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JAPAN,- Japan deploys missile defences for North Korea rocketJapan has deployed missile batteries in Tokyo and dispatched destroyers as North Korea makes final preparations for a rocket launch that could take place this week despite fierce condemnation from across the globe.
Pyongyang says it will launch a satellite for peaceful scientific research between April 12 and 16 to mark the 100th anniversary on April 15 of the birth of founding leader Kim Il-Sung.
But the United States and its allies say it is a disguised missile test and that the launch would contravene UN sanctions aimed at curbing North Korea's missile programme.
Beijing, North Korea's main ally, has also expressed concern and called for restraint.
"China is concerned and worried about the latest development on the Korean peninsula," Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said Saturday, according to the official Xinhua news agency.
Yang was Sunday holding a meeting on regional security with his Japanese and South Korean counterparts.
A successful satellite launch would burnish the image of young Kim Jong-Un as he seeks to establish his credentials as a strong leader after taking over from his father and longtime ruler, Kim Jong-Il, who died last December.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has given the green light to shoot down the rocket if it threatens Japan's territory.
Patriot missiles were Saturday deployed at the defence ministry in downtown Tokyo and at two other bases in the region to protect the greater Tokyo area.
The ministry also dispatched three Aegis destroyers carrying interceptor missiles, reportedly to the East China Sea where it has already deployed Patriot missiles on the southern island chain of Okinawa, beneath the rocket's forecast flight path.
"We have taken the best possible measures that we can think of at this point," senior vice defence minister Shu Watanabe told national broadcaster NHK Sunday.
The move came as a report said North Korea may have moved the first stage of a long-range rocket on to its launch pad.
The 38 North website, a US specialist site, said an April 4 photo of the launch site at Tongchang-ri in the country's northwest indicated the first stage of the Unha-3 rocket, while not visible, may be placed in the gantry.
Pyongyang has invited foreign experts and reporters to observe the launch which it insists is part of peaceful space research.
The communist state announced the plans despite agreeing on February 29 to freeze its nuclear and missile programmes as part of a deal under which the United States would deliver badly needed food aid.
North Korean expert Masao Okonogi said Japan's missile deployment was politically necessary to calm the public over the rocket launch.
"The step that Japan has taken was aimed at giving psychological assurance to the public that the government has gone so far to deal with North Korea," Okonogi, a professor at Kyushu University, told AFP.
He warned, however, that North Korea could carry out another nuclear test in response to international condemnation of its rocket launch.
"As one possibility, North Korea could conduct a nuclear test in a protest against condemnation from various countries following the missile experiment," Okonogi said.
North Korea tested nuclear bombs shortly after its previous missile launches in 2006 and 2009 but Watanabe told Japanese reporters there was no sign Pyongyang was preparing to test an atomic weapon.
In 2009, Japan also ordered missile defence preparations before Pyongyang's last long-range rocket launch which brought UN Security Council condemnation and tightened sanctions against the isolated communist state.
That rocket, which North Korea also said was aimed at putting a satellite into orbit, passed over Japanese territory without incident or any attempt to shoot it down.Source: www.AFP.com -
MUSIKJI.NET, Singapore - Five tips to boost testosterone. It was recently reported that Singapore men have falling testosterone levels. This problem is nothing new, and I suspect it will only get worse because our lifestyle and environment encourage low testosterone levels.
Even the "normal" ranges shown by laboratory tests are, in my opinion, too low for optimal health. Many of these standards in different countries have been lowered to adjust to the new average amounts in people today. Lowered averages doesn't mean that lowered results are normal!
More on this topic can be found in an excellent book on testosterone by Nelson Vergel called "Testosterone: A Man's Guide".
In my experience, unless you are a very focused healthy lifestyle person, or on anabolic steroids, your current levels are probably too low! Here are 5 things you can do to improve them naturally. While it's not an exhaustive list, these are simple lifestyle changes that can make a difference.
1. Stop being a fatty!
Fat is not simply a place where you store excess food that didn't get used. It is part of your endocrine (hormonal) system and because it is a survival mechanism, it wants to keep itself in business. I.e. the fatter you are, the fatter you tend to stay.
Fat releases chemicals that aromatize testosterone. In effect changing it to feminizing hormones.
The best way to drop fat overall, is to get rid of all sugars, refined starches and processed foods. My article here is a good place to start.
2. Manage your stress
Imagine you buy some bricks to build a house, but a thief keeps stealing them to build his own house... before you consider getting more bricks, its more important to catch the thief and put him in jail! This principle I call "turning off the tap".
The main hormone your body produces when it is under chronic stress is called cortisol. Some of the raw materials to make cortisol in your adrenal glands are also used to make testosterone, so if they are being stolen, you will never have great testosterone levels. The test used to measure this is called the DHEA/Cortisol ratio.
The mistake commonly seen is people taking supplements to boost testosterone, but at the same time not sleeping well, drinking alcohol, or suffering a stressful job.
This is pointless, as all you are doing is adding more raw material, and giving it to be converted to cortisol, or aromatized (as in point 1) to female hormones.
3. Eat more healthy meat
Yes, more meat. But it has to be healthy (get grass fed meat at great prices from places like this). I am a big fan of a high vegetable intake and highly encourage them, but vegetables alone do not cover your nutrient needs completely. Some of the nutrients needed for higher testosterone levels can only be found in adequate amounts in meat. Examples of these are Vitamin D, creatine, zinc and iron.
Another benefit of eating healthy meats is that you get healthy fats. Yes. Fats. Why? Because if your diet contains between 30 and 40 percent of calories from fat, you will produce the highest testosterone levels - But the fat has to be saturated as well as mono-unsaturated for best results.
One of the reasons fat is so effective in raising testosterone, is that healthy fats (from natural sources like butter, cream, grass fed animals, nuts, seeds, and omega-3s) contain cholesterol. Testosterone is built from cholesterol. You don't need to specifically eat more cholesterol, but if you totally avoid it, your testosterone levels will likely be affected.
The dangers of cholesterol are actually over-stated and it is actually bad quality heated/processed fats like vegetable oils and trans fats that cause cardiovascular problems.
4. Lift heavy (for your current ability and fitness level) weights.
In the journal "Sports medicine" in 2010, research was done tracking the type of resistance training which gave the best testosterone boost. And it was found that lower repetition, heavier weights, with longer rest periods gave the best result. Workouts using weights where you complete 4-6 reps with difficulty and repeat that for 5-7 sets per exercise should do well to boost testosterone levels.
Long jogs and lifting only light weights don't do much for boosting testosterone levels. In fact, long cardio activities are perceived as excessive stress by your body (as if you are lost in the jungle), and can contribute to the problem in point 2.
5. Keep yourself estrogen free
Our environment is full of molecules which disrupt our hormone balance. The most common "imbalance" is the shift towards excess female hormones. As time passes many species including reptiles, fish and humans get more and more feminine features. A good indicator of this is in new born boys. It is called the "Anal to Genital Distance" i.e. how far your anus is to your genitals. It is generally twice the distance in boys as in girls. However this distance has been shortening recently.
Some things to avoid include personal care products (hair gels, cosmetics, soaps, shampoos) which contain hormone disruptors. A good article on hormone disruptors in personal care products is here.
So stay away from those things and you will reduce the chances of excess estrogens.
A good indicator that you are too high in estrogens is actually excess accumulation of fat on your chest, thighs and buttocks. This is actually a feminine fat storage pattern and is not normal in men. Taking note of the 5 steps above should help you deal with this as well.
For the best fitness boot camp program and personal training in Singapore visit www.genesisgym.com.sg. Pic by Getty Images. -
MUSIKJI.NET-, Foto ini menunjukkan lokasi terjadinya tragedi naas tenggelamnya kapal Titanic. Difoto tersebut juga ikut terpotret gunung es yang diduga penyebab tenggelamnya Titanic.
Dilansir dari Daily News , foto ini dijepret oleh salah seorang penumpang kapal RMS Carpathia. Kapal Carpathia pada saat itu datang terlambat dalam misi penyelamatan korban selamat pada tragedi 16 April 1912 itu.Dalam foto tersebut juga nampak sekoci penyelamat penumpang terobang-ambing di samudra Atlantik.
Foto tersebut diberikan kepada J. John Pillsbury Snyder, pemuda Minnesota berusia 24 tahun yang merupakan pengantin baru.
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Beer fans at Europe's biggest drink festival won't have to worry about taps running dry this month after organisers installed oil pipeline technology to keep the pints flowing.
A 1,000ft long pipeline runs underground to the main tent at the Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany, which can hold 8,400 thirsty punters in one sitting.
Brewers have plumbed in the pipe to stop bar staff worrying about when the barrels of ale are about to run out.
Salut! Beer lovers lift up their beer steins at the official opening of Oktoberfest today
The party's just begun: Munich mayor Christian Ude taps the first barrel of beer with the traditional 'O´zapft is!' to start celebrations as women with large beer mugs show their joy
Flowers: Women dressed in traditional costume and carrying large mugs wave to the camera
The festival which began today and runs for over two weeks, is expected to attract over six million visitors and seven million litres of beer will be drunk.
Pipeline technician Uwe Daebel led a trial beer run with a group of willing helpers and described it as a 'great success.'
Traditional dress: Revellers salute with traditional 1-litre beer mugs. The world's biggest beer fest runs until October 3
Excited: Three friends in matching costumes have beaming smiles as proceedings begin
Only here for the beer: Women stretch out to reach a beer mug and right, two friends have their arms round each other as chants begin
Sloshed: Revellers rest on the ground of a beer tent after the opening of the 'Oktoberfest', the world's biggest beer fest in Germany
Let the drinking begin: Revellers form long queues for the bar
Party time: Young people lift up their beer steins to celebrate the opening of the Oktoberfest
He added: 'We filled the glasses of everyone, but, sadly, the rest went down the drain because we couldn't leave it in the pipeline.'
The pipeline is not the only innovation introduced this year by the organisers who are also catering for couples feeling amorous after a few frothy lagers.
Special soundproofed 'bonk-boxes' have been set up on the nearby camp site where they can canoodle in private.
Kitted out for the occasion: Tourists show off their typical Oktoberfest outfits inspired by traditional Bavarian dresses
Cheers: Guests Paulina, left, and Burcin arrive early to get a seat inside the tent at the 178th Munich Oktoberfest festival, and right, a barmaid dressed with traditional Bavarian clothes carries beer pints
Wet work: Girls in traditional costume get ready for a beer drinking marathon at the Munich festival
Revellers: Four Austrian beauties having fun inside a beer tent at the festival
Join the fun! Women scream as they enjoy a white-knuckle ride at Oktoberfest
Fancy another? Two blonde women clink their glasses during the opening celebrations
Tasty: A seller arranges gingerbread hearts in a booth as the festival begins
The converted containers include a double bed, soft lighting and layers of sound-deadening insulation which mean other guests on the site won't be disturbed.
'They're a great idea because lots of people who come to Oktoberfest end up camping and tents are a terrible place to get intimate,' said one festival fan
Which way to the bar? Crowds assemble as they get ready for a mammoth beer-drinking weekend
A practice rescue is carried out on the ride Starflyer in preparation for Oktoberfest and right, crowds queue at the entrance for the start of the festival
'They're very discreet, very private and just big enough for two - or three if you know each other very well!'
Site managers - who have 98 of the £100 -a-night cabins to rent out - are trying to play down the comparison with basic cabins provided in German red light districts for vice girls and their customers.
One said: 'We would see them more as somewhere convenient for festival goers to rest and relax after a day out. Of course, what they do in there is their business.'
Beer tent: Rows of wooden benches await the thirsty customers who will sit and enjoy the German beers
Big round: Visitors queue up to get into one of the beer tents which can seat over 8,000 in one sitting
Sweethearts: Gingerbread hearts for sale at the Oktoberfest which opens in Munich today
Love cabins: The seven square metre rooms for couples to unwind in after tasting the alcoholic delights of the beers on sale
Tent city: The camp near the festival which will be mainly used by low-budget backpackers
Showtime: A worker checks a clock at the festival which is in front of the showground rides
Drumming up business: Traditionally dressed members of a drummer group arrive for the festival opening
Organiser Gunnar Froh said: 'The container village adds character to the event and more privacy than the thin walls of a tent.'
Festival officials - who last year persuaded U.S. reality star Kim Kardashian to dress up in a traditional dirndl for the event - are promising a bigger show than ever this year.
www.dailymail.co.uk
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Devastated friends and families paid tribute to the four miners killed in Wales as appeal fund was launched to help relatives coining to terms with the tragedy.
Labour MP Peter Hain set up the Swansea Valley Miners Appeal Fund and urged the public to make donations.
On the minersappealfund.org website, Mr Hain, who is MP for Neath, wrote: 'The deaths of four miners at the Gleision Colliery was the worst mining accident Wales has seen for generations.
'This tragedy is a stab through the heart of the community. We can't even imagine what the families are going through.
In vain: The scene at Gleision Colliery as emergency services frantically worked to locate miners trapped inside
'But they need our help to survive and recover in the future.So today I am launching an appeal fund to help support them and will be announcing other patrons shortly.
'Please give what you can to support the families.'
The bodies of Phillip Hill, 45, Charles Breslin, 62, David Powell, 50, and Garry Jenkins were discovered at the Gleision Colliery yesterday, dashing desperate hopes that any of the men would be found alive.
The tragedy sent shockwaves through the close-knit Swansea Valley community.
Local people have begun leaving floral tributes near the mine.
One card said: 'There's a cry in the valleys, tears in the West. Mourning the heroes that wear the pit vest
'Underground grafters always put in a shift. Below the hillside in the deep dark drift
'They're not coming home to their children, their wives. The mine once again takes cherished lives
'The coalfields of Britain all unite in your mourn. We're all the same breed, we're pit village born
'RIP from the people of the Rhondda Valley.'
Another said: "Our love and thoughts go out to the families who lost their loved ones after this ragedy and will be sadly missed by many. RIP.
'As for Dai 'bull', who we knew well, this is hard to take in and cannot believe you are gone.
'You were an absolute star and a legend in your own way.
'You never failed to make anyone laugh and we will miss your laugh, that's for sure. Ha!
'We have some great memories with you and will never be forgotten.RIP Dai and behave up there!
'Piggy, Dan White, Dale Bean xxx'
Workers: A large number of mine rescue specialists helped in the efforts at Gleision
How the Welsh mine tragedy unfolded
Among those leaving flowers at the scene was Maria Spooner, Plaid Cymru county borough councillor for Rhos.
Mrs Spooner said: 'I've spent the last two days with the families in the community centre, so this is the first chance I've had to come here and pay my respects.
Tragic: Garry Jenkins, pictured with his partner Sarah was one of the four miners who sadly died after becoming trapped
'This is just something I felt I needed to do. The whole community is very, very quiet but everyone has been amazing in rallying round.
'I've just been up to the village to thank the shopkeepers for donating supplies to people at the community centre over the last few days.'
Meanwhile, Swansea City Football Club will hold a minute's silence later for the miners.
The tribute will take place before the team's Premier League game against West Bromwich Albion at the Liberty Stadium in Swansea.
The club's chairman, Huw Jenkins, described the disaster as a "dreadful tragedy which has affected the whole community'.
He added: 'Our sympathy goes out to the families who have lost loved ones in extremely sad circumstances.'
Messages of support have poured in from around the world, with well-wishers everywhere praying for some good news until the final death was announced.
Peter Vaughan, Chief Constable of South Wales Police, praised the community spirit.
He said: 'We've been humbled by the community spirit that's been shown during this most tragic of incidents.'
Authorities will now switch from a search and recovery operation at the flooded mine to an investigation into the incident, police said.
Leaving: Several rescue workers left the colliery this morning after spending 12 hours trying to find the trapped miners
Deaths: Fireman Chris Margetts, Superintendent Phil Davies and Peter Hain MP announced today that the bodies of two trapped miners had been found
Locals: Two women hug at a nearby community centre, as Peter Hain MP says the accident is 'tearing the heart out of the community'
Officers described the sad conclusion to the rescue efforts as 'the one none of us wanted'.
The alarm was raised early on Thursday after the shaft flooded, trapping the men.
It had been hoped that the miners - originally part of a group of seven - might have found refuge in an air pocket following the accident.
Grieving: This is the second tragedy to strike the area in the last week
The bad news came through gradually yesterday, however, with police announcing at 6pm that the body of the last of the four had been found.
Mr Vaughan said: 'We've tried to bring this safely to its conclusion. Unfortunately the conclusion we have is the one none of us wanted.'
Expressing his condolences to the men's relatives, the police chief said: 'I can't begin to imagine what the families are going through.'
Moving out: Divers had to abandon their mission as mine shafts were blocked by rubble
Relief effort: Many more workers arrived yesterday to continue the rescue attempt
Dangerous: A picture from 2008 shows the Gleision mine when it was derelict
Fire and rescue and ambulance workers said they had never seen or worked in such conditions before.
The men's bodies were found close together, one on the exit side of the blockage and the other three, which were recovered yesterday afternoon, in the area where they had been working.
Mr Vaughan asked for the privacy of the families of Mr Hill from Neath, and Mr Breslin, Mr Powell, and Mr Jenkins, all from the Swansea Valley, to be respected.
The ramshackle mine is said to contain lots of smaller tunnels and shafts which could have pockets of air for the trapped miners to use
Media scrum: The press have descended in force on the rural area as they followed the progress of the rescue attempts
Firemen: The fire service has been at the forefront of the operation
One of the three miners who managed to escape the drift mine when it flooded has been named in reports as Daniel Powell, son of victim David Powell, who was said to be the site's maintenance engineer.
Of the three who escaped, one is now critically ill in hospital. The two other men who were with him emerged largely unharmed and helped the rescue operation.
Prime Minister David Cameron described the tragedy, which is to be investigated by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), as a 'desperately, desperately sad situation'.
He said the anguish of the miners' families was 'intense' but that it was clear the emergency services had done everything they could.
An emergency services helicopter circles the mine after it collapsed
This image released by South Wales Police shows emergency workers gathering outside the mine to try to locate those trapped inside
The attempts to locate the four missing men started on Thursday morning
Archbishop of Wales Dr Barry Morgan said the tragedy had moved an entire nation and the world - as well as striking a chord with him.
'My heart goes out to the families of those killed in Gleision Colliery,' he said.
'The whole community is heartbroken for them.'
Welsh Secretary Cheryl Gillan described it as 'a truly devastating day' for the men's relatives.
'As the families grieve for their loved ones, we will do everything we can to support them, to identify how this terrible incident occurred and to learn lessons for the future,' she said.
Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones said: 'We thought in South Wales that the days of mining accidents were behind us but we were wrong.'
www.dailymail.co.uk
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