Flame Retardants on the Rise in Furniture

Ironically, flame retardants in furniture may not stop a house fire. California is currently debating a new standard that would reduce the use of flame retardants in furniture. Image: Flickr/macwagen

Flame retardants in U.S. furniture are on the rise, with a new study finding them in nearly all couches tested.

The findings, published today, confirm that household furniture remains a major source of a variety of flame retardants, some of which have been building up in people’s bodies and in the environment.

In the new tests, three out of every four couches purchased before 2005 contained the chemicals, with a now-banned compound in 39 percent. For newer couches, 94 percent contained flame retardants, nearly all next-generation compounds with little known about their potential

Region takes measures to increase prison security

Steps are being taken throughout the region to improve prison management and increase security.

By Safet Kabashaj for Southeast European Times in Pristina -- 29/11/12

Many prisons have failed to effectively oversee prisoners due to overcrowding, leading to escapes. [AFP]

Governments in the region are increasing security at prisons due to the number of escapes and illegal activities happening inside the facilities. In order to make progress, however, the main obstacle of prison overcrowding must be overcome by unburdening the existing correctional facilities and building new ones, experts said.

Three prisoners suspected of terrorism escaped this month from Dubrava, the biggest jail in Kosovo, and another from the jail in Prizren in August, bringing to light the overcrowding that poses a challenge to

125 more Comet stores to close by Christmas

Another 125 Comet stores are set to face the axe next month, administrators of the electrical chain announced today.

Comet's administrators have failed to secure a firm offer for the business

Deloitte said that as it had not received a firm offer for the business it was having to plan for a substantial number of additional closures in the run-up to Christmas.

The news comes just days after the administrators revealed that 41 Comet outlets were to close by the end of this month if no buyer could be found. The business's distribution centre in Harlow will close on Friday.

A new effort in Macedonia, Greece name dispute talks

Macedonia-Greece name dispute talks have restarted, but analysts are skeptical that a mutually acceptable solution can be found.

By Miki Trajkovski for Southeast European Times in Skopje -- 27/11/12

UN mediator Matthew Nimetz is in Brussels for a new round of Macedonia-Greece name dispute talks this month. [AFP]

As talks resurface on the ongoing name dispute between Macedonia and Greece, analysts said that the two countries need to find a solution in order to foster regional stability and ease Skopje's EU accession talks.

UN mediator Matthew Nimetz offered new proposals for a solution at a joint meeting with Macedonian

Israel's Ehud Barak Says He's Leaving Politics

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Monday abruptly announced he was quitting politics, injecting new turmoil into the Israeli political system weeks ahead of general elections.

Barak, Israel's most-decorated soldier and one-time prime minister, said he would stay on in his current post until a new government is formed following the Jan. 22 balloting.

Middle East

Ruling Party's Shift Causes Consternation In Israel

His resignation could mean the departure of the most moderating influence on hawkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who holds a wide lead in polls and is expected to easily win re-election. Barak, who heads a small centrist faction in parliament, often served as Netanyahu's unofficial envoy to Washington to smooth over differences with the Obama White House.

His impending departure comes at a key time for Israel, as the nation struggles to find its way in a region where the old order of Arab autocrats has been swept aside by the Arab Spring and the rise of Islamist political parties. Israel also faces a looming decision on whether to attack Iran's nuclear program, which the Jewish state fears is designed to develop atomic weapons — a charge Tehran denies.

Less than a week ago, Barak led an eight-day military offensive against the Hamas militant group that rules the Gaza Strip. The fighting, aimed at ending rocket fire from the Palestinian territory, ended in a fragile truce.

"I didn't make this decision [to leave politics] without hesitating, but I made it wholeheartedly," he told a hastily arranged news conference, saying he had been wrestling with the decision for weeks.

He evaded repeated questions about whether he might agree to serve as a Cabinet minister in an

U.S. Maneuvers In Middle East Diplomacy

Host Rachel Martin talks with P.J. Crowley, who served on the National Security Council in the Clinton administration, about the role of the United States in the negotiations between Israel and Hamas and the cease-fire in Gaza. Crowley also served as the U.S. assistant secretary of state for public affairs from 2009 to 2011.

Source: NPR : National Public Radio

Cooler Master 2012 Case Mod Competition Update

There are scores of amazing projects in the competition forum

There's just two weeks to go to complete your project in Cooler Master's 2012 Case Mod competition. The deadline for final updates is is 7th December, with voting beginning on 10th December.

If you haven't already, make sure you post your final updates in time. If you haven't seen any of the amazing projects yet, you can head over to Cooler Master's competition forum. There are scores of fantastic projects on show, ranging from CPU cooler mods to cases and scratchbuilds.

It's one of

Eurozone's stalled talks leave Greece in limbo

Greek leader Samaras calls on lenders to make a decision.

By Andy Dabilis for Southeast European Times in Athens -- 23/11/12

"The whole of the Eurozone that depends on our partners' decisions," Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said. [AFP]

A rift between IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde and Eurozone finance ministers over whether to grant Greece a two-year extension to meet fiscal targets has delayed release of a 31.1 billion euro loan installment as Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said the country is running out of cash fast.

After talks broke down in Brussels following a 12-hour meeting Thursday (November 21st), Samaras, who had pushed through parliament a wildly-unpopular 13.5 billion euro spending cut and tax hike plan ordered by international lenders,

TV and Twitter fame for "Garden Centre Guy"

The owner of The Secret Garden Centre in London has gained Twitter fame after appearing in an episode of the BBC's Young Apprentice last week, during which he refused to give young contestants a discount on an olive tree.

The Young Apprentice candidates tried to sweet-talk a discount. Image courtesy of @bbcapprentice

The young entrepreneurs pleaded with Roger Cox, who has been running the Crystal Palace garden centre more than 25 years, for a discount on the plant as part of the 'theatre prop' task, where candidates must acquire as many items on a list for as little money as

NATO boosts Albania security, armed forces

NATO membership has helped to reform Albania's military sector, as well as benefitted its economy.

By Erl Murati for Southeast European Times in Tirana -- 21/11/12

Albania joined NATO in 2009. [AFP]

Since the beginning of NATO-Albania relations in 1992, the country has dramatically reformed and improved its armed forces, its security provisions and, as a result, its economy.

Thanks to reform efforts, making the country's armed forces more professional, more than 5,000 Albanian soldiers have been involved in five countries as part of NATO, UN and EU international missions.

"With its contributions in international operations we can say that Albania has transformed entirely from

Obama Sends Clinton To Mideast Amid Gaza Crisis

President Barack Obama dispatched Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to the Middle East on Tuesday as the U.S. urgently seeks to contain the bloody conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Clinton hastily departed for the region from Cambodia, where she had joined Obama for summit meetings with Asian leaders. The White House said she would make three stops, meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, Palestinian officials in Ramallah and Egyptian leaders in Cairo.

Clinton's trip marks the Obama administration's most forceful engagement in the weeklong conflict that has killed more than 100 Palestinians and three Israelis, with hundreds more wounded. While the U.S. has backed Israel's right to defend itself against rocket fire from Gaza, the Obama administration has warned its ally against pursuing a ground assault that would further escalate the violence and could dramatically increase casualties on both sides.

Still, Obama's deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes

Picture-perfect Hobbit land a fantasy

A likeness of villainous hobbit Gollum in front of a welcome sign in Hobbiton Town, Matamata, New Zealand. The Lord of the Rings fantasy has brought big tourism dollars to NZ. PIcture: AP Photo/New Zealand Herald, Christine Cornege Source: AP

A NEW York Times article says New Zealand's clean, green tourism branding is as "fantastical as dragons and wizards" and clashes with reality.

In the build-up to the release of The Hobbit film this month, Tourism New Zealand released Hobbit-themed advertisements promoting 100 per cent pure New Zealand, showing picturesque scenes of the country's bush and rivers.

But, according to a recent New York Times article, the images portrayed "might not be exactly warranted".

"There are almost two worlds in New

Under-fire Zeman seeks Torino joy

Criticism of his controversial management style is like water off a duck's back for Zdenek Zeman, who has put Roma's derby defeat firmly behind him.

A fractious Derby della Capitale saw Lazio emerge 3-2 victors and heap further pressure on the beleaguered Czech tactician, whose side host Torino on Monday night, with several of his own players turning on him during the game.

Substitute Miralem Pjanic directed a tirade at his boss after netting from a free-kick after Daniele De Rossi had stormed off following his dismissal for punching Lazio captain Stefano Mauri, who scored the winner.

Just three points

Spain and Portugal call for Latam business opportunities and investment

The family picture with King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia in Cadiz

Suffering deep recession and with their citizens protesting at job losses and austerity measures, the two European countries hope the Ibero-American Summit of leaders in the historic port of Cadiz can open up desperately needed business opportunities.

In contrast to Iberia's downturn, figures released by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development forecast growth in Latin America of 3.2% in 2012 and 4% in 2013.

“More Latin America in Europe and Spain is a recipe to confront the present challenges,” Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said

Indie retailers cash in on Christmas

A new campaign called 'Celebrate an Independent Christmas' is taking the country's independent retail community by storm.

More than 50 towns across the country have signed up for 'Celebrate an Independent Christmas'

Launched by the same group who spearheaded 'Independent Retailer Month' in July, the scheme is all about driving footfall into independent stores over the lucrative festive season. It involves en masse 'Shopping Crawls' where people are given a map of independent businesses and are entered into a prize draw once they have visited each store.

Clare Raynor, the retail expert behind the scheme and Independent Retailer Month,

B&Q's Christmas ad rivals John Lewis

B&Q's 'Make it perfect' Christmas advert was launched this week, less than a week after John Lewis made its 'Give a little more love this Christmas' debut.



Featuring vocals from 25-year-old Hazel Tratt, the ad features Crosby Stills & Nash's 'Our House', a prominent feature of B&Q's 'I did that' advertising campaign which launched last Spring.

Source: DIYWEEK.net – essential reading for the DIY trade

In Berlin, A Boar Of A Story

Enlarge Thorsten Wiehle/Berlin Forestry Commission

Some 3,000 wild boars are estimated to roam Germany's capital. This 2008 picture provided by the Berlin Forestry Commission shows a sow and her offspring that decided to make their home outside an apartment building. Recently, a wild boar attacked and injured four people in a Berlin neighborhood.

Thorsten Wiehle/Berlin Forestry Commission

Some 3,000 wild boars are estimated to roam Germany's capital. This 2008 picture provided by the Berlin Forestry Commission shows a sow and her offspring that decided to make their home outside an apartment building. Recently, a wild boar attacked and injured four people in a Berlin neighborhood.

"PIGS" are a hot topic in Germany's capital.

Attend any press briefing about how German Chancellor Angela Merkel is going to solve the European debt crisis, and you're likely to hear that acronym, which stands for "Portugal, Ireland (or Italy), Greece and Spain."

But recently, pigs of an altogether different variety made headlines in Berlin.

Four people were injured — including a policeman — when a 265-pound wild boar attacked them in the Berlin neighborhood of Charlottenburg in late October. The police officer shot and killed the animal, which had been injured while crossing a busy highway.

Shocked residents said they had seen boars in the nearby park but didn't know they were dangerous. Some residents squealed on neighbors, accusing them of throwing food from their balconies to the pigs. Feeding wild boars in Berlin is illegal, and offenders face fines of up to $6,500.

Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson/NPR

Wild boar, shown here inside an enclosure in a Berlin city park, are considered smart and quickly learn how to avoid hunters.

Officials say attacks like this are rare, but as it turns out, wild boar roaming Berlin neighborhoods are not.

Thousands of wild boar have migrated to the city, where food is plentiful and hunters scarce.

Naturally Shy

Berlin forester Marc Franusch reports that joggers and dog owners in the city come across wild boars in the city's numerous parks on almost a daily basis.

Kingston launches HyperX Beast DDR3 modules

Kingston's new HyperX Beast, available at speeds up to 2400MHz, features a new, aggressive heatspreader design.

Kingston Technology has announced a new entry in its HyperX memory family: 2400MHz DDR3 memory modules with a new heatspreader design dubbed the HyperX Beast.

Designed, the company claims, for overclockers, modders and hardcore gamers - typically, and not coincidentally, target markets with plenty of disposable income and a desire to dispose of same - the HyperX Beast line is being made available in 8GB, 16GB, 32GB and 64GB kits of two, four or eight modules running at speeds

Meningitis scare in Chile: all children five and below to be vaccinated

Health minister Jaime Mañalich announcing details of the vaccination campaign

For weeks now Chile has been suffering a steady increase of meningitis cases caused by the W-135 strain with great deadly impact but low direct contagion.

“We’ve created a group Plan of Action W-135 to combat and prevent this new bacterium. The situation on Sunday remains the same as on Saturday: we have 45 confirmed cases with W-135 and ten deaths”, said Health minister Jaime Mañalich.

The

Cultivator of Brain Parts

Yoshiki Sasai Image: Nick Higgins

Yoshiki Sasai is not just an ordinary tissue engineer who tries to coax stem cells to grow into fully formed bodily structures. It is true that Sasai has made his mark by taking on big projects like using stem cells to whip up a retina, cortical tissue and the cerebellum, involved with balance and movement. But his research has gone deeper by delving into the way stem cells organize themselves into complex structures under the influence of genes and the prenatal environment. Read a profile of Sasai here to accompany “Grow Your Own Eye,” Sasai’s own account of growing a retina in the November Scientific American.

From Nature magazine

In December 2010, Robin Ali became suddenly excited by the

Serbia's gaming industry in need of more oversight

In order to stop a grey economy in the gaming sector, Serbia aims to follow models used by the EU and other countries in the region.

By Ivana Jovanovic for Southeast European Times in Belgrade -- 10/11/12

Gaming industry officials in Serbia are hoping to work with the government to curb a grey economy that is costing the sector 30 to 50 million euros per year. [Nada Bozic/SETimes]

Irregularities in Serbia's gaming sector have cost the country 30 to 50 million euros annually for at least the last four years, prompting industry leaders and gaming operators to call for greater oversight.

The new government that took power this year eliminated the department that ran the gaming industry and brought the sector under the control of the Republic Tax Administration.

Vlajko Senic, state secretary at the Ministry of

For China's Rising Leader, A Cave Was Once Home

Enlarge Lan Hongguang/Xinhua /Landov

Xi Jinping (left) who is poised to become China's next leader, spent seven years living in a cave home in the 1960s and '70s after his father fell from power.

Lan Hongguang/Xinhua /Landov

Xi Jinping (left) who is poised to become China's next leader, spent seven years living in a cave home in the 1960s and '70s after his father fell from power.

Far from the political theater of China's Communist Party Congress in Beijing this week is a cave that the country's next leader once called home.

Just 15 at the time, Xi Jinping was sent by his family in Beijing to the remote rural village Liangjiahe in the hills of Shaanxi Province, hundreds of miles away, where for seven years he lived in a cave scooped out of the yellow loess hillsides.

He arrived there in 1968, after his father, a revolutionary fighter and former vice premier, had fallen from political favor.

"Many kids were leaving Beijing and being seen off by their parents," says historian Tan Huwa from Yanan University.

"Their kids were crying about leaving their lives in Beijing. But he was smiling when he left because leaving was his only way out," Tan says. "His father's situation was such that if he stayed, he wouldn't even amount to anything."

Enlarge Louis Lim/NPR

Xi lived in the cave house on the far right, in Liangjiahe village in central China. After his father's political downfall in Beijing, his parents sent him there when he was 15 in 1968.

Louis Lim/NPR

Xi lived in the cave house on the far right, in Liangjiahe village in central China. After his father's political downfall in Beijing, his parents sent him there when he was 15 in 1968.

Now Xi Jinping stands on the verge of becoming one of the most powerful men in the world. Next week he will take over as the general secretary of China's Communist Party, and he is widely expected to ascend to the presidency in March.

Mindful of the reputation of their most famous inhabitant, the villagers of Liangjiahe have become suspicious and tight-lipped. Minders hover in front of the cave Xi once inhabited, asking questions about any outsiders, and threatening those who stay in the village too long. Villagers have been ordered not to talk to journalists.

A Villager Remembers Xi

But Xue Yubin, 84, may not have registered the warnings not to talk, since he's almost totally deaf. He's happy to share memories of Xi's time in the village.

"He was a good young man," he says. "The villagers were impressed the son of such a high-ranking official would chat to ordinary people."

"He lived close to me," Xue says. "As a young man, he liked learning. I also liked reading books."

Xue joined the Communist army in 1947, and as a messenger, he used to deliver messages to the unit where Xi's father, Xi Zhongxun, was stationed. He says this familiarity with his father was a topic that fascinated the younger Xi.

"He often asked me about what battles I fought in and whether I had met his father," Xue recalls. "I said, 'Yes, I met him when I was a military messenger.' He looked like his father. As a young man, his character was quite strong. His lifestyle was like his father, both liked to be close to the masses."

In the village, Xi began working as the party secretary, holding study sessions and directing communal labor. He organized the villagers to dig 60 methane-generating pits. There's one that still stands outside a cave where Xi used to live, complete with a sign noting it's the first such pit in the province.

The young princeling had to "eat bitterness" with the peasants, according to Yanan University's Tan Huwa.

"He slept badly because he had fleas," he says. "He also wasn't used to hiking up and down the mountain slopes.

"One night, they cooked an exceptionally good dinner," he adds. "They didn't know why. The next day they found out that when they had drawn water from the well, they'd also pulled up a snake and a frog in their bucket and cooked them in their meal."

A Tough Period For The Family

During the dark years of the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s and '70s, the extended Xi family suffered because of its links with Xi Zhongxun.

"My nephews needed recommendations to be allowed to attend senior high school. But because of their association with

Making marihuana legal voted in Colorado and Washington, defying federal law

Cannabis controversy promises an interesting battleground and legal debate

But another ballot measure to remove criminal penalties for personal possession and cultivation of recreational cannabis was defeated in Oregon, where significantly less money and campaign organization was devoted to the cause.

Supporters of a Colorado constitutional amendment legalizing marijuana were the first to declare victory, and opponents conceded defeat, after returns showed the measure garnering nearly 53% of the vote versus 47% against.

“Colorado will no longer have

Obama re-elected but Congress remains deeply divided

Obama: “For the US the best is yet to come”

Obama prevailed despite lingering dissatisfaction with the economy and a well-funded challenge by Mr Romney. From Boston where Romney has his campaign headquarters he congratulated the president in an emotional concession speech.

He said he and Vice-presidential candidate Paul Ryan had “left everything on the field” and had given their all in the campaign.

“This election is over, but I believe that our principles endure,” he said. “I so

Mechanism of General Anesthesia Involves Disrupting Brain Communication

How general anaesthetic works is poorly understood. Image: Fuse/Getty

From Nature magazine

General anesthetics induce a coma-like state within seconds, allowing patients to be operated on without feeling pain or discomfort. Yet very little is known about how these drugs work. Now research published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows that they change the activity of specific regions of the brain and make it difficult for the different parts to talk to each other.

Neuroscientist Laura Lewis of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge and her colleagues used microelectrodes to measure the

Hispanics growing influence in US elections could be decisive for Obama

Seven out of ten Hispanics identify themselves with the Democrat party

Currently Hispanics number 52 million which represent 16.7% of the US population and are expected to reach 132 million or 30.2% by 2050. Every month 50.000 young Hispanics turn 18, and have access to register voting.

According to the census estimates there are 2.4 million more potential Hispanic voters on Tuesday than back in 2008. This means that 23.7 million Hispanics could be registered to vote on

Knock By Knock, Campaigns Push N.H. To Vote

President Obama's supporters are trying to turn out voters in the battleground state of New Hampshire, even if it means using social pressure to do so.

Source: NPR : National Public Radio

Peru considers rescuing debt to cool inflow of capital and currency appreciation

Minister Castilla also wants national debt with a larger content of local currency

“We could promote measures such as advancing re-payment of certain government credits which we consider too onerous, and which will also be a way of helping to counter the inflow of foreign capital”, said Castilla.

The minister said that for the moment he could not advance the volume of debt to be rescued nor identify creditors because “we’re in the midst of assessing the whole

Greek journalist cleared in privacy case

A journalist is cleared of violating privacy laws as government presses more austerity.

By Andy Dabilis for Southeast European Times in Athens -- 02/11/12

Costas Vaxevanis (right) was acquitted of charges of breaching the privacy of more than 2,000 people who have deposits in a Swiss bank. [AFP]

A Greek journalist who published on his website a list of 2,059 names of Greeks with 1.5 billion euros in deposits in a Swiss bank has been acquitted of charges of breaching their privacy in a case that pitted a strained government against freedom of the press.

Costas Vaxevanis was brought to trial only three days after he published the list and complained that tax evaders have gone unpunished for years at a time when Greece is suffering a

Power shut off in Lower Manhattan fearing flooding electrical delivery system

The area in the heart of the financial hub includes an estimated 6.500 customers according to Con Edison

The company cut service to two areas. The first is bounded by the following streets: Frankfort Street to the north; William Street to the west; Wall Street to the south; and the East River. The second area is bounded by Broadway to the west; Wall Street to the north; and the southern tip of Manhattan.

The areas include about 6,500