Alphabet printable bulletin

Ti my shoes
This tannery in Silla, Spain, has made its leather production greener and safer with a new technology developed as part of an EU-funded research project. Managing Director at INCUSA, Silvino Navarro said: “There are many advantages of the titanium-based process; it’s more sustainable as there are larger natural reserves of titanium. It’s also healthier, since titanium is hypoallergenic. “Our objective within the European Eco-Innovation program is the tanning process based on titanium. It can gradually replace chromium process, currently used around the world.” In the traditional tanning process, a carcinogenic compound known as hexavalent chromium can form during leather production or storage. Using titanium instead of chomium eliminates that risk, and also makes leather production less polluting. Mr Navarro said: “The waste water produced in this process of leather manufacturing has better parameters in comparison with traditional tanning. More importantly, this process avoids any residue chromium from the final product, which is even better for the environment.” The mechanical properties of titanium-tanned leather aren’t inferior to the traditional one, with the added health benefit which could appeal to consumers. Mr Navarro said: “There are people who are sensitive to chromium-tanned leather, which can cause various kinds of allergies. These people can use footwear made of leather tanned with titanium, avoiding, among other factors, this potential allergy problem.” Several well-known manufacturers are already selling footwear made of “titanium leather”. The market demand exceeds all expectations. Mr Navarro said: “At this moment this technology represents 25% of our production, and the markets are very interested in it – such as the watch-making industry, the very important automotive sector, and especially the aviation sector that has a lot of interest.” More about: Chemicals, Health, Industry, Pollution

Greek leaders seek last minute agreement on aid
Political leaders in Greece have failed to agree on austerity measures demanded by the EU and the International Monetary Fund perilously close to a crucial deadline. The political leaders have to agree by noon on Monday if the so-called ‘troika’ of lenders will release nearly 130-billion euros in emergency funds. Without the funds Greece is at risk of a messy default when bond payments come due next month. The leaders say they will now continue their discussions to the last minute. The right-wing leaders have opposed further cuts in wages and spending. George Karatzaferis of the far-right LAOS party said: ‘I will not contribute to the explosion of a revolution due to misery, which will then burn down Europe.’ The objectors argue that yet more austerity measures risk pushing Greece into an even deeper recession. The troika of lenders, the European Commission, the IMF and the European Central Bank want more than 2-billion euros of spending cuts this year, and have demanded that all political leaders give their backing. More about: Eurozone, Greece, Lucas Papademos

New simulator gives pilots a taste of the extreme
Some of the most serious aviation disasters happen when pilots are confronted with a situation they have never encountered before. Now a new generation of flight simulators can reproduce just that, without the pilots ever having to leave the ground. We look at that in this edition of ‘Futuris’. More about: Aeronautical industry, Air safety, Netherlands, Russia

Major Freud portrait exhibition in London
A major exhibition of paintings by the late Lucian Freud has just opened in London. Best known for his fleshy nudes in muted colours, Freud was described as Britain’s greatest living painter in the last decades of his life. More about: Contemporary art, Exhibition

Blatter: ‘A black day for football’
The Port Said Stadium, an 18,000 seater venue – a venue that will now forever be remembered for one of Africa’s worst football-related disasters. In what FIFA president Sepp Blatter later described as a ‘black day for football’ – 74 people died and a thousand more were injured following violent clashes between two of Egypt’s topflight clubs, Al-Masry and Al-Alhi. “It’s a black day for football. You know that the whole country of Egypt is in a delicate situation. It’ doesn’t need much to inflame a fire. ‘‘In every association there is a person responsible of security. But in football there is so much emotion and passion that total safety can’t be guaranteed.’‘ It was Africa’s worst football related tragedy since 2001 when some 125 people were killed in a stampede at the Stadium in Accra. Once referred to by the British media as the ‘English Disease’ hooliganism has marred ‘the beautiful Game’ for decades. Two serious tragedies had a massive impact on safety at European stadiums in the 1980s. Safety and security were generally tightened everywhere following the Heysel Stadium disaster in which 39 people died when Liverpool hooligans charged Juventus supporters in the stands, which then collapsed. The tragedy resulted in all English football clubs banned by UEFA from all European competitions for six years. The disaster was later described as “the darkest hour in the history of the UEFA competitions”. The Hillsborough disaster in England in 1989 was the second. 96 Liverpool fans were crushed to death at an FA Cup semi-final in Sheffield when Liverpool played Nottingham Forest. Hooliganism, however, is not just an English cross to bare – it is a global one. And Wednesday night’s violence in Egypt is just another dark reminder that the fight against football hooliganism is far from over. More about: FIFA, Football, Port Said football tragedy, Security

Maori protesters confront New Zealand PM
Maori protesters gave New Zealand Prime Minister John Key a frost reception at a national day ceremony in Waitangi. The protesters are angry about Key’s plans to sell state assets, arguing they breach the principles of a nineteenth century treaty signed with British colonists. More about: Ethnic minorities, New Zealand, Protest

Litvinenko’s father denounces son as traitor
He was the ex-Russian spy whose poisoning by radioactive polonium in London sparked accusations of a Kremlin-sponsored murder. But six years after Alexander Litvinenko’s death, his father has dramatically withdrawn such claims and branded his son a traitor who may have been working for the UK, and if so deserved to die. Valter Litvinenko fled to Italy with his family after his son’s high-profile death. Now a widower, saying he is living in poverty, he spoke to Russian TV, begging Moscow for forgiveness and saying he wants to go home. “It is cold. Nobody needs us here. If you die, they just take you away. My wife always asked to go back to Russia. She said: ‘I want to go home’ and she cried. Nobody wants us here,” he sobbed. A propaganda coup for the Kremlin or a genuine case of remorse? Yet another mystery now surrounds the Litvinenko case, with Russia still refusing to extradite the intelligence agent the UK suspects of involvement. More about: Death, extradition, Italy, Kremlin, United Kingdom

Can you dig it? Xstrata Glencore merger talks
Mining group Xstrata and commodities trader Glencore have confirmed they are in merger talks. The all-share deal between the two Swiss-based companies would be the industry’s biggest ever. Glencore, which is the world’s largest diversified commodities trader, already owns just over a third of Xstrata and a tie-up has long been expected — indeed there have been years of informal talks. It is being presented as a merger of equals. According to Reuters figures Rio Tinto is currently the world’s biggest miner with its shares worth a total of 68 billion euros, followed by BHP Billiton and then Anglo American. Xstrata and Glencore together would be worth the equivalent of around 60 billion euros after excluding Glencore??�s current stake in Xstrata. However, one potential sticking point would be the price as Xstrata shareholders have indicated they would require some sort of sweetener to approve the move. Hard bargaining can be expected between the two companies highly competitive bosses — Ivan Glasenberg and Mick Davis. Questions are also being asked about how they might work together. Both are hard-driven, keen sportsmen who climbed the corporate ladder in the South African coal industry. They have had a close and sometimes tense relationship for more than a decade. More about: Mergers and acquisitions, Mining, Switzerland

New therapies
Could hypnosis become the preferred method for pain relief in maternity wards throughout the world? A hospital in Lille is trying out the drug free method with surprising results. Taking a different look at drugs, chronotherapy is proving an effective weapon in the fight against cancer but can taking medication at certain times of the day help combat other diseases? More about: Drug taking, France, Science