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ANOTHER GOOD
REASON TO DITCH
THE HOUSEWORK
HOUSEHOLD
PRODUCTS LINKED
TO INFERTILITY
USA A study carried out
at Berkeley University has
found that flame-retardant chemicals
in many household products may
reduce fertility in women. Some
electronics, fabrics and plastics
made in the US contain
polybrominated diphenyl ethers
(PBDEs) – a flame deterrent – and
women in California may have been
exposed to higher levels due to the
state’s flammability laws. The study
found that women with higher levels
of the chemical in their bloodstream
took longer to fall pregnant than
those with lower levels. The
Environmental Protection Agency
has agreed to phase out their use.
RED LIGHT
DISTRICT PRIMED
FOR A CLEAN-UP
Netherlands Amsterdam’s
red light district is to get some
stricter regulation, if the city’s deputy
mayor Lodewijk Asscher has anything
to do with it. In an effort to fight
crime, he wants to ban prostitution
between 4am and 8am, citing these
times as when the “biggest creeps
and boozers” are around. He also
wants to encourage women working in
the red light district to register at the
Amsterdam Chamber of Commerce
and the city’s official medical centre. In
recent years, the tourist and stag-party
hotspot has become seedier with a
roaring drugs trade, and efforts have
been made to clean it up. Last year
plans were announced to halve the
number of brothels in the district.
AMSTERDAM’S RED LIGHT
DISTRICT: CREEPS AND
BOOZERS NOT WELCOME
ELSEW HER E
IS DEFORESTATION BECOMING
A THING OF THE PAST?
FINGERS CROSSED…
DEFORESTATION
AT 20-YEAR LOW
Brazil We’re used to hearing
gloomy environmental news
on an almost daily basis, but new
figures from the Brazilian government
show that deforestation in the
Amazon dropped by 46% between
August 2008 and July 2009 – the
biggest decline in two decades.
Satellite imagery by the National
Institute for Space Research shows
an estimated 2,075 miles were cleared
during that 12-month period, which is
the smallest area since deforestation
began being monitored in 1988, when
a national emergency was declared.
Tree-felling for agricultural purposes
reached its peak in 2004, when an
estimated 10,425 square miles of
rainforest were cleared. President Luiz
Inácio Lula da Silva said, “The new
data represents an extraordinary and
significant reduction for Brazil.”
A�WORLD-NEWS�
BRIEFING�IN�ONE�
COMPACT�PAGE
DOGS AND CATS
OFF THE MENU
China Legal experts in
Beijing are drafting proposals
for a ban on eating cats and dogs,
which have both been eaten in
China for centuries. With China
steadily becoming a nation of pet
lovers, there have been online
petitions to end the trade of dog
and cat meat across the nation. If
the law is passed when it goes to
parliament in April, anyone eating
the pets will find themselves with
a fine of up to 5,000 yuan (£450)
or a 15-day prison sentence. A
woman from the south-western
province of Guizhou who works in
one of the thousands of restaurants
serving dog meat which will be forced
to close said, d,
“I hear a lot
of people
saying dogs
shouldn’t be e
eaten, but
here in
Guizhou,
dog meat
is a famous
traditional
dish. It’s
a stew
and very
delicious.”
Eating Lassie e
for lunch?
We’re not
convinced.
A NEW CHINESE LAW
WILL BAN CHOWING
DOWN ON FIDO
THE KEY TO
YOUTHFUL
LOOKS LIES IN...
CHEESECAKE?
Japan Ah, progress.
Apparently, stuffing our face
with cheesecake could take years off
us. Japanese dessert company Meiji is
cashing in on the growing number of
Japanese women hooked on
collagen-enriched foods by developing
a cheesecake containing 1,000
milligrams of the super-protein.
Japanese supermarket shelves are full
of collagen-rich products including
teas, yoghurts, soups and soft drinks,
which women are snapping up to help
firm their skin
and plump
up their
wrinkles.
Sadly, leading
dermatologist
Annet King of
the International
Dermal Institute says
the science doesn’t
add up: “There’s no way
that eating collagen boosts
collagen [in skin].” Rats.
NEW TECHNOLOGY SCHEME
SPELLS PROGRESS FOR
NEPALESE GIRLS
BETTER
EDUCATION
FOR GIRLS ON
THE AGENDA
GO ON, HAVE ANOTHER
SLICE FOR A YOUNGER-
LOOKING YOU
Nepal Computer learning in
Nepal’s rural schools is being
introduced by projects such
as One Laptop Per Child in a bid
to t level the field for the country’s
female f population, who generally
leave school at the age of 12 to
learn domestic skills and marry.
While Nepal isn’t traditionally
seen as a third world country,
it does face challenges in its
development. Educational inclusion
and the introduction of technology
as a learning resource for girls
is expected to empower future
generations g to play important roles
in the running of their country.
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