Flight grounded by coffee maker aroma...

Reuters

Tue Jul 28, 2009. NEW YORK (Reuters) - The electrical smell that caused a Southwest Airlines Co flight to make an unexpected landing Sunday was caused by a coffee maker in the back of the aircraft, a company spokesman said on Monday.

The coffee maker was in the back galley of the Boeing 737 plane. The aircraft was examined and put back into service by 12:30 p.m. EDT Sunday, said Southwest spokesman Chris Mainz.

"Anything that might have touched the burner might have caused the electrical smell," Mainz said. He added that the problem was "fairly unusual," although it was not the first time it has happened.

Flight 693 bound for Orlando, Florida, departed from Bradley International Airport in Connecticut at 7:21 a.m. EDT Sunday. The plane, which held 131 passengers and 5 crew members, landed at Long Island Islip MacArthur Airport shortly before 8 a.m.

(Reporting by Deepa Seetharaman, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

German official under fire for taking limo to Spain...

Reuters

Mon Jul 27, 2009. BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's Social Democrat (SPD) health minister came under pressure Sunday to explain why she took her official limousine, complete with chauffeur, to Spain where the vehicle was stolen.

Opposition politicians demanded Ulla Schmidt provide more details about the affair, which could damage the SPD who trail Merkel's conservatives by more than ten points in opinion polls in the run-up to a September 27 federal election.

Thieves stole the keys from the chauffeur's accommodation near Alicante, a ministry spokeswoman said on Saturday, adding Schmidt had used the Mercedes for official meetings to discuss healthcare and pensions with Germans who had retired to Spain.

German media reported that Schmidt had paid for her own flight to Alicante, where she was also taking a holiday, but a driver had brought over her limousine to Spain from Berlin.

Otto Fricke, head of Germany's parliamentary budget committee, said he would summon her to answer questions.

"I would like to know which of Mrs Schmidt's appointments required an official car and chauffeur in Alicante and why it was not possible for the embassy to arrange transportation," Fricke, an opposition Free Democrat, told Bild am Sonntag.

Germany's Taxpayers' Association also attacked Schmidt.

"We demand an explanation of why her official car had to be brought almost 5,000 kilometers (3,000 miles) across Europe. Taxpayers' money should not be wasted on the comfort of a minister," he told Bild am Sonntag.

The ministry spokeswoman said Schmidt had rented a car for her own private use in Alicante, a popular retirement and holiday destination for Germans on Spain's Costa Blanca.

Greens budget expert Alexander Bonde told the Saarbruecker Zeitung: "Why does the minister need an armored limousine in Spain? The budget committee will insist that just referring to official appointments is insufficient and implausible."

(Reporting by Madeline Chambers; editing by Andrew Roche)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

Saucy sausage ads condemned...

Reuters

Thu Jul 23, 2009.LONDON (Reuters) - A saucy radio advert for sausages which encouraged listeners to reveal "where you like to stick yours" was criticized by Britain's advertising watchdog on Wednesday.

The ads for Mattesons smoked sausages elicited 21 complaints from listeners who said they were offensive because of the sexual innuendo and should not have been aired when children were likely to be listening.

"Think about all the things you can stick this tasty, extraordinarily large sausage in," one advert said.

"Mmm... Pizza, pasta, stir fry. You have any ideas? Give me a call and tell me where you like to stick it."

Kerry Foods, which makes the sausages, said its adverts were intended to be tongue-in-cheek and were not designed to be offensive.

The Advertising Standards Authority did not uphold the complaints about the innuendo because it was not sexually explicit, but said the ads could "cause harm to children."

It ruled the ads should not be aired at times when they were likely to be heard by children.

(Reporting by Michael Holden, editing by Paul Casciato)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

Yahoo set to unveil new homepage...

Reuters

Tue Jul 21, 2009. SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Yahoo Inc said it plans to introduce a major overhaul of its Internet home page on Tuesday, as the company strives to make itself more relevant to Web surfers and create new ways to sell advertising.

The new homepage blends Yahoo's collection of online content and products with popular social networking services like Facebook and Twitter, representing what a Yahoo official called the most "radical" make-over of the site since its inception more than a decade ago.

"It's a sea change in the way we think about products, the way we think about users, and the way we think about our business," Yahoo Senior Vice President of Integrated Consumer Experience Tapan Bhat said in a conference call with reporters ahead of the announcement.

The new homepage comes as negotiations between Yahoo and Microsoft Corp on a search and advertising partnership are regaining momentum.

Yahoo, which is due to report its second-quarter financial results on Tuesday, is facing increasing competition from Microsoft, following the release of Microsoft's Bing Internet search engine in June.

According to comScore, Yahoo's share of the U.S. search market decreased to 19.6 percent in June from 20.1 percent the month before, while Microsoft's search share increased from 8 percent to 8.4 percent.

Yahoo's homepage, however, is one of the most visited pages on the Web, and among the most valuable of Yahoo assets. The homepage had more than 100 U.S. million unique visitors a month in June, according to comScore, and 330 million worldwide in May.

The new Yahoo homepage is less cluttered than the existing version, showcasing fewer of Yahoo's products and services. A column that runs down the lefthand of the Web page allows users to swap-in various "apps" that preview content from third-party websites like USA Today and Facebook, as well as Yahoo sites, when a user rolls a cursor over them.

Yahoo will sell display ads that run alongside the app previews.

Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz had previously said that the new homepage was set to go live in the Fall.

According to Yahoo's Bhat, the new homepage will be available in the U.S. on Tuesday, and in several other countries in the coming weeks, as a beta product that users can opt-in to receive. The new homepage will become the standard option for all visitors to Yahoo sometime in the fall, he said.

(Reporting by Alexei Oreskovic; editing by Carol Bishopric, Gary Hill)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

Lawyer describes Theophanous' unwelcome advances...

"THE AGE" Melbourne

July 21, 2009 - 4:06PM .A woman has described how Victorian MP Theo Theophanous brushed his hand on her thigh when she was a parliamentary intern 10 years ago.

The woman, who is now a practising lawyer, claims the MP also made unwelcome advances toward her in 1998, the same year he's alleged to have raped another woman in his chambers at Parliament House.

Theophanous is facing a committal hearing in the Melbourne Magistrates Court over the alleged rape. He denies the allegation.

The former intern's statement to police was tendered to the court on Friday.

In a police statement of her evidence released to the media on Tuesday, she said she was having coffee with Theophanous near Parliament House when the first incident occurred.

"Mr Theophanous made some kind of reference along the lines that university students lead wild and free lives and as he did so he brushed his hand across my thigh," she said.

"It seemed to have been intentional, however, done in a subtle way."

The lawyer said she awkwardly laughed off the moment and pulled her leg away.

She told Theophanous her boyfriend "wouldn't be cool with that".

The lawyer said that on another occasion at the MP's suburban electoral office he told her she was gorgeous and put his hand on her "hip/arse area".

She said on a third occasion at the same office the MP said he found her attractive and moved into her personal space.

The hearing before Magistrate Peter Reardon continues.

AAP

World stocks near 9-month high on earnings hopes...

ReutersBy Natsuko Waki

Tue Jul 21, 2009. LONDON (Reuters) - World stocks approached a 9-month high on Tuesday while emerging stocks hit a 2009 peak as investors anticipated upward surprises from earnings results due later given a run of strong reports over the past week.

On Wall Street on Monday, the S&P 500 index hit an eight-month closing high after troubled lender CIT (CIT.N) reached a deal with bondholders for $3 billion in emergency financing, according to a source familiar with the situation.

Ahead of a twice-yearly testimony to Congress later in the day, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke reassured that loose monetary policy with near-zero interest rates would be around for a while longer in an article in the Wall Street Journal.

With general improvement in risk appetite, investors are looking to more corporate earnings results from firms including Volvo (VOLVb.ST), Yahoo (YHOO.O), Apple (AAPL.O), Coca-Cola, Merck and Dupont.

"The general sense as results season is upon us is that there will be fewer negative surprises than in 2008... it will be comfortable which is helping increase risk appetite," said Jeremy Batstone Carr, equity strategist at Charles Stanley. MSCI world equity index .MIWD00000PUS rose 0.4 percent to levels, approaching the high set last month, which was a level last seen in October.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 rose a quarter percent. British supermarket group Morrison (MRW.L) rose 7.6 percent and led retailers higher after saying full-year results would beat expectations.

Nordea (NDA.ST), the Nordic region's biggest bank by value, rose 1.2 percent after reporting a smaller-than-expected drop in second-quarter operating profits and raised its full-year outlook.

Emerging stocks .MSCIEF hit their highest since late September -- levels last seen after Lehman Brothers went bankrupt.

According to Thomson Reuters data, the second-quarter earnings growth rate for the S&P 500 improved to -35.2 percent as of end last week from -35.7 percent, thanks largely to better-than-expected earnings from companies in the financial sector.

However, all sectors in the S&P 500 are expecting a year-over-year decline in earnings with the materials, energy, financials and industrials anticipating the lowest earnings growth rates for the quarter.

U.S. crude oil fell a quarter percent to $63.83 a barrel.

The September bund futures rose 18 ticks.

The dollar .DXY recovered slightly from a seven-week low against a basket of major currencies while the euro fell 0.2 percent to $1.4200 after hitting a six-week high on Monday.

Bernanke will start his twice-yearly testimony on the economic outlook and monetary policy before the House Financial Services Committee at 1400 GMT. Analysts say Bernanke was likely to make clear again that there is no rush to tighten.

"Whilst there are obvious signs that the economic data is improving or at least showing signs of bottoming out, recent rhetoric from the Fed has remained dovish," Calyon said in a note to clients.

"The economic contraction may be slowing, and the eventual need to boost inventories should spur production, but consumption looks set to be constrained by rising unemployment. Hence, Bernanke should reiterate that the slack in the economy will keep the inflation outlook subdued."

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

Cannes bans nudists after yacht club complains...

Reuters

Fri Jul 17, 2009. PARIS (Reuters) - Authorities in Cannes have banned naturists from a public beach after the southern French town's yacht club complained the naked bathers had begun to get out of hand.

Naturists have been tolerated for years on Palm Beach, which lies directly in front of the exclusive club.

But the yacht club said they had recently begun exposing themselves more visibly to club members, particularly in front of the restaurant's windows.

"We organize sailing for children, we have a restaurant, but when the naturists get up from bathing they walk around naked," a spokeswoman for the club said.

"Until now they were tolerated, they were quite discreet, but the problem that triggered the decision was that recently their behavior became more questionable."

The town hall issued the order Monday banning naturism on Palm Beach.

"Naturists have been coming to the beach for years and this had provoked complaints, notably from the yacht club," a Cannes town hall spokeswoman said.

First time offenders will now face a fine of 11 euros ($15), with more serious cases possibly earning a prison sentence and a fine of 15,000 euros.

(Reporting by Joseph Tandy; editing by Philippa Fletcher)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

And WHY did they let him out?

Reuters

Fri Jul 17, 2009.BERLIN (Reuters) - German police had to rescue a 20-year-old man from a train station suitcase locker after he shut himself in for fun and began to suffocate.

After a night out drinking with friends, squeezing into the locker had seemed like an amusing idea to the man, police in the southwestern city of Ludwigshafen said Friday.

But the laughter faded when he started to run out of oxygen and his companions couldn't open the locker. Police broke open the door and dragged the groggy man to safety.

(Reporting by Sarah Marsh, editing by Paul Casciato)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

In love? It's not enough to keep a marriage, study finds...

Reuters

Tue Jul 14, 2009. SYDNEY (Reuters Life!) - Living happily ever after needn't only be for fairy tales. Australian researchers have identified what it takes to keep a couple together, and it's a lot more than just being in love.

A couple's age, previous relationships and even whether they smoke or not are factors that influence whether their marriage is going to last, according to a study by researchers from the Australian National University.

The study, entitled "What's Love Got to Do With It," tracked nearly 2,500 couples -- married or living together -- from 2001 to 2007 to identify factors associated with those who remained together compared with those who divorced or separated.

It found that a husband who is nine or more years older than his wife is twice as likely to get divorced, as are husbands who get married before they turn 25.

Children also influence the longevity of a marriage or relationship, with one-fifth of couples who have kids before marriage -- either from a previous relationship or in the same relationship -- having separated compared to just nine percent of couples without children born before marriage.

Women who want children much more than their partners are also more likely to get a divorce.

A couple's parents also have a role to play in their own relationship, with the study showing some 16 percent of men and women whose parents ever separated or divorced experienced marital separation themselves compared to 10 percent for those whose parents did not separate.

Also, partners who are on their second or third marriage are 90 percent more likely to separate than spouses who are both in their first marriage.

Not surprisingly, money also plays a role, with up to 16 percent of respondents who indicated they were poor or where the husband -- not the wife -- was unemployed saying they had separated, compared with only nine percent of couples with healthy finances.

And couples where one partner, and not the other, smokes are also more likely to have a relationship that ends in failure.

Factors found to not significantly affect separation risk included the number and age of children born to a married couple, the wife's employment status and the number of years the couple had been employed.

The study was jointly written by Dr Rebecca Kippen and Professor Bruce Chapman from The Australian National University, and Dr Peng Yu from the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs.

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

Single spelling mistake can derail job application...

Reuters

Wed Jul 15, 2009. TORONTO (Reuters) - Typing mistakes in a job application can kill a would-be employee's chance of landing a job as employers bet that a sloppy resume means the applicant will do a sloppy job.

A telephone survey of 100 senior Canadian executives showed that more than a fifth of executives said a single typo on a resume or cover letter could cost a potential employee a job, while 28 percent said two mistakes would kill their chances.

The survey, published on Tuesday, was carried out by online job search firm Accountemps.

"The resume is an applicant's first chance to impress the hiring manager," said Kathryn Bolt, president of Accountemps' Canadian operations. "Mistakes on one's application materials may prompt employers to assume there also will be mistakes made on the job."

But 19 percent of the executives said they would still consider an applicant with four or more typos on their resume.

Common mistakes include: "Dear Sir or Madman", "I'm attacking my resume for you to review", "Following is a grief overview of my skills" and "Have a keen eye for derail.

(Reporting by Nina Lex; editing by Janet Guttsman)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

Microsoft Office users attacked by cybercriminals...

Reuters By Jim Finkle


Tue Jul 14, 2009. BOSTON (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp warned that cybercriminals have attacked users of its Office software for Windows PCs, exploiting a programing flaw that the software giant has yet to repair.

The world's largest software maker issued the warning on Tuesday as it released patches to address nine other security holes in its software.

"Despite today's fixes, Windows users continue to be under attack. Microsoft is taking two steps forward, while attackers are putting it one step back," said Dave Marcus, McAfee Inc's Avert Labs director of security research.

Cybercriminals target Microsoft programs because they are so widely used, allowing them to go after the largest number of potential victims with one set of code. (Windows runs more than 90 percent of the world's PCs. Office has some 500 million users).

Hackers take advantage of the Office vulnerability by booby-trapping websites with malicious code that loads onto computers running Office software. Infected PCs are commandeered into a botnet, a network of hijacked computers. They are used for identity theft, spamming and other cybercrimes.

Microsoft did not say how many machines were attacked.

Users can prevent attacks by disabling functions within the Office software that allow it to work over the Web. Microsoft has posted a tool for doing that on its website -- here

Office XP, 2003 and 2007 are vulnerable to the attacks.

(Reporting by Jim Finkle; Editing by Carol Bishopric and Richard Chang)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved.

Berlin sex academy offers tips for visitors...

Sat Jul 11, 2009. BERLIN (Reuters) - Wannabe Latin lovers can improve their technique by playing with the erogenous zones of naked mannequins at a new interactive exhibition that has now opened in Berlin.

The "Amora sex academy" that opened in Berlin on Thursday welcomes visitors with the wry slogan, "Finally -- an exhibition for those who always have to touch everything."

More than 50 interactive displays guide visitors through the intimate areas of the male and female bodies, offering helpful tips on everything from striptease to oral sex and how to achieve a perfect orgasm.

"A lot of couples come in here together to learn something," said Uta Barkow, the manager of the Beate Uhse sex chain which is hosting the academy. "It's been very well received so far. A lot of exhibits have that 'aha' effect on a lot of people."

The show features several life-sized plastic models, naked and in various positions. One female mannequin light ups when touched in the right spot. A voice shrieks "That's it!" when the visitor manages to put his finger on the elusive G-spot.

Next to it is what the museum called its "Spank-o-meter." It measures the level of pleasure a mannequin receives when spanked with a leather whip.

"So far we've had just as many women in here as men," Barkow said. "Women coming in tend to have fewer inhibitions while the men tend to be a bit more embarassed."

The museum also shows film clips of various sexual positions, including the "Italian chandelier" that the viewer learns can burn up to 920 calories per hour.

Founded by Frenchman Johan Rizki, the sex academy opened in London earlier this year and is also due to come to Barcelona.

(Editing by Paul Casciato)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

Drunk badger disrupts traffic...

Reuters

<---Kyrgyz Taigan dogs chase a badger during a hunting festival near the village of Bokonbayevo, some 300 km (186 miles) east from the capital Bishkek, August 24, 2007. By: REUTERS/Vladimir Pirogov

Thu Jul 9, 2009. BERLIN (Reuters) - A badger in Germany got so drunk on over-ripe cherries it staggered into the middle of a road and refused to budge, police said on Wednesday.

A motorist called police near the central town of Goslar to report a dead badger on a road -- only for officers to turn up and discover the animal alive and well, but drunk.

Police discovered the nocturnal beast had eaten cherries from a nearby tree which had turned to alcohol and given the badger diarrhoea.

Having failed to scare the animal away, officers eventually chased it from the road with a broom.

(Reporting by Dave Graham; editing by Myra MacDonald)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserve

Prostate cancer screening still unproven: report...

Reuters

Fri Jul 3, 2009. NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - PSA blood tests are often used to screen men for prostate cancer, but there is still no good evidence that they cut death rates from the disease, a new review finds.

Based on two recent major clinical trials, the practice of routinely screening men with the PSA test has "at best" a small effect on deaths from prostate cancer, according to the review, published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.

The studies, which came out earlier this year in The New England Journal of Medicine, appear to bolster the positions of the American Cancer Society (ACS) and other major medical groups, which do not recommend routine PSA screening for symptom-free men at average risk of developing prostate cancer.

PSA, or prostate-specific antigen, is a protein produced by the prostate gland, blood levels of which generally rise when a prostate tumor is present. PSA blood tests can catch the cancer in its early stages.

But while use of the test has led to more prostate cancer diagnoses, it has done little to nothing to actually cut death rates from the disease, according to the researchers on the new review, led by Dr. Otis W. Brawley of the ACS.

In one of the recent trials, U.S. researchers found that among more than 38,000 men between the ages of 55 and 70, annual PSA screening was no more effective than less-frequent screening at cutting prostate cancer death rates.

The second study, of 182,000 European men, found that PSA screening every few years was associated with only a modest reduction in death risk.

The central problem with prostate cancer screening is that most prostate tumors are slow-growing and would not be deadly even without treatment. So screening can lead to unnecessary treatment of cancers that would never had been life-threatening.

Because prostate cancer treatments, such as surgery and radiation, can have side effects -- incontinence and erectile dysfunction, for instance -- it is possible to do many men more harm than good by treating small tumors.

Researchers are continuing to study ways to refine prostate cancer screening, Brawley and his colleagues point out. That includes measuring "biomarkers" other than PSA that may be able to not only signal the presence of tumors, but also indicate whether they are aggressive and require immediate treatment.

Until then, the researchers say, men should talk with their doctors about whether PSA screening is a good idea. A man's personal risk factors for the disease -- including his family history of prostate cancer -- are key in that decision, according to Brawley's team.

The ACS recommends that most men discuss the possibility of PSA screening with their doctors starting at age 50. Men who are at relatively higher risk -- including those with a brother or father who developed prostate cancer before the age of 65 -- can have that talk after age 40. PSA screening is not generally recommended for men age 75 and older.

SOURCE: CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, July/August 2009.

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

Would you pledge your soul as loan collateral?

Reuters

Fri Jul 3, 2009.RIGA (Reuters) - Ready to give your soul for a loan in these difficult economic times? In Latvia, where the crisis has raged more than in the rest of the European Union, you can.

Such a deal is being offered by the Kontora loan company, whose public face is Viktor Mirosiichenko, 34.

Clients have to sign a contract, with the words "Agreement" in bold letters at the top. The client agrees to the collateral, "that is, my immortal soul."

Mirosiichenko said his company would not employ debt collectors to get its money back if people refused to repay, and promised no physical violence. Signatories only have to give their first name and do not show any documents.

"If they don't give it back, what can you do? They won't have a soul, that's all," he told Reuters in a basement office, with one desk, a computer and three chairs.

Wearing sunglasses, a black suit and a white shirt with the words "Kontora" (office) emblazoned on it, he reaches into his pocket and lays out a sheaf of notes on the table to show that the business is serious and not a joke.

Latvia has been the EU nation worst hit by economic crisis.

Unemployment is soaring and banks have sharply reduced their lending, meaning that small companies offering easy loans in small amounts have become more popular.

Mirosiichenko said his company was basically trusting people to repay the small amounts they borrowed, which has so far been up to 250 lats ($500) for between 1 and 90 days at a hefty interest rate.

He said about 200 people had taken out loans over the two months the business was in operation.

(Reporting by Patrick Lannin; Editing by Steve Addison)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

Police foil radio control zeppelin jailbreak...

Reuters

Fri Jul 3, 2009 MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish police said on Friday they had foiled an Italian drug trafficker's plan to break out of jail in the Canary Islands using climbing equipment and a four-meter-long zeppelin.

"The plan consisted of using a remotely controlled zeppelin to bring him night-vision goggles and climbing equipment with which to escape," a National Police statement said.

The prisoner, named as Giulio B., 52, was in jail after being caught piloting a seaplane taking 200 kg (440 pounds) of cocaine from Mauritania to the Canaries.

Police said they had arrested three people outside the jail who were preparing the escape, and had intercepted a package sent from Italy containing the balloon, night-vision goggles and climbing gear.

House searches on Grand Canary island had also uncovered a tent and a telephoto lens the gang had used to observe security details at the jail from a hill 600 meters away, as well as plans drawn by the prisoner.

The plan was for Giulio B. to climb out of the prison and meet a driver who would smuggle him off the island, said police, who have been investigating the plot since February.

"They would then have gone abroad to lie low while waiting for forged papers and to continue arranging the shipment of narcotics into our country," the statement added.

(Reporting by Martin Roberts, editing by Tim Pearce)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

Airline crew bares all to get flyers' attention...

Reuters

Thu Jul 2, 2009. WELLINGTON (Reuters) - Air New Zealand has hit on a novel way to make sure even the most jaded flyers keep their eyes glued on its flight safety briefing.

The national carrier's safety video for domestic services on its Boeing Co 737 planes show pilot and cabin crew dressed only in body paint.

But the safety message is kept seemly by carefully chosen camera angles. A copy of the briefing has been posted on the popular Internet site, YouTube.

The safety video follows the same tactic as the airline's recent marketing campaign for its low-priced fares, which featured staff, including chief executive Rob Fyfe, adorned in only body paint. (Reporting by Adrian Bathgate; Editing by Valerie Lee)

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