03-05-2007 12:41

Live from Metro worldwide

Toutes les semaines, retrouvez l'actualité du monde grâce aux éditions de Metro aux quatre coins du globe

METRO ITALY

CAN YOU SPEAK ITALIAN, PLEASE ?
Italians are speaking Italian more than ever before but at the same time, they are refusing to abandon their dialects and over half the population continues to speak them in the home. A new study shows that Italy's regional tongues, which have deep historical roots and are often unintelligible to outsiders, are refusing to succumb to state education and the leveling effect of the media. In fact, Italians who use only and exclusively their national language when with the family are still in a minority of 45%. The rest of the population uses dialect some or most of the time, according to the latest research by national statistics bureau Istat. A quarter of Italians still use dialect even when they are speaking to outsiders.

METRO HONG KONG

INTERNET SLIMMING PILLS MAKE FOUR ILL
A 14-year-old girl was among four people who fell ill after taking slimming products containing prescription drugs that were ordered through the internet. The incidents prompted the Department of Health to issue a public warning that customers should not buy such products advertised on the web.
The authority's toxicology laboratory received for analysis between December and March four samples of the slimming drug taken by the patients. The patients, aged between 14 and 29, had no clinical weight problems but nevertheless bought the products on the internet. They developed symptoms such as palpitations and mood swings after taking the drugs for two weeks to six months.
The tests showed that all the products were mixed with thyroid hormones and sibutramine. Princess Margaret Hospital laboratory specialist Liz Yuen said thyroid hormones could cause heart failure and psychosis and sibutramine increased heart rate and blood pressure.

Members of the public are allowed to visit military barracks during an open day of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in Hong Kong. A young visitor is curiously testing a grenade launcher.   

METRO SWEDEN

GAY DUCKS NOT READY FOR BABIES
After having spent the winter in a warmer country, the gay duck couple from Malmö has returned home. “They stay together through thick and thin and aren't the least bit interested in female ducks,” says Lennart Blomquist, responsible for wild birds in Malmö.
Thomas Alerstam, professor of zoo ecology at Lund's university says that homosexuality is rare but constant among birds. “It is especially prevalent among ducks. Around one percent of the birds are gay,” he says. But the gay ducks in Malmö aren't likely to adopt. “They never nest and are so aggressive that no other birds dare to come close,” says Lennart Blomquist.


 

METRO DENMARK

KIDS STRIP AT SCHOOL
A gymnasium in Silkeborg in western Denmark reached nationwide fame this week when a school dance was transformed into a strip show. Students performed as strippers and some of the teachers judged the show. The show was later broadcast on YouTube. The principal Erik Olesen demanded the footage be removed from the Net, but he failed to keep the show from being broadcast.
 

METRO MEXICO

HELL’S ANGELS IN NEON
Fluorescent vests are the cause of a new controversy in Mexico City. Local authorities said they are planning to introduce a new measure that will force motorcyclists to wear neon colored clothes. The new rules will also oblige bikers to paint the number plates on their helmets. Last Tuesday (May 1), hundreds of motorcyclists flooded the city streets on their bikes to protest against the new measure.
The local government said that the new law is aimed to improve the drivers' safety, but the motorcyclists claim they are being discriminated. They also promised to block the streets if the bill passes.

METRO HOLLAND

MORE GIRLS VICTIMS OF 'LOVERGIRLS'
In Holland, there has been commotion about “loverboys”, guys who let young girls work as prostitutes. But now the new phenomenon is “lovergirls”. A girl befriends another young girl, buying her friendship with jewelry and expensive clothes. Then she makes her work as a prostitute. An investigation by Metro showed that the amount of victims of lovergirls is increasing and several organizations are warning girls on their websites. Sixteen-year-old Chayenne spoke to Metro about her experience: "I had to give half of my earnings to the lovergirl. If I didn’t, she would hit me."

 

METRO RUSSIA

DEATH DURING THE SCHOOL LESSON
A 12-year-old schoolgirl died during gym class in a school in Lipezk, in central Russia. She collapsed after racing in the 200-meter run. Her teacher attempted to revive her through artificial respiration but in vain.
 
YELTSIN ON TV FOR THE LAST TIME
TV broadcasting of the funeral ceremony of Boris Yeltsin, Russia’s first president, beat all records of the last five years. Sixty percent of Moscovites, who had tuned in, watched the live program.
 
WHAT CHANGED THE WORLD ?
According to a recent public opinion survey, 24% of the Russian population thinks that the Internet changed our world the most in the 20th  century. It is followed by space travel (20%), progress in medicine (16%), the development of cellular phones (14%) and the invention of TV.