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US shield to be SEOUL, May 11: A limited US missile shield, one that will not trigger an arms race, will be offered to America’s allies if the technology is ........more Tram
rage Dutchman AMSTERDAM, May 11: A Dutch tram driver’s fingertip was bitten off by a 31-year-old pedestrian who was .......more Tying
fallopian tubes can LONDON, May 11: Women with a high probability of developing ovarian cancer could reduce......more |
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British ex-serviceman LONDON, May 11: A British ex-serviceman has been forced to fly to India to have a major heart operation and to pay for it out of his own pocket, the......more Miss Universe candidates poised for big night SAN JUAN (PUERTO RICO), May 11: Seventy-seven women from around the globe were today poised for their big night — The Miss Universe pageant that crowns the woman with the most beauty and "savvy" in a show business extravaganza that draws a huge global television audience. The host was hoping its own Miss Puerto Rico, Denise Quinones, might win ......more |
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US shield to be offered to allies: Armitage SEOUL, May 11: A limited US missile shield, one that will not trigger an arms race, will be offered to America’s allies if the technology is successful, US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said in an interview published today. "This is a US plan, but if we are successful, it could be made available to our allies," Armitage told Korea’s Joongang Ilbo daily newspaper. "We think if we are successful and have sufficient technology to stop a limited number of missiles, then we can offer countries who might be faced by rogue states who purchase or manufacture missiles an alternative to making their own missiles. "They could have a limited defensive shield. It ensures stability and doesn’t cause an arms race," Armitage said. Armitage is on an Asian tour to explain the Bush administration’s strategic gameplan, featuring unilateral nuclear missile cuts and a missile interceptor system that is still on the drawing board and could cost tens of billions of dollars. He said he did not come to Korea asking for Seoul’s support for the plan, particularly the missile shield element, whose violation of a key cold war treaty against such defences has aroused concern in Asia and Europe. No threat to China The missile shield poses no threat to China’s small nuclear deterrent, Armitage said. "We believe if we have a limited — limited — defence against a handful of missiles, that in no way eliminates China’s strategic deterrent, so it is not a threat to China. "We have no desire to keep China down," he said. "Right now they are a great country, not a great power. But they are a great country with great problems." Armitage said North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il’s offer to maintain a moratorium on missile testing until 2003 was a positive message to Washington. "We thought it was a message to us and to others and we took positive note of it. Whether it is an inducement or not, I think it was good common sense by Chairman Kim Jong-Il." The United States is not trying to change or overthrow the communist totalitarian regime in North Korea, he said. "We are not trying to change the regime. We are not trying to overturn the leadership," Armitage said. "As long as North Korea is not exporting terrorism and is not threatening our ally, we are keen to leave North Korea alone. We do not want her proliferating weapons of mass destruction to anyone, most particularly to states we consider to be in the so-called rogue category." North Korea stunned the region in August 1998 by test-firing a missile that soared over Japan and into the pacific. The United States — which says North Korea is the world’s leading exporter of ballistic missiles and related technology —believes Pyongyang was preparing a longer range edition of its Taepodong missile, capable of reaching American shores. North Korea in 1999 agreed to suspend further missile tests while it was in talks on improving ties with Washington. But those talks under the Clinton administration were suspended after President George W Bush took office and announced a comprehensive review of North Korean policy. Armitage told South Korean President Kim Dae-Jung during this week’s visit the review should be wrapped up "in a few weeks", after which talks with Pyongyang would resume. "I think it is better to get the policy right than to get the policy in a hurry," he said. "If we can get in a situation ultimately where we have some agreement with North Korea, we want it to be the type of agreement which can be supported by our Congress." "So if that is called a hard-line stance, so be it." (REUTERS) |
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Tram rage Dutchman bites off driver’s fingertip AMSTERDAM, May 11: A Dutch tram driver’s fingertip was bitten off by a 31-year-old pedestrian who was angry the tram was in his way, police have said. The man on Wednesday refused to step aside for an approaching tram with its bell ringing, an Amsterdam Police spokeswoman told Reuters yesterday. The tram had the right of way. The driver made an emergency stop and passed the man, but he got on the tram at the next stop and started a fight with the driver, the police spokeswoman said. "He (then) bit off part of the driver’s finger," spokeswoman Annemiek Meijer said. The severed part could not be stitched back on, she added. The suspect was taken into custody and the police have started an investigation. (REUTERS) |
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Tying fallopian tubes can cut cancer risk: Study LONDON, May 11: Women with a high probability of developing ovarian cancer could reduce the risk by having their fallopian tubes tied, Canadian researchers said today. The surgery, known as tubal ligation, offers an alternative to removing the ovaries for younger women with mutations in the BRCA1 breast cancer gene and can reduce their risk of ovarian cancer by up to 72 percent. Mutations in BRCA1 increase the lifetime risk of ovarian cancer by 40 percent. Women with deformities in brca2 have a 25 percent greater chance of getting the disease. "It is good for high risk women," said Dr Steven Narod of the Sunnybrook Women’s College Hospital in Toronto. "Tubal ligation has been confirmed to have a strongly protective effect for BRCA1 carriers," he added in a telephone interview. Most women have about a one percent risk of developing ovarian cancer. A family history of the disease and the genetic mutations are the main risk factors for what is known as the "silent killer". There are often no symptoms of ovarian cancer until it is in an advanced stage. Ovarian cancer kills about 15,000 women in the United States each year. The five-year survival rate for the cancer is about 46 percent. Removing the ovaries, or oophorectomy, regular ultrasound screening and oral contraceptives are used to reduce the risk. Alternative for young women Oophorectomy, most effective risk reduction method, robs young women of their fertility and forces them into early menopause complete with hot flashes and other unpleasant symptoms. With tubal ligation, usually performed for contraceptive reasons, women continue to ovulate. "Offering tubal ligation as soon as childbearing is complete is reasonable and can be followed by removal of the ovaries at a later date," said Narod. The researchers, who tested the method on 232 women with a history of ovarian cancer in canada, the United States and the United Kingdom, are not sure how tubal ligation reduces the risk of ovarian cancer. They suspect it could by interrupting ovarian blood flow or by an effect on hormones. In research reported in the Lancet Medical Journal, the researchers found that oral contraceptives had a protective effect that increased when combined with tubal ligation. For BRCA1 carries who had their fallopian tubes tied the risk decreased by 60 percent. In women who had the surgery and who also had used the pill the risk dropped by 72 percent. "Obviously, women stop taking oral contraceptives after a tubal ligation. It would be interesting to examine the preventive merits of combining oral contraceptives and tubal ligation," Narod said. In the study the researchers did not find a protective effect for BRCA2 carriers but they called for further studies to confirm their results. (REUTERS) |
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British ex-serviceman has
heart surgery in LONDON, May 11: A British ex-serviceman has been forced to fly to India to have a major heart operation and to pay for it out of his own pocket, the Daily Telegraph has reported. Ken Roche, 71, a Royal Navy veteran of 26 years, who is fully entitled to treatment on Britain’s National Health Service, was informed he would have to wait a year for the operation. Fearing he would die beforehand, his daughter Sarah, who lives in Goa, arranged for him to fly to Bombay to have the operation at a total cost of 9,000 dollars. "In India, if you serve in the armed forces, your medical care is done within a week free of charge. My dad served his country for 26 years. His country has let him down," she said. Roche, who lives with his wife, marion, in a flat in exeter in County Devon, had an Angiogram last December and doctors told him he would need a triple bypass. The London Hospital to which he was referred, faced with long waiting lists for more urgent patients, decided immediate surgery was unnecessary and offered him an appointment in January next year. Unable to pay the 20,000 pounds (34,000 dollars) the operation would cost in Britain if done privately, he flew to Bombay, where he had a quadruple bypass three weeks ago. A rapidly convalescing Roche intends to fly home this month. (DPA) |
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Miss Universe candidates poised for big night SAN JUAN (PUERTO RICO), May 11: Seventy-seven women from around the globe were today poised for their big night — The Miss Universe pageant that crowns the woman with the most beauty and "savvy" in a show business extravaganza that draws a huge global television audience. The host was hoping its own Miss Puerto Rico, Denise Quinones, might win the title of 50th Miss Universe — which would be a fourth crown for the island — after an evening of glamour on the outskirts of the capital, San Juan. "We’ll all enjoy it, and Puerto Rico will win by just having the world look at the island," Quinones said on Thursday night. The Caribbean island, a US territory of 3.8 million people, prides itself on its strong national identity and its home-grown celebrities and has eagerly embraced the chance to parade its attractions. Latin heartthrob Ricky Martin is making a rare visit home to perform two songs at the ceremony in the suburb of Bayamon, and Puerto Rican singer Marc Anthony and his wife, Dayanara Torres, Miss Universe in 1993, are among the judges. Supermodels Elle Macpherson and Naomi Campbell will co-host the show, which kicks off at 9 p.m. edt on Friday (06300 hrs Ist tomorrow) and which organizers say will be seen by television audiences in about 130 countries. The competition, which was launched in long beach, California, in 1952, by a swimsuit company, is run by the Miss Universe Organization, jointly owned by property tycoon Donald Trump and CBS television. Trump flew in yesterday and told reporters he was looking forward to "a really amazing" event. Pageantry was not the biggest of his businesses, but it was one "I really enjoy," Trump said, adding that Puerto Rico had been so keen on organizing this year’s event it was already lobbying to host next year’s contest. Friday’s show is the culmination of three weeks of rehearsals and side competitions in San Juan, including the preliminary round last Sunday featuring the women in swimsuits and evening attire, and personality interviews with contestants this week. ‘Exhausting’ schedule ahead of show "It’s exhausting for them. They’re up until late every night and they have to look their best all day," said an organizer. "I’m anxious but hopeful," said Miss Chile, Carolina Gomez, as the preparations continued on Thursday. Miss Venezuela, Eva Ekvall, admitted she found all the rehearsing "very tiring." The women spent Thursday morning meeting with enthralled local schoolchildren and on friday afternoon will do a rehearsal of the entire show ahead of the evening event. All 77 women — swaths of the globe such as China and many African countries are not competing — are on show again initially on Friday evening, but then the winners of the first round are announced and the competition is down to the final rounds featuring the last 10 competitors. The Puerto Rican public seems to favor mostly other Latin American candidates, among them Miss Peru, Viviana Rivas, and Miss Colombia, Andrea Noceti, although Miss Nigeria, Agbani Darego, is also seen as having a good chance. While the pageant may look like pure show business, it is taken more seriously by some Latin American, Caribbean and Asian nations. For some developing countries, producing a winning beauty queen can be a source of national pride and a chance to put themselves on the map. The show was the talk of the moment among workers taking a lunchtime break at a cafe in old San Juan on Thursday. At a downtown mall, a kiosk was doing a brisk trade in Miss Universe souvenirs such as T-shirts, hats and programs. Beauty pageants have traditionally faced criticism from feminists that they display women as objects, but the Miss Universe Organization has sought in recent years to stress it it is seeking women with poise and "savvy" as well as beauty. The woman who succeeds India’s Lara Dutta, Miss Universe 2000, takes on a role that is not just looking good but involves becoming a spokeswoman for charitable causes such as combating HIV-AIDS. (REUTERS) |
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