Ka-ching! The holiday that pays for itself

News.com.au's shopping list was so much cheaper in the US than in Australia, it covered flights to LA and a hotel room. Source: news.com.au

A shopping trip to the US could save you enough money to cover your flights and accomodation. Source: news.com.au

Cost of US trip can be covered by savings Soaring Aussie dollar a gift for travellers News.com.au show you how to do it

A DECADE ago if you headed to the US you were hammered by a dollar that at times plunged below 50 cents.

Today the soaring Aussie currency means a trip stateside can actually pay for itself – with this sample shopping list below brought to you by news.com.au.

Even with added customs duty

Atletico keen to hang on to duo

Atletico Madrid are not giving up hope of persuading Sergio Aguero and David De Gea to remain with the club.

Goalkeeper De Gea has been lined up by Manchester United as a replacement for the retired Edwin van der Sar, while Argentina striker Aguero, the subject of perennial speculation over his future, last week issued a statement expressing his desire to leave the club.

New Atletico sporting director Jose Luis Perez Caminero told AS: "Aguero is still an Atletico player and my intention is to keep him here.

"I want to talk with him, see what he thinks and make

UN Security Council hails Mladic's arrest

NEW YORK, United States -- The UN Security Council on Friday (May 27th) welcomed the arrest of former Bosnian Serb military leader Ratko Mladic. Member states hailed efforts by Serbian authorities that demonstrated their will to co-operate with The Hague war crimes tribunal. French Ambassador Gerard Araud, whose country holds the Council's rotating presidency, welcomed Belgrade's intention to transfer Mladic to The Hague as soon as possible.

On Saturday, Serbia's deputy war crimes prosecutor Bruno Vekaric said the date of that extradition will not be announced for security reasons, adding that Mladic has until Monday to file an appeal against

Sharapova eases into fourth round in Paris

Former world No. 1 Maria Sharapova cruised into the fourth round of the French Open with a hard-hitting 6-2 6-3 victory over Taiwan’s Chan Yung-jan on Saturday.

Wearing a chic yellow dress on court Philippe Chatrier, the Russian seventh seed, once voted the most fashionable player on and off the court, powered to a 4-0 lead and there was no stopping her from then on.

Sharapova, who needs to win the French Open to complete a career grand slam, will take on Polish 12th seed Agnieszka Radwanska, who beat Belgian Yanina Wickmayer 6-4 6-4.

Source: The Globe and Mail

High street sales stable in May but growth remains subdued

CBI quarterly Distributive Trades Survey reveals 41% of retailers saw sales volumes rise in two weeks to May 16, although durable household goods and furniture saw declines.

Just 23% of retailers saw sales volumes fall on last year's figures, with the resulting balance of 18% above expectations that sales would remain flat in May.

However, subdued sales growth on the high street saw stock levels increase in relation to demand, with 25% of retailers anticipating levels to remain high in June.

Sales trends were weak across certain retail sectors, according to the survey, with durable household goods down 59%

Saving Sight, Testing Faith

Courtesy of Adavnced Cell Technology

Biopsy technique used to generate the human embryonic stem cell line.

Stem cells, it seems, have become almost as ubiquitous in medicine as stethoscopes. Yankees pitcher Bartolo Colon received injections of stem cells from his own fat and bone marrow to treat an injured shoulder and elbow, his doctor recently revealed. Meanwhile, a Texas hospital is testing whether stem cells from a patient's bone marrow will improve the effectiveness of cardiac bypass surgery. It's enough to suggest that the bitter religious, ethical, and political battles over stem cells that began in 1998 were pointless. If cells harvested from patients themselves can treat disease, perhaps there's no need to use ones obtained from human embryos—with all the questions that raises.

To Robert Lanza, this argument is just another in a long line of attacks that have come at him nonstop for 10 years. As chief medical officer of Advanced Cell Technology, a leading stem-cell company, he has no doubt that adult stem cells will fall woefully short of the promise of embryonic ones. "Adult stem cells can't do all the same tricks," he argues. "There are over 3,000 Americans who die every day from diseases that could be treated with embryonic stem-cell therapies." His single-minded determination has made him a punching bag for U.S. senators, the Catholic Church, and his fellow stem-cell scientists, to name but a few who have attacked his research. "The Catholic

China’s Yangtze River Faces Worst Drought in 50 Years

By Vivian Ni

May 25 – Following a recent power shortage scare, the most serious drought in 50 years has again drawn Chinese people's attention to areas along the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Faced with the public's questions on causes of the various natural disasters within the Yangtze basin over the past few years, the Chinese government has admitted for the first time that its massive Three Gorges Dam project carries some responsibility for the environmental changes.

While the lower reaches of the Yangtze River covering eight provinces of both Central and Southern China are usually considered to be an area with relatively abundant water resources, the weather seems to be changing here. According to Chinanews.com, rainfall in the region has decreased significantly since last November to the lowest amount in 60 years.

Almost every province in the region has reported severe drought hits. Jiangxi Province's Poyang

Jumping Heartbeat: Exercise Your Pulse

How fast can you get your heart pumping? Image: Kagen McLeod

Supplemental Material Overview Find Magnetic North with a Homemade Compass
[Activity 16] Overview Get the Iron out--of Your Breakfast Cereal
[Activity 15] Overview Big Space: The Scale of the Solar System
[Activity 14] Overview Washed Away: Rivers and Streams in an Instant
[Activity 13] Overview Make Moon Cycles--with an Orange!
[Activity 12]

Key concepts

Cardiovascular system
Exercise
Energy and metabolism

From National Science Education Standards: Personal health

Introduction
When you exercise, do you notice that you get out of breath? What about feeling your heart rate—your pulse—increasing? These two changes are not coincidental—they are both important, and natural, reactions of your cardiovascular system to exercise.

From your brain down to your fingers and toes, your body needs plenty of oxygen to keep going. That oxygen

Stuck in a Post-Crisis Gloom

It may be time to move beyond pessimism. Ever since the financial crisis, Americans have wallowed in fear and anxiety. Understandably. Although a recovery — as defined by academic economists — started about two years ago, it hasn't felt like one. Of the 8.7 million payroll jobs lost in the recession, only 1.8 million have returned. The recovery rivals the slowest since World War II and faces continued threats. High oil prices. Europe's debt crisis. Unexpected inflation. Washington's bickering over the federal debt ceiling.

All true. But it's also true that the recovery seems increasingly self-propelled. Americans are shopping again, albeit with less fervor; exports are improving; companies are hiring. Massive government spending and the Federal Reserve's low interest rates seem less crucial to growth. Although this is good news, the pervasive post-crisis gloom prevents us from acknowledging it.

Despite differences, all recessions share certain characteristics. One is the role of economic "imbalances." Something in the economy goes to

Obama defends use of ‘1967 lines’ for Israeli-Palestinian boundaries

Undeterred by the angry Israeli furor caused by his reference to “1967 lines” as the basis for any future Palestinian state, U.S. President Barack Obama held firm Sunday to that fundamental starting point in a speech to a powerful pro-Israel lobby group.

But the president also made clear America’s unwavering support for Israel, vowing to maintain Israeli military superiority over its Arab neighbours.

In a speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, Mr. Obama said he wasn’t surprised by reaction to his use of the phase “1967 lines.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in Washington only days ago, bluntly dismissed the president’s call, calling Israel’s pre-1967 war borders “indefensible.”

Landslide Buries Boys At Malaysian Orphanage

A landslide buried 20 boys and four adults at a Malaysian orphanage Saturday where scores of rescuers were digging by their hands in soil softened by the rains to find the missing, police said.

The bodies of five boys, ages 8 to 17, have been recovered. Six boys and a 30-year-old warden who were critically injured were pulled from the mud and rushed to a hospital, district police chief Abdul Rashid Wahab said.

Heavy rain had likely caused the landslide that hit the orphanage for ethnic Malay Muslim boys in a rural village in central Selangor state, he said. Rain

How to win at haggling

By all means haggle, but be prepared to walk away / AFP Source: AFP

WHEN it comes to assessing my skills as a traveller, I don't think it's too boastful to say I'm pretty good.

I can negotiate my way around any airport in the world, speak a few languages, can pick out a travel bore at 20 paces and know exactly how many pairs of pants to pack for any length of trip.

Unfortunately, there is one area where my travelling expertise is sorely lacking: haggling.

In fact, "sorely lacking" implies that I have some measure of prowess in the art, which I don’t. I actually think I’m the worst haggler in the world.

Take a recent experience in an airport toilet as proof of my haplessness. On a toilet visit before a flight out of Johannesburg, I was greeted by an attendant who ran some water, pumped the soap and offered me a paper towel. As these are all things I’m perfectly capable of doing myself, I was unsure what to tip him, so I asked.

“$1 is fine, sir!” he replied.

Determined to knock him down,

Baidu, China sued in U.S. for Internet censorship

Eight New York residents sued Baidu Inc. BIDU-Q and the Chinese government on Wednesday, accusing China’s biggest search engine of conspiring with its rulers to censor pro-democracy speech.

The eight pro-democracy activists claim violations of the U.S. Constitution and, according to the plaintiffs’ lawyer, the suit is the first of its type. In an unorthodox move it names not only a company but also the Chinese government as defendants.

The lawsuit was filed more than a year after Google Inc. GOOG-Q declared it would no longer censor search results in China, and rerouted Internet users to its Hong Kong website.

Baidu spokesman Kaiser Kuo declined to comment.

China’s Foreign Ministry,

Train explodes on passenger train near Myanmar's capital, two killed

An official says a bomb has exploded on a passenger train near Myanmar's capital, killing two people and injuring seven.

The public security official says the explosion occurred Wednesday evening about 40 kilometres north of the capital Naypyitaw on the line to Mandalay. It appeared that none of the victims were foreigners. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to release information.

No one has taken responsibility for the blast and no suspects have been named.

Bombing are rare but not unknown in Myanmar, where pro-democracy activists and ethnic minority groups are at odds with the

Queen touches down in Ireland

The Queen with Irish President Mary McAleese in Dublin. Picture: AP Source: Herald Sun

THE Queen has arrived in the Republic of Ireland to start the first visit by a British monarch in a century.

The sovereign, accompanied by her husband Prince Philip, touched down at Casement Aerodrome, southwest of Dublin, at 11.55am local time to start the historic four-day visit, which is taking place amid a huge security lockdown.

The jet taxied with the sovereign's standard, which bears an Irish harp, flying from the cockpit window.

Two lines of troops formed a guard of honour either side of the red carpet unravelled at the aerodrome.

The Queen wore a blue dress beneath an Irish emerald green coat and

'BGT' Britney Spears lookalike offered porn

© Talkback Thames

Britain's Got Talent's Britney Spears lookalike Lorna Bliss has revealed that she was offered a role in a porn movie.

The 29-year-old Spears fanatic, who caused controversy with her appearance on the ITV1 talent show at the weekend, claimed that an adult film company promised to pay her £50,000 for the the role.

"I'm known as a lookalike internationally and have had some weird offers," she told The Sun.

"I was offered £50,000 to play Britney in a porn film. I wasn't offended, but it wouldn't be fair on Britney if I did an

House Republican leader says ready to cut U.S. budget deal today

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner on Sunday said he is ready to cut a deal on raising the debt limit if only President Barack Obama would get serious about spending cuts.

Mr. Obama warned that congressional failure to raise the debt limit could lead to a worse financial crisis than 2008-09 and urged that debate stay separate from spending cuts.

Both sides stuck to their well-staked out positions, showing little evidence of movement.

Mr. Boehner and fellow Republicans warned of dire consequences to the U.S. economy if the debt limit is not linked to spending cuts and deficit reduction.

“I’m ready to cut the deal today. You know, we don’t have to wait until the 11th hour,” Mr.

Three reasons to trek to Quttinirpaaq: Canada’s northernmost park

1) 32 C

The closer to the North Pole you are, the colder it gets, right? Wrong – especially in summer, when night doesn't exist.

Quttinirpaaq is chockablock with glaciers; 36 per cent is covered by glaciers and ice caps, some of them nearly a kilometre thick. But its prime destinations – a pair of outrageously picturesque places called Lake Hazen and Tanquary Fiord – can, in the height of a sun-kissed summer, compete with destinations far to the south on temperature. Think shorts and T-shirts. Scientists describe Lake Hazen as a “thermal oasis” and thermometers can read 32 C in the sun. It's not always this warm, of course – the waters of Lake Hazen thaws only in the warmest of years. But because both Hazen and

Tanquary are so far north, they get nearly 150 days of non-stop sunshine. You read that right – nearly five months without a single sunset.

Blasts Target Pakistani Paramilitary Training Center

In northwestern Pakistan Friday, twin explosions struck a paramilitary training center. The Pakistani Taliban claimed it carried out the attack to avenge the killing of Osama bin Laden.

Source: NPR : National Public Radio

Bollywood Interview: Tusshar Kapoor

OF the current crop of Bollywood stars, Tusshar Kapoor could easily top the list of the most misunderstood and underrated actors.

But the surprisingly humble and low-profile son of the legendary Bollywood actor Jeetendra appears to be determined to let his work do the talking. With his effortless panache as a tough guy in Shootout At Lokhandwala, he first silenced his die-hard critics. He then stunned them with his comic timing as a mute in the hilarious Golmaal series. And with his latest film, Rajshri Productions’ Love You Mr. Kalakaar, directed by S. Manasvi, Tusshar is ready to prove that even as a romantic ‘hero’, he can effortlessly set many a heart on fire.

 

So you have now joined the Rajshri hall of fame as one of their stars with Love You Mr. Kalakaar. How does it feel?

I feel privileged to be part of such a legendary banner. And it is especially thrilling to realize that I have done a Rajshri film even before my father! I was surprised when I first learnt this, but it is true that he hasn’t done a single film with them yet.

 

What is the film about and what kind of a role are you playing in it?

It is a love story between a freelance artist and a management trainee who is obsessed with numbers. The film revolves around how these diverse personalities connect with each other. I’m playing the character of Sahil. He is a cartoonist who, though he does have his aspirations, he wants to achieve things on his own terms. He prefers to go with the flow, stay away from the rat race. He is very spontaneous with whatever he does – an artist in the true sense of the word.

 

How close or distant is this character from you as an individual?

Quite distant, I would

48 women raped every hour in Congo, study finds

The central African nation of Congo has been called the worst place on earth to be a woman. A new study released Wednesday by the American Journal of Public Health shows it’s even worse than previously thought: 1,152 women are raped every day, a rate equal to 48 per hour.

That rate is 26 times more than the previous estimate of 16,000 rapes reported in one year by the United Nations.

Michelle Hindin, an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins’ Bloomberg School of Public Health who specializes in gender-based violence, said the rate could be even higher. The source of the

Kuwait to replace Syria as candidate for seat on UN Human Rights Counci

Kuwait is going to replace Syria as a candidate for a seat on the UN’s top human rights body in what would be a victory for human rights groups and many governments opposed to the ongoing crackdown by President Bashar Assad's security forces, Western diplomats said Tuesday.

An intense behind-the-scenes campaign has been waged to prevent Syria from being elected to the Geneva-based Human Rights Council following the government's attempts to crush a seven-week uprising challenging the Assad family's 40-year rule.

One Western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity because no public announcement has been made, said Tuesday that Kuwaiti

U.K. government administered ‘virginity tests’ on female immigrants: research

Newly discovered documents indicate that the British government concealed how often it administered so-called “virginity tests” to female immigrants hoping to enter the country in the 1970s on marriage visas.

The documents, unearthed by legal researchers Marinella Marmo and Evan Smith from Australia's Flinders University, showed that the tests — meant to prove that women coming into Britain to marry were virgins — had been administered more than 80 times.

Although the tests first drew condemnation in the late 1970s, the extent to which the practice had taken place was not clear until now. The British government had previously acknowledged

Katie Price 'feels old, wrinkly and fat'

© WENN / Tony Clark

Katie Price has reportedly decided to quit modelling because she feels "old, wrinkly and fat".

According to the News of the World, dating toyboy Leandro Penna has made her feel less confident about her own appearance.

She apparently told a friend: "I'm not modelling any longer. F**k it. Look at me. I'm old, wrinkly and fat. I can't stand next to Leo and be happy with the way I look. No way."

A source said: "She is completely disgusted with how she looks right now. She dated Leandro because she thought it would

How Obesity Spreads in Social Networks

More in common?: Researchers are now trying to understand just how trends in body weight spread through close social ties. Image: iStockphoto/JulNichols

The people we associate with can have a powerful effect on our behavior—for better or for worse. This holds true for human health and body mass, too. The heavier our close friends and family, the heavier we are likely to be.

This correlation, described in 2007 by a team that analyzed data from the longitudinal Framingham Heart Study, is well established. But just how this transpires—whether via shared norms, common behavior or just similar environments—has been the subject of much debate.

The authors of the 2007 study proposed that social norms shared among friends and relatives might be a strong determinant of body mass index (BMI). And a new study, published online May 5 in the American Journal of Public Health, drills down to see just how these social forces might be at work. The study of more than 100 women—and hundreds of their friends and family

Activists: 6 Killed In Syria By Security Forces

Enlarge AP

In this citizen journalism image made on a mobile phone and acquired by the AP, Syrians protest against the regime of President Assad, in the coastal town of Banias, Syria, Thursday, May 5, 2011.

AP

In this citizen journalism image made on a mobile phone and acquired by the AP, Syrians protest against the regime of President Assad, in the coastal town of Banias, Syria, Thursday, May 5, 2011.

Syrian security forces opened fire on protesters Friday, killing at least six people as thousands joined demonstrations across the country calling for an end to President Bashar Assad's regime, witnesses and activists said.

International condemnation is growing as the uprising enters its seventh week with no end in sight. On Friday, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Syria has agreed to allow U.N. teams to enter the country and check the humanitarian situation there.

Syrian authorities also detained Riad Seif, a leading opposition figure and former lawmaker who has been an outspoken critic of the regime during the seven-week uprising, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

"We were chanting, peaceful, peaceful, and we didn't even throw a stone at the security forces," said a witness in the central city of Homs, who said some 10,000 people were in the streets. "But they waited for us to reach the main square and then they opened fire on us."

He said gunshots rang out even after the protesters dispersed.

"The bullets are like rain," he said. "Everyone is terrified."

The protesters turned out Friday despite a bloody crackdown on the uprising and some of the tightest security seen since the protests began in mid-March. More than 565 civilians and 100 soldiers have been killed since the revolt began, rights groups say.

"Syria's authorities think that they can beat and kill their way out of the crisis," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "But with every illegal arrest, every killing of a protester, they are precipitating a larger crisis."

Five people were killed Friday in Homs and one was killed in Hama, said a senior member of a human rights group that compiles death toll figures in Syria. Like most activists

U.S. hopes to give some frozen Libyan assets to rebels

The United States is trying to free up some of the more than $30-billion it has frozen in Libyan assets so it can support the opponents of Moammar Gadhafi, U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Rodham Clinton told a conference Thursday.

Twenty-two nations and international organizations were meeting in Rome to figure out how to help the Libyan rebels, who say they need up to $3-billion in the coming months for military salaries, food, medicine and other basic supplies.

Ms. Clinton said the Obama administration, working with Congress, wants “to tap some portion of those assets owned by Gadhafi and the Libyan government in the United States, so we can make those funds available to help the Libyan people.”

The U.S. also has already pledged $53-million in humanitarian aid and authorized up to $25-million in non-lethal assistance to the rebels, including medical supplies, boots, tents, rations and personal protective gear. The first shipment is set to arrive in the western, rebel-held city of Benghazi in the coming days.

Ms. Clinton declared that ousting Mr. Gadhafi was the

Obama polls surge after bin Laden

PRESIDENT Barack Obama has received a big boost following the US military raid that killed al-Qa'ida leader Osama bin Laden, with his approval rating surging 11 points, a new poll shows.

The survey conducted by the New York Times and CBS News found that 57 per cent of respondents approved of the President's job performance, compared to 46 per cent last month.

The biggest upward bump came from Republicans with 72 per cent approving of the way Mr Obama was handling the threat of terrorism. Asked the same question back in August, only 51 per cent of those asked said they approved.

The poll was in line with survey results released on Tuesday by The Pew Research Center and The Washington Post, which found

You want to be a macho man? Study finds it's not easy

It's an oft-spoofed scene: young men who fail to 'score' wailing on each other outside a nightclub.

A new paper suggests that manhood is a precarious status—and when it's threatened, men will often become aggressive to re-assert it. In several studies, University of South Florida psychologists had men perform "feminine" tasks, and recorded the fallout afterwards.

In one experiment, they had some men braid hair (that's feminine, they said) and others braid rope -- that's more masculine, or gender neutral, they argued.

The men were then all given the options of punching a bag or doing a puzzle. Overwhemingly, the

Bad tippers, beware: You could be outed

Thanks to the power of the Internet, bad tippers may no longer be able to get away with leaving stingy gratuities.

Frustrated by some of the tips he’s received, Brooklyn designer and developer Larry Fox, who works as a restaurant delivery person as a side job, has created the blog 15 Percent to record the worst tipping offenses he and others have seen.

According to the web site Gothamist, the aim of Mr. Fox’s blog is to shame the miserly. In some entries, he even publishes customers’ first names and streets.

Accompanying a photo of a receipt showing a $1.55

Assets of Croatia's Sanader frozen

ZAGREB, Croatia -- Nearly 4m euros in assets belonging to former Prime Minister Ivo Sanader have been frozen, the newspaper Jutarnji List reported on Thursday (April 28th). The anti-corruption office USKOK continues to investigate his wealth and bank accounts in Croatia and Austria. Sanader was arrested on December 10th in Austria based on an international warrant issued by Croatia where he is being investigated for possible criminal actions and abuse of power. (Jutarnji List, FoNet, Tanjug - 28/04/11)

Source: SETimes.com