A pillow that plays relaxing music has been sent by the Danish army to its soldiers posted in Iraq and Kosovo to help them combat stress and tension.
"In a first test, we have sent 10 pillows each to Iraq and Kosovo and they are now being used by the troops," Henrik Lundstein, head of the leadership and psychology department at Denmark's Royal Defense College, told Reuters.
The Nordic country has around 540 soldiers in Iraq and 340 on a peacekeeping mission in Kosovo.
The pillow has built-in speakers attached to an mp3-player piping soft instrumentals and sounds of nature like trickling water and chirping birds. Called "MusiCure," it was created for use in therapy by composer and oboist Niels Eje with doctors and psychologists.
Referring to the pillow's success in Danish hospitals, Lundstein said the army hoped it could also help tense soldiers.
"We are hoping it can bring relaxing moments in a stressful environment for soldiers who are at the limit of their stress levels," he said.
20051015
Woman ticked off by police for "fat" comment
A woman struck by a hit and run car driver in northern England said she was told off by a police officer for using the F-word to describe the driver -- "fat".
Mary Magilton, 54, suffered cuts and bruises after being hit by the car which mounted the pavement while she was chatting with friends in Oldham and then drove off, newspapers reported on Friday.
She reported the incident but was ticked off by a police officer when she said the driver of the car was a "fat" woman.
"I was given a frosty look and told I couldn't say that. I could have said lardy, porky or podgy. But I wouldn't dare use those words," the Daily Mirror quoted her as saying.
A spokeswoman for Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said the description recorded on the police log of the incident did include the word "fat."
"I don't think she was severely reprimanded," the spokeswoman said, adding GMP had a policy to ensure officers used "appropriate language" that would not cause offence.
Mary Magilton, 54, suffered cuts and bruises after being hit by the car which mounted the pavement while she was chatting with friends in Oldham and then drove off, newspapers reported on Friday.
She reported the incident but was ticked off by a police officer when she said the driver of the car was a "fat" woman.
"I was given a frosty look and told I couldn't say that. I could have said lardy, porky or podgy. But I wouldn't dare use those words," the Daily Mirror quoted her as saying.
A spokeswoman for Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said the description recorded on the police log of the incident did include the word "fat."
"I don't think she was severely reprimanded," the spokeswoman said, adding GMP had a policy to ensure officers used "appropriate language" that would not cause offence.
20051012
Burglar, scared by corpse, phones police
A Dutch burglar phoned police after fleeing in panic when he found the corpse of an 89-year-old woman in a house he broke into in
The Hague.
Police said they were still searching for the burglar who "got the fright of his life."
"He said he was the burglar and that he found a corpse," a police spokesman said. "He found the mortal remains in one of the rooms and left the home to call emergency number 112."
Police were investigating if anything was stolen and believed the woman may have been dead for some time.
The Hague.
Police said they were still searching for the burglar who "got the fright of his life."
"He said he was the burglar and that he found a corpse," a police spokesman said. "He found the mortal remains in one of the rooms and left the home to call emergency number 112."
Police were investigating if anything was stolen and believed the woman may have been dead for some time.
20051011
Shepherds wanted -- accountancy skills preferred
Do you have an accountancy qualification and are you familiar with the bureaucracy of the European Union? Perhaps a career as a shepherd on the plains of southern Hungary beckons.
The "puszta" flatland, traditional home to more than a million sheep, is running out of qualified shepherds and is now importing them from neighboring Romania.
Not only are herd numbers growing, but shepherds must have accountancy skills and, since the country joined the EU last year, be capable of applying for grants, the newspaper Nepszabadsag reported Tuesday.
Ference Silay, who trained as an architect, is an ethnic Hungarian from Romania who now earns a living from the award-winning herd he owns in Domaszek, southern Hungary.
"Being a shepherd isn't just sitting next to your dog on the field all day, smoking a pipe," he told the paper.
The "puszta" flatland, traditional home to more than a million sheep, is running out of qualified shepherds and is now importing them from neighboring Romania.
Not only are herd numbers growing, but shepherds must have accountancy skills and, since the country joined the EU last year, be capable of applying for grants, the newspaper Nepszabadsag reported Tuesday.
Ference Silay, who trained as an architect, is an ethnic Hungarian from Romania who now earns a living from the award-winning herd he owns in Domaszek, southern Hungary.
"Being a shepherd isn't just sitting next to your dog on the field all day, smoking a pipe," he told the paper.
20051008
Looking for work? Consider Al Qaeda...
Al Qaeda has put job advertisements on the Internet asking for supporters to help put together its Web statements and video montages, an Arabic newspaper reported.
The London-based Asharq al-Awsat said on its Web site this week that al Qaeda had "vacant positions" for video production and editing statements, footage and international media coverage about militants in Iraq, the Palestinian territories, Chechnya and other conflict zones where militants are active.
The paper said the Global Islamic Media Front, an al Qaeda-linked Web-based organization, would "follow up with members interested in joining and contact them via email."
The paper did not say how applicants should contact the Global Islamic Media Front.
Al Qaeda supporters widely use the Internet to spread the group's statements through dozens of Islamist sites where anyone can post messages. Al Qaeda-linked groups also set up their own sites, which frequently have to move after being shut by Internet service providers.
The advertisements, however, could not be found on mainstream Islamist Web sites where al Qaeda and other affiliate groups post their statements.
Asharq al-Awsat said the advert did not specify salary amounts, but added: "Every Muslim knows his life is not his, since it belongs to this violated Islamic nation whose blood is being spilled. Nothing should take precedence over this."
The Front this week issued the second broadcast of a weekly Web news program called Voice of the Caliphate, which it says aims to combat anti-Qaeda "lies and propaganda" on major global and Arab television channels such as CNN and Al Jazeera.
Last month it issued an English-language video on the Internet called Jihad Hidden Camera which showed sniping and bombing attacks against U.S. forces in Iraq, and carried comical sound effects as well as laugh tracks.
Al Qaeda and other groups have increasingly turned to the Internet to win young Muslims over to their war against Western-backed governments in Arab and Muslim countries.
Islamist insurgents fighting U.S. forces and the U.S.-backed government in Iraq have often posted slick montages of their military activities, including beheadings of hostages, on the Internet.
The London-based Asharq al-Awsat said on its Web site this week that al Qaeda had "vacant positions" for video production and editing statements, footage and international media coverage about militants in Iraq, the Palestinian territories, Chechnya and other conflict zones where militants are active.
The paper said the Global Islamic Media Front, an al Qaeda-linked Web-based organization, would "follow up with members interested in joining and contact them via email."
The paper did not say how applicants should contact the Global Islamic Media Front.
Al Qaeda supporters widely use the Internet to spread the group's statements through dozens of Islamist sites where anyone can post messages. Al Qaeda-linked groups also set up their own sites, which frequently have to move after being shut by Internet service providers.
The advertisements, however, could not be found on mainstream Islamist Web sites where al Qaeda and other affiliate groups post their statements.
Asharq al-Awsat said the advert did not specify salary amounts, but added: "Every Muslim knows his life is not his, since it belongs to this violated Islamic nation whose blood is being spilled. Nothing should take precedence over this."
The Front this week issued the second broadcast of a weekly Web news program called Voice of the Caliphate, which it says aims to combat anti-Qaeda "lies and propaganda" on major global and Arab television channels such as CNN and Al Jazeera.
Last month it issued an English-language video on the Internet called Jihad Hidden Camera which showed sniping and bombing attacks against U.S. forces in Iraq, and carried comical sound effects as well as laugh tracks.
Al Qaeda and other groups have increasingly turned to the Internet to win young Muslims over to their war against Western-backed governments in Arab and Muslim countries.
Islamist insurgents fighting U.S. forces and the U.S.-backed government in Iraq have often posted slick montages of their military activities, including beheadings of hostages, on the Internet.
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