Child obesity rates may have reached a plateau in the US after decades of almost continuous rises

An analysis of data from 1999 to 2006 by the US government's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed obesity rates stable at 16%.

The US data was based on a survey of over 8,000 children aged between two and 19. The Journal of the American Medical Association report comes after the obesity rate has been rising for three decades.

The US chain Dunkin' Donuts has pulled an advert following complaints that the scarf worn by a celebrity chef offered symbolic support for Islamic extremism. The online advert for iced coffee featured the well-known

television chef Rachael Ray.

She was wearing a black-and-white checked scarf around her neck that resembled a traditional Arab keffiyeh.

The scientist who coined the term "global warming" in the 1970s has proposed a radical solution to the problem of climate change. Wallace Broecker advocated millions of "carbon scrubbers" - giant artificial trees to pull CO2 from the air.

He said some 20 million of the scrubbing devices would be required to capture all the CO2 currently produced in the US.

60 million of the devices would be needed worldwide at an estimated cost of $600bn (£303bn) a year.

Microsoft UK is developing a "senior PC", which will have a simple interface and be aimed at older users. The PC will come with software that allows users to manage prescriptions as well as simplified tools for everyday use, such as managing photos.

In the UK alone, some 17 million citizens are described as "digitally excluded". In the United States, Microsoft already offers a number of so-called senior PCs, in conjunction with HP computers.

Spam - the scourge of every e-mail inbox - celebrates its 30th anniversary this weekend. The first recognisable e-mail marketing message was sent on 3 May, 1978 to 400 people on behalf of DEC - a now-defunct computer-maker. The message was sent via Arpanet - the internet's forerunner - and won its sender much criticism from recipients.

Statistics suggest that more than 80%-85% of all e-mail is spam or junk and more than 100 billion spam messages are sent every day.

The sender of the first junk e-mail message was Gary Thuerk and it was sent to advertise new additions to DEC's family of System-20 minicomputers. It invited the recipients, all of whom were on Arpanet and lived on the west coast of the US, to go to one of two presentations showing off the capabilities of the System-20. Reaction to the message was swift, with complaints reportedly coming from the US Defense Communications Agency, which oversaw Arpanet, and took Mr Thuerk's boss to task about it.

Campaigners on the Greek island of Lesbos are to go to court in an attempt to stop a gay rights organisation from using the term "lesbian". The islanders say that if they are successful they may then start to fight the word lesbian internationally. The issue boils down to who has the right to call themselves Lesbians. Is it gay women, or the 100,000 people living on Greece's third biggest island - plus another 250,000 expatriates who originate from Lesbos? The man spearheading the case, publisher Dimitris Lambrou, claims that international dominance of the word in its sexual context violates the human rights of the islanders, and disgraces them around the world. He says it causes daily problems to the social life of Lesbos's inhabitants.

In court papers, the plaintiffs allege that the Greek government is so embarrassed by the term Lesbian that it has been forced to rename the island after its capital, Mytilini.

The term lesbian originated from the poet Sappho, who was a native of Lesbos.

The bus driver

refused to allow Mr Graves, 25, and his "pet" on to his bus in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire.

"It is definitely discrimination, almost like a hate crime," 19-year-old Miss Maltby said yesterday. The music technology student had this defence of her lifestyle. "I am a pet, I generally act animal like and I lead a really easy life," she said.

Satellite could plummet to Earth

A "large" US spy satellite has gone out of control and is expected to crash to Earth some time in late February or March, government sources say. Officials speaking on condition of anonymity said the satellite had lost power and propulsion, and could contain hazardous materials. The White House said it was monitoring the situation. A spokesman said "numerous" satellites had come out of orbit and fallen back to Earth harmlessly over the years.

Questioned by The Associated Press, he would not be drawn on whether the US would try to destroy the satellite, perhaps with a missile.

Tax Rebate Deal Reached To Stimulate Economy

Uncle Sam seems ready to give the U.S. economy a shot in the arm. Democrats and Republicans agreed on a tax rebate deal Thursday that will most likely be mailed to taxpayers this spring. Federal lawmakers hope sending out the rebate checks will send people into stores, thus jumpstarting the economy.  But some experts said that money's better in the bank.

ndividual taxpayers will receive up to $600; $1,200 for couples with an additional $300 allocated per child.

Strike set to silence talk shows

Late-night TV chat shows seem likely to be the first victims of a strike by the US screenwriters' union, which has been called over royalty payments.

The Writers Guild of America has asked its 12,000 members to stop working and set up picket lines from Monday. It wants more cash for work which goes on "new" media such as DVDs or online. Shows hosted by stars such as Jay Leno, David Letterman and Jon Stewart are expected to stop almost immediately as they rely on a supply of topical jokes.

Key HIV strain 'came from Haiti'

The strain of the HIV virus which predominates in the United States and Europe has been traced back to Haiti by an international team of scientists. The strain passed from Haiti to the US in about 1969 before spreading further

says the team in the Proceedings of the US National Academy of Sciences.

rides may have to be re-engineered

the boats themselves, were designed and built in 1963 on the assumption that the male adult riders would average 175 pounds and the women about 135, which they pretty much did at the time.

The Small World ride now must accommodate adults who frequently weigh north of 200 pounds, which it often cannot do. Increasingly, overweighted boats get to certain points in the ride and bottom out

Fema sorry for 'fake' conference

The US Federal Emergency Management Administration has apologised for having its employees pose as reporters at a hastily arranged news conference.

No actual reporters were able to attend Fema's televised briefing on the fires in California on Tuesday because they were only given 15 minutes notice.

Nobel Winner Retires After Race Remarks

Watson added that while he hopes everyone is equal, "people who have to deal with black employees find this is not true."

ames D. Watson, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA who set off a furor last week with comments on racial intelligence, announced his retirement Thursday from the prestigious lab where he has worked for more than 40 years.

VER SPRING, Md., Oct. 19 — A Food and Drug Administration panel of experts voted today to ban scores of popular over-the-counter cough and cold products intended for children under the age of 6

New nerves grown from fat cells

New nerves grown from stem cells taken from a patient's fat could be available by 2011,

The findings of their study on rats, in Experimental Neurology, could help hundreds of people a year, they say.

Child Cold Medicines Ineffective, F.D.A. Panel Says

The panel members cited a growing number of studies that have found that the drugs work no better than placebos in

Ellen DeGeneres' talk show was put on hold for a day because of her emotionally wrenching dog-adoption drama.

The battle over Iggy, a Brussels Griffon terrier mix, pitted DeGeneres against an animal rescue agency and, at one point, had her in tears on her show

owners of the nonprofit Mutts and Moms agency, claimed that DeGeneres violated the adoption agreement by not informing them that she was giving the dog away and removed Iggy from the hairstylist's home Sunday

State of Play: Man versus machine