Scientists: Coldest winter in years

Polish scientists say the upcoming winter in the Northern Hemisphere will be colder than in previous years, Yangtze Evening Post reports. Europe will see the lowest temperature in 1,000 years, and Asia is unlikely to be spared. The scientists said the extreme weather is a result of La Nina, a recurring weather phenomenon that slows the speed of warm currents in the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulf Stream. Without the Gulf Stream, Europe would enter into another ice age.

Obama named most powerful woman

US First Lady Michelle Obama has been named the most powerful woman in the world on the Forbes 100 list, the Daily Telegraph reports. Obama rose 39 places in the rankings compiled by Forbes. Second on the list is Irene Rosenfeld, the chief executive of Kraft Foods. Oprah Winfrey, the talk show host, was third, followed by Angela Merkel, who has topped the list for the past four years. Hillary Clinton was fifth, praised for bringing "star power" to the State Department. Lady Gaga, the attention-grabbing singer, was in seventh place behind PepsiCo chief executive Indra Nooyi and one place ahead of Australian banking chief Gail Kelly. Beyoncé Knowles, the pop singer, was ninth, and Ellen DeGeneres, the talk show host, rounded out the top 10. France's First Lady, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, managed only 35th place in the list.

UK makes first jet without flaps

A British unmanned plane that uses jets of air to fly instead of conventional "flaps" has made aviation history, the Daily Mail reports. The experimental unmanned air vehicle, called DEMON, uses blown jets of air to control the plane's movement in flight rather than conventional mechanical elevators and ailerons. Experts say this will make it much easier to maintain, as there are far fewer moving parts and gives the aircraft a more stealthy profile.

Ukraine bans miniskirts in government

New regulations from Ukraine's cabinet of ministers ban miniskirts and high heels in the high corridors of the Ukrainian government, the Kyiv Post reports. Female government workers should maintain "a professional appearance at all times" and wear moderate heels, minimal makeup and limited perfume. Ruffled dresses, transparent materials and outfits displaying excessive leg or cleavage should not be worn at work, the regulations state.

Broccoli could treat osteoarthritis

Scientists at the University of East Anglia have found that broccoli, long hailed as a "super food" for cancer, is good for you but linked the vegetable for the first time to osteoarthritis, the Daily Mail reported. A chemical, sulforaphane, in broccoli can slow down cartilage destruction. The team is now launching a new project that they hope will lead to a new broccoli-based treatment for arthritis sufferers.

Teens uses condom creatively

Parents were surprised when they noticed that their high-school-aged son was using a condom as a cell-phone charm. The boy laughed when his father wanted to talk with him about the accessory.

Parents were surprised when they noticed that their high-school-aged son was using a condom as a cell-phone charm, the Shenzhen Special Zone Daily reported. The boy laughed when his father wanted to talk with him about the accessory.

Migraine leaves Briton sounding French

A woman named Kay Russell from a village in southwestern England says that a severe migraine attack left her speaking with what sounds like a French accent, AP reports. The BBC identified her condition as Foreign Accent Syndrome, known only in a few dozen cases across the world. What sounds like an accent could result from the ways people articulate certain syllables that the brain injury might shift the way of articulation, said a researcher at University College London.

Beer linked to psoriasis in women

A new study found that women who like drinking beers are at a higher risk of getting psoriasis, CBS reported. Among women who drank an average of 2.3 drinks or more per week, the chances of getting psoriasis skyrocketed 72 percent compared to women who didn't drink at all. For women who drank five or more beers each week, the risk of coming down with the affliction was 2.3 time higher. Scientists from Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School found that wine, booze and light beer didn't increase the psoriasis risk at all. Full calorie beers use barley for fermentation, which contains gluten, a starch that many people with psoriasis are sensitive to.

Chikungunya virus found in Dongguan

More than 200 people have been infected with the mosquito-borne chikungunya virus in Dongguan, Guangdong Province, according to the provincial health department, Xinhua reports. Of the 204 cases, most victims suffered fever, joint pains and rash. No deaths or serious cases have been reported.

Taiwan fishing vessel hijacked

Pirates hijacked a Taiwanese fishing vessel Tuesday in the Indian Ocean, Taiwan's China Times reports. Captain Weng Shengxiong and 13 other crewmembers were aboard Fengguo 168 from Donggang Town in Taiwan.

Charlie the smoking chimpanzee dies

Charlie, a chimpanzee once hooked on smoking, died Tuesday at South Africa's Bloemfontein Zoo at the relatively advanced age of 52, the Los Angeles Times reports. Zoo officials noticed about five years ago that visitors were tossing Charlie cigarettes and he was mimicking smokers. Newspapers picked up the story. Charlie was featured in a US TV news report and became the first animal visitors would ask to see. The life expectancy for chimps in the wild is about 15 years. Only 7 percent of wild chimps live past 40.

(China.org.cn October 8, 2010)