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Benazir accuses Govt ISLAMABAD, Sept 11: Former premier and chairperson of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Benazir Bhutto has accused the Military Government...more Extra chemotherapy BONN, Sept 11: An extra course of chemotherapy can often prove helpful in cases of throat cancer, according to medical researchers in Eastern ......more Heartburn can increase MUNICH, Sept 11: Heartburn can have serious consequences if it occurs regularly over a longer period of time and continuous attacks by stomach .....more |
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Scientists
turn to Chinese LONDON, Sept 11: British scientists are turning to traditional Chinese medicine and using extracts from ...more Scientists answer LONDON, Sept 11: Scientists may have unravelled a mystery which has puzzled them and millions of children ........more Musharraf admits shift in ISLAMABAD, Sept 11: Pakistan’s military ruler Gen Pervez Musharraf has admitted that the US priorities regarding South Asia had lately shifted away .....more Chandrika’s COLOMBO, Sept 11: Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s estranged brother Anura....more 119 people including COLOMBO, Sept 11: As many as 119 people, including 29 security personnel were killed and a large .......more |
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Benazir accuses Govt of trampling Pak founder father’s ideals ISLAMABAD, Sept 11: Former premier and chairperson of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Benazir Bhutto has accused the Military Government of trampling ideals and principles of the country’s founder Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah by suspending the constitution and abhorring the rule of law. The Pakistan’s founder father’s ideals and principles stand trampled by the military regime, which detests the constitution, abhors the rule of law and rejects supremacy of the civil Government, Benazir Bhutto said yesterday in her message on the eve of Quaid-e-Azam’s 52nd death anniversary being observed today. It is a sad thought on this death anniversary of our founder father that in the country of the Quaid, who was a strong believer in the constitution and rule of law, the constitution remains suspended and there is no rule of law, she said. The PPP chief said Jinnah stood for equality before law. But 52 years after his death, the military rulers have changed and continue to change laws specifically for their own benefit so as to stand above the common law for all the citizens. Today, they want the nation to believe and accept different set of laws, one for the generals and the other for the political leaders and representatives of the people. "It is a measure of the double standards and the arbitrary change of ball and post that on the death anniversary of the great Quaid while the generals condemned by the world community and the Hamood report for despicable crimes and cowardice roam free. The convicts in the accountability bureau were holding others accountable,". (PTI) |
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Extra chemotherapy can help in cases of throat cancer BONN, Sept 11: An extra course of chemotherapy can often prove helpful in cases of throat cancer, according to medical researchers in Eastern Germany. The chances of successfully treating tumours which are at a advanced stage are relatively small - even when they are surgically removed, they can often recur. This is the reason patients are commonly given several courses of radiation therapy. The German Cancer Aid Group in Bonn is supporting a study at the University of Rostock which plans to look at whether a course of treatment which combines radiation and chemotherapy could offer a higher likelihood of success than radiation alone. According to the Cancer Aid Group, 6,500 people died in Germany in 1998 as the result of malignant tumours in the areas around the mouth, tongue, gums, pharynx and throat. The incidence of such types of cancer is rising as a result of an increase in the consumption of alcohol and cigarettes. Smaller tumours which have not yet begun to mastasise can be successfully treated through surgery or radiation treatment. Cancer aid says, however, that most people consult their doctors with tumours of this kind at a point when their illness is usually well-advanced. Initial studies have already shown that additional chemotherapy can be an effective treatment. (DPA) |
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Heartburn can increase danger of cancer in the long term MUNICH, Sept 11: Heartburn can have serious consequences if it occurs regularly over a longer period of time and continuous attacks by stomach acid can lead in some circumstances to inflammation of the gullet and eventually even to ulcers and cancer. Experts from the European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ESGE) in the Southern German city of Munich have noticed that sufferers generally fail to attach very much importance to what they believe is simply an uncomfortable complaint. Almost one German in ten suffers heartburn on a daily basis while one in seven complains of heartburn at least once a week. Anyone who suffers from heartburn on a regular basis should seek medical advice straight away. In most cases, help can be provided by medication which absorbs the excess acid. In serious cases, medication is prescribed which restrict the production of gastric acid. Sufferers should take certain steps to keep their heartburn under control: Avoid obesity and restrict their consumption of alcohol, coffee and cigarettes. Meals should be smaller and low in fat and fizzy, carbonated drinks should be avoided. The same goes for food or snacks shortly before going to bed. (DPA) |
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Scientists turn to Chinese medicine for new cures LONDON, Sept 11: British scientists are turning to traditional Chinese medicine and using extracts from sage and other plants to develop new treatments for alzheimer’s disease and pelvic pain, they said today. Researchers from Oxford Natural Products PLC, a British plant-based pharmaceutical company, and doctors from Oxford University told a science conference they hoped to begin a clinical trial early next year of a new treatment for pelvic pain and menstruation based on three Chinese plants. "It is the first randomised controlled trial in the west of a traditional Chinese medicine product to treat painful periods," Dr Stephen Kennedy, a gynaecologist at Oxford University, told the British Association for the Advancement of Science Conference. Eighty women will be recruited for the study which will test the remedy, the first produced by Oxford natural products. If it is successful the company said it would investigate developing the treatment as a new remedy to relieve menstrual pain. "It is a mixture of three indigenous Chinese plants, all of which have historical use in treating women’s complaints," said Dr Peter Hylands, of Oxford natural products. Plants grown in China He refused to reveal what the plants were, but said they were being grown at a company site in Beijing enabling the firm to guarantee the quality and origin of the plants and their extracts. The company has also developed new technology to analyse the extracts. "The main goal...Is to develop our own products using this technology and since the leads come from traditional medicine we can use the data, explaining that the materials had been exposed to patients over many hundreds of years, to guarantee and allow us early clinical evaluation," Hylands added. Kennedy said two-thirds of women suffer from menstrual pain and three-quarters of them find the symptoms disabling. He thinks the herbal treatment will act as a muscle relaxant but without many of the side effects of currently available drugs for pelvic and menstrual pain. Professor John Wilkinson of Middlesex University is taking a similar approach to developing a potential treatment for alzheimer’s disease from sage extract. Wilkinson and his colleagues are using traditional herbs, robotic systems and computer technology to test the effects of thousands of different plant extracts. They have tested purified compounds from sage extract to see if they inhibit an enzyme called acetyl cholinesterase. The amount of the enzyme in the brain is thought to be linked to memory loss in alzheimer’s disease. "What we are doing is trying to develop a herbal extract which could be used as an acetyl cholinesterase inhibitor for alzheimer’s disease and other areas of the brain," he said. (REUTERS) |
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Scientists answer ticklish question LONDON, Sept 11: Scientists may have unravelled a mystery which has puzzled them and millions of children for years — why it is impossible to tickle yourself? The Daily Telegraph today said the secret lies in the cerebellum, a region at the back of the brain which predicts the sensory consequences of movements and sends signals to the rest of the brain instructing it to ignore the resulting sensation. Sarah-Jayne Blakemore of the University College of London examined six volunteers using magnetic resonance imaging to scan their brains as their palms were tickled by a machine. The scan was repeated while they tickled their own palms. In the first case the machine succeeded in tickling the volunteer because the cerebellum cannot warn the rest of the brain when the stimulus is external, even if the brain knows it is about to be tickled. The mechanism once protected us against predators by distinguishing between stimuli that were created ourselves and those generated externally. But the system can be fooled. When the robot used by the volunteers to tickle themselves delayed the action by a fraction of a second, the tickling sensation was there. "So it is possible to tickle yourself, but only by using robots," blakemore said. (REUTERS) |
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Musharraf admits shift in US policy away from Pak ISLAMABAD, Sept 11: Pakistan’s military ruler Gen Pervez Musharraf has admitted that the US priorities regarding South Asia had lately shifted away from Islamabad but asserted that his country could not be sidelined. In an interview to a Pakistani daily from New York, Gen Musharraf said he was "satisfied" with the role of US President Bill Clinton on the Kashmir issue. "India’s non-cooperation is preventing any progress on the Kashmir issue," the Chief Executive of Pakistan told `The News’ daily, adding he hoped Clinton would try to play an important role over the Kashmir issue before his term as the US President expires in January next. Responding to a question, he conceded that US priorities regarding South Asian region had changed lately. "(But) it does not mean that they are marginalising Pakistan. Pakistan is located in a very strategic location, which cannot be denied... We cannot be sidelined," he added. Stating that Pakistan was a "nuclear power of 140 million people" and "sitting in an area between South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East," the military ruler questioned "who can deny this geography?" He said US had bilateral interests with India "but that does not mean it will be at the total cost of Pakistan." Claiming his visit to the United Nations Millennium Summit as an "overall success", Gen Musharraf said it provided him an opportunity to tell the world leaders about the Kashmir issue "very strongly." Asked whether Pakistan apprehended any military action by India after its diplomatic success, Gen Musharraf said "we are totally prepared for the worst. We have been prepared for many months. They (India) better not initiate anything across the Line of Control (LoC). They will repent it." The military ruler defended his proposed devolution plan, promising that it would have no adverse side effects and claiming that the country would benefit from the new system. (PTI) |
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Chandrika’s estranged brother escapes unhurt COLOMBO, Sept 11: Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s estranged brother Anura Bandaranaike and UNP chairman Karu Jayasurya today escaped unhurt when unidentified gunmen attacked their convoy in suburban Colombo injuring four opposition activists. The convoy of main opposition United National Party (UNP) leaders, including Anura and Jayasurya, was proceeding for a rally organised to drum up support for the October 10 Parliamentary polls when it came under attack near Ragama, 20 km north of Colombo. Jayasurya said their convoy was attacked with AK-47 riffles and grenades, leaving four party activists including two party co-ordinators injured. Anura joined the opposition ranks after breaking away from the family in 1992 after Chandrika won the succession battle of the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party. He is contesting Parliamentary elections from the family stronghold of Gampaha district. Today’s attack followed the killing of a Chandrika’s party candidate and a supporter in eastern Batticaloa. So far six persons have been killed and several injured in different poll-related incidents ever since elections for the 225-member Parliament were announced last month. (PTI) |
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119 people including 29
securitymen killed COLOMBO, Sept 11: As many as 119 people, including 29 security personnel were killed and a large number were injured in yet another offensive by the Sri Lankan troops aimed to ensure the safety of Jaffna town before the next parliamentary elections. Military spokesman Brigadier S G Karunaratne said the operation began at 0615 am yesterday and completed by 1000 am during which approximately 3 sq km area was brought under the new defence line closer to Navathkul, near Jaffna. He said 17 soldiers were killed and 58 Army men including four officers were injured in Jaffna while 12 more security personnel were killed in eastern Trincomalee and Batticaloa in different encounters. The LTTE suffered heavy casualties and the ground troops estimate the figure to be more than 90 with a large number of injured. At least 15 terrorists were killed in separate encounters in eastern districts, he added. (UNI) |
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