Korea to use taekwondo for overseas peace mission

World Friends Korea, the local version of the Peace Corps of the United States, unveiled a plan Wednesday to use taekwondo, a traditional Korean martial art, to promote peace and friendship in underdeveloped countries around the world.

The measure reflects a growing interest in Korean culture in Asia and Africa and the country's strengthening economic and cultural ties with the regions.

In a report to President Lee Myung-bak at Cheong Wa Dae, the organization, run by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), said its top priority this year is to enhance mutual understanding of culture and lifestyles between Korea and countries in need.

One of the ideas is to teach taekwondo to the younger generation. It has formed a group of young martial artists to demonstrate their abilities in the countries.

The organization said it will also open the door to senior citizens who are interested in goodwill activities overseas.

"It is very meaningful to help less-developed nations fight poverty and promote economic growth. It is our obligation and it is our privilege," President Lee said in a congratulatory message. "I hope you will become good friends of the countries and help them better understand Korean culture and people."

The expansion of overseas volunteering is one of the 10 projects the Presidential Council on Nation Branding adopted last year to help the country become a more responsible member of the international community.

The council, headed by former Korea University President Euh Yoon-dae, was created in January last year at the instruction of President Lee.

World Friends Korea was launched in May last year as the unified organization for the country's overseas volunteer activities. Until then, ministries and government agencies organized their own volunteer programs.

This year, Korea plans to send about 2,500 volunteers around the globe. Including those who belong to civic and religious groups, the number of Korean volunteers overseas is expected to surpass 3,000.

They will work with governments, schools, non-profit organizations and business people in various areas, including education, the environment, agriculture and information technology.

Currently, the U.S. is the only country that sends more than 3,000 volunteers abroad annually.

Disney to build new 2,000-room Art of Animation Resort

Walt Disney World is about to begin building its first new hotel in seven years, a 2,000-room resort that will open in 2012.
Disney’s Art of Animation Resort will feature 1,120 suites with room for as many as six people each and another 864 traditional hotel rooms, with a design theme based on four of the company’s most popular animated movies.
The complex will be priced as a “value” hotel, at the low end of Disney World’s scale, similar to Disney’s Pop Century and All-Star resorts, where standard rates begin at $82 a night.
The announcement is one of the strongest signals yet from Disney that it thinks a sustained recovery is under way from the long travel slump brought on by the global recession. Disney executives, who have been weighing construction of a family-suites hotel for several years, finally approved the project in January.
But in deciding to add another lower-priced hotel, Disney also appears to be betting that travelers will continue the frugal spending habits many adopted during the downturn. Disney has been relying on discounts to sustain attendance during the past year, and executives acknowledged Tuesday that consumers are still searching for deals even as Disney attempts to return to pre-recession prices

Deepika all set to sashay down Cannes red carpet

For those involved in cinema the world over, the annual Cannes Film Festival is without question the most happening place to be.
So, later this week, when Deepika Padukone [ Images ] sashays down the red carpet at the 63rd annual Cannes [ Images ] Film Festival, she'll know she's reached new heights!
Even more interestingly, Deepika will be wearing a sensuous sari designed by Indian designer Rohit Bal. Lucky Deepika, because it's Bal's first work since falling ill with a heart ailment and having surgery earlier this year.
Speaking on the issue of whether Deepika should don a Western or Indian garment at the event, Bal revealed in an interview to an Indian daily newspaper, that, 'There's a lot of criticism on why Indian women wear Western outfits at red carpets of premiere events. This year Deepika will show the world how beautiful saris are. She will be wearing a beautiful, super sexy saree.'
In another interview, Bal clarified that the sari would be 'ivory' in colour!
For her part, Deepika seems really, really excited. "It is a great honour to walk the red carpet representing India [ Images ] in Cannes and it's a great joy to work with Rohit again," she told the Indian daily newspaper.
Unfortunately, due to her super busy schedule, she'll only be in Cannes for one day, for the premiere of French film Tournee (On Tour), directed by Mathieu Amalric, which is competing for festival's top prize, the Palme d'Or.

More than 5% of Scots are alcohol dependent

In this week's Scrubbing Up, Dr Catriona Morton says drastic measures are needed to save Scottish drinkers from themselves.
In order to curb dangerous drinking, supermarkets must be prevented from selling cheap alcohol and awarding loyalty points with purchases, she says.
We are facing a new pandemic - alcohol as a major risk factor for poor health.

In Scotland, the majority of adults are exceeding recommended drinking limits and 5% (probably more) are alcohol-dependent.
Voluntary codes, hazard-labelling and NHS health promotion efforts are simply not working - so we need to hit the drinking culture at the heart by introducing minimum pricing, and removing supermarket loyalty points for alcohol.
Scotland now has the world's eighth-highest level of alcohol consumption.
We need to do something now to protect not only the health of Scots but the NHS.

I have teenage patients admitted from casualty as they are too alcohol-intoxicated to safely go home: occasionally they have to be put on a ventilator in intensive care

Pandemics require robust, evidence-based policies.
The doubling of alcohol consumption in the last 40 years reflects a marked reduction in relative price: some alcohol now costs less than bottled water.
A feature of young people's binge drinking is that they 'pre-load', by relying on shop-bought alcohol.
The home is the commonest drinking location for 75% of Scots.
Supermarkets are therefore crucial, because of their 'special deals' around cheap alcohol.
Our society doesn't allow loyalty points on cigarette purchases, as it seems perverse to have additional incentives to buying harmful toxins.
Loyalty points do, albeit indirectly, make alcohol cheaper.
Unlike cigarettes, alcohol does not necessarily harm at "low doses", but our epidemic is because of pervasive high levels of intake, and this is more than sufficient to justify restricting both price and points.
Working as a GP in a Scottish urban practice means that I have teenage patients admitted from casualty as they are too alcohol-intoxicated to safely go home: occasionally they have to be put on a ventilator in intensive care until the alcohol wears off.
And many GPs will have witnessed the devastation families face when adults in their thirties and forties - some with relatively young children - die of liver failure or cancer, due to alcohol.

The Scottish Government needs to urgently take action on this - by supporting minimum pricing and dropping loyalty points and encouraging the UK government to follow suit

Following the Scottish smoking ban in enclosed public places, there has been a 20% drop in heart attack admissions in non-smokers ( and a 17% year-on-year drop overall).
Whilst not all of this may be attributable to smoking behaviour, the ban has clearly had a major impact. In people from smoke-free households, the level of nicotine by-products in adults fell by almost half, as their exposure to passive smoke fell - and perhaps most important of all, by a third in children.
Prior to the smoking ban, there was good public health evidence to support it - we now face the same scenario in relation to alcohol.
The Scottish Government needs to urgently take action on this - by supporting minimum pricing and dropping loyalty points and encouraging the UK government to follow suit.
Such a move would be welcomed by health professionals both north and south of the border.
The financial burdens to Scotland of this continued level of drinking are commensurate: over �400 million NHS costs, �170 million for social work and all told, an estimated �2.25 billion a year. There are the terrible costs to people's lives too - six alcohol deaths per day in Scotland, a reflection of our world-leading rise in cirrhosis.
Alcohol is severely undermining the well-being of Scotland and we should again support a sensible, proportionate, and life-saving public health measure.