Indian teachers 'forced to cook'
Teachers in the north Indian state of Punjab have gone to court to protest at being forced to cook meals for pupils. The primary teachers say the government should cook the food and leave them to do the teaching.
Cooked food must be provided under a government scheme to improve nutrition and attendance.
But teachers say they are given no facilities so must cook in classrooms and then wash up, taking up to four hours from teaching time.
The teachers say unless the situation changes it will have a terrible effect on the learning of Punjab's schoolchildren.
Drop outs
The state schoolteachers' union has petitioned the High Court in the Punjab capital, Chandigarh, demanding that the government be directed to provide cooked food for distribution under the government's Mid-Day Meal Scheme for schools.
The scheme, introduced last year, is part of the federal ministry of human resource development's effort to improve the nutritional status of children and encourage increased levels of attendance.
But the schoolteachers' lawyer, Atul Lakhanpal, said not one of the state-run schools in Punjab had the facilities to cook the meals.
"The chore of cooking, unfairly delegated to the teachers, easily takes up three to four hours of their time in school," Mr Lakhanpal said.
The High Court issued a notice to the Punjab state government to reply by 16 January.
The Mid-Day Meal Scheme was introduced to counter a high drop out rate among pupils.
Parents in poor families were keeping them at home to do menial jobs to contribute to the family income.
For many years, schools simply distributed uncooked flour and groceries to the children.
But in many instances this encouraged corruption with school heads either selling off the food or enrolling non-existent students to claim larger quantities of uncooked food to sell at a profit.
Now teachers are supplied raw materials and told to cook them. There are periodic checks on quality, with the teachers held responsible.
Teaching unions have made representations to the government over the issue in the past but say no action has been taken.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4449426.stm
Kangaroo meat rebranding launched
A competition has been launched in Australia to find a new way of describing kangaroo meat. Organisers want to find a name less offensive to diners sensitive about eating a national symbol.
Australia has millions of kangaroos, whose lean red meat has generated a multi-million dollar export industry.
Kangaroo meat is popular in Germany, France and Belgium. Russians have a taste for sausages, but Australia's enthusiasm has always been lukewarm.
This is partly for sentimental reasons. The kangaroo appears on Australia's coat of arms and is one of the country's most recognisable symbols.
Somehow throwing a 'roo steak on the barbecue just doesn't feel right.
Attempts are now being made to combat this national squeamishness.
Australia's kangaroo industry is planning to publish new recipes and develop ready-to-eat marsupial meals and burgers.
They will be promoted as a low-fat alternative to lamb and beef.
Skippy steak?
Organisers are also looking to give kangaroo meat a palatable new name.
Hundreds of suggestions for a new name have already been put forward.
They range from the obvious - including Skippy, the name of an old television series that featured a very sensible kangaroo - to others that will probably make the judges wince, such as Yummy and Kanga.
Up to four million of these unique animals are culled every year under official quotas.
Wildlife activists have described this as a barbaric slaughter.
One campaigner said that turning these beautiful creatures into Russian sausages was a national disgrace
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asi...ic/4452704.stm
Smoker tried to open plane door
A French woman has admitted attempting to open an aeroplane door mid-flight so that she could smoke a cigarette. Sandrine Helene Sellies, 34, who has a fear of flying, had drunk alcohol and taken sleeping tablets ahead of the flight from Hong Kong to Brisbane.
She was seen on the Cathay Pacific plane walking towards a door with an unlit cigarette and a lighter.
She then began tampering with the emergency exit until she was stopped by a flight attendant.
Defence lawyer Helen Shilton said her client had no memory of what had happened on the flight on Saturday, and that she had a history of sleepwalking.
She pleaded guilty to endangering the safety of an aircraft at Brisbane Magistrates Court and was given a 12-month A$1,000 (£429) good behaviour bond - she will forfeit the money if she commits another offence.
The French tourist was at the start of a three-week holiday in Australia with her husband.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asi...ic/4456076.stm
Space screening for Potter movie
The latest Harry Potter film has been screened to the two-man crew of the International Space Station (ISS). Mission Control in Houston transmitted Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire on Tuesday on the request of US astronaut Bill McArthur, the station's commander.
It followed a live link-up earlier this month that saw Sir Paul McCartney play two songs to the ISS crew members.
McArthur and Russian cosmonaut Valery Tokarev, the 12th crew of the ISS, are 55 days into their six-month mission.
"ISS crew members have busy work schedules but they also have a little scheduled downtime," said a Nasa spokesperson.
"Over the years the station has compiled a DVD movie library, along with books, magazines, CDs and other materials to help the astronauts relax."
The Goblet of Fire is now the most successful film in UK cinema history, having made £14.9m in its first three days on release.
On Thursday the ISS crew will celebrate the US Thanksgiving holiday with irradiated smoked turkey, dehydrated green beans and a thermo-stabilised cranberry-apple dessert.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4465760.stm
Romantic love 'lasts just a year'
Some couples may disagree, but romantic love lasts little more than a year, Italian scientists believe. The University of Pavia found a brain chemical was likely to be responsible for the first flush of love.
Researchers said raised levels of a protein was linked to feelings of euphoria and dependence experienced at the start of a relationship.
But after studying people in long and short relationships and single people, they found the levels receded in time.
The team analysed alterations in proteins known as neurotrophins in the bloodstreams of men and women aged 18 to 31, the Psychoneuroendocrinology journal reported.
They looked at 58 people who had recently started a relationship and compared the protein levels in the same number of people in long-term relationships and single people.
In those who had just started a relationship, levels of a protein called nerve growth factors, which causes tell-tale signs such as sweaty palms and the butterflies, were significantly higher.
Of the 39 people who were still in the same new relationship after a year, the levels of NGF had been reduced to normal levels.
Report co-author Piergluigi Politi said the findings did not mean people were no longer in love, just that it was not such an "acute love".
Stable
"The love became more stable. Romantic love seemed to have ended."
And he added the report suggested the change in love was down to NGF.
"Our current knowledge of the neurobiology of romantic love remains scanty.
"But it seems from this study biochemical mechanisms could be involved in the mood changes that occur from the early stage of love to when the relationship becomes more established."
However, he said further research was needed.
Dr Lance Workman, head of psychology at Bath Spa University, said: "Research has suggested that romantic love fades after a few years and becomes companionate love and it seems certain biological factors play a role.
"But while we are a pair-bonding species, there is some doubt over whether this is within monogamous relationships or not.
"Different societies have different practices and trends."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4478040.stm
Onion chopper's hardcore shocker
Shoppers at a kitchen store were left open-mouthed when a video promoting an onion chopper cut to hardcore porn. Dave Casson, who owns the Cook Shop in Macclesfield, Cheshire, put the video on in his store to show customers how the new chopping device worked.
But halfway through, viewers' eyes were left watering when the scene switched to a very different kind of action.
Mr Casson, 50, said: "We had a few old ladies in and I knew straight away it wasn't going to be good for business."
The video had been sent by Mr Casson's suppliers as a promotional tool for the kitchen utensil, to be played in his shop in the Cheshire town.
Most of our customers are middle-aged and really don't expect something like this
Dave Casson
"The tape looked very professional when we got it from the company we deal with and we just put it in," he said.
"It was supposed to just be on a continual loop, so it would start playing over and over again.
"For some reason it didn't work."
A few minutes in, the footage of the Swedish-made onion chopper stopped and, after a short time on a menu screen, cut to the pornographic movie.
"Somebody must have taped it over the other movie and it went on to that," added Mr Casson.
"Most of our customers are middle-aged and really don't expect something like this."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/m...er/4494660.stm
'New mammal' seen in Borneo woods
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/image...anfront203.jpg
In the dense central forests of Borneo, a conservation group has found what appears to be a new species of mammal.
WWF caught two images of the animal, which is bigger than a domestic cat, dark red, and has a long muscular tail.
Local people, the WWF says, had not seen the species before, and researchers say it looks to be new.
The WWF says there is an urgent need to conserve forests in south-east Asia which are under pressure from logging and the palm oil trade.
The creature, believed to be carnivorous, was spotted in the Kayan Mentarang National Park, which lies in Indonesian territory on Borneo.
The team which discovered it, led by biologist Stephan Wulffraat, is publishing full details in a new book on Borneo and its wildlife.
"You don't find new mammals that often, and to do so must be extraordinary," said Callum Rankine, head of the species programme at WWF-UK.
"We've got camera traps there, which are passive devices relying on infra-red beams across forest paths," he told the BBC News website.
"Lots of animals come past - it's much easier than pushing through the forest itself - and when an animal cuts the beam, two cameras catch images from the front and back."
So far, two images are all that exist. But they were enough to convince Nick Isaac from the Institute of Zoology in London that the animal may indeed be new.
"The photos look most like a lemur," he told the BBC News website. "But there certainly shouldn't be lemurs in Borneo."
These long-tailed primates are confined to the island of Madagascar.
"It's more likely to be a viverrid - that's the family which includes the mongoose and civets - which is a very poorly known group," Dr Isaac said.
"One of the photos clearly shows the length of the tail and how muscly it is; civets use their tails to balance in trees, so this new animal may spend chunks of its time up trees too."
That could be one reason why it has not been spotted before. Another could be that access to the heart of Borneo is becoming easier as population centres expand and roads are built.
The WWF says this is the heart of the issue. It accuses the governments of Indonesia and Malaysia, which each own parts of Borneo, of encouraging the loss of native jungle by allowing the development of giant palm oil plantations.
Last week Pehin Sri Haji Abdul Taib Mahmud, chief minister of Sarawak, the larger Malaysian state on Borneo, said that such claims are unfounded and part of a smear campaign.
He told the BBC News website that palm oil plantations are mainly sited on land which had previously been cleared for cultivation or are in "secondary jungle".
But the WWF says species like the new viverrid - if new viverrid it be - are threatened by such development.
It is concerned that other as yet unknown creatures may go extinct before their existence can be documented.
The group is planning to capture the new species in a live trap so it can be properly studied and described.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4501152.stm
Red bus revamp for green living
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/image...meonbus203.jpg
Falling asleep on the bus is about to become easier as a new scheme providing short-term housing aboard double deckers is to be launched.
Eight buses have been refitted with kitchens, bathrooms and living space.
The buses, with solar panels and recycling bins, will be lent to a London homeless charity over Christmas.
Double Decker Living, a new London company, aims to provide alternative housing for the homeless and key workers such as NHS staff on call.
The idea for the bus, which can house up to five people, was prompted by the phasing out of the Routemaster, the distinctive hop-on, hop-off red London bus.
Life skills
"The double decker is such an iconic London image, we wanted to see what we could do with it," said Jason Hart of Double Decker Living.
"Everyone I speak to laughs because it sounds so strange but once they see it for themselves, they become very enthusiastic about the idea."
For the first stage of the project - to be launched on 19 December - Leyland Olympian double deckers are being used, but plans are under way for a Routemaster version.
Centrepoint charity for young homeless people will use the buses as teaching venues for life skills classes, covering topics such as cooking and interview preparation.
History made by UK Muslim model
A teenager who fled the Taleban regime has made history by being the first Muslim to represent England in the Miss World beauty contest in China. Hammasa Kohistani, 18, had been third favourite but Misses Iceland, Mexico and Puerto Rico were voted top three.
Islamic extremists had sent her death threats for taking part in the competition, watched by two billion.
Miss Kohistani, who was born in Uzbekistan, fled Afghanistan with her parents in 1996.
She went to the UK via Uzbekistan, Ukraine and Dubai.
She recalls seeking cover in her Kabul apartment block, as a child, when it came under attack from bombs and bullets.
On arriving in Britain, Miss Kohistani's father Khushal set up a takeaway food business while her mother Layla worked as an interpreter.
Spotted on the London Underground at the age of 14, the A-level student speaks six languages and has modelled for Gap and Superdrug.
She has also been offered a part in a Bollywood film.
Miss Kohistani said: "This is a real life fairy story that couldn't happen in any other country.
"So many people from so many nations have been interested in my progress, because I am not what was expected."
Among those Miss Kohistani beat to the Miss England crown was another Muslim entrant, Sarah Mendly, 23, who was voted Miss Nottingham.
Miss Mendly had been among the favourites but Liverpool's Islamic institute called on her to pull out because contestants are often scantily clad.
A total of 102 contestants are in the Miss World final - now in its 55th year - including Miss Wales Claire Evans, 22, and 23-year-old Miss Scotland Aisling Friel.
Nigeria hosted Miss World three years ago and around 250 people died in riots after a journalist infuriated Muslims by suggesting the Prophet Mohammed might approve of the contest.
On Saturday Unnur Birna Vilhjalmsdottir, Miss Iceland, was crowned Miss World 2005.
The runner-up was Miss Mexico, Dafne Molina Lona, while Miss Puerto Rico, Ingrid Marie Rivera Santos, came third.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asi...ic/4515836.stm
Afghanistan hit by strong quake
A strong earthquake has hit north-eastern Afghanistan, the US Geological Survey (USGS) has said. The tremor of 6.7 magnitude struck the mountainous Hindu Kush region bordering Pakistan early on Tuesday, it said.
Residents in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, where tens of thousands died in October's earthquake, fled their homes, reports say.
The tremor was also felt in India's capital, Delhi. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
The earthquake in the early hours of Tuesday morning, the USGS said.
The tremor was felt in Pakistan's cities, including Muzaffarabad and Balakot, that were devastated by the 8 October earthquake, local television reported.
More than 73,000 people were killed in the earthquake which left at least three million people homeless, according to officials in Pakistan.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4523250.stm
Self-destruct SMS proves popular
Thousands of people have subscribed to a self-destruct text message service which started on Sunday in the UK, says the firm behind the system.
The commercial service allows sensitive messages to be destroyed 40 seconds after being read.
Developed by a British firm, Staellium, it is designed to allay worries about incriminating messages.
The company said it has had interest from businesses, the Ministry of Defence, as well as celebrity agents.
Mission possible
Staellium likened its system to that of the self-destructing tape recorders featured in the 1970's TV show, Mission Impossible.
"The technology behind StealthText is derived from military technology, so the comparisons with Mission Impossible are justified," said Carole Barnum, chief executive of Staellium UK.
"The ability to send a self-destruct message has massive benefits for people from all walks of life, from everyday mobile users through to celebrities and business people," she said.
The most high-profile case of embarrassing text messages in recent years was the revelations of messages sent from England football captain David Beckham to his personal assistant Rebecca Loos.
Privacy comes at a price. Each text using the system costs 50 pence, though users have to sign up for a minimum of 10 messages.
People interested in using the service to send messages have to register and download a small program onto their mobile phone.
Once a message has been sent, the recipient receives a text notification showing the sender's name and a link to the message.
After they have opened it, the message disappears after 40 seconds.
Despite the fact the message will be removed from phones, users cannot entirely avoid a data trail.
For legal reasons, a log of the message will remain on a secure server to which they have no access.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4524770.stm
Brazil city proposes ban on death
Municipal regulations normally ban anything from smoking in public places to parking in certain zones. But officials in the Brazilian town of Biritiba Mirim, 70km (45 miles) east of Sao Paulo, have gone far beyond that.
They plan to prohibit residents from dying because the local cemetery has reached full capacity.
Mayor Roberto Pereira says the bill is meant as a protest against federal regulations that bar new or expanded cemeteries in preservation areas.
"They have not taken local demands into consideration", he claims.
Mr Pereira wants to build a new cemetery, but the project has been stalled because 98% of Biritiba Mirim is considered a preservation area.
A 2003 decree by Brazil's National Environment Council forbids burial grounds in protected areas.
'Ridiculous'
Biritiba Mirim, a town of 28,000 inhabitants, not only wants to prohibit residents from passing away.
The bill also calls on people to take care of their health in order to avoid death.
"I haven't got a job, nor am I healthy. And now they say I can't die. That's ridiculous," Amarildo do Prado, a unemployed resident, told local media.
The city council is expected to vote on the regulation next week.
"Of course the bill is laughable, unconstitutional, and will never be approved," said Gilson Soares de Campos, an aide to the mayor.
"But can you think of a better marketing strategy to persuade the government to modify the environmental legislation that is barring us from building a new cemetery?"
The bill states that "offenders will be held responsible for their acts". However, it does not say what the punishment will be.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4527868.stm
Japan zoo walks portly penguins (For you, Night! ;))
Penguins at a zoo in northern Japan have been taken on their first walk of the season in an attempt to keep them trim during the winter. Asahiyama Zoo on the northern island of Hokkaido take its King Penguins on a 500-metre walk twice a day to stop them getting too fat during the cold months.
Spokesman Tetsuo Yamazaki said penguins gained weight in winter because they stood still to conserve energy.
The exercise programme takes place between December and the Spring.
"This stroll is done twice - 11 o'clock and 1430 - of every day until the snow disappears," Mr Yamazaki said, adding that each walk lasted about 30 minutes
"Just like in humans... the fat accumulates during the winter months, and the blood-sugar level rises," Mr Yamazaki said.
The penguins can only be taken on walks during the snowy months because their feet are unsuitable for walking on other surfaces, Mr Yamazaki said.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asi...ic/4530928.stm
