Barack Obama back for another four years as world leaders pay tributes to the re-elected President
World leaders congratulate Barack Obama on his US Presidential election win as tributes were paid across the globe.
Heads of state broadly welcomed Mr Obama’s election to a second term in the White House but urged him to play a leading role in issues such as boosting the economy, solving climate change and improving relations with the Arab world.
World leaders rushed to offer Congratulations, including fellow UN Security Council members Britain, China, France and Russia as well as its staunch Middle East ally Israel and Mr Obama’s ancestral home in Kenya.
Within minutes of Mitt Romney conceding defeat, leaders across the world took to their personal Twitter account to send “warm congratulations to president Obama”.
Ireland’s President Michael D. Higgins offered his US counterpart “the continued goodwill and best wishes of the people of Ireland” and Taoiseach Enda Kenny sent his congratulation to Barack Obama on his re-election to the Oval office for another four years in Washington.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, posted a surprisingly warm message on the micro-blogging site alongside a smiling photograph of the pair in the Oval Office.
Relations between the pair are said to be tense, particularly after Mr Netanyahu appeared to support Mr Romney’s campaign.
Their strained relationship has also been fuelled by Mr Obama’s policies on Iran and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“The prime minister congratulates the president of the United States for his victory in the election,” he later said in a statement.
“The strategic alliance between Israel and the United States is stronger than ever.
“I will continue to work with President Obama to ensure the vital security interests of Israel and the United States.”
As Mr Obama’s re-election bid gather momentum over recent weeks, Israeli officials stressed that a second term for the US president would not mean a deterioration in bilateral ties.
Mr Netanyahu is due to meet with US ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro later today, with the US official posting a message of thanks on Twitter.
Ehud Barak, Israel’s Defence Minister, also offered Mr Obama his congratulations, saying he expected the US president to continue to offer Israel strong support in comments that were also echoed by Israeli Vice Prime Minister Silvan Shalom.
Mahmud Abbas, the Palestinian president, called on Mr Obama him to pursue Middle East peace efforts.
In a statement issued through the country’s official news agency, he “congratulated US President Barak Obama on his re-election as US president for a second term”.
But he added that he hoped Mr “Obama continues his efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East”.
Though Iranian media have long said the country saw little difference between Mr Obama and Mr Romney on tensions over Tehran’s nuclear program, that did not stop the officials Fars news agency for rolling out the vivid headline, “Republican’s elephant crushed by Democrat’s donkey”, the Associated Press reported.
European leaders were also quick to congratulate Mr Obama on his historic victory.
Herman Van Rompuy, European Union President, expressed joy at the result.
“Very happy about the reelection of President Obama,” he wrote in Dutch on his Twitter account.
Osé Manuel Barroso, the European Commission president, the pair said they had the “pleasure of extending our warm congratulations to President Obama”.
They added: “The United States is a key strategic partner of the European Union and we look forward to continuing the close cooperation… to further strengthening our bilateral ties and to jointly addressing global challenges.”
They said this would include the global economy, security, job creation and foreign policy.
Russia President Vladimir Putin, whose relations with Washington have often been frosty, sent a telegram congratulating Mr Obama.
“We hope that the positive beginnings that have taken hold in Russian-US relations on the world arena will grow in the interests of international security and stability,” his spokesman said.
Moscow was ready to “go as far as the US administration is willing to go”, said Sergei Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister.
Francois Hollande, the French President, also hailed Mr Obama’s victory, which he said meant a “clear choice for an open, united America that is totally engaged on the international scene.
Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, said in a letter to Obama that she “greatly values” cooperation.
She added that she looked forward to continuing cooperation “so both our countries can continue to stand side-by-side to contend with the important foreign policy and economic challenges that we face as friends and allies”.
Donegal student model Maria scoops top prize in London
Donegal student Maria Gildea has been given a whirlwind start to her modelling career, having scooped the overall title of 2012 Specsavers Spectacle Wearer of the Year. It’s a huge coup for the 20 year old, who beat off stiff competition from thousands of models to take the title at the international final held at London’s Battersea Power Station.
New to the modelling scene, Maria has now been signed up by MOT Models, one of the largest modelling agencies in the UK. The top agency signed Posh Spice and Geri Halliwell in their early careers. Maria will also be represented by Assets Model Agency in Ireland.
Gok Wan, style guru and ambassador for the anti-bullying charity, Kidscape, hosted the event, which was also attended by Coronation Street actress Helen Flanagan. Other specs-wearing celebrities at the final included Mc Fly’sTom Fletcher; actress Su Pollard; Strictly star Sid Owen; TV presenter Jeff Brazier; Atomic Kitten singers Jenny Frost and Liz McLarnon; Made in Chelsea’s Oliver Proudlock andEmmerdale’s Kelsey-Beth Crossley.
The panel of judges included X Factor singer Marcus Collins; Carly Hobbs from Fabulous magazine and blogger Liberty London Girl.
Maria Gildea’s journey began in August at the Spectacle Wearer of the Year Irish final at the RDS in Dublin when she beat off stiff competition from thousands of hopefuls to win a place in the final, representing Ireland.
Specsavers founder and patron of Kidscape, Dame Mary Perkins, says: ‘To have so many young people proudly sporting specs is fantastic and it’s made all the more worthwhile because we’ve been able to raise a record breaking £30,000 for our charity partner Kidscape.’
Diet crucial to preventing breast cancer ’Top 10 foods that help prevent development of the disease’
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has predicted that by 2020 the number of breast cancer cases will jump to an alarming figure and one in every eight women would run the risk of developing the disease in her lifetime.
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) too, concluded that over the last two decades there has been a steep rise in the statistics pertaining to women being diagnosed with breast cancer. So grave is the scenario that in India, breast cancer has been declared the most common form of cancer, almost surpassing cervical cancer as the deadliest of all cancers. Early detection and regular medical-checkups are compulsory, but at the same time it is important that our diet and the food we eat prepare us to fight malignant cancer cells at the onset.
Tina Sapra, senior clinical nutritionist & coordinator with Fortis Memorial Research Institute and Dr Vandana Mathur, consulting nutritionist, Metropolis Healthcare, Mumbai, give us an insight into the top foods that can prevent breast cancer risk in women. The doctors discuss age groups most vulnerable to the disease and also inform us about the foods that should be avoided in daily diet to keep cancer cell growth in check.
Foods that prevent Breast Cancer
DONAL CONWAY vividly remembers the day his 44-year old brother, Brendan, died as if it were yesterday.
About 2:30 on the afternoon of February 18th 1999, Donal was working in his shop in Grattan Street, inSligo.
He was giving an order to a sales representative from Donegal when he got a telephone call from his younger brother.
It was short and curt; his brother simply told him to come up to Sligo General Hospital.
“He wouldn’t tell me what it was but I knew there was something wrong by the tone of his voice,” Donal recalled.
He remembers telling the sales rep, “I have to go, I have to go.
“The rep seemed shocked by my reaction.
“He didn’t know what was wrong until I explained to him on another visit.
“I rushed out the door, grabbed my keys and ran to the Johnston Court car park where my car was parked.
“Of course the car was hemmed in and I had to wedge it out.
“I raced out of the car park and headed to the hospital..”
On the way, he called to another shop to see one of his other brothers who was working there if he knew what happened.
At the doorway of the hospital, he was met by the chaplain, Fr. John Carroll.
“He said nothing, only gave me a big hug.
“Then he struggled to tell us what had happened,” Donal recalls.
Fr. Carroll took him into a private room, where their mother, who is now 84, was being already consoled.
She had been in the hospital to visit Brendan.
But that was before he had jumped to his death from a 6th floor window.
It was also the 12th anniversary of his father’s passing.
Brendan had been admitted to Sligo General to receive treatment to a face wound as a result of a previous incident while a patient in St. Columba’s psychiatric hospital.
Brendan’s suicide was, of course, a shocking and traumatic event.
In retrospect, the warning signs were there.
But 14 years later, Donal believes it still has lessons for us.
Donal said: “He was on medication and went off it. This is what patients do and there is a message there.”
As for Brendan taking his life on his father’s anniversary, Donal said: “We can only assume that it must have been a plan he had.
“My father died in the hospital too and Brendan was close to my father.”
According to Donal, his brother suffered from depression.
“He tried to hide it as much as he could from my mother.
“He would have had it around the age of 29 or 30.
“There is a point when people are susceptible to it and 25 to 30 seems to be it from my experience.”
Brendan was one of a family of nine from Newtown, Cliffoney.
As a young man, had worked with his father on the family farm, his love of animals extending to ownership of the racehorse “Autumn Grove.”
The horse was subsequently killed when hit by a vehicle.
Brendan had no insurance on the horse and, according to Donal, it cost him financially.
“It was an event that may have aggravated his depression,” Donal said.
For all those bereaved by suicide, there are scores of unanswered questions.
To this day, the exterior of the shop in Holborn Street where Brendan once owned and worked as a shoe repairman remains, according to Donal, “a dark reminder of the event of February 18th 1999.”
He said: “Part of grieving is having questions, wondering what more could be done.
“It’s one of the questions you ask again and again.
“But there is not much more you can do.
“It’s fate and a lot of things play into it.
“It’s all about the person having that doubt about their mental health.
“We all have those doubts from time to time and anyone who tells you different is not telling the truth.
“But you have to be counselled and counsel yourself that nothing more could be done.”
And he pointed out that medical and mental health support, and medication in particular, had improved.
In addition, Donal welcomes the increased openness about suicide.
“Nowadays, thankfully, there is more talking about suicide and the overall lack of mental health awareness.
“There’s also more consultation about the effects of medication.”
He also believes people need to be aware that there are times and places when people are more susceptible to breakdown, and maybe even suicide.
“People should talk about it to each other and to professionals, and not on social media as many young people are doing today.
“People should go and seek professional help, talk to family or friends about their concerns, and pursue an advised course of action rather than suicide.”
Donal rejects the notion that suicide is a selfish act.
“It happens where there is no hope, when people are in a dark place, when they can’t see any solution or won’t accept a proper solution that would help them.”
As for the increasing prevalence of suicide, he said: “It’s not about only young people.
“There are retired people who have taken their own lives.
“There are a range of problems that could trigger it.”
In relation to those bereaved by suicide, he said: “You never properly get over it.
“You have your own way of coping with it.”
Flaxseed
You can get flax either as whole seed, ground or Flaxseed oil. The omega-3s, lignans and fibre found in flaxseed are found to form a protective shield against cancer cells responsible for causing breast cancer. Include flax to yogurt or a smoothie to create a richer and nutty flavour. You can add flaxseed oil to salad dressings too or integrate them into baked goods, such as cookies or muffins.
Uniquely rich in selenium, fibre, and phytochemicals, Brazil nuts can help fight inflammation, improve the immune system and prevent tumour growth. And you do not need many of them—a palmful can do the trick. Enjoy them as any other nut either with fruits or asparagus (contains the anti-cancer component, chlorophyll).
Rich source of cancer-fighting compound called allium, garlic and its relatives (onion, leeks, scallions, and chives) are shown to slow tumour growth and prevent breast cancer risk among other forms of cancer such as colorectal and prostate cancers. Garlic and onions are found in a variety of foods including Italian, Spanish, Indian, Thai and Chinese dishes. Crush or swallow a piece of garlic every morning and that’s all it takes to live a cancer-free life!
This is highly recommended for preventing breast cancer. It contains polyphenol- an ellagic acid with anti-oxidant properties that prevent cancer growth. Include this delicious fruit in your diet and discover effective health benefits.
From kale, collards to spinach and Swiss chard, dark-green leafy vegetables probably are considered a “one stop shop” for all the best nutrients your body needs to fend off cancerous cells, i.e. fibre, vitamin B, phytochemicals, chlorophyll and more. It’s time to add some greens to your diet.
A great source of omega-3s and vitamins B12 and D, salmon can provide your body with the nutrients it needs to regulate cell growth and prevent cancer. In fact, certain types of Vitamin B12 (methylcobalamin) are proven effective in cancer treatment. Steam it, bake it, grill it or saute it. This fish is a great option and pairs well with many foods like garlic, dark-green leafy vegetables, turmeric, peppers and broccoli.
As a cruciferous (belonging to the plant family Cruciferae) vegetable along with cauliflower, brussels sprouts, cabbage and kale; broccoli is rich in sulforophane and indoles, which are shown to regulate cell growth in multiple ways and help fight a range of cancers, including breast, bladder, lymphoma, prostate and lung cancer.
Green tea
Consumption on a regular basis has been linked to lower incidence of breast cancer. The phyto-chemicals in green tea can well take the credit for its health benefits. One to two cups of green tea daily can help you keep cancer at bay.
Pick a pepper, any pepper! Most have some phytochemical or nutrient that will help fight cancer. Chilli and jalapeno peppers have capsaicin (an active component of chilli peppers) that fight the growth rate of cancer cells. Green peppers are rich in chlorophyll which can bind cancer-causing carcinogens found in the gut. Red peppers have both capsaicin and antioxidant carotenoids. Put them in a vegetable stir-fry or eat them with hummus.
A spice commonly found in our country cancer-fighting compound called curcumin can inhibit many types of cancer cells, including breast, gastrointestinal, lung, and skin cancer. A pinch ofturmeric fights toughest of cancer-causing cells.
Awareness Week in Galway to tackle under-age drinking
A campaign has been launched in Galway to combat rising levels of underage drinking.
A Health Behaviour in School Age Children (HBSC) study has shown that almost 50 per cent of teenagers in the West, aged between 15 and 17 years old, have had an alcoholic drink in the past 30 days. The 46.7 per cent figure for the West is significantly higher than the rest of the country, with the national figure standing at 40.4 per cent.
The research also showed that 40.8 per cent of 15 to 17 year olds in the Western region had been drunk in the past 30 days, compared to 36.6 per cent nationally.
Speaking this week, Liam O’Loughlin of the Western Region Task Force said that Galway’s first Drug and Alcohol Awareness Week would aim to reduce the harm caused to individuals, families and communities across Galway through the misuse of alcohol and drugs.
“In order to do this, we have to first recognise that alcohol is a drug and, as such, causes more harm to individuals, families and communities than any other legal or illegal drug,” he said.
“The use of alcohol has become an integral part of major social occasions here in Ireland but perhaps most worrying is how our attitude to drink has appeared changed from one where it was mainly used as a social lubricant, to now drinking with the objective of getting “drunk”. Challenging our own personal engagement with both legal and illegal drugs is an ideal way to begin to reduce potential harms.”
The Drug and Alcohol Awareness Week will take place in the city and county from Monday and will include a packed programme of activities and information events putting drugs and alcohol under the spotlight.
The week will have a special focus on the needs of families faced with drug or alcohol difficulties and the supports that are available to them.
The Salthill Hotel will be the location for an expert seminar called ‘Family Matters’ on Friday 16 November to look at the hidden reality of drug and alcohol use on families.
‘Getting the Edge’ takes place at The Clayton Hotel on Thursday 15 November and is a free seminar on positive approaches to sport and fitness, which will also look at the impact of performance and image enhancement products that are often readily available.
Former governor of Mountjoy Prison John Lonergan will also give a talk on ‘Empowering the Community’ at Ballinasloe’s Gullane’s Hotel on Monday 12 November at 7.30pm.
Perfectly preserved skeleton of a woolly mammoth found near Paris
‘As it was ‘hunted down and cut up for meat’ 20,000 years ago’
The find was made on the Changis-sur-Marne riverbank about 30 miles east of Paris
A perfectly preserved skeleton of a woolly mammoth which lived at least 20,000 years ago has been found near Paris.
It was found next to two flint blades – suggesting Neanderthal hunters would have been cutting it up for meat after hunting the creature down.
The incredible discovery saw the bones and tusks of the prehistoric animal dug up by archaeologists at Changis-Sur-Marne, on the banks of the Marne River.
It would have been around 9ft tall, with even longer tusks, and roamed the countryside before the French capital had even been thought of.
The mammoths are thought to have disappeared because of the combined effects of climate change, contagious diseases and human hunting.
But some have been preserved in their organic state after being frozen and being preserved over centuries.
The Changis mammoth, which has been nicknamed Helmut, would have been around 30 years old when it died, making it a relatively young adult.
Historians from the French archaeological research centre Inrap first began to dig up the animal in July after spotting it in the Gallo-Roman site.
It was buried under sandy soil, making it relatively easy to excavate, with the archaeologists now hoping to reconstruct its last movements.
Greg Bayle, the chief scientist on the dig, confirmed that the flints ‘appear to have been used to cut the animal’.
The last great find of a mammoth in France was as far back as 1859 when another one was found in Lyon, in the east of the country.
There have been far more discoveries in northeast Sibera, where the climate is far more likely to preserve the creatures.
The mammoth will be transported to the natural history museum in Paris in the next 10 days, where it will eventually be put on display for the public to look out.
The mammoth was described as one of the greatest archaeological finds of the 21st Century – especially as it might help scientists gain a better understanding of Neanderthal man.
‘Some archaeologists have spent have spent their lives dreaming of such a discovery with no luck,’ said Mr Bayle, the head of the excavation.
He said that the mammoth would have existed when the Seine-et-Marne department, some 50 miles from Paris, was a vast grassy plain, with ice blocks flowing across the River Marne.
‘The greatest prize are the flints nearby,’ said Stephane Pean, another scientist involved. ‘They show the presence of man on the side, and will help us built up a better understanding of the Neandethals, who were contemporaries of the mammoth.’
It may have been that the mammoth was being moved down river by hunters, said Mr Pean.
The archaeologists will now have to pay half of the ‘value’ of the mammoth to the owner of the land upon which it was found.
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