Royal Wedding Sparks Boom in Baby Letizias
MADRID (Reuters) - The number of Spanish baby girls with the same name as former TV news presenter Letizia Ortiz has quadrupled since her engagement to Crown Prince Felipe was announced in November, a supermarket study showed Monday.
Photographs of the dashing heir to the throne and his glamorous fiance dominate the media and shop windows all over Madrid as royal wedding fever grips the nation ahead of Saturday's nuptials.
"In the last (five) months the use of the name had soared," Caprabo's head of marketing Xavier Alomar said, adding that between December and April the number of Letizias and Leticias rose 300 percent compared with the previous five months.
TWW'S CRAZY NEWS STORIES
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AussieMark
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Homes Evacuated After Venomous Snake Spotted
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Three Rotterdam houses were evacuated Monday after a man saw a poisonous snake slithering through a hole in the wall of his home.
Firemen demolished part of a wall in the man's home but could not find the meter-long snake, which experts believed to be the venomous Sundevall's Garter.
"The snake has not been found yet. Snake experts have been called in and they are still busy trying to find it," a Rotterdam police spokeswoman said.
Neighboring houses were evacuated as a precautionary measure and snake experts on the scene were trying to lure the humidity-loving reptile with wet rags.
Residents won't be allowed to return to their homes until the snake, a native to South Africa, is caught.
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Three Rotterdam houses were evacuated Monday after a man saw a poisonous snake slithering through a hole in the wall of his home.
Firemen demolished part of a wall in the man's home but could not find the meter-long snake, which experts believed to be the venomous Sundevall's Garter.
"The snake has not been found yet. Snake experts have been called in and they are still busy trying to find it," a Rotterdam police spokeswoman said.
Neighboring houses were evacuated as a precautionary measure and snake experts on the scene were trying to lure the humidity-loving reptile with wet rags.
Residents won't be allowed to return to their homes until the snake, a native to South Africa, is caught.
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Irish Eyes Closed, Not Smiling, in Workplace
HELSINKI (Reuters) - One in four Europeans has fallen asleep in the workplace, with the Irish leading the pack but the Dutch able to stifle their yawns best, according to a survey released on Monday.
"Long workdays, routine tasks, meetings that drag on, and staring into the monitor are prompting workers around Europe to fall asleep at their workplace," one of the survey's co-authors, Internet jobs site Jobline, said in a statement.
The poll showed 24 percent of respondents had fallen asleep either at their desk, in a meeting or in the toilet. Thirty-nine percent said they had not fallen asleep at work, but had to make an effort to stay awake.
Close to 40 percent of Irish participants said they had fallen asleep at work, usually at their desks, while 80 percent of Dutch respondents said they had never slept at the office.
The poll from Jobline and Monster Worldwide Inc was carried out between March 29 and April 13, and received responses from some 21,500 people in 14 European countries.
HELSINKI (Reuters) - One in four Europeans has fallen asleep in the workplace, with the Irish leading the pack but the Dutch able to stifle their yawns best, according to a survey released on Monday.
"Long workdays, routine tasks, meetings that drag on, and staring into the monitor are prompting workers around Europe to fall asleep at their workplace," one of the survey's co-authors, Internet jobs site Jobline, said in a statement.
The poll showed 24 percent of respondents had fallen asleep either at their desk, in a meeting or in the toilet. Thirty-nine percent said they had not fallen asleep at work, but had to make an effort to stay awake.
Close to 40 percent of Irish participants said they had fallen asleep at work, usually at their desks, while 80 percent of Dutch respondents said they had never slept at the office.
The poll from Jobline and Monster Worldwide Inc was carried out between March 29 and April 13, and received responses from some 21,500 people in 14 European countries.
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AussieMark
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Maverick Envoy Leaves with Sporting Gesture
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Living up to his maverick reputation, Spain's departing U.N. ambassador presented a Real Madrid soccer jersey to his Chinese counterpart during a Security Council meeting on Monday.
Inocencio Arias, a former general manager of the famous Spanish soccer club and the council's most colorful diplomat, drew applause from the chamber as he offered a replica white shirt of Real Madrid's Brazilian striker Ronaldo to the Chinese delegation as a sign of diplomatic admiration.
At the start of a council meeting on peacekeeping, Arias, using sporting metaphors to convey his professional respect, said he wanted to give China's U.N. ambassador, Wang Guangya, a present "that is a symbol of Chinese diplomacy."
Like Ronaldo, "at the moment of truth (Wang) can be decisive," said Arias, whose tour ends on May 20. "This attests to clean and reflexive play but decisive and determined play."
Wang had not yet taken his seat, but Chinese envoy Cheng Jingye smiled broadly in accepting the gift.
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Living up to his maverick reputation, Spain's departing U.N. ambassador presented a Real Madrid soccer jersey to his Chinese counterpart during a Security Council meeting on Monday.
Inocencio Arias, a former general manager of the famous Spanish soccer club and the council's most colorful diplomat, drew applause from the chamber as he offered a replica white shirt of Real Madrid's Brazilian striker Ronaldo to the Chinese delegation as a sign of diplomatic admiration.
At the start of a council meeting on peacekeeping, Arias, using sporting metaphors to convey his professional respect, said he wanted to give China's U.N. ambassador, Wang Guangya, a present "that is a symbol of Chinese diplomacy."
Like Ronaldo, "at the moment of truth (Wang) can be decisive," said Arias, whose tour ends on May 20. "This attests to clean and reflexive play but decisive and determined play."
Wang had not yet taken his seat, but Chinese envoy Cheng Jingye smiled broadly in accepting the gift.
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Royals Cry Foul Over Purloined Photos
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch Royals are crying foul and taking legal action against a TV station after it used images of the daughter of the Crown Prince and his wife taken from a stolen digital camera, local media says.
Dutch SBS Television broadcast photographs and video images of Princess Amalia, infant daughter of Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and Argentine-born wife Maxima, despite a government ban on using them.
The images, which include several minutes of Princess Maxima cooing over and singing to her daughter in Spanish, were from a digital camera stolen from the couple while they were on holiday in Argentina.
They first appeared on an Internet Web Site and were later broadcast on an Argentine TV station. The government press service had warned that using the images would be considered a violation of the family's privacy.
Dutch media said Willem-Alexander and Maxima -- among the country's most popular royals -- were angry as they felt they had good relationship with the media.
In February, the couple won a court case against the tabloid Prive after it published photographs of the interior of their home that had been taken covertly.
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch Royals are crying foul and taking legal action against a TV station after it used images of the daughter of the Crown Prince and his wife taken from a stolen digital camera, local media says.
Dutch SBS Television broadcast photographs and video images of Princess Amalia, infant daughter of Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and Argentine-born wife Maxima, despite a government ban on using them.
The images, which include several minutes of Princess Maxima cooing over and singing to her daughter in Spanish, were from a digital camera stolen from the couple while they were on holiday in Argentina.
They first appeared on an Internet Web Site and were later broadcast on an Argentine TV station. The government press service had warned that using the images would be considered a violation of the family's privacy.
Dutch media said Willem-Alexander and Maxima -- among the country's most popular royals -- were angry as they felt they had good relationship with the media.
In February, the couple won a court case against the tabloid Prive after it published photographs of the interior of their home that had been taken covertly.
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Smokers at Famous Beach Told to Butt Out
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Smokers on Sydney's Manly beach, one of Australia's most famous and picturesque stretches of sand, have had sand kicked in their face by local councilors who have banned lighting up.
Manly council voted late Monday to become Australia's first local authority to stamp out smoking at a beach. Smoking is already banned in most public places in Australia
Manly's golden sands nestle just north of the entrance to Sydney's landmark harbor and it now joins Los Angeles in keeping butts its off beaches.
Manly Mayor Peter Macdonald said his council was acting because of the environmental impact of discarded butts, as well as the problem of passive smoking. No-smoking signs will be erected along the beach and near children's play areas.
"I guess this is a bit of trailblazing but the important thing that's going to come out of it is it de-normalizes smoking," Macdonald said.
The ban was put in place after residents and beach users had complained about the environmental impact of discarded butts on the beach and in waterways, as well as the problem of second-hand smoke.
More Australian councils have promised to join Manly in clearing the air on their beaches, including the iconic Bondi.
"At any time, there's 700,000 cigarette butts on Bondi beach," said Waverley Mayor Peter Moscatt.
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Smokers on Sydney's Manly beach, one of Australia's most famous and picturesque stretches of sand, have had sand kicked in their face by local councilors who have banned lighting up.
Manly council voted late Monday to become Australia's first local authority to stamp out smoking at a beach. Smoking is already banned in most public places in Australia
Manly's golden sands nestle just north of the entrance to Sydney's landmark harbor and it now joins Los Angeles in keeping butts its off beaches.
Manly Mayor Peter Macdonald said his council was acting because of the environmental impact of discarded butts, as well as the problem of passive smoking. No-smoking signs will be erected along the beach and near children's play areas.
"I guess this is a bit of trailblazing but the important thing that's going to come out of it is it de-normalizes smoking," Macdonald said.
The ban was put in place after residents and beach users had complained about the environmental impact of discarded butts on the beach and in waterways, as well as the problem of second-hand smoke.
More Australian councils have promised to join Manly in clearing the air on their beaches, including the iconic Bondi.
"At any time, there's 700,000 cigarette butts on Bondi beach," said Waverley Mayor Peter Moscatt.
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Poodle's DNA Helps Track Down Accused Dognapper
NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - A dead toy poodle's DNA led police in Louisiana to arrest a man suspected in the thefts of five pedigreed puppies from a pet store in January.
Police in Chalmette, a suburb north of New Orleans, charged Edwin Gallo with felony possession of stolen property, namely the body of the six-month-old poodle discovered at his home.
It died mysteriously in Gallo's care after detectives questioned him about the missing dogs, said Sgt. Adam Nunez with the St. Bernard's Parish Sheriff's Department. Gallo presented forged ownership papers, he said.
"I knew the only way I could possibly link him to that burglary without a witness or anything was to go ahead and get this dog tested," Nunez said.
Since the dog was pedigreed, the parents were available to extract DNA against which the dead poodle's genetic material could be matched, Nunez said. A veterinarian's autopsy could not determine how the dog died.
A DNA test costing $90 was used to solve the burglary, Nunez said.
Five puppies were stolen from the pet store, including the toy poodle and another one, two Chihuahuas and a cocker spaniel. The other dogs are still missing.
Gallo was arrested on May 6, but "he's going to be rearrested" on burglary charges, said Maj. John Doran, the chief of detectives for St. Bernard's Parish.
Gallo already faces up to two years in prison on the stolen property charge. He has been freed on bond and pleaded not guilty at his arraignment last week.
NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - A dead toy poodle's DNA led police in Louisiana to arrest a man suspected in the thefts of five pedigreed puppies from a pet store in January.
Police in Chalmette, a suburb north of New Orleans, charged Edwin Gallo with felony possession of stolen property, namely the body of the six-month-old poodle discovered at his home.
It died mysteriously in Gallo's care after detectives questioned him about the missing dogs, said Sgt. Adam Nunez with the St. Bernard's Parish Sheriff's Department. Gallo presented forged ownership papers, he said.
"I knew the only way I could possibly link him to that burglary without a witness or anything was to go ahead and get this dog tested," Nunez said.
Since the dog was pedigreed, the parents were available to extract DNA against which the dead poodle's genetic material could be matched, Nunez said. A veterinarian's autopsy could not determine how the dog died.
A DNA test costing $90 was used to solve the burglary, Nunez said.
Five puppies were stolen from the pet store, including the toy poodle and another one, two Chihuahuas and a cocker spaniel. The other dogs are still missing.
Gallo was arrested on May 6, but "he's going to be rearrested" on burglary charges, said Maj. John Doran, the chief of detectives for St. Bernard's Parish.
Gallo already faces up to two years in prison on the stolen property charge. He has been freed on bond and pleaded not guilty at his arraignment last week.
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AussieMark
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Low-Flying Jets Investigated
BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's air traffic control agency said Tuesday it was investigating complaints that Swiss fighter jets violated airspace rules with a low-level aerobatic flight over the center of Berlin's government quarter.
A spokesman for the Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH in Frankfurt said the six-member "Patrouille Suisse" team flew at a low level over the Swiss Embassy next to the Reichstag parliament building and the Chancellery after an exhibition at a Berlin air show.
"They have been accused of flying well below the allowed altitude of 800 meters (yards)," said a spokeswoman for the air traffic control agency after the office was swamped with complaints from residents who heard the jets rumble overhead.
The spokeswoman said the matter was being investigated but did not say what would happen.
A spokesman for the Swiss air force told Berliner Zeitung newspaper the pilots were making a farewell greeting to the Swiss Embassy after leaving the ILA air show.
"It wasn't even our idea," Juerg Nussbaum told the Berliner Zeitung. "The idea for the farewell flight came from the air traffic control at (Berlin's) Schoenefeld airport," he said.
Nussbaum said the Swiss pilots deliberately did not fly over the Reichstag.
BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's air traffic control agency said Tuesday it was investigating complaints that Swiss fighter jets violated airspace rules with a low-level aerobatic flight over the center of Berlin's government quarter.
A spokesman for the Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH in Frankfurt said the six-member "Patrouille Suisse" team flew at a low level over the Swiss Embassy next to the Reichstag parliament building and the Chancellery after an exhibition at a Berlin air show.
"They have been accused of flying well below the allowed altitude of 800 meters (yards)," said a spokeswoman for the air traffic control agency after the office was swamped with complaints from residents who heard the jets rumble overhead.
The spokeswoman said the matter was being investigated but did not say what would happen.
A spokesman for the Swiss air force told Berliner Zeitung newspaper the pilots were making a farewell greeting to the Swiss Embassy after leaving the ILA air show.
"It wasn't even our idea," Juerg Nussbaum told the Berliner Zeitung. "The idea for the farewell flight came from the air traffic control at (Berlin's) Schoenefeld airport," he said.
Nussbaum said the Swiss pilots deliberately did not fly over the Reichstag.
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AussieMark
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Politicians Bristle About Mental Health Slur
LONDON (Reuters) - Opposition politicians accused the British government on Tuesday of insensitivity after it named a new online arts project for people with mental health issues "MadforArts."
"The naming of this project is shockingly insensitive," parliamentarian Don Foster of the opposition Liberal Democrats said in a statement.
"Ministers should re-brand this project to guarantee that it gets the audience size it deserves," he added.
MadforArts aims to provide a multimedia online forum for people with mental health issues to express their views on art, architecture and music. The government plans to launch the project on October 10 to coincide with World Mental Health Day.
LONDON (Reuters) - Opposition politicians accused the British government on Tuesday of insensitivity after it named a new online arts project for people with mental health issues "MadforArts."
"The naming of this project is shockingly insensitive," parliamentarian Don Foster of the opposition Liberal Democrats said in a statement.
"Ministers should re-brand this project to guarantee that it gets the audience size it deserves," he added.
MadforArts aims to provide a multimedia online forum for people with mental health issues to express their views on art, architecture and music. The government plans to launch the project on October 10 to coincide with World Mental Health Day.
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AussieMark
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Bakery-Turned-Brothel Targeted
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - A small bomb exploded on Tuesday at a bakery that was moonlighting as a brothel in southern Turkey but no one was hurt, police said.
Authorities had closed the bakery a week ago for soliciting, but the shop re-opened after a local court ruling, a policewoman told Reuters. The shop's windows were broken in the explosion but it suffered little other damage.
"It's still just a theory, but it appears the blast is connected to the prostitution," another official said.
Prostitution is legal only in Muslim Turkey's many state-controlled brothels. Thousands of foreign nationals, mainly from former Soviet states, work in an illicit skin trade in cities and resort areas.
But religious tradition in conservative parts of the country has led to outrage, even mass street demonstrations, against women suspected of prostitution.
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - A small bomb exploded on Tuesday at a bakery that was moonlighting as a brothel in southern Turkey but no one was hurt, police said.
Authorities had closed the bakery a week ago for soliciting, but the shop re-opened after a local court ruling, a policewoman told Reuters. The shop's windows were broken in the explosion but it suffered little other damage.
"It's still just a theory, but it appears the blast is connected to the prostitution," another official said.
Prostitution is legal only in Muslim Turkey's many state-controlled brothels. Thousands of foreign nationals, mainly from former Soviet states, work in an illicit skin trade in cities and resort areas.
But religious tradition in conservative parts of the country has led to outrage, even mass street demonstrations, against women suspected of prostitution.
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AussieMark
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Rare Penguin Stolen from Sanctuary
LONDON (Reuters) - Thieves stole a rare penguin called Piglet from a sea life center in northeast England and dumped it in a garden, police said Tuesday.
Its donkey-like braying was heard more than a mile from its home and worried residents rang the Scarborough Sea Life and Marine Sanctuary.
Staff say Piglet, a female Humboldt penguin from South America, may die from the stress of being moved and must now take a course of antibiotics.
"They are extremely susceptible to certain illnesses," curator Paul Bullimore said. "I would be surprised if she survives." Police said the flightless bird was taken late Sunday from an enclosure surrounded by two fences in what was probably a "sick prank."
LONDON (Reuters) - Thieves stole a rare penguin called Piglet from a sea life center in northeast England and dumped it in a garden, police said Tuesday.
Its donkey-like braying was heard more than a mile from its home and worried residents rang the Scarborough Sea Life and Marine Sanctuary.
Staff say Piglet, a female Humboldt penguin from South America, may die from the stress of being moved and must now take a course of antibiotics.
"They are extremely susceptible to certain illnesses," curator Paul Bullimore said. "I would be surprised if she survives." Police said the flightless bird was taken late Sunday from an enclosure surrounded by two fences in what was probably a "sick prank."
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AussieMark
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News in the Nude
TORONTO (Reuters) - A Canadian producer is poised to unveil Spanish versions of its Internet and cable television news show, in which anchors deliver the day's top stories in the buff, this week, company officials say.
Naked Broadcasting Network Inc., which has produced "Naked News" in English since 1999, teamed up with Florida-based APA International Film Distributors Inc. for two versions of "Noticias al Desnudo," or Naked News, executive producer David Warga said Monday.
"One version is a fully nude Naked News program dubbed into Spanish," Warga said. "The second version is the exact same but with the pubic area pixilated out for more conservative markets."
Warga said he hopes to attract Spanish-speaking viewers on the Internet and on cable throughout the United States and Latin America.
Portuguese and French editions are expected soon, Naked News said.
TORONTO (Reuters) - A Canadian producer is poised to unveil Spanish versions of its Internet and cable television news show, in which anchors deliver the day's top stories in the buff, this week, company officials say.
Naked Broadcasting Network Inc., which has produced "Naked News" in English since 1999, teamed up with Florida-based APA International Film Distributors Inc. for two versions of "Noticias al Desnudo," or Naked News, executive producer David Warga said Monday.
"One version is a fully nude Naked News program dubbed into Spanish," Warga said. "The second version is the exact same but with the pubic area pixilated out for more conservative markets."
Warga said he hopes to attract Spanish-speaking viewers on the Internet and on cable throughout the United States and Latin America.
Portuguese and French editions are expected soon, Naked News said.
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TexasStooge
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tropicalweatherwatcher wrote:News in the Nude
TORONTO (Reuters) - A Canadian producer is poised to unveil Spanish versions of its Internet and cable television news show, in which anchors deliver the day's top stories in the buff, this week, company officials say.
Naked Broadcasting Network Inc., which has produced "Naked News" in English since 1999, teamed up with Florida-based APA International Film Distributors Inc. for two versions of "Noticias al Desnudo," or Naked News, executive producer David Warga said Monday.
"One version is a fully nude Naked News program dubbed into Spanish," Warga said. "The second version is the exact same but with the pubic area pixilated out for more conservative markets."
Warga said he hopes to attract Spanish-speaking viewers on the Internet and on cable throughout the United States and Latin America.
Portuguese and French editions are expected soon, Naked News said.
If the newscasters did that here, they would've been fired.
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AussieMark
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No Sex Before Games, Please, Says Germany Doctor
ALMANCIL, Portugal (Reuters) - Germany's team doctor has advised players not to have sex shortly before Euro 2004 games and drink plenty of water instead.
The players' wives and partners are staying at a hotel next door to the players' near the Algarve resort of Almancil.
Team doctor Tim Meyer says sex immediately before games should be avoided because of the physical and emotional strain involved.
"I regard sex a few hours before a game as a problem," he told German sports news agency SID.
Meyer said alcohol and cigarettes were obviously not a good idea but said there would be no official controls and such matters were the players' responsibility.
The high temperatures in Portugal meant players had to drink plenty of water, the doctor said.
"Drink, drink, drink" is what the players should do, he said.
ALMANCIL, Portugal (Reuters) - Germany's team doctor has advised players not to have sex shortly before Euro 2004 games and drink plenty of water instead.
The players' wives and partners are staying at a hotel next door to the players' near the Algarve resort of Almancil.
Team doctor Tim Meyer says sex immediately before games should be avoided because of the physical and emotional strain involved.
"I regard sex a few hours before a game as a problem," he told German sports news agency SID.
Meyer said alcohol and cigarettes were obviously not a good idea but said there would be no official controls and such matters were the players' responsibility.
The high temperatures in Portugal meant players had to drink plenty of water, the doctor said.
"Drink, drink, drink" is what the players should do, he said.
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AussieMark
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South Koreans Angered by Tainted Dumplings
SEOUL (Reuters) - South Koreans are demanding regulators put more bite into food safety laws after reports some food makers may have for years used spoiled vegetables in their hugely popular dumplings.
The discovery has prompted a public outcry and calls for harsh penalties.
Four dumpling stuffing suppliers had been charged for food safety violations after raids on processing plants, a police officer involved in the case told Reuters by phone on Friday.
Police would only give the name of one of the four stuffing suppliers and that company did not answer phone calls.
So far, there have been no reports the dumplings have made anyone sick.
But the country's Food and Drug Administration released a list of 18 companies this week that it said had sold dumplings with a stuffing made from spoiled vegetables. The sales dated back as far as 1999.
The agency is looking at seven more makers of frozen dumplings.
"We are first releasing the names of the firms found to have marketed dumplings made with spoiled radish to stop the distribution of bad dumplings," agency administrator Shim Chang-gu told a news conference earlier this week.
"Please understand that we are doing the best we can to shut down the firms," Shim said.
The agency said it had seized 20 metric tons of suspect dumplings and planned to recall a further 1,900 tons.
But many consumers shaken by the news swore not to trust a quick dish that has become hugely popular.
"It is outrageous they'd play games with food like this," said Lee Jong-hwa, a bus driver in the capital.
Some larger frozen dumpling makers embroiled in the scandal took out advertisements in newspapers to apologize.
Listed company CJ Corp, whose subsidiary producing frozen dumplings was included in the list, apologized in front-page advertisements in major papers on Friday.
But consumers and retailers called for stricter regulations and harsher punishment for violators of food safety.
"I wish our laws were stricter. Our sales have dropped sharply and we cannot sell dumplings any more," said Jang Won-il, a supermarket manager. Lotte Mart, a major local supermarket chain, said frozen food sales had dropped almost 20 percent.
The dumpling scandal erupted when police raided a South Korean dumpling stuffing manufacturer after receiving a tip-off about unsanitary conditions.
The Food and Drug Administration said only dumplings produced over a certain period were affected and consumers had no reason to avoid others or those that were hand-made.
South Korean food safety laws are not considered stringent and firms that are accused of violating regulations mostly pay a modest fine and restart their business after a few months.
SEOUL (Reuters) - South Koreans are demanding regulators put more bite into food safety laws after reports some food makers may have for years used spoiled vegetables in their hugely popular dumplings.
The discovery has prompted a public outcry and calls for harsh penalties.
Four dumpling stuffing suppliers had been charged for food safety violations after raids on processing plants, a police officer involved in the case told Reuters by phone on Friday.
Police would only give the name of one of the four stuffing suppliers and that company did not answer phone calls.
So far, there have been no reports the dumplings have made anyone sick.
But the country's Food and Drug Administration released a list of 18 companies this week that it said had sold dumplings with a stuffing made from spoiled vegetables. The sales dated back as far as 1999.
The agency is looking at seven more makers of frozen dumplings.
"We are first releasing the names of the firms found to have marketed dumplings made with spoiled radish to stop the distribution of bad dumplings," agency administrator Shim Chang-gu told a news conference earlier this week.
"Please understand that we are doing the best we can to shut down the firms," Shim said.
The agency said it had seized 20 metric tons of suspect dumplings and planned to recall a further 1,900 tons.
But many consumers shaken by the news swore not to trust a quick dish that has become hugely popular.
"It is outrageous they'd play games with food like this," said Lee Jong-hwa, a bus driver in the capital.
Some larger frozen dumpling makers embroiled in the scandal took out advertisements in newspapers to apologize.
Listed company CJ Corp, whose subsidiary producing frozen dumplings was included in the list, apologized in front-page advertisements in major papers on Friday.
But consumers and retailers called for stricter regulations and harsher punishment for violators of food safety.
"I wish our laws were stricter. Our sales have dropped sharply and we cannot sell dumplings any more," said Jang Won-il, a supermarket manager. Lotte Mart, a major local supermarket chain, said frozen food sales had dropped almost 20 percent.
The dumpling scandal erupted when police raided a South Korean dumpling stuffing manufacturer after receiving a tip-off about unsanitary conditions.
The Food and Drug Administration said only dumplings produced over a certain period were affected and consumers had no reason to avoid others or those that were hand-made.
South Korean food safety laws are not considered stringent and firms that are accused of violating regulations mostly pay a modest fine and restart their business after a few months.
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AussieMark
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Lethal Homebrew Kills 13 Iranians, Blinds Five
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Toxic moonshine killed 13 Iranians and blinded five others in the southern city of Shiraz, state media reported on Saturday.
The official news agency in Iran, where alcohol is banned, said 60 people were taken to hospital after knocking back the deadly homebrew and 20 were still in a critical condition.
State television showed the victims stretched out on hospital beds and rigged up to drips.
A television broadcast reminded viewers alcohol has been outlawed since the 1979 Islamic revolution but it is, however, widely available in Iran, where it is smuggled across the nation's borders.
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Toxic moonshine killed 13 Iranians and blinded five others in the southern city of Shiraz, state media reported on Saturday.
The official news agency in Iran, where alcohol is banned, said 60 people were taken to hospital after knocking back the deadly homebrew and 20 were still in a critical condition.
State television showed the victims stretched out on hospital beds and rigged up to drips.
A television broadcast reminded viewers alcohol has been outlawed since the 1979 Islamic revolution but it is, however, widely available in Iran, where it is smuggled across the nation's borders.
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AussieMark
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Turtles Kept Lost Peruvian Fishermen Alive
LIMA, Peru (Reuters) - Three Peruvian shark fishermen lost at sea for 59 days survived by eating turtle meat and drinking the reptiles' blood, a newspaper reported on Friday.
The men set out on March 25 in the Pacific Ocean in a fishing boat without radio equipment.
They soon ran out of food and turned to eating turtles caught from the boat, El Comercio reported.
The sailors tried drinking the water in the radiator of the ship's engine but quickly realized it was toxic and turned to turtle blood instead.
"Thanks to training on a survival course, we also knew how to heat salt water to give us half a liter (2 pints) of drinking water every day," fisherman Manuel Ramirez told El Comercio.
An Ecuadorean ship rescued the men some 700 miles from the Peruvian coast on May 23. Each had lost 22 pounds, the paper said.
LIMA, Peru (Reuters) - Three Peruvian shark fishermen lost at sea for 59 days survived by eating turtle meat and drinking the reptiles' blood, a newspaper reported on Friday.
The men set out on March 25 in the Pacific Ocean in a fishing boat without radio equipment.
They soon ran out of food and turned to eating turtles caught from the boat, El Comercio reported.
The sailors tried drinking the water in the radiator of the ship's engine but quickly realized it was toxic and turned to turtle blood instead.
"Thanks to training on a survival course, we also knew how to heat salt water to give us half a liter (2 pints) of drinking water every day," fisherman Manuel Ramirez told El Comercio.
An Ecuadorean ship rescued the men some 700 miles from the Peruvian coast on May 23. Each had lost 22 pounds, the paper said.
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AussieMark
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- Posts: 5858
- Joined: Tue Sep 02, 2003 6:36 pm
- Location: near Sydney, Australia
Study: Migraine Little Use as Weather Forecaster
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - Weather changes may trigger migraine headaches, but there is no evidence sufferers can use their pain to predict the weather. according to a study.
The study, presented Thursday at the annual meeting of the American Headache Society in Vancouver, found that 51 percent of the migraine sufferers studied were sensitive to changes in the weather, such as temperature and barometric pressure.
"Most people in the study thought they could predict which type of weather factor triggered their migraines, but they really couldn't," researcher Marcelo Bigal of the New England Center for Headache said in a statement.
The study compared the personal headache records of 77 migraine sufferers over two years with data collected by the U.S. National Weather Service.
Temperature or humidity changes sparked pain in 34 percent of sufferers, while 14 percent were hit when a weather pattern changed and 13 percent when it was a pressure change. About 10 percent had their pain triggered by more than one type of weather change.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - Weather changes may trigger migraine headaches, but there is no evidence sufferers can use their pain to predict the weather. according to a study.
The study, presented Thursday at the annual meeting of the American Headache Society in Vancouver, found that 51 percent of the migraine sufferers studied were sensitive to changes in the weather, such as temperature and barometric pressure.
"Most people in the study thought they could predict which type of weather factor triggered their migraines, but they really couldn't," researcher Marcelo Bigal of the New England Center for Headache said in a statement.
The study compared the personal headache records of 77 migraine sufferers over two years with data collected by the U.S. National Weather Service.
Temperature or humidity changes sparked pain in 34 percent of sufferers, while 14 percent were hit when a weather pattern changed and 13 percent when it was a pressure change. About 10 percent had their pain triggered by more than one type of weather change.
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