World Vignettes

The magazine provided an advance copy of the article by Antonio de Robertis, an expert on Van Gogh and one of several who have recently begun to question the authenticity of some of the works attributed to the Dutch painter.

De Robertis is among those who have challenged the authenticity of the Sunflowers painting bought by the Yasuda Marine and Fire Insurance Company for 39.9 million in 1987.

In the Quadri e Sculture article, de Robertis says the painting in the Sotheby8217;s auction, known as Les Chaumieres de Jorgus or Les Chaumieres a Auvers, is a forgery. He said Les Chaumieres de Jorgus was actually paintedby Dr Paul Gachet and his son, Paul Jr, from whose collection it came. Gachet cared for the troubled painter before his suicide in 1890 and Van Gogh gave him a number of paintings. One, a portrait of Gachet, sold in 1990 to a Japanese paper magnate for 82.5 million.

Beer monitor

SYDNEY: Australians still consume four times more beer than the world average but their reputation as heavy drinkers may need reviewing after a report put it behind the Czech Republic, Germany, Belgium and Britain. Indians were termed as the lightest drinkers. International market analyst Euro-Monitor placed Australia fifth, drinking an average of 93 litres of beer per head through 1997, down from 99.09 litres in 1993, The Sun Herald newspaper said. The world average is 25.30 litres.

This is way behind the Czechs who guzzle an astonishing 156.05 litres and the Germans who drink 130.58 litres. The thirsty Czechs were one of only two nationalists in the top 10 to increase beer consumption in the four years from1993, the other being Colombia. India, targeted by Australian brewers, Fosters, for further expansion, were the lightest drinkers, sipping just 0.5 of a litre each. The research showed global demand for beer was moving away from the more developed markets of Western Europe, North America and Australasia to Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East.

Dangers at work

WASHINGTON: Despite the advancement in knowledge and workplace protection in the 20th century, workplace safety has worsened since 1930, when the International Labour Office ILO first published its encyclopedia of occupational health safety. The latest edition of the publication said that 8220;tens of millions of workers around the world are continually exposed to chemical, physical and social hazards that drain their health and their spirits.8221; Jeanne Stellman, editor-in-chief of this year8217;s edition said workers still face many of the same dangers that existed in 1930. The traditional threats range from factory fires to catchingtuberculosis in hospitals. Stellman said new workplace concerns include eye and hand strain from working on computers, jet lag in business travel and radiation leaks at nuclear power plants.