Coumadin foods to avoid

Ranger killer suspect found dead in snow
The body has been discovered of a gunman who is believed to have shot dead a US park ranger on New Year’s Day. Margaret Anderson who was aged 34, was killed by an assailant who fired at her when she tried to pull over his car at a tyre chain checkpoint. Iraq war veteran, Benjamin Colton Barnes is the suspect. Apparently known to police, his body is said to have been found in Mount Rainier park which has around two million visitors a year to its site on the snow-capped Cascade mountain range. More about: Attack, Death, Shootings, USA

Full Moon above New York City
A full moon rises behind the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building over the skyline of Manhattan in New York, January 9, 2012. REUTERS/Gary Hershorn More about: New York, USA

Old money to the rescue of a Spanish town
A small town in Spain is encouraging people to use the former currency, the peseta, to boost the local economy. Many people still hold pesetas and the shops can accept them since, under Spanish law, Spain’s central bank has to exchange them for euros. Residents from neighbouring districts have been coming to Salvaterra de Mi?�o to support the project, which is organised by the local Chamber of Commerce. Board member Alejandra Rivas explained: “The peseta re-using programme has been extended from one month to three and we want to extend it for another month. As long as there are people from other places who come to buy with the peseta the programme will be continued.” Most shops in the town have joined the scheme especially as it is the Chamber of Commerce that collects the pesetas and takes them to Madrid to exchange them for euros. “People are very happy about the programme because we can use the peseta again. It’s like we can buy things for free.” The Chamber of Commerce says the project has proved an effective way of boosting the local economy but it does not mean the whole of Spain will start using the peseta again. More about: Economic crisis, Euro, Spain

How hard are sanctions hitting Iran?
The new year started with the United States tightening its economic sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programme. Additional financial curbs signed into law by US President Barack Obama on New Year’s Eve are aimed at making it much more difficult for most countries to buy Iran’s oil. The European Union, which agreed in principle to a ban on Iranian oil purchases last week, is expected to announce its own tough measures later this month. The latest moves caused Iran’s currency, the rial, to slide 20 percent against the dollar in one week despite efforts by the country’s central bank to counter that. Tehran has responded with threats to international shipping specifically saying it could block the Strait of Hormuz through which 40 percent of the world’s tanker shipments of oil pass. Those Gulf shipping lanes are the world’s most important oil export route vital to the global economy. The threat has spooked oil markets pushing up prices, though analysts say they would be even higher but for the economic weakness in Europe which is reducing demand. Oil is central to Iran’s economy with 60 percent of its government revue comes from the sale of crude and European Union countries buy around 18 percent of Iranian oil exports. The 27 EU governments are still debating how quickly some of their ailing and oil-dependent economies can afford to do without such a key supplier. Forty percent of Iran’s oil exports go to Italy and Greece meets half of its needs with Iranian crude. Spain and Belgium are also major buyers. The proposed EU import ban means Iran’s exports could fall significantly in the coming months. Saudi Arabia and Libya are most likely to make up the short fall, but even so some experts fear prices could hit $200 dollars per barrel. At that level the more vulnerable European economies would suffer. Iran too would be badly effected unable to raise the revenue it needs to feed its 74 million people. More about: European Union, Iran, Oil market, USA

Salvaged Titanic artefacts to be auctioned
More than 5,000 artefacts retrieved from the wreckage of Titanic are to be auctioned off on the 100 year anniversary of the ship’s sinking. The items, which include crockery, fine clothing, designer handbags and early 20th century gadgets were all picked up from the ocean’s surface. Titanic, at the time the world’s biggest passenger steamship, set sail from Southampton in the UK bound for New York City on 10th April 1912. RMS Titanic hit an iceberg in the North Atlantic four days later. More than 1,500 people died. The wreck was found at a depth of four kilometres off the coast of Newfoundland by an American-French expedition in 1985. The items will be sold off in New York in April as a single collection. Under the rules of the sale, the new owner will have to make the collection available for public viewing. They’ve been valued at $189 million. More about: Auction, History, Shipwrecks

Meet Poland’s 73-year-old DJ
DJ Wika Szmyt, 73, spends her retirement behind a DJ console,?�playing disco, rumba or samba beats?�for a mostly elderly audience. She says?�she feels she is giving?�her fans?�a new lease of life. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel More about: Electronic music, Odd, Poland

Champagne corks still popping despite crisis
French champagne sales managed to weather the economic crisis in 2011 according to the champagne trade association — the Comite Interprofessionnel des Vins de Champagne (CIVC). It calculates sales were up by around 3.5 percent from the previous year, for a total of 330 million bottles. That was thanks to exports to the United States and emerging countries such as China and Brazil. But the CIVC warned a slowdown is likely this year as Europe’s economic crisis hits consumer spending. It expects sales to grow by two percent a year in the next three years. More about: Alcohol, Economic growth, Economy

Barreda cruises to maiden Dakar stage win
Spaniard Joan Barreda steered his Husqvarna motorcycle to stage ten victory in the Dakar Rally on Wednesday denying Marc Coma and Cyril Despres yet another win in this year’s race. Barreda, who is now 14th overall, ended the stage from Iquique to Arica one minute and 32 seconds ahead of defending champion Coma while Despres was another two minutes back in third. Despres still leads the show but his advantage was trimmed by Coma to just 21 seconds. Nani Roma of Spain picked up his third stage win this edition to climb into second place in the overall standings at the expense of American Hummer driver Robby Gordon, who came off the tracks and damaged the front left wing of his car costing him dearly. Nine time Dakar winner Stephane Peterhansel came home second in his mini and remains the comfortable race leader 19 minutes ahead of his Mini team-mate Roma. The rally now leaves Chile and heads to Peru for the final four stages. More about: Chile, Motorcycling, Motorsport, Peru, Rally

Musharraf to make a political comeback
The exiled former president of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf has told supporters he will return to the country and politics despite the risk of arrest. Speaking on a video link from Dubai, Musharraf told an 8,000 strong rally of his recently formed party, the All Pakistan Muslim League, to prepare for elections. In an earlier interview explaining his intentions, the one time leader also said urgent action was needed to salvage Pakistan’s dire relations with the United States. “Today, Pakistan – United States relations are at their lowest ebb, this is because of a trust and confidence deficit so therefore what needs to be done is really identifying why that trust and confidence deficit has taken place on both sides,” said Pervez Musharraf. Musharraf led a military government which ruled Pakistan from 1999. He left office in 2008 under threat of impeachment. He faces arrest on arrival as he is accused of failing to provide adequate security for the assassinated premier Benazir Bhutto in 2007. More about: Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf, Politics