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Could Colonel Gaddafi, who is now 68, be planning to retire to Italy? The visit by the Libyan tyrant, which climaxed yesterday in a meeting – in his sleeping tent – with Silvio Berlusconi, and a demonstration by the 27 Berber horses he brought with him, was his fourth to the former colonial master in a little over a year.
And although he continues to look and behave like a walk-on character in an opera buffa, there are sneaking hints that he enjoys hanging out in Rome quite as much as any other tourist. On Sunday he threw his entourage into confusion when he decided on a whim to visit Campo de' Fiori for a cappuccino. He then strolled across the street for a look at Piazza Navona, blowing kisses at the crowd mesmerised by his unique collection of wrinkles and eye-pouches.
For the rest, the visit was the usual Gaddafi cocktail of impudence and hard trading. Many statesmen from the Islamic world have visited Rome down the years, but it is doubtful that any of them entertained the idea of assembling hundreds of pouting Roman lovelies to hear the message that "Europe should be Islamic" and that they themselves should convert.
Very few out of the 700 agreed to do so. One who did, Rea Beko, aged 27, admitted that she was brought up in Islam-majority Albania until the age of 15 and was already reading the Koran when she was a little girl. "My boyfriend said, finally you've covered up," she giggled.
So the event was a stunt, but an effective one: no doubt for the television audience back home in Tripoli, proof that their leader was making good, religious use of Ramadan – and equally efficient as a way of making mischief in Italy, where the xenophobic Northern League and other allies of Mr Berlusconi united to denounce Colonel Gaddafi's cheek. "Islam doesn't come in peace but to conquer us!" thundered one Northern League senator.
The proselytisation effort was "merely folklore", Mr Berlusconi insisted. The fact is that he and Colonel Gaddafi have long recognised each other as soul brothers in a world of diplomacy which considers both of them to be outrageous imposters. Way back in 1994, when Mr Berlusconi made his sensational entrance on the Italian political stage, becoming premier for the first time, albeit briefly, Colonel Gaddafi was quick to spot a fellow spirit. "I and Berlusconi were made for each other," he declared, "because we are both revolutionaries".
Their courtship culminated in the treaty of friendship and co-operation, signed two years ago and celebrated yesterday. To compensate for the damage inflicted during the colonial period, Italy agreed to build a hospital and pay €5bn (£4bn) over 20 years, to be delivered in the form of a 1,000-mile autostrada crossing Libya – though one Italian commentator calculated that the true cost of the road could be 10 times as much.
drive from www.independent.co.uk
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Beer, ice-cream, crisps, Indian takeaways, chips and anything in batter: normally, it's a particular food type that gets blamed for helping the British to pile on the pounds. But now a whole style of cooking and eating has come under fire for encouraging obesity in the UK.
Research shows that Britons consume more than the recommended daily intake of calories in a single barbecue meal, with men often eating more than 3,500 calories and women more than 2,500.
The study, conducted by Boots and the Tony Ferguson Weightloss Programme, found that the average helping includes two sausages, one-and-a-half burgers, two chicken drumsticks, one and a half meat skewers, fish, a baked potato, a green side salad, pasta salad, a desert and – for the sake of healthiness, no doubt – a bowl of fruit salad to round the meal off.
That equates to just under 3,000 calories, 500 calories more than the recommended daily intake for men and 1,000 more than women are permitted.
Gaila Ferguson, co-founder of the Tony Ferguson Weightloss Programme, blames barbecue bingeing on tradition: "When you do a barbecue, you always have to have sausages, burgers, steaks, pasta salad, cous cous salad, potato salad and all the bits on the side. And when you have all those options you feel obliged to try them all, especially if you are a guest."
As the average family will have nine barbecues this summer (weather permitting), she suggests concentrating on one or two flame grilled and side salad options at each meal, and introducing simple measures like taking the skin off chicken to reduce fat content. "Put a chicken breast in some foil with lemon juice and some nice spices and herbs so it steams on top of the barbecue and stays moist, then take the foil off for the last few minutes so it gets the smokey flavour," she says. "Fish is also great. Peppered tuna is quick on the barbecue and it's full of omega 3s and 6s. Even a steak is great so long as you cut the fat off."
But diners should still exercise "portion control", adds Ferguson: one sausage is apparently much better than three. A tofu kebab or mixed green salad with harissa dressing is even better, according to the Tony Ferguson Cook Book. Barbecue diners can also consume twice their daily recommended intake of salt in one meal, according to Consensus Action on Salt & Health.
After surveying 603 shop-bought food products typically eaten at barbecues, it found that a typical meal comprising a hotdog with mustard, a burger with cheese and BBQ sauce, a piece of marinated meat, some coleslaw, potato salad and plain crisps with dips could include 12.11g of salt, more than double the recommended maximum of 6g for an adult.
The organisation points out that some sauces such as ketchup and mustard are even saltier than sea water, and warns that some foods which score well on fat content, such as venison burgers, are higher in salt than their beef counterparts. Burgers tend to be saltier than sausages, while coleslaws with prawns or cheese tend to be higher in salt than the basic varieties.
However, the Boots research indicates that any advice on sensible alfresco eating habits is likely to be ignored: it found that although a third of those questioned (2,000 adults) were aware they eat more food than usual, 41% chose to forget how many calories they were consuming and ate as much as they wanted.
drive from www.guardian.co.uk
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One of the world's tiniest frogs — barely larger than a pea — has been found living in and around carnivorous plants on Borneo island, one of the scientists who made the accidental discovery said today.
Indraneil Das, a scientist at University Malaysia Sarawak, said he and another scientist from Germany were doing field research on frogs in Malaysia's Sarawak state on Borneo island when they chanced on the tiny species on the edge of a road leading to the summit of a mountain in the Kubah National Park in 2006.
"For biologists, this is a curiosity," Das told The Associated Press.
The frogs were named Microhyla nepenthicola after the pitcher plant species where they live, Das said. A Malaysian museum had listed the species but misidentified it as juveniles of another frog species, he said.
The tubular plants are carnivorous, killing insects such as ants, but do not harm the frogs. Tadpoles grow in the liquid inside the plants.
Adult males of the amphibians range in size between 0.42 inches (10.6 millimeters) to 0.5 inches (12.8 millimeters), Das said.
The findings were published by Das and Alexander Haas of the Biozentrum Grindel und Zoologisches Museum of Hamburg, Germany in peer-review journal Zootaxa last week after they completed their research on the frogs.
Das said because the frogs were so small, he and his colleague only found them by tracking their singing of "harsh rasping notes" at dusk. They caught them by making them jump on a white cloth near the pitcher plants.
He added that the discovery should encourage efforts to protect the biological diversity in Borneo's rain forests.
Das said the tiniest known frog found was in Cuba, with its size of at least 0.39 inches (9.8 millimeters).
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The lobbying carried out by food manufacturers to block a European-wide food labelling system backed by doctors is laid bare in a series of private emails published today by The Independent.
In a flurry of statements and position papers to MEPs in the run up to key votes, Kellogg's, Danone, Coca-Cola, Nestle and other manufacturers claimed that colour-coded traffic lights were incapable of informing shoppers about the right diet.
They claimed that studies showed that their favoured percentage-based Guideline Daily Amounts (GDAs) had wide consumer acceptance. Polls by the National Heart Forum and the consumer group Which? that looked at both systems found shoppers preferred colour-coding.
On Wednesday, the European Parliament rejected the traffic light system devised by the Food Standards Agency vote in favour of GDAs. At the same time, they backed the compulsory labelling of harmful trans-fats and country of origin on processed products.
Glenis Willmott, the leader of Labour's MEPs, accused the food industry of heavy-handed tactics. "People weren't being told the full facts and the amount of time and money poured in by lobbyists was huge," she said. "It must have had an impact."
Mette Kahlin, policy advocate for Which?, said: "While I was lobbying in Brussels for Which? it was clear I was outnumbered by industry lobbyists 100-1. Consumer and health organisations don't have enough money to match that."
Devised by the UK Food Standards Agency in 2006, traffic lights show red lights for high levels of salt, fat and sugar, and amber and green for lower amounts. The British Medical Association, British Dietetic Association and British Heart Foundation are among the health groups that support the scheme.
On Monday, the Ad Hoc GDA Group, representing 11 manufacturers including Kellogg's, Mars, Nestle and Unilever, emailed MPs in a last-ditch attempt to swing their vote. "We still believe that a traffic light approach provides too judgmental an assessment of foodstuffs – the complex nutritional composition of a food and its place in the diet cannot be reduced to a single colour," they wrote.
In an earlier email, Nestle France warned that the introduction of a colour-coded system would "in effect, create an arbitrary judgement about the food and this, in total disconnection with dietary requirements."
Coca-Cola even claimed that a diet based upon green lights could be harmful. In a document headed "Food labelling, basic elements for discussion", sent in 2008, the US fizzy drinks giant told MEPs: "Colour coding gives the consumer false assurances. A diet based upon products with green lights would lead to chronic nutritional deficiences."
"The briefings are not based on evidence," protested Ms Kahlin, of Which?
"In the UK we have had traffic lights and no one has been admitted to hospital with malnutrition from eating food signed with green lights. People still eat products marked red but they become aware of what is in their food."
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Jack Wilshere's hopes of an extended run in Fabio Capello's squad received a blow yesterday when he was named in England's Under-21s squad for next month's European Championship double-header.
The Arsenal midfielder played in England's success over Hungary two weeks ago, replacing Steven Gerrard for the closing stages of the match.
However, Stuart Pearce has named Wilshere in his squad for qualifying matches against Portugal and Lithuania. Pearce said: "Jack's had the experience of an international cap with the seniors and his development will come. I think having the experience of playing with the Under-21s and seniors will be a help to him and is something he will have to come to terms with.
"He shouldn't feel disappointed that he's been in the senior squad and then come back to the Under-21s," Pearce added.
Wilshere will expect to be recalled into the senior squad for the friendly against France in November.
England play Portugal in Barcelos on 3 September before facing Lithuania four days later at Colchester's Weston Homes Community Stadium.
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BBC football host Gary Lineker attacked an elite British private school today for failing to get his son into university.
The 49-year-old former England captain said Charterhouse school had treated his son George as a "guinea pig" by ditching A-levels in favour of a new exam system, Cambridge Pre-U.
The 18-year-old learnt he had failed to obtain the three B grades needed for a place at Manchester University on Thursday.
Responding to the comments, the Surrey school said it was "proud" of its students' grades.
Lineker, the ex-Tottenham, Barcelona and Everton striker, told the Daily Mirror: "We don't know what's going on with George at the moment.
"He did the Pre-U and they seem to have been marked much harder than the A-level papers. It's all a bit frustrating, as it is the first year the Pre-U exams have been used, so George has been used as a guinea pig.
"At the moment his university place has been withdrawn, but we are hoping we might be able to find a way round this. We are all very disappointed."
George, who was hoping to read business at Manchester University, was spotted on a week-long holiday to Tenerife just weeks before his exams and had been pictured on nights out with ex-Big Brother contestant Sophie Reade, 22.
The Rev John Witheridge, the school's head, defended the school's results.
He said: "We are indeed delighted with our pupils' excellent results this year.
"As you would expect, we do not comment on the performance of individual pupils."
A spokeswoman for the school, which charges fees of about £25,000 a year, added: "We are very pleased with our first set of Cambridge Pre-U results. Our pupils have benefited from a much richer sixth-form education and they are celebrating excellent grades.
"Half of this year's cohort achieved at least three Pre-U Distinctions or A grades at A-level. 60 pupils achieved the equivalent of straight As or better (including Pre-U distinctions) with six pupils awarded straight D1s (top Distinctions) at Pre-U.
"Overall, 31% of our grades are equivalent to A* or better (including Pre-U D1s and D2s)."
Charterhouse, founded in London in 1611, moved to its 250-acre site in the Surrey countryside near Godalming in 1872.
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David Miliband is slowly revealing his brilliant gift for embarrassing behaviour.
A few weeks ago, it was claiming that The Gruffalo was his favourite book. This week, his team issued a six-page document explaining to anyone thinking of supporting him how they could host what they called a “house-party”. By this they seemed to mean a party held in a house, rather than, more conventionally, one where the guests stayed overnight.
But the whole document bears a deliriously vague relationship to ordinary human behaviour, from the moment it explains how to invite your guests to the moment it suggests that you read out a pre-prepared statement: “The Movement for Change is going to be a long process for the Labour Party but, if it is going to be successful...” It includes suggestions for topics of conversation, timetables for putting “nibbles” on and chilling the drink – “if there are drinks”. None for music or dress, or what to do when that difficult guest starts going on about immigration, or is sick over the rubber plant.
Here is my guide to holding an unsuccessful party. A week before, suddenly think “Let’s have a party”. Form image of engraved invitations, well dressed and witty friends, white-jacketed waiters circulating with trays of oysters. Reformulate in view of reality. Post general invitation on Facebook. Delete invitation on Facebook, having remembered that you have 400 “friends”, some of whom are people met once on holiday, students, people pretending to be Nigella Lawson. Send a text to 50 people you actually know.
Two days before, decide to do something about the food and drink. Go to Oddbins and buy 48 bottles of wine. Spend rest of day preparing food. Realise at bedtime that the entirety of your preparation has consisted of reading magazine articles about hideously elaborate canapé suggestions. Realise further that you will never get round to making miniature steak-and-kidney pies. Wake up with brilliant idea for party. Spend morning in pursuit of brilliant idea, i.e. buying green velvet smoking jacket for yourself. Finally, on afternoon of party, get taxi to M&S and buy huge quantities of smoked salmon pinwheels and 40 bags of peanuts. Push everything back against walls. Think about hoovering: decide it’s not worth it. Put smoking jacket on and programme Sly and the Family Stone to repeat in an endless loop.
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Early this summer, while walking in the Alborz Mountains outside Tehran, I came across three members of Iran’s reformist Green Movement. It was a parching-hot afternoon, and they had taken shelter from the heat in a cherry orchard next to a stream, where fruit hung glistening from the branches. The Alborz Mountains have long provided refuge, clean air, and exercise for the residents of north Tehran. The northern districts are more prosperous than the rest of the city, and their residents are generally more educated and aware of foreign ideas and trends. North Tehran was not the only locus of the Green Movement, but support there was particularly intense last summer after the conservative hard-liner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claimed victory in the disputed Presidential elections.
One of the most popular hiking trails begins just outside the walls of Evin Prison, where in recent decades thousands of dissidents have been tortured, killed, and buried in secrecy. A few hundred feet away, just across a wooden bridge over a narrow river canyon, the last paved streets of the city end. Along the river’s banks are open-air teahouses, where nostalgic music is played and people drink fresh cherry juice and smoke narghile waterpipes. Such places offer a respite from the restrictions of life in the Islamic Republic, away from the roving units of religious police and the paramilitary Basij, the plainclothes zealots who attacked Green Movement supporters in last year’s protests.
Since the government crackdown, street demonstrations have been rare, and so, too, have foreign journalists in Iran. I had been given a visa to come interview Ahmadinejad, and during my stay was watched closely by the government. Even a hike in the mountains did not insure privacy; as I climbed, I saw, among the other hikers, several pairs of men who wore the scraggly beards, nondescript clothing, and tamped-down looks of Basijis. At one point, I passed a unit of soldiers. They were out hiking with everyone else, but it was apparent that they were there to make their presence felt. The women on the trail were flushed and sweating in their chadors and manteaus, the black tunics that Iranian women are obligated to wear over their clothes.
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Gordon Brown is offering his services as a public speaker at $100,000 (£64,000) a time, it was reported last night.
The former prime minister has asked a London speaking agency to put his name forward for engagements in the Middle East and Asia, according to Fraser Nelson, the editor of The Spectator. The fee would be less than that commanded by his predecessor, Tony Blair, or other former world leaders such as Bill Clinton, but would still be a handsome reward for an hour’s speech.
Mr Brown is working on a book, The Financial Crisis, due to be published in the autumn, which will tell the story of the near-meltdown in the banking system two years ago.
He has also indicated that he is keen to pursue charitable works and focus on international development issues.
But Mr Nelson reported on his magazine’s blog that he had learned from an “impeccable source” that the former prime minister, who has not spoken in the Commons since his party’s election defeat, had approached a speaking agency to represent him.
Mr Nelson said: “It appears he is also trying to build up a large nest egg of his own: in the world of public speaking, with six-figure fees.”
Aspokesman for Mr Brown declined to deny the report last night.
He said: “Gordon has, of course, had invitations to speak from around the world and a range of institutions.
“But he is focused on his constituency work and completing his book on the financial crisis.”
According to Mr Nelson, anyone wanting to hire the former prime minister would also have to provide fivestar hotel accommodation, a firstclass seat and three business-class seats. He claimed that Mr Brown’s wife, Sarah, was being offered as an optional extra to present prizes at award ceremonies where he speaks – for an additional fee of $20,000.
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Kalpesh Lathigra, 39, is an award-winning documentary photographer whose projects often explore forgotten communities. While shooting one such group - widows in India - he began to think about visual representations of spirituality, resulting in a series about the holy city of Varanasi, from which this image is taken.
British-born Lathigra says he wanted to get away from "National Geographic" India: "I didn't want to be literal, with hands clasped in 'namaste'. It was about showing an emotional space - what the pilgrims may be seeing and feeling. The boys diving in the Ganges are almost a cliche, but there is a contrast between the frozen moment as the boy dives and the history of this ancient place."
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