Lifestyle

A resident of Schaumburg, Illinois in the U.S. was severely injured by an industrial punch press machine on Monday. He died an hour later. Elk Grove Village police said William Naras, 48, was operating the machine at a local metal manufacturing plant when he became pinned by an I-beam, or metal arm, about 4 p.m. He was transported to Alexian Brothers Medical Center in Elk Grove Village where medics pronounced him dead at 4:51 p.m. The death was ruled an industrial accident and reported to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration

A report Tuesday from a United Nations-backed project, consulting more than 1,300 scientists from 95 countries, and written over the last four years, warns that 60 percent of the basics of life on Earth — water, food, timber, clean air — are currently being used in ways which degrade them. Furthermore, fisheries and fresh water use-patterns are unsustainable, and getting worse. "The harmful consequences of this degradation could grow significantly worse in the next 50 years," according to a press release from the Millennium Ecosystem Assessmen

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has been cleared of wrongdoing in an investigation of charges that he influenced the UN to award aid-screening contracts in Iraq to Swiss company Cotecna Inspection Services, which employed his son Kojo Annan. The investigation was led by former US Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, who said that the investigation initiated by Kofi Annan should instead have been referred to UN's independent watchdog agency. The report issued was called by the secretary general a "second interim report" in his statement report

A survey carried out by BBC Wales has revealed that the contents of a school meal in Wales cost on average just £0.49 per pupil. Average spending on meal ingredients varied slightly from council to council; with the Cardiff City council spending just £0.40 on each meal, whilst Powys council lavished £0.69 per pupil. The survey follows a recent surge in media coverage of the eating habits of teenagers and children in the UK. Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver recently embarked on a campaign to improve food standards and raise awareness in schools. In

Did we need to take a poll to find out how well America sleeps at night? Probably not, but the results of the poll offer a worrisome picture about our problems getting a good night’s sleep. The National Sleep Foundation, the poll sponsor, reports three-quarters of adults say they frequently have a sleep problem, such as waking during the night or snoring. The average adult gets less than the recommended seven to nine hours of uninterrupted sleep each night. This leads to poorer health, lower productivity on the job, more danger on the roads a

Four US soldiers were killed by an explosion on Saturday morning in Afghanistan when their vehicle ran over a mine. The soldiers, part of a joint U.S.-Afghan patrol, were travelling forty miles south of Kabul when the explosion occurred. A Marine also died in a separate incident while performing a security patrol in Anbar province. Seven U.S. soldiers have been killed this year in Afghanistan. Two U.S. soldiers were also killed in Baghdad and two wounded when their patrol was attacked with a car bomb.

Investigators are no longer certain if the finger found in a bowl of Wendy's chili at a San Jose, California outlet last week was cooked or raw. "We're still going to have to sit down with our crime lab experts and see if there's a test that can determine that," said Sheriff's Office Captain Bob Dixon. Dr. Martin Fenstersheib, Santa Clara County's health officer, told the San Francisco Chronicle, "The possibilities are still all out there on where and when it came into the chili." Investigators are working with the U.S. Food and Drug Adminis

On behalf of the FDA, U.S. Federal marshals have begun seizing beds which have killed at least seven patients out of about 30 who had become trapped by the products. Three versions of the bed were found to be "dangerous to health" by the FDA, with the specific danger of, "placing patients at an increased risk of entrapment and asphyxiation." The model numbers of the faulty beds include the Vail 500, 1000, and 2000 Enclosed Bed Systems. The beds are made by Toledo, Ohio-based Vail Products, Inc. In a government press release, the FDA pointed o

Sun Hudson, a six-month old Texas baby died last week when health care providers at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston, Texas removed his life support system over the objections of his mother. The action was authorized under the 1999 Futile Care Law which was signed into law by then-Gov. George W. Bush. Under the Texas Futile Care Law, health care workers are allowed to remove expensive life support for terminally ill patients if the patient or family is unable to pay the medical bills. Sun Hudson's mother is dealing with the aftermath of

After a week of swirling rumors, Hong Kong's leader Tung Chee-hwa announced at a press conference today at 5:36 p.m. that, "An hour ago, I tendered my resignation as Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to the Central Government." It has not yet been officially accepted by Beijing, though it is likely to pass as a formality. Though Tung cited health reasons for his decision, it is widely believed he was given the signal to resign by the central government of the People's Republic of China. "I am 68, because of long

The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nation's Children Fund (UNICEF) have released figures showing that world-wide, deaths from the disease measles have dropped by 40% over the last five years. In 1999, 873,000 people died from disease, while that number fell to 530,000 in 2003 - a drop of 39%. The largest drop was seen in Africa - 46%. Just ten years ago a million children a year died from the disease and another 30 million were affected, often being left with long-term disabilities such as brain damage and blindness. WHO/UNIC

Italian security officer Nicola Calipari has been killed, and Giuliana Sgrena as well as two other security agents have been wounded after U.S. forces opened fire on the car they were travelling in shortly after Sregna's release from captivity. Multinational Force Iraq officials have stated that the car approached a military check-point at speed at 8:55pm Baghdad time on Friday. Soldiers opened fire on the vehicle, injuring Ms Sgrena and killing one other. "There was suddenly this shooting, we were hit by a hail of gunfire, and I was speaking