Moments of Awareness

Posted via email from Peace Jaway

Posted via email from Peace Jaway

Posted via email from Peace Jaway

Posted via email from Peace Jaway

Posted via email from Peace Jaway

Great Little Place to Be Posted via email from Peace Jaway

30 August 2010 Last updated at 17:01 ET Share this page Facebook Share Email Print US soldiers returning from Iraq face 'invisible wounds' By Jessy Elmurr BBC News, Fort Lewis, Washington Sgt Jason Evershed's family was one of hundreds welcoming home US combat troops in Fort Lewis "I am just happy my daddy's coming home," said six-year-old Alyssa Evershed. It is past 0100, and Alyssa's father is on his way home from Iraq along with about 300 members of the 4th Stryker Brigade - some of the last US combat troops to leave the country. Hundreds of family members gathered in a gymnasium room in Joint Base Lewis-McChord, and several mothers balanced a child with one arm and a handmade welcome sign with the other. The room soon filled with hugs and tears, and in some cases, fathers watchi...

30 August 2010 Last updated at 18:02 ET Share this page Facebook Share Email Print Mexico sacks 10% of police force in corruption probe More officers could face disciplinary action in the wide-ranging crackdown The federal police force in Mexico says it has sacked almost 10% of its officers this year for corruption, incompetence or links to criminals. Commissioner Facundo Rosas said 3,200 officers had been fired. More than 1,000 others were facing disciplinary action and could also lose their jobs, he added. In a separate development, a shoot-out between troops in Veracruz state and a suspected drugs gang has left six gunmen and one soldier dead. The firefight, in the town of Panuco, started when the soldiers went to investigate a house used by the alleged drug traffickers. Purge Announcing the dismissals, Mr Rosas said none of the sacked officers would be all...

Advertisement 25 August 2010 Last updated at 08:44 ET Help A 'fire tornado' has been caught on camera in the Brazilian municipality of Aracatuba, caused by strong, dry winds that fanned wildfires. A whirlwind of flames spiralling several metres high danced across fields, bringing traffic to a halt on a nearby road, before it disappeared. The phenomenon followed weeks of drought which have sparked brush fires across the country. via bbc.co.uk Posted via email from Peace Jaway

Advertisement 30 August 2010 Last updated at 09:14 ET Help A French climber, known as 'Spiderman', is facing charges after scaling a 57-storey building in Australia. Alain Robert was arrested by police when he reached the top of the building in Sydney without ropes or any other safety equipment. He has climbed a number of the world's tallest buildings over the years and has been arrested almost as many times. Ben Tornquist reports. via bbc.co.uk It seems apparent, given that he's climbing to deadly heights without safety gear, that arrests aren't gonna bother him very much. I don't care why he's doin' it, really. I wouldn't do it, I wouldn't recommend it, but if he's willing to risk his neck so be it. It's cool to watch, and I certainly can't hope he falls. Posted via email from Peace Jaway

30 August 2010 Last updated at 13:32 ET Share this page Facebook Share Email Print 'Carla Bruni is a prostitute', says Iranian newspaper By Christian Fraser BBC News, Paris Carla Bruni wrote an open letter to Ashtiani voicing support An Iranian newspaper has called Carla Bruni, France's first lady, a "prostitute" after she attacked Iran's plan to stone a woman to death. The president's wife is part of a campaign to save the life of 43-year-old mother of two, Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani. Ashtiani is accused of cheating on her husband and then helping to kill him. She is now facing capital punishment for her crimes. Continue reading the main story Related stories Iran stoning woman 'confesses' Adultery case woman attacks Iran ...

30 August 2010 Last updated at 13:32 ET Share this page Facebook Share Email Print 'Carla Bruni is a prostitute', says Iranian newspaper By Christian Fraser BBC News, Paris Carla Bruni wrote an open letter to Ashtiani voicing support An Iranian newspaper has called Carla Bruni, France's first lady, a "prostitute" after she attacked Iran's plan to stone a woman to death. The president's wife is part of a campaign to save the life of 43-year-old mother of two, Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani. Ashtiani is accused of cheating on her husband and then helping to kill him. She is now facing capital punishment for her crimes. Continue reading the main story Related stories Iran stoning woman 'confesses' Adultery case woman attacks Iran ...

27 August 2010 Last updated at 23:16 ET Share this page Facebook Share Email Print Anti-whaling NGOs warn of 'contaminated' whale meat By Katia Moskvitch Science reporter, BBC News Pilot whale hunting in the Faroe Islands has been going on for generations Environmental and animal-welfare groups are urging the International Whaling Commission (IWC) to persuade the World Health Organization (WHO) to act over fears about eating whale meat. The coalition of organisations wants the WHO to issue guidelines amid fears about the safety of the meat. The groups say whale meat is highly contaminated with mercury and should not be eaten. But whaling nations say they already have health guidelines in place. For the past weeks, anti-whaling activists have been drafting a letter aimed at persuading governments to act,...

30 August 2010 Last updated at 11:25 ET Share this page Facebook Share Email Print Italian minister apologises after delivery room fight Italy's health minister has apologised to a woman for a fight between two doctors in the delivery room as she was about to give birth. The authorities are investigating whether the woman suffered complications as a result of the row. Laura Salpietro, 30, had her uterus removed and her baby boy suffered heart problems and possible brain damage at birth on Thursday in Messina, Sicily. Her husband Matteo Molonia says the confrontation delayed a C-section. After a heated exchange of words, one of the doctors seized his colleague by the neck and shoved him into a wall, according to Mr Molonia's account to police, reports said. The other doctor reacted by punching a window, which shattered, injuring his hand, they said. Prosecutors ...

By Greg Cochrane Newsbeat music reporter Guns N' Roses had their set cut short at Reading after going on stage late Guns N' Roses lead singer Axl Rose claimed his "war" with Reading and Leeds' bosses "wasn't over yet" as they headlined the final night of this year's festival. The singer directed a string of expletives at organisers as his group ran over their allotted performance for the second time. They came on stage 30 minutes late after being an hour late at Reading. They played half an hour over their time before being told to stop. Afterwards festival boss Melvin Benn said he would book the band again but "wasn't sure they'd play for me". See all the performances and pictures from the Reading and Leeds Festivals Eventful weekend Up until the final half an hour Guns N' Roses' set had been largely straightforward with a show which included songs like Welcome To The Jungle, Swee...

30 August 2010 Last updated at 08:26 ET Share this page Facebook Share Email Print Flights resume after Aberdeen Airport power failure Flights were grounded at Aberdeen Airport for almost two hours following a major power failure. About 400 homes and businesses in the Dyce area were also affected when they lost supplies at about 1040 BST. Power has been restored, although the airport has warned of knock-on delays and is asking customers to be patient. Emergency generators provided lighting in the terminal, but departures had to be grounded as there was no power to process passengers through security. Incoming flights were not affected. Scottish and Southern Energy said the problem was due to a fault with an underground cable and repairs were being carried out. via bbc.co.uk It's interesting that it wasn't the power outage that grounded flights, but security con...

30 August 2010 Last updated at 03:21 ET Share this page Facebook Share Email Print Swarms of marine turbines could 'tap the Gulf Stream' By Lakshmi Sandhana Technology reporter The current best-bet ideas for marine energy make use of large, fixed turbines Darris White is a deep thinker. The engineer at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in the US is currently finalising designs for a series of turbines that could be used to harness the immense energy of the Gulf Stream, flowing deep in the Atlantic Ocean. The underwater stream roughly contains around 21,000 times more energy than the Niagara Falls and by some estimates, could potentially provide up to one-third of Florida's electricity needs. "Hydrokinetic power from the Gulf Stream can provide enough power for over a million households in Flor...

30 August 2010 Last updated at 02:17 ET Share this page Facebook Share Email Print Cannabis may relieve chronic nerve pain Cannabis has been used to treat pain since the third millennium BC Smoking cannabis from a pipe can significantly reduce chronic pain in patients with damaged nerves, a study suggests. A small study of 23 people also showed improvements with sleep and anxiety. Writing in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, the researchers said larger studies using inhaler-type devices for cannabis were needed. UK experts said the pain relief seen was small but potentially important, and more investigation was warranted. Around 1 to 2% of people have chronic neuropathic pain - pain due to problems with signalling between nerves - but effective treatments are lacking. Continue reading the main story “ Start Quote To our knowledge, this is the first outp...

Water voles have been protected in the UK since 2008 Food is relatively cheap and plentiful in Britain today, but will that still be the case in 50 years? Overfishing and the decline of species on land has left some experts saying it is getting both harder and more expensive for the UK to feed itself in the long term. That decline also opens up questions about the sort of countryside being left to future generations as nearly half of Britain's native land mammals are now considered a priority for conservation, be they hedgehogs, water voles, red squirrels or bats. Farmland birds are also disappearing, with skylark numbers having been halved during the 1990s and continuing to drop. One in five wild plants, the starting point for so much of our wildlife, face extinction. ...

30 August 2010 Last updated at 03:01 ET Share this page Facebook Share Email Print Dry weather reveals archaeological 'cropmarks' in fields English Heritage said sites which have been invisible since the drought of 1976 reappeared this summer Hundreds of ancient sites have been discovered by aerial surveys, thanks to a dry start to the summer, English Heritage has said. The surveys show marks made when crops growing over buried features develop at a different rate from those nearby. The newly-discovered Roman and prehistoric settlements include a site near Bradford Abbas, Dorset. The Roman camp was revealed in June after three sides became visible in sun-parched fields of barley. The lightly-built defensive enclosure would have provided basic protection for Roman soldiers while on manoeuvres in the first century AD and is one of only four discovered in the south ...

30 August 2010 Last updated at 04:14 ET Share this page Facebook Share Email Print Ivabradine pill may prevent heart failure for thousands Ivabradine lowers heart beat rates without reducing blood pressure A pill costing less than £1.50 a day has the potential to save the lives of thousands of heart failure patients, medical trials suggest. The drug, ivabradine, is already available in the UK to treat angina. Prof Martin Cowie, who led the UK-based part of the study, said it could save up to 10,000 lives each year. The trial involved more than 6,500 people in 37 countries who already used standard treatments such as beta-blocker drugs. Over a typical study period of two years, ivabradine cut the risk of death from heart failure by 26%. It had a similar impact on the likelihood of patients being admitted to hospital. The research findings were presented at the Europea...

29 August 2010 Last updated at 21:07 ET Share this page Facebook Share Email Print Medicine errors 'could harm children' Children under five are at the highest risk of overdose Many parents are incapable of giving their children the correct dose of liquid medicines, claim Australian researchers. Using household spoons to measure them out could mean a potentially dangerous overdose, they say. Children under five are at the highest risk of accidental overdose. The study, presented in Lisbon, tested 97 adults and found 61% measured the wrong dose - 17% measured an overdose and 44% did not give enough. Dr Rebekah Moles, from the University of Sydney, recruited 97 people visiting day-care centres catering for under-fives from the city. Of these, 53 were mothers, seven were fathers and the rest were day care staff. Continue reading the main story “ Start Quot...