TV for the under-12 (month) set
TORONTO, July 31 (UPI) -- BabyFirstTV, a 'round-the-clock, commercial-free television network devoted to the infant and toddler demographic is preparing to debut in Canada.
Programs, with names such as "Brainy Baby," "So Smart" and "Rainbow Horse," feature soothing music, brightly colored blocks and puppets, animals and lots of real babies. But while the network pitches itself as educational and interactive, it and other infant-oriented visual media aren't without detractors, The Star in Toronto reported Tuesday.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommended against letting children under age 2 watch television until more research has been done on its effects. But preliminary results from a university study show, on average, a baby is exposed to more than 500 hours of TV during the first year of life. The research project is expected to be completed in 2009.
The challenge for parents is the lack of conclusive studies on babies and television, Catherine Pierce of Ottawa's Media Awareness Network, a non-profit organization for media literacy, told The Star.
"Given that information, I think erring on the side of caution is the best approach," Pierce told the newspaper. "It's just not something you need to start so early."
Wax museum models vandalized
DUBLIN, Ireland, July 31 (UPI) -- Officials said thieves took Teletubbies and other figures from Ireland's National Wax Museum storeroom, but left Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin in the buff.
The wax figures were in a storeroom to the side of the main building, "but all they had to do was break down a door," museum manager Kay Murray told The Sun Tuesday.
The models -- including children's characters, film villains and historical figures -- have been in storage since the museum closed in 2005. A new location for the museum in Dublin is to be announced soon, the newspaper reported Tuesday. While some of the figures were removed, other models and their costumes were damaged.
Murray said the museum intends to reopen in two years, despite the missing wax works, adding she hoped the collection would be complete by then.
"All I want is that whoever has our stuff to please return it to us," she added.
Police said they believed participants at a nearby rave broke into the storeroom sometime in June.
Ill Norwegian princess cancels engagements
OSLO, Norway, July 31 (UPI) -- Norwegian Princess Martha Louise, who has announced the founding of an alternative school and her clairvoyance, has canceled an appearance citing illness.
The daughter of King Harald and Queen Sonja announced recently that she is a clairvoyant and said she would set up an alternative school where students can learn how to "get in touch with their own truths" by "readings, healing, crystals and hands-on treatment," Aftenposten reported Tuesday.
The announcements prompted criticism of the 35-year-old princess.
Martha Louise has bowed out of next week's scheduled appearance at a music festival in Bodo, Aftenposten said.
Officials at the Royal Palace confirmed that the princess was sick but didn't comment on the reason for the cancellation.
Despite her private business ventures, the princess officially represents the royal family at various events. None of her previous business ventures have been as controversial as the launching of the Astarte Education School.
Stones donate funds to crash victims
WARSAW, Poland, July 31 (UPI) -- The Rolling Stones donated a portion of the proceeds from band's concert in Warsaw in memory of the victims of a Polish bus crash, it was reported.
The bus crash happened Sunday in the French Alps when 50 people were returning to Poland after a visit to a Roman Catholic shrine. Twenty-six people were killed and another 24 were injured.
The Rolling Stones and concert promoters donated an undisclosed share of the concert's proceeds to victims' families, NME.com reported Tuesday. Stones front man Mick Jagger asked the Warsaw crowd to observe a minute's silence during the show.
The Stones' Warsaw concert began shortly before the end of three days of official mourning for the bus crash victims.
