大象传媒

Consumer news with Winifred Robinson.

Fraudsters are targeting deaf people [and the Facebook friends of deaf people] via Facebook. Victims receive e-mails which appear to be from their Facebook friends [written in the way that deaf people speak] inviting them to invest money in companies claiming that they can guarantee impressive returns. The fraudulent e-mails say that the RNID and the World Federation for the Deaf endorse these companies. In US, 14,000 people have already been defrauded of $7million in this way. Shari Vahl reports.

Silver prices are going through the roof because gold has become so expensive, oil prices are uncertain and banks are giving poor returns.

Last month, South West Trains admitted that 59% of people do not fit into their train seats when elbows are taken into account. And this month, it has been revealed that our children are bigger than their parents were at the same age. Mark Stevenson muses on why spaces getting smaller even though we are getting larger.

Coastal areas in eastern Australia are suffering from a spectacular population growth fuelled by migrants and exasperated residents forced out of some of the world's most expensive cities. The prediction is that more than 6 million people will move to seaside communities over the next 40 years - an increase of almost 95% on present figures. A rapidly ageing population is also driving the rush to the coast. Seaside councils are already feeling besieged and under equipped to cope with demands on health, housing and social services. Phil Mercer reports.

From September 2011, Tewkesbury School will close an hour early every Friday to save money. Headteacher John Reilly joins Brian Lightman from the Association of School College leaders to discuss school budget cuts.

Men suffering from eating disorders who need hospital treatment are being placed on psychiatric and other medical wards rather than in one of the NHS's 85 specialist in-patient units. This is a consequence of the ruling last year which banned mixed gender wards in hospitals. Generally, there aren't enough men to justify separate wards and some Trusts are refusing to offer them any in-patient treatment at all. The charity, Beat, which campaigns on behalf of people with eating disorders wants the NHS to make an exception in their case and allow mixed wards for people with eating disorders.