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Late-night teens 'face greater depression risk'

published by You on 2 January, 2010 - 07:56

oing to bed earlier protects teenagers against depression and suicidal thoughts, research suggests.

A US study of 12 to 18-year-olds found those with bedtimes after midnight were 24% more likely to have depression than those who went to bed before 2200.

And those who slept fewer than five hours a night had a 71% higher risk of depression than those who slept eight hours, the journal Sleep reports.

It is estimated 80,000 UK children and young people have depression.

The researchers from Columbia University Medical Center in New York looked at data from 15,500 teenagers collected in the 1990s.

One in 15 of those studied were found to have depression.

Danish police shoot intruder at cartoonist's home

published by You on 2 January, 2010 - 02:43

Danish police have shot and wounded a man at the home of Kurt Westergaard, whose cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad sparked an international row.

Mr Westergaard was at home in Aarhus when a man broke in and threatened him. He pressed a panic button and police entered the house and shot the man.

Danish officials said the intruder was a 28-year-old Somali linked to the radical Islamist al-Shabab militia.

The cartoon, printed in 2005, prompted violent protests the following year.

One of 12 cartoons published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands Posten, it depicted the Prophet Muhammad with a bomb in his turban.

Read more @ BBC News

US judge dismisses charges in Blackwater Iraq killings

published by You on 31 December, 2009 - 22:05

A US federal judge has dismissed all charges against five guards from US security firm Blackwater over the killing of 17 Iraqis in 2007.

The five, contracted to defend US diplomatic personnel, were accused of opening fire on a crowd in Baghdad.

District Judge Ricardo Urbina said the US justice department had used evidence prosecutors were not supposed to have.

The five had all pleaded not guilty to manslaughter. A sixth guard admitted killing at least one Iraqi.

The killings, which took place in Nisoor Square, Baghdad, strained Iraq's relationship with the US and raised questions about US contractors operating in war zones.

Malaysian court rules non-Muslims may call God Allah

published by You on 31 December, 2009 - 15:10

A court in Malaysia has ruled that Christians have a constitutional right to use the word Allah when referring to God.

The High Court said a government ban on non-Muslims using the word was unconstitutional.

The court was ruling on a lawsuit filed by the Herald, a publication of the Catholic Church in Malaysia, in 2007.

The authorities had insisted that Allah was an Islamic word which could only be used by Muslims.

The BBC's Jennifer Pak in Kuala Lumpur said some Muslim groups suspect the Catholic Church is seeking to encourage Muslims to convert to Christianity - a move which is illegal in Malaysia.

Read more @ BBC News

Finally, some sanity!

'World's best job' man stung by tiny, lethal jellyfish

published by You on 30 December, 2009 - 20:08

The man who landed what was dubbed "the best job in the world" as the caretaker on a tropical island off Australia has been stung by a lethal jellyfish.

Briton Ben Southall, who beat 34,000 applicants to secure the position, was stung during his last week in the job.

The culprit was the peanut-sized Irukandji jellyfish, whose venomous sting can be lethal.

In his blog, which he keeps as part of his job, he describes the incident as "a little sting on the beach".

But it was his progressive symptoms of fever, headache, lower back pain, chest tightness and high blood pressure that led doctors to diagnose the sting.

Mosque burned to the ground by arsonists

published by You on 29 December, 2009 - 00:16

A mosque was burned to the ground by arsonists in an overnight attack.

Ten fire crews were called to Cradley Heath Mosque and Islamic Centre in Plant Street, Cradley Heathe, near Dudley in the West Midlands, on Boxing Day.

But they could not save the mosque building, which was completely destroyed in the attack. It is the second time the hall has been targeted in recent years.

The Islamic education centre next door was also burned out during the attack at 10.15pm on Boxing Day. Fire crews said the fire was started deliberately and police are now investigating.

Read more @ Telegraph

Gaza marchers on hunger strike in Egypt

published by You on 28 December, 2009 - 23:30

Protesters trying to march into Gaza a year after an Israeli offensive are on hunger strike after Egypt blocked them from crossing the border.

Hundreds of people in Cairo have been prevented from getting close to the border with Gaza.

A group who got as far as the Sinai port of El Arish have been detained by the Egyptian police.

A separate convoy of vans delivering medical supplies is stuck in the Jordanian port town of Aqaba.

At least 38 people of various nationalities were picked up by Egyptian security services in El Arish and held in their hotel rooms, AFP news agency reported.

'Whatever it takes'

Iran protests leave nine dead, reports claim

published by You on 27 December, 2009 - 20:11

Opposition leader Mousavi's nephew 'among the fatalities' as Tehran and other cities erupt in protest and violence on holy day

The nephew of Iran's reformist opposition leader, Mir Hossein Mousavi, was reported to be among at least nine people killed after the streets of Tehran and other cities erupted in violent clashes between security forces and protesters.

Ali Mousavi, 35 and a father of two, was reportedly shot through the heart after police opened fire during disturbances in Tehran's Enghelab Square.

The authorities tonight tried to assert control over Tehran by reportedly declaring a 7pm curfew and outlawing all gatherings of more than three people, a source inside the capital told the Guardian.

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