Dr Phin's Column

Why New York banned polystyrene foam http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-33334994

Greece debt crisis: PM Tsipras defiant as bank controls bite http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-33353521

(not exactly 2/7) Charleston Shooting http://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-us-canada-33181651

All Greek to you? Greece's debt jargon explained http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-33311405

Google apologises for Photos app's racist blunder http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-33347866

Indonesia transport plane crash death toll rises http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-33339965

Egypt's Sinai rocked by wave of deadly attacks http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-33340458

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-33178035

The number of people displaced by war, conflict or persecution reached a record high of nearly 60 million around the world in 2014, a UN report says.

http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-32397313

Men who are fed up with spending long hours alone in a virtual world can now buy time with a woman, known as a gamecaster, who will join in, the Want China Times website reports. It costs between 20 and 100 yuan (£3-$16; £2-£10) per hour, and some women also demonstrate games and give advice via a face-to-face online chat, the report says. But the women don't have to be particularly skilled gamers themselves - one escort company says having a "sweet voice" is a more popular feature. Men vastly outnumber women in China, partly due to years of a one-child policy which led to a preference for male babies. That has left many single men looking for female company.

http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-32455211

Iceland is one of the most progressive countries in the world when it comes to gay rights - but more conservative views are not unknown, and one prominent musician has started a social media storm by attacking a new sex education curriculum.

http://www.bbc.com/news/health-32446954

A controversial Chinese study that reveals genes in human embryos have been modified for the first time has sparked fierce debate.

The research looked at genetic editing techniques - which in theory can be used to snip out faulty bits of genetic material that would otherwise lead to serious inherited diseases.

Many focus on what would happen if embryos modified in this way were implanted in wombs and allowed to develop into live births.

This could mean dangerous, newly created genetic changes are passed on from one generation to the next.

And others argue the technology could be exploited to alter genes for cosmetic reasons.

But despite the uproar, not everyone is against the research.

They argue that studies which bring us incrementally closer to eliminating life-limiting genetic diseases must be allowed to continue.

Prof Lovell Badge says he is fully supportive of research being carried out on early human embryos in laboratory settings - especially on embryos that are not required for reproduction and would otherwise be discarded.

If the techniques work, he says, there are many questions that could be asked about the role of specific genes in early human development.

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-32387587

t's not strictly a selfie, of course, because I didn't "take" it (or make it) myself. I was scanned on a turntable in San Antonio, Texas, and then a colourful 3D rendering of me was uploaded to the company's headquarters in Emeryville, California, for manufacturing on their industrial-grade, colour 3D printers.

The company behind this set-up is Twindom. And its co-founder Richard Berwick tells me that over time, he found that the key to the market was not, in fact, 3D selfies.

"It's not usually the people in the frame that have the print. It's always their friends and family, eventually," he says.

http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-32428163

Pensioners who helped the Russian war effort against Nazi Germany have been treated to a party - at a funeral home.

The group of about 50 elderly women thought they were going on a city tour in Yekaterinburg, but instead found themselves at a tea party surrounded by coffins, headstones and funeral wreaths, state-owned Channel One TV reports. The event was ostensibly a celebration in advance of Victory Day, held on 9 May in Russia. But the women were also slipped business cards with the funeral home's contact details. While some took it in their stride, others were upset. "This is horrible - I was in such shock that I wasn't even able to attend Saturday of Souls," Yevgeniya Vyatkina says, referring to the Orthodox day for commemorating the dead. "I still have some life ahead of me, it's too early to go to a funeral parlour."

http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-32448416

The culture ministry put out a statement condemning as "uncivilised" habit of inviting exotic dancers to induce more people to attend the funeral, the official news agency Xinhua reports. The ministry named two recent examples where strippers had been invited to stage "obscene performances" - one in north China's Hebei Province and another in east China's Jiangsu. In both cases, both organisers and performers have been punished, it said, adding that it will work with police to stamp out the practice.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-32394188

Memorial services are being held for Farkhunda, the Afghan woman brutally killed by a mob last month. The 27-year-old was beaten to death by a crowd of men near a Kabul shrine after being falsely accused of burning the Koran.

The Shah-Du-Shamshaira mosque and shrine are within walking distance of the presidential palace and Kabul's main bazaar.

Crowds of young men were a common sight here, as were women looking for help with their problems.

Many came to seek out the "guardians of the shrine", men selling charms and amulets promising help with difficulties like childlessness, health or family issues.

Some of these guardians have long family ties with the shrine where they work, but they don't have a formal religious education and rely on their trade for money.

"The police suggested that we should say Farkhunda had a mental problem to avoid things getting out of hand," he told the BBC. "My dad just wanted her released and went along with it."

The family says it was only later that night that they were told Farkhunda had been killed and that they should leave Kabul for their own safety. Since then the family's life has been turned upside down.

"None of us go out," her brother said. "We don't go to work and our children don't go to school."

He says the family want justice.

"If we just let it go, tomorrow another woman could be killed just like Farkhunda," Mujib said.

In the days that followed, thousands protested in Kabul and other Afghan cities, demanding justice.

Some demonstrators carried banners bearing a picture of the bloodied face of Farkhunda. Others painted their own faces red.

There were solidarity gatherings in many countries, including the United States, Australia and the UK.

Religious clerics condemned the killing, but some warned that the case should not be used to attack Islam.

Women's rights activists, politicians and journalists have been discussing whether Farkhunda's death could bring change.

First lady Rula Ghani has spoken of her hope that the tragedy might be a turning point.

"In many homes people are finally facing the ugliness brought on by the violence against women," she said in a speech to diplomats in Kabul. "Already, many women have told me that when walking down the streets of Kabul they feel more confident and they seem to encounter much less harassment."

Dae-ul Haq Abedi, the deputy religious affairs minister, told the BBC that the selling of charms and other superstitious activities had been stopped in many shrines across the country and some personnel had been replaced.

"Farkhunda's killing gave us a courage we had not imagined before," he said. "We will continue her struggle against superstition and people are welcoming it."

He also said new regulations for shrines had been prepared as well as a licensing system to help distinguish between religious scholars and those without proper education.

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-32446358

Ms Pao was sacked from Kleiner Perkins - which has invested in a variety of successful technology firms, including Snapchat, Spotify, Uber, Twitter and Google - in 2012.

She now faces a legal bill of around $973,000 after she failed to convince jurors at the San Francisco Superior Court that her firing was due to discrimination.

After the trial, she tweeted: "Hopefully my case will inspire the venture capital industry to level the playing field for everyone including women and minorities."

While there are some very high-profile senior women in technology - such as Sheryl Sandberg at Facebook and Marissa Mayer at Yahoo - women are generally very under-represented in the industry.

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-32433547

The journey across the sea to Europe is taken by a lot of people in search of a better life. At any moment boats can capsize, they can run out of gas, the motor can break down - and they're vulnerable to the cold weather.

The survivors went through the usual process on their arrival - migrants are held in a detention centre for foreigners for 40 days, then they are either put on a flight to their countries of origin, or they are flown to mainland Spain.

They made it very clear what was going on back home in Mali. They come from large families. In Isa's case for example, they depend on crops and the harvest year by year. Work is scarce. They didn't have any opportunities. They were really living in a situation of extreme need.

Despite the risks they decided to make the journey. For them it was the only way out. They thought it would be worth it to try to help their families. Perhaps they didn't know exactly what was going to happen to them minute by minute, but they knew it was dangerous.

The main thing that struck me is the terrible living conditions they left behind. They risked dying at sea but they faced even greater pressures trying to survive at home. They did it because they had no other way out. It's not because they were adventure seekers.

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-32386683

Twelve years ago Bernarda Gallardo saw a headline in the local paper that changed her life. After reading the story about an abandoned baby she decided she had to help.

These are young women, often no more than girls who are victims of rape and incest. If it is their father or stepfather who rapes them, they are too frightened to speak out. The rapists are often the ones who are providing for the family," she says.

"After I was raped, I was lucky enough to be able to move on because of the support I got from my friends. But if I had been left on my own, perhaps I would have felt as helpless as they do."

Another reason babies are abandoned is poverty. "The women simply can't afford to feed another baby," says Gallardo.

It's difficult to estimate how many babies are dumped in Chile. Official statistics show that about 10 are found each year, but the real figure could be much higher - most dumps are closed to the public so it's possible that there are more bodies that have never been found.

Doctors have to prove that a baby lived in order for it to be registered as a human being and thus allowed a proper burial - so they had to examine Aurora's body.

Often doctors prefer to say a baby died at birth because they want to protect vulnerable mothers. Abortion is illegal in Chile and if a mother is caught abandoning her baby, even if she leaves it at a hospital, she can face up to five years in prison.

Gallardo also had to adopt Aurora in order to bury her, even though the child was dead.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-32475030

19th Century 200-step Dharahara tower in Kathmandu reduced to stump

Durbar Square in Old City badly damaged

In Bhaktapur, country's best preserved ancient city, 16th-Century Vatsala Durga and many other buildings destroyed

Several buildings in Patan's 3rd Century Durbar square razed

https://itsmesarahjane.wordpress.com/2015/04/22/the-difference-between-a-gold-star-and-detention/

perception of gay in holland and singapore (as seen by the marks of essay written)

http://www.stjobs.sg/career-resources/training-and-development/critical-talent-scarcity-among-3-issues-facing-spore-employers-report/a/205795?utm_source=outbrain&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=traininganddevelopment?xtor=AD-22

EMPLOYERS in Singapore are facing three pressing human capital issues, according to Randstad Sourceright's 2015 Talent Trends Report: the management of a multi-generational workforce, high talent mobility, and critical talent scarcity.

Said Mr Edmonds: "With unemployment remaining low at 1.9 per cent, the strong job market in Singapore serves as the number one risk to staff retention. Last year, in a sign of the increasing competition for global talent, worker mobility around the world continued to climb to new heights.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-32456789

The first doctor in the video talks about the establishment of a health ministry that regulates medical facilities across IS territory, including the Raqqa hospital, which he says has been refurbished.

A second doctor introduces the intensive care unit, which he says treats victims of military conflict and car accidents. A third speaks about the X-ray department, which includes a women-only unit.

Amidst the growing tide of IS propaganda videos, this is one of the more striking. The production values are - as we have now come to expect - high-end and glossy. The opening titles look more like a TV drama about life in a hospital than a documentary from a war zone.

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-32040752

Getting into good schools or universities is tough in many parts of the world, but in Hong Kong the pressure begins earlier. Often parents try to get children into a good kindergarten - and before that, into a good nursery. So there are now classes preparing toddlers for that all-important nursery interview.

The best nurseries and kindergartens are seen as a gateway into the best primary schools - which in turn, parents believe, pave the way to the best secondary schools and universities.

So the most renowned of them can receive more than 1,000 applications for just a few dozen places. As a result, enterprising tuition companies are now offering interview training for toddlers.

At one tuition company, the Hong Kong Young Talents Association (HKYTA), a series of 12 training sessions costs HK$4,480 ($580; £390) - that's nearly a quarter of the median monthly household income.

"Interview questions are getting harder and harder," says Fahy. "Kindergartens may ask children complex questions like, 'What are your eyes for?' or 'What type of egg is this?'

"They may also test a child's manners by offering them sweets at the end of the interview. The child has to take one and say, 'Thank you'. Taking too many sweets is seen as greedy, while declining the sweets is considered impolite."

In fact, though the parents may not realise it, many interviewers watch the parents more closely than the child, Jenny suggests.

"You want to know what kind of parents you're working with. If the parents are very pushy, it's automatically a No from me," she says.

She worries that early education has become too commercial, and too demanding - and she looks on uneasily as parents enrol pre-school children in English or Mandarin language classes, pushing them hard to excel.

It is a view shared by Dr Lam Ho Cheong, assistant professor in early childhood education at the Hong Kong Institute of Education. "On the one hand, you need to develop their ability - on the other hand, you want them to have an interest in learning," he says.