First-born children ‘are punished more’ by parents

LONDON, Apr 16: If you think that first-born children are the pampered lot, you are wrong. A new study has revealed that they’re punished more than their later siblings who are actually allowed to "get away with murder" at home.

Researchers have found that eldest children bear the brunt of family discipline as their parents strive to exert their authority—in fact, moms and dads mete out harsher punishments on them to keep them in line.

First borns are also more likely to suffer financial penalties such as having pocket money stopped.

However, when younger children come along, they are increasingly allowed to "get away with murder" in the home because parents grow tired of so-called tough love, the study has claimed.

According to the researchers, second, third or fourth born children run a greater chance of going off the rails when they grow up—the later siblings are more likely to drop out of school, drink, take drugs or even become teenage parents.

"Tender-hearted parents find it harder and harder to engage in tough love since, as they have fewer young children in the house, they have less incentive to uphold reputations as disciplinarians.

"As a result, the theory predicts that last-born and only children, knowing that they can get away with much more than their older brothers and sisters, are, on average, more likely to engage in risky behaviour," lead researcher Ginger Zhe Jin was quoted by ‘The Daily Telegraph’ as saying. (PTI)

Cancer risk in astronauts

LONDON, Apr 16: Astronauts who spend a long time in space may age prematurely and be prone to cancer, research said.

Scientists at Georgetown University in Washington DC found that high energy particles in space, which are produced by solar flares, triggered an oxidative stress response in mice.

Their cells generated large numbers of free radicals-- destructive molecules that can damage DNA-- which led to cancer.

In the report for the research funded by NASA, scientists said the damage they observed was likely to increase the risk of colon cancer in humans.

They also found that the mice aged rapidly, turning their fur prematurely grey.

Dr Kamal Datta, who led the study, said, ''With plans for a mission to Mars, we need to understand more about the nature of radiation in space.''

People on Earth are shielded by its atmosphere, but in space there was nothing to protect astronauts from the particles, the Daily Telegraph quoted him as saying. (UNI)

Need for radical change in global food production: Report

NEW YORK, Apr 16: A United Nations-backed group of over 400 scientists have called for a radical change to the way the world grows food to better serve the poor and hungry and to protect the planet's resources.

Modern agriculture has brought significant increases in food production, but its benefits have been uneven and have come at a high cost to small-scale farmers, workers, rural communities and the environment, a new report prepared by the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD) said.

The group, which is sponsored by several UN agencies, including the Food and Agriculture Organization, the UN Environment Programme and the World Bank, proposes putting measures in place that will boost production while also protecting and conserving precious resources such as water, forests and biodiversity.

"To argue, as we do, that continuing to focus on production alone will undermine our agricultural capital and leave us with an increasingly degraded and divided planet is to reiterate an old message," said Bob Watson, Director of IAASTD.

"But it is a message that has not always had resonance in some parts of the world. If those with power are now willing to hear it, then we may hope for more equitable policies that do take the interests of the poor into account," he added.

The group also calls for addressing trade regimes and subsidy systems, since, as Watson noted, "the poorest developing countries are net losers under most trade liberalisation scenarios." (PTI)

First-borns punished more: Study

LONDON, Apr 16: Being a first-born kid does not always come with perks as the eldest child gets more and harsher punishments than its younger siblings, research says.

According to a study, first-born children bear the brunt of family discipline as parents mete out harsher punishments on their eldest children to keep them in line.

First borns were also more likely to suffer financial penalties like having pocket money stopped, it revealed.

When younger children come along they literally ''get away with murder'' because parents grow tired of so-called tough love, the report said.

It said younger kids run a greater chance of being spoilt when they grow up, the Daily Telegraph reported.

Ginger Zhe Jin, an assistant professor of economics at Maryland University in the US, who co-wrote the report, said, ''Tender-hearted parents find it harder to engage in 'tough love since, as they have fewer young children in the house, they have less incentive to uphold reputations as disciplinarians.''

The findings suggested that first-born children were generally better behaved and less likely to get into serious trouble in their teenage years. (UNI)

Mahatma Gandhi's statue to be installed in Leicester City

LONDON, Apr 16: A search is on for a suitable sculptor after the Leicester City Council gave its approval to install a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in the multicultural city, ending months of contentious campaign and debate over the merits of the issue.

The council planning committee met last evening and after a presentation by officials on all aspects of the issue, the approval was given.

There was no debate at the meeting on the merits of having Gandhi's statue, a council spokesperson told PTI. She added that as per rules, the statue will need to be installed within three years of the approval.

The 3.8 metre statue is to be located off Belgrave Road, the nerve-centre of commercial and cultural activities of people of Gujarat origin. Leicester has a high British Asian population, and is predicted to be Britain's first white-minority city in 12 years.

Leicester has a large minority of Gujarat origin, many of whom moved here after the expulsions in Uganda in the early 1970s.

For several months, Gandhi was pitted against local heroes such as footballer Gary Lineker and DNA inventor Sir Alec Jeffreys, and supporters and opponents of Gandhi's statue debated its merits.

Several online and public petitions were signed, while the campaign also reached the House of Commons in the form of an early day motion.

However, the council spokesperson said the planning committee meeting did not debate the issue of whose statue should be installed, but only decided on the planning application made by the community group. (PTI)

S'pore to start mobile number portability in June

SINGAPORE, Apr 16: Mobile phones users in Singapore will be able to switch service providers without changing their numbers from June 13, the Singapore government said today.

The mobile number portability service will mean subscribers can more easily switch between Singapore's three mobile phone service providers: Singapore Telecommunications, StarHub and MobileOne.

There are about 130,000 mobile phone users who have ported their numbers under a current call-forwarding solution, but this meant consumers have to use their old and new mobile numbers concurrently.

These consumers will have until 14 May to decide which number they want to retain.

''Consumers can truly look forward to having one number for ife,'' said Leong Keng Thai, deputy chief executive of the Infocomm Development Authority, at a press conference.

Mobile number portability traditionally works against incumbent players such as SingTel, which has a 41 per cent market share.

Starhub said it has 31 percent share, while MobileOne has a 27 per cent slice. (AGENCIES)

Planning your final destination

NEW YORK, Apr 16: You plan weddings, education, home buying, tours and travel with family and loved ones but ever planned your own funeral?

The question might seem bizarre to some but a growing number of websites are guiding people in funeral ''pre-planning'' saying, ''Avoiding the topic won't stave off death, but will make the funeral more difficult, and likely more expensive, for survivors.''

As traditional practices change, an increasing number of people are not leaving their deaths for others to deal with and are choosing options, the New York Times reported.

Educated consumers are taking back control of the funeral experience, saving thousands of dollars with options that are more personal, meaningful and environment friendly.

A website, www.Funerals.Org, states that survivors, in a state of grief or shock, often have to decide quickly about treating their deceased loved ones. In such high-stress moments, they are very vulnerable to sales pitches by funeral parlors or entreaties from more distant relatives, which can result in expenses and unnecessary rituals.

It recounted the experience of a 70-year-old Manhattan woman who started to think about her final resting place, six years after her husband died. Jan Jeffrey of Brooklyn orchestrated how she would be treated when she died.

In an interview she said, ''In thinking about what I might want when my time comes, a traditional funeral and in-ground burial is not my choice. I would rather prefer the many thousands of dollars such a finale can cost go directly to my heirs or a cause I support. I would like if my body be used to better the world in any possible manner.''

A private burial followed a while later by a memorial service at church for which she selected the minister, greeters, music, hymns and readings, the website stated. (UNI)

UN council, African Union to debate Zimbabwe

UNITED NATIONS, Apr 16: Leaders of key members of the UN Security Council and the African Union meet at UN headquarters today where they are expected to debate the crises in Zimbabwe, Sudan and Somalia.

The meeting, which will be chaired by South African President Thabo Mbeki, is due to focus on Security Council cooperation with the AU and other regional organisations.

South Africa has drafted a resolution cementing this cooperation, which is expected to adopted today.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon joined the United States, Britain and France yesterday in urging the Security Council and AU leaders to take up the worsening election standoff in Zimbabwe, despite resistance from South Africa.

Ban said the summit, which British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and several African Union leaders will attend, offered ''a natural opportunity to address the situation in Zimbabwe.''

Britain has accused Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe of delaying the results of the country's March 29 election to try to subvert the outcome. Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has said he won the election and accuses Mugabe of planning violence to overturn the results.

South Africa holds the Security Council's rotating presidency and has opposed council discussion of Zimbabwe, arguing that the problems there are not a crisis and do not represent a threat to international peace and security.

Pretoria's UN envoy Dumisani Kumalo said the issue was being dealt with by the Southern Africa Development Community, which has resisted calls for greater pressure on Mugabe.

But Ban said it was time the United Nations got involved.

''I will be engaging in a number of meetings with the leaders tomorrow to discuss what the United Nations and how the international community could help the Zimbabwean people and authorities to resolve this issue,'' he said.

He said Mugabe's government should release the election results ''so that the Zimbabwean people will be able to enjoy the democratic process, and also they should be able to overcome these serious humanitarian difficulties.''

DARFUR AND SOMALIA

The Security Council is not expected to make a unanimous statement or resolution on Zimbabwe because of resistance from South Africa and other council members. But any discussion of the issue at the meeting will increase the pressure on Mugabe, Western diplomats said.

Also to be debated is the crisis in western Sudan, where only 9,000 of the required 26,000 UN-AU peacekeepers have been deployed in the war-racked Darfur region.

International experts estimate around 2.5 million people have been displaced and 200,000 have died in five years of violence in Darfur which Washington calls genocide. The Khartoum government denies genocide and puts the death toll at 9,000.

Somalia's Foreign Minister Ali Ahmed Jama said yesterday that Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf would tell the Security Council that international peacekeepers were urgently needed to bring stability to his lawless country.

''We hope the Security Council would take meaningful steps to assume its responsibility and engage and replace the African Union force there with a UN force,'' he said. ''This is the proposal we are going to make.''

Talk of outside intervention is still colored by memories of a battle in 1993 in which 18 U.S. Troops and hundreds of Somali militiamen died. The incident inspired a Hollywood movie, ''Black Hawk Down'' and marked the beginning of the end for a combined US-UN peacekeeping force.

(AGENCIES)

Can baby bottles cause cancer?

WASHINGTON, Apr 16: Think twice before feeding your little one with bottled milk, canned powder or liquid formula.

According to a Federal health panel report, Formula-fed infants were most vulnerable to a chemical bisphenol-a, or BPA widely used in plastics for baby bottles, compact discs, beverage and food containers as well as linings in food cans.

A draft report from the United States Department of Health and Human Services' National Toxicology Program yesterday endorsed a finding that there was ''some concern'' about neural and behavioural changes in humans who consumed the chemical. The compound, feared toxic, had been detected in the urine of 93 per cent of the population of those six years and older and might cause cancer and other serious disorders.

Used in plastic production since the 1950s, BPA in laboratory animals might be a cause of breast cancer, prostrate cancer, early puberty in females and behavioural changes, the study stated.

Public health advocates said the report should spur the government to ban BPA, at least in baby products.

A number of states, including California and New Jersey, were considering ban on the plastic. Others might require manufacturers to place warning labels on products containing BPA. (UNI)

Cancer risk in astronauts

LONDON, Apr 16: Astronauts who spend a long time in space may age prematurely and be prone to cancer, research said.

Scientists at Georgetown University in Washington DC found that high energy particles in space, which are produced by solar flares, triggered an oxidative stress response in mice.

Their cells generated large numbers of free radicals-- destructive molecules that can damage DNA-- which led to cancer.

In the report for the research funded by NASA, scientists said the damage they observed was likely to increase the risk of colon cancer in humans.

They also found that the mice aged rapidly, turning their fur prematurely grey.

Dr Kamal Datta, who led the study, said, ''With plans for a mission to Mars, we need to understand more about the nature of radiation in space.''

People on Earth are shielded by its atmosphere, but in space there was nothing to protect astronauts from the particles, the Daily Telegraph quoted him as saying. (UNI)

Britain to invite moderate imams from Pakistan

LONDON, Apr 16: The UK has announced plans to invite moderate imams from Pakistan to help combat extremist elements engaged in radicalisation of British Muslims.

During a recent visit to Pakistan, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith reportedly made an agreement by which respected imams could be invited to help British Muslims counter the fundamentalists.

In a newspaper interview at the weekend, Smith said: "The vast majority of British Muslims have a Pakistani heritage. If we work with the Government there we can win the arguments.

"We need to do more to tackle those places where radicalisation is developing—in prisons, schools, higher education—so that people are getting the right messages about what it means to be a British Muslim.

"We will also work to ensure we identify vulnerable people being groomed for terror—in the same way we protect young people from being dragged into crime and abuse."

During her talks in Pakistan, the two Governments reportedly pledged to work closely with communities in Britain to tackle the underlying causes of radicalisation. (PTI)

China detains Tibetan singer in wake of anti-Govt protests

BEIJING, Apr 16: Chinese security forces have detained a well-known Tibetan entertainer in the wake of last month's anti-government protests, her husband said today.

Singer and song writer Jamyang Kyi was first detained on April 1 and has not been seen since April 7, her husband Lamao Jia told The Associated Press.

The detention also was reported by US-Government supported Radio Free Asia, which cited unidentified sources in Beijing as saying police formerly arrested Jamyang Kyi in the western city of Xining, although the charges were unknown.

Jamyang Kyi is a veteran producer in the Tibetan-language section of state-run Qinghai TV in the western province of the same name. She has performed extensively abroad, including at New York's Columbia University in 2006.

Chinese security services have in recent weeks questioned large numbers of Tibetans who have travelled internationally, Radio Free Asia said. She has not been specifically linked to the protests.

Lamao Jia, who works at Qinghai TV's entertainment department, said he didn't know who had taken his wife into custody. He said he was staying home to look after the younger of their two children, but declined to elaborate.

"Everything is a mess right now," Lamao Jia said.

Officers reached by phone at both the Xining and Qinghai provincial police headquarters said they had no information about the report.

A staff member at Qinghai TV's Tibetan language department said he heard last week that Jamyang Kyi had asked for leave. The man refused to give his name because he wasn't authorised to speak to media.

Radio Free Asia said Jamyang Kyi had not been detained in the past and that it wasn't known what interest authorities had in her. (AGENCIES)