Friends star David Schwimmer is to marry British photographer Zoe Buckman, his publicist has confirmed.

Schwimmer, 45, reportedly met Buckman, 24, while he was in London directing 2007 film Run Fatboy Run, which starred Simon Pegg.

The actor and director's representative confirmed the news to US magazine, Entertainment Weekly.

Schwimmer is still best known for playing Ross in hit US sitcom Friends, which ended its 10-year run in 2004.

Schwimmer directed a number of episodes of Friends before the show ended.

He received mixed reviews for his West End debut in Neil LaBute's play Some Girls in May, before going on to appear in the role of Lieutenant Barney Greenwald in Herman Wouk's play - The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial on Broadway in 2006.

BBC News

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Grenade explosions that wounded two soldiers at a Thai military base raised tensions in Bangkok on Monday as tens of thousands of anti-government protesters massed at another barracks on the outskirts of the city.

It was unclear who was behind the attack or whether it was directly linked to the protests by red-shirted supporters of ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

But it came shortly after Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva rebuffed demands by protesters to dissolve parliament and call fresh elections by midday.

Backed by the powerful military and establishment elite, Abhisit told a live national broadcast, flanked by members of his shaky coalition, the time was not right for a poll, which analysts say Thaksin's allies would likely win.

Army Colonel Nattawat Attanibutt said an initial investigation showed the grenades were fired into the sprawling army compound by a M-79 grenade launcher from outside the base on Viphavadi-Rangsit Rd. The soldiers were hospitalized.

"One received injuries in the abdomen and the other was wounded in the arm," Nattawat said.

Despite the increase in political tension, foreign funds have been flowing into Thailand's stock market -- to the tune of $812 million over the past three weeks -- as investors seek to benefit from a swift rebound in Southeast Asia's emerging economies.

As a sign of this, Thai stocks were firmer on Monday after jumping 63 percent last year despite frequent protests, including Thailand's worst street violence in 17 years in April.

Recent foreign buying was based on three factors: Thai assets are already trading at a substantial risk discount, the economy has rebounded well from the global downturn despite bouts of unrest; and, Abhisit is widely expected to survive the protests.

The turbulence adds to a prolonged political crisis broadly pitting the military, urban elite and royalists -- who wear yellow at protests and back Abhisit -- against mainly rural Thaksin supporters who wear red and say they are disenfranchised.

Cheering, blaring horns, and waving flags, the protesters had marched to a separate military base on the outskirts of Bangkok where Abhisit set up a crisis headquarters.

After their deadline for dissolving parliament passed, protesters retreated from the military base to their main protest site, reinforcing speculation Abhisit would prevail in the "red shirt" showdown.

"We have heard the answer from Abhisit. We have done what we came to do and we will assess what to do next," Veera Musikapong, a protest leader, told the crowd under scorching midday sun.

Crowds chanted: "Abhisit, get out. Elite, get out."

The protests, which began on Friday, reached as many as 150,000 people on Sunday but have been peaceful and orderly.

Most of the protesters travelled from Thailand's poor, rural provinces, piling into pick-up trucks, cars and even river boats, illustrating Thaksin's influence despite his removal in a 2006 coup, a graft conviction and self-imposed exile.

Thaksin's allies are likely to win the next election, which must called by the end of next year, just as they have won every poll held since 2001. The military and urban elite could seek to thwart that result, possibly with a coup, as in 2006, or a judicial intervention, as in 2008.

Thailand was plagued by political upheaval in 2008, when yellow-shirted protesters who opposed Thaksin's allies in the previous government occupied the prime minister's office for three months and then blockaded Bangkok's international airport until a court ousted the government.

Some pictures of the QM2's recent visit to Outer Harbor. Since the GFC there are some very good packages on Luxury Cruise Ships, some passengers reported getting a QM2 package from Sydney to Cape Town for just $5000 AUD per person

At FTW we have started a tipping competition for the second year.
The winner will receive $100 to paypal.
We also have second and third prize and depending on interest may even increase the prizes.
The sign in page is located here.
http://www.ftw.net.au/thread-4382.html
Or go the the forum specific to AFL Footy. Rules and all that stuff.
http://www.ftw.net.au/forum-93.html

What can i say. I loves the footy and love the tipping contest.
Last year a member Contractkills won it by a mile so were hoping to put him back in his place this year.

Doctors may be missing signs that people are at risk of stroke because they are not looking at blood pressure readings properly.

New research has found that people with occasionally high blood pressure are more at risk of stroke than those with consistently high readings.

Traditionally, GPs only consider sustained high blood pressure as being a sign that someone is at risk of heart disease or stroke. Occasional readings of high blood pressure are usually ignored as an aberration.

But new research has shown that such sharp variations could be a more accurate indicator of vulnerability to stroke - and could also be used to spot signs of future heart attacks, heart failure and angina.

The findings, reported in The Lancet medical journal, could have major implications for the prevention of strokes and heart attacks.

Experts say clinical guidelines for treating patients should now be reviewed, as currently no special importance is attached to fluctuations in blood pressure.

Researchers looked at how blood pressure variability affected stroke risk in four large groups of participants in previous international trials, each including more than 2,000 patients. All the patients had previously experienced a so-called 'mini-stroke', or transient ischaemic attack (TIA).

Patients with the most variation in systolic blood pressure - the pressure measured with each 'surge' of the beating heart - were six times more likely to have a stroke than those with the least.

Professor Peter Rothwell, from the University of Oxford, who led the study, said: 'Raised blood pressure, or hypertension, accounts for over 50 per cent of the risk of stroke and other vascular events in the population.

'It has long been believed that it is the underlying average blood pressure that determines most of the risk of complications from hypertension and all of the benefit from the drugs that are used to lower blood pressure.

'The work that we have done shows that this hypothesis is only partly true - at least when it comes to stroke, the most common complication of hypertension.

'We have shown that it is variations in people's blood pressure rather than the average level that predicts stroke most powerfully. Occasional high values, and what might be called episodic hypertension, carry a high risk of stroke. Previously, such fluctuations were considered to be benign and uninformative.'

Joe Korner, of the Stroke Association said: 'With this new research it is now important that the clinical guidelines about treating high blood pressure are reviewed. In the meantime, we urge GPs to read this research to help them prescribe the best treatment for people at risk of stroke.

'People already taking medicines to treat high blood pressure must continue to take their medication and should speak to their GP if they have any concerns.'

dailymail.co.uk

I have been a pure vegetarian since 5 years. I stopped eating any meet or fish even eggs also. I ate vegetarian cheese sometimes. After I have been on this diet, I noticed that my energy levels dropped down significantly.

My diet was very simple: Vegetable, bread, rice, soya, etc. Is there any problem with me ? What should I do to increase my energy level ?

Go to start --> run --> GPEDIT.MSC --> Computer Configuration --> Administrative Templates --> System --> Locate
Turn autoplay off and modify it.

BANGKOK, March 10 (TNA) - The Thai government on Wednesday tightened security at key government offices and public transportation hubs before enforcing the Internal Security Act (ISA) Thursday as the government representative is set to talk with the leading protest leader in the hope of warding off possible violence during the weekend's expected Red Shirt mass rally.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said after chairing a meeting of the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) that his government has prepared appropriate measures to respond to the demonstrators in accordance with international practice with armed police rapid response units assigned to cope with any emergency.

The Cabinet on Tuesday announced its plan to enforce the Internal Security Act (ISA) from Thursday (March 11) through March 23 throughout Bangkok and Nonthaburi, plus some high-risk districts of other six provinces surrounding the capital.

The premier added that the ISOC meeting also agreed to the appointment of Mr Abhisit's secretary-general Korbsak Sabhavasu to coordinate with the Red Shirt United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) leaders in order to create better understanding and prevent any misunderstanding between the two sides, while Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban will oversee the overall situation with the help and advice from the government-appointed committee monitoring the overall situation.

Mr Abhisit stated that his government has never thought of using force against any demonstrators, but some Red Shirt activists such as Arisman Pongruangrong and others had been quite obvious in announcing that they are ready to use violence.

The premier urged the public not to panic over reports about possible sabotage and that Bangkokians can live their lives normally and cooperate with the authorities.

Following news reports that family members of ousted convicted ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra have left Thailand ahead of the upcoming Red Shirt rally, Mr Thaksin said in his social network Twitter @Thaksinlive that his two daughters Pinthongta and Paethongtan went to see a hotel exhibition in Germany and that the trip has been planned in advance.

When asked by another Twitter user how confident he is on the upcoming rally as it seems that the Red Shirt has been divided into many groups, the ousted premier replied that the real Red Shirt has the ultimate aim to achieve 'true' democracy and justice.

The ex-premier also sent an SMS to his Red Shirt supporters inviting them to join the Sunday rally in Bangkok saying "March 14, join the protest calling for the lost democracy and justice for the future of Thai generations."

As this weekend's anti-government rally may paralyse traffic across the capital, Nirandra Theeranartsin, president of the Airports of Thailand (AoT) on Wednesday warned passengers for international flights to arrive the airport three to four hours in advance, while two hours is advised to domestic passengers.

Mr Nirandra added that the AoT has prepared a contingency plan with police and civil officials of Samut Prakan province where the airport is located.

He said that the security plan was rehearsed last December and that the airport will facilitate passengers and their belongings to reach the aircraft without any disruption.

Meanwhile, Gothom Arya, as director of the Mahidol University Research Center for Peace Building, said after negotiating with the Red Shirt leaders that the UDD will send Weng Tojirakarn as its representative to talk with acting government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn on Thursday to create better understanding among the two parties.

Mr Gothom said that both the government and the Red Shirts accepted his proposal to hold a talk in order to reduce the use of violence.

Peace academic Gothom said that he was assured by UDD key leader Veera Musikapong that the Red Shirts will gather in six Bangkok locations without any road blockade and will move to its main rally venue at Ratchadamnoen Avenue as soon as the gathering is done.

Source: TNA

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Ever had one of these?