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Reuters

  • No meeting scheduled between PM Nawaz and Modi at UN general assembly: FO

    Both Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are due to stay at the same hotel in New York during the meeting of world leaders this month, leading some media to speculate the two would meet.

    But Qazi Khalilullah, a spokesman for Pakistan’s foreign ministry, denied those reports.

    “No proposal is on the table for the meeting of the two PMs,” he told Reuters.

    Planned talks between national security advisors from the two neighbors were canceled last month hours before they were due to start, dashing hopes the two might tackle the violence that many fear could one day spark a nuclear showdown.

    India and Pakistan have fought three wars since becoming independent nations in 1947, two of them over the Himalayan region of Kashmir, which both claim in full but rule in part.

    Civilians on both sides are frequently killed as the two armies’ trade pot-shots at each other across the disputed Line of Control.

    Sharif was elected in 2013 promising to improve relations with India, but since then domestic troubles have forced him to cede more control over foreign and security policy to Pakistan’s more hawkish military.

    Modi, who took office in May last year, has taken a hard line with Pakistan, insisting he is unwilling to discuss other issues unless Pakistan admits its role in terror attacks in India.

    In last month’s canceled talks, India wanted to only discuss terrorism-related issues. Pakistan wanted a wider agenda, including the status of Kashmir, a topic that Khalilullah said Sharif would raise at the United Nations.

  • One Direction announce new album, release album art

    One Direction have also released a track from the album, “Infinity”, for anybody who pre-orders the album, to be released on Nov 13, or streams it through online retailers.

    The announcement came on Tuesday ahead of the band’s concert at Camden’s Roundhouse Theatre in London, where they were performing as part of the Apple Music Festival.

    Dozens of excited fans lined up outside the venue hours before the show started to see band members Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson in person.

    “We’re gonna be quite close so, I’ve never been that close to them so I don’t know how I’ll react. I’ll probably cry,” one female fan said.

    “Knowing Harry Styles will be there makes me want to get up every day,” another said.

    The intimate gig may be one of the band’s last for a while since they said that they would be taking a break in March 2016.

    The foursome were a five piece until Zayn Malik quit in March earlier this year.

  • 'Impertinent' John Lennon's school detention record goes on sale

    Auction house Sotheby’s said on Wednesday it would be offering a lined sheet, torn from a 1950s school notebook, listing the 15-year-old Lennon’s detentions for such transgressions as “impertinence” and “not wearing school cap”.

    Sotheby’s said the sheet, listing 29 detentions imposed on Lennon between September 1955 and July 1956 at Quarry Bank High School in Liverpool, was rescued from a bonfire of old school records by an eagle-eyed member of staff in the 1970s.

    “The frequent entries on this sheet from six different teachers reveal that John Lennon’s rebellious nature and irreverence were well established traits of his character even at the age of 15,” Sotheby’s said in a news release.

    On one day, Sept. 12, 1955, Lennon received five detentions from two teachers for a range of offences from “no hwk” (homework) to “talk after two warnings” and “further talk”.

    That is perhaps no surprise from a man whose provocative quips would later make world headlines, such as the furor caused in 1966 by his remark that the Beatles were now more popular than Jesus Christ.

    While the school detention sheet does not record what impertinent things Lennon said to his teachers, it leaves no doubt that the future Beatle was a handful in the classroom.

    Other listed misbehavior includes “silly conduct”, “groaning at me”, “foolish remarks”, “very late” and “nuisance in class”, mentioned four times.

    The document will be on public exhibition at Sotheby’s in London from Sept. 24-28 and will be offered for sale on Sept. 29, with a price estimate of 2,000-3,000 pounds ($3,060-4,590), as part of a “rock and pop” sale. The vendor is anonymous.

    Two similar documents also listing Lennon’s school detentions for “shoving”, “fighting”, “sabotage” and showing “just no interest whatsoever” were sold for about $15,000 each in an online auction in 2013.

  • To eat less, consider smaller plates and packages

    The study team analyzed 58 studies with a combined 6,600 participants that examined how the size of things like cereal bowls and snack bags influences the number of calories people take in.

    Combined, these brief experiments suggest that smaller containers, dishes and cutlery might help adults consume up to 16 percent fewer calories in the U.K. and 29 percent less in the U.S.

    “It provides the most conclusive evidence to date that people consistently consume more food and drink when offered larger-sized portions, packages, or tableware than when offered smaller-sized versions,” said lead study author Dr. Gareth Hollands, a behavioral health researcher at the University of Cambridge in the U.K.

    The results, published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, highlight the important role of environmental influences on food consumption and suggest that actions to limit exposure to larger serving sizes may be effective tools for getting people eat less, Hollands said by email.

    Globally, 1.9 billion adults are overweight or obese, according to the World Health Organization. Obesity increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes, joint disorders and certain cancers.

    The effect of smaller sizes for dishes and packages didn’t vary by gender and was similar for normal-weight, overweight and obese people, the researchers found. Only children appeared unaffected by size when deciding how much food or drink to consume.

    Most of the studies reviewed didn’t follow people for long periods and researchers lacked data to assess whether sustained changes in container and plate sizes over time might contribute to weight loss or maintaining a healthy weight, the authors acknowledge. They also note that they lacked data on the impact of bottle, can or glass size on alcohol consumption.

    Still, when it comes to plate size, reducing the diameter by even an inch or two can make a difference in calorie consumption, said Dr. David Sharp, a nutrition researcher at Kent State University School of Health Sciences in Ohio.

    Ideally, adults should use 9-inch or 10-inch plates, and children should have 7.5-inch plates, Sharp, who wasn’t involved in the study, said by email. But this isn’t an easy message to convey in a culture with a “supersize” mentality, he said.

    “Hunters try to kill the deer with the largest antlers, fishermen tell stories of their biggest catch, and we sensationalize even the act of dieting by hosting reality TV shows such as The Biggest Loser,” Sharp said. “When we are bombarded with the appeal of getting things bigger or larger, it creates a bit of dissonance that the message for our most intimate choices such as our meals, our plates and our bodies runs opposite to our culture of plenty when considering long-term health and wellness.”

    While plate size may matter, downsizing dishes alone may not be enough to help people lose weight, sad Dr. Donald Hensrud, medical director of the Mayo Clinic Healthy Living Program in Rochester, Minnesota.

    “The obesity epidemic is a result of a number of different and complex influences,” Hensrud, who wasn’t involved in the study, said by email. “Recommending smaller plates is just one piece of a very large puzzle.”

  • Sean 'P. Diddy' Combs leads Forbes' highest-paid rap stars

    Harlem native Combs, 45, made an estimated $60 million between June 2014 and June 2015 according to Forbes’ calculations, from investments outside of music, such as his TV network Revolt and Ciroc vodka.

    His albums includes 2001’s “The Saga Continues” and 2010’s “Last Train to Paris,” and he’s working on a new record.

    In second place is rap mogul Jay Z (real name Shawn Carter), the 45-year-old founder of Roc Nation music group, who earned an estimated $56 million from business ventures in music, sports and lifestyle. His 22 shows with his wife, singer Beyonce, helped boost his earnings, Forbes said.

    Canadian rapper Drake, 28, came in at No. 3 with $39.5 million, the bulk of which came from touring, as well as high profile endorsements from Sprite and Nike.

    Nicki Minaj was the only woman to crack into the top ten of the highest paid hip hop acts, coming in at No. 9 with $21 million from touring and endorsements.

    Forbes calculated its list using pre-tax income figures from factors such as record sales, touring, streaming and endorsements using data from Nielsen SoundScan, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and interviews with managers, lawyers and in some cases, the artists themselves.

    Other hip hop moguls in the top ten, all of which hail from North America and Canada, include Beats co-founder Dr. Dre and rappers Eminem and Kanye West.

  • Country singer Underwood says her songs are for "real people"

    “I definitely get that country music has most of its culture in the (United) States and in the southern part of the States. But we sing about real people and real stories and people that work hard, and I feel like that’s universal,” Underwood told Reuters on Monday night at London’s Roundhouse music venue.

    “So country music has evolved a lot over the decades and I feel like there’s a lot of artists like myself that are just working hard to break stereotypes and just bring good music to everybody,” Underwood said before stepping on stage to perform for the live-streamed Apple Music Festival.

    Underwood, 32, rose to fame after winning the musical talent contest “American Idol” in 2005. After her debut album “Some Hearts” was voted the top country album of the past decade by trade publication Billboard, she said she’d felt under pressure for the follow-up, but now has her career in hand.

    “I felt like there was a lot of pressure on my second album, and like my first headlining tour. There’s certain things that have been in my career that I felt like I was just needing them to work,” she said.

    “At this point in my career, 10 years in, I feel like some of that’s off because I feel like I’ve solidified a place in country music, on the radio… I have an amazing fan base that’s incredibly supportive.

    “So I don’t feel like I have to top what I did last time and because of that I feel like I’m able to make better music and be more creative and just do things that are good for the sake of being good and not like for the sake of trying to sell albums or trying to get played on the radio.”

    Underwood, who is among the top selling U.S. female vocalists, and whose fifth album, “Storyteller”, will be released in October, said social media is increasingly important in her career.

    “It is playing a bigger and bigger role in the careers of music artists especially. But you know it is what it is and it’s wonderful to be able to connect with people that you might not ever get to see.

    “You know there’s people in other countries that are like ‘Carrie please come to Brazil’ and I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, people in Brazil have heard of me, that’s incredible.’ So that part’s really cool.”

  • A text message a day may keep the doctor away

    Researchers sent four texts a week to about 350 people with heart disease to supplement their regular care with reminders designed to encourage healthier habits. Another group of about 350 patients stuck with their usual care routines but didn’t receive texts.

    After six months, patients who got the texts generally had more success reducing their weight, blood pressure, cholesterol and tobacco use than the people who didn’t.

    “The benefit to exercise, quitting smoking, and lowering (weight) after six months of text message reminders are substantial,” said lead study author Dr. Clara Chow, a cardiology researcher at the George Institute for Global Health and the University of Sydney in Australia.

    “As clinicians, we want to address multiple risk factors in our patients who have had a heart attack,” Chow added by email. “If these risk factors were reduced over the long term we would expect them to reduce the risk of repeat heart attacks.”

    Many studies have tested the use of text messaging for helping patients to comply with recommended therapies or lifestyle changes, and not all have been successful. But researchers have kept trying to find a program that works.

    As Chow and colleagues note today in JAMA, text messages may be an easy and affordable way to reach patients who need support making lifestyle changes after they go home from the hospital.

    Of the world’s seven billion people, six billion have mobile phones – at least one billion more than have toilets or latrines – according to the United Nations.

    Globally, 17.5 million people die from cardiovascular disease each year, and most of these fatalities are due to heart attacks and strokes, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

    Tobacco use, an unhealthy diet and physical inactivity may hasten death for these patients, according to the WHO. At the same time, quitting smoking, getting at least 30 minutes of exercise a day, and consuming five servings of fruits and vegetables a day can lower the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

    Patients in the study already had at least one strike against them – they were only included after a heart attack, procedures to restore blood flow to the heart, or tests finding serious blockages or narrowing in the arteries.

    For the group randomly chosen to receive texts, researchers sent messages on random weekdays at varying times, personalizing the brief missives with patient names and advice on lifestyle changes tailored to their individual needs.

    At the start of the study patients were typically about 58 years old and overweight or obese, and many were taking medications to lower their blood pressure and cholesterol. Most were men.

    Researchers examined patients at the start of the study and again six months later to assess fasting lipid levels, heart rate, blood pressure, weight, and waist circumference. They also questioned participants about their eating, exercise and smoking habits.

    One limitation of the study, beyond its relatively small size, is its reliance on patients to report changes in diet, exercise and smoking habits, the authors acknowledge.

    It’s also unclear whether the changes patients experienced might last once the text messages stopped or the optimal number of texts needed to make new habits stick, Dr. Zubin Eapen and Dr. Eric Peterson, colleagues at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, noted in an editorial.

    Even though more research is needed, the study findings suggest that texts may play a critical future role in helping patients make lifestyle changes, Eapen said by email.

    “It is likely that this relatively low-tech but high touch means of communicating the daily steps that must be taken for long-term behavior change can be used across both prevention and chronic disease management efforts,” Eapen said.

  • Gulf Arabs oppose Russia role in Syria, still bent on Assad's ouster

    Russia says it is providing arms to the Syrian leader, a longtime ally, and has sent servicemen to advise on their use in the fight against Islamic State (IS) and other jihadist groups. Moscow has also staged naval exercises off Syria.

    Washington, which opposes both IS and Assad, says Moscow has also sent fighter jets, tanks and other heavy equipment to Syria. On Monday U.S. officials said Russia had started flying drone aircraft on surveillance missions in Syria. Moscow has not confirmed those reports.

    Saudi Arabia and the other Sunni Muslim Gulf states have this month reaffirmed their opposition to Assad, whom they see as a stooge of Shi’ite Iran, but have not said publicly how they intend to deal with the arrival of the Russian forces.

    “We don’t have full details on the extent of the (Russian) involvement and role (in Syria). But such issues on the ground complicate the matter and make it more difficult to find a solution,” an official source in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

    Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir described the Russian military moves as an “escalation” and reiterated at a recent meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) that Syria can have no future while Assad remains in power.

    In a statement the GCC foreign ministers urged a political solution to the Syrian crisis “without any foreign intervention” – a clear swipe at Russia and Iran.

    The GCC comprises the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and Qatar.

    It remains unclear whether Gulf Arab states would want the Syrian rebels they fund to engage Russian forces in battle – a prospect that would further upset the regional balance of power.

    By contrast, U.S. and Russian officials have discussed ways to prevent their forces accidentally coming to blows in Syria, where Washington is conducting air strikes against IS targets.

    Publicly at least, the Gulf Arabs are sticking to their line that Assad cannot survive despite Russia’s military support.

    MILITARY SOLUTION?

    While Riyadh prefers a political solution, its foreign minister al-Jubeir said, “the military choice is still available, as the Syrian opposition is still fighting the regime with more efficiency with the passing of time”.

    The Syrian conflict began in 2011 with protests against four decades of Assad family rule. In the ensuing civil war a quarter of a million people have been killed and 11 million – half the total population – driven from their homes. Tens of thousands of Syrian refugees have fled to Europe in the past month alone.

    Russia says the U.S.-led air strikes against IS positions in Syria are unlikely to be successful and it has called for an international dialogue with Assad.

    “In Russia’s estimation, Assad’s days are not numbered,” said Ebtisam Al Ketbi, head of Emirates Policy Center in the UAE. “It wants to obstruct any Arab effort to bring Assad down.”

    Syria is of vital strategic importance for Moscow. Its naval base at Tartous is its sole installation in the Mediterranean and underpins its regional influence. The Assad family has also historically been one of Russia’s best clients for arms sales.

    For many Gulf Arabs, Russia’s entry into Syria’s war brings echoes of older strains surrounding the Saudi-backed resistance to Soviet occupation troops in Afghanistan in the 1980s.

    Some find it ironic that Russia, once a fierce critic of outside intervention in Syria, is now doing just that.

    “Has Russia jumped feet first into the meat-grinder that is Syria?” tweeted Mohammed al-Rashed, a Saudi commentator.

    “Did it not learn its lesson from Afghanistan, which ripped apart the Soviet Union? Or Chechnya, which crushed Russian arrogance? Did Putin learn a thing?”

    LACK OF U.S. ENGAGEMENT

    Some Gulf Arab officials say the Russian intervention was made possible only by what they see as a lack of U.S. engagement on Syria.

    There is also grudging recognition of Putin’s consistent loyalty to his ally, a quality Gulf Arabs say their U.S. friend lacks.

    Sami Al-Faraj, a Kuwaiti security adviser to the GCC, told Reuters the Russian intervention in effect meant Syria would now be partitioned between a coastal strip held by Assad – who is from the Alawite minority, an offshoot of Shi’ite Islam – and a Sunni Muslim majority hinterland, with Iran a major beneficiary.

    “The GCC understands that a new Syrian entity carved out under Assad means preserving Iranian interests, which is to have a front in the Mediterranean,” he said. “The Iranians have chosen the right great power to be with – the Russians.”

    He said he expected the GCC to emulate the U.S. example and seek to ensure that the armed opposition groups it backs in Syria did not engage the Russian troops in combat.

    The Gulf Arab states will continue to funnel weapons to the opposition groups, he added, but would “not give them with the objective of fighting Russian forces in Syria”.

    Russia’s move looks likely to chill a tentative detente begun this year between Russia and Saudi Arabia despite their backing for opposing sides in Syria’s conflict and their differences over the issue of Iran’s nuclear program.

    Riyadh is still smarting over a Russian-Chinese veto in February 2012 of a U.N. Security Resolution drafted by the Saudis and backed by the West that Assad should step down.

    And in March, Jubeir’s predecessor Prince Saud al-Faisal accused Putin of hypocrisy, angrily telling an Arab summit Russia could not talk of wanting peace in the Middle East while simultaneously backing Assad in Syria.

    In June, the atmosphere appeared to improve when Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman led a delegation of Saudi officials to Moscow and signed military and energy agreements.

    The trip raised speculation about closer bilateral ties between two countries but that prospect has dimmed for now.

    Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, a UAE political scientist, said Assad would not last “one day” without external support, adding: “All things considered, it’s a safer bet that he will fall than that he can be propped up. But Russia hasn’t realized this.”

  • EU backs refugee plan in teeth of east European opposition

    Diplomats said interior ministers meeting in Brussels had voted to launch the scheme, backed by Germany and other big powers, in order to tackle the continent’s worst refugee crisis since World War Two.

    The Czech minister tweeted that he had voted against, along with colleagues from Slovakia, Romania and Hungary, with Finland abstaining.

    Prague had earlier warned that any attempt to approve such a scheme would be unworkable and could end in “big ridicule” for governments and EU authorities.

    “We will soon realize that the emperor has no clothes. Common sense lost today,” Czech Interior Minister Milan Chovanec tweeted after the vote.

    This year’s influx of nearly half a million people fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East, Asia and Africa has plunged the EU into disputes over border controls and bitter recriminations over how to share out responsibility.

    Eastern states with no tradition of integrating large numbers of Muslims are anxious about the impact on their societies and keen to avoid any signal that might encourage even more desperate people to set sail across the Mediterranean for Europe.

    “If we fail to find the right solution in the long term, the migrant crisis could truly threaten the existence of the European Union. But I am not a pessimist, I believe that we will find joint measures,” Slovenian Prime Minister Miro Cerar told Reuters in an interview.

    Ministers had hoped to achieve consensus at Tuesday’s meeting rather than ramming through a vote in which the easterners would be in the minority, fearing this could further poison relations.

    “NOT ENOUGH”

    Hours earlier, the U.N. refugee agency, the UNHCR, said the 120,000 people the bloc was seeking to share out were equivalent to just 20 days’ worth of arrivals at the current rate.

    “A relocation program alone, at this stage in the crisis, will not be enough to stabilize the situation,” UNHCR spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said, urging the EU to set up reception facilities able to handle tens of thousands of refugees at a time.

    Refugees and migrants arriving in Greece and Italy have been streaming north across the continent to reach more affluent nations such as Germany, triggering disputes between governments in central and eastern Europe as they alternately try to block the flow or shunt the burden on to their neighbors.

    Norway became the latest member of Europe’s 26-nation Schengen area, where people can normally travel across frontiers without showing a passport, to say it would intensify border controls.

    The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development said Europe could expect a record one million people to request asylum this year, and almost half would probably qualify to be taken in.

    In Germany, by far the most popular destination, the head of domestic intelligence said there was a big worry that radical Islamists living in the country could try to recruit young refugees “who could be easy prey”.

    EU leaders will hold an emergency summit on Wednesday at which they want to focus on ramping up aid for Syrian refugees in Turkey and the rest of the Middle East and tightening control of the bloc’s external frontiers.

  • From spies to smartphones: Britain's Aga set for another new chapter

    The acquisition of Aga for $202 million by Middleby Corporation follows a brief bidding war with U.S. rival Whirlpool for the maker of the colorful cast-iron stoves that can weigh as much as a male polar bear, cost $18,000 and, in older versions, take two days to heat.

    The deal, set to be completed this week, marks the latest in a list of premium British brands to fall under foreign ownership in recent years, to the dismay of some business commentators who want to see it kept in British hands.

    But the sale to a U.S. company is also testament to the enduring appeal of a product invented in 1922, the year James Joyce’s “Ulysses” was published and radio took off.

    In Britain, it has become synonymous with aspirational middle-class country living and inspires huge loyalty in owners, including members of the royal family and Prime Minister David Cameron.

    It struggled as demand was hit during the global financial crisis, but has recently returned to form with modern, more efficient versions of the cooker, and hopes to build on its heritage by exploiting Middleby’s global network.

    “The fundamental design of the Aga has always been its virtue but behind the front and the look is now a completely different product,” Aga Rangemaster CEO William McGrath told Reuters, before he steps down as part of the sale.

    “The design makes it iconic, the radiant heat makes it iconic but how it is delivered is something that has changed from generation to generation, from solid fuel, through oil and gas to electric and now programmable electric.”

    The heat, created by the continuously burning stove, made the old Aga distinctive, but it also drew its critics.

    Great in winter when it could heat half the house, one owner complained that you “sweat buckets while boiling an egg” in summer. For many the cost of fuel can also prove prohibitive while environmental groups criticized the impact of the traditional stoves.

    Modern versions can be easily switched on and off, including with a smartphone, while smaller models have been created to appeal to city dwellers.

    Around 80 percent of those sold today are the newer, more efficient designs that have been launched since 2011, and are offered in a variety of colors from rose, pewter and lemon to pistachio and aubergine.

    “You can get all the virtues of an Aga in a 60 centimeter package, which is something we’d expect over the next five to 10 years to become a more and more appreciable part of the business,” said McGrath. The largest version of the stove can be 2.5 times that size.

    ASPIRATIONAL LIVING

    McGrath said the new owner was also drawn to its heritage – a company with a history that reads like a spy novel.

    Created in 1922, the first Aga was invented by Swedish Nobel Prize winning physicist Gustaf Dalen who, confined to his home after being blinded in an accident, witnessed his wife struggling to cook on their old range.

    By 1929 manufacturing had begun in central England, with early sales driven by David Ogilvy, a salesman who went on to become one of the most famous advertising men in the world, the original ‘Mad Men’ and founder of the Ogilvy & Mather ad agency.

    Newer versions were designed by Raymond Loewy – who produced some of the most famous product designs in history, including Greyhound Scenicruiser buses, Coca-cola vending machines, Lucky Strike boxes and the livery of Air Force One. He worked with Douglas Scott, who later designed London’s famous red buses.

    A written history of the company notes however that several of the leading protagonists including Ogilvy, his brother Francis and W.T. Wren, an early Aga boss, also played important roles for Britain in World War Two, either as spies, writing for Winston Churchill or in aircraft manufacturing.

    Britain is still Aga’s biggest market but they can now be found in the United States, Europe and China, and Middleby aims to take the brand further afield.

    The sale adds to concern among some Britons about the number of prominent companies that have been bought by foreign owners, including department store Harrods, toy brand Hamleys and chocolate maker Cadbury. They fear that such sales could ultimately put UK jobs at risk and dilute much of the brand’s appeal – its intrinsic Britishness.

    McGrath is more positive, saying his firm hopes to mirror the success of another luxury British brand, Jaguar Land Rover, which has flourished under the ownership of India’s Tata Group.

    “We’d love to get in the wheel tracks of Jaguar Land Rover,” said McGrath. “Now the product has evolved, the potential can be immense because the brand is much loved.”