Notting Hill Carnival opens with children's day

 

 

The carnival is in its 49th year

• In pictures: First day of Carnival
• In pictures: Getting ready for carnival
• Overground guards stage strike

Europe's biggest street festival, the Notting Hill Carnival, has opened with thousands of revellers watching a parade of giant floats.

Up to one million people are expected over two days for a feast of Caribbean culture, food, music and dance.
Hundreds of youngsters are taking part in the children's day at the carnival which traditionally starts the event, now in its 49th year.
The carnival procession started at 0900 BST on Great Western Road.
One of the first groups to take to the streets was the charity Kinetika Bloco, whose dancers wore pink, green and white costumes while a brass band played songs from The Clash's Rock the Casbah to Daft Punk's Get Lucky.
Rail strike After fears the start of the event would be hampered by rain, the skies cleared and the sun shone on performers as they paraded through the streets of west London in bright costumes.
As of 1530 BST the Met Police had arrested 17 people at the carnival for several different offences including a public order offence, carrying an offensive weapon, drugs, theft and drink driving.

Children's day traditionally starts the event

A spokesman said 6,000 officers were on duty at the carnival on Sunday and just under 7,000 would be attending on Bank Holiday Monday.
London Ambulance said by noon it had treated 41 people and taken six to hospital.
Notting Hill Carnival opened hours after London Overground guards began a 48-hour strike over plans to axe jobs, affecting more than a quarter of services.
The overground operator said 72% of planned services were operating.
Peter Austin, managing director for London Overground Rail Operations Limited (Lorol), told the BBC alternative arrangements were in place for affected routes but passengers were advised to check Transport for London's (TfL) website before travelling.
"Of our 124 conductors, more than half did not vote in favour of industrial action and so many are available to work this bank holiday weekend with managers covering shifts for those who are not," he said.

Continue reading the main story

From Trinidad to Notting Hill

• In paintings: How did the Notting Hill Carnival start?

Replacement bus services are in place on the parts of the Richmond and Clapham Junction to Stratford Junction routes, which are affected by the industrial action.

From Richmond, the District Line is operating normally and Southern Trains is running an hourly service between Clapham Junction and Kensington Olympia.
However, it is not currently calling at Imperial Wharf and an hourly service between South Croydon and Watford Junction will not call at Imperial Wharf and Shepherd's Bush on Monday.
The strike, over plans to axe jobs and introduce driver-only trains, started at 00:01 BST.
Will you be going to the Notting Hill Carnival? We would like to see your pictures.
Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.

Ovarian cancer screening 'has potential'

 

 

Ovarian cancer can go undetected for a long time

• Breast cancer map 'a key moment'
• Cancer risk gene testing announced
• Mass cancer mapping centre opens

A new way of screening for ovarian cancer is showing "potential", according to researchers in the US.

Tumours in the ovaries are hard to detect in the earliest stages meaning it can be too late to treat them effectively by the time they are found.
A trial of 4,051 women, reported in the journal Cancer, showed the method could identify those needing treatment.
But a huge study taking place in the UK will give a final verdict on the test when it is completed in 2015.
There is a survival rate of up to 90% when ovarian cancer is caught early, compared with less than 30% if it is discovered in the later stages.
Unlike other cancers, the symptoms, such as pelvic and abdominal pain or persistent bloating, are often put down to other common ailments and the tumour can be missed.
There is no mass screening programme to detect the cancer either.
Testing Scientists already know that levels of a protein in the blood, called CA125, are often higher with ovarian cancer.
However, it is too unreliable on its own. It misses some patients and tells others they have the cancer when they are actually healthy.
Researchers are now testing the idea of using the blood test to sort patients in risk groups based on levels of CA125. Instead of going straight for surgery, low-risk patients are tested again in a year, medium-risk ones after three months and high-risk patients have an ultrasound scan to hunt for tumours.
The US study, at the University of Texas, followed post-menopausal women for 11 years on average.
Ten women had surgery based on their ultrasound scan and all the cancers detected were at an early stage.
Researcher Dr Karen Lu told the BBC: "Clinical practice definitely should not change from our study, but it gives us an insight - we didn't get a lot of false positives."
She said the UK study of 50,000 people would give definitive results: "There are two big questions - do we see cancers at an earlier stage and do we decrease the number of deaths."
'Possible' Dr Sarah Blagden, from the Ovarian Cancer Action research centre, said: "Relative to the trial under way in the in the UK , this is a small study, but it does show that effective ovarian screening is possible.
"In 2015 the results of the UKCTOCs study will become available and the results are eagerly anticipated, more so now that this American study has produced such encouraging results."
Annwen Jones, the chief executive at Target Ovarian Cancer, said: "The results of this study are without doubt very positive, and we should take hope from that.
"Early detection of ovarian cancer will be the key to transforming survival rates. However, this study is very small, and there is no guarantee that the results will be replicated on a larger scale."

Sinopec profits surge as China eases pricing rules

 

 

China has been looking for energy sources to fuel its economic expansion

• The cost of petrol and oil: How it breaks down
• Energy uncovered
• Competition drives up energy cost

Asia's biggest oil refiner, China Petrochemical Corporation also known as Sinopec, has posted a 24% jump in profit in the January to June period.

It made a net profit of 30.3bn yuan ($4.9bn; £3.2bn) during the six months, up from 24.5bn yuan a year earlier.
Its margins were boosted after China introduced measures to allow domestic fuel prices to be linked more closely with international prices.
Sinopec said it expects its earnings to grow further in the coming months.
"In the second half of the year, we expect balanced supply and demand fundamentals in the global oil market and a steady growth in domestic demand for refined oil products and chemicals," chairman Fu Chengyu said in a statement.
"The Chinese government will accelerate structural adjustments and upgrades to maintain stable economic growth."
China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the country's top economic planning body, introduced a new pricing mechanism in its domestic fuel market in March this year.
It shortened the window for retail fuel-price adjustments to 10 days from 22 days, making it easier for oil companies to set prices closer to international market rates.
It also adjusted the varieties of crude used to calculate price changes for domestic oil products.
China's other refining giants have also posted an increase in profits.
Profits at PetroChina rose 5.6% in the first six months of the year, compared to the same period a year earlier.
Meanwhile, Cnooc's earnings during the period rose 7.9% from a year ago.

Apple Ban Overturned By Obama Administration

The White House move marks the first time since 1987 that a US administration has vetoed a product ban ordered by the trade panel.

the White House has stepped into a patent war between Apple and Samsung by vetoing a ban on imports of iPads and iPhones in the US.
The US International Trade Commission (ITC) in June banned the import or sale of the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad 3G and iPad 2 3G distributed by AT&T Inc, saying the devices infringed a patent owned by the South Korean electronics giant.
But US Trade Representative Michael Froman vetoed the ban, saying his decision was in part based on its "effect on competitive conditions in the US economy and the effect on US consumers".
The decision marks a setback for the South Korean electronics company. However, Mr Froman said Samsung could continue to pursue its case through the courts.

The decision, dealing a blow to Samsung, was welcomed by Apple

It is the first time since 1987 that a US administration has vetoed a product ban ordered by the trade panel.
Samsung said it was "disappointed" at the lifting of the ban.
"The ITC's decision correctly recognised that Samsung has been negotiating in good faith and that Apple remains unwilling to take a licence," it said in a statement.
Apple welcomed the news and applauded the administration "for standing up for innovation".
It added: "Samsung was wrong to abuse the patent system in this way."

US Trade Representative Michael Froman

The Apple products targeted by the ITC ban are more than a year old, though some models such as the iPhone 4 remain solid sellers.
Apple sells more than 100 million iPhones annually, but it does not break down sales by models.
Apple and Samsung have been waging a global patent war since 2010, filing multiple lawsuits against each other over the design and functionality of their devices.
Apple argues Samsung's Android phones copy vital iPhone features. Samsung is fighting back with its own complaints.
Last year, a federal court ruled that Samsung owed Apple $1bn in damages for infringing on non-essential Apple patents.
But the judge refused to impose an import ban on Samsung phones and later struck $450m from the verdict, saying the jurors miscalculated.
The case is set for a rematch in an appeals court.
Samsung is the world's largest maker of smartphones. Analysts estimate it outsold Apple nearly two to one in the first three months of the year.
However, Apple's smartphone business is more profitable.

Edinburgh Fringe: Comedy Shows 'Losing Edge'

As comedy makes up less of the programme every year, the popularity of theatre and international shows is increasing.

Comedy accounts for around a third of the programme at the Edinburgh Festival but for the last few years its share has actually been marginally falling.

It has long been the Mecca for all things comic, attracting some of the industry's biggest and brightest stars as well as being a launch pad for the up and coming, but since 2011 numbers have fallen by about 4%.
According to Kate Copstick, chief critic for the Scotsman, comedy at the Fringe is losing its edge.
"Everything finds its level and I think big prices in a big auditorium listening to people who are basically just serving you up a slice of their telly show cobbled together to make a bit of money (aren't working).
"People are maybe stupid one or two times but they're not perpetually, endlessly stupid and they're going to remember 'I paid £12 to see him last time and he was rubbish'," she said.

This year's Fringe festival runs until August 26

The Comedian David Baddiel has brought his stand up act to the Fringe for the first time in 16 years and believes the sheer volume of comedians could be the problem.
"One thing I notice after not being here for years is the bewildering amount of comedians here. There's always been quite a lot but now you walk along and it's like being in a zoo of comedians there's so many," he said.
Many people still come to Edinburgh to see comedy, to watch the big names or to discover someone new.
However the idea behind the festival is that people will also stumble upon something completely different that they had never expected to see.
Performers come to Edinburgh from all over the world and the variety is seen as impressive. For instance, Australia's most renowned contemporary circus has brought its show Wunderkammer to the Underbelly, a combination of circus, cabaret and vaudeville.

'The Amazing Bubble Man' from San Francisco rehearses for his performance

As the number of comedy shows falls, theatre has seen a marked increase over the last few years, proving there is a place for the thought-provoking as well as for the fun and frivolous.
One of the shows being talked about includes a play about the political prisoner Yulia Tymoshenko. Her daughter Eugenia has come to the festival to see the show and thinks a play can make a difference, particularly at the biggest arts festival in the world.
"I think it's quite painful for the authorities and the regime who put my mother in prison and others that people are not silent, that a play has been made about her and I think it's very hard to silence it.
"So for them it did make a difference, it made them realise the truth will be heard no matter what," she said.
The average visitor sees three shows while they are at the festival and it seems a punch line is no longer a pre-requisite for success.

Dustin Hoffman Undergoes Cancer Treatment

The Academy Award-winner's publicist confirms that Hoffman was treated for cancer and has been "surgically cured".

Oscar-winner Dustin Hoffman has undergone treatment for cancer, the actor's publicist has confirmed.

Jodi Gottlieb did not reveal what kind of cancer the Tootsie star was diagnosed with, or when the diagnosis took place.
But Gottlieb said the cancer had been "detected early and he has been surgically cured".
"Dustin is feeling great and is in good health," she said, adding that he will be continuing with preventative measures to avoid a recurrence of the disease.
Hoffman, 75, who won the best actor Oscar for his roles in 1979's Kramer vs Kramer and 1988's Rain Man, made his directorial debut with the 2012 comedy-drama Quartet.
The legendary actor has starred in dozens of other movies, including Midnight Cowboy, Little Big Man, All The President's Men and Marathon Man.
He is set to star alongside Scarlett Johansson and Robert Downey Jr in the Jon Favreau-directed comedy Chef, which is set for release next year.