Thailand mourns death of revered king's sister

BANGKOK, Jan 2: Thailand's Princess Galyani Vadhana, the elder sister of revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej, has died after six months in hospital battling cancer, the palace said today.

The king declared a 100-day mourning period and the funeral of the 84-year-old princess would be performed at Bangkok's glittering Grand Palace, the statement said.

Hundreds of Thais wearing black rushed to Bangkok's Siriraj hospital after television and radio stations reported that the princess had died before dawn.

"Although the medical team provided the best treatment, her condition deteriorated and she passed away at 0254," the statement said.

The London-born princess was diagnosed with cancer in mid-June and admitted to hospital, but her condition was not made public until October, shortly before King Bhumibol was admitted to the same hospital for restricted blood flow to the brain.

The world's longest reigning monarch was discharged three weeks later, but his illness served as a reminder to many of Thailand's 64 million people of the king's advancing years and increasing fragility.

The country laid on massive celebrations for his 80th birthday in December, just over a year after similar festivities to mark 60 years on the throne.

During his reign, Bhumibol has been a pillar of stability during often turbulent and bloody politics, including 18 military coups, the last of which was in September 2006 against Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Despite limited constitutional powers, he wields enormous personal influence and has waded into politics on several occasions in favour of both democratic and military regimes.

Many Thais are worried for the future after his death as his heir apparent, 55-year-old Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, does not enjoy the wide respect accorded to this father. (AGENCIES)

Energy-saving bulbs can cause migraines, warn experts

LONDON, Jan 2: Energy-saving light bulbs can trigger migraines, British health experts warned.

The warning follows concerns that eco-bulbs can trigger dizziness, loss of focus and discomfort among people with epilepsy.

Low energy lightbulbs are miniature versions of the fluorescent strip lights common in offices and kitchens. The latest ones are the size of conventional bulbs with a filament, but use just a quarter of the energy.

The Migraine Action Association said there was growing concern about the links between the bulbs and severe headaches.

The charity’s Paul Jansen said, "For some people a migraine attack can be triggered by fluorescent lights, video screens, stroboscopic effects and flashing lights; and most of the currently available low energy light bulbs are based on fluorescent light technology."

Fluorescent bulbs are due to become compulsory in British homes within four years and campaigners are calling for the Government to allow an opt-out for people with health problems so they can continue to use old-style bulbs. (AGENCIES)

Japan's Emperor Akihito greets New Year crowds

TOKYO, Jan 2: Tens of thousands of cheering Japanese gathered in the Imperial Palace in Tokyo today to hear Emperor Akihito pray for the nation's happiness and world peace in his traditional New Year address.

Millions more descended on Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines and other places of worship as well as shopping and entertainment centres across the country.

"I feel pleased to celebrate the New Year with you," the 74-year-old monarch repeated with a smile as he appeared several times with royal family members on the glassed-in balcony of Chowa Den (Hall of Lasting Peace)."

"At the beginning of the year, I wish for the happiness of our nation and peace in the world," Akihito said as crowds shouted "Banzai" (long live) and waved Japanese flags.

About 51,100 people visited the palace for the imperial family's appearances in the morning in bright sunshine, a spokesman for the Imperial Household Agency said. Four more greeting sessions were scheduled for the afternoon.

The palace lies inside stone walls and moats and is opened to the general public only twice a year -- the emperor's birthday on December 23 and January 2.

The imperial family's New Year public appearances started after World War II when Akihito's father, the late Emperor Hirohito, was reduced from having a divine status to a ceremonial role by the US-inspired constitution.

The emperor read the message, identical to the one he uttered a year earlier, as Empress Michiko, Crown Prince Naruhito and other members of the imperial family lined up by his side in formal western clothes. (AGENCIES)

Britain: Most crowded nation in Europe; Immigration the culprit

LONDON, Jan 2: Blame it on immigration, Britain is poised to become the most crowded country in Europe.

Figures released by the Office for National Statistics revealed that the number of people crammed into each square mile was due to overtake levels in Holland and Belgium, and may already have done so.

They show that in Britain in 2006, there were as many as 390 people for every square kilometre, as opposed to 387 in 2005.

At that rate, it will now have overtaken the most crowded major country in Europe, Holland, which had 393 people for every square kilometre in 2005 and its population is growing at a much slower rate than Britain, the Daily Mail reported.

Around 70 per cent of population growth in Britain is a result of immigration, and much of the rest is accounted for by higher birthrates among recent immigrants.

Large-scale immigration is also increasing pressure on services, such as public transport.

Tory MP James Clappison said, "Immigration is a substantial factor leading to greater population density. This is more evidence of the impact of immigration, and if present patterns of migration continue we are going to get much more crowded. (AGENCIES)

Irish peace prize for Benazir Bhutto

ISLAMABAD, Jan 2 (UNI) Assassinated former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto will be posthumously awarded Ireland’s 2007 Tipperary Peace Prize, the organisers said.

"Ms Bhutto fought all her battles through dialogue and political debate and was an example to all those who do not use or surrender to terrorism," the News quoted a statement by Tipperary Peace Convention as saying.

Benazir Bhutto was recognised for her "courageous" work for democracy and reconciliation, the statement said.

"Ms Bhutto fought all her battles through dialogue and political debate and was an example to all those who do not use or surrender to terrorism.

"Her selection as Peace Prize recipient should act as an inspiration to those in Pakistan who seek to secure democracy and reconciliation for their country," it added.

The Convention said the accolade was to "recognise the very difficult path towards peace and democracy in Pakistan and the ultimate sacrifice made by Ms Bhutto in her campaign to put her country back on the road to democracy".

"Ms Bhutto, a former two-time prime minister, was an incredibly brave and courageous woman who had returned from exile to her homeland to lead her party in the forthcoming elections.

"She knew the risks involved in her return but she did so because she felt that her country and the Pakistani people needed her."

The award was founded in 1984 with the principal aim of giving recognition to those who promote the ideals of peace and peaceful co-operation in Ireland and abroad.

Past recipients include former South African president Mandela, former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, former US president Bill Clinton, Live-Aid oraniser Bob Geldof and former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri.

The award will be presented during the International Festival of Peace in Tipperary, Ireland, in April. (AGENCIES)

Hostility tied to lower levels of antioxidants

NEW YORK, Jan 2: Hostility could increase people's risk of heart disease by depleting their levels of certain heart-healthy antioxidants, new research suggests.

Oxidative stress occurs when production of free radicals, which are normal byproducts of metabolism, outpaces the body's ability to neutralize them, resulting in tissue damage. It has been associated with heart disease, cancer and other illnesses. Antioxidant vitamins can help counteract oxidative stress, while cigarette smoking and pollution, among other factors, can increase it.

Hostility is associated with heart disease risk, Dr Tetsuya Ohira of the University of Minneapolis and colleagues note. Given that hostile individuals are more likely to smoke and drink, while poor diet and smoking can deplete antioxidants, antioxidants could help explain the relationship, they suggest.

To investigate, they looked at 3,579 men and women 18 to 30 years old who were participating in the so-called Cardiovascular Risk Development In Young Adults study. The researchers measured levels of several different carotenoids, which are pigments with powerful antioxidant properties, as well as tocopherols (vitamin E).

People who had high levels of hostility at the study's outset were more likely to have lower levels of several types of carotenoids seven years later, the researchers found, but hostility didn't predict levels of tocopherols or lycopene.

If hostility does reduce levels of antioxidants, Ohira and colleagues say, lifestyle factors such as diet, smoking and drinking probably play a key role.

The increased risk they observed was "small, but significant," they add, so "it is not clear whether or not the differences are importantly related to the risk of coronary heart disease." Further research is needed to answer this question, they conclude. (AGENCIES)

Dog lovers on run in Dubai as new year begins

DUBAI, Jan 2: Anxious moments have come to haunt dog lovers in Dubai with the arrival of new year as their pets face seizure by municipality inspectors if they are found loitering in public places without a leash and a mask.

Earlier the municipality had issued a notice on November 28, last year branding as dangerous breeds like Doberman, Rottweiler, Husky, Tosa, Bull Terrier, American Pitt Bull Terrier, American Bull Dog, Miniature Bull Terrier, Argentinean Mastiff, Shar Pei, Old English Bull Dog etc as dangerous.

The civic body strictly prohibited these dogs in residential areas, public places, markets and shopping centres from January 1.

The notice cautioned that the municipality would seize the dogs after the lapse of the grace period. The notice had sparked protests from canine lovers, Khaleej Times reported.

"These dogs are not allowed in residential apartments. The order has been passed as we were getting a lot of complaints from the people residing in the residential apartments," head of the Veterinary Services Section in Dubai Municipality Hisham Fahmi said.

"People going for prayers had complained that these dogs were creating a lot of menace and dirt. Also, there were many cases of dog bites," he said.

If someone in a particular apartment complains about a dog it will be confiscated immediately as the rule has come into effect from yesterday.

"If a dog is taken in a public park or any public place, it should have a mask and a leash. The dog collar should have its registration number and the dog should have been vaccinated. The municipality would be strict if these regulations are not maintained," he added.

The rules allow people in the villas only one dog.

"Though we would not be visiting all the apartments for checks right now, complaint would be handled in a strict manner," added Mr Fahmi. (AGENCIES)

The very old may benefit from L-carnitine study

NEW YORK, Jan 2: The dietary supplement L-carnitine can lessen fatigue and boost mental function in very old people, Italian researchers report.

Study participants given L-carnitine also experienced significant increases in muscle mass and reductions in fat mass, Dr. Mariano Malaguarnera and colleagues from the University of Catania report in the December issue of the American Journal of Clinical nutrition.

L-carnitine helps cells to produce energy from fat. The highest concentrations of the molecule are found in parts of the body with high energy demands, such as the skeletal muscles and the heart. Overall concentrations of L-carnitine decline after age 70.

To determine if supplementation with L-carnitine might improve energy levels in people 100 and older, Malaguarnera's team randomized 66 male and female centenarians to 2 grams of L-carnitine or placebo daily for six months.

Cholesterol levels fell significantly among the individuals taking the supplement, they report. L-carnitine takers also gained 3.8 kilograms of muscle mass, on average, and lost 1.8 kg of fat mass. People given L-carnitine were also able to walk 4 meters further

during a 6-minute walking test after treatment than those given placebo.

Study participants in the L-carnitine group also reported significant reductions in mental, physical and overall fatigue, while placebo treatment had no effect on fatigue. The individuals who took the supplement also scored higher on a test of mental function after treatment, while there was no change in the placebo group.

The supplement was well tolerated by study participants, the researchers report, with no serious side effects. (AGENCIES)

Smoking-in-public ban fails to extinguish HK habit ......

HONG KONG, Jan 2: Hong Kong smokers have been lighting up 12 million more cigarettes a month since the city imposed a public-smoking ban a year ago, a newspaper said today.

Hong Kong's Customs and Excise Department said it had collected duty on an average of 289.6 million cigarettes monthly in 2007, compared with 278 million per month in 2006.

The figures suggest that Hong Kong people were smoking 12 million more cigarettes a month, despite a ban on Jan 1 last year on smoking in most public places.

"I think the smoking ban can prevent second-hand smoke in public places ... But to motivate people to quit, the government still has a long way to go," medical sector legislator Kwok Ka-ki was quoted as saying by the South China Morning Post.

The anti-smoking laws brought Hong Kong, a city of seven million, in line with several countries that have banned smoking in most public places. Germany and France introduced bans yesterday.

The Hong Kong ban isn't absolute, with more than 800 bars, saunas, nightclubs and mahjong parlours granted exemptions till mid-2009, drawing fire from anti-smoking campaigners.

Hong Kong's growing population and the low price of cigarettes were cited as factors for increased tobacco use.

"The price of cigarettes and tobacco has not increased for seven years," Anthony Hedley, an anti-smoking campaigner with the University of Hong Kong, told the Post.

Hong Kong has around 840,000 smokers according to government figures.

Smokers in China, which took back control of Hong Kong from Britain in 1997, are the world's most enthusiastic, with a growing market of more than 300 million making it a magnet for cigarette companies. (AGENCIES)

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Miscarriage ups risk of trouble in next pregnancy ....

NEW YORK, Jan 2: Pregnant women who suffer a miscarriage in the second-trimester are at high risk during a subsequent pregnancy of a spontaneous preterm birth and repeat second-trimester miscarriage, a study indicates.

Dr Michal A Elovitz and associates studied three groups of women: 30 women who had a spontaneous second-trimester miscarriage; 76 women with a spontaneous preterm birth; and 76 women with full-term deliveries. All of the women had a subsequent pregnancy beyond 14 weeks' gestation.

They frequency of subsequent second-trimester loss was highest (27 per cent) in women who suffered a second-trimester loss in the first pregnancy, they report.

The frequencies of subsequent second-trimester loss were 3 per cent and 1 percent in the spontaneous preterm birth, and full-term delivery groups, respectively.

Corresponding frequencies of subsequent spontaneous preterm birth were 33 per cent, 39.5 per cent and 9 per cent for the three groups, respectively.

"Of great clinical concern," the team notes, "is that women with prior second-trimester pregnancy loss have a high frequency of very early preterm birth."

In this group, spontaneous preterm birth at less than 28 weeks was 10 per cent, versus 1.3 per cent in the other two groups.

The researchers suggest that the biologic mechanism for second-trimester losses may be similar to that of spontaneous preterm birth, possibly related to "cervical ripening" as a primary event. If so, "women with second-trimester loss would be candidates for therapy that reduces subsequent preterm birth," they suggest. (AGENCIES)

Painkillers do not raise risk of kidney disease: Study

NEW YORK, Jan 2: Analgesics other than phenacetin are not associated with an increased risk of developing end-stage renal disease (ESRD) at a relatively young age, according to a study conducted in Germany. ESRD is the most advanced form of kidney disease.

Earlier studies associated phenacetin use with renal disease, the study team explains. Phenacetin was withdrawn from the US market in the 1980s after it was implicated in kidney damage and cancer. However, the association of other analgesics with ESRD remains controversial.

Dr Fokke J van der Woude from Klinikum Heidelberg-Mannheim, Germany and colleagues investigated the issue in a population-based study involving 907 cases of ESRD in individuals younger than age 50 years who were matched to 3,622 healthy controls.

There was no association between later development of ESRD and use of all phenacetin-free analgesics together, analgesics with a single substance, or analgesics with multiple components, the researchers report in the online journal BioMedCentral-Nephrology.

Moreover, there was no significant difference in ESRD risk between high and low use of compounds with or without caffeine, and the lack of increased risk persisted when examining patients with different underlying diseases related to ESRD.

For most analgesics, in fact, there was a significantly lower risk of ESRD with low doses of analgesics used over a longer period of time, the report indicates.

"The results suggest that there is no association between ESRD and analgesic use in general, nor with the use of specific analgesics or combinations with or without additional caffeine in the age group below 50 years," the team concludes.

"Overall, our results lend support to the mounting evidence that phenacetin-free analgesics do not induce ESRD," the study team writes. They think the notion of "analgesic kidney disease" needs to be reevaluated. (AGENCIES)

Australia to review its controversial citizenship test....

MELBOURNE, Jan 2: Australia will review its controversial citizenship test introduced three months ago after 20 per cent of aspiring citizens were found to be flunking the exam, slammed as "racist" by critics.

Out of 10,636 people who took their citizenship tests after its introduction in October by the previous John Howard Government, 2,311 failed, the latest official figures revealed.

The new Immigration Minister Chris Evans yesterday said the government would review the citizenship test in light of the poor test results and could make wholesale changes.

"The Government will review the scheme in the new year and assess the process and whether improvements can be made," Evans was quoted as saying by media here.

"The citizenship test should be about increasing awareness of citizens’ responsibilities and of the Australian way of life", he said.

Despite the problems, the minister encouraged people to continue sitting the test.

Under laws introduced by the former Howard Government, anyone who wishes to be an Australian citizen must pass a 20-question quiz on Australian history, values and way of life, including their understanding of "mateship", and demonstrate an adequate knowledge of English.

Howard had denied the tests had racist overtones and marked a return to the kind of exams used until the 1950s that excluded mainly-Asian migrants under the "White Australia" policy.

Only residents who have lived here for four years can apply for citizenship. Those who fail to meet the 60 per cent pass mark can sit the test as often as they want until they get it right.

Last year Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who was then in opposition, gave his backing to the scheme, as well as plans to make new arrivals to the country sign a so-called ‘values statement’ stating they agree to abide by the Australian way of life.

The test was opposed by the Liberal backbencher Petro Georgiou, who warned it would create unreasonable barriers for some people wanting to become citizens, especially those who could not speak English or read and write properly.

When the test was introduced, immigration minister Kevin Andrews denied it was an election stunt and said new immigrants needed to better integrate into the community.

New South Wales state’s Anti-Discrimination Board President Stepan Kerkyasharian said today that the test should be refined to be a test of knowledge rather than culture.

"I’d like to see a citizenship test which is easy to administer, easy to take part in, not sort of couched in high-level English terms, and a test about the political system in Australia and what everyday life in Australia is about, not about what happened 20 years ago in some cricket match," he said.

Sam Afra, the chairman of the Ethnic Communities’ Council of Victoria state, said the high failure rate vindicated claims that the test was discriminatory.

"The news that 20 percent of applicants are failing the test confirms our fears that the test would exclude people who would otherwise make a tremendous contribution to Australia," he said. (PTI)