US students mourn alcohol and caffeine drink Four Loko

Alcopops containing caffeine and alcohol have been removed from the shelves in the US, following reports of students becoming dangerously drunk. The move comes amid anxiety about similar drinks in countries from Scotland to Mexico.

A few weeks ago in New York a group of college students gathered at a vigil. They sang songs, and held candles as they mourned the passing of a friend.

The scene can be seen on YouTube. What makes it slightly surreal is that the gathered crowd is lamenting the demise of an alcoholic drink, Four Loko.

From Monday, Four Loko will no longer exist in its original incarnation - as a mix of alcohol and caffeine in a can - on the orders of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Health concerns

The fruit-flavoured energy drink contains 12% alcohol, making it twice as strong as a regular beer, and one 23.5oz (694ml) can contains as much caffeine as a tall Starbucks coffee.

It is a combination those who drink it say tastes great and makes you feel good. But others describe it as a "blackout in a can", and blame it for landing a number of students in hospital.

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My friend had a little under three cans in one hour - he didn't know what he was doing, he was a mess”

James KulinskiStudent

Four Loko is one of a range of such drinks on sale in the US, including Joose and Core El Jefe. Last month, the US Food and Drug Administration called on the top four manufacturers to take them out of circulation by 13 December.

Dr Joshua M Sharfstein, the FDA's principal deputy commissioner, said evidence suggested that the mix of caffeine and alcohol posed a "public health concern".

Four Loko will continue to be on sale, but now without the caffeine.

The FDA's action came after some highly publicised scandals, in which the drinks were reported to have caused serious illness, including one at Ramapo College in New Jersey.

"My friend had [a] little under three cans in one hour," explains a student at the college, James Kulinski. "He didn't know what he was doing. He was a mess - he had no motor skills and no ability to communicate."

James has tried Four Loko and Joose and isn't a huge fan. He says most people who drank it on campus were "inexperienced drinkers" who saw it, at around $1.50, as an inexpensive way to get drunk.

Ramapo College later banned Four Loko from campus. It has also been banned from the entire state of Washington, after reports of dozens of young people being taken ill - including nine students from Central Washington university who were admitted to hospital in October.

Irish Coffee

"It's time to bring an end to the sale of alcoholic energy drinks," said Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna at the time.

"They're marketed to kids by using fruit flavours that mask the taste of alcohol and they have such high levels of stimulants that people have no idea how inebriated they really are. They're packaged just like non-alcoholic drinks, but include a dangerous dose of malt liquor."

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Alcoholic Energy Drinks

CANADA - Food and drug regulations do not permit the direct addition of manufactured caffeine in pre-mixed alcoholic energy drinks. They do allow caffeine in alcoholic beverages if it's derived from such natural sources as guarana.

MEXICO - Senate health committee has approved a measure to cease the sale of caffeinated alcoholic drinks in bars and nightclubs.

SCOTLAND - Scottish Labour Party calling for a ban on caffeinated drinks such as the fortified wine Buckfast.

AUSTRALIA - Ministerial council on drug strategy is considering regulation to address the growing concerns over the drinks. The government of New South Wales is looking at banning the sale of the drinks from clubs and bars.

In fact Four Loko, which has been sold in 46 states across America, has built up a cult following among college students. More than 100,000 have signed up to various Facebook groups protesting against the drink's demise.

The beverage hit the shops in 2008, the brainchild of three friends who met at Ohio State University - Chris Hunter, Jeff Wright and Jaisen Freeman - and went on to found the company Phusion Projects.

Phusion Projects disputes claims its drink leads to alcohol poisoning.

"We have repeatedly contended - and still believe, as do many people throughout the country - that the combination of alcohol and caffeine is safe," said Messrs Hunter, Wright and Freeman in a statement.

"If it were unsafe, popular drinks like rum and colas or Irish coffees that have been consumed safely and responsibly for years would face the same scrutiny that our products have recently faced."

Sales of the drinks reportedly rose in the last few days before the ban

But some studies do show that the mix of caffeine and alcohol can have adverse effects.

The University of Florida surveyed 802 college students who had mixed alcohol and caffeine and found they were three times more likely to leave a bar highly intoxicated and four times more likely to want to drive, compared with drinkers who did not consume alcoholic energy drinks.

Caffeine is a mild stimulant that increases alertness and heart rate, while alcohol is a depressant that causes lethargy and loss of normal faculties.

"When someone mixes them, we believe that the caffeine masks the depressant effects of the alcohol," explains Bruce Goldberger, a toxicologist from the University of Florida who helped write the research.

"Our research found that the person's perception of their degree of impairment was masked by the stimulating effect caused by the caffeine."

Mr Goldberger believes that this combination led to more students staying awake longer, and therefore wanting to drink for longer.

High demand

Another study from Wake Forest university, which surveyed 697 students, found those who had consumed caffeinated alcoholic beverages were more likely to drink drive, take advantage of someone sexually, or end up needing medical treatment.

According to Aaron White of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), a lot depends on the speed at which the drink is consumed.

Drinking a few cans of Four Loko in quick succession different is very different to someone drinking a bottle of wine over dinner, followed by coffee, he argues.

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If it were unsafe, popular drinks like rum and colas or Irish coffees that have been consumed safely and responsibly for years would face the same scrutiny that our products have recently faced”

Phusion ProjectsMakers of Four Loko

"In one can you have the equivalent of almost a bottle of wine and a couple of cups of coffee. That's a lot of alcohol and caffeine all at once. And young people tend to drink these things quickly."

Concerns over the drinks are not confined to the United States. The caffeinated wine Buckfast has been linked to youth crime in Scotland. Mexico and Australia are both considering regulating the sale of the drinks on health grounds.

Last week, before the effective ban in the US took force, retailers were reporting an increase in sales of the drink.

At the Bridge liquor store in Rhode Island, manager Jeff Schultz said he couldn't keep up with demand.

"Once it hit the news we couldn't keep it in stock. We've been through hundreds of the cases."

For the health of America's students the FDA's action is likely to be for the best, but many will mourn it.

"Thanks for introducing me to my 1st blackout. Its so hard to say goodbye," writes one fan, on one of the many Four Loko groups on Facebook.

In graphics: Eurozone in crisis

• Debt
• Economy
• Recession
• Jobs

The eurozone as a whole has emerged from recession, but recovery remains patchy and in some cases, fragile.

Growth rates looked healthy in the second quarter of the year (April to June), with Germany in particular recording a strong bounce-back.

But since then, the pace of recovery has slowed in most major European economies.

Across the 16 nations that have adopted the euro, growth was 0.4% on average between July and September, down from 1% three months earlier.

However, the picture is still gloomy in the Irish Republic and Greece, who have both had to turn to European partners for financial aid, and whose economies are still mired in recession.

The UK, which is not in the eurozone, is shown in grey on the chart for purposes of comparison.

Anglesey cat's 30 minute car engine trip

A cat which crawled into a car engine space to keep warm has survived a 30 minute journey after its unwitting owner travelled to work.

The black cat called Giggs was found after his owner's colleagues heard a meowing noise coming from her car.

Giggs's owner Cerian Griffith, from Anglesey, said despite missing a few claws, the cat was unscathed.

And incredibly Giggs did the same thing a second time, but was found before Ms Griffith left home.

"I hadn't thought anything about the fact that I hadn't seen the cat before I left for work," said Ms Griffith, who works at Ysgol David Hughes secondary school in Menai Bridge.

"A colleague said he'd heard a meowing noise coming from my car but I thought he was pulling my leg, until my mum sent me a text to say the cat was missing."

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I went across the yard shouting 'puss, puss' but there was no response and I thought he must have been a goner”

Cerian Griffith

Ms Griffith said she immediately put two and two together.

"I went across the yard shouting 'puss, puss' but there was no response and I thought he must have been a goner," she said.

When she opened the bonnet however "a head popped up" and Giggs was perched to the side of the Vauxhall Corsa's engine.

"He was just sitting there, and I can't understand how he managed to stay there as my journey involves going around a few roundabouts and along the A55," she added.

Ms Griffith said she then had to "embarrassingly" ask the head teacher for permission to take the cat home.

"He was lovely about it, and the cat fell asleep as he was being driven home," she added.

'Fast asleep'

Despite being 13-years-old, and not in the best of health, Giggs survived unscathed, apart from missing "a couple of claws".

The experience has not made him any wiser though as he was again found in the engine a second time.

"My mum said she'd seen him near the car and for me to check," she said.

"I didn't think he'd do it again, but there he was, fast asleep.

"I've no idea how many lives he has, but that one journey must have used up at least three," she added.

An RSPCA spokeswoman said it was not uncommon during cold weather for small animals to crawl beneath cars and climb up inside the engine compartment, seeking warmth and shelter.

"If you do discover an animal hitchhiker - and you do not know its identity - we would advise people to contact the RSPCA 0300 123 4999, and we can try to help trace the owner," added the spokeswoman.

Eurozone set for muted recovery, says OECD

Economic activity in the eurozone has picked up but the recovery is likely to be muted, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has said.

Countries using the euro must consolidate public finances even though this is likely to dampen economic growth in the near term, the OECD said.

Its report said as soon as risks of high inflation in the medium term emerge, the European Central Bank (ECB) should withdraw stimulus measures.

ECB interest rates stand at 1%.

The central bank's target for inflation is just below 2%.

The OECD forecasts annual economic growth of 1.5% to 2% over the coming two years.

In its economic survey of the euro area, it recommends that governments improve fiscal discipline, upgrade financial regulation, and implement reforms to boost growth and competitiveness.

It said that the global financial crisis had provided "the first major test of the robustness of the euro area in a downturn".

"Fiscal consolidation should begin no later than 2011 and a sustained period of adjustment is required," the report said.

"Potential output is likely to be lower in the wake of the crisis, underlining the importance of structural reforms in labour and product markets to boost economic performance.

"Lessons should be drawn from the crisis to make the economy more robust and reduce the risks from economic, financial and fiscal instability."

A species of fork-marked lemur believed to be new to science has been found in the forests of Madagascar.

The find is revealed on the BBC documentary Decade of Discovery.

Primate expert and president of Conservation International, Russ Mittermeier, first spotted the lemur during an expedition in 1995, but has confirmed its existence whilst filming the documentary this year, when he and his colleagues captured and took blood samples from the small primate before returning it to its forest home.

I immediately knew that it was likely a new species to science  Russ Mittermeier Conservation International

Genetic testing of these samples should confirm whether the animal is indeed a new species.

Dr Mittermeier, however, is already convinced that it is.

Forked-marked lemurs belong to the genus, or group of species, called Phaner. If confirmed as a new species, this would be only the fifth member of that group.

Following the call

Dr Mittermeier first saw the squirrel-sized creature in Daraina, a protected area in the northeast of Madagascar.

He was there in search of another lemur - the golden-crowned Tattersall's sifaka (Propithecus tattersali), a much larger species only discovered in 1988.

"I was surprised to see a fork-marked lemur there, since this animal had not yet been recorded from the region," he recalled.

FORK-MARKED FACTS Phaner lemurs have a black, Y-shaped line that starts above each eye and joins together as a single line on the top of the head, creating the fork that gives these animals their common name Their large hands and feet help them grip onto trees The lemurs vocalise with the loud, high-pitched night-time call They tend to run rapidly along horizontal tree branches and to jump from one branch to the next without pausing Their diet consists of a high proportion of gums exuded by trees and nectar from flowers A long tongue enables them to slurp up nectar and a specialised toothcomb acts as a scraping tool to bite into tree bark

"I immediately knew that it was likely a new species to science, but didn't have the time to follow up until now."

So in October of this year, the researcher led an expedition - including geneticist Ed Louis from the Omaha Zoo and a film crew from the BBC's Natural History Unit - to the same area, where they managed to track down the animal.

The team set out just after sunset, which is when fork-marked lemurs are most vocal.

They heard one calling close to camp at the top of a tree and ran through the forest following its calls.

The researchers eventually caught sight of the animal in the torchlight, and fired a tranquiliser dart.

A team member then climbed the tree to bring the sleepy little lemur safely down to the ground, where they could examine it.

The shape of the lemur's markings, the size of its limbs and its long, nectar-slurping tongue are familiar facets of all Phaner lemurs.

But this one has a slightly different colour pattern. It also displayed an unusual head-bobbing behaviour that the scientists had not seen in other fork-marked lemurs.

A strange structure under the lemur's tongue could also distinguish it from its closest relatives.

"The genetics will tell the real story," said Dr Mittermeier.

If confirmed as a new species, Dr Louis and Dr Mittermeier would like the animal to be named after Fanamby, the conservation organisation that has been instrumental in protecting the forest of Daraina.

New to science

"This is yet another remarkable discovery from the island of Madagascar, the world's highest priority biodiversity hotspot and one of the most extraordinary places in our planet," Dr Mittermeier said.

"It is particularly remarkable that we continue to find new species of lemurs and many other plants and animals in this heavily impacted country, which has already lost 90% or more of its original vegetation."

And because of its very restricted range, it is likely that this will turn out to be an endangered or critically endangered species.

Voyage of the Dawn Treader tops US box office

The latest chapter in the Chronicles of Narnia series has topped the US and Canada box office chart in its opening weekend, according to early figures.

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader took $24.5m (£15.5m) between Friday and Sunday - much less than its 2005 and 2008 predecessors.

However, 20th Century Fox said the film had taken $105.5m (£66.9m) globally.

"We had a huge task ahead of us to resurrect this franchise," said the studio's head of distribution.

"We really had our work cut out for us," continued Chris Aronson of Fox, which took over the series after Disney dropped it.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - the first film in the CS Lewis-inspired saga - took $65.6m (£41.6m) in its first weekend in 2005.

Its follow-up Prince Caspian - also produced by Disney - managed $55m (£35m) when it opened three years later.

According to Aronson, the aim was to "get movie-goers back to that feeling of affection they had for the first movie".

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NORTH AMERICAN BOX OFFICE

1. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader - $24.5m

2. The Tourist - $17m

3. Tangled - $14.6m

4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 - $8.5m

5. Unstoppable - $3.8m

Source: Hollywood.com

"I think they all had such a bad taste in their mouth from the last one," he said.

Meanwhile, Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie's romantic thriller The Tourist opened at number two with $17m (£10.8m).

Its distributor Sony described it as a "respectable opening" for a film featuring "two of the biggest stars in the world".

Last week's chart-topper, Disney's 3D animation Tangled, slipped to third place with $14.6m (£9.3m).

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 came in at four, with runaway train thriller Unstoppable at five.

Ballet thriller Black Swan jumped seven places to number six, despite playing in just 90 cinemas in the US and Canada in its second weekend.

Overall takings were down 3% on the same weekend last year, according to box office tracking website Hollywood.com.

2012 Cultural Olympiad composers selected

A mixture of musical genres, including opera, jazz, bell-ringing and beatboxing, have been chosen to feature in the 2012 Cultural Olympiad.

The 20 works will each last 12 minutes and "offer a snapshot of the quality and diversity of new music in the UK", according to organisers.

BBC Radio 3 boss Roger Wright chaired the panel that selected the pieces for the "New Music 20x12" project.

He said they were impressed by the "quality and range" of music submitted.

The pieces will be broadcast on Radio 3 and may also feature at official events linked to the 2012 London Olympics.

Organisers said the music reflected "the energy, hope and excitement that will emanate from across the Cultural Olympiad and the Games themselves."

One of the pieces - Wild Bells to a Wild Sky - will be created by the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers.

Composer Howard Skempton said he wanted to use bells because they "proclaim moments of public gathering, celebration and of important news".

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London 2012 - Begin your journey here

• Sport, news and more 2012 information

• BBC London 2012

Composer Anna Meredith, meanwhile, is teaming up with the National Youth Orchestra to create HandsFree, a piece using the percussive skill of beatboxing and clapping.

Other pieces include one put together by inmates at Lowdham Grange prison in Nottinghamsire and another exploring the sounds and rhythms of table tennis.

New Music 20x12 will be delivered by the PRS for Music Foundation in partnership with the BBC, the organisers of the London Olympic and Paralympic Games and Sound and Music.

The Cultural Olympiad started in 2008 and will culminate in a London festival running from 21 June to 9 September 2012.

Actress Cate Blanchett, Blur's Damon Albarn and artist David Hockney are among the celebrities whose involvement was announced earlier this week.

Poetry lovers are also being asked to get involved by submitting verses that they think will help boost participating athletes in the 2012 games.

A panel of judges, including poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy and author Sebastian Faulks, will determine the chosen lines, which will eventually be engraved on a wall in the Athletes' Village.