Doctors' BBQ diverts air ambulance

5 June 2013 Last updated at 11:43 GMT A helicopter carrying a patient to hospital in Argyll had to be diverted because smoke from a doctors' barbecue was blowing across the landing pad.

The incident took place as the patient was being taken to Lorn and Islands Hospital, Oban, at 21:00 on Thursday.

NHS Highland said the helicopter was diverted to Oban airport seven miles away and the patient was driven back.

The health board also confirmed that a patient waiting to be picked up had to be taken to the airport.

A spokesman for NHS Highland said: "An air ambulance helicopter on a routine non-emergency medical transfer from Mull was unable to land at Lorn and Islands Hospital due to a potential hazard near the helipad.

"The helicopter flew to nearby Oban Airport where it was already scheduled to take a planned re-fuelling.

"This patient was transferred the short distance to the hospital by road ambulance."

'Potential hazards'

The spokesman said a small number of off-duty junior doctors had been having a barbecue outside their accommodation.

"Their accommodation is about 50 yards from the landing pad. Clearly staff were not aware that this would cause a problem," he said.

"Local managers have spoken to staff to make sure this doesn't happen again.

"More generally we will clarify with Scottish Ambulance about what they consider to be potential hazards.

"Any necessary steps will be taken to make sure this does not happen in the future. While this is very unfortunate, it is not a disciplinary matter."

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What next for China's Alibaba?

9 May 2013 Last updated at 21:19 GMT By Celia Hatton BBC Beijing correspondent Alibaba was one of the earliest entrants into the Chinese online sector and has benefited hugely from its growth For many in China, life just wouldn't be the same without Taobao, the country's largest online shopping platform.

"I spend four to five hours on Taobao every day," says Pan Li, a mother who lives in Beijing. "It's cheap and I can find things there that I can't find anywhere else."

Meanwhile, 1,200km (750 miles) further south, a salesman in the eastern city of Suzhou relies on a different website, Alibaba.com, to reach international buyers for his company's line of nuts and bolts.

"The first year we started using Alibaba, our sales multiplied two or three times," says Zhang Juyin, from the Suzhou Labour Protection Appliance Company. "Without Alibaba, we would need more staff to achieve the same turnover."

Both Taobao and Alibaba are owned by China's e-commerce giant, Alibaba Group, a private company based in the eastern city of Hangzhou.

By connecting Chinese sellers with online buyers, Alibaba's founder and chief executive, Jack Ma, helped elevate China to become the world's factory, says Li Wei, a professor of economics at the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business in Beijing.

"His platform is a win-win for everyone involved," Mr Li says. "When Alibaba is successful, behind Alibaba are millions of people, tens of millions of people who are successful, and millions of businesses. There's a huge networking effect."

With annual revenues of $1.1bn (£707m), many investors are already salivating at the prospect of Alibaba's highly anticipated share sale, which could be as early as this year.

Young leader Mr Ma has overseen the success of Alibaba but now wants to hand over the day-to-day operations to a younger generation of leaders

But some are worried about the company's future after Jack Ma retires as chief executive this week.

Mr Ma made a surprise announcement in January that he would move into a role as Alibaba's executive chairman, arguing the internet company would benefit from being run by a younger person. Mr Ma is 48.

His successors inherit a busy agenda. Alibaba recently invested $586m in Sina Weibo, the biggest of China's Twitter-like micro-blogging platforms.

It's believed that Alibaba's e-commerce businesses will attempt to capitalise on Weibo's social-networking power, though some doubt the plan will work.

Continue reading the main story

I believe that doing what makes oneself happy, staying within one's own limits and being a good partner to one's more capable colleagues, is the right thing for me to do”

End Quote Jack Ma Alibaba One may want to share shopping tips with Facebook friends, but anonymous Weibo followers would not have quite the same appeal.

Alibaba is also branching into mobile software. In 2011, the company unveiled Aliyun, a mobile platform that could rival Google Android in China.

Earlier this year, Aliyun Search made its debut. It's a consumer search platform that might eventually compete with Baidu, China's largest internet search engine, if it successfully uses consumer data culled from Taobao.

Even without these new products, Alibaba Group is busy guarding its territory within China, the world's largest e-commerce sector, as Mr Li explains.

"The competition is going to be very intense, but like in the United States, there is definitely a networking effect," he says. "If you become a dominant player, more people will find it easier to do business with you."

Steady course

So, what's next for Jack Ma?

"I believe that doing what makes oneself happy, staying within one's own limits and being a good partner to one's more capable colleagues is the right thing for me to do," Mr Ma wrote in an open letter to his employees.

Alibaba insists that Mr Ma's role will not change much, even after he moves into his new job as executive chairman of Alibaba, focusing on the company's long-term strategy. He has always functioned as Alibaba's visionary founder and will continue to work in that role.

That's good news for Pan Li, the mother who buys everything online.

"If Taobao ever closed, it would have a dramatic effect on me," she says. "I would explode!"

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Fifty Shades boosts UK book sales

1 May 2013 Last updated at 07:55 GMT The Fifty Shades trilogy took the top three spots in the 2012 best-sellers chart British publishers have reported record sales for 2012, despite the recession and the rise of e-readers.

Total spending on printed and digital books rose 4% to £3.3bn last year, the Publishers Association said.

Digital spending rose by 66% to £411m. But it does not appear to have led to a marked decline for print, with physical book sales down by just 1% at £2.9bn.

EL James's Fifty Shades trilogy were the best-selling titles in 2012, with combined sales of 10.5 million.

The series took the top three spots in the 2012 best-sellers chart, according to figures released by sales tracker Nielsen at the end of the year.

The rise of such e-readers as Amazon's Kindle has sparked a surge in digital sales in recent years. But fears they would kill off physical books have so far proved exaggerated.

Publishers Association chief executive Richard Mollet said the figures proved that publishers had reacted quickly to the changes in the industry and the move towards e-readers.

He said British publishing was "a healthy industry which continues to grow".

Premium books

"What publishers were very quick to do [was] to make works available," he told the BBC.

BBC News joined the Camden Girls Book Group to get their take on Fifty Shades of Grey

"That's the key to succeeding in the digital world - having them capable of being read on any device on any platform.

"That's what readers said they wanted and that's what publishers have been able to provide. It's now the case that a quarter of all fiction is read on e-readers."

Mollet said the Publishers Association was working closely with high street booksellers and would soon launch a scheme to help them overcome challenges in the physical books market.

"At the moment we are concerned that independent book shops are finding it tough. Everybody wants there to be a range of ways of getting books, online and on the high street."

Philip Jones, editor of industry magazine The Bookseller, said shops such as Waterstones were seeing a "rebound" in sales of physical books, thanks to children's and non-fiction areas and the "growing" market of books such as Fifty Shades of Grey.

The 'death' of the physical book was a long way off, he continued, pointing out that physical book sales still made up around 80% of the overall market.

"Digital is overtaking it in some areas but not all areas, so I think the physical book is going to be with us for a long time," he told the BBC.

"The premium physical book, the £20 hardback... attracts a certain type of person who wants to keep that book on their shelves."

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New Xbox readies for video games war

20 May 2013 Last updated at 23:28 GMT By Leo Kelion Technology reporter Microsoft promised to unveil its vision "for the future of entertainment" at the event Microsoft is the last of the big three console makers to reveal details of its next-generation games console, but the wait has arguably only added to anticipation for the Xbox expose.

The US firm has kept its cards close to its chest ahead of the big unveil, refusing to disclose the machine's name or address rampant rumours: Will it really need an always-on internet connection? Can it possibly block second-hand games? Will it be offered at a rock bottom price if users commit to bolt-on subscription services?

Of course, Microsoft is unlikely to give away all its hardware secrets. Sony notably refused to even show off the shape of the PlayStation 4 at its event in February. Both firms want to keep something back for the E3 games convention next month.

There's more at stake than just dominating the games market though. Whoever comes out on top can lay claim to the living room TV at a time when consumers are boosting their spend on services streamed to it.

Platform exclusives, such as the Halo series, have helped support Xbox sales in the past

Microsoft will want to beat the performance of its Xbox 360 which was first to market but lowest on the global sales leaderboard.

About 76 million Xbox 360s had been shipped by the end of March, according to research firm IDC. By contrast Nintendo's Wii had shipped 99.4 million units and the PS3 78 million.

However, the figures mask regional variations. Sony outsold Microsoft in Japan and continental Europe, but the Xbox proved more popular in the US and UK. It is also worth bearing in mind that demand for the Xbox 360 massively outstripped that for the original Xbox, so Microsoft can claim to have the most momentum.

Certainly, this time round Nintendo has got off to a shaky start. Its Wii U missed the firm's sales targets - something the Japanese firm blamed on software delays. A reminder that hardware specs alone are unlikely to win the console war.

"The games catalogue will be first and foremost the most important thing to get right this generation," said IDC's Lewis Ward.

Ahead of Microsoft's event, the BBC asked five industry experts to detail their hopes and fears for the third Xbox.

Peter Molyneux, 22cans 2013 is proving to be the year of the console hardware refresh. Although it's exciting, it's not nearly as exciting as when the Xbox 360 exploded onto the gaming scene just over seven years ago.

Back then, the 360 represented a huge leap forward in gaming, with a tangible increase in performance and fantastic multiplayer support. Gamers and game-makers were justifiably super-excited.

Now it is that time again, but the world has changed.

Tablet, mobile PC and smartphone makers are refreshing their hardware on what feels like almost a weekly basis. And on the horizon looms Valve with its PC-based Steam Box.

Thereby hangs the problem for Microsoft: how to justify its new console, how to get us all excited.

Its competition is no longer Sony and Nintendo, but rather Apple, Google and Samsung.

Continue reading the main story Creator of Populous, Black & White, Dungeon Keeper, Fable and CuriosityCreative director for Microsoft Game Studios between 2009 and 2012, before leaving to found UK-based studio 22cansRightfully, Microsoft can claim it won the last console generation. However, it has always targeted the living room as the big prize.

That's why it packed the 360 with an array of "living room" features to try to persuade us that the machine could be a mix of set-top box, internet music streamer and Facebook browser.

When I used to work at Microsoft the key phrase that I used to hear bandied around was the next Xbox should be "input one" on people's living room screen.

Nowadays I'm an independent designer and I just want the next Xbox to be a great gaming machine.

It should have great connectivity, so I can play spectacular games with my friends and be sold at a reasonable price, perhaps around $300 (£200).

That should be Microsoft's goal rather than persisting in trying to make it a box for everyone.

James McQuivey, Forrester Research Get ready, Xbox fans, for the end of gaming.

Not that people are going to stop gaming, quite the opposite. More people will play more games for more minutes on more devices than ever before.

But the only way that will happen is if games follow their media brethren - music, news, and video - by becoming mere features of a bigger, more encompassing experience.

That means the "Nextbox" that Microsoft announces will make a very decided play for more attention from its users by ultimately promising them much more than gaming.

Microsoft already admits that for its Xbox Live Gold members the majority of the time spent on the console is not spent on gaming but on video.

Next, to really win in the living room, the firm must expand into every type of content possible, from any content partner available.

It may even be time to retire the "game console" moniker as whatever Microsoft announces next should downplay the game as well as the console, using the box as a way to engage viewers in any content experience, paired with any other device the user happens to have, from iOS phone to Android tablet.

The opportunity is there, as long as Microsoft is ready to confidently look beyond the hardcore gamers Sony seems stuck on, tossing them enough bones to keep them munching away happily at whatever comes next in the world of Halo, while boldly calling to residents of the living room who wouldn't ever think of themselves as owners of a "game" console.

Rob Crossley, Computer and Video Games magazine Microsoft still believes in the potential of motion control - even if the concept has never really proved popular with the hardcore gamers most likely to be early adopters of its new console.

Its first attempt was Kinect - a relatively advanced 3D camera that could detect people standing in front of the TV and determine what they were doing. This led to popular games such as Dance Central, in which Kinect would judge the player's dancing ability - or lack thereof - by recording their moves.

The problem for most Kinect games was that the camera sometimes didn't pick up all the details, and was fairly unreliable, which limited the variety of games that could be created for it.

Industry whispers suggest that Kinect on the next generation Xbox is so sophisticated that it can even detect where the player is looking. Whether that's true or not, it's likely that the tech will have undergone a noticeable upgrade, which will allow developers to be more creative with the camera technology.

But there's something else up Microsoft's sleeve.

Continue reading the main story Associate editor at CVG, the world's longest running games publicationThe first game he ever played was Alex Kidd in Miracle World on the Sega Master System - he never completed itThe company recently showcased a mystifying new device called Illumiroom, which combines a Kinect with a projector that sits on a coffee table and throws a huge image across the wall that the TV is standing against.

This means that the player will be able to watch high definition game-play on the television, as well as related footage in their peripheral vision.

So, on a game like Call of Duty, the colours surrounding the TV will turn a marshy green when the player is crawling through the grass. Or, if the player is driving a Lamborghini at 140mph through Tokyo at night, the blur lines could spread out from the TV and into the wall.

Illumiroom is still in its infancy, but if it makes it to market the next Xbox could bring about a revolution in the way that we watch games, and the way they watch us.

Barry Meade, Fireproof Studios The founders of Fireproof first met at Criterion Games in 2004 where we spent five years working on the Burnout racing games for the PS3 and Xbox 360.

We left to start our own company just before the economic crash of 2008 and hoped to make our own PS3/360 game funded by our contract work. Realistically though it was way beyond our means.

Console games are superior experiences to mobile games but the huge costs involved make it a very tough place for teams our size to do business.

Fast forward to 2012 and we set our sights smaller. We made a 3D puzzle game for iOS & Android called The Room, which went on to become a number one bestseller in 65 countries, Apple's Game Of The Year 2012 and Bafta's pick as 2013's best British Game.

So we had to wonder - sitting in Guildford, a tiny team like us are gadflies to the UK console industry.

Continue reading the main story Commercial director and co-founder of Fireproof StudiosPreviously worked on titles for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Commodore Amiga, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PCThe total money we spent making The Room would barely cover a team's set-up costs to develop for Sony and Microsoft platforms.

The reality is that it is far, far easier to make games on mobile, even if it is arguably more competitive than the console space.

Frankly, many game developers are rightly wondering why on earth they would go back to Sony and Microsoft platforms to embrace once again a plodding pace of change, interminable bureaucracy, exorbitant fees and, let's be honest, frequent head-in-the-sand arrogance from the giants of gaming hardware.

Sony and Microsoft have to become a lot more developer-friendly - otherwise devs like us will never go back.

Mary Hamilton, Guardian Australia/Serious Business The debut of the new Xbox console isn't just an opportunity for new games, better graphics and new engines. It's also an opportunity for new approaches to the culture of online gaming.

Microsoft recently revealed that 38% of Xbox users are women, and Entertainment Software Association figures indicate that women aged 18 and over are one of the fastest growing demographics for games.

But Xbox Online still has a horrendous reputation for abusive behaviour towards anyone female on voice chat, and Microsoft's own standards for online behaviour are rarely and inefficiently enforced.

The new Xbox is an opportunity to change that. A less tolerant approach towards reports of abuse, coupled with privacy and mute settings that would let people avoid much of the worst abuse if they wished, could help set a high standard of behaviour and help women feel more comfortable in the online community.

Microsoft should also continue to diversify its games if it wants to attract a committed female crowd.

Both men and women have broader tastes than shooters and sports simulations. Creative games as well as games with strong and diverse characters will help to keep a maturing gaming community with Microsoft.

Continue reading the main story Audience development editor at the Guardian Australia newspaper and a partner in Serious Business, a firm which runs live games eventsHelped create Zombie Larp - a physical action game which aims to recreate a zombie apocalypseXbox Live Arcade's indie games already do a great deal to round out the big budget "AAA" fare available on Xbox - it will be crucial for Microsoft to keep working with that community of developers to bring diverse and unusual perspectives to their system.

Women don't need pink games in order to flock to the Xbox - that's clear from the existing demographics.

Instead, Microsoft should be encouraging diverse and interesting games, and creating an online environment that welcomes rather than pushes women away.

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A cancer cure or hope for sale?

2 June 2013 Last updated at 23:03 GMT By Richard Bilton BBC Panorama "Can you imagine that the US government... would allow me to be here if I just sell hope?"

Hundreds of thousands of pounds have been raised to send British patients to a doctor in America who claims he can "cure cancer". But Dr Stanislaw Burzynski's treatment has been dismissed by practitioners of mainstream medicine.

It looked like something out of Willy Wonka's factory. A room full of pipes and noise; a production process that flowed through steel tubes, steaming boilers and glass tanks of bubbling liquid.

But there was one striking difference from a chocolate factory - the whole room smelled of urine.

This is an industrial facility in Texas which produces the drug at the heart of Dr Stanislaw Burzynski's treatment.

He thinks the cure to cancer can be found inside our bodies, substances in blood and urine that switch off cancer cells.

Dr Burzynski calls them antineoplastons. He used to extract them from human urine, but he now uses chemicals. Up to 300 litres of the drug, which has never been licensed, are produced in this factory every day.

Legal loophole

Dr Burzynski exploits a legal loophole: the patients treated with antineoplastons do so as part of a clinical trial, so the drug does not need a licence. These trials have been taking place for 20 years.

Lucy Petagine and daughter Luna

I first became interested in Dr Burzynski because desperate British families were turning to him for help.

Mothers like Lucy Petagine, who went to his clinic in Houston after her daughter Luna was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumour.

"The NHS had told me my daughter is going to die. This man is telling me that he thinks he can cure her," she said.

The families have to raise tens of thousands of pounds for treatment and travel. In recent years celebrities like Peter Kay, Cheryl Cole and Rufus Hound have all helped to raise cash in good faith to help send people to Dr Burzynski. But the more I looked, the more complicated the picture became.

Despite years of research, Dr Burzynski has never published full results. If he has discovered a breakthrough, he is not sharing it with the rest of the world.

Divided doctors

Prof Richard Grundy treats children with cancer, and runs one of the UK's biggest research projects into brain tumours.

He says it is "unethical" for Dr Burzynski not to share his findings: "I understand that that draw is very attractive. Unfortunately the results from Dr Burzynski's clinic are not published in any form that's acceptable to the scientific community."

Dr Jeanine Graf runs the intensive care unit of the Texas Children's Hospital. She sometimes treats patients from the Burzynski Clinic who have become critically ill, but she has never known any of them survive.

She believes they end up in intensive care because of a combination of their cancer getting worse and the side effects of the Burzynski treatment.

"He must believe in what he's doing, but I have not been convinced by the existing scientific literature that his therapy has any efficacy. I would not seek out care from him for any of my loved ones nor would I recommend it to any of my patients," she said.

From the start I had wanted to meet Dr Burzynski. He rarely gives interviews nowadays and he refused our original requests, but while I was in Houston I was told he would meet me.

His clinic is a mirror-fronted office block in one of Houston's better areas. I was shown into the boardroom and, after 20 minutes waiting, the doctor was ready to see me.

Asked whether antineoplastons can cure cancer, Dr Burzynski said: "Oh definitely they can do it. But not everybody, because this is a very complex disease."

Next some basic facts - how many patients has he treated with antineoplastons, and how many have survived?

He said the medical authorities in the US would not let him release this information: "Clinical trials, phase two clinical trials, were completed just a few months ago. I cannot release this information to you at this moment."

But the FDA told us this was not true and he was allowed to share the results of his trials.

Dr Burzynski insists he is not merely selling hope: "There are many foolish people and I tell you I'm dealing with scientists, we have concrete evidence, can you imagine that the US government dealing with us for so many years, they would allow me to be here if I just sell hope OK without any hard evidence?"

Dr Burzynski left the interview angry, apparently affronted that his great discovery was questioned. It is a discovery that his supporters truly believe in. They see him as a maverick, an outsider fighting the traditional medical establishment.

The American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Texas Medical Board have been battling Dr Burzynski for decades.

The Burzynski clinic says it doesn't claim it can cure all cancers and that no patients are promised a cure.

They say 776 patients with brain tumours were treated in trials before 2008. And that 15.5% had survived more than five years, which compares favourably to other treatments.

Dr Burzynski's treatment did not work for Ms Petagine's daughter, Luna. She died last August. But her mother does not regret going. "I think it gave us another year," she said.

"If I hadn't have gone I would be sat here without my daughter saying, 'God if only I'd tried it' and you can't put a price on hope."

It is easy to understand a mother doing all she can for her dying daughter.

But it is harder to understand how Dr Burzynski has been able to sell his experimental treatment to the vulnerable for so many years.

Panorama, Cancer: Hope for Sale?, BBC One, Monday 3 June at 20:30 BST and then available in the UK on the BBC iPlayer.

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What next for China's Alibaba?

9 May 2013 Last updated at 21:19 GMT By Celia Hatton BBC Beijing correspondent Alibaba was one of the earliest entrants into the Chinese online sector and has benefited hugely from its growth For many in China, life just wouldn't be the same without Taobao, the country's largest online shopping platform.

"I spend four to five hours on Taobao every day," says Pan Li, a mother who lives in Beijing. "It's cheap and I can find things there that I can't find anywhere else."

Meanwhile, 1,200km (750 miles) further south, a salesman in the eastern city of Suzhou relies on a different website, Alibaba.com, to reach international buyers for his company's line of nuts and bolts.

"The first year we started using Alibaba, our sales multiplied two or three times," says Zhang Juyin, from the Suzhou Labour Protection Appliance Company. "Without Alibaba, we would need more staff to achieve the same turnover."

Both Taobao and Alibaba are owned by China's e-commerce giant, Alibaba Group, a private company based in the eastern city of Hangzhou.

By connecting Chinese sellers with online buyers, Alibaba's founder and chief executive, Jack Ma, helped elevate China to become the world's factory, says Li Wei, a professor of economics at the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business in Beijing.

"His platform is a win-win for everyone involved," Mr Li says. "When Alibaba is successful, behind Alibaba are millions of people, tens of millions of people who are successful, and millions of businesses. There's a huge networking effect."

With annual revenues of $1.1bn (£707m), many investors are already salivating at the prospect of Alibaba's highly anticipated share sale, which could be as early as this year.

Young leader Mr Ma has overseen the success of Alibaba but now wants to hand over the day-to-day operations to a younger generation of leaders

But some are worried about the company's future after Jack Ma retires as chief executive this week.

Mr Ma made a surprise announcement in January that he would move into a role as Alibaba's executive chairman, arguing the internet company would benefit from being run by a younger person. Mr Ma is 48.

His successors inherit a busy agenda. Alibaba recently invested $586m in Sina Weibo, the biggest of China's Twitter-like micro-blogging platforms.

It's believed that Alibaba's e-commerce businesses will attempt to capitalise on Weibo's social-networking power, though some doubt the plan will work.

Continue reading the main story

I believe that doing what makes oneself happy, staying within one's own limits and being a good partner to one's more capable colleagues, is the right thing for me to do”

End Quote Jack Ma Alibaba One may want to share shopping tips with Facebook friends, but anonymous Weibo followers would not have quite the same appeal.

Alibaba is also branching into mobile software. In 2011, the company unveiled Aliyun, a mobile platform that could rival Google Android in China.

Earlier this year, Aliyun Search made its debut. It's a consumer search platform that might eventually compete with Baidu, China's largest internet search engine, if it successfully uses consumer data culled from Taobao.

Even without these new products, Alibaba Group is busy guarding its territory within China, the world's largest e-commerce sector, as Mr Li explains.

"The competition is going to be very intense, but like in the United States, there is definitely a networking effect," he says. "If you become a dominant player, more people will find it easier to do business with you."

Steady course

So, what's next for Jack Ma?

"I believe that doing what makes oneself happy, staying within one's own limits and being a good partner to one's more capable colleagues is the right thing for me to do," Mr Ma wrote in an open letter to his employees.

Alibaba insists that Mr Ma's role will not change much, even after he moves into his new job as executive chairman of Alibaba, focusing on the company's long-term strategy. He has always functioned as Alibaba's visionary founder and will continue to work in that role.

That's good news for Pan Li, the mother who buys everything online.

"If Taobao ever closed, it would have a dramatic effect on me," she says. "I would explode!"

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STI diagnoses at 450,000 in England

5 June 2013 Last updated at 00:01 GMT Experts advise using a condom when having sex with a new partner Diagnoses of sexually transmitted infections rose to almost half a million in England last year, with the highest rates in those aged under 25.

According to Public Health England, there were 448,422 diagnoses in 2012 - a rise of 5% from 2011.

The data shows too many people are putting themselves at risk through unsafe sex, it says.

People aged under 25 made up 64% of all chlamydia and 54% of genital warts diagnoses in heterosexuals in 2012.

New diagnoses of gonorrhoea rose 21%, which is a concern given the growing global threat of antibiotic resistance.

Continue reading the main story Always using a condom when having sex with new partnersReducing the number of sexual partners and avoiding overlapping sexual relationshipsGetting tested regularly if in one of the highest risk groupsSexually active under-25-year-olds should be screened for chlamydia every year, and on change of sexual partnerMen having unprotected sex with new male partners should have an HIV/STI screen at least annually, and every three months if changing partners regularly

Source: Public Health England

More sexually transmitted infections (STIs) were being diagnosed and treated than ever before, with improvements in screening particularly for gonorrhoea and chlamydia among young adults and men who have sex with men, said Public Health England.

"However, these data show too many people are continuing to have unsafe sex, putting themselves at risk of STIs and the serious consequences associated with infection, including infertility," said Dr Gwenda Hughes, head of STI surveillance.

"Ongoing investment in programmes to increase sexual health awareness, condom use and testing, particularly for groups at most risk, is vital."

Increases in STI diagnoses were seen in men who have sex with men, including a 37% increase in gonorrhoea diagnoses.

'Testing required'

Although partly due to increased testing in this section of the population, ongoing high levels of unsafe sexual behaviour probably contributed to this rise, said Public Health England.

Continue reading the main story Some infections, such as chlamydia and HIV, don't cause symptoms straight away so can often be passed on unwittinglyLeft untreated, STIs can cause serious complications such as infertility and impotence and some may even prove fatalAmong the advice it offers to help reduce the risk of STis is always using a condom when having sex with new partners, reducing the number of sexual partners and avoiding overlapping sexual relationships, an getting tested regularly if in one of the highest risk groups.

Lisa Power, policy director at the Terrence Higgins Trust, said: "Britain's sexual health is on a slippery slope and without sustained local investment across the whole country it can only get worse.

"With nearly half a million new STI diagnoses last year, it is vital that local authorities invest in ensuring that STI prevention and testing services are readily available at a local level."

Dr Janet Wilson, president of the British Association of Sexual Health and HIV, said the ongoing rise in diagnoses among men who have sex with men and high levels of gonorrhoea transmission were of particular concern, especially as data pointed to the emergence of antibiotic resistant strains of gonorrhoea.

"It is therefore critical that easy and open access to specialist sexual health services are sustained in all parts of the country, as well as improved prevention work," she said.

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The 1953 technology used to climb Everest

8 May 2013 Last updated at 00:06 GMT High altitude boots, rubber walkie talkies and experimental oxygen tanks helped Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay conquer the world's highest mountain 60 years ago. The 1953 Everest expedition used the latest technology available at the time.

The Royal Geographical Society, which helped organise the trip, is celebrating with two exhibitions. Everest 1953 showcases some of the awe-inspiring photographs taken during the ascent - while Innovation Everest examines the cutting edge products that were taken to the Himalayas.

Take a look with head of collections at the RGS - Alasdair MacLeod.

Continue reading the main story

Doctors' BBQ diverts air ambulance

5 June 2013 Last updated at 11:43 GMT A helicopter carrying a patient to hospital in Argyll had to be diverted because smoke from a doctors' barbecue was blowing across the landing pad.

The incident took place as the patient was being taken to Lorn and Islands Hospital, Oban, at 21:00 on Thursday.

NHS Highland said the helicopter was diverted to Oban airport seven miles away and the patient was driven back.

The health board also confirmed that a patient waiting to be picked up had to be taken to the airport.

A spokesman for NHS Highland said: "An air ambulance helicopter on a routine non-emergency medical transfer from Mull was unable to land at Lorn and Islands Hospital due to a potential hazard near the helipad.

"The helicopter flew to nearby Oban Airport where it was already scheduled to take a planned re-fuelling.

"This patient was transferred the short distance to the hospital by road ambulance."

'Potential hazards'

The spokesman said a small number of off-duty junior doctors had been having a barbecue outside their accommodation.

"Their accommodation is about 50 yards from the landing pad. Clearly staff were not aware that this would cause a problem," he said.

"Local managers have spoken to staff to make sure this doesn't happen again.

"More generally we will clarify with Scottish Ambulance about what they consider to be potential hazards.

"Any necessary steps will be taken to make sure this does not happen in the future. While this is very unfortunate, it is not a disciplinary matter."

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A cancer cure or hope for sale?

2 June 2013 Last updated at 23:03 GMT By Richard Bilton BBC Panorama "Can you imagine that the US government... would allow me to be here if I just sell hope?"

Hundreds of thousands of pounds have been raised to send British patients to a doctor in America who claims he can "cure cancer". But Dr Stanislaw Burzynski's treatment has been dismissed by practitioners of mainstream medicine.

It looked like something out of Willy Wonka's factory. A room full of pipes and noise; a production process that flowed through steel tubes, steaming boilers and glass tanks of bubbling liquid.

But there was one striking difference from a chocolate factory - the whole room smelled of urine.

This is an industrial facility in Texas which produces the drug at the heart of Dr Stanislaw Burzynski's treatment.

He thinks the cure to cancer can be found inside our bodies, substances in blood and urine that switch off cancer cells.

Dr Burzynski calls them antineoplastons. He used to extract them from human urine, but he now uses chemicals. Up to 300 litres of the drug, which has never been licensed, are produced in this factory every day.

Legal loophole

Dr Burzynski exploits a legal loophole: the patients treated with antineoplastons do so as part of a clinical trial, so the drug does not need a licence. These trials have been taking place for 20 years.

Lucy Petagine and daughter Luna

I first became interested in Dr Burzynski because desperate British families were turning to him for help.

Mothers like Lucy Petagine, who went to his clinic in Houston after her daughter Luna was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumour.

"The NHS had told me my daughter is going to die. This man is telling me that he thinks he can cure her," she said.

The families have to raise tens of thousands of pounds for treatment and travel. In recent years celebrities like Peter Kay, Cheryl Cole and Rufus Hound have all helped to raise cash in good faith to help send people to Dr Burzynski. But the more I looked, the more complicated the picture became.

Despite years of research, Dr Burzynski has never published full results. If he has discovered a breakthrough, he is not sharing it with the rest of the world.

Divided doctors

Prof Richard Grundy treats children with cancer, and runs one of the UK's biggest research projects into brain tumours.

He says it is "unethical" for Dr Burzynski not to share his findings: "I understand that that draw is very attractive. Unfortunately the results from Dr Burzynski's clinic are not published in any form that's acceptable to the scientific community."

Dr Jeanine Graf runs the intensive care unit of the Texas Children's Hospital. She sometimes treats patients from the Burzynski Clinic who have become critically ill, but she has never known any of them survive.

She believes they end up in intensive care because of a combination of their cancer getting worse and the side effects of the Burzynski treatment.

"He must believe in what he's doing, but I have not been convinced by the existing scientific literature that his therapy has any efficacy. I would not seek out care from him for any of my loved ones nor would I recommend it to any of my patients," she said.

From the start I had wanted to meet Dr Burzynski. He rarely gives interviews nowadays and he refused our original requests, but while I was in Houston I was told he would meet me.

His clinic is a mirror-fronted office block in one of Houston's better areas. I was shown into the boardroom and, after 20 minutes waiting, the doctor was ready to see me.

Asked whether antineoplastons can cure cancer, Dr Burzynski said: "Oh definitely they can do it. But not everybody, because this is a very complex disease."

Next some basic facts - how many patients has he treated with antineoplastons, and how many have survived?

He said the medical authorities in the US would not let him release this information: "Clinical trials, phase two clinical trials, were completed just a few months ago. I cannot release this information to you at this moment."

But the FDA told us this was not true and he was allowed to share the results of his trials.

Dr Burzynski insists he is not merely selling hope: "There are many foolish people and I tell you I'm dealing with scientists, we have concrete evidence, can you imagine that the US government dealing with us for so many years, they would allow me to be here if I just sell hope OK without any hard evidence?"

Dr Burzynski left the interview angry, apparently affronted that his great discovery was questioned. It is a discovery that his supporters truly believe in. They see him as a maverick, an outsider fighting the traditional medical establishment.

The American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Texas Medical Board have been battling Dr Burzynski for decades.

The Burzynski clinic says it doesn't claim it can cure all cancers and that no patients are promised a cure.

They say 776 patients with brain tumours were treated in trials before 2008. And that 15.5% had survived more than five years, which compares favourably to other treatments.

Dr Burzynski's treatment did not work for Ms Petagine's daughter, Luna. She died last August. But her mother does not regret going. "I think it gave us another year," she said.

"If I hadn't have gone I would be sat here without my daughter saying, 'God if only I'd tried it' and you can't put a price on hope."

It is easy to understand a mother doing all she can for her dying daughter.

But it is harder to understand how Dr Burzynski has been able to sell his experimental treatment to the vulnerable for so many years.

Panorama, Cancer: Hope for Sale?, BBC One, Monday 3 June at 20:30 BST and then available in the UK on the BBC iPlayer.

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In pictures: Northumberland night skies

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Smart meter project is delayed

10 May 2013 Last updated at 12:33 GMT Smart meters show customers exactly how much gas and electricity is being used The introduction of energy smart meters in 30 million UK homes will be delayed for more than a year, the government has announced.

The £11.7bn project will start in the autumn of 2015, rather than the summer of next year, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) said.

It said that the industry needed more time to design, build and test the communications system required.

The devices show exactly how much gas and electricity is being used.

This should bring an end to estimated bills, because the technology could send back an accurate meter reading to an energy company every day.

According to the industry, the technological advance would be the equivalent of using wireless broadband instead of sending a telegram.

Preparation

The project is considered vital in attempts to cut energy use by households as the UK faces having to import more energy in the future.

The smart meter rollout has been criticised in the past, but the then energy minister, Charles Hendry, said last January: "The last thing we need is more dither and delay."

Continue reading the main story

With energy prices one of the top financial concerns for consumers, the government must also make sure the £11bn cost does not spiral out of control”

End Quote Richard Lloyd Executive director, Which? Now, the programme to install these meters into every UK home is expected to be finished by 2020, also a year later than planned.

Ann Robinson, of price comparison website Uswitch.com, said she was disappointed because smart meters would have "huge benefits", but added that it was "more important to get it right so that it works for consumers".

Angela Knight, chief executive of Energy UK, which represents the major energy companies, said: "We welcome the government's prudent decision to allow an additional 12 months to complete the smart meter programme. This recognises the scale of the programme and the need to prepare carefully."

She said the installation of meters was a complex task and the delay allowed this to take place "in a more efficient and cost-effective manner, and to greater effect".

Energy Secretary Ed Davey said: "Completing the national rollout will be an enormous logistical and technical challenge for the industry. Getting this right for consumers is the government's priority."

Adam Scorer, of watchdog Consumer Futures, said: "Delaying the date for the smart meter roll-out is a sensible move. The programme is not ready. It will cost consumers around £11bn and unless it goes through a hard and rigorous test it could just mean more costs and fewer benefits for consumers."

Richard Lloyd, executive director of Which?, said: "The government is right to take its time to ensure the installation of smart meters in every home is a success but it should use this delay to trial regional roll-outs, similar to the digital TV switchover.

"With energy prices one of the top financial concerns for consumers, the government must also make sure the £11bn cost does not spiral out of control."

Last year, MPs on the Commons Public Accounts Committee said it was "far from certain" consumers would benefit from smart meter savings and urged ministers to oversee the rollout more closely.

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Farne Islands 'puffin census' starts

17 May 2013 Last updated at 03:21 GMT A team of rangers will check thousands of puffin burrows on eight islands

A puffin "census" has started on the Farne Islands in Northumberland.

National Trust rangers will carry out a survey of how many breeding pairs of the birds live on the habitat over the next three months.

The count takes place every five years. The last survey indicated numbers had fallen by a third.

Head ranger David Steel is hopeful of an increase this year but admitted cold weather could have had a negative impact on numbers.

"The extreme winds affected the their ability to feed as they made their way back to their summer breeding grounds," he said.

The 2008 survey recorded 36,835 pairs of puffins compared to the 55,674 pairs living on the islands in the 2003 census.

A team of 11 rangers will check thousands of burrows on the eight islands in search of nesting birds.

As well as the puffins, the islands host thousands of grey seals along with many other types of bird, including Arctic Terns, Guillemots and Razorbills.

Dozens of seabirds, including puffins, were washed up along the County Durham coast in March, with experts blaming weather conditions and a shortage of food.

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In pictures: Brazil protest banners

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VIDEO: Surgeons develop app to practise surgery

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VIDEO: Projecting an immersive experience

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VIDEO: Pregnancy research: A GP's advice

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New Xbox readies for video games war

20 May 2013 Last updated at 23:28 GMT By Leo Kelion Technology reporter Microsoft promised to unveil its vision "for the future of entertainment" at the event Microsoft is the last of the big three console makers to reveal details of its next-generation games console, but the wait has arguably only added to anticipation for the Xbox expose.

The US firm has kept its cards close to its chest ahead of the big unveil, refusing to disclose the machine's name or address rampant rumours: Will it really need an always-on internet connection? Can it possibly block second-hand games? Will it be offered at a rock bottom price if users commit to bolt-on subscription services?

Of course, Microsoft is unlikely to give away all its hardware secrets. Sony notably refused to even show off the shape of the PlayStation 4 at its event in February. Both firms want to keep something back for the E3 games convention next month.

There's more at stake than just dominating the games market though. Whoever comes out on top can lay claim to the living room TV at a time when consumers are boosting their spend on services streamed to it.

Platform exclusives, such as the Halo series, have helped support Xbox sales in the past

Microsoft will want to beat the performance of its Xbox 360 which was first to market but lowest on the global sales leaderboard.

About 76 million Xbox 360s had been shipped by the end of March, according to research firm IDC. By contrast Nintendo's Wii had shipped 99.4 million units and the PS3 78 million.

However, the figures mask regional variations. Sony outsold Microsoft in Japan and continental Europe, but the Xbox proved more popular in the US and UK. It is also worth bearing in mind that demand for the Xbox 360 massively outstripped that for the original Xbox, so Microsoft can claim to have the most momentum.

Certainly, this time round Nintendo has got off to a shaky start. Its Wii U missed the firm's sales targets - something the Japanese firm blamed on software delays. A reminder that hardware specs alone are unlikely to win the console war.

"The games catalogue will be first and foremost the most important thing to get right this generation," said IDC's Lewis Ward.

Ahead of Microsoft's event, the BBC asked five industry experts to detail their hopes and fears for the third Xbox.

Peter Molyneux, 22cans 2013 is proving to be the year of the console hardware refresh. Although it's exciting, it's not nearly as exciting as when the Xbox 360 exploded onto the gaming scene just over seven years ago.

Back then, the 360 represented a huge leap forward in gaming, with a tangible increase in performance and fantastic multiplayer support. Gamers and game-makers were justifiably super-excited.

Now it is that time again, but the world has changed.

Tablet, mobile PC and smartphone makers are refreshing their hardware on what feels like almost a weekly basis. And on the horizon looms Valve with its PC-based Steam Box.

Thereby hangs the problem for Microsoft: how to justify its new console, how to get us all excited.

Its competition is no longer Sony and Nintendo, but rather Apple, Google and Samsung.

Continue reading the main story Creator of Populous, Black & White, Dungeon Keeper, Fable and CuriosityCreative director for Microsoft Game Studios between 2009 and 2012, before leaving to found UK-based studio 22cansRightfully, Microsoft can claim it won the last console generation. However, it has always targeted the living room as the big prize.

That's why it packed the 360 with an array of "living room" features to try to persuade us that the machine could be a mix of set-top box, internet music streamer and Facebook browser.

When I used to work at Microsoft the key phrase that I used to hear bandied around was the next Xbox should be "input one" on people's living room screen.

Nowadays I'm an independent designer and I just want the next Xbox to be a great gaming machine.

It should have great connectivity, so I can play spectacular games with my friends and be sold at a reasonable price, perhaps around $300 (£200).

That should be Microsoft's goal rather than persisting in trying to make it a box for everyone.

James McQuivey, Forrester Research Get ready, Xbox fans, for the end of gaming.

Not that people are going to stop gaming, quite the opposite. More people will play more games for more minutes on more devices than ever before.

But the only way that will happen is if games follow their media brethren - music, news, and video - by becoming mere features of a bigger, more encompassing experience.

That means the "Nextbox" that Microsoft announces will make a very decided play for more attention from its users by ultimately promising them much more than gaming.

Microsoft already admits that for its Xbox Live Gold members the majority of the time spent on the console is not spent on gaming but on video.

Next, to really win in the living room, the firm must expand into every type of content possible, from any content partner available.

It may even be time to retire the "game console" moniker as whatever Microsoft announces next should downplay the game as well as the console, using the box as a way to engage viewers in any content experience, paired with any other device the user happens to have, from iOS phone to Android tablet.

The opportunity is there, as long as Microsoft is ready to confidently look beyond the hardcore gamers Sony seems stuck on, tossing them enough bones to keep them munching away happily at whatever comes next in the world of Halo, while boldly calling to residents of the living room who wouldn't ever think of themselves as owners of a "game" console.

Rob Crossley, Computer and Video Games magazine Microsoft still believes in the potential of motion control - even if the concept has never really proved popular with the hardcore gamers most likely to be early adopters of its new console.

Its first attempt was Kinect - a relatively advanced 3D camera that could detect people standing in front of the TV and determine what they were doing. This led to popular games such as Dance Central, in which Kinect would judge the player's dancing ability - or lack thereof - by recording their moves.

The problem for most Kinect games was that the camera sometimes didn't pick up all the details, and was fairly unreliable, which limited the variety of games that could be created for it.

Industry whispers suggest that Kinect on the next generation Xbox is so sophisticated that it can even detect where the player is looking. Whether that's true or not, it's likely that the tech will have undergone a noticeable upgrade, which will allow developers to be more creative with the camera technology.

But there's something else up Microsoft's sleeve.

Continue reading the main story Associate editor at CVG, the world's longest running games publicationThe first game he ever played was Alex Kidd in Miracle World on the Sega Master System - he never completed itThe company recently showcased a mystifying new device called Illumiroom, which combines a Kinect with a projector that sits on a coffee table and throws a huge image across the wall that the TV is standing against.

This means that the player will be able to watch high definition game-play on the television, as well as related footage in their peripheral vision.

So, on a game like Call of Duty, the colours surrounding the TV will turn a marshy green when the player is crawling through the grass. Or, if the player is driving a Lamborghini at 140mph through Tokyo at night, the blur lines could spread out from the TV and into the wall.

Illumiroom is still in its infancy, but if it makes it to market the next Xbox could bring about a revolution in the way that we watch games, and the way they watch us.

Barry Meade, Fireproof Studios The founders of Fireproof first met at Criterion Games in 2004 where we spent five years working on the Burnout racing games for the PS3 and Xbox 360.

We left to start our own company just before the economic crash of 2008 and hoped to make our own PS3/360 game funded by our contract work. Realistically though it was way beyond our means.

Console games are superior experiences to mobile games but the huge costs involved make it a very tough place for teams our size to do business.

Fast forward to 2012 and we set our sights smaller. We made a 3D puzzle game for iOS & Android called The Room, which went on to become a number one bestseller in 65 countries, Apple's Game Of The Year 2012 and Bafta's pick as 2013's best British Game.

So we had to wonder - sitting in Guildford, a tiny team like us are gadflies to the UK console industry.

Continue reading the main story Commercial director and co-founder of Fireproof StudiosPreviously worked on titles for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Commodore Amiga, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PCThe total money we spent making The Room would barely cover a team's set-up costs to develop for Sony and Microsoft platforms.

The reality is that it is far, far easier to make games on mobile, even if it is arguably more competitive than the console space.

Frankly, many game developers are rightly wondering why on earth they would go back to Sony and Microsoft platforms to embrace once again a plodding pace of change, interminable bureaucracy, exorbitant fees and, let's be honest, frequent head-in-the-sand arrogance from the giants of gaming hardware.

Sony and Microsoft have to become a lot more developer-friendly - otherwise devs like us will never go back.

Mary Hamilton, Guardian Australia/Serious Business The debut of the new Xbox console isn't just an opportunity for new games, better graphics and new engines. It's also an opportunity for new approaches to the culture of online gaming.

Microsoft recently revealed that 38% of Xbox users are women, and Entertainment Software Association figures indicate that women aged 18 and over are one of the fastest growing demographics for games.

But Xbox Online still has a horrendous reputation for abusive behaviour towards anyone female on voice chat, and Microsoft's own standards for online behaviour are rarely and inefficiently enforced.

The new Xbox is an opportunity to change that. A less tolerant approach towards reports of abuse, coupled with privacy and mute settings that would let people avoid much of the worst abuse if they wished, could help set a high standard of behaviour and help women feel more comfortable in the online community.

Microsoft should also continue to diversify its games if it wants to attract a committed female crowd.

Both men and women have broader tastes than shooters and sports simulations. Creative games as well as games with strong and diverse characters will help to keep a maturing gaming community with Microsoft.

Continue reading the main story Audience development editor at the Guardian Australia newspaper and a partner in Serious Business, a firm which runs live games eventsHelped create Zombie Larp - a physical action game which aims to recreate a zombie apocalypseXbox Live Arcade's indie games already do a great deal to round out the big budget "AAA" fare available on Xbox - it will be crucial for Microsoft to keep working with that community of developers to bring diverse and unusual perspectives to their system.

Women don't need pink games in order to flock to the Xbox - that's clear from the existing demographics.

Instead, Microsoft should be encouraging diverse and interesting games, and creating an online environment that welcomes rather than pushes women away.

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Mexico arrests top 10 US fugitive

19 June 2013 Last updated at 14:52 GMT Walter Lee Williams was arrested in Playa del Carmen, Mexico Mexican officials have arrested a former US university professor who is on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list.

Walter Lee Williams, 64, is facing charges of sexual exploitation of children and travelling to the Philippines to engage in sexual activity with minors.

He was arrested in the beach resort of Playa del Carmen, on Mexico's Caribbean coast.

He taught gender studies at the University of Southern California.

Local prosecutor Armando Garcia said police had detained Walter Lee Williams in a cafe in Playa del Carmen, 70km (43 miles) south of the town of Cancun.

On Monday, Walter Lee Williams had become the 500th fugitive to be named to the FBI's 10 most wanted list.

According to the FBI, the list has been key in galvanising public support to catch many of the people it deems "the nation's worst offenders".

The Bureau says that of the 500 fugitives who have been named to the list since it was first created 63 years ago, 469 have been apprehended or located.

"This has been a tremendously successful program, but one that is dependent on the willingness of concerned citizens with information to come forward and offer us their assistance," Ron Hosko of the FBI's criminal investigative division said.

The FBI had offered a reward of up to $100,000 (£64,000) for information leading directly to the arrest of Walter Lee Williams.

The Mexican authorities did not say how they had located Walter Lee Williams or if the reward would be paid out.

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Care of the dying 'litmus test'

13 May 2013 Last updated at 08:18 GMT By Prof Mayur Lakhani Chair, Dying Matters Coalition The coalition wants more people to be able to have the death they want Every minute someone in the UK dies - and most deaths still occur in hospital.

But in this week's Scrubbing Up Prof Mayur Lakhani, chair of the Dying Matters Coalition which aims to change public attitudes towards death, dying and bereavement, says most people would prefer to die at home - and that major changes are needed to allow people the death they want.

It has been estimated that in England alone around 92,000 people do not receive the palliative care that they need when they are dying.

Many complaints about hospitals are to do with end of life care.

Meanwhile, the number of people dying each year in England and Wales is set to rise over the next 20 years.

How prepared are we as a nation to deal with this demographic time bomb? And what does the NHS in particular need to do?

'Home is best'

The NHS is not currently geared up to help people die at home.

As a practising GP, I know this only too well. Current services are inconsistent and fragmented and nowhere near strong enough in the community. Services are part time and not 24/7, which is what dying patients need.

The default is hospital admission.

But this is not what people want.

In a survey by British Social Attitudes, launched to mark Dying Matters Awareness Week, one of the strongest messages from the general public is that hospital is not the place where they want to die.

Only 7% of us say it's the place we want to end our days, while two thirds say that home is the best place to die.

And here is the profound mismatch between our wishes and our reality.

Currently only one in five of us will die in our own home while over 50% of us will die in hospital.

A new deal is therefore needed for a 24/7 community service for patients at the end of life.

Wake-up call

What are the prospects for this happening?

Several things need to change.

We need much stronger leadership and planning.

The advent of GP led commissioning (clinical commissioning groups or CCGs) is an exciting, and unique opportunity to do something very special.

The reforms have been controversial, but for the sake of the patients everyone must rally round for better quality.

Most people do not want to die in hospital - but the majority do

How we care for the dying is a litmus test for our society.

The attention paid to this area by this government should be applauded.

But it can go even further to deliver a stronger, caring and compassionate nation to deal with the predicted demographic change.

Earlier this spring, the House of Lords published a report which contained an urgent wake-up call to all of us by warning the UK is woefully unprepared for an ageing population.

The government should prioritise action by publishing draft proposals on how we should support older people in the last years of life.

As the number of people over the age of 85 is set to double over the next 20 years, the UK needs a new focus on health, wellbeing, housing, care and support for this emerging cohort.

Dignity and compassion

The case for change remains very strong and urgent, especially with the huge public concern in the light of the Francis report.

Practically, NHS England and must accelerate improvement now and transfer resources from hospitals into communities and to develop stronger strategies for services working together.

The medical professions must play their part. They need to bring back dying into people's homes by adopting a different approach to care.

They should recognise that death is inevitable and not a failure, and make sure dying people get the dignified and compassionate care they need, for example by encouraging the use of more advance care plans.

But we mustn't just leave dying just to the professionals.

We all have a role to play with our families and friends to face up to death, to be better informed and more confidently plan for the end of life.

The Dying Matters Coalition is asking everyone to consider five things: write a will, record funeral wishes, plan for future care and support, register as an organ donor and tell loved ones their wishes.

We should be optimistic.

Things are improving and the number of people dying in their preferred place of care is increasing.

More and more people are talking about dying and death. But we need to go even further.

The way we care for dying people is a measure of our values, there are no dress rehearsals and only one chance to get it right.

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Bowie Young, Cavalleri Tied in the Bahamas

Mindy Kim birdied her last hole Saturday morning to join the leaders after one strange round of the Bahamas LPGA Classic.

The tournament is being playing over 12 holes for three rounds because of severe flooding at the Ocean Club earlier in the week. Even with a short course, the first round took two days to complete because of a three-hour delay Friday with lightning in the area.

Kim finished off a bogey-free round of 6-under 39 with a birdie on the par-4 eighth, which serves as the closing hole. She joined Heather Bowie Young and Silvia Cavalleri in the lead. They finished the opening round Friday.

The plan is to complete three 12-hole rounds to reach 36 holes, the minimum to make this inaugural event official.

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Brewers Closer Henderson out With Hamstring Injury

Brewers manager Ron Roenicke says closer Jim Henderson is expected to be out "a while" with a pulled hamstring.

Henderson was injured Friday against the Pirates.

Roenicke says the right-hander was limping Saturday and is scheduled to be examined by a doctor. He says the injury might force the team to make a roster move.

Henderson was hurt while delivering a pitch in the ninth inning. He gave way to Francisco Rodriguez, who earned a save in the Brewers' 2-1 win.

Henderson has not allowed a run over 6 2-3 innings in his last seven outings. He has nine saves and a 0.92 ERA.

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Queen of England Hiring New Chef

                                                                    (Image credit: Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images)

The queen of England is looking for a new sous chef for Buckingham Palace.  In an ad posted on the Royal Household’s job site, the chef is required to have a catering certification and work 45 hours a week for $36,000 a year.

The royal salary range is low according to Indeed.com, which places the average sous chef salary in the U.S. at $47,000.

Accommodations are offered for the royal chef job but the candidate “Must be willing to spend approximately three months of the year away from London working at other UK residences. ”

How Will and Kate Are Spending Their Anniversary

“From state banquets for 200 to lunches for two; and from canapé receptions for 800 to staff restaurant meals; our chefs prepare it all to the same exceptional standards,” the ad reads.

In addition to traveling and preparing meals, the chef would also be required to train junior chefs and to be in charge when working in smaller locations.

PHOTOS: The Life and Times of Kate Middleton

The candidate must have menu planning experience, organizational skills, a “pro-active attitude” and a passion for food.Applications are due by May 10.

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Children shun fictional 'fat Alfie'

15 May 2013 Last updated at 06:44 GMT Few children in the study picked 'fat Alfie' to be their friend Young children reject story characters who are obese, a study suggests.

In experiments with more than 100 UK primary school pupils aged four to seven, investigators found the children voiced negative views about a fictional book character called 'fat Alfie'.

The children said fat Alfie was less likely to be invited to parties and was more likely to be naughty than thinner characters.

Crucially, few said they would choose him to be their friend.

Continue reading the main story

We have a real habit of equating fatness with bad and children are reflecting this back to us”

End Quote Lead researcher Prof Hill Most said they would befriend a slim Alfie, however.

Overall, they were also more positive about a wheelchair-using Alfie.

Books depicting either a fat or thin girl called Alfina as the central character elicited similarly polarised responses from a second group of 150 reception and year one schoolchildren.

Each storybook covered the same plot - three children and what happened when their cat got stuck in a tree - using colour illustrations and a simple text narrative. The books only differed in the way that the main character was drawn.

The University of Leeds team, who are presenting their work at a European Congress on Obesity in Liverpool, say the findings show that young children are aware of the huge societal interest in body size.

Lead researcher Prof Andrew Hill said: "Young kids like this are a social barometer. They are telling us that society is so conscious of body shape that even young children are able to mirror back what we say about obesity.

"We have a real habit of equating fatness with bad and children are reflecting this back to us.

"Parents and teachers should be aware of this."

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Yahoo mulls ads based on influence

13 June 2013 Last updated at 17:14 GMT By Leo Kelion Technology reporter Using social influence scores could help Yahoo offer more targeted adverts to marketers Yahoo has published a patent detailing how ad charges could be based on a viewer's "social influence".

The US firm suggests that marketers could bid against each other to target users perceived to have a high degree of authority among their peers.

It suggests a score could be based on the number of followers a user has on social networks and the number of times they are mentioned in others' posts.

One marketing expert suggested it could prove popular with the industry.

The patent for "social reputation ads" was filed with the US Patent and Trademark Office in December 2011, but has only just been published.

Authority score

Yahoo notes that marketers can currently specify where on a site their ads are placed to help target a specific type of user. The use of cookies - which monitor browsing habits - can also help them fine tune their aim.

The patent suggests taking this to the next level by identifying users with higher, or lower, than normal sway over others.

"The level of social influence may be based upon factors such as the number of followers of the user, the number of contacts of the user, and/or the title of the user," it says.

It adds that the score could further be tweaked by looking at:

The number of posts, reposts and retweets they makeThe type of products they "like"The lists they subscribe toThe amount of times others write about themHow influential their own followers are

"In this manner, an advertiser may be billed a higher amount for advertisements provided to users having a higher social authority score than for advertisements provided to users having a lower social authority score," the patent adds.

Firms including Klout, Kred and Proskore already offer ratings of how influential internet users are.

Marketers can make use of these to directly target high-ranking individuals by sending them messages via Twitter or LinkedIn.

But one industry consultant suggested Yahoo's suggestion could help expand this to a much wider audience.

"This is a new, creative way for marketers to use a multiplier effect to influence how their brands are perceived to ideally lead to sales," said Allyson Stewart-Allen, director of International Marketing Partners.

"It's a practice not widely used by brands currently but may well become a new standard, especially as 'word of mouth' is the holy grail for brands since the credibility of that medium is so much higher than paid-for media."

However, one privacy campaigner had concerns.

"This is a further extension of the arms race we are seeing between a handful of multinational businesses to collect more data on us in order to sell advertising," said Nick Pickles, director of Big Brother Watch.

"We are not customers, we are a product to be monitored, packaged up and sold on to the highest bidder.

"The development of this kind of more detailed profiling is exactly why we need stronger consumer privacy protection. People still don't have a real understanding of just how much information about them is being collected online and it is why until stronger laws are enacted companies will continue to keep people in the dark."

A spokeswoman for Yahoo told the BBC that patents are important to the firm.

"Innovation is critical to the future of Yahoo," she said.

"We regularly submit patent applications on innovative ideas that map to our current or anticipated business needs. In this instance, this patent is still in the application process and hasn't yet been approved by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office."

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VIDEO: YouTubers welcome charging plan

YouTube has launched a trial scheme allowing channels to charge users for the videos they watch.

A small number of channels will offer subscriptions starting at $0.99 (£0.64) a month.

Each channel will offer a free 14-day trial and many will have discounted annual rates.

JJ, who is behind the KSIOlajidebt channel, and Ali-A, who uploads regular Call of Duty gameplay videos, give their thoughts.

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Alcohol price control 'needed in NW'

5 June 2013 Last updated at 15:49 GMT Dr Arif Rajpura said "pocket-money" prices mean more people are drinking to harmful levels The north-west of England needs its own minimum-price on alcohol, Blackpool's director of public health has said.

Dr Arif Rajpura wants all the area's councils to join together to order a lowest price of 50p-per-unit, in a bid to reduce consumption.

He said "pocket-money" prices mean more people are drinking to harmful levels.

In 2010-11, the cost of alcohol-related issues to the north-west economy was more than £3bn, according to public health body Drink Wise.

Dr Rajpura said a price increase would not affect moderate drinkers, but it would affect hard drinkers and those who are drinking cheap alcohol from supermarkets and off licences before going out into the town.

'No-brainer'

"Consumption has increased as the price has fallen," he said.

"Alcohol has got cheaper and cheaper over the last two decades, so young people can purchase alcohol at pocket-money prices.

"It's one of the biggest issues for us in Blackpool, it contributes to many young deaths and that has a significant effect on our overall life expectancy, so for me it's an absolute no-brainer."

Dave Daly, manager of the Castle pub on Central Drive in Blackpool, said the plan would not curb drinking.

He said "Blackpool is a working man's resort and it always has been and always will be.

"The main stay of Blackpool is the river of alcohol that runs through it and keeps it alive."

Drink Wise said there are about 200,000 hospital admissions a year in the North West related to alcohol, 30,000 of them in Blackpool.

Blackpool Council is starting a public consultation, which could see the resort's pubs and clubs being forced to close at 03:00 BST at the latest.

Some are currently open until 05:00 BST.

Miles Beale, chief executive of the Wine and Spirit Trade Association, said: "Whilst we recognise the need to tackle problem drinking in the North West, we understand that setting a minimum unit price at a local level is likely to be illegal.

"Locally-tailored solutions such as Community Alcohol Partnerships, alongside better enforcement of existing legislation and more and better education about alcohol, are far more effective than pushing up the price of alcohol for the majority of responsible consumers."

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Phillies' Halladay to Have Tests on Sore Shoulder

Roy Halladay has discomfort in his right shoulder and the struggling Philadelphia Phillies pitcher is headed to Los Angeles for tests.

Halladay was roughed up Sunday by the Miami Marlins in a 14-2 defeat, his second poor outing in a row. After the game, the two-time Cy Young Award winner acknowledged he has been pitching with a sore shoulder. He said he will be examined this week in Los Angeles by Dr. Lewis Yocum.

Halladay, who turns 36 this month, said it's not the same injury that sidelined him for a while last season. He did not take questions from reporters after the game.

The right-hander said he started feeling discomfort the morning after an April 24 start against Pittsburgh. He has made two ineffective starts since.

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AUDIO: Secondhand smoke harming children

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Ohio captives: What next?

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AUDIO: Secondhand smoke harming children

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VIDEO: Mystery of Syria's internet blackout

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£7.5m for cybersecurity training

9 May 2013 Last updated at 01:14 GMT By Sean Coughlan BBC News education correspondent Researchers will be trained in the battle against cyber-attacks High-level cybersecurity experts are to be trained at two university research centres, with £7.5m in government and research council funding.

Royal Holloway, University of London and Oxford University will develop specialisms in resisting cyber-attacks.

This will support the UK's national cybersecurity programme.

"We must do everything we can to tackle this threat," said Universities and Science Minister David Willetts.

From this autumn, two university centres will be set up to train postgraduate students in the increasingly sophisticated battle between hackers, on the one hand, and businesses and governments.

Rogue states

They will be funded by £5m from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and £2.5m from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.

This is in addition to 30 GCHQ-sponsored PhD places, also supported by the national cybersecurity programme.

The government's National Security Strategy classifies the cyber-attack threat as being on the same Tier One level as terrorism, and warns of risks from rogue states as well as criminals.

According to the government, its own internet gateway faces an average of 33,000 "malicious emails" a month, which can contain links to "sophisticated malware".

Harvard's website was hacked by the "Syrian Electronic Army" two years ago

Cyber-attacks have become part of the background of international disputes and economic power struggles, threatening targets in industry, finance, government and defence.

Intellectual property

The Oxford centre will study security issues concerning "big data", where large amounts of information are used in areas such as industry, health, transport and crime.

It will also consider "cyber-physical security", the idea that cybersecurity and physical security need to be addressed together rather than separately.

And it will research computer verification systems.

Royal Holloway's centre will be working with about 30 businesses and organisations in the security field.

Keith Martin, director of the university's Information Security Group, said this "represents a significantly different approach to research training, and we are looking forward to taking on the great responsibility of delivering graduates who will directly benefit the country".

Mr Willetts said: "Businesses are facing more cyber-attacks than ever before, putting their confidential information and intellectual property at risk. We must do everything we can to tackle this threat and make them less vulnerable. These new centres will produce a new generation of cyber-security specialists, able to use their skills and research expertise to improve cyber-security and drive growth."

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VIDEO: Islands start 'puffin census'

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First cycling Tour de Congo begins

19 June 2013 Last updated at 15:33 GMT Cycling has been a popular sport in DR Congo despite years of instability The first cycling tour of the Democratic Republic of Congo has begun in the west of the country in Matadi, a port city on the Congo River.

Cyclists from France and across Africa are taking part in the nearly 900km (600-mile) Tour de Congo.

Competitors will ride nine stages over 12 days but will not travel to the volatile east of DR Congo, which is the size of Western Europe.

It was expected to start on Tuesday, but was delayed for 24 hours.

Continue reading the main story

The tour will show people that we have infrastructure and that people are friendly and hospitable, open to tourism”

End Quote Sylvestre Mutayo Congolese Cycling Federation The BBC's Maud Jullien in Kinshasa says organisers postponed the race by a day as they wanted the tour to end in the capital city on 30 June, DR Congo's independence day.

According to the UN's Radio Okapi, Prime Minister Augustin Matata Ponyo saw off about 60 cyclists.

There are 34 foreigners competing from eight African countries and France, the radio station reports.

One of the African teams is from Rwanda, which has had a fractious relationship with its neighbour since the 1994 genocide when many Hutu fighters fled to DR Congo.

Rwanda denies UN accusations that it backs rebel forces in DR Congo.

The other African teams come from Benin, Burkina Faso, neighbouring Republic of Congo, Ivory Coast, Tanzania, Togo and Uganda.

President of the Congolese Cycling Federation, Sylvestre Mutayo, says cycling has always been an important sport in DR Congo

Historically it was the most popular sport after football, but because of economic difficulties it lost the "second place" in the last decade, he said.

The course - which goes to the more central city of Kikwit before heading west again to Kinshasa - will demonstrate to people that conflict does not affect the whole country, he said.

"The tour will show people that we have infrastructure, and that people are friendly and hospitable, open to tourism," he told the BBC.

Our reporter says the event has been largely financed by the government with help from private sponsors and will be filmed from the air by a media company using drones.

Despite DR Congo's size, transport infrastructure is very poor and it is estimated that of about 153,000km of roads, less than 3,000m are paved.

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Tech finds profit in poo in Dubai

20 May 2013 Last updated at 23:38 GMT By Jonathan Frewin Business reporter, BBC News, Dubai Filthy lucre: Over the last five years Dubai has used technology to transform how it deals with the contents of the region's toilets Mohammed Abdulaziz Al Awadhi is a man passionate about human waste.

He's been involved in Dubai's sewage treatment for a quarter of a century, and is now director of Dubai's sewage treatment plants.

In a crisp, white, immaculately clean dishdasha, or full length robe, he cuts a slightly incongruous figure at the city's Jebel Ali sewage treatment plant.

Around three-quarters of the waste processed there arrives through Dubai's network of sewers.

But still, around a quarter arrives in giant orange tankers, coming from labourer accommodation, mostly on the outskirts of the city.

Wood, plastics and other solids are removed from the sewage

It's the start of a process that turns out a number of by-products, including refined water that is used for agriculture and horticulture.

Where there's muck

Mr Al Awadhi says this is the only way the city can afford to keep parks and green spaces growing so vibrantly.

"Potable water in this part of the world is a commodity which is produced and desalinated and the cost to the government is roughly two dollars per cubic metre," he says.

"Compare that to waste water which is produced from our sewage treatment plant which is costing about half a dollar per cubic metre."

Once the solids are removed the liquid sewage undergoes a series of biological and mechanical purifying processes

"This water makes it economically feasible to ensure that we have such a wide spread of horticulture and agriculture in the city."

WATCH: The BBC's Jonathan Frewin visits Dubai’s Jebel Ali sewage treatment plant

Of course human waste contains quite a lot of nutrients, and once waste water has had plastics, wood and other solids removed, it goes through a range of biological and mechanical processes that keep the treatment plant - amazingly - virtually odour-free.

"Due to the sudden rapid growth of the city, the issues were with the tankers being queued in the long queues, some locations they had to wait up to 40 hours," says Mr Al Awadhi.

"Apart from that because the plant was overloaded, the final product was not meeting exactly the design requirements. And it was discomfort to the public."

Respect the queue: Just five years ago Dubai had only one sewage treatment plant, leaving tankers waiting outside for up to 40 hours

But the economic slowdown, which reduced sewage production, combined with fast-tracking construction of the Jebel Ali sewage treatment plant, meant the city finally had a sewage treatment system that could overcome those challenges.

Smell of success

But it's not just about centralised sewage treatment in this part of the world.

Sewage has created a home for dragonflies and wildlife

On the outskirts of the city sits a desert jungle where brightly coloured dragonflies mingle with rare birds. This is the Al Barari residential community of about two hundred homes which has its very own sewage treatment works.

The output from that is mixed with water from the government plants, and then put through a further process to ensure the water in extensive waterways around the development doesn't get clogged up with algae.

"It's a sustainable development. I think the vision of the developers was to have a closed loop for their water cycle they wanted to be able to use in their greenery," says Concorde Corodex's director of business development, Mohanned Awad.

"Having a system that's portable and mobile was also important, they wanted to minimise both the footprint and the installation time."

This development of just 200 homes has its own sewage treatment works, which feeds the garden water system

Concorde Corodex is a local company but has been experiencing success exporting its products across the entire region.

"We've exported into basically all regions of the Middle East, North Africa, we have systems in Nigeria, Ghana; we were asked by the United Nations to deliver systems in Sudan," says Mr Awad.

"We have systems in Oman, Yemen. Basically, any area which is a residential area that usually has a septic system or a rural area will look towards a packaged system as a solution to treat their sewage, just because of ease of installation, and ease of operation," he says.

"The science behind these systems is usually in the biology, but the mechanical components are actually very simple to operate and can be done by simple mechanical operators."

Pure science

It's possible to process the water to even higher levels for other uses.

"There's other technologies we've used... called MBR or membrane bioreactor technology, that will actually treat water to a potable state," says Mr Awad.

Processed sewage sludge is made into fertiliser and sold

"We're not suggesting you drink it, there's actually a lot of applications for ultra purified water, processed water for cooling, water for processes in industrial areas. The applications are really varied, and the technology does exist to treat water to very high levels."

Back at the main sewage treatment plant, there's another by-product which might come as a surprise.

Sludge that was separated from the incoming water gets baked and dried using methane gas which is yet another by-product of the treatment process.

Granules then get bagged and sold to gardeners all across the city as a fertiliser of human origin; a bargain, perhaps, at $2.50 for 25kg.

And clearly demonstrating that in the end, very little to do with waste water in this part of the world, actually goes to waste.

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