A short but fine adventure by Zoe Read more
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  • Day 1

    Many British men don't realise how fat t

    May 14, 2015 in Russia ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    Nearly a third of British men (31 per cent) who would describe themselves as being normal weight are actually overweight or obese, according to a large European survey published today. In contrast, just 15 per cent of women who believe they are normal weight are overweight or obese.
    Nearly half of British men (45 per cent) are happy with their weight, compared to just a third of women.
    The findings are part of an international survey of 14,000 people in seven countries about their attitudes to weight and obesity, conducted by the independent strategic insight agency Opinium, in collaboration with the European Association for the Study of Obesity.

    • READ: The only way we'll beat obesity is with sweat, tears and horror

    It was also revealed that less than a fifth of UK adult men believe obesity to be a disease – compared to two thirds (65 per cent) of French men and 62 per cent of Italians. Last year another study found that overweight men and women who were told that obesity is a disease were less interested in going on a diet to improve their health.
    The new European study also found that just under a third (32 per cent) of British men believe that stress is a contributing factor to obesity, compared to 43 per cent of women. Just 15 per cent of men believed that lack of sleep contributed to obesity, compared to 21 per cent of women. Men, the study also concluded, are slightly less likely to perceive poor diet to be the main contributing factor to obesity.
    Across Europe, the study also revealed gaps in men's knowledge of obesity-related conditions, with women far more aware of the links between obesity and heart disease, high blood pressure and joint pain.

    • READ: In praise of the dadbod, the man who's let himself go a bit

    Professor Pinki Sahota, Deputy Chair of The Association for the Study of Obesity, said: "Obesity is one of the fastest growing threats to the health and wellbeing of our society. In some parts of the UK as many as seven out of ten adults are now classified as overweight or obese. And yet, this survey shows that many people still appear to have little understanding of what equals a healthy weight."
    The World Health Organisation recently projected that 74 per cent of men in the UK will be overweight by 2030. According to recent government estimates, the cost of obesity will rise to £50 billion by the year 2050.
    The study was commissioned to mark European Obesity Day, which is on May 16.
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  • Day 1

    Reutov

    May 14, 2015 in Russia ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    Facebook has inked news-hosting deals with nine media outfits, including the BBC and Buzzfeed, in a move to slurp ad revenue from publishers and keep netizens locked into its site for even longer.

    The Mark Zuckerberg-run company said that its free content ad network would initially offer Apple iOS users of the Facebook app a function dubbed Instant Articles.

    Menlo Park claimed that it would "give publishers control over their stories, brand experience and monetisation opportunities." Which floats the sneaky notion that they don't currently have command of their own business within Facebook's silo.

    According to the New York Times, which was one of the publishers to have struck an agreement with Facebook, news outlets can either sell and embed ads in the articles and pocket all the revenue, or allow Zuck's firm to peddle ads, thereby gifting Facebook with 30 per cent of the sales.

    Facebook is keen to be seen as an anodyne or even dumb platform by promising not to interfere with publishers directly. But it is also attempting to bring those media players inside its own ad network, which will undoubtedly make many publishers squirm.

    As a trade-off, news organisations will be able to lift data about their readers from analytical tools provided by Facebook.

    It's a nervous time for the publishing industry, and Facebook – like its ad rival Google – is preying on this anxiety. The NYT, for example, said that "Facebook represents from 14 to 16 per cent of its web traffic".

    The newspaper added that the figure had doubled in recent months, which presumably happened following Facebook's algorithm tweak to push "quality news" to the top of the pile.

    Facebook chief product chief Chris Cox said in a canned statement:

    Fundamentally, this is a tool that enables publishers to provide a better experience for their readers on Facebook.

    Instant Articles lets them deliver fast, interactive articles while maintaining control of their content and business models.
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  • Day 1

    Balashikha, Moskovskaya oblast'

    May 14, 2015 in Russia ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    Across the Mediterranean, people smugglers are advertising their services on Facebook, promising safe passage to migrants desperate to reach Europe. Their pages offer a glimpse into a smuggling network that spans three continents, generates hundreds of millions of dollars, and has become, in effect, an alternative asylum service for the EU.
    "With the beginning of the new season we have a range of journeys on offer. Turkey Libya Italy, $3,800. Algeria Libya Italy, $2,500. Sudan Libya Italy, $2,500… The boats are all wood… If you have questions, contact me on Viber or WhatsApp."
    This is not an ad from a travel brochure. It's a Facebook update posted by a people smuggler, Abdul Aziz, from the Libyan port of Zuwara on 21 April. Abdul Aziz is just one of hundreds of smugglers now using social media to promote their services to migrants and refugees trying to reach Europe.
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  • Day 1

    Cathedral of the Annunciation

    May 14, 2015 in Russia ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    A mother who lied that she was a single so she could claim £30,000 in benefits was rumbled by her Facebook relationship status.

    Denise Lonie, who now faces a jail sentence, admitted lying to the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) for more than four years.

    The 37-year-old told welfare officials that she had split from partner Graeme Heatherwick, despite the fact they were living together as a family with their two children at their home in Dundee.

    She hid their relationship in order to claim working tax credit and child tax credit. In reality the family were living and taking holidays together, and Lonie was sharing household expenses with Mr Heatherwick.

    Fiscal depute Nicola Gillespie told Dundee Sheriff Court that an investigation started after the DWP received information that Lonie was not a single mother, as she had claimed.

    She said: "There were various checks through banks and other establishments such as the council.

    "They appeared to show that Mr Heatherwick resided at her address. His bank account was registered at that address, as was his credit card.

    "He was down as an emergency contact with the school and the address was given as her address.

    "Checks were done on her Facebook account which showed her as in a relationship with him.

    "There were photos of holidays taken and comments by him with her saying things like 'sitting on the patio with the missus'.

    "He was interviewed by the DWP and said he lived with her and their two children. They had been living together since 2005 but split briefly in 2009 before reconciling.

    "She was interviewed in December 2013 and said she had been 'stupid' and knew it was her responsibility."

    Lonie, of Fintryside in Dundee, pleaded guilty on indictment to a charge of being knowingly concerned in a fraudulent activity with a view to obtaining tax credits to which she was not entitled.

    Sheriff Lorna Drummond QC deferred sentence until next month for social work background reports and released Lonie on bail meantime.

    She added: "This is a serious and significant offence totalling £30,000. The court has custody at the forefront of it's mind with a significant amount of money involved like that."
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  • Day 1

    Pokrovka

    May 14, 2015 in Russia ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    A mother and nurse in the US has received praise from social media users around the world after she shared a shocking image showing her skin cancer treatment to warn others of the dangers of using sunbeds.

    Tawny Willoughby, from Alabama, posted the picture to Facebook and said: “If anyone needs a little motivation to not lay in the tanning bed and sun here ya go!”

    The “skin cancer selfie” shows Ms Willoughby during a treatment using an imiquimod cream to tackle the most common form of skin cancer, basal cell carcinoma (BCC).

    It has been shared more than 55,000 times, and the 27-year-old nurse said she “can’t believe how many people it has touched”.

    Ms Willoughby said that becoming a mother made it her biggest fear 'tanning would prevent her seeing her children grow up' Ms Willoughby said that becoming a mother made it her biggest fear 'tanning would prevent her seeing her children grow up' Writing on Facebook, she explained that like most of her friends she grew up with a tanning bed in her own home, and during high school used it an average of four or five times a week.

    She said she had her first skin cancer diagnosis at the age of 21, and in the six years since has had BCC five times and squamous cell carcinoma once.

    Ms Willoughby said she had her first skin cancer diagnosis at the age of 21 Ms Willoughby said she had her first skin cancer diagnosis at the age of 21 Every six months to a year she visits the dermatologist and “usually has a skin cancer removed at each check-up”, but she added that she was thankful never to have had a melanoma – a type of skin cancer that can spread to other organs in the body.

    “This is what skin cancer treatment can look like,” she said. “Wear sunscreen and get a spray tan. You only get one skin and you should take care of it. Learn from other people's mistakes.

    The image has been shared tens of thousands of times - even though one user reported it as 'graphic violence' The image has been shared tens of thousands of times - even though one user reported it as 'graphic violence' “Don't let tanning prevent you from seeing your children grow up. That's my biggest fear now that I have a two year old little boy of my own.”

    Ms Willoughby said that since the image went viral she had been contacted by lots of people saying they would never use a sunbed again – and even some people from her town who were going to get rid of their home tanning equipment for good.

    “Thank you ALL so much for sharing my post,” she said. “I truly hoped to change at least one person’s view on tanning/skincare/sunscreen.”
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