Warning over child liver disease

Cross section of a fatty liverFatty Liver Disease can lead to problems like heart attack, stroke, diabetes and even cirrhosis
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Some 500,000 children in England may be at risk of developing life-threatening liver disease because they are overweight, a health adviser has said.

Professor Martin Lombard, England’s National Clinical Director for Liver Disease, says the four to 14-year-olds could develop “fatty liver disease”.

Too much fat in liver cells stops the liver from working properly, increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke.

It can also lead to diabetes and cirrhosis of the liver later in life.

Cirrhosis – scarring of the liver – is commonly associated with alcohol abuse, but it can also be caused by obesity.

Professor Lombard bases his projections on figures from the National Child Measurement Programme.

He warns that up to 60,000 10 year olds “could be at risk” of having excessive fat in the liver while they are children, leading to serious health problems when they get older.

“The unfortunate problem with liver disease is you don’t get any symptoms at all until it’s at an advanced stage”

Professor Martin Lombard Clinical Director for Liver

When looking at a broader age range, children aged four to 14, the figures are even more stark, with Professor Lombard estimating that 500,000 are potentially at risk.

While the rate of increase in childhood obesity seems to be flattening out, the total number of overweight children is still very high.

Government figures for child obesity in England in the school year 2009/10 showed that nearly a fifth of children in reception class (aged four) were obese or overweight.

Among Year 6 children (10 to 11-year-olds) the figure was one in three.

Professor Lombard warns that “non-alcoholic fatty liver disease” could be a silent killer among this generation of children.

“The unfortunate problem with liver disease is you don’t get any symptoms at all until it’s at an advanced stage. So you get cirrhosis and then you have complications that arise from that cirrhosis which can be very serious.

“So it’s not until that late stage that you get any symptoms at all.

“Parents should be concerned about children who are overweight as they will be at risk of developing fatty liver.

“If they don’t become more active and lose the weight as they go on, then they become overweight adults and have a range of other risk factors as well.”

Sarah Matthews, spokesperson of the British Liver Trust, said: “Children’s livers are being cultivated for disease by a poor diet and lack of exercise.

“Even though alcohol is regarded as the key cause of liver disease in the UK, weight-related liver damage is set to become a huge public health problem where, if the projections hold true, obesity could overtake alcohol as the biggest single driver of cirrhosis in the future.

“Too much alcohol and fatty foods, coupled with a lack of symptoms, means that liver disease is becoming difficult to ignore and is already costing the NHS millions each year.

“The number of people affected by liver disease and the health costs are set to soar, particularly with the growing number of young people who are overweight and obese.”

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Royal couple sail to Quebec City

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge greet the crew of HMCS MontrealThe couple sailed from Montreal to Quebec City
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The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are on board a Canadian naval ship, travelling from Montreal to Quebec City, on the latest leg of their first overseas tour as a married couple.

Overnight they sailed up the St Lawrence river to the city on the frigate HMCS Montreal.

Their agenda for Sunday involves morning prayers with the crew on the helicopter deck of frigate.

They will then visit a youth project and attend a military ceremony.

The ceremony honours the Royal 22nd Regiment of Canada in the city, as well as a Freedom of the City Ceremony, at Quebec City Hall.

They will also attend a community event, including barbecues and stalls, before a short flight to Prince Edward Island.

Prince Edward Island is the most easterly point of the tour, and is known as the home of Anne of Green Gables – a fictional character said to be a favourite of the duchess.

2011 itinerary highlights

The Duchess and Duke of Cambridge

30 June: Arrival in Ottawa1 July: Canada Day celebrations in Ottawa2 July: Visit to a Montreal cookery school3 July: Freedom of the city ceremony in Quebec City4 July: William takes part in Sea King helicopter training session on Prince Edward Island5 July: Visit to Yellowknife, Northwest Territories7 July: Arrival in Calgary8 July: Attend Calgary Stampede. Leave for USHighlights of the royal tour

The official welcome to Prince Edward Island is on Monday, and the Canadian government expects their visit may be a focal point for many well-wishers from across the Maritimes provinces, Clarence House said earlier.

On Monday, still on Prince Edward Island, Prince William will take part in a Sea King helicopter training session.

A dragon boat race is scheduled for later, with the husband and wife steering opposing teams.

Their first overseas tour has involved a tree-planting ceremony in the grounds of Government House, in Ottawa; a Montreal children’s hospital visit; and a citizenship ceremony for 25 new Canadians who had come from 12 different countries.

They were also guests of honour for celebrations for Canada Day, when about 100,000 people joined events on Parliament Hill as part of a national holiday to mark the country’s 144th birthday.

In Montreal there was a protest outside the hospital the couple visited, with about 60 protesters shouting “down with the monarchy” and “We will never bend, Willy go home!”

They also chanted “French Quebec!” and “Parasite go home!”

The couple are visiting seven Canadian cities in eight days in their first official overseas tour.

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West Ham act over stadium claims

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West Ham United are taking legal action against Tottenham Hotspur and The Sunday Times over allegations about the Olympic Stadium bidding process.

West Ham said they were treating the claims “with the utmost seriousness”.

It comes after an Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC) employee was suspended when it emerged she worked for West Ham during their bid to use the stadium in London after the 2012 Games.

West Ham said they were “certain of the robustness” of their successful bid.

A West Ham spokesman said: “West Ham United can confirm the club are taking legal action in relation to allegations made in today’s Sunday Times.

“We are certain of the robustness of our successful bid for the Olympic Stadium.”

On Friday it was revealed that an OPLC director had been suspended on full pay after it emerged she had been undertaking paid consultancy work for West Ham.

The director, later named by West Ham as Dionne Knight, had declared “a personal relationship” with a Hammers employee when she started at the OPLC, but on Thursday she told the legacy company of her work at the club.

The OPLC said she was being suspended while any possible conflict of interest was investigated.

The OPLC board voted 14-0 in February to back the Hammers as first choice to move into the £486m stadium after the Games. The OPLC and West Ham said Ms Knight had no involvement in that decision.

West Ham said they had already carried out an investigation into the woman’s role with the club.

West Ham plan to retain the running track after moving into the stadium and create a 60,000-capacity arena for football, athletics, concerts and community use.

Last month, attempts by Tottenham and Leyton Orient to get a judicial review of the OPLC’s decision in favour of West Ham were rejected.

Spurs’ plan had involved knocking down most of the structure and rebuilding it without the running track, instead rebuilding the National Sports Centre at Crystal Palace.

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Oil spill hits Yellowstone River

Aerial view of the Yellowstone River

Aerial view of Yellowstone River oil leak

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An ExxonMobil pipeline in the US state of Montana has ruptured, leaking hundreds of barrels of crude oil into the Yellowstone River, officials say.

The company said the pipe had been shut down and the segment where the leak happened had been isolated.

Nearby residents were evacuated, but later allowed to return to their homes.

The accident happened downstream from the famed Yellowstone national park, a major tourist attraction in the US.

Clean-up crews have been deployed to tackle the spill, which was detected early on Saturday.

ExxonMobil spokeswoman Pam Malek told AP news agency an estimated 750 to 1,000 barrels of oil had leaked from the pipe for about a half-hour before it was shut down.

Map

“We recognise the seriousness of this incident and are working hard to address it,” the company said in a statement.

“Our principal focus is on protecting the safety and health of the public and our employees,” it added.

It is unclear how far the slick will travel, but Duane Winslow, the county’s director of disaster and emergency services, said it was dissipating as it moved downstream.

“We’re just kind of waiting for it to move on down while Exxon is trying to figure out how to corral this monster,” Mr Winslow said.

There are fears that fish will suffer because of the accident.

“If fish get oil on them, if they break the surface and get oil on them, it tends to plug up their gills and it often is fatal,” said Bob Gobson, of the Billings Fish, Wildlife and Parks Program.

Exxon promised a full investigation into the spill, which occurred in a 12-inch pipeline, running from Silvertip to Billings, downstream from Yellowstone National Park.

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Newspaper review

Sunday newspapers

Starvation has returned to the Horn of Africa, according to a special report by the Independent on Sunday.

Drought combined with war in Somalia and soaring food prices is threatening a famine that could affect eight to 10 million people, the paper says.

According to the Observer, long-awaited legislation on how supermarkets treat their suppliers looks likely to be derailed or rendered toothless.

This is by what is described as “heavy artillery lobbying” by big retailers.

The Prince of Wales has apparently summoned seven cabinet ministers in 10 months for talks on issues ranging from global warming to architecture.

Documents were obtained by the Mail on Sunday under Freedom of Information.

According to the Sunday Express, the Duchess of Cambridge has spoken of her concern for Prince William on his helicopter rescue missions.

She is said to have told a military wife in Canada: “I always worry – but my job is to support my husband.”

The Observer takes a look at what it describes as the “simmering antagonism” between the prime minister and Commons Speaker John Bercow.

Mr Bercow twice interrupted David Cameron during Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday.

The Observer wonders whether a “bitter class divide” might be to blame.

The Mail on Sunday’s Peter Hitchens says history tells us that when there is a battle between the Speaker and the State, the Speaker is the one to back.

According to the News of the World, “Mickey Mouse” degrees in “wacky subjects” such as surfing and puppetry are being axed.

This is because, it says, students faced with paying up to £9,000 a year for courses are no longer applying.

UK military bandsmen are “brassed off”, according to the Sunday Telegraph.

The paper says cash payments of about £80 to £150 they received for playing at events will now go to the Ministry of Defence in a money-saving move.

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Potty-mouth politics

 
John Howard, 1999John Howard. “Lazarus with a triple bypass” was one of the kinder epithets

The US presidential campaign is already upon us, and my advice for anyone hoping to make full sense of its reporting would be to invest in a glossary of American sporting terms. In Iowa and New Hampshire, candidates are already swinging for the fences, trying to make it to first base, and even throwing the occasional Hail Mary pass.

Although this is a sports-obsessed country, Australian political discourse does not rely on sports analogies to anywhere near the same degree. True, politicians are sometimes accused of playing the man not the ball. Troublesome issues might occasionally be kicked into touch. Government ministers might be bowled a bouncer or a googly during Question Time – although more commonly they are the grateful recipients of friendly long-hops from backbenchers within their own parties.

Overall, however, the language of Australian politics owes more to anatomy than sport. Body parts are an ever present. Bodily functions and medical afflictions have always been fashionable.

Needless to say, the heart is central. John Howard not only became a self-styled “Lazarus with a triple bypass”, but was accused of inflicting serious coronary damage on the country during the republican referendum. Politicians also have to pass the great Australian ticker test. The lack of a strong ticker is seen as a more serious deficiency than spinelessness or the occasional loss of testicular fortitude. That said, the accusation of facelessness is becoming increasingly wounding, as the union leader Paul Howes or Labor powerbroker Bill Shorten might attest.

The phrase “flat-lining”, which obviously indicates a loss of heartbeat, is often used to describe a string of unfavourable polls – which themselves are indicative of a “haemorrhaging” of support. Unpopular policies are often said to be on “life-support”.

As one would expect following a particularly gory phase of federal politics, rarely is there any shortage of blood. Nor testosterone, which seems to occupy the airspace in the backrooms of politics once monopolised by smoke.

This brings us to the nether regions of the body, which Australian politicians have never been embarrassed to probe. In the eyes of Mark Latham, John Howard was an “arse-licker”. Bob Hawke thought that bosses who expected their employees to turn up to work after the America’s Cup triumph were “bums”.

Paul Keating, January 1992The colourful Paul Keating was not averse to the odd insult

When it comes to the lavatorial, it is tempting to conclude that Labor leaders have won the race to the bottom. But that would overlook Tony Abbott’s two-word summation of anthropological global warming: “Absolute crap”. Summing up a particularly bad day on the campaign trail during the 2007 election, he also simply opined that “shit happens”.

Yet the mind often triumphs over matter. Governments regularly suffer from “collective nervous breakdowns”, while Kevin Rudd was accused of Attention Deficit Disorder because of his tendency to flit from one policy area to the next. Paul Keating, as ever, was more blunt. For him, John Howard was simply “brain-damaged”.

What does all this say about Australian politics? As we have noted many times before, its lingua franca emphasises the franca over the lingua, perhaps more so than in other advanced economies. This is a plain-speaking country, after all. As a consequence, politicians here often owe their reputations to being potty-mouthed rather than being silver-tongued.

I would also argue that alternative metaphorical touchstones do not really work. Outside of South Australia, politics here lacks a dynastic dimension, which rules out much of Greek mythology. From the Adams to the Bushes, US politics is full of Oedipal overtones, and hence mythological references, which is simply not the case here.

Similarly, Shakespeare does not feature so prominently – as it does, say, at Westminster or in Washington – because so few contemporary political figures could genuinely be described as Shakespearian. True, Paul Keating might have had the lean and hungry look of Cassius. Similarly, Peter Costello could plausibly have been cast as the Hamlet of the Howard era. But during last year’s leadership coup I winced whenever Shakespeare was appropriated to describe either Kevin Rudd or Julia Gillard because neither of them possesses a sufficiently dramatic persona. Perhaps one could imagine Ms Gillard as a fringe character handed a few meagre lines, but not commanding central stage.

The rowdy and infantile behaviour of Aussie politicians is under especially close scrutiny at the moment, with the New York Times, the Economist and BBC amplifying criticisms that have been regularly voiced by local commentators. The politics here at present does appear boorish and second-rate. But demands for change seem to fall on deaf ears. Canberra politicians seem to like things the way they are: bruising and brutal, for that is the character of the body politic at the arse end of the world.

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Labour urges rail contract review

Bombardier sign at factoryBombardier is the UK’s last train-making factory
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The decision to award a £1.5bn rail contract to a German rather than a UK manufacturer had dealt a “body blow” to the sector, Labour has warned.

Shadow business secretary John Denham and shadow transport secretary Maria Eagle have written to PM David Cameron urging him to review the decision.

They said it threatened thousands of jobs at Derby-based Bombardier.

The Department for Transport awarded the contract for 1,200 new carriages for the Thameslink line to Siemens.

The German company is due to construct the trains for the line between Brighton, London and Bedford at Krefeld, in the industrial Rhineland region.

Bombardier’s Litchurch Lane plant in Derby – where about 3,000 people are employed – is the last rolling stock manufacturer in the UK with a 150-year history.

Mr Denham and Ms Eagle wrote: “It is our belief that the loss of the contract could critically damage Britain’s last train manufacturing company.

“It could affect the inward investment that Bombardier makes in its own operations across the UK, and to the many suppliers which rely on it.

“And it raises serious questions about Britain’s ability to be a world-leading base for manufacturing.”

They added: “It is essential that we do all that we can to support our manufacturing businesses. If we do not, British companies will continue to lose out to our global competitors.”

They said a “full independent review” must take place to take into account the effect on the UK economy that the loss of this contract would create.

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Hezbollah reject Hariri warrants

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah delivers his speech. Photo: 2 July 2011Nasrallah described The Hague-based tribunal as biased

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has rejected indictments of four of its members over the 2005 assassination of Lebanon’s former PM, Rafiq Hariri.

He also said no power would be able to arrest the “honourable brothers”, who have not yet been named officially.

It was Nasrallah’s first reaction to the indictments issued by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) on Thursday.

The Shia Islamist movement has repeatedly denounced the UN-backed tribunal and vowed to retaliate.

Rafik Hariri and 22 others were killed in February 2005 in central Beirut when a huge bomb went off near his motorcade.

Hariri’s son, Saad, welcomed the indictments and described them as a “historic moment” for Lebanon.

In a televised speech on Saturday, Sayyed Nasrallah rejected “each and every void accusation” made by the STL, saying it was tantamount to an attack on the group.

He said the four group members were brothers “who have an honourable history in resisting Israeli occupation”.

Women pass by a giant portrait of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri near his grave, Beirut, Lebanon, 30 June 2011Rafik Hariri is widely credited with getting Lebanon back on its feet after the 15-year civil war

Sayyed Nasrallah went on by describing The Hague-based tribunal as biased and part of an Israeli plot.

The Hezbollah also urged people to stop worrying about the potential for conflict, saying the tribunal’s indictments would not lead to civil war in Lebanon.

On Thursday, Lebanon’s state prosecutor, Saeed Mirza, said he had received the indictments and four arrest warrants from an STL delegation in Beirut.

The STL later confirmed the indictments, stating that the judge “is satisfied that there is prima facie evidence for this case to proceed to trial”.

It added that it would not reveal the identities of those indicted.

However, Lebanese Interior Minister Marwan Sharbil has told the AFP news agency that the names of the men charged are Mustafa Badr al-Din, Salim al-Ayyash, Assad Sabra and Hassan Unaisi.

Mr Badr al-Din was jailed in Kuwait over a series of bombings in 1983, and is a brother-in-law of the late top Hezbollah military commander, Imad Mughniyeh, who was assassinated in a 2008 bombing in Damascus.

Leaks from the tribunal suggest it is mainly relying on mobile phone evidence to accuse the Hezbollah members, the BBC’s Owen Bennett-Jones in Beirut reports.

The Lebanese government now has 30 days to arrest the four men, but Sayyed Nasrallah said they would not be detained not even in “300 years”.

With Hezbollah being a strong force within the government, no-one is expecting the arrests, our correspondent adds.

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Boy’s murder ‘as bad as it gets’

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A 16-year-old boy stabbed to death in south-east London has been named as Yemurai Kanyangarara.

The teenager, from Belvedere, was fatally injured at about 1700 BST in Upper Wickham Lane, Welling.

Yemurai was taken to a south London hospital where he later died. A post-mortem examination is due to be held, the Met Police said.

A man was been arrested but has since been released without charge. Police are appealing for more witnesses.

Witness David Walker, 83, said a bike and crash helmet lay on the ground within the area being guarded by police.

He said: “We were horrified.

“Nobody could say it’s quiet around here but nothing like this has happened here before.”

Yemurai was the eighth teenager murdered in London this year.

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Greece arrests Gaza ship captain

The Audacity of Hope is escorted by the Greek coastguard at the port of Perama, near Athens (1 July 2011)The Audacity of Hope was prevented from setting sail from the port of Perama on Friday night

The Greek authorities have arrested the captain of a boat that was due to carry activists to the Gaza Strip.

John Klusmire, a US citizen, is being held in custody at police headquarters in the port of Piraeus, near Athens.

He faces charges of trying to leave port without permission and of endangering the lives of passengers.

His vessel, the Audacity of Hope, was part of a flotilla planning to take humanitarian aid to Gaza in order to challenge the Israeli blockade.

It was prevented from setting sail from the port of Perama on Friday night by the Greek coastguard, in accordance with a ban announced the same day which the Greek government said was intended to protect activists.

The Audacity of Hope, which is currently moored at a naval base, was carrying 36 passengers, four crew and about 10 members of the media.

A spokeswoman for the boat, Jane Hirschmann, told the Associated Press that the conditions of Mr Klusmire’s detention were “terrible”.

“There is no bed. He is sitting on a bench,” she added.

The Israeli government has meanwhile denied claims it sabotaged two ships docked in Turkey and Greece which were to join the flotilla.

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor dismissed the accusations as “ridiculous,” calling them “sad conspiracy theories”.

The Turkish authorities have also said there is no evidence that the Irish vessel docked at the Aegean port of Gocek was sabotaged.

Nine activists on a Turkish aid ship were killed last year in a raid by Israeli commandos as it tried to reach Gaza.

Israel and Egypt have imposed a blockade on the coastal territory since the Islamist militant group, Hamas, seized control of it in 2007.

The Quartet of Middle East peace mediators – the UN, US, EU and Russia – said on Saturday that it remained concerned about the unsustainable conditions facing Palestinian civilians in Gaza, but noted “a marked increase in the range and scope of goods and materials” allowed in.

“The Quartet strongly urges all those wishing to deliver goods to the people of Gaza to do so through established channels so that their cargo can be inspected and transferred via established land crossings.”

“The Quartet regrets the injury and deaths caused by the 2010 flotilla, urges restraint and calls on all governments concerned to use their influence to discourage additional flotillas, which risk the safety of their participants and carry the potential for escalation,” it added.

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