Elizabeth, as the nation’s trade representative, added to the hubbub over the summer wedding of Prince William, is putting the family back in the news on a regular basis.
This week’s crop of stories includes the £78,000 sale of a see-through dress worn by Kate Middleton for a fundraiser when she was a student at St. Andrew’s University, reportedly before she and William were a romantic couple. William is also in the news for taking part in memorial ceremonies in New Zealand for that country’s earthquake victims. The BBC’s royal correspondent writes “It was one of the most significant speeches he’s been called on to make. And to an extent that perhaps hasn’t been evident before, he both looked and sounded what he is, a future King.”
