Breast is best. Shopping vouchers rewarding breastfeeding in UK

In the UK new mothers are to be offered up to £200 in shopping vouchers to encourage them to breastfeed their babies. 
The pilot scheme is targeting deprived areas in Derbyshire and South Yorkshire. To qualify for the full reward, the women will have to breastfeed until their babies are six months old. 
Critics say the money would be better spent helping those mothers who have difficulties feeding their newborns.

From Jesus to Christ: The First Christians

We all know the name Jesus Christ — but how much do we really know about the historical Jesus and the early Christians? 
More than you might think. 
Archaeological finds have yielded a deeper understanding of Jesus' class and social status, and are challenging old ideas about the identity of his original followers.

Watch online here.

How China spends Christmas

As the western world eagerly anticipates the festive season, in China Christmas will be a relatively subdued affair. Schools and businesses will remain open and life will continue as normal for the majority of the population.
But not everyone lacks festive sprit. The BBC spoke to shoppers in Beijing, who are embracing some Christmas traditions. 
 


For source go here.

Tesco: ugly and misshapen fruit and veg will go on special offer

Wonky carrots and blemished apples thown away by supermarkets will be put on special offer as Tesco plans to 'educate' public that it is good food.

Misshapen fruit and vegetables which are thrown away by supermarkets will be put on special offer and the public need to be "educated" that it is good food, Tesco has said. 

Matt Simister, the group food sourcing director at Tesco, said that British customers "always pick the cream of the crop" when they shop leaving "old, ugly and misshapen" produce to go to waste.

Simulations back up theory that Universe is a hologram

A ten-dimensional theory of gravity makes the same predictions as standard quantum physics in fewer dimensions.

A team of physicists has provided some of the clearest evidence yet that our Universe could be just one big projection.


In 1997, theoretical physicist Juan Maldacena proposed that an audacious model of the Universe in which gravity arises from infinitesimally thin, vibrating strings could be reinterpreted in terms of well-established physics. The mathematically intricate world of strings, which exist in nine dimensions of space plus one of time, would be merely a hologram: the real action would play out in a simpler, flatter cosmos where there is no gravity.

To Persuade People, Tell Them a Story

Turns out that narrative Is a Powerful Way to Get a Message Across.

Paul Smith had 20 minutes to sell the CEO of Procter & Gamble, and his team of managers, on new market-research techniques for which Mr. Smith's department wanted funding. 

As associate director of P&G's PG +0.85% market research, Mr. Smith had spent three weeks assembling a concise pitch with more than 30 PowerPoint slides.

On the day of the meeting, CEO A.G. Lafley entered the room, greeted everybody and turned his back to the screen. He then stared intently at Mr. Smith throughout the entire presentation, not once turning to look at a slide. 

Why children as young as three are sent to boarding school in China

Family ties are hugely important in China, but thousands of Chinese parents are still sending children as young as three away to boarding school. Why do they do it?

Kelly Jiang bounces into her kindergarten classroom, her parents a few steps behind.

"Bye Mum and Dad," the four-year-old trills, with barely a backwards glance.
As her parents wave farewell, she's already happily chatting to her teacher and her classmates.

Japan's amazing lunchboxes

Making a packed lunch for your children to take to school is a chore performed by parents around the world. 
But in Japan, it is not just the taste and healthiness of the meal that is important - but how it looks. 
The country's ancient emphasis on food presentation has been transformed into a trend for character bento - packed lunches made to look like pandas, teddy bears or even real people. 
The BBC's Tokyo correspondent Roland Buerk has been finding out more.



For source go here.

Reading Books Shortens Prisoners' Sentences In Brazilian Prison

Brazil will offer inmates in its crowded federal penitentiary system a novel way to shorten their sentences: four days less for every book they read.

Inmates in four federal prisons holding some of Brazil's most notorious criminals will be able to read up to 12 works of literature, philosophy, science or classics to trim a maximum 48 days off their sentence each year, the government announced.

Gold actually does grow on trees

Scientists find small deposits in gumleaves.

Australian geochemists publish paper showing how trees act 'as a hydraulic pump … drawing up water containing the gold'

Contrary to popular belief, gold does grow on trees.

Scientists from Australia’s national science agency, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), have proved that the leaves of certain eucalyptus trees contain minute amounts of the precious metal that have been naturally absorbed.

Also: Listen from the BBC

Women, Be Ambitious!

The UK's most powerful women share their advice on ambition and self-belief. A truly feel-good video!

For source go here.

Why piano-mania grips China’s children

In Mao’s China, pianos were destroyed as despised symbols of the bourgeoisie – but now an estimated 40m children are learning the instrument. What has changed? Clarissa Sebag-Montefiore investigates. 

Keng Zhou holds a prestigious position as dean of the International Piano Academy at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. But he first learnt to play in 1973 not on a gleaming grand piano but on an instrument’s battered remains. The legs had been sawn off for fuel and its cover removed to create a makeshift table. For years in Mao’s China, Western classical music was viewed suspiciously as a tool of imperialism and the piano a despised instrument of the bourgeoisie.

How To Make A Traditional Full English Breakfast

Traditional Full English Breakfast Recipe. Gail and Jill, of the Blacksmith's Café in Hastings, guide us through the ritual of making the perfect fried breakfast. Savour our Traditional Full English Breakfast recipe.

For source go here.

US borrowing crisis 'days away' from danger, says World Bank head

The president of the World Bank, Jim Yong Kim, has warned that the United States is just "days away from a very dangerous moment" because of the government's borrowing crisis.



He urged US policymakers to reach a deal to raise the government's debt ceiling before Thursday's deadline.

The US Treasury will start to run short of funds if no agreement is reached for it to borrow on financial markets.

The Mushroom Hunters

Every fall, Chemult, Ore., swells with pickers and buyers who flock to the forests to look for the prized matsutake mushroom.



For source go here.

Get a life! Facebook is bad for you

Using the social network seems to make people more miserable

Those who have resisted the urge to join Facebook will surely feel vindicated when they read the latest research. A study just published by the Public Library of Science, conducted by Ethan Kross of the University of Michigan and Philippe Verduyn of Leuven University in Belgium, has shown that the more someone uses Facebook, the less satisfied he is with life.

Past investigations have found that using Facebook is associated with jealousy, social tension, isolation and depression. But these studies have all been “cross-sectional”—in other words, snapshots in time. As such, they risk confusing correlation with causation: perhaps those who spend more time on social media are more prone to negative emotions in the first place. The study conducted by Dr Kross and Dr Verduyn is the first to follow Facebook users for an extended period, to track how their emotions change.

Remember When Nokia Also Made Paper, Galoshes and Gas Masks?

Nokia started as a paper company. It was 1865, and the mining engineer Fredrik Idestam established a wood pulp mill next to the Tammerkoski Rapids in the southwest of Finland. A few years later, he opened a second mill, this one located on the banks of the Nokianvirta River — a river, apparently, named for an animal: a small mammal related to the weasel and the wolverine.

Salmonella in Spices Prompts Changes in Farming

IDUKKI, India — Spices grown in the mist-shrouded Western Ghats here have fueled wars, fortunes and even the discovery of continents, and for thousands of years farmers harvested them in the same traditional ways. Until now. 

Science has revealed what ancient kings and sultans never knew: instead of improving health, spices sometimes make people very sick, so Indian government officials are quietly pushing some of the most far-reaching changes ever in the way farmers here pick, dry and thresh their rich bounty. 

Europe’s new designs that may help the UK’s housing crisis

As the UK faces a housing crisis, The Culture Show travels across Europe to find the latest architectural movements which could provide a solution.

The combination of population increases, a shaky economy and changes in working and living habits has led to a housing shortage in the UK. The Culture Show visits three locations in Europe to see how innovative new projects could offer solutions to Britain’s housing problem.

Reading the world in 196 books

Writer Ann Morgan set herself a challenge – to read a book from every country in the world in one year. She describes the experience and what she learned. 

I used to think of myself as a fairly cosmopolitan sort of person, but my bookshelves told a different story. Apart from a few Indian novels and the odd Australian and South African book, my literature collection consisted of British and American titles. Worse still, I hardly ever tackled anything in translation. My reading was confined to stories by English-speaking authors.

Michael Morpurgo on how to write for children

Michael Morpurgo is one of England’s best-loved children’s writers. He discusses his fascination with historical subjects and how he writes for children with Razia Iqbal.

Michael Morpurgo has written over 100 books, the most famous of which,War Horse (1982), has since become an award-winning and hugely successful stage play. It was adapted into a feature film by Steven Spielberg in 2011. Morpurgo has won several prizes, including the Whitbread Award. In 2005 he won the Blue Peter award for his novel, Private Peaceful.

He talks with Razia Iqbal about preserving traditional values, the importance of historical accuracy in his novels, and how to tackle serious and disturbing subjects when writing for children.



For source go here.

China thirsty for wine

Tom Brook profiles a documentary in the market for distributors at Cannes that examines China’s growing interest in fine French wines. China’s economic ascendancy has created a thirst for luxury goods – and produced a bubble in wine prices. But whereas the buyers of the most expensive wines in the West tend to be investors, the Chinese are buying them to drink. 

Directors David Roach and Warwick Ross’ film Red Obsession examines the effect of China’s new wealth on the wine industry in Bordeaux, on domestic drinking habits and on China’s perception abroad.



For source go here.

Changes in fish market that may change your diet

Fish are getting more expensive, but they do not all move at the same speed

IT IS a good time to be a fisherman. The global fish-price index of the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) hit a record high in May. Changing consumer diets, particularly in China, explain much of the sustained upward movement. High oil prices, which increase the cost of fishing and transportation, also add to the price of putting fish on the table.

Not all fish are created equal, however.

UK wages decline among worst in Europe

Wages in the UK have seen one of the largest falls in the European Union during the economic downturn, according to official figures.

Figures from the House of Commons library show average hourly wages have fallen 5.5% since mid-2010, adjusted for inflation, which is the fourth-worst decline in the 27-nation bloc.

By contrast, German hourly wages rose by 2.7% over the same period. Across the European Union as a whole, average wages fell 0.7%.

Why this could be one of the happiest countries on earth?

Bhutan is one of the poorest and least developed nations in the world but it has been ranked the happiest nation in Asia and eighth happiest in the world in a survey. Plastic bags are banned, tobacco is almost illegal and the country measures the wellbeing of its people by Gross National Happiness (GNH) rather than Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Carmen Roberts went to find out why Bhutan is such a land of contentment.



For source go here.

What Happens to Your Body When You Quit Smoking

Smoking cigarettes is one of the unhealthiest things that a person can do to their body. 

Cigarettes have been linked to lung, throat, and mouth cancer and have been proven to increase a person’s risk for heart troubles and respiratory difficulties.

Unfortunately, thanks to the addictive qualities of nicotine, stopping the habit of smoking cigarettes can be especially hard for some people.

Japanese firm reveals the first 'smelliphone' add-on that lets you send scents to friends

The first prototype of what's been dubbed the 'smelliphone' has been shown off by Japanese firm ChatPerf.  
In a video on DigInfoTV, ChatPerf demonstrates the Scentee device, which can be attached to smartphones and used to send smells to friends. 
The company claim it can also be used to create atmospheric scents while playing games or watching films, for example.

Is Modern Life Killing Us?

Is the pace of life - juggling childcare, a commute, work, technology and exercise - affecting individuals' happiness in the UK? 
Figures from the Office of National Statistics suggest we are actually working on average an hour or two less than we did in 1971 but it does not feel that way, as the internet and email mean we are never off-duty. 
Reeta Chakrabarti is given tips on how to slow down and asks whether any lessons can be learned from people in Denmark, where people work shorter hours and pay less for childcare.


For source go here.

Why Do Young Women Shy Away From Science & Engineering

BBC Radio presenter, Liz Barclay, sits down with female science and technology experts: Dr Susan Etok, Dr Polly Mcguigan, Dr Emily Sidonie Grossman and Jassel Majevadia, to find out why young women shy away from science and engineering. 

You can listen to what they have to say here:



Participants:

Dr Susan Etok is a Materials Engineer & Intellectual Property Specialist – Read more
Dr Polly Mcguigan is a Lecturer in Biomechanics – Read more
Dr Emily Sidonie Grossman is a Science Teacher & Molecular Biologist – Read more
Jassel Majevadia is a PhD Student – Read more

For source go here.

What happens when you insert a microchip into your own body?

Adam Shaw meets Professor Warwick, the first person in the world to have successfully controlled a robot with his own thoughts.
He explains “Project Cyborg”, the outcomes of the initial experiment, and what he hopes it will achieve in the future.



For source go here.

Yahoo wins battle over Prism court papers

Details of the official justification for the US National Security Agency's wide-ranging Prism surveillance programme look set to be revealed.

Yahoo has won a legal fight that will see papers from a key 2008 court case declassified and published.

The 2008 case is widely seen as pivotal in letting the NSA establish Prism and start gathering data on web use.

Delay on plain cigarette pack decision 'sad day for child health'

Scientists and campaigners say lives will be lost and accuse ministers of bowing to tobacco industry lobbying. 

Lives will be lost as a result of the government's decision to kick the notion of plain packaging for cigarettes into the long grass, say scientists and campaigners who accuse ministers of bowing to tobacco industry lobbying.

How Obama Admin Plans to Manhattanize Americans

Concrete action is now being taken to push this plan forward. The U.S. government is looking to implement new policies to discourage people from living in the suburbs and to promote living in major cities. Here’s a report from FOX News about the plan.



For source and to read more go here.

Why is art so expensive?

While the world economy languishes, paintings and sculpture continue to command dizzying prices. Georgina Adam explains how competitive billionaires, new wealth and the fashions of the super-rich keep values sky high. 

Australians Forced to Answer Intrusive Questions

Australian citizens have been complaining about government surveyors knocking on their doors and asking very intrusive personal questions. One resident in particular was asked what sexual partners his wife had, and also asked when either of them would be home alone. If residents decline these questions, they can face fines or even jail time.

The Untouchables

FRONTLINE magazine examines why no Wall Street execs have been prosecuted for the financial crisis.


For source go here.

Gross! Guess How Many People Don't Wash Their Hands After Flushing

The next time you reach out to shake someone's hand, consider this finding: A recent study of hand-washing habits found only 5 percent of people who used the restroom scrubbed long enough to kill germs that can cause infections.

Thirty-three percent didn't use soap, and 10 percent didn't wash their hands at all, according to the study, based on Michigan State University researchers' observations of more than 3,700 people in a college town's public restrooms.

Soul Surfer - An Inspiring Story of Bethany Hamilton

Born into a family of surfers in Kauai, Hawaii, Bethany Hamilton has been surfing almost as long as she has been walking. Entering her first competition around age four, and sponsored by age nine, Bethany's love for the sport was immediately apparent. 

Despite a shark attack that took her left arm at age 13, her dedication has remained unwavering. Just one month after the tragic accident, Bethany was back on her surf board to pursue her goal of becoming a professional surfer, winning her first national title in 2005 and turning pro in 2007. Since then she has participated in numerous ASP and World Tour events, taking second place at the ASP 2009 World Junior Championships. Her courage and determination was documented in her 2004 autobiography Soul Surfer, and a major motion picture bearing the same title (released theatrically in April of 2011).


For source go here.
More information at BethanyHamilton.com

Why We're Always Hungry

We're a country of people who never stop eating. The freedom to eat anytime and anywhere is convenient, but it also means you may be mindlessly inhaling hundreds of extra calories without even realizing it.

By Liz Welch

When I was growing up, in the 1970s, my mother used to joke that our car had a mind of its own. Every time we drove near the Carvel store in town, it would mysteriously guide us to the parking lot. "I can't control the car! It wants ice cream!" my mom would say as she pretended to struggle with the steering wheel. Mom loved her soft-serve, but we didn't stop there often. Ice cream was a treat we had only once in a while.

Happiness Is … Being an Aussie

Yet again, Australia tops the list of happiest countries. 

 As I sit at our kitchen table on yet another unseasonably damp and chilly morning in Sussex, England, watching the rain streak down the windowpanes and listening to the dawn rush of traffic on our far-too-busy street, I find myself thinking longingly of my Australian passport.

Changing face of the US jobs market

Unemployment in the US remains well above the government's target of 6.5%, and there are also concerns about the types of jobs being created in the fragile economic climate.
Full-time employment is harder to come by so many worker are finding they have to rely on casual roles to make ends meet, as Samira Hussain reports.



For source go here.

Control Your Home From the Couch

How often have you wished you could turn your lights off without moving an inch from your comfy couch? 

Researchers at the University of Washington are working on making that a reality with a device that interprets your gestures to perform commands for various devices, like pausing music and movies, or turning the lights off.

Girls 'lack ambition' for good jobs

 





A new report from the Women's Business Council says our economy needs women's contribution, and action is required to remove the obstacles that currently restrict women from realising their full potential.

These obstacles appear at all stages of their working lives. Among the report's recommendations are a call to broaden girls' aspirations and career choices and to create a business culture that embraces them.

Ruby McGregor-Smith, chair of the Women's Business Council (WBC) and author of the report, told today presenter John Humphrys that she has seen "a real lack of confidence in young girls".

Gladys Lawson, a microbiologist who volunteers for the charity Inspiring the Future, said some girls "don't have any guidance" in schools and described how girls "lack ambition". "Parents need to encourage their children as well as teachers" she added.

For source go here.

Who are Turkey's protesters?

Turkey's deputy prime minister has apologised to environmental campaigners whose efforts to save a park in Istanbul provoked an unprecedented wave of anti-government unrest. The apology was intended to defuse the tensions but demonstrations have continued. Jeremy Bowen reports from Istanbul on the challenge to the Turkish leadership.

For source go here. 

Cult of celebrity 'is harming children'

The cult of celebrity is producing a generation that believes education and hard work are not important in achieving success, claims the Association of Teachers and Lecturers.

A survey found that more than 70 per cent of teachers in primary and secondary schools said the cult of celebrity was perverting children's aspirations and expectations.

About 37 per cent of teachers believe their pupils want to be famous for being famous.

They fear that many youngsters do not realise how hard their idols have worked to earn their fame.

"Lost every day"

Meet a Colorado woman with a rare neurological disorder who has no sense of direction, even in her own home.


Many people, myself included, have a gnawing primeval fear of becoming hopelessly lost. This Op-Doc video examines that fear in a most extreme form. My subject is Sharon Roseman of Denver, who gets lost every day — in the streets she’s lived in for 20 years, even in her own house. When she wakes, her walls seem to have moved overnight. Her world can be transformed in the blink of an eye.

To earth with love...

The world's first "social media astronaut" returns to earth as Channel 4 News tracks the story of Commander Hadfield's out-of-this-world tweets.


For source go here.

Margaret Thatcher

James Naughtie considers the lasting influence of Margaret Thatcher, the longest serving Prime Minister of the 20th Century and the only woman to hold the post. Her uncompromising policies and leadership style earned her the enduring nickname "The Iron Lady". She passed away 13 April 2013.

Listen to the 12-minute BBC radio broadcast.




For source go here.
More podcasts from The New Elizabethans programme are available here.

French economy returns to recession

French president Francois Hollande has introduced
reforms aimed at boosting the country's economy

France has entered its second recession in four years after the economy shrank by 0.2% in the first quarter of the year, official figures show.

Its economy shrank by the same amount in the last quarter of 2012. A recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth.

France has record unemployment and low business and consumer confidence.
Separate figures showed that the recession across the 17-nation eurozone has continued into a sixth quarter.

Home gadgets becoming quieter by design to save us from noise pollution

As the number of gadgets and appliances in our homes has increased - so too has the noise level.
Lara Lewington looks at how manufacturers are focusing their attention on technology to make their products quieter.


For source go here.

Angelina Jolie: My Medical Choice

Angelina Jolie, 38, an actress and director, has published an article in today's NY Times telling the story about a preventive double mastectomy she has recently undergone. The actress' decision resulted from learning that she carries a gene that made it extremely likely she would get breast cancer. 

Here is the full article followed by BBC video coverage below.

My Medical Choice
By ANGELINA JOLIE 
Published: May 14, 2013 
My mother fought cancer for almost a decade and died at 56. She held out long enough to meet the first of her grandchildren and to hold them in her arms. But my other children will never have the chance to know her and experience how loving and gracious she was.

Ovulation And Pregnancy Test Sales Soar in UK: Is Baby Boom Coming?

Droves of British women have caused a huge spike in the sales of fertility and pregnancy tests in the wake of Kate Middleton’s pregnancy announcement. Is a UK baby boom on the horizon? 

An increase in tests
Clearblue has divulged that sales of home fertility monitors and pregnancy tests have spiked recently -- the increase? As much as 60 percent in the UK.

“We’ve never seen an increase like this before,” said Hugh Ayling, Clearblue UK Brand Manager. “We were pretty stunned when the stats came in and we wondered why it was. Then we worked it back and saw the spike came after Kate made her announcement.”

Why "Liking" Facebook pages can be a bad idea

Facebook pages which say things like "Type ‘move’ into the comments and watch what happens” are usually a scam.



For source go here.

Five Minutes With: Katie Melua

Singer Katie Melua talks to Matthew Stadlen about growing up in Georgia, how power cuts shaped her early musical experiences, why music matters and playing a concert under the sea.



For source go here.

What you need to know about Somalia

On 7 May in London, the governments of the UK and Somalia will hold an international conference on Somalia for the second year running. The conference aims to provide international support for the Government of Somalia as it rebuilds its country following two decades of conflict.
BBC Somali's Farhan Jimale outlines what people need to know about the country.

For source go here.

Diabetes warning over soft drinks

People should consume fewer sugar-sweetened soft drinks, say European scientists

Drinking one or more cans of sugary soft drinks a day is linked to an increased risk of diabetes in later life, a study suggests. 

A can a day raises the relative risk of diabetes by about a fifth, compared with one can a month or under, say European scientists.

Malicious phone apps on the rise

Co-CEO of NQ Mobile Omar Khan discusses the rapid increase of malicious apps hacking into personal phone data. 

For source go here.

Meet the strangest startup in travel: CorruptTour

Prague-based startup travel agency offers tours of "corrupt" areas and cities. Genius or gimmick? 
We’ve covered a lot of startups in our careers, but this one takes the prize for our favorite travel startup ever, for the simple reason that it is the strangest ever: CorruptTour.

Computers can 'see' people's dreams

A computer can predict what you're dreaming about based on brain wave activity, new research suggests. 

By measuring people's brain activity during waking moments, researchers were able to pick out the signatures of specific dream imagery — such as keys or a bed — while the dreamer was asleep.

"We know almost nothing about the function of dreaming," said study co-author Masako Tamaki, a neuroscientist at Brown University. "Using this method, we might be able to know more about the function of dreaming."

Doesn't hurt to know...What is Bitcoin?

For source go here.

Is culinary tourism the next big thing in Crete?

In the wake of the ongoing economic crisis, the Greek island is using its tradition of fresh local produce to make tourism the driving force towards recovery.



For source go here.

Government to Search for Brain’s Buy Button?

OK, there’s not really a buy button in the brain waiting to be discovered. But the U.S. government is, in fact, launching a major project to create a detailed map of the human brain. 

Much like the earlier and highly successful Human Genome Project, the Brain Activity Map will be a national project to determine brain functions with a high level of detail.

Living in a Box: Amsterdam’s Shipping Container Homes

The crowded Dutch city has been meeting a pressing need for student and other low-income housing by using ubiquitous steel shipping containers. After years at sea, the containers were rusted and dented but ready for reuse to house people instead of products.

Amsterdam student Rose Mandungu stands in front of a colorful apartment complex constructed of a rather unusual material—discarded shipping containers.

The ‘Amsterdam’ of Colorado?

By the end of 2013, any visitor to the town of Breckenridge in Colorado, USA, will be able to buy cannabis from licensed stores, provided they are over 21. 

The town decriminalised cannabis in 2010 but currently anyone wanting to buy it must have a recommendation from a doctor.

As Heather Alexander explains, Breckenridge is standing by to see how the new freedom will affect tourism. Will visitors flock to its stores or will people be deterred from coming at all?

For source go here.

It Was Bankers That Brought Cyprus to the Brink

What is it about the islands around Europe's periphery?

Is there some peculiar psychological thing about proximity plus the illusion of isolation that makes them turn themselves into havens for runaway banks? Inquiring minds want to know.

Anyway, Cyprus's story has obvious parallels with both Iceland's and Ireland's, with R.M.M.L. — Russian mobster money laundering — as an extra ingredient. All three island nations had a run of rapid growth as their status as banking havens left them with banking systems that were too big to save. Iceland, at peak, had banks with assets that equaled 980 percent of gross domestic product; Ireland was at 440 percent. Cyprus, at around 800 percent, was closer to Iceland in this respect.

Why do criminals smuggle garlic?

Sweden has issued international arrest warrants for two Britons suspected of illegally importing 10m euros (£8m) worth of garlic into the EU via Norway. Why would criminals do that? 

 
Swedish state prosecutors claim to have cracked one of Europe's more seemingly strange, if lucrative, smuggling rings.

They say two British men are believed to have made millions of euros smuggling Chinese garlic from Norway into Sweden.

Revival of the British butler

The TV series Downton Abbey is now being shown in more than 100 countries and has generated an interest in the fine art of butling.

But what qualities do you need to be a good butler? David Lewis takes some training and discovers that some hotels are now offering guests their own personal butler during their stay.

For source go here.

Is 'free will' really free?

Is there such a thing as "free will"?

Advances in neuroscience mean it is now possible to map areas of the brain to actions.

Anthony Gottlieb, who recently wrote an article about it in the Economist Intelligent Life magazine and Professor Patrick Haggard from the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at UCL debate what new scientific evidence tells us about our so-called "freedom to choose"

World's unfriendliest nations for tourists?

When traveling, some countries just don't like you. Or at least, it can certainly feel that way.

A new report, put out earlier this month by the World Economic Forum, has ranked which countries roll out the welcome mat to travelers and which give the cold shoulder.

The "Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2013" ranked 140 countries according to attractiveness and competitiveness in the travel and tourism industries.