Despite calls to raise the legal drinking age to 19 to reduce binge drinking during school celebrations, the federal government has ruled out the possibility.

Ian Hickie, health advocate from Sydney University’s Brain and Mind Research Institute, has requested the commonwealth to raise the legal age for drinking from 18 to 19, so as to break the link between leaving school and drinking.

The call comes as school leavers prepare for the annual binge-drinking ritual of schoolies, criticised as ‘ludicrous’ and ‘a very dangerous activity’ by Professor Hickie.  He says 18 is unacceptable as the legal drinking age, citing mounting evidence that the brains of young people are particularly susceptible to damage from alcohol abuse, even into their 20s.

The spread of cholera in Papua New Guinea’s East Sepik Province has reached a critical stage, according to health officials.

Already, there have been 5-deaths in the province due to the disease, while a further 90 have caught the infection.

Kambaramba village, the Biwat area, Angoram town and the Gavien Resettlement area are some of the areas to be affected the worst, and since people from these areas frequently travelled to the Madang province via the Sepik River, they probably contracted the disease there.

Recording a 0.6% rise, UK's top share index, FTSE moved into a positive territory, on the back of unexpected hikes in stocks, commodities and banking in particular. By 9 am, the index had surged by 30.65 points, to stand at 5298.35, a substantial rise from the closing figures recorded on Thursday, which were 5267.70.

"Yesterday we saw profit taking in sectors that have led the recovery but reasonably upbeat leading indicators from the U.S. have calmed the nerves and yet again we have buyers on the dip", said Jim Wood-Smith, Head of Research at Williams de Broe.

One of Britain's top retailers, John Lewis reported on Friday a 17.1% rise in department store sales for the week up-to November 14, further backing the fact that the chain has had a brisk start to the Christmas season. The overall sales figures reported for the week, which include online sales and sales at Waitrose, Lewis's supermarket chain, as well, have been the highest that John Lewis has recorded in the year so far.

Sales at the retailer's department stores were ?72.0 Million for the week, a substantial rise of 15% from the ?61.5 Million figures reported for the same time last year. This has been the 9th consecutive week for which John Lewis has reported a growth in sales.

Retail sales across UK recorded the fastest annual growth rate since May 2008, as has been confirmed by official figures shared by the Office for National Statistics. Sales surged 0.4% from the figure recorded in September, and 3.4% from October last year. Rapid rise in clothing and footwear sales has been the main reason behind the hike.

While the annual growth in the clothes and shoes departments was 3.5%, food stores across the country witnessed a 1.6% growth in sales. The biggest year-on-year rise for October was, however, registered by online shopping portals, which stood at 15.8%.

London, Nov 20 : The Oprah Winfrey Talk Show will come to an end in 2011 after more than two decades on air, BBC reported Friday.

From her early career as Nashville's first African-American TV correspondent to global superstar, Oprah Winfrey has well and truly conquered the US.

Since her TV career began back in 1973, 55-year-old Winfrey and her talk show have won more than 40 Emmys.

Chennai, Nov 20 : India's Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu raised his game to upset top seeded Andrew Wagih Shoukry of Egypt 11-3, 11-6, 11-7, to enter the final of the PSA Challenger Series squash tournament, here Friday.

Sandhu, coached by Malcom Willstrom of England, won his maiden Challenger title here in September, will take on James Snell, the second seed from England who defeated Ahmed Hawas of Egypt 11-3, 11-6, 11-7 in the other semi-final.

New Delhi, Nov 20 : Two people were arrested here Friday for allegedly shooting at a property dealer in south Delhi, injuring him severely, police said.

"The incident took place late Thursday in Neb Sarai area. The victim, Naresh, told us that while he was returning home from the gymnasium last night, he was stopped by four people identified as Ram Prasad, Puneet, Virender Kumar and Deepak," a police officer said.

"He ran away but the accused followed him. He was shot at by Virender and Deepak and he suffered injuries on his back and shoulder," he added.

Ranchi, Nov 20 : Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Rajnath Singh Friday addressed two poll rallies in Jharkhand, appealing for vote for the BJP, which he promised would provide a "stable government" in the state for five years.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh, who has been campaigning vigorously for the past two days in the state, said only the BJP is capable of providing a stable government.

New Delhi, Nov 20 : India football captain Bhaichung Bhutia has been advised three weeks' rest after he stretched calf-muscle at the national training camp at Margao in Goa.

Bhaichung underwent check-up in Mumbai Friday and a specialist advised him rest.

"I am fine now. I have to take three weeks' rest before I can start practicing again with the camp," Bhaichung told IANS from Goa.

Bhubaneswar, Nov 20 : At least two people were killed when police opened fire Friday on a mob attacking a police station in Orissa's Koraput district, an official said

More than 300 people allegedly attacked the police station at the headquarters of the district's Narayanpatna block to protest against frequent police patrolling in their area, considered a hotbed of Maoist activities.

Two persons were killed when the police opened fire to disperse the mob.

Stockholm - Former South African president Nelson Mandela and his wife Graca Machel were Friday named winners of a children's rights prize in a vote involving over 7 million children worldwide.

"We are extremely honoured to have been voted as the Decade Child Rights Heroes," Mandela and Machel said in a statement issued by organizers.

"For both of us this award is very, very special given the place children occupy in our hearts and lives," they added.

Islamabad, Nov 20 : Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani Friday urged the US to fully share the contours of its road map on Afghanistan and incorporate Islamabad's input in it.

He made the remarks while speaking to US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director Leon E. Panetta, who was on a two-day unscheduled visit here that concluded Friday.

Lucknow, Nov 20 : Four people were killed and one seriously injured when a train rammed into a tractor-trolley on the outskirts of the state capital early Friday, officials said.

The incident occurred at an unmanned railway crossing near Tikariya village in the Gosainganj area.

Kolkata, Nov 20 : To get more young people to vote, the Election Commission (EC) is planning to issue temporary Electronic Photo Identity Cards (EPIC) to students settled outside their home states.

"We're discussing about this facility with our Chief Electoral Officers (CEO) so that an 18-year-old student, who is studying in any outside state for more than six months, can have a temporary EPIC to exercise his franchise.

Islamabad, Nov 20 : Pakistan Foreign Office has denied reports regarding the presence of Taliban supreme leaders Mullah Omar in Pakistan.

Spokesman Abdul Basit told Geo News that the reports published in Washington Times in this connection are baseless.

It should be mentioned that the Washington Times reports alleged that Taliban leader Mullah Omar is in Karachi.

New Delhi, Nov 20 : External Affairs Minister SM Krishna on Friday said that Chairman of the separatist Hurriyat (Freedom) Conference Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was free to travel wherever he wanted, including China.

Mirwaiz is expected to visit China and Pakistan later this month.

His proposed visit to China comes at a time of diplomatic skirmishes between New Delhi and Beijing, especially over China''s insistence on issuing separate visas to citizens belonging to Jammu and Kashmir.

Islamabad, Nov 20 : Pakistan Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani during his meeting with the visiting CIA chief Leon Panetta stressed that the new US strategy for Afghanistan should not affect regional balance in South Asia.

Leon Panetta on the occasion asserted that the US is Pakistan’s strategic partner, and intends to have durable and long-term bilateral relations.

Washington, Nov 20 : Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) has helped Taliban supreme leader Mullah Omar to flee from the border town of Quetta to the port city of Karachi, fearing that US drones might target him.

Recently, one-eyed leader of the Afghan Taliban found refuge from potential US attacks in Karachi with the ISI assistance, the Washington Times has claimed quoting US intelligence officials.

Amsterdam - Dutch crown prince Willem Alexander and his wife Maxima will sell their luxury villa in the impoverished southern African country of Mozambique once it is completed, the prince wrote in a letter to Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende Friday.

The royal couple are among a small group of wealthy investors involved in developing an opulent estate that includes 220 villas and a five-star holiday resort on the Machangulo peninsula in southern Mozambique.