Ban ladders!: "More than 80 Australians have died falling from a ladder in the past five years, prompting a warning from the consumer watchdog. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) today released a guide to using ladders safely, after a recent Royal Adelaide Hospital study showed deaths and injuries from ladder falls were increasing. "At least 83 Australians have died during the past five years after falling from their ladder and thousands more have been seriously injured," Commissioner John Martin said. "The majority of these deaths and injuries were suffered by people using a ladder for home repairs and renovation." Mr Martin said the study showed men in their retirement, and working around the home, were the most at risk of death or injury from falling from a ladder."




Danish royals' chef quits in disgust: "Japanese-born Takashi Kondo, 58, who has worked in the kitchen at Copenhagen's Amalienborg Palace for 24 years, said he could no longer bear to feed the monarchs, who occasionally opted for reheated leftovers. "All the soul has gone," said the chef who blamed labour efficiency and time constraints for the shift from fine fare to convenience fodder. "Everyone has to run around and hurry everything." Kondo also criticised budget cuts, which have seen the allowance for the royal menu slashed by _12,000 ($20,370) to just _73,000 ($123,920) per year. "It's all about cost-cutting, it's more beggarly than kingly," he said. "Soon they will end up getting rid of the silver and eating off monogrammed plastic plates."