Belarus' Lukashenko rejects death penalty mercy plea | News | DW.DE | 15.03.2012

Belarus strongman Alexander Lukashenko has apparently rejected a mercy plea from one of two men sentenced to death over a bomb attack that killed 15 people in a Minsk metro station almost a year ago.

The president rejected the clemency plea "due to the gravity of the crime and the high risk to society," Belarus media reported on Thursday.

Vladislav Kovalyov and Dmitri Konovalov were convicted and sentenced to death in November. Experts were critical of the trial, which they said had not established beyond doubt that the men carried out the attack on a central Minsk metro station April 11, 2011.

In addition to the 15 people killed in the bombing, hundreds were injured.

Icelandic politics on trial | World | DW.DE | 15.03.2012

A historic trial comes to a close this Thursday in Iceland. Former prime minister Geir Haarde has to answer for his role in the country's 2008 financial crisis. The case made international headlines.

About four years ago, Geir Haarde's world was looking just fine. As prime minister, he was popular with the electorate and the people of Iceland were confident about the future.

But then, the North Atlantic island nation got caught up in the maelstrom of the international financial crisis, following the collapse of the US bank, Lehman Brothers.

Budget bungle forces snap state election | Germany | DW.DE | 15.03.2012

The short-lived red-green coalition in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia has been forced to call snap elections after failing to get the backing for its new budget.

The red-green minority government in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) has collapsed after just over 18 months under Premier Hannelore Kraft. It's been forced to call a snap election after all three opposition parties rejected the 2012 budget proposal.

MEPs' vote ends EU-US row on hormone-treated beef | EurActiv

The European Parliament approved a deal between the EU and both the United States and Canada on hormone-treated beef yesterday (14 March), ending one of the trading powers' oldest disputes.

The case dates back to 1988 when the European Union banned all imports of beef from cattle treated with growth hormones, a move that prompted US and Canadian sanctions of $125 million (€95.7 million) a year on European products from Roquefort cheese to truffles and mustard.

The EU and Washington had agreed in 2009 that the 27-member bloc would keep its ban on hormone-treated beef but that the US would gradually lift its sanctions in exchange for a steep rise in the EU's duty-free import quotas of hormone-free beef.

The volumes of hormone-free beef exempted from taxes were put at 20,000 tonnes that year and are due to be lifted to 48,200 tonnes by August 2012, of which 45,000 tonnes for US beef and 3,200 tonnes for Canadian imports.

The United States lifted its import duties on all targeted European luxury foods in May 2011.

Although EU farmers had feared a surge in imports of North American beef, these failed to materialise as the United States became a net importer of beef after grain that formerly went to animal feed was used to make biofuels.

Energy expert: Not enough staff for eco-design directive | EurActiv

The European Commission is understaffed for its ambitions regarding the eco-design directive that sets energy savings requirements for products, despite the huge potential it has for achieving significant carbon dioxide reductions, says Edouard Toulouse.

How important is the eco-design directive in achieving energy savings?

The eco-design directive is really one of the silver bullets which can make really practical progress on energy savings issues. It was first when it came to energy savings and the reduction of CO2 emissions, but resource efficiency could also be considered under eco-design, because you could also set requirements on products related to the use of resources - such as their recyclability or the reusability.

The problem is that it is DG Enterprise that is responsible for this policy, but we need more involvement from other DGs. If you look at all the roadmaps and initiatives and policies in place, eco-design is really one of the few that can really deliver and that really has an impact on the market.

Just look at how many people are working on it from DG Environment - I know just one. That's not enough. They need more people.

EUobserver.com / Political Affairs / Merkel and Sarkozy: The end of the affair?

BRUSSELS - She needed him to soften the impression that Germany alone is leading Europe. He needed her to give the impression France is still, despite its economic difficulties, a political player.

For months, Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Nicolas Sarkozy were the eurzone's inseparable political duo. He was effusive and talked in a grand way about the historical importance of Franco-German relations. She, more pragmatic, concentrated on the here-and-now.

From a frosty beginning their relationship evolved towards mutual respect. They met, bickered, compromised and then decided on eurozone policy.

With France struggling to contain its budget deficit and French banks heavily exposed to Greece, Sarkozy embraced Merkel's economic view of the world - austerity measures until a balanced budget is achieved.

Some 7,000 more UK women affected by PIP implants - UNITED KINGDOM - FRANCE 24

AP - Britain's health ministry says an additional 7,000 women were fitted with potentially faulty French-made breast implants, raising the total in the U.K. to about 47,000.

The ministry said Thursday that the new cases follow confirmation by French authorities that implants manufactured before 2001 by the now-defunct French company Poly Implant Prothese, or PIP, also may have contained non-medical grade silicone.

Previously, authorities had said that only implants made by PIP after 2001 were affected.

In secular France, can faith carry the election? - FRENCH ELECTIONS 2012 - FRANCE 24

In staunchly secular France, the common assumption is that religion is best kept out of politics. Analysts tend to look to age, profession or gender when trying to gauge voter behaviour. But according to sociologists, religion plays a key part when it comes to casting a ballot. Claude Dargent, a researcher at Sciences Po's Cevipof institute, argues that religion is more influential in voters' decisions than social class.

At 57.2%, Catholics make up the majority of voters in France. Muslims (5%) form the second biggest religious group, followed by Protestants (2%) and Jews (0.6%). Some 30% of French voters describe themselves as having "no religion".

Eurointelligence Daily Briefing: Spanish and German left supports Hollande over fiscal treaty

The Spanish and German left support Francois Hollande over renegotiating the fiscal treaty; Sigmar Gabriel of the SPD says the pact only goes half way; Reuters Breakingviews argues that there is no point in renegotiating the pact as it is mostly an act of symbolism anyway; Angela Merkel is pushing pushes for Schäuble to became the next eurogroup's chairman; Italy's labour minister outlines the state of play in Italian labour reform - with changes to the country's restrictive firing laws; Greek unemployment rate reached 20.7% in Q4 last year, with youth unemployment at 40%; IMF approved second bailout for Greece despite internal doubts about its success; The ECB presents a cautious assessment of the LTRO, saying it contributed to a modest uptick in money growth in January, but no evidence yet of higher bank lending; Erkki Liikanen yesterday came out in support of Jens Weidmann's request for an exit from the ECB's "ultra loose" liquidity provisions; ISDA calls the Greek CDS auction for Monday, as market participants are unsure about the long-term effects about the CDS market; optimistic investors are getting back into risky assets, as German bunds come under pressure; Lorenzo Bini-Smaghi argues that there is a great danger that governments might inadvertently stumble into another eurozone default; Francois Hollande comes under fire for making non-financed electoral promises; Nicolas Sarkozy, meanwhile, hits the headlines with his latest insult of a journalist.

There are three stories about the euro crisis: the Republican story, the German story, and the truth. -- Paul Krugman

CNN: U.S. states: Running with the PIIGS
By Daryl G. Jones, March 16, 2010

The term PIIGS has been coined to refer collectively to Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece, and Spain. Aside from being a cute acronym, the term describes the actions of these countries very aptly as they have acted "piggish" in issuing debt to support overzealous government budgets. While the American media has at times made light of these countries and their PIIGS moniker, the same mistakes are at play in creating domestic pigs.

If PIIGS refers to nations that have overspent and are now overleveraging to pay for their deficits, the United States is feeding from the same trough.

There are two key ratios used to highlight when a government is reaching the crisis zone of fiscal imbalance: the debt-to-GDP ratio and deficit-as-a-percentage-of-GDP. Historically, a debt-to-GDP of north of 90% and a deficit-as-a-percentage-of-GDP north of 10% have been the lines in the sand to watch. As governments cross these barriers, they enter the Pig Zone.

It's fascinatint that, even today, Spain's Debt-to-GDP is less than 70%. And yet, this kind of "analysis" passes for serious commentary.

Also related to March 16, 2010: Greece hit by third general strike in a month (BBC, 11 March 2010)

The country currently has a spiralling public deficit of 12.7%, more than four times higher than eurozone rules allow.

The government has pledged to cut this to 8.7% this year, and also reduce the 300bn-euro (£275bn; $410bn) national debt, by cutting public sector salaries, raising the average retirement age, and increasing sales taxes.

...

Another general strike has been called for 16 March.

And now for a round of 16-March European Solidarity: Greece gets March deadline for deeper cuts Europolitics, 16 February 2010

EU finance ministers, meeting in Brussels on 15 and 16 February, have stopped short of offering overt financial assistance to Greece in favour of stepping up pressure on the indebted government in Athens. Greek Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou will have until 16 March to reassure a trenchant EU that Greece is able to bring down its budget deficit by four percentage points this year, or be forced to slash spending even further and introduce a raft of tax rises on luxury goods, private cars and energy products. "These targets will have to be reached," Eurogroup President Jean-Claude Juncker said of the 4% cut, "and in the case that there are risks preventing Greece from reaching these targets, then additional measures [...] will have to be taken".

Oh, it's that guy Juncker again...

There are three stories about the euro crisis: the Republican story, the German story, and the truth. -- Paul Krugman

coming soon to a Euro Crisis near you?

Eurorettung (English): Express Money: Economic Recovery in Debt-Ridden Countries via Fast-Circulating, Slow-Leaking Regional Money

The euro crisis can be overcome. The solution is called Express Money.

...

Express Money will only come about, however, once the idea finds its way to responsible parties in politics, economics, the media, and non-profit organizations, and is subjected to broad public discussion. Translations of this concept into German, English, Greek, Portuguese, etc. are already being prepared (see www.eurorettung.org). Spread the word to everyone whose support will be needed to get Express Money adopted in the crisis countries!

There are three stories about the euro crisis: the Republican story, the German story, and the truth. -- Paul Krugman

Lufthansa flies low on 2012 profit outlook | Business News | DW.DE | 15.03.2012

Germany's largest carrier is in for the second straight annual drop in earnings due to worsening business conditions for airline operators. Lufthansa's loss-making Austrian subsidiary will also create a drag on profits.

Lufthansa was expecting its operating profit to fall from 820 million euros ($1.1 billion) in 2011 to a "mid three-figure million euro range" this year, the group's chief executive Christoph Franz told the company's annual news conference Thursday.

Economic woes drive down European new car lust | Business News | DW.DE | 15.03.2012

The decline in new car sales in Europe accelerated in February, compounding fears of yet another dire year for the European auto market. Sales figures from 30 European states show only Germany to be holding out.

New car registrations in the 27-nation EU plus Iceland, Norway and Switzerland plunged 9.2 percent in February to just 923.381 units sold in the month, the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) said Thursday.

Critics welcome German push to 'double' resource efficiency | Environment | DW.DE | 15.03.2012

Environment Minister Norbert Röttgen says Germany can become world champions in resource efficiency. A recent cabinet paper outlines 20 ways the country can achieve that goal and critics are reacting positively.

Late last month, Germany's environment ministry published a report outlining how the country would slash the amount of resources it uses in its economy. Known as "ProgRess", it's main aim is to double Germany's resource efficiency compared to 1994 by the end of this decade.

'European leaders would welcome me being World Bank president' | World | DW.DE | 15.03.2012

Renowned economist Jeffrey Sachs tells DW why he feels best-suited to run the World Bank. He also explains why European leaders can't publicly support him and why it's hard for him to get White House backing.

Key economic engine states slow as others grow | Business | DW.DE | 15.03.2012

For more than a decade, the BRIC countries - Brazil, Russia, India and China - have been a key engine of the world economy. But declining growth rates mean they could be overtaken by the new kids of Southeast Asia.

A good decade ago, things were looking up.

Braziland Russia had aroused the interest of investors with their deposits of raw materials. And India and China, with their billion-strong populations, promised cheap labor and lower production costs. They were the countries that would see massive growth and they became know as the BRIC countries.

Greece's economy to exit recession only by 2014 - FRANCE 24

AFP - Greece's economy is expected to exit recession only by 2014, the International Monetary Fund said Thursday after announcing a new bailout loan for the heavily indebted country.

The IMF projected the Greek economy would shrink about 4.8 percent this year, followed by zero growth in 2013 and a return to growth, at an annual rate of 2.5 percent, in 2014.

Police are among those charged in deadly Egyptian soccer riot | News | DW.DE | 15.03.2012

Nine police officers are among those who have been charged in connection with a soccer riot in Egypt last month that killed 74 people. The riot sparked days of clashes between police and protesters in Cairo.

Egyptian prosecutors have laid charges of murder or negligence against a total of 75 people in connection with a soccer riot last month that left dozens of people dead.

A statement issued by the prosecutors' office in Cairo listed nine police officers among those charged, including Major General Issam Samak. He was the head of security in the Mediterranean city of Port Said where the incident occurred. He had already been suspended from duty.

China sacks top leadership contender | News | DW.DE | 15.03.2012

China's Communist Party has replaced one of its most powerful and charismatic leaders in the wake of a scandal over the police chief of the city he oversaw. The move came as a surprise.

China's ruling Communist Party sacked Bo Xilai as its secretary in the south-western metropolis of Chongqing, the official Xinhau news agency said on Thursday.

"Comrade Bo Xilai will no longer hold the post of secretary, standing committee member or member of Chongqing city [party] committee," state media quoted the party's Central Committee as saying.

Swiss investigators look for answers after fatal bus crash | News | DW.DE | 15.03.2012

Investigators have yet to determine the cause of a fatal bus crash in a Swiss tunnel. Belgian authorities were set to fly home the bodies of the 28 victims and their families.

The prosecutor for the Swiss canton Valais, Oliver Elsig, said investigators were looking into a couple of possible causes: a technical defect or human error.

"We will examine everything to find out what happened," Elsig said. "The tour bus was new and well maintained and according to the information we have, the driver was well rested."

The Belgian-registered bus was on its way back to Belgium from Switzerland when it crashed into the wall of a tunnel, killing 28 people and wounding the 24 other passengers.

An autopsy is to be performed on the driver to determine whether a sudden illness could have caused him to lose control of the bus.

Afghanistan wants early security takeover: Karzai | News | DW.DE | 15.03.2012

President Hamid Karzai has said he wants Afghans to assume responsibility for the nation's security in 2013. His comments came as the Taliban said they were suspending peace talks with the US.

Karzai told visiting US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta that Afghanistan was ready to takeover security from international troops a year earlier than planned.

"Afghanistan is ready to take overall security responsibility," a statement from Karzai's office said. "Our demand is that this process should be executed sharply and the responsibility should be handed over to Afghans."

Turkey prepares for flood of Syrian refugees | News | DW.DE | 15.03.2012

Turkey has said it is getting ready for a tide of refugees escaping the violence in neighboring Syria. As the situation shows no sign of easing a year on from the start of the uprising, Ankara is weighing its options.

Turkey braced itself for a further flood of refugees on Thursday, as officials reported 1,000 people crossing the border within 24 hours from neighboring Syria.

"There has been an increase in those fleeing from Syria to our country," Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Selcuk Unal told a news conference. "Yesterday, the number of people who had come was 13,700. This morning, the number is 14,700. This shows the seriousness of the situation in Syria."           

German lab peers behind nuclear curtains | Sci-Tech | DW.DE | 15.03.2012

Global leaders doubt statements from Iran and North Korea about the state of their nuclear programs. At the Institute for Transuranium Elements dust particles are analyzed to find out who is building what and why.

Countries that allow in weapons inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) would find it virtually impossible to keep nuclear programs a secret these days.

"The inspectors can verify the amount of nuclear material, their enrichment and their nuclear activity," said Klaus Mayer, a chemical analyst at the Institute for Transuranium Elements (ITU) in the south-western German town of Karlsruhe.

Minister challenges law on rapists marrying victims - MOROCCO - FRANCE 24

AFP - A minister in Morocco's Islamist government on Thursday called for a change to a law allowing a rapist to marry his victim after a 16-year-old teenager forced into such a union committed suicide.

Bassima Hakkaoui, Minister for Women and Families and the only woman in the cabinet, called for a debate to reform the law, in comments to state television channel 2M.

Her predecessor in the post Nouzha Skalli also declared herself shocked by the affair and called for the law to be changed.

Amina al-Filali, 16, drank rat poison last week in Larache, near Tangiers in the north, after being forced to marry the man who raped her.

George Clooney urges end to `war crimes' in Sudan - FRANCE 24 EXCLUSIVE - FRANCE 24

US movie star George Clooney and activist John Prendergast have accused the Sudanese government of committing war crimes on civilian populations in the southern Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile regions. Speaking to FRANCE 24 from Washington, DC, on Wednesday, the co-founders of the Satellite Sentinel Project warned that the situation was dangerously similar to the genocide in Darfur.

'Government-led' aid mission heading to Syria, says UN - SYRIA - FRANCE 24

AFP - The United Nations said Thursday it would send experts on a Syrian "government-led" humanitarian mission this weekend but again demanded free access to protest cities.

UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos said UN and Organization of Islamic Cooperation staff would join the assessment mission to Daraa, Homs, Hama, Tartus, Lattakia, Aleppo, Dayr Az Zor and rural zones around Damascus.

Karzai orders NATO troops out of all Afghan villages - AFGHANISTAN - FRANCE 24

AP - The American campaign in Afghanistan suffered a double blow Thursday: President Hamid Karzai demanded NATO troops immediately pull out of rural areas in the wake of the killing of 16 civilians, and the Taliban broke off talks with the U.S.

The setbacks effectively paralyze the two main tracks for ending the 10-year-old war. Part of that exit strategy is to gradually transfer authority to Afghan forces while another tack is to pull the Taliban into some sort of political discussions with the Afghan government.

End Of An Error: The Car Century Begins To Wane | TPM

The economy's on the rebound, and with it so is the U.S. auto manufacturing sector, three years after Detroit nearly went bankrupt. But a different indicator of U.S. economic growth suggests a significant realignment is under way in the American transportation system -- one that isn't necessarily good news for car makers.

The charts below tell a key part of the American story of the last century.

U.S. embassy alarmed by `missile' in anti-war art project | 972mag

Creators of "Iran - The Exhibition," a new art project at The Spaceship gallery in Tel Aviv, wanted to examine "Israeli hysteria and fear of destruction, and the never-ending quest for a new Hitler-Nasser-Saddam." Among other works, the exhibition includes a miniature missile (made of an empty pipe). It was placed on the roof of the gallery, which incidentally, overlooks the American Embassy in Tel Aviv. What followed was a form of inadvertent performance art.

On Wednesday, no less than five members of the Embassy's security team, accompanied by a soldier, entered the gallery, saying that if the missile - a work titled Nimrod Direct, by Guy Briller - is not removed, the police will be alerted. Roy Arad, one of the organizers of "Iran - The Exhibition," explained that it was only an empty pipe, covered with drawings and shiny stars. Later, he offered to move the Nimrod 10 degrees to the left, away from the Embassy and towards the sea. This offer seems to have calmed the security team.

Yet someone at the American security team must have remained on high alert, because on Thursday, two police officers arrived at the exhibition, following a complaint from the Embassy. They examined Nimrod, and after concluding that "this thing will never fly anywhere," left. According to Roy Arad, they appeared to have enjoyed the art.

German energy firms in crisis | Germany | DW.DE | 15.03.2012

Once swimming in money, German energy companies are now gasping for breath and can no longer rely on old business models. Developments in technology and past mistakes have cost them dearly.

EON, RWE, EnBW and Vattenfall are the four companies that dominate the German energy market. But Germany's planned nuclear phase-out has taken a toll on their balance sheets. On Wednesday, EON, Germany's biggest gas and electrical company, announced losses of more than 2 billion euros ($2.6 billion) - the first losses in the company's history. EnBW was also in the red last year, while RWE and Vattenfall recorded profits.

Strong scientific evidence that eating berries benefits the brain

Strong scientific evidence exists that eating blueberries, blackberries, strawberries and other berry fruits has beneficial effects on the brain and may help prevent age-related memory loss and other changes, scientists report. Their new article on the value of eating berry fruits appears in ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

In the article, Barbara Shukitt-Hale, Ph.D., and Marshall G. Miller point out that longer lifespans are raising concerns about the human toll and health care costs of treating Alzheimer's disease and other forms of mental decline.

They explain that recent research increasingly shows that eating berry fruits can benefit the aging brain. To analyze the strength of the evidence about berry fruits, they extensively reviewed cellular, animal and human studies on the topic.

Australia to become hotter, drier: climate report

Australia's climate is warming at an alarming rate and is set to become drier despite recent record floods, scientists said Wednesday in a report that warns of increased drought and fiercer storms.

The country has seen annual average daily temperatures rise by 0.9 degrees Celsius since 1911, with each decade since the 1950s warmer than the last, the report by government science body CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology said.

The national climate snapshot found that temperatures will jump again -- by between 1.0 and 5.0 degrees Celsius by 2070 -- if global greenhouse emissions remain within the range of expectations.

"Global changes of this magnitude happen very rarely. They happen when asteroids strike, they happen when there's planetary volcanic activity," said Karl Braganza, the head of climate monitoring at the Bureau of Meteorology.

Air pollution 'will become bigger global killer than dirty water' | Environment | guardian.co.uk

Urban air pollution is set to become the biggest environmental cause of premature death in the coming decades, overtaking even such mass killers as poor sanitation and a lack of clean drinking water, according to a new report.

Both developed and developing countries will be hit, and by 2050, there could be 3.6 million premature deaths a year from exposure to particulate matter, most of them in China and India. But rich countries will suffer worse effects from exposure to ground-level ozone, because of their ageing populations - older people are more susceptible.

Here's an example of a smart grid feature that might not be obvious to the casual observer. Basically it's about getting paid to allow your electric car to be used to help manage the electricity distribution system.

Dynamic retail market prices will also reflect participant actions that hasten or delay distribution transformer replacement by burdening or relieving transformers during times of high utilization, as well as the value of incremental distribution line losses caused by their real and reactive power transactions.

Sources of reactive power will expand, bringing substantial efficiencies and cost savings. Traditionally, reactive power compensation has been supplied by just a few generators, usually gas-fired, located close to urban load centers. It is now increasingly provided by trailer-size solid-state dynamic VAR compensators, located at or close to substations. Soon, this picture will change radically with the introduction of many moderately sized (10-50 kVAr) inverter-type power electronic devices embedded in photovoltaic installations and electric vehicles. With minor modifications, a 30 kW solar inverter or the 50 kW inverter/rectifier found in every Prius can be put to dual use. When the sun does not shine or a hybrid vehicle is parked, the inverters can compete to supply reactive power in response to retail market locational price signals. With minor modifications, they can without added cost act as small distributed dynamic-var-compensators that produce or consume reactive power to reduce the flow of reactive power injected into the distribution network at nearby locations by inductive/capacitive loads or the distribution network itself.

Heretofore, because there were so few providers of reactive power, creation of competitive markets was not warranted. The establishment of markets will give larger sets of providers strong incentives to eliminate undesirable voltage-current phase shifts. This will significantly reduce distribution line losses, which account for more than 5 percent of total electricity production and assist with voltage control.

http://smartgrid.ieee.org/march-2012/526-it-is-time-for-power-market-reform-to-allow-for-retail-cust omer-participation-and-distribution-network-marginal-pricing

Literary Germany looks to Leipzig as book fair opens | News | DW.DE | 15.03.2012

Leipzig's annual book fair has opened its doors. Authors, publishers and bookworms have made their way to the historic trade fair city for one of Germany's most important literary events.

Germany's literary establishment on Thursday turned its attention to Leipzig, where over 2,000 publishers from 44 countries are showcasing their wares.

The Leipzig Book Fair is considered a test for the trade, which recorded a 1.8 percent decline in turnover last year. Classic book stores were hit hardest, seeing their business fall by three percent, according to Germany's booksellers association.

Welsh Artist Censored in Ceredigion - Welsh Icons News

Tonight, police in Lampeter ordered the poster shown to the left is to be taken down or license would be withheld for a forthcoming Sicknote gig in Lampeter. The reason they gave was that the picture `incites drug use'.

The artist, Norris Nuvo told us:

"They also insisted that the picture be removed from `the Internet' I think they meant Facebook as I don't think that a copper from a small Welsh town has the power to censor the Internet."

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

Earth's protective bubble hasn't burst

For the first time, the loss of atmospheric ions from Earth and Mars has been observed during the same solar wind stream. In a new study, data from ESA's Cluster and Mars Express spacecraft, which orbit the Earth and Mars respectively, have been used to compare the outflow of oxygen ions when the planets were aligned. The study's findings reaffirm the importance of the Earth's magnetic field in protecting our atmosphere from the solar wind, which had been questioned in recent years.

Venus, Earth and Mars formed from the same material, but they have evolved in different ways so that they now look more like distant relations than siblings. While the atmosphere on Venus is much denser than on Earth, hiding the planet's surface from view at visible wavelengths, Mars only has a tenuous atmosphere.

US unveils new graphic anti-smoking campaign - FRANCE 24

AFP - US health authorities unveiled a new anti-smoking campaign Thursday with testimony of ex-smokers and graphic images depicting the reality of tobacco-related diseases, in the latest effort to stamp out the habit.

The campaign to convince smokers to kick the habit, and warn younger people of the dangers from starting, will kick off March 19 in television and radio ads, on the Internet, and in theaters, magazines, and newspapers nationwide, said the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Recreational drug users take medicines to control side-effects, survey finds | Society | The Guardian

Many people who use drugs recreationally also take prescription medicines such as tranquillisers, sleeping pills and painkillers to deal with the effects of a weekend high and get back to work on Monday, new research reveals.

An international survey carried out by the Guardian and Mixmag magazine found that about a third of the 7,700 people from the UK who revealed their illegal drug use also took prescription sleeping pills - 22.4% had taken benzodiazepines such as temazepam in the last year and 7.2% had taken the newer "z-drugs" - zopiclone and zolpidem.

Leveson attacks 'utterly misleading' Times court statement | Media | The Guardian

A high court witness statement by a former Times journalist has been described as "utterly misleading" and "not accurate" by Lord Justice Leveson in one of the most tense sessions since his inquiry into press ethics opened in November.

The inquiry heard how journalist Patrick Foster had confessed to the paper's legal manager, Alastair Brett, that he had established the identity of the anonymous Nightjack police blogger, Richard Horton, after he had hacked into his email account.

Brett, giving evidence to Leveson, recalled how furious he was when Foster confided that he had potentially broken the law to find out the blogger's name. The air was "blue" with expletives and he warned him he could lose his job if he ever hacked into an email account again. But although it breached some statute, Brett thought it might have a defence

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

German celebrity bunny crushed to death by cameraman | World news | The Guardian

An earless baby rabbit that became a rising star on Germany's celebrity animal scene had its 15 minutes of fame brought to an abrupt end when it was accidentally stepped on and killed by a television cameraman.

The fate of 17-day-old Til, a male bunny with a genetic defect, was plastered across German newspapers on Thursday, the same day a small zoo in Saxony was to have presented it to the world at a press conference.

The cameraman told Bild newspaper he hadn't seen Til, who had buried himself in hay, when he took the fateful step back on Wednesday.

100 years ago today, Captain Oates walked from a tent into a blizzard, with the words "I am just going outside and may be some time". He was never seen again.

He was on the doomed Antarctic expedition led by Captain Scott and they had been caught in a storm a trapped with little food for a couple of days. Oates was already ill and, it is believed, sacrificed his life to give his friends a better hope of survival.

keep to the Fen Causeway

Yes, it's those mad Finns again.

You can't be me, I'm taken