Министерство образования и науки РФ

Государственное образовательное учреждение

высшего профессионального образования

«Поволжская государственная социально-гуманитарная академия»

Сборник газетно-публицистических текстов

для перевода с английского языка на русский и для реферативного перевода с русского языка на английский

Составитель

к.ф.н., доцент кафедры иностранных языков ПГСГА

С.А.Стройков

Самара 2011

УДК 811.111 (075)

ББК 81.2 Англ-5

С 23

С 23

Сборник газетно-публицистических текстов для перевода с английского языка на русский и для реферативного перевода с русского языка на английский / Составитель: С.А.Стройков. – Самара, 2011. – 40 с.

Сборник газетно-публицистических текстов предназначен для студентов программы дополнительного (к высшему) образования «Переводчик в сфере профессиональной коммуникации».

В сборнике содержится 15 аутентичных текстов Би-би-си, предназначенных для перевода с английского языка на русский. При работе над переводом данных материалов студенты изучают лексические единицы газетно-публицистического характера и развивают навыки чтения литературы на английском языке. Кроме того, сборник содержит 10 текстов Русской службы Би-би-си, предназначенных для реферативного перевода с русского языка на английский. При работе над переводом данных материалов студенты должны продемонстрировать знание лексических единиц газетно-публицистического характера и уметь выразить свое отношение к обсуждаемым в текстах проблемам.

УДК 811.111 (075)

ББК 81.2 Англ-5

© С.А.Стройков, сост., 2011

Mobile internet use nearing 50%

Almost half of UK internet users are going online via mobile phone data connections, according to the Office for National Statistics.

45% of people surveyed said they made use of the net while out and about, compared with 31% in 2010.

The most rapid growth was among younger people, where 71% of internet-connected 16 to 24-year-olds used mobiles.

D omestic internet use also rose. According to the ONS, 77% of households now have access to a net connection.

That figure was up 4% from the previous year, representing the slowest rate of growth since the ONS survey began in 2006.

Among the 23% of the population who remain offline, half said they "didn't need the internet."

The ONS report is the first since dot-com entrepreneur Martha Lane-Fox was appointed as the government's UK Digital Champion, with a brief to increase internet uptake.

In a statement, Ms Lane-Fox said: "That so many offline households don't see any reason to get online reinforces the importance of the digital champions network that the Raceonline2012 partners are creating."

Mobile revolution

The figure for domestic connections contrasted sharply with the rapid growth in uptake of mobile services.

However, the popularity of 3G broadband did not necessarily mean that more people were going online overall.

Many of those using mobile phones are likely to already have home broadband connections.

Older users, who the government is particularly keen to get connected, appeared to have been relatively untouched by the phenomenon.

While 71% of 16 to 24-year-old who went online said they used mobile broadband, just 8% of internet users aged over 65 made use of the newer technology.

The ONS survey also found a dramatic rise in the use of wifi hotspots – a seven-fold increase since 2011 – suggesting that the rise of 3G has done little to slow demand for free and paid-for wireless access.

All findings were based on a monthly survey of 1,800 randomly selected adults from across the UK.

Future heart health 'shaped by diet'

Growing up starved of calories may give you a higher risk of heart disease 50 years on, research suggests.

Researchers in The Netherlands tracked the heart health of Dutch women who lived through the famine at the end of World War II.

T hose living on rations of 400-800 calories a day had a 27% higher risk of heart disease in later life.

It's the first direct evidence early nutrition shapes future health, they report in the European Heart Journal.

The Dutch famine of 1944-45 gave researchers in Holland a unique opportunity to study the long-term effects of severe malnutrition in childhood and adolescence.

A combination of factors – including failed crops, a harsh winter and the war – caused thousands of deaths among people living in the west of The Netherlands.

The women, who were aged between 10 and 17 at the time, were followed up in 2007.

The team, from the University Medical Center Utrecht and the University of Amsterdam, found those who were severely affected by the famine had a 27% greater risk of developing heart disease than those who had had enough to eat.

Diet impact

Lead author Annet van Abeelen told the BBC: "The most important message is that it is good to realise that disturbing the development of children through acute malnutrition can have implications for later adult health.

"It's not only the short-term direct consequences that matter. Even 50 years later, there is still a higher risk of adult coronary heart disease."

Victoria Taylor, senior heart health dietitian for the British Heart Foundation, said: "This study showed a link between children and young adults experiencing famine and the likelihood of them developing heart disease later on in life.

"Although it wasn't clear exactly what changes occurred in the body to increase the risk, this highlights how our environment can have a long-term impact upon our heart health.

"Fortunately, the problems of famine seen in other countries have not been an issue in the UK in recent times. But that doesn't make this study irrelevant for us.

"It adds to the importance of providing a healthy diet for children and young people because of the way it can shape their future heart health."

Chocolate may protect the brain and heart

Eating high levels of chocolate could reduce the risk of coronary heart disease and stroke, according to a review of previous research.

Data from 114,009 patients suggested risk was cut by about a third, according to a study published on the BMJ website.

But the researchers warned that excessive consumption would result in other illnesses.

The British Heart Foundation said there were better ways to protect the heart.

The analysis, conducted by scientists at the University of Cambridge, compared the risk to the brain and heart in groups of people who reported eating low levels of chocolate, fewer than two bars per week, with those eating high levels – more than two bars per week.

Chocolate shield

It showed that the "highest levels of chocolate consumption were associated with a 37% reduction in cardiovascular disease and a 29% reduction in stroke compared with the lowest levels".

O ne of the researchers, Dr Oscar Franco, said chocolate was known to decrease blood pressure.

He told the BBC the findings were "promising", but needed further research to confirm any protective effect.

The study also warns that chocolate can lead to weight gain and Type 2 diabetes. It suggested that chocolate could one day be used to protect from heart problems and stroke – if the sugar and fat content of chocolate bars was reduced.

Dr Franco added: "The advice if you don't eat chocolate is not to start eating chocolate."

For those who did eat chocolate, he recommended that they should "avoid binge-eating" and eat "small amounts [of chocolate] on a regular basis".

Victoria Taylor, senior heart health dietician at the British Heart Foundation, said: "Evidence does suggest chocolate might have some heart health benefits but we need to find out why that might be.

"We can't start advising people to eat lots of chocolate based on this research.

"It didn't explore what it is about chocolate that could help and if one particular type of chocolate is better than another.

"If you want to reduce your heart disease risk, there are much better places to start than at the bottom of a box of chocolates."

Toshiba, Hitachi and Sony to form LCD display company

Hitachi, Sony and Toshiba are planning a joint venture to make small and medium-sized LCD displays for tablet PCs and smartphones.

They will use money from the Japanese government to help them compete with rivals from Taiwan and South Korea.

T hey have hesitated to invest in the LCD business because of expectations that prices are likely to fall.

The company will be operated by Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ), a government-backed firm.

The companies hope to have integrated the businesses by early 2012.

Analysts have predicted falling prices for LCD displays, despite the huge demand for gadgets such as smartphones and tablet computers.

Major alliance

"We will probably see oversupply in the near future," said Shigeo Sugawara from Sompo Japan Nippon Koa Asset Management.

"It's not a business that will likely provide stable profits in the mid- to long-term."

There are concerns that while Toshiba, Sony and Hitachi have 21.5% of the small and medium LCD display business between them, they use different types of display technology, which will make it difficult to combine the businesses.

INCJ will eventually hold 70% of the shares in the new company, with its three partners holding 10% each.

The companies have signed a memorandum of understanding, which is not currently binding. They hope to sign legally binding agreements later this year.

INCJ, which is 90% government-owned, will eventually invest 200bn yen ($2.6bn; £1.6bn) in the venture, which will overtake Sharp and Samsung to be the world's biggest manufacturer of small and medium LCD displays.

Sharp is about to receive a $1bn investment from Apple.

Remains of Australian outlaw Ned Kelly identified

The headless remains of Australian outlaw Ned Kelly have been identified, 130 years after he was hanged for murder, officials have said.

His body was dumped into a mass grave, later transferred to another mass grave and again exhumed in 2009.

Although his skull is still missing the body was identified by comparing a DNA sample with that of a relative.

Ned Kelly was seen by many as a cold-blooded killer and others as a folk hero of Irish-Australian resistance.

The bushranger killed three policeman before being captured in Victoria state in 1880 and was hanged for murder at Old Melbourne Jail in November of the same year.

B ut his body went missing after it was thrown into a mass grave. The bodies in the grave were transferred from the prison to Pentridge prison in 1929 and then exhumed again in 2009.

Scientists at the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine said they had identified the body after a DNA sample was taken from a Melbourne school teacher who is a direct relative – the great grandson of Kelly's sister.

The state's Attorney-General Robert Clark said he found the discovery amazing. According to the ABC network, the forensic team had to sift through the remains of 34 people mingled together in the mass grave.

"To think a group of scientists could identify the body of a man who was executed more than 130 years ago, moved and buried in a haphazard fashion among 33 other prisoners, most of whom are not identified, is amazing," said Mr Clark.

The exploits of Ned Kelly and his gang have been the subject of numerous films and television series, including a portrayal by Rolling Stone Mick Jagger in a 1970 movie of the same name.

Croatia cleared for EU membership in 2013

Croatia has been given the go-ahead to become a member of the European Union, and is likely to join in 2013, the European Commission has said.

Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said he would recommend EU nations wrap up talks and prepare to greet Croatia as the 28th member state.

Talks on reforming the Croatian judiciary, a very sensitive area, had been successful, Mr Barroso said.

Croatia will be the second ex-Yugoslav country after Slovenia to join.

"The European Commission has just proposed... to close the last four chapters in the accession negotiations with Croatia," Mr Barroso said in a statement.

"Today is a historic day for Croatia and the European Union."

'Reinvigorate efforts'

Mr Barroso described the move as "a signal to the rest of south-eastern Europe".

"I... hope that Croatia's progress is an inspiration to our other partners to reinvigorate their reform efforts and to deliver to the benefit of their people."

Two other countries of the former Yugoslav federation, Montenegro and Macedonia, are currently candidates for membership.

Serbia is expected to start membership talks next year, after the arrest last month of former Bosnian Serb army chief Ratko Mladic on war crimes charges removed the biggest obstacle Belgrade faced to joining the EU.

The four outstanding chapters in Croatia's talks included the judiciary and competition issues.

Correspondents say judicial issues are especially sensitive because the last EU countries to join – Bulgaria and Romania in 2007 – failed to meet full EU standards in that area.

The EU imposed a monitoring mechanism on them to deal with the shortcomings.

Croatia applied for EU membership in 2003 and formal negotiations began in 2005.

But the BBC's Mark Lowen, reporting from Zagreb, says progress was marred by initially sluggish co-operation with the UN War Crimes Tribunal in the Hague, as government officials appeared slow to hand over documents relating to the 1990s war of independence.

Corruption and organised crime have also dented the country's image, he adds.

EU leaders are expected to approve Croatia's accession at a summit on 23-24 June.

Graduates' pay premium has fallen, says ONS

Employees with a degree earned 85% more last year than those educated to around GCSE level but the gap has narrowed, statistics show.

The margin stood at 95% in 1993 when there were fewer graduates, the figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show.

And one in five graduates at the end of 2010 earned less than the average for those educated to A-level standard.

There has been a fall in the proportion of workers with no qualifications.

In 1993, some 25% of those aged between 22 and 64 had no formal qualifications, compared with 11% in 2010.

The ONS said this change was down to the number of people aged over 50 in 1993 who had not stayed on to sit exams when they were at school. By 2010, most of these people had retired.

Over the same period, the proportion of people in the 22 to 64 age bracket with a degree rose from 12% to 25%.

Pay levels

The ONS statistics show that the pay difference had also narrowed when comparing those who completed higher education short of degree level with those with GCSEs or their equivalent.

Those with a higher education award earned 45% more than their less qualified counterparts in 2010, down from 54% in 1993.

Those with A-levels or equivalents earned 15% more than those with GCSEs in 2010, down from 18% in 1993.

In the final three months of 2010, the median average hourly pay for employees educated up to GCSE level was £8.68.

T his rose for those with A-levels to £10 an hour, for those with higher education qualifications it was £12.60, and for those with a minimum of a degree, median pay stood at £16.10 an hour.

Those with no qualifications earned about £6.93 an hour and, for those with qualifications below C grade at GCSE, the median stood at £8.07.

Reacting to the figures, TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: "The recession has hit graduate opportunities badly, the misuse of unpaid graduate interns has become widespread, and the living standards of even those with good qualifications has been squeezed as a small number of super-rich have taken an unfair share of the gains of growth.

"It would be a big mistake to conclude that the UK is producing too many graduates.

"Any sound economic future for our country in a globalised world will require a highly-educated and highly-trained workforce, working to their full capacity, rather than forced into jobs that do not require graduate skills."

A spokeswoman for the Department for Business said: "A degree remains a good investment in your future. Our studies show that graduates earn, on average, around £100,000 more across their working lives, as well as other benefits such as greater rates of employment and improved health status."

Nicola Dandridge, chief executive of Universities UK, which represents the institutions, said: "UK graduates are still in a better position to succeed and remain highly valued by employers, here and overseas."

Irene floods in North Carolina and New York 'disaster'

U S President Barack Obama has declared a "major disaster" in North Carolina and New York state, in the wake of Tropical Storm Irene.

Mr Obama's move allows the two states to tap extra funds for relief efforts.

Swollen rivers along the north-eastern seaboard have begun receding after they caused extensive flooding and prompted emergency rescues in states such as New Jersey.

The storm has been blamed for at least 45 deaths in 13 states.

Irene barrelled along the east coast over the weekend, delivering hurricane force winds in North Carolina and torrential rains in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Vermont, which forced rivers to swell and prompted extensive flooding.

Nuclear reactors affected

The storm drenched the east coast with up to 15in (38cm) of rain at the weekend, setting river level records in 10 states, the US Geological Survey said.

At least 1.7 million homes and businesses in the affected areas are still without power.

Two out of three nuclear reactors in a southern New Jersey county have moved to reduce power because debris from Hurricane Irene was blocking cooling-water intakes.

Mr Obama earlier signed an emergency declaration for Vermont following the storm, which caused damage estimated at more than $10bn (£6.5bn) and forced a shutdown of New York City.

About two million people on the US east coast are still without power after Irene wreaked havoc on both small towns and major cities, some far inland.

Rescue operations continued on Wednesday in the north-east, clearing roads and delivering supplies to stranded towns – where mud-coloured floodwaters had earlier washed homes and businesses away from their foundations.

President Obama will view the damage from Irene on Sunday in Paterson, the third-largest city in the state of New Jersey.

Emergency teams in Paterson have been rescuing residents after the Passaic river reached 13ft (4m) above its banks late on Tuesday – its highest level since 1903.

The Passaic was receding on Wednesday, said James Furtak, acting emergency management director of Bergen County.

In Connecticut, the National Weather Service has warned of moderate to major flooding on the Connecticut River, which peaked in the city of Middletown at 15.4ft on Wednesday morning.

Help requested

Irene swept up the heavily populated eastern seaboard after making landfall as a category one hurricane in North Carolina.

By the time it reached New York, it had been downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm.

Nonetheless, the New York subway system was closed for the first time in its history, while 370,000 people living in low-lying areas were ordered to leave their homes.

The governors of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut requested disaster declarations on Tuesday.

In a letter to the president, Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York said that he had seen "hundreds of private homes destroyed or with major damage and an enormous amount of public infrastructure damage".

These sentiments were echoed in a letter to the president by Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey, whose state has not yet been designated a recipient of disaster funds.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano visited that state on Wednesday to survey the damage.

In Vermont on Tuesday night, more than 200 roads were blocked or had been washed away, hampering rescue efforts to as many as 13 towns.

Relief crews have now reached all of the towns, although most are passable only by emergency vehicles.

National Guard troops have brought in food, water and other emergency supplies to cut-off areas in the rural, mountainous state.

Vitamin A pills 'could save thousands of children'

Giving vitamin A supplements to children under the age of five in developing countries could save 600,000 lives a year, researchers claim.

Writing in the British Medical Journal, UK and Pakistani experts assessed 43 studies involving 200,000 children, and found deaths were cut by 24% if children were given the vitamin.

A nd they say taking it would also cut rates of measles and diarrhoea.

The body needs vitamin A for the visual and immune systems to work properly.

It is found in foods including cheese, eggs, liver and oily fish.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that, around the world, 190 million children under the age of five may have a vitamin A deficiency.

But despite widespread efforts, supplementation programmes do not reach all the children who could benefit.

Capsules are now distributed twice a year in at least 60 countries, with average annual coverage rates nearing 80%.

However, University of Oxford and Aga Khan University researchers who carried out this work say the effectiveness of vitamin A is so well-established that policy-makers should provide supplements to all children at risk.

'Effective and cheap'

They evaluated studies that involved children aged six months to five years, and compared rates of illness and death among those who were given vitamin A and those who were not.

They found vitamin A supplements reduced child mortality by 24% in low- and middle-income countries.

They calculate that, considering the estimated 190m children who are vitamin A deficient, reducing deaths by 24% would save more than 600,000 lives each year.

Dr Evan Mayo-Wilson from the University of Oxford, who worked on the study, said: "Until other sources are available, supplements should be given to all children who are at risk of vitamin A deficiency.

"After just one year, children who had taken supplements were less likely to have died than children who received a placebo [dummy version].

Vitamin A supplements are highly effective and cheap to produce and administer."

He said there had been recent criticism of vitamin A programmes – with some saying there were risks that respiratory infection rates could increase, particularly in children who were not vitamin A deficient – but he added there was "little doubt" that vitamin A prevented young children from dying.

In an editorial for BMJ Online, Professor Wafaie Fawzi, from the department of nutrition, epidemiology, and global health at Harvard School of Public Health, added: "Effort should now focus on finding ways to sustain this important child survival initiative and fine tune it to maximise the number of lives saved."

New James Bond movie may be shot in India

The next James Bond movie is likely to be partly shot in India, according to a pre-production company in Delhi.

Government permission has been granted to shoot in Mumbai (Bombay), Delhi and Goa, Rahul Soni of India Take One Productions told the BBC.

T his would be the second Bond film to be shot in India – Octopussy, released in June 1983, was the first.

The 23rd Bond film, which has yet to be named, will be directed by Sam Mendes and released on 9 November 2012.

Daniel Craig – star of 2006's Casino Royale and 2008's Quantum of Solace – is returning as the titular spy.

There have also been reports that some of the shoot will take place in South Africa, and that filming would begin by the end of the year.

Production company EON could not confirm details of the shooting schedule or locations, telling the BBC that the film was "still in pre-production".

Rail sequence

India's media has reported that the film is expected to be shot in a crowded old market and a popular flea market in Delhi.

But Pravesh Sahni, one of the film's line producers, told the Delhi Times newspaper that Sam Mendes preferred to shoot in Mumbai over the capital, Delhi.

"They wanted to capture Indian streets to show crowded lanes," he was quoted as saying by the paper.

The paper also said that the producers had met Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi for permission to shoot a sequence on a train.

"I want Daniel Craig to be the brand ambassador for Indian Railways," Mr Trivedi is quoted as saying.

The 1983 Bond film Octopussy – the 13th in the series – was shot extensively at a palace in Udaipur in India, and starred Indian tennis star Vijay Amrithraj and actor Kabir Bedi.

A number of foreign films have been shot in India in recent years – the 2008 Oscar winning hit Slumdog Millionaire being the most prominent.

Others are Ang Lee's Life of Pi, and the Julia Roberts and Javier Bardem-starrer Eat, Pray, Love.

India Take One also assisted with pre-production on the forthcoming Mission Impossible film, starring Tom Cruise.

Michael Winterbottom's new film Trishna, starring Slumdog Millionaire actress Freida Pinto, was also shot in India earlier this year.

Based on Thomas Hardy's novel Tess of the d'Urbervilles, Trishna is set in contemporary India and tells the tragic love story between the son of a wealthy businessman and the daughter of a rickshaw driver.

Graphene 'could help boost broadband internet speeds'

G raphene, the strongest material on Earth, could help boost broadband internet speed, say UK researchers.

Scientists from Manchester and Cambridge universities, have found a way to improve its sensitivity when used in optical communications systems.

Their discovery paves the way for faster electronic components, such as the receivers used in fibre optic data connections.

Graphene was discovered in 2004 and has been hailed as a "wonder material".

Optical communications

The material's use in photo-electrical systems is not new.

Scientists had previously managed to produce a simple solar cell by placing microscopic metallic wires on top of graphene sheets and shining light onto them.

Its superconductive properties meant that electrons could flow at high speed with extreme mobility.

However, early graphene solar cells were not very efficient, as the material was only capable of absorbing about 3% of visible light, with the rest shining through without being converted into power.

The latest research, overcomes that problem by using a method, known as plasmonic enhancement, to combine graphene with tiny metallic structures called plasmonic nanostructures.

As a result, its light-harvesting performance is increased by a factor of 20.

"The technology of graphene production matures day-by-day, which has an immediate impact both on the type of exciting physics which we find in this material, and on the feasibility and the range of possible applications," said Prof Kostya Novoselov, one of the lead researchers.

"Many leading electronics companies consider graphene for the next generation of devices. This work certainly boosts graphene's chances even further."

His colleague Professor Andrea Ferrari from the University of Cambridge added that the results showed the material's "great potential in the fields of photonics and optoelectronics".

Details of the team's work have been published in the journal Nature Communications.

Wonder material

Graphene was discovered in 2004 after scientists used sticky tape to isolate a single, atom-thick layer of graphite – the same material used in pencils.

It has been identified as the thinnest, strongest and most conductive material in the world; properties which many believe could revolutionise electronics.

Andre Geim and Kostya Novoselov, both originally from Russia, were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for their work in 2010.

Novels read monthly by 'less than one in two children'

Fewer than 50% of UK children aged eight to 17 read a novel outside class every month, research suggests.

The National Literacy Trust survey of about 18,000 school children suggests youngsters are more likely to read text messages and emails than fiction.

Most children (28.9%) estimated they had between 11 and 50 books in their homes.

But one in six said they rarely read outside the classroom.

Texts and emails

A ccording to the survey carried out at 111 schools in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, nearly one in five children have never been given a book as a present. This was more common for boys than girls.

And about one in eight claimed they had never been to a bookshop and some 7% said they had never visited a library.

However, just under half of all children surveyed said they enjoyed reading a lot. Only one in 10 said they did not like it at all.

Text messages, magazines, emails and websites were the top leisure reading choices of young people. But Ebooks were read the least frequently.

The findings show that more girls admit they read text messages, magazines, emails, fiction, song lyrics and social networking message boards and poems than boys, while more boys said they read newspapers, comics and manuals.

The survey also raises concerns that some youngsters are not reading at all, which can hinder their achievement in the classroom.

One in six (16.4%) said they "rarely" read outside class, while 7.3% admitted that they never read outside class.

Trust director Jonathan Douglas said he was worried the youngsters who did not for pleasure would "grow up to be the one in six adults who struggle with literacy".

He added: "Getting these children reading and helping them to love reading is the way to turn their lives around and give them new opportunities and aspirations."

Row between Wikileaks and Guardian over security breach

A row has broken out between Wikileaks and one of the newspapers it collaborated with to leak US diplomatic cables.

The whistle-blowing group said unredacted versions of the 251,000 diplomatic cables had been leaked on the internet.

Wikileaks blamed the disclosure on the Guardian newspaper and said it had started legal action against the paper.

The newspaper has strongly denied the claims, blaming a "security breach".

I n a short statement on Twitter, Wikileaks said: "A Guardian journalist has, in a previously undetected act of gross negligence or malice... disclosed top secret decryption passwords to the entire, unredacted, Wikileaks Cablegate archive.

"We have already spoken to the State Department and commenced pre-litigation action."

Stories based on classified US diplomatic cables – allegedly leaked by US soldier Bradley Manning – have featured in the mainstream media since December 2010 after Wikileaks partnered with the papers including The Guardian and New York Times to release the information.

An unredacted version of the cables is reported to be circulating on the internet and Wikileaks says that a book, published by two Guardian journalists in February, reveals the password to open the file.

Password 'temporary'

The Guardian admits the book contains a password, but says it does not reveal the location of the file and that it was told by Wikileaks' founder, Julian Assange, that the password was temporary and "would expire and be deleted in a matter of hours".

In a statement the paper said: "No concerns were expressed when the book was published and if anyone at WikiLeaks had thought this compromised security they have had seven months to remove the files.

"That they didn't do so clearly shows the problem was not caused by the Guardian's book."

Wikileaks claims the disclosure could have serious consequences and that "revolutions and reforms are in danger of being lost".

"Every day that the corrupt leadership of a country or organisation knows of a pending WikiLeaks disclosure is a day spent planning how to crush revolution and reform," said the whistle-blowing site.

American officials said on Wednesday that the disclosures could also have serious consequences for informants, human rights activists and others quoted in the cables.

"What we have said all along about the danger of these types of things is reinforced by the fact that there are now documents out there in unredacted form containing the names of individuals whose lives are at risk because they are named," said US Defense Department press director Col. David Lapan.

"Once WikiLeaks has these documents in its possession, it loses control and information gets out whether they intend [it] to or not."

The files were originally sent to the Guardian in July 2010 via a secure server which was then wiped, but it says that – unknown to anyone at the paper – they later ended up on the BitTorrent filesharing site.

It has long been known that WikiLeaks lost control of the cables even before they were published.

One copy of the secret documents was leaked to the New York Times in autumn 2010 and other media organisations have since received copies independently of Wikileaks.

Best paid US bosses 'earn more than their firm's taxes'

The 25 highest paid US chief executives earned more last year than their companies paid in federal income tax, a study has said.

T he average annual remuneration of the 25 bosses was $16.7m (£10.3m), the left-leaning think tank Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) found.

One chief executive on its list is General Electric's Jeff Immelt, who the IPS said was paid $15.2m in 2010 while his firm got a $3.3bn tax refund.

GE said the report was "inaccurate".

Its spokesman said the study did not include significant federal income taxes paid in 2010 for previous years.

"GE pays what it owes," he added.

The IPS report excluded what the companies paid in foreign, state and local taxes. It also did not include deferred taxes, because it said they may or may not ultimately be paid.

Other bosses on the IPS list are those of eBay and Boeing.

A Boeing spokesman said the report was "simply wrong".

'Weakness'

The IPS said two thirds of the 25 bosses were the heads of companies that utilised offshore subsidiaries in tax havens such as Bermuda, Singapore and Luxembourg.

IPS senior scholar and co-author of the report Chuck Collins said: "I think it's an exposure of weakness in a company if their profitability is dependent on their accounting department and not on making better widgets."

The think tank also found many of the firms spent more on lobbying politicians than they did on taxes.

The IPS said Boeing spent $20.8m on lobbying, while paying only $13m in federal income taxes.

Its report hit a nerve on Capitol Hill, with Democratic Representative Elijah Cummings calling for hearings on executive pay.

Mr Cummings, who sits on the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, said an investigation was needed "to examine the extent to which the problems in CEO compensation that led to the economic crisis continue to exist today".

RAF flies £140m unfrozen cash assets to Libya

The RAF has flown £140m of Libyan banknotes (280m Libyan dinars) to Libya after an assets freeze aimed at Col Muammar Gaddafi was lifted.

The cash, printed in the UK, is the first tranche of £950m that will be handed to Libya's Central Bank.

A Whitehall official said the money should be available for cash machines and banks in Libya very quickly.

Meanwhile, the BBC has learned that David Cameron set up a unit to block fuel supplies to Col Gaddafi's forces.

The secret "Libya oil cell" also ensured that petrol and diesel continued to get through to the rebels in the east, BBC deputy political editor James Landale said.

The Whitehall-based unit was made up of a handful of civil servants, ministers and military figures.

It played a crucial role in starving the regime's war effort of fuel while making sure that the rebels could continue taking the fight to Gaddafi, Whitehall officials told our correspondent.

Our correspondent said the unit was the idea of International Development Minister Alan Duncan. He was unavailable for comment on Wednesday evening.

The former oil trader convinced the Mr Cameron in April that part of the solution to the conflict lay in oil, our correspondent said.

One Whitehall source said: "If you didn't have the fuel, you couldn't win the war. So our aim was to starve the west of fuel and make sure the rebels could keep going.

"Gaddafi had lots of crude but he couldn't refine it. So he had to rely on imported fuel. And we turned off that tap."

The unit was established in the Foreign Office and was initially headed by a senior admiral, and later by a senior government official.

The operation gathered intelligence about oil and fuel movements, and information was passed to the government and Nato.

'Britain's commitment'

The release of the Libyan currency came following a decision by the United Nations sanctions committee in New York.

The official said the cash delivery, worth $1.55bn, should make it possible to pay many public sector workers, including nurses, doctors, teachers and police officers, over the Eid holiday.

Many of those dependent on government salaries have not been paid for a number of months.

T he money will also be used to provide aid for refugees displaced by the conflict and to pay for medicine and food supplies.

The funds were frozen in February when the uprising in Libya started.

The move comes on the eve of a major international conference on the future of Libya to be held in Paris on Thursday, chaired jointly by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and the UK prime minister.

UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said he was "delighted" the delivery to the Central Bank in Benghazi had been completed.

"Returning money to the Libyan people is part of our commitment to help the National Transitional Council rebuild Libya and help create a country where the legitimate needs and aspirations of the Libyan people can be met," said Mr Hague.

He added further deliveries of the remaining funds would be made shortly.

Ship held

Germany has also asked for agreement to release about 1bn euros (£900m) in seized assets, while France wants to unfreeze about 5bn euros (£4.4bn) to help pay for humanitarian aid and keep essential services going in Libya.

Last week, the UN agreed to a US request to unblock $1.5bn (£1bn) in frozen Libyan assets.

In March, a ship carrying Libyan currency worth £100m was impounded.

The Home Office said the ship was intercepted by UK authorities after heading back to British waters following an aborted attempt to dock at Libya's capital, Tripoli.

The money, which was printed in north-east England, was held at Harwich, Essex.

Cамые красивые английские слова

Слово mother (мать) было признано самым красивым в английском языке, по итогам опроса, проведенного среди иностранцев.

На вопросы Британского совета, приуроченные к 70-летию этой организации, ответили более 400 тысяч человек в 102 странах мира.

В первую пятерку самых красивых слов были включены также passion (страсть), smile (улыбка), love (любовь) и eternity (вечность). А вот father (отец) оказался аутсайдером, не попав даже в 70 лучших.

Тем не менее, среди 70 слов оказались довольно неожиданные, к примеру peekaboo (детская игра в прятки или одежда с прорезями), flabbergasted (изумленный), hen night (девичник) и oi (окрик "эй, ты").

Завершают первую десятку слова fantastic (отличный), destiny (судьба), freedom (свобода), liberty (свобода) и tranquillity (спокойствие).

Британский совет занимается пропагандой английской культуры по всему миру. Его сотрудники преподают английский более чем 500 тысячам людей ежегодно.

Глава отдела связей с общественностью Британского совета Крис Уэйд отмечает, что попавшие на самые верхние строчки списка английские слова сильные и позитивные.

«У всех нас есть мать и представление о том, что это за человек, – говорит Уэйд. – Это одна из вещей, в которых мы можем быть уверенными, и это очень сильное слово в целом ряде культур. Но я не уверен, что результаты были бы такими же, если бы мы проводили опрос в Британии».

По словам Уэйда, список отражает разнообразие английского языка. «В нем есть слова, обозначающие понятия, к которым люди стремятся, вроде свободы; слова, которые просто звучат смешно, и слова, которые в принципе не имеют точного значения, но много говорят о произносящем, вроде «эй, ты».

В список попали в том числе serendipity (прозорливость), loquacious (говорливый), kangaroo (кенгуру) и zing (пыл). Есть в нем и слова, заимствованные из других языков, такие как renaissance (возрождение) и aqua (вода).

Писатель и исследователь английского языка Майкл Киньон говорит, что список получился очень пестрым.

«У этих людей, изучающих английский как иностранный язык, замечательный словарный запас, – отмечает он. – Похоже, что он представляет собой любопытную смесь формальной и просторечной лексики. «Эй, ты» уж точно нечасто попадается на глаза в учебниках».

Внимание: шопингомания!

«Уникальное предложение!», «Тотальная праздничная распродажа!» – для многих подобные призывы не просто искушение. Поход по магазинам для них превращается в болезненную страсть.

Точного числа граждан, страдающих магазинной зависимостью, никто не знает. По-настоящему такой статистики никто не вел. Зато хорошо известны симптомы этой напасти. У жертв магазинного невроза во время походов за покупками резко учащается пульс, начинается обильное потоотделение, их охватывает мелкая нервная дрожь, могут возникать спазмы в желудке. Даже выражение лица меняется.

В историях болезни подобного диагноза вы пока не найдете. Официально термин «магазинная зависимость» принят только у немецких невропатологов и психиатров. Теперь о нем все громче начинают говорить и медики США. «Шопинг-синдром», «синдром импульсивных покупок», «синдром ненужных трат»… У этого недуга много названий.

Некоторые исследователи считают, что причины магазинных неврозов кроются в самом стиле жизни, навязываемом современным обществом, благодаря которому многие люди чувствуют себя непонятыми, ненужными, одинокими, несмотря порой на престижную и высокооплачиваемую работу. С покупкой очередной вещи эти «одиночки» надеются приобрести кусочек счастья, которого им так не хватает в повседневной жизни.

Со временем страсть покупать становится стереотипом. Будучи не в состоянии изменить что-то в своей жизни, люди находят временное утешение в суррогате желаемого (психологи называют это эффектом замещения), покупая, покупая, покупая без конца.

Подсевшие на допинг шопинга встречаются и среди бедных, и среди очень обеспеченных. И никакой экономический кризис им не указ. Хотя у женщин патологическая страсть к покупкам проявляется особенно ярко.

Но если приобретение десятка дорогущих платьев никак не отразится на благосостоянии дамы со средствами, что делать скромной служащей, купившей одно такое на всю зарплату? Взять себя в руки! Если, зайдя в магазин, вы тратите все деньги, какие захватили с собой, если при рядовой покупке испытываете особый подъем, если покупаете вещи, которые никогда не собирались приобретать и которыми после покупки так и не пользуетесь, если постоянно живете в долг, знайте: вы – на крючке.

Магазинному неврозу по непонятной пока для специалистов причине в большей мере оказались подвержены именно жители Европы, хотя вспышки неумеренной страсти к приобретениям отмечают у своих пациентов и американские невропатологи. Интересно, что этого явления почти не наблюдается в странах Ближнего Востока, в Китае, Индии, Японии и Корее. Возможно, этих жителей земного шара защищает от невроза некая восточная мудрость. А вот россияне, увы, оказались по складу нервной системы ближе к европейцам.