Airline considers fee for lavatory use

Fresh on the heels of one budget airline announcing that it will ask passengers to pay extra to bring carry-on bags on board, another is considering charging them for using the lavatory.

Ryanair, which is based in Dublin, Ireland, and bills itself as "Europe's first and largest low fares airline," is mulling a plan that would require travelers to pay either 1 euro or 1 British pound (about $1.33 or $1.52) for using the bathroom on flights lasting one hour or less.

The plan, titled "Ryanair Cost Saving Proposal," was published in the airline's inflight magazine.

The carrier said it is working with Boeing to develop a coin-operated door release so that when nature calls, passengers would need to deposit the change before being able to use the facilities.

The idea is to encourage people to use restrooms in airport terminals before boarding, Ryanair said. If the airline were to proceed, the changes would be at least 12 to 18 months away.

As part of the plan, the airline is also considering removing two of the three lavatories on some of its planes so it could squeeze in up to six extra seats. The move would help reduce fares by at least 5 percent, Ryanair said.

It's not the first time the airline has broached the subject of a toilet fee. CEO Michael O'Leary told the BBC in February 2009 that he was considering the charge.

How would it fly with passengers? One hint of how Americans might feel about it may come from an informal poll posted on TripAdvisor.com last summer in which one-fifth of the respondents said they would fly on an airline that charged a fee to access the bathroom; 78 percent said they would not. About 5,300 people answered the online survey question. But the idea may be less shocking to travelers in Europe, where it's not unusual to pay a small fee to use a public restroom.

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http://edition.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/04/07/ryanair.lavatory.fee/index.html

BRAIN "WASH OUT" MAY HELP PREMATURE BABIES

A technique that "washes out" the brains of severely ill premature babies may aid survival, a study suggests.

Bleeding in the brain is one of the most feared complications for the most premature babies as it can lead to brain damage or death.

The Bristol University study of 77 babies found the technique - involving draining the brain while introducing new fluid - could reduce the risk.

It is thought the technique could benefit about 100 babies a year.

The technique is carried out over a couple of days and requires close monitoring to ensure the pressure in the baby's brain does not rise too high, researchers say.

Experts have described the findings as encouraging.

It would be used only on the most premature babies with large haemorrhages, which cause the brain and head to expand excessively - a condition called hydrocephalus.

Standard treatment currently involves repeatedly inserting needles into the head or spine to remove the build up of fluid over a number of months before a shunt is inserted to drain fluid into the abdomen.

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8552575.stm

WATER IN THE MOON!!!

A radar experiment aboard India's Chandrayaan-1 lunar spacecraft has identified thick deposits of water-ice near the Moon's north pole.
The US space agency's (Nasa) Mini-Sar experiment found more than 40 small craters containing water-ice.
But other compounds - such as hydrocarbons - are mixed up in lunar ice, according to new results from another Moon mission called LCROSS.
The findings were presented at a major planetary science conference in Texas.
The craters with ice range from 2km to 15km (one to nine miles) in diameter; how much there is depends on its thickness in each crater. But Nasa says the ice must be at least a couple of metres thick to give the signature seen by Chandrayaan-1.
Dr Paul Spudis, from the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston, estimated there was at least 600 million metric tonnes of water-ice held within these impact craters.
The equivalent amount, expressed as rocket fuel, would be enough to launch one space shuttle per day for 2,200 years, he told journalists at the 41st Lunar and Planetary Science Conference.
What all these craters have in common are large areas of their interiors that never see sunlight.
Temperatures in some of these permanently darkened craters can drop as low as 25 Kelvin (-248C; -415F) - colder than the surface of Pluto - allowing water-ice to remain stable.
"It is mostly pure water-ice," said Dr Spudis. "It could be under a few tens of centimetres of dry regolith (lunar soil)."
This protective layer of soil could prevent blocks of pure ice from vaporising even in some areas which are exposed to sunlight, he explained.
Dr Spudis said: "Now we can say with a fair degree of confidence that a sustainable human presence on the Moon is possible. It's possible using the resources we find there.
"The results from these missions, that we have seen in the last few months, are totally revolutionising our view of the Moon."
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8544635.stm

RECOGNIZE WOMEN LAWYERS IN SAUDI ARABIA

Saudi Arabia is planning to bring in a new law to allow women lawyers to argue cases in court for the first time.

Justice Minister Mohammed al-Eissa said the law was part of King Abdullah's plan to develop the legal system.

The law - to be issued "in the coming days" - would allow women to appear in court on family-related cases, including divorce and child custody.

At the moment, they can only work behind the scenes in government and court offices.

The new legislation will also allow Saudi women to complete certain procedures without the presence of a witness.

"In accordance with the new law, women will be able to complete their preliminary procedures with notaries by just presenting their IDs," said Ministry of Justice official Osama al-Mirdas, according to Arab News.

Under a system of male guardianship, Saudi Arabian women are required to be kept separate from men they are not related to.

All are veiled to a greater or lesser degree in public, they are not allowed to drive, and women under 45 must receive permission from a male when they travel.

Opportunities for education and employment are also dependent on male guardianship.

But a number of steps have been taken to ease restrictions - for instance women are now allowed to stay in hotels unaccompanied.

Last year, a senior cleric was removed after criticising a new mixed-sex science and technology university.

The cleric, Sheikh Saad al-Shethry, had described the mixing of sexes in any university as evil and a great sin.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8526862.stm

WOMEN AT WAR

Yael Kidron is 21 years old and a combat soldier in the Israeli Defence Forces' mixed-sex Karakal Battalion, based in the Negev desert. She argues that it is only fair to allow women to take on physically challenging army roles.

"I decided to come and serve in a combat unit, because for one thing I grew up with five brothers and I needed to do something physical. It's not just sitting down and doing paperwork. I wanted to do something more challenging, and this is why I am here"

I came to serve in Karakal. It's a girls and guys unit. You basically do everything like the guys, you work hard.

Our base is in the middle of the desert, the middle of nowhere, kind of. We have very nice views here, sunset, sunrise. You've got a lot of wide open space here - and a lot of space where they can make you run when you get punished.

We live in tents. The tents are very sturdy, although honestly, to go from a nice cosy bed to a tent, living in these little beds... but it's awesome, I love it. I think it's a great experience.

Every day when I wake up in the morning, I don't say, 'Ooh what am I going to wear this morning?' It's the same thing every single morning. It's not a very nice colour of clothing - kind of olive-greenish pants and a shirt.

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8518649.stm

CHILE EARTHQUAKE LATEST

Thousands of Chilean troops are heading to the country's devastated earthquake zone as reports emerge of desperate survivors turning to looting and arson.

President Michelle Bachelet said a total of 7,000 troops would soon be in place in areas around Concepcion, the city closest to the epicentre.

An air bridge has been set up between Santiago and Concepcion, with 100 tons of food aid due in the next few hours.

At least 723 people have been confirmed dead in the 8.8-magnitude quake.

Ms Bachelet said reinforcements would join the troops already in the provinces of Bio Bio and Maule, bringing the total to some 7,000.

Concepcion is under another night under curfew, which has been extended to be in force from 2000 (2300 GMT) until noon on Tuesday.

Reports are emerging from the city of residents clashing with police as they lay siege to shops and supermarkets in the search for food.

The army was called in to help the police force deal with looters, some of whom filled shopping trolleys with groceries while others made off with plasma TVs and other electrical appliances.

Some 160 people were arrested for looting and breaking the curfew, police said on Monday.

Clashes with looters saw one 22-year-old man shot and killed.

The blaze caused the building to collapse, La Tercera reported. Marco Riquelme, a regional spokesman for the department store, told La Tercera the incident was a "clear example" of the "chaotic situation" survivors were enduring in Concepcion.

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8544608.stm

VAST ANTARTIC ICEBERG "THREATENS MARINE LIFE"

A vast iceberg that broke off eastern Antarctic earlier this month could disrupt marine life in the region, scientists have warned.

They say the iceberg, which is 78km long and up to 39km wide, could have consequences for the area's colonies of emperor penguins.

The emblematic birds may be forced to travel further afield to find food.

The iceberg calved from the Mertz Glacier Tongue after it was hit by another huge iceberg, called B9B.

"It is a very active area for algae growth, especially in springtime," explained Dr Neal Young from the Australia-based Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Co-operative Research Centre.

"There are emperor penguin colonies about 200-300km away to the west. They come to this area to feed, and seals in the area also come to get access to the open water," he told BBC News.

He suggested that a change in the availability of open water could affect the rate of food production, which would have an impact on the amount of wildlife it could sustain.

"If the area gets choked up (with ice), then they would have to go elsewhere and look for food."

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8538060.stm