New smoking laws takes force in Spain

MADRID (AFP) - – Smokers took a last legal puff and stubbed out their cigarettes in tapas bars and restaurants across Spain on Sunday as one of Europe's strictest anti-tobacco laws came into force.

After a one-day amnesty granted for New Year's Day, the new law banning smoking in all bars, restaurants and public places -- including even some outdoor areas -- took effect at the stroke of midnight Saturday.

It was a shock for many Spaniards for whom the cafe culture -- lighting up with a few friends while enjoying a drink and tapas -- has been an essential part of daily life.

"It is over already. We have taken away all the ashtrays. When you look at the health question I agree but I also think there should be a minimum zone where you are allowed to smoke," said Elena de Lucia, a 22-year-old waitress, and smoker, at the Variety Tavern, a pub in central Madrid.

Her fellow weekend bar worker, Cristina Madrid, 22, a non-smoker, welcomed the new law. "Really, I used to end up smoking a lot as a passive smoker and the next day it affects you," she said.

Spain had an anti-smoking law since January 2006 but the impact was barely noticeable.

It banned smoking in the workplace, on public transport and in shops. But it allowed owners of bars, restaurants and cafes to decide whether to ban smoking or not. Most, faced with a drop in business, naturally chose to permit their customers to light up.

The new law bans smoking in all enclosed public spaces, including bars, restaurants and nightclubs and makes it illegal to smoke in children's parks or anywhere on school or hospital grounds.

The catering industry worries it will take a hit.

Jose Luis Guerra, vice president of the Spanish Hotel and Catering Association, said bars and restaurants had taken a beating for the past 31 months because of the economic crisis.

He estimated the ban could lead to a further 5.0-percent drop in sales in restaurants, about 10 percent in bars and 15 percent in night clubs.

Working at the door of central Madrid's Capucho cocktail bar, 60-year-old Juan Manuel Casado, a former smoker, predicted a slight drop in business at the start of the ban.

"But then people will get used to it as they have done in Italy, Greece, Ireland, every country. When you want to go out with friends to have a few drinks you will have to go to a bar, and when you want to smoke you will have to go out to the street."

None of the cocktail bar's staff smoked, Casado said. "It is going to be great."

Further down the road at street corner beer bar El Diaro, customers were still puffing away after the midnight deadline had passed.

Marta Teruel Romero, 26, a student and social worker, shared drinks and tapas with friends, enjoying her last night of freedom to smoke indoors in public.

"They are discriminating too much," Teruel Romero said. "The law the way it is is fine. There was space where you could smoke and space where it was smoke free."

But the new law would not be enough to persuade her to stay at home. "I will have to get used to it."

Anti-smoking campaigners in Spain, where there are an estimated 50,000 smoking related deaths each year, were overjoyed.

"This year, 2011, I can say the Three Wise Men have brought a great gift for Spain: the publication of this new law," said Jose Luis Diaz-Maroto Munoz, a family doctor and expert on the effects of smoking.

He said it would discourage children taking up the habit, encourage smokers to quit and "allow us all to breathe air that is not polluted by smoke".

Comments: 

What a sigh of relief, the authorities are finally stepping out to monitor the health issues of their citizens. Fortunately, Singapore started their law of No-Smoking in prohibited areas long ago, and such places include Playgrounds, entrance of Shopping Centers etc. 

I hope the new stricter law would have an impact on the citizens, and that the law will always remain as a law, not being forgotten or taken low notice of in future.

It is good to know that more anti-smoking campaigns have been going around encouraging people to stop smoking, although they're being warned of the added dangers they would face whenever each puff is taken.

I also hope that this applies to NYP students, as the teachers would be more on guard to catch students smoking in the campus, polluting the air of the students who wants to study in a conducive and clean environment with no distractions of cigarette smell.

Kelly Lim

102642J

Falling blackbirds baffle Arkansas officials

WASHINGTON (AFP) - – A flock of more than 1,000 blackbirds rained on the small town of Beebe, Arkansas, baffling wildlife officials who said on Sunday the birds would be tested.

The blackbirds began dropping from the sky on New Year's Eve, officials said, alarming residents as they mysteriously piled up on homes and gardens, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission said in a Facebook posting.

Game authorities said they had no immediate answer as to why the birds fell from the sky, and that they would be tested on Monday.

Some scientists said they could have been hit by high-altitude hail, or startled by fireworks, the Arkansas Times reported.

People from most of Latin America, including neighboring Mexico and Central America, traditionally mark New Year's Eve by setting off fireworks for as long as possible -- a noisy celebration that might well have blasted the single flock of birds straight out of their roost.

Of the almost 310 million Americans, about 40 million are of Hispanic culture, and millions more Latin Americans live in the United States illegally.

Comments:

Wow, what an amazing sight i'd like to catch, seeing more than 1000 blackbirds raining on a small town. Inevitably, i'd shun away and be afraid but nonetheless, it's still a rare amusing sight. 

Many possible reasons were laid out to determine the cause of these falling of black birds all of a sudden from no where. For me, i'd like to imagine that God sent this lovely blackbirds to add a little spice to the nature! :)

Side note joke: There's a saying," Birds of the same feather, flock together." These black birds sure do know how to flock together.

Kelly Lim
102642J

Six choke to death on New Year rice cakes in Tokyo

TOKYO (AFP) - – Six people choked to death and five others were in a serious condition after eating traditional glutinous "mochi" rice cakes to celebrate the New Year in Tokyo, fire department officials said Monday.

The victims, in their 70s or older, died of suffocation over the weekend after eating the New Year delicacy, the fire department said.

During the New Year period, one of Japan's biggest holidays, families traditionally cook "ozouni" soup and put the sticky rice cakes in the vegetable broth.

"Please be aware that mochi, which is so sticky, may cause suffocation if you swallow mochi without chewing it well," the fire department said in a statement.

The fire department is advising people, especially the elderly and infants, to cut mochi into small pieces before eating it.

Every year, several Japanese, mostly older people or infants, die after choking on rice cakes.

Comments:

Rice cakes, mochi, has always been my all-time favorite snack on-the-go. It's sticky inside but smooth outside texture is a delicious snack to munch on whenever your mouth itches.

However, it is sad to hear that 6 people were choked to death during New Year as it was meant to be a new beginning, not an end. 

It is so sticky that it may cause suffocation if you swallow mochi without chewing it well, and that is a lesson learnt- not to be greedy and enjoy every single bit of the delicacy. 

Kelly Lim

102642J

Three dead after Russian plane bursts into flames

MOSCOW (AFP) - – Three people were killed on Saturday and more than 30 injured when an aircraft burst into flames before take-off on a runway at an airport in Russia's Far North, the Russian prosecutor's office said.

The office's panel investigating the accident said it launched a probe "for violation of security and operational regulations of a Tu-154 aircraft that caused the death of three people" who were being identified.

"More than 30 are in hospitals of the town of Surgut," it said in a statement. Interfax news agency quoted local prosecutors as saying that a child was among the three dead.

A spokesman for the emergencies ministry said at least 46 people were injured.

The Tupolev-154 with 116 passengers and eight crew on board had been due to fly from Surgut in the Far North of Russia's Urals region to Moscow.

Reports said the plane was completely burned in the accident, the latest deadly incident to hit the Russian aviation industry.

The plane had started burning while taxiing on the runway at Surgut ahead of take-off, the investigative committee said in a statement.

"The emergency services were unable to put out the fire and there was an explosion. The passengers and members of the crew were evacuated before the explosion."

Russian news agencies named the airline as regional carrier Kogalymavia, also known as Kolavia.

The first images from the scene showed the wreckage of the plane broken in two and slumped on the runway with a huge cloud of white smoke billowing from an engine.

Initial reports said that one of the plane's engines caught fire in the air and it made an emergency landing but subsequently officials said that the incident had taken place before take-off on the runway.

"There was a thick, black smoke and people started to panic. They were literally stepping on each other's heads," said Sergei Grigoriyev, a singer with popular Russian rock group Na-Na who were on the plane.

"I saw my life flash before me," he said according to ITAR-TASS. People "managed to get out through an emergency exit over a wing".

Transport Minister Igor Levitin said it was not clear what had caused the accident.

"The plane was taxiing on the runway and preparing for take-off," he said according to the Interfax news agency. "The specialists do not understand what sparked the fire."

Earlier this month, a plane with 169 people on board rolled off the runway at Moscow's Domodedovo airport on landing and broke into three pieces, killing two and injuring more than 80.

In September, a Russian Tupolev plane carrying 81 people made a "miracle" crash landing at a deserted air strip deep in the Siberian taiga after a complete mid-flight power failure.

Comments: 


Recent cases of airplane bursting into flames have been reported quite often now. The latest case, before this Russian Plane, was the Qantas Airbus 360. It was the very same plane i took just last few months back, and i'm glad that God's hand of protection was on me and i was back safe and sound.

I think stricter rules should be set so as to prevent such further cases of plane bursting into flames from happening once again as it puts passengers on board an unsound peace of mind whenever they travel overseas. Double-checks are never enough, it should be check umpteen times, when the pilot is confident of flying it without any casualties involved.

My greatest condolences to these three dead passengers, and i pray that this such incident, where the plane bursts into flames, would never have its history repeat itself.

Kelly Lim

102642J

Rare 'panda cow' born in northern Colorado

CAMPION (Colorado) - A RARE miniature cow with markings similar to a panda bear was born on a farm in northern Colorado.

The so-called 'panda cow' born in Larimer County is thought to be one of only about 24 in the world.

The (Loveland) Reporter-Herald reports the male calf named Ben was born on Friday morning. His mother is a Lowline Angus cow.

Farmer Chris Jessen raises miniature cattle and also owns a miniature kangaroo on his hobby farm.

The miniature panda cow is the result of genetic manipulation. A white belt encircles the animal's midsection, and the cow has a white face with black ovals around the eyes, giving it a panda-like appearance.

The mini-cattle are bred solely as pets. Jessen says panda calves can sell for $30,000 (S$38,505). -- AP 

Comments:

At first, looking at the title i thought they had made an animal with the DNA of a panda and a cow.

What a  bummer, its just a disfigured cow or some sort.

Anyways , THERES ONLY 24 IN THE WORLD!>!>!?!?! SO COOL!

iPhone users ticked off over alarm clock glitch

IF YOUR employee showed up late for work yesterday, do not be too quick to blame it on a night of countdown revelry.

A bug in iPhone's operating system has affected its alarm clock function, causing users here and around the world to be late for work and appointments, and even miss flights.

One of them, Mr Alex Lam, 31, was 30 minutes late for work because his iPhone's alarm clock failed to go off.

'When I reached the office, I realised I wasn't the only one who was late. Many others were affected too.

'We joked that it was because of the late-night partying,' said the civil servant.

Mr Lam and his colleagues then tested the alarm clock on their iPhones, some of which were the latest iPhone 4 model and others the older ones. All failed to go off.

Malvin's Comment

I was also affected by the alarm clock glitch today morning.

I didnt realized that so many others were also affected but atleast i wasnt late for anything.
How many of you out there also had this happened to you??






MALVIN TAN(102142C)