Why readers love their moustaches

21 May 2012 Last updated at 23:07 GMT Following the Magazine feature on how to grow a four-metre moustache, readers have been sending in pictures of their own follicly fertile upper lips.
Manly pride, a political statement or some fundraising fun.
No readers have gone to the lengths of India's Ram Singh Chauhan, but what their moustaches lack in substance, they more than gain in personal significance.
Here is a selection of their stories.

N Korea launch site in 'upgrade'

23 May 2012 Last updated at 03:40 GMT North Korea is making 'rapid progress' on a major upgrade to its rocket launch site Satellite images show that a ''major upgrade'' is underway at North Korea's rocket launch site, says a United States institute.
Work at the Musudan-ri site showed "rapid progress" since mid-2011, the analysis said.
The report came as Pyongyang accused Washington of trying to ''incite confrontation'' over speculation it may carry out a third nuclear test.
North Korea ''never envisaged'' such an act, said a foreign ministry spokesman.
The remarks followed a US warning that a nuclear test would lead to a "swift and sure response" from the region.

Donna Summer track joins registry

23 May 2012 Last updated at 10:00 GMT Disco icon Donna Summer died of cancer last week aged 63 The Donna Summer classic I Feel Love has been named as one of 25 songs and other sounds to be inducted into the US National Recording Registry.
The hit joins The Grateful Dead's 1977 concert at Cornell University on the list of sounds of cultural signifiance.

Sardinian Town Bows to Italy's 'Pink-Street' Project

Italy has very few women's names on its signs for streets and plazas, according to female geographers. In an effort to end this "cultural invisibility," they are pushing for a 50-50 division in male-female signage.
ROME (WOMENSENEWS)--Street names in Italy are still being counted, but one village isn't waiting to add more women to their signs, as an advocacy group here began urging earlier this year.
On March 8, International Women's Day, Olmedo, a village among Sardinia's 377 councils, agreed to name 19 places after important women.

Call for convictions law change

23 May 2012 Last updated at 09:34 GMT England and Wales already have rules which allow previous convictions to be used as evidence Prosecutors should be able to use previous convictions as evidence in Scottish trials, according to the Scottish Law Commission.
In a report, the commission concluded that Scots law should be changed as evidence of this kind can be highly relevant to guilt or innocence.

Trent Bridge suits England - Stewart

By Alec Stewart Former England captain and BBC Radio 5 live summariser Venue: Trent BridgeDate: 25-29 MayStart: 11:00 BST dailyCoverage: Ball-by-ball commentary on Test Match Special (BBC 5 live sports extra, BBC Radio 4 LW and available worldwide via BBC Sport website); updates on BBC Radio 5 live; live text commentary on BBC Sport website
England made a good start to their international summer with a pretty convincing win over West Indies at Lord's, but there were a couple of hiccups along the way that they will want to rectify, starting at Trent Bridge on Friday.
In the first innings, they had an opportunity to bat West Indies out of the game by posting a score in excess of 450. However, they failed to fully build on the platform laid down by Andrew Strauss's fine century and if West Indies had batted in their first innings anything like they did in their second, the game could have been even closer than it was.

Guinea-Bissau army cedes control

23 May 2012 Last updated at 10:21 GMT More regional troops are expected in Guinea-Bissau over the coming days Guinea-Bissau's military junta says it has handed back power, six weeks after staging a coup that derailed presidential elections.
But correspondents say the army remains influential - and the transitional government includes as defence minister one of the coup leaders.
A regional peace force has started deploying to help bring stability.
No elected leader in nearly 40 years of independence has finished their time in office in the tiny West African state.

Nations need food security goals

23 May 2012 Last updated at 10:53 GMT By Mark Kinver Environment reporter, BBC News Researchers are calling for a concerted approach to agricultural policy, based on science The biggest environmental summit for a decade must make meaningful progress on global food security and sustainable agriculture, say researchers.
CGIAR, the world's largest publicly funded research body, has published a seven-point "call to action" plan.
Ahead of the Rio gathering, scientists are calling for an improved commitment to deliver nutrition security and lessen the need to aid.
Agriculture is estimated to provide jobs for 40% of the world's population.

Teen Blogger: Feminism's Future is Online

The Internet is a big boost to the feminist movement says teen blogger Julie Zeilinger in this excerpt from her new book, "A Little F'd Up: Why Feminism is Not a Dirty Word." How else would she meet a co-blogger from Jordan?
(WOMENSENEWS)-- One of the attitudes older feminists seem to have about my generation is, essentially, that we need to get our asses into gear.
After all, they petitioned door-to-door for the Equal Rights Amendment. They held conscious-raising sessions. Hell, they slammed their livid bodies against the doors of the Playboy Club to protest violent pornography. So when they watch us tapping away on our computers and calling it activism, it makes sense that they'd be like, "Um, no, I think you're confused. That's not activism, that's actually the ancient art of sitting on your ass."

Skydiver to jump without chute

23 May 2012 Last updated at 08:43 GMT Gary Connery's flight will take about 50 seconds A stuntman is to leap from a helicopter at a height of 2,400ft (730m) and land without using a parachute.
Gary Connery, from Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, will attempt the stunt at 13:00 BST on Wednesday wearing a specially developed wingsuit.
The 42-year-old will make the jump above Ridge Wood in Buckinghamshire and land in an area containing 18,600 cardboard boxes.

Michaela accused 'had confessed'

23 May 2012 Last updated at 11:09 GMT Avinash Treebhoowoon (left) and Sandip Moneea arrive for the second day of the trial One of two men accused of murdering Michaela McAreavey signed a confession, the trial jury has heard.
The daughter of Tyrone Gaelic football manager Mickey Harte was found dead at the Legends Hotel in Mauritius during her honeymoon on 10 January 2011.
Prosecutors said Avinash Treebhoowoon admitted she "caught them red-handed" in her room and could identify them.

Scissor Sisters: 'Albums are a waste of songs'

23 May 2012 Last updated at 01:19 GMT "I think we've put our own notch in the wall. We occupy our own space, which was always the goal," says frontman Jake Shears (top of picture) Flamboyant New York pop group Scissor Sisters, famous for songs like Take Your Mama Out and Laura, are about to release their fourth album, Magic Hour. But, they tell the BBC, they're worried that some of the songs will never be heard.
"I just did The Voice with my fly unzipped!"
Scissor Sisters frontman Jake Shears is reliving the moment when, at the end of the band's performance on BBC One, he "looked down and noticed my trousers were wide open".
It was the one misstep in a week that saw the band's latest single, Only the Horses, enter the Top 10 and a fan propose to his girlfriend during the first of two sold-out shows at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire.
"We had no expectations for this campaign, so I'm thrilled," Shears says.
The singer is also looking forward to playing the Tower of London as part of the London 2012 Festival in July.

Fiat and Mazda in car alliance

23 May 2012 Last updated at 09:11 GMT An Alfa Romeo model will be produced in Mazda's Hiroshima plant from 2015 Fiat and Mazda have formed an alliance to develop two-seater sports cars.
The alliance will work on a car for Fiat's Alfa Romeo brand and a roadster with a different engine and styling for Mazda.

Could a human body hide a bomb?

23 May 2012 Last updated at 00:28 GMT By Gordon Corera Security correspondent, BBC News The underwear bomb that surfaced in Yemen this month has reignited concern that al-Qaeda's bomb-makers are finding innovative ways to hide explosive devices - even placing them within the body. How worried should we be?
A body cavity device would be just the latest chapter in the deadly cat and mouse game played between al-Qaeda and Western security officials when it comes to aviation. The terror group has consistently sought out new means of evading airport security regimes.

Schools saw 87,000 racism cases

23 May 2012 Last updated at 00:32 GMT By Divya Talwar BBC Asian Network "I was so low," says Khadeja Fahat, 14, who suffered daily abuse
Nearly 88,000 racist incidents were recorded in Britain's schools between 2007 and 2011, the BBC has found.
Data from 90 areas shows 87,915 cases of racist bullying, which can include name calling and physical abuse.
Birmingham recorded the highest number of incidents at 5,752, followed by Leeds with 4,690. Carmarthenshire had the lowest number with just 5 cases.
A racist incident is defined as any situation perceived to be racist by the victim or any other person.
In response to the local authority figures, obtained under a Freedom of Information request, the Department for Education said racism needed to be "rooted out".

In pictures: Chelsea Flower Show

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Peru denies dolphin death claims

23 May 2012 Last updated at 00:00 GMT The dolphins were washed up in Chiclayo, in the north of Peru A Peruvian minister has denied claims that explosions used in oil exploration are to blame for the deaths of hundreds of dolphins.

Fisheries Minister Gladys Triveno said a government investigation showed that natural causes were to blame.

She contradicted a study by an environmental group which suggested that explosions had caused the deaths.

The animals have washed up along Peru's northern coastline since the beginning of the year.

Ms Triveno said the official government report by Peru's Maritime Institute (Imarpe) ruled out oil exploration, or infection by a virus or bacteria, as triggers for the deaths of the dolphins.

"We have reached the conclusion that the deaths were from natural causes. It's not the first time that this has happened," Ms Triveno said, citing similar cases of dolphin deaths in New Zealand and Australia.

She was speaking on Peruvian radio hours before the release of the official government report.

'Food problem'

However, environmental group Orca said it had tested 30 dead dolphins and found they had broken ears and damaged organs, consistent with the animals suffering from decompression sickness.

Orca has blamed the deaths on the noise and pressure waves caused by explosions it linked to oil exploration in the area.

Along the same stretch of shoreline, thousands of sea birds have also been found dead over the past months.

Ms Triveno announced there would be a separate report into the death of more than 1,200 pelicans, but that she could already rule out a bacterial or viral infection.

She said their deaths were related to a "food problem".

View the original article here

Powers begin Iran nuclear talks

23 May 2012 Last updated at 10:12 GMT Iran is enriching uranium in its heavily fortified underground plant at Fordo, near Qom Six world powers have begun a fresh talks with Iran about its controversial nuclear programme.

The talks are being held in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, at Iran's request.

They come a day after the UN's nuclear watchdog held talks with Iran to try to gain better access to the regime's nuclear installations.

Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi says any efforts by Western powers to put pressure on Iran at the talks would be "futile".

But he told a news conference in Tehran on Wednesday that there were reasons to be optimistic about the negotiations.

"The ideas fielded to us speak of the fact that the other side would like to make Baghdad a success. We hope that in a day or two we can bring good news."

Tehran insists its uranium enrichment programme is for peaceful purposes, but the West fears Iran is developing a nuclear weapon.

The five permanent members of the UN Security Council - the US, Britain, France, Russia and China - plus Germany are seeking to persuade Iranian officials to scale back their nuclear programme.

Security is tight, with about 15,000 Iraqi police and troops protecting the venue inside Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone.

Continue reading the main story James Reynolds BBC Iran correspondent, in Baghdad

These talks mark a strange reunion - for eight years in the 1980s, Iran fought against Iraq. Then, in 2003, America and Britain led the invasion of Iraq.

US soldiers once fought their way to Baghdad because of suspicions of weapons of mass destruction.

Now, US diplomats come back to the same country to talk about the same subject. This time the country in question is Iran, not Iraq.

No-one expects a breakthrough at this round of talks. Nor do they expect a breakdown either.

Previous talks in Istanbul in mid-April managed to find enough common ground to arrange a further meeting in Baghdad.

Correspondents say Wednesday's talks will put these renewed efforts to the test.

A senior Western official quoted by Reuters said that the six - led by EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton - would make Iran "a detailed proposal that will include confidence-building measures".

However, no details were given on what those measures might be.

Analysts say the main goal of the six powers will probably be an Iranian agreement to shut down the higher-grade uranium enrichment programme that it launched in 2010.

Sanctions

Iran has since expanded the enrichment process at an underground plant at Fordo, outside the northern city of Qom.

Continue reading the main story

UK ministers are discussing not just the possibility of a military confrontation but what role, if any, Britain might play and whether any involvement would be legal.”

End Quote On Tuesday, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Yukiya Amano said an agreement with Iran over nuclear inspections was expected "quite soon" following his recent talks in Tehran.

He said the deal could increase Tehran's co-operation with IAEA investigations into its atomic activity.

The IAEA wants its inspectors to have greater access to Iranian sites, nuclear scientists and documents.

The EU, the US and the UN have all imposed sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme.

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Montreal marks 100-day protest

23 May 2012 Last updated at 01:34 GMT Tens of thousands of demonstrators have filled the streets of Montreal to mark 100 days since protests began against a planned rise in student tuition fees.

People chanted "Our streets!" and carried signs and red banners. There were no reports of arrests.

An emergency bill passed by Quebec's government on Friday was aimed at curbing the protests by requiring marches to follow pre-approved routes.

Rallies since then have turned violent, with 300 arrests on Sunday alone.

Protesters say the law, Bill 78, infringes their democratic right to express themselves. They have pledged to contest it in court.

Continue reading the main story

Other societies with rights and freedoms to protect have found it reasonable to impose certain constraints, first of all to protect protesters, and also to protect the public”

End Quote Robert Dutil Quebec Public Safety Minister Quebec has the lowest tuition rates in Canada. The government's proposal would raise them by 80%, in increments of $254 per year (£160) for seven years.

'Massive, collective disobedience'

Most of Tuesday's protesters followed a route submitted to police in advance, in accordance with the emergency bill.

However, some protesters linked with Classe, a student group with a no-compromise reputation, chose to defy the law and break away from the crowds.

Classe also said it would continue to agitate through the summer, a time of year when Montreal hosts outdoor festivals and attracts large numbers of tourists.

"Thousands of people have come to demonstrate with us, not only against the rise in tuition rates but with the intention to signal their disapproval of the special law," Classe leader Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois told the Associated Press news agency.

"The gesture made by tens of thousands is one of massive and collective civil disobedience."

Classe protesters were at the heart of the demonstration

But Quebec's minister of public safety, Robert Dutil, countered that many cities - including Geneva, New York, Los Angeles and Toronto - have implemented comparable legislation.

"Other societies with rights and freedoms to protect have found it reasonable to impose certain constraints, first of all to protect protesters, and also to protect the public," Mr Dutil told reporters.

The bill requires activists to provide the police with eight hours' notice of when and where protests are planned to take place, or face heavy fines.

Small protests took place in New York and Paris on Tuesday in solidarity with the movement in Montreal.

In Quebec, the provincial government has not backed away from the proposed increases of tuition fees, and Premier Jean Charest has been criticised by opposition parties for his handling of the protests.

Mr Charest must call an election before 2013.

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Waitress's Wages Leave Little to Take Home

A waitress in a family-style restaurant in Detroit says it's a struggle to make ends meet. Most servers are women and they are subject to a sub-minimum wage that hasn't been raised since 1991. Family members often provide a crucial safety net.
(WOMENSNENEWS)--The greatest challenge of Zhanneta Dunder's work as a server in a family-style restaurant in Detroit is not carrying heavy trays of food, but stretching her earnings of $300 a week to support herself and her 11-year-old daughter.
"It is a struggle to pay the rent, let alone gasoline, car insurance and my daughter's school supplies," said the 41-year-old waitress. "But I'm grateful for the job because I like the people I work with and the customers are nice."