Author Archive

Depression link to processed food

Depression link to processed food

Brian Godfrey: “I gradually got rid of foods that were causing the problem”

Eating a diet high in processed food increases the risk of depression, research suggests.
What is more, people who ate plenty of vegetables, fruit and fish actually had a lower risk of depression, the University College London team found.
Data on diet among 3,500 middle-aged [...]

Sudan ‘regrets’ independence call

Sudan ‘regrets’ independence call

Sudan has said it regrets a southern leader’s call for regional independence in a referendum scheduled for 2011.
The governing Sudanese National Congress Party, or NCP, said on Sunday the call by Salva Kiir, the president of South Sudan, contradicts a peace deal that ended a two-decade civil war.
Kiir, a former guerrilla commander, said on Saturday that [...]

Karzai rival, Abdullah, pulls out of runoff

Karzai rival, Abdullah, pulls out of runoff

The challenger to Afghanistan’s president in the forthcoming presidential election runoff has said he will not stand as a candidate.
Abdullah Abdullah cited the government’s refusal to make changes in the electoral commission.
Addressing his supporters in Kabul, the capital, on Sunday, Abdullah said: “I’ll not take part in the election… I’ve not taken this decision [...]

US backs Israel on no ‘preconditions’

US backs Israel on no ‘preconditions’

The US has called for the resumption of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians as soon as possible and without preconditions, an apparent climbdown on earlier demands for Israel to halt settlement building.
The settlement issue should be considered as part of peace negotiations, Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, said at a [...]

Tribeca fest adds to Doha glitter

Tribeca fest adds to Doha glitter

In a desert landscape teeming with the gilded novelties of imported Western culture, the gas-rich Gulf Arab nation of Qatar is staking its cultural reputation on a US film festival with a decidedly Middle Eastern spin.
 
Far from the glittering lights of Hollywood, California, international celebrities are flocking to Doha this we

Afghan star fulfils his American dream

Afghan star fulfils his American dream

 
“When I tell people I am from Afghanistan the first words out of their mouth are ‘Osama, Taliban, war’,” says Daoud Sediqi, former presenter of Afghan Star, his country’s version of the Pop Idol talent show.
The year 2009 has been momentous for Mr Sediqi.
In January, he attended the Sundance Film Festival in the US to [...]

Pakistan: scores dead in Peshawar blast

Pakistan: scores dead in Peshawar blast

 
A car bomb has exploded in a crowded market in the northwest Pakistani city of Peshawar, killing at least 80 people and wounding about 100, officials have said.
A huge blaze erupted after the explosion on Wednesday, which came just hours after Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, arrived in Islamabad, the Pakistani capital, for talks with [...]

AP: Statisticians reject global cooling

AP: Statisticians reject global cooling

By SETH BORENSTEIN, AP Science Writer
WASHINGTON – Have you heard that the world is now cooling instead of warming? You may have seen some news reports on the Internet or heard about it from a provocative new book. Only one problem: It’s not true, according to an analysis of the numbers done by several independent [...]

Report: Palestinians denied water

Report: Palestinians denied water

 
Israel is denying Palestinians access to even the basic minimum of clean, safe water, Amnesty International says.
In a report, the human rights group says Israeli water restrictions discriminate against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
It says that in Gaza, Israel’s blockade has pushed the already ailing water and sewage system to “crisis point”.
Israel says the [...]

Rising from the ashes of war

Rising from the ashes of war

Rising from the ashes of Somalia’s devastating civil war is an image so powerful, it could help provide a solution to the never ending devastation: educated Somali women. Women with the power and knowledge to pass their education to their offspring have the chance to construct a healthy and successful society from the chaotic rubble [...]