Survey says the best place to live is...

VIENNA (Reuters) - Vienna's excellent infrastructure, safe streets and good public healthservice make it the nicest place to live in the world, consulting group Mercer said in a global survey which put Baghdadfirmly in last place.

German and Swiss cities also performed especially well in the quality of living rankings, with Zurich, Munich, Duesseldorf, Frankfurt, Geneva and Bern in the top 10.

The Austrian capital, with its ornate buildings, public parks and extensive bicycle network recently reduced the cost of its annual public transport ticket to 1 euro a day.

                                           Related: 10 healthiest U.S. cities for families

Serious crime is rare and the city of around 1.7 million inhabitants regularly tops global quality of life surveys.

But Mercer warned that top-ranking European cities could not take their position for granted in the survey, which assessed more than 200 cities.

"They are not immune to any decrease of living standards should this (economic) turmoil persist," Mercer's senior researcher Slagin Parakatil said on the company's website.

Mercer, which also ranked cities according to personal safety, gave Athens a poor score because of clashes between demonstrators and police and political instability.

"In 2011 Athens is ranked in Europe among the lowest in the personal safety ranking," Parakatil said.

Oslo also fell to 24th place in the separate safety survey because of Anders Breivik's mass killings in July. It would usually be in the top 15, Mercer said.

Baghdad's political turmoil, poor security enforcement and attacks on local people and foreigners made it the worst place to live in 2011, both in terms of life quality and safety, Mercer said.

Political and economic unrest in Africa and the Middle East also pushed down scores in those regions.

"Many countries such as Libya, Egypt, Tunisia and Yemen have seen their quality of living levels drop considerably," Parakatil said.

"Political and economic reconstruction in these countries, combined with funding to serve basic human needs, will undoubtedly boost the region."

He said that while the outlook is uncertain for most of the world because of economic and political turmoil, cities in Asia-Pacific look set to benefit thanks to political stability and solid growth.

Auckland, Sydney, Wellington, Melbourne and Perth made it into the top 20 for quality of life in 2011 while Singapore was the highest-ranking Asian city in 25th place.

Top 10 in Mercer Quality of Living survey

1 Vienna Austria

2 Zurich Switzerland

3 Auckland New Zealand

4 Munich Germany

5 Duesseldorf Germany

5 Vancouver Canada

7 Frankfurt Germany

8 Geneva Switzerland

9 Bern Switzerland

9 Copenhagen Denmark http://www.mercer.com/qualityoflivingpr#city-rankings

(Reporting by Sylvia Westall)

iPhone 4 Explodes Midflight on Australian Airline

Apple’s iPhones are always among the hottest gadgets of  any holiday shopping season, but for one passenger on anAustralian flight, the phone was too hot to handle — literally.

While on Australian flight Regional Express ZL319 Friday, a passenger’s iPhone 4 (not the iPhone 4S, which is Apple’s latest model) suddenly started “emitting a significant amount of dense smoke, accompanied by a red glow,” according to a Regional Express statement.

The plane, which was flying from Lismore to Sydney, was in the midst of landing when the incident occured. “In accordance with company standard safety procedures, the flight attendant carried out recovery actions immediately, and the red glow was extinguished successfully,” according to Regional Express’ statement.

After landing, the iPhone was handed over to officials at the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.  There’s no official word yet on what caused the phone to combust.

Exploding Apple products are rare, but explosions have happened in the past, mostly related to the devices’ lithium ion batteries overheating.

The European Union launched an investigation in 2009 after multiple instances of iPhones and iPod Touches exploding or catching fire midflight were reported in the U.K., Holland, France and Sweden.

Apple also  recalled its first-generation of iPod nanos sold between September 2005 and December 2006 because the battery would overheat and “pose a safety risk,” according to the company’s website.

Michael Jackson's doctor sentenced to 4 years

The doctor who was convicted in the overdose death of Michael Jackson was sentenced to the maximum four years in prison Tuesday in a finale to the tormented saga of the King of Pop.

Dr. Conrad Murray sat stoically with his hands crossed as Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor repeatedly chastised him for what he called a "horrific violation of trust" while caring for Jackson.

"Dr. Murray created a set of circumstances and became involved in a cycle of horrible medicine," the judge said. "The practice of propofol for medicine madness, which violated his sworn obligation, for money, fame prestige and whwatever else may have occurred."

Pastor said one of the most disturbing aspects of Murray's case was a slurred recording of Jackson recovered from the doctor's cell phone.

"That tape recording was Dr. Murray's insurance policy," Pastor said. "It was designed to record his patient surreptitiously at that patient's most vulnerable point."

Michael Jackson's family told Pastor they were not seeking revenge but want the doctor who killed the superstar to receive a stiff sentence that serves as a warning to opportunistic doctors.

"The Bible reminds us that men cannot do justice, they can only seek justice," the family said in a statement read by attorney Brian Panish. "That is all we can ask as a family, and that is all we ask for here."

The statement went on to say, "We are not here to seek revenge. There is nothing you can do today that will bring Michael back."

Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter after a six-week trial that presented the most detailed account yet of Jackson's final hours but left many questions about Murray's treatment of the superstar with an operating-room anesthetic as he battled chronic insomnia.

Lead defense attorney Ed Chernoff highlighted the accomplishments of Murray.

"I do wonder though to what extent the court considers the entirety of a man's book of life, as opposed to one chapter," he told the judge.

The doctor decided not to directly address the court.

Chernoff again attacked Michael Jackson, as he and his team frequently did during the doctor's trial.

"Michael Jackson was a drug seeker," Chernoff said.

Jackson's death in June 2009 stunned the world, as did the ensuing investigation that led to Murray being charged in February 2010.

Murray told detectives he had been giving the singer nightly doses of propofol to help him sleep as he prepared for a series of comeback concerts. Propofol is supposed to be used in hospital settings and has never been approved for sleep treatments, yet Murray acknowledged giving it to Jackson then leaving the room on the day the singer died.

Murray declined to testify during his trial but did opt to participate in a documentary in which he said he didn't consider himself guilty of any crime and blamed Jackson for entrapping him into administering the propofol doses. His attorneys contended throughout the case that Jackson must have given himself the fatal dose when Murray left the singer's bedside.

In their sentencing memorandum, prosecutors cited Murray's statements to advocate that he receive the maximum term. They also want him to pay restitution to the singer's three children — Prince, Paris and Blanket.

It's unlikely that Murray can pay any sizable sum, including the $1.8 million cost of his funeral. He was deeply in debt when he agreed to serve as Jackson's personal physician for $150,000 a month, and the singer died before Murray received any money.

Prosecutors said the relationship of Jackson and Murray was corrupted by greed. Murray left his practices to serve as Jackson's doctor and look out for his well-being, but instead acted as an employee catering to the singer's desire to receive propofol to put him to sleep, prosecutors said.

"The defendant has displayed a complete lack of remorse for causing Michael Jackson's death," prosecutors wrote in a filing last week. "Even worse than failing to accept even the slightest level of responsibility, (Murray) has placed blame on everyone else, including the one person no longer here to defend himself, Michael Jackson."

Murray's attorneys are relying largely on 34 letters from relatives, friends and former patients to portray Murray in a softer light and win a lighter sentence. The letters and defense filings describe Murray's compassion as a doctor, including accepting lower payments from his mostly poor patients.

"There is no question that the death of his patient, Mr. Jackson, was unintentional and an enormous tragedy for everyone affected," defense attorneys wrote in their sentencing memo. "Dr. Murray has been described as a changed, grief-stricken man, who walks around under a pall of sadness since the loss of his patient, Mr. Jackson."

Plane with 3 men, 3 children crashes in Arizona

PHOENIX (AP) — A small airplane with three men and three young children onboard crashed Wednesday evening into mile-high mountains east of Phoenix while going around 200 mph, the Pinal County sheriff said.

The body of one child was recovered and "it is not hopeful" there are any survivors because of the nature of the crash and explosion, said Sheriff Paul Babeu.

Ten deputies spent the night on the mountain to keep it secure. They and dozens of volunteers were to start searching the area at first light, he said, adding that hikers and curiosity seekers should stay away. Video from news helicopters Thursday morning showed the crash site in front of a blackened cliff.

Some immediate family members are out of the country, so the names of those involved can't yet be released, Babeu said.

The twin-engine aircraft flew from Safford in southeastern Arizona to Mesa's Falcon Field to pick up three children for the Thanksgiving holiday and was headed back to Safford, Babeu said.

KPNX-TV reported the father of the three children, who are ages 5 to 9, lives in Safford. Their mother lives in Mesa.

"Our hearts go out to her at this time," Babeu said.

The aircraft slammed into an area of rugged peaks and outcroppings in the Superstition Mountains, 40 miles east of downtown Phoenix, at about 6:30 p.m. MST Wednesday, authorities said.

Callers reported hearing an explosion near a peak known as the Flat Iron, close to Lost Dutchman State Park, Sheriff's spokeswoman Angelique Graham said.

Witnesses reported a fireball and an explosion.

"I looked up and saw this fireball and it rose up," Dave Dibble told KPHO-TV. "All of a sudden, boom."

Sheriff's spokesman Elias Johnson said the body of one child was recovered late Wednesday night from the crash scene.

Besides the pilot and three children, a mechanic and another adult were also on board, Babeu said.

Rescue personnel used infrared devices to search for bodies but had not been able to detect any sign of movement, according to Johnson.

Rescue crews flown in by helicopter to reach the crash site reported finding two debris fields on fire, suggesting that the plane broke apart on impact.

"The fuselage is stuck down into some of the crevices of this rough terrain," Babeu said late Wednesday. "This is not a flat area, this is jagged peaks, almost like a cliff-type rugged terrain."

Video after the crash showed several fires burning on the mountainside, where heavy brush is common. Flames could still be seen from the suburban communities of Mesa and Apache Junction hours later.

The region is filled with steep canyons, soaring rocky outcroppings and cactus. Treasure hunters who frequent the area have been looking for the legendary Lost Dutchman mine for more than a century.

Some witnesses told Phoenix-area television stations they heard a plane trying to rev its engines to climb higher before apparently hitting the mountains. The elevation is about 5,000 feet at the Superstition Mountains' highest point.

Calls to Falcon Field, which mostly serves small, private planes, weren't immediately returned Wednesday night.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Allen Kenitzer said the Rockwell AC-69 was registered to Ponderosa Aviation Inc. in Safford. A man who answered the phone Wednesday night at Ponderosa Aviation declined comment.

Kenitzer said the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board would be investigating the cause of the crash.

Girl, 9, Testifies in Bid to Save Her Dad, Home Invasion Killer Joshua Komisarjevsky, From Death Row

The 9-year-old daughter of convicted killer Joshua Komisarjevskytestified via videotape today in a bid to save the violent Connecticut home invader from the death penalty.

Jurors in the death penalty phase of Komisarjevsky's trial watched the 20-minute videotape and listened as the girl laughed, described her father as her friend and talked about how much she loved animals.

The girl referred to her father as Josh, not "dad," and said he was a man she used to play with at her grandparents' home.

She said he had gone to jail for "something he had done at work."

The girl lived with her grandparents at the time of the 2007 murders.

She is not being identified to protect her privacy.

The videotaped testimony was shown over the objection of Komisarjevsky, himself, who addressed the court for the first time during his trial, though his voice was heard previously during a taped confession.

Komisarjevsky, 31, has been convicted of 17 counts including the murder of Jennifer Hawke-Petit, 48, Hayley Petit, 17, and Michaela Petit, 11, during a brutal invasion of the family's Cheshire, Conn., home in 2007.

The verdict included six aggravating factors including that Komisarjevsky and his accomplice Steven Hayes committed the murders in "an especially heinous, cruel or depraved manner." The mother was raped and strangled. The girls were tied to their beds and the house and their beds were splashed with gasoline before the house was set afire.

Hawke-Petit's husband, Dr. Michael Petit, testified that he was bound and badly beaten separately in the home's basement, but managed to escape.

Hayes has already been sentenced to death and is on Connecticut's death row.

Komisarjevsky's daughter was interviewed by Caroline Burry, a social worker, last weekend, but did not know she was being taped.

Burry took the stand after the videotape was played and testified that if Komisarjevsky was executed it could be "very damaging" to the girl, who is currently living with her maternal aunt. Her name has been changed and it is believed that none of her friends knows about her father's crimes.

The girl's testimony has been a point of contention for weeks as an attorney for the girl's guardian sought to prevent the interview, citing the possible psychological repercussions and a fear that her identity could become known.

But Jeremiah Donovan, one of Komisarjevsky's attorneys, said that showing the videotape was important because it would allow the jurors to see his client as a loving father who, records show, has seen his daughter 55 times during his incarceration -- instead of seeing him as just a cold-blooded killer.

But today, Komisarjevsky went against his own attorney's wishes. He addressed the judge in an attempt to prevent the videotape from being shown to the jury.

Komisarjevsky, who wore a dark suit and tie, read in a low voice from a piece of paper -- a prepared statement that his defense attorneys insisted he prepared on his own.

"Among many other considerations, I have carefully come to the overwhelming opinion that I am not at all comfortable putting my daughter in a position wherein she may feel that she has to explain or justify herself to anyone who perceives her statements to somehow help one of the most hated people in America," Komisarjevsky said.

"She's 9 years old. Had this interview been her decision to make, and she was old enough to understand that decision, that would be one thing. However, that is not the case in this situation. The decision has been made for her," he said.

Komisarjevsky went on to say that his daughter's words had been coached and that her current guardian punishes the girl if she mentions his name.

Komisarjevsky also told the judge, "It should also be considered how her memorialized words will affect her emotionally and psychologically in the future if she believes she's party to assisting the efforts to put me to death.

"For me, this isn't just some detached intellectualized argument on my part. Of all parties involved, I have the most at stake. My life is quite literally on the line," he said.

The convicted killer ended his statement by saying, "In closing, I will not beg for my life. I will humbly request in earnest that your honor please uphold a thoughtfully weighed decision of the defendant over the wish of the defense team."

Despite Komisarjevsky's request, Judge Jon C. Blue ruled that the videotape could be shown to the jury.

The media and the public were prevented from seeing the girl's face as the videotape was played.

On the stand, Blurry testified that the 9-year-old was doing quite well considering the upheaval in her young life but maintained that could change.

The girl was born in 2002 while Joshua Komisarjevsky sat in jail serving time for a string of burglaries.

Komisarjevsky and the girl's mother shared custody until he filed for sole custody in 2007, claiming his ex-girlfriend was abusing drugs. Komisarjevsky gained sole custody and his daughter moved into the home of his parents, Jude and Benedict Komisarjevsky.

Although it is becoming more common for children to testify in court, it is almost unheard of for a child to testify in a death penalty sentencing hearing.

In 2001, in Los Angeles, a prosecutor called four children to testify against their father, Marco Barrera, who had been convicted of killing several of his other children. The situation caused outrage among child advocates.

"These children are going to have to deal with the ramifications of this testimony for the rest of their lives," attorney Val Valle told the Los Angeles Times in 2001.

Komisarjevsky's defense attorneys have spent the past two weeks bringing a parade of witnesses into court to testify to the mitigating factors of a difficult upbringing that would justify a sentence of life in prison without possibility of parole instead of a death sentence.

Witnesses have testified that Komisarjevsky was sexually abused as a very young child by a foster brother and that he had several severe head injuries when he was a child. Komisarjevsky's parents also took the stand to explain that they sought help for their son through the church because they did not believe in psychological counseling.

The prosecution is arguing that the aggravating factors of the murders justify the death penalty in this case.

Eating canned food triggers soaring BPA levels

Eating canned food every day may raise the levels of the compound bisphenol A (BPA) in a person's urine more than previously suspected, a new study suggests.

People who ate a serving of canned soup every day for five days had BPA levels of 20.8 micrograms per liter of urine, whereas people who instead ate fresh soup had levels of 1.1 micrograms per liter, according to the study. BPA is found in many canned foods — it is a byproduct of the chemicals used to prevent corrosion.

When the researchers looked at the rise in BPA levels seen in the average participant who ate canned soup compared with those who ate fresh soup, they found a 1,221 percent jump.

"To see an increase in this magnitude was quite surprising," said study leader Karin Michels, an associate professor of epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health.

The levels of BPA seen in the study participants "are among the most extreme reported in a nonoccupational setting," the researchers wrote in their study. In the general population, levels have been found to be around 1 to 2 micrograms per liter, Michels said.

 

The study noted that levels higher than 13 micrograms per liter were found in only the top 5 percent of participants in the National Health and Examination Survey, which is an ongoing study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"We are concerned about the influence of [hormone-disrupting] chemicals on health in general, and BPA is one of them," Michels told MyHealthNewsDaily.

The study is published online today (Nov. 22) in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Soup for lunch

The study included 75 people, whose average age was 27. One group of participants ate 12 ounces of fresh soup every day at lunchtime, while the other ate the same amount of canned soup each day. Urine samples were collected from the participants on the fourth and fifth days of the study.

BPA was detected in 77 percent of people who ate the fresh soup, and all of the people who ate the canned soup, according to the study.

Only a few studies had previously looked at BPA levels from eating canned foods, and those relied on asking people how much of the food they usually eat comes from cans, Michels said. The new study was the first in which researchers randomized participants to eat a small serving of canned food or fresh food, and measured the resulting difference in their urine BPA levels, she said.

"We've known for a while that drinking beverages that have been stored in certain hard plastics can increase the amount of BPA in your body. This study suggests that canned foods may be an even greater concern, especially given their wide use," said study researcher Jenny Carwile, a doctoral student at Harvard.

BPA and health

A 2008 study of 1,455 people showed that higher urinary BPA levels were linked with higher risks of developing cardiovascular disease and diabetes, and abnormal concentrations of certain liver enzymes, even after factors such as age, body mass index and smoking were taken into account.

And other studies have linked BPA levels in a woman's urine during her pregnancy to health problems in her child.

It is not known how long the levels of BPA might remain high, according to the study. However, it is also not known whether such a spike, even if it isn't sustained for very long, may affect health, the researchers wrote.

The study was limited in that all of the participants were students or staff at one school, and a single soup brand (Progresso) was tested, but the researchers wrote that they expected the results to apply to canned foods with a similar BPA content.

"Reducing canned food consumption may be a good idea, especially for people consuming foods from cans regularly," Michels said. "Maybe manufacturers can take the step of taking BPA out of the lining of cans — some have already done this, but only a few."

The study was funded by the Allen Foundation, which advocates nutrition research.

Top 10 Interesting Ways of Eating Oats

Whether you are looking for weight loss or cholesterol management, oat no doubt can prove an unbeatable food option. There are unfathomable ways of incorporating oats into your diet, provided you are ready for innovations. Over 40 studies show that eating oatmeal may help lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease. According to Quaker, all it takes is 3/4 cup of oatmeal each day to help lower cholesterol. The soluble fiber in oats helps remove LDL or "bad" cholesterol, while maintaining the good cholesterol that your body needs.

The oat is rich in protein, has lots of beneficial minerals such as calcium and magnesium, trace elements like silicon and potassium as well as iron - while also being very high in vitamin content. The presence of these bodybuilding nutrients in the oats makes for strong bones and teeth, most of these vital minerals found in the oats are also necessary for the maintenance of a healthy nervous system in a human being.

Who the hell would like to follow a bland diet even if the blood sugar level refuses to come down. If you want to fight hunger and maintain a healthy weight check out these:
- Smoothie: You can go on to add apple, banana, pear, roasted walnut or almonds to milk/yoghurt and oats to make a delicious smoothie, anytime during the day to give your body a healthy punch. Choose the pink skinner gala apples or green skinned Granny smith apples for milk shakes. They don't turn brown soon. Use honey or sugar replacements for a healthier and diet version of smoothie. Half a cup of oats are enough to 2 cups of milk.

- Pancake: can be sweet or salty, depending on what you like to eat more. You can try masala pancake, making a sparing use of spices and vegetables like onion, tomato, coriander, fresh fenugreek, chilies etc. You can try oatmeal pancake with egg, milk and sugar incase you are craving for something sweet.

- Bread: Bake your own oat Wholemeal porridge bread and serve with poached eggs or baked beans. While adding cinnamon and nutmeg while baking remember that they inhibit yeast activity, so more yeast than typical is required. This is a good thing to keep in mind when adapting a normal bread into a cinnamon bread. You can go on to add raisins, nuts and seeds while baking.

- Biscuits: Oat biscuits and cookies can serve a healthy option with tea or coffee. To add variety you can add grounded almond, desiccated coconut or walnuts.

- Salad: Let your family applaud you for this healthy creation. Get oats transformed into a healthy salad along with minced onion, cherry tomato, sprouted beans, boiled potato, cucumber, lemon herbs like, mint and parsley. Do not forget to boil oats (salted water) for 25 min, drain and rinse under cold water.

- Flapjacks: Sweet bar! Traditional Flapjack is one of the quickest, easiest and importantly cheap baked goods to make. Put the butter, sugar and honey in a saucepan and heat, stirring occasionally, until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Add the oats and nuts, fruit, ginger or coconut and mix well. Transfer the oat mixture to the prepared cake tin and spread to about 2cm (?in) thick. Smooth the surface with the back of a spoon. Bake in a preheated oven at 180C/350F/Gas 4 for 15-20 minutes, until lightly golden around the edges, but still slightly soft in the middle. Let cool in the tin, then turn out and cut into squares. Store them in air tight container, for anytime meal. You can try adding seeds, fruits and nuts of your choice.

- Gravy balls: If you are looking for "vegetarian meat balls" try adding oats in place of minced meat. Add onion, spices, sauces, boiled potato, rice milk and soaked rolled oats, to form uniform balls. Bake or fry them, add to gravy or eat it as a snack. You can serve on top of spaghetti with maranara sauce.

- Cake: Oats cake is one healthy snack you all can enjoy. The need for healthy snacks to substitute the junk food is increasing day by day. Grind oats to get a fine powder. Make a thick paste from the tender coconut flesh. mix these two ingredients well. Add the jaggery syrup and blend well with the oats and tender coconut mix. Sprinkle cardamom and a pinch of cinnamon powder or dried ginger powder and mix all these ingredients well with hand. Keep in mind that what we need is a combined flavor. Take this in a steamer and cook well. These sweet tender and thin cakes do satisfy your taste buds and the body will get enriched by the nutrients it do have.

- Skirlie: a traditional Scottish dish. It is eaten on its own, used as a stuffing for a mock-sausage, the mealie pudding, or used as a stuffing for chicken (most commonly) or other fowl. Oatmeal was a staple ingredient of the Scottish diet, it absorbs other flavors and is filling, so it was found in many dishes of Scottish cooking. Skirlie was used to 'pad' out a meal in which meat is scarce. In the North East it is eaten with mince as well as with chicken. It is still a much loved dish in Scotland today. You can try your hand by making use of onion, lard and fine oats.