Football: Singapore's Adam Swandi secures 2-year contract with FC Metz






SINGAPORE: Sixteen-year-old Adam Swandi has secured a two-year deal with French Football Club FC Metz.

He was the Most Valuable Player of the Singapore National Football Academy Under-16 team at the Lion City Cup tournament last June.

Adam Swandi, recently underwent training stints with top European clubs such as Newcastle United, Chelsea, FC Metz and Atletico Madrid.

His latest move to Metz sees him undergo training and compete for their U-19 team, while furthering his studies there.

The former U-16 captain said he chose the French club as he liked his experience there and the club is renowned for its youth academy.

The Football Association of Singapore was behind the partnership and is looking at sending more youths for such exposure.

- CNA/fa



Read More..

PM to visit Hyderabad tomorrow

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will visit Hyderabad tomorrow to take stock of the situation in the aftermath of twin bomb blasts there.

Singh will visit the hospital where the injured are being treated besides taking a briefing from chief minister Kiran Reddy, sources said.

Two bombs exploded within a span of minutes in Hyderabad on Thursday evening, killing 16 people and injuring 117.

The central government yesterday came under sharp attack in Parliament, with the Opposition saying terror was being dealt with in a casual manner.

Strongly condemning the blasts, the Prime Minister had said soon after the incident that those responsible for the "dastardly" act would not go unpunished.

He appealed to the public to remain calm and maintain peace.

Singh has sanctioned Rs 2 lakh each to next of kin of those killed in the blasts and Rs 50,000 each to those seriously injured from the PM's Relief Fund.

Investigators today claimed to have got "vital clues" in the probe, with the needle of suspicion zeroing in on banned militant outfit Indian Mujahideen.

Police announced Rs 10 lakh award for information leading to the perpetrators of the serial blasts.

Read More..

FDA approves new targeted breast cancer drug


WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a first-of-a-kind breast cancer medication that targets tumor cells while sparing healthy ones.


The drug Kadcyla from Roche combines the established drug Herceptin with a powerful chemotherapy drug and a third chemical linking the medicines together. The chemical keeps the cocktail intact until it binds to a cancer cell, delivering a potent dose of anti-tumor poison.


Cancer researchers say the drug is an important step forward because it delivers more medication while reducing the unpleasant side effects of chemotherapy.


"This antibody goes seeking out the tumor cells, gets internalized and then explodes them from within. So it's very kind and gentle on the patients — there's no hair loss, no nausea, no vomiting," said Dr. Melody Cobleigh of Rush University Medical Center. "It's a revolutionary way of treating cancer."


Cobleigh helped conduct the key studies of the drug at the Chicago facility.


The FDA approved the new treatment for about 20 percent of breast cancer patients with a form of the disease that is typically more aggressive and less responsive to hormone therapy. These patients have tumors that overproduce a protein known as HER-2. Breast cancer is the second most deadly form of cancer in U.S. women, and is expected to kill more than 39,000 Americans this year, according to the National Cancer Institute.


The approval will help Roche's Genentech unit build on the blockbuster success of Herceptin, which has long dominated the breast cancer marketplace. The drug had sales of roughly $6 billion last year.


Genentech said Friday that Kadcyla will cost $9,800 per month, compared to $4,500 per month for regular Herceptin. The company estimates a full course of Kadcyla, about nine months of medicine, will cost $94,000.


FDA scientists said they approved the drug based on company studies showing Kadcyla delayed the progression of breast cancer by several months. Researchers reported last year that patients treated with the drug lived 9.6 months before death or the spread of their disease, compared with a little more than six months for patients treated with two other standard drugs, Tykerb and Xeloda.


Overall, patients taking Kadcyla lived about 2.6 years, compared with 2 years for patients taking the other drugs.


FDA specifically approved the drug for patients with advanced breast cancer who have already been treated with Herceptin and taxane, a widely used chemotherapy drug. Doctors are not required to follow FDA prescribing guidelines, and cancer researchers say the drug could have great potential in patients with earlier forms of breast cancer


Kadcyla will carry a boxed warning, the most severe type, alerting doctors and patients that the drug can cause liver toxicity, heart problems and potentially death. The drug can also cause severe birth defects and should not be used by pregnant women.


Kadcyla was developed by South San Francisco-based Genentech using drug-binding technology licensed from Waltham, Mass.-based ImmunoGen. The company developed the chemical that keeps the drug cocktail together and is scheduled to receive a $10.5 million payment from Genentech on the FDA decision. The company will also receive additional royalties on the drug's sales.


Shares of ImmunoGen Inc. rose 2 cents to $14.32 in afternoon trading. The stock has ttraded in a 52-wek range of $10.85 to $18.10.


Read More..

6 Leaking Tanks Are Wash. Nuke Site's Latest Woe











Federal and state officials say six underground tanks holding a brew of radioactive and toxic waste are leaking at the country's most contaminated nuclear site in south-central Washington, raising concerns about delays for emptying the aging tanks.



The leaking materials at Hanford Nuclear Reservation pose no immediate risk to public safety or the environment because it would take perhaps years for the chemicals to reach groundwater, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said Friday.



But the news has renewed discussion over delays for emptying the tanks, which were installed decades ago and are long past their intended 20-year life span.



"None of these tanks would be acceptable for use today. They are all beyond their design life. None of them should be in service," said Tom Carpenter of Hanford Challenge, a Hanford watchdog group. "And yet, they're holding two-thirds of the nation's high-level nuclear waste."



Just last week, state officials announced that one of Hanford's 177 tanks was leaking 150 to 300 gallons a year, posing a risk to groundwater and rivers. So far, nearby monitoring wells haven't detected higher radioactivity levels.



Inslee then traveled to Washington, D.C., to discuss the problem with federal officials, learning in meetings Friday that six tanks are leaking.






AP Photo/Shannon Dininny, File








The declining waste levels in the six tanks were missed because only a narrow band of measurements was evaluated, rather than a wider band that would have shown the levels changing over time, Inslee said.



"It's like if you're trying to determine if climate change is happening, only looking at the data for today," he said. "Perhaps human error, the protocol did not call for it. But that's not the most important thing at the moment. The important thing now is to find and address the leakers."



Department of Energy spokeswoman Lindsey Geisler said there was no immediate health risk and that federal officials would work with Washington state to address the matter.



Regardless, Sen. Ron Wyden, the new chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, will ask the Government Accountability Office to investigate Hanford's tank monitoring and maintenance program, said his spokesman, Tom Towslee.



The federal government built the Hanford facility at the height of World War II as part of the Manhattan Project to build the atomic bomb. The remote site produced plutonium for the bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, and continued supporting the nation's nuclear weapons arsenal for years.



Today, it is the most contaminated nuclear site in the country, still surrounded by sagebrush but with Washington's Tri-Cities of Richland, Kennewick and Pasco several miles downriver.



Several years ago, workers at Hanford completed two of three projects deemed urgent risks to the public and the environment, removing all weapons-grade plutonium from the site and emptying leaky pools that held spent nuclear fuel just 400 yards from the river.



But successes at the site often are overshadowed by delays, budget overruns and technological challenges. Nowhere have those challenges been more apparent than in Hanford's central plateau, home to the site's third most urgent project: emptying the tanks.



Hanford's tanks hold some 53 million gallons of highly radioactive waste — enough to fill dozens of Olympic-size swimming pools — and many of those tanks are known to have leaked in the past. An estimated 1 million gallons of radioactive liquid has already leaked there.





Read More..

Iran appears to advance in construction of Arak nuclear plant


VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran appears to be advancing in its construction of a research reactor Western experts say could offer the Islamic state a second way of producing material for a nuclear bomb, if it decided to embark on such a course, a U.N. report showed.


Iran has almost completed installation of cooling and moderator circuit piping in the heavy water plant near the town of Arak, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a confidential report issued to member states late on Thursday.


Nuclear analysts say this type of reactor could yield plutonium for nuclear arms if the spent fuel is reprocessed, something Iran has said it has no intention of doing. Iran has said it "does not have reprocessing activities", the IAEA said.


In its previous report on Iran, in November, the Vienna-based U.N. agency said installation work at Arak was continuing, without giving any indication of how far advanced it was.


Iran rejects Western allegations it seeks to develop a capability to assemble nuclear weapons, saying its atomic program is entirely peaceful and that the Arak reactor will produce isotopes for medical and agricultural use.


Iran says it plans to begin operating the facility in the first quarter of 2014, the IAEA said. Tehran last year postponed the planned start-up from the third quarter of 2013, a target that Western experts said always had seemed unrealistic.


The Arms Control Association, a Washington-based research and advocacy group, said late last year that it was questionable whether Iran would be able to meet the new target date as well, in view of "significant delays and impeded access to necessary materials" because of international sanctions imposed on Iran.


Western worries about Iran are focused largely on uranium enrichment plants at Natanz and Fordow, as such material refined to a high level can provide the fissile core of an atomic bomb. But experts say Arak may also be a proliferation issue.


The Arak facility is a "growing source of concern", said Mark Fitzpatrick, director of the non-proliferation and disarmament program of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), a London-based think-tank.


Israel, believed to be the Middle East's only nuclear-armed state, sees Iran's nuclear program as a serious danger and has threatened to attack its atomic sites if diplomacy and sanctions fail to resolve the decade-old dispute.


If it does, the nuclear sites at Natanz, Fordow and Arak in central Iran are likely to be targets. Fitzpatrick said it could be Arak that triggers a conflict because attacking it after it is launched could cause an environmental disaster.


TESTING FUEL FOR ARAK REACTOR


Thursday's quarterly IAEA report showed Iran expanding its uranium enrichment program in defiance of tightening Western sanctions, installing advanced centrifuge machines at its main enrichment plant near the town of Natanz.


The report, issued just a few days before six world powers and Iran are due to resume negotiations after an eight-month hiatus, underlined the tough task facing the West in seeking to pressure Tehran to curb its nuclear activities.


Cliff Kupchan, Middle East director at the Eurasia consultancy, said Iran had adopted a defiant policy of pressing ahead with its nuclear program, despite harsh sanctions.


"As a result, Israel and the U.S. Congress will press a receptive U.S. administration to move forward with new and even harsher sanctions," he said in a research note.


Enriched uranium can fuel nuclear power plants, Iran's stated aim, but also provide the explosive core of a nuclear weapon if refined much further. Making plutonium from spent fuel is a second way of obtaining potential bomb material.


The Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), a U.S. think-tank, noted that Iran planned to use a medical research reactor in Tehran, known as TRR, to test fuel for Arak.


"The TRR is now more than a medical isotope production reactor, Iran's stated use for the reactor, and is necessary for the operation" of Arak, it said in a report.


If operated optimally, the heavy-water plant could produce about nine kilograms (20 pounds) of plutonium a year, or enough for about two nuclear bombs annually, ISIS has said previously.


"Before it could use any of the plutonium in a nuclear weapon, however, it would first have to separate the plutonium from the irradiated fuel," it added on its website.


Iran has repeatedly declared it has no plans to reprocess the spent fuel. But, "similarly sized reactors ostensibly built for research" have been used by India, Israel, North Korea and Pakistan to make plutonium for weapons, Fitzpatrick said.


(Editing by Mark Heinrich)



Read More..

Gossip scandal erupts in Vatican ahead of Pope's exit






VATICAN CITY: With just days to go before Pope Benedict XVI's resignation, the Vatican is battling persistent rumours that his decision was triggered by an explosive report on intrigue in its corridors of power.

The secret report compiled by a committee of three cardinals for the Pope's eyes only was the result of a wide-ranging investigation into leaks of confidential papers from the Vatican that caused huge embarrassment last year.

The cardinals questioned dozens of Vatican officials and presented the Pope with their final report in December 2012, just before Benedict pardoned his former butler Paolo Gabriele who had been convicted of leaking the papal memos.

The Panorama news weekly and the Repubblica daily said on Thursday that the report contained allegations of corruption and of blackmail attempts against gay Vatican clergymen, as well as favouritism based on gay relationships.

Both publications quoted a source with knowledge of the investigation saying that the cardinals' conclusions "revolve around the sixth and seventh commandments" -- "Thou shall not commit adultery" and "Thou shall not steal".

The Vatican has declined to comment on these two reports, with spokesman Federico Lombardi saying they were "conjectures, fictions and opinions."

The run-up to papal conclaves to elect a new Pope is often accompanied by rumours and gossip in Italian media, as rival factions battle for influence.

But there was a twist on Friday when Pope Benedict XVI replaced Monsignor Ettore Balestrero, a powerful behind-the-scenes figure in the Secretariat of State with a major role in handling the Vatican bank's foreign relations.

He is being sent as Vatican envoy to Colombia -- a serious demotion.

Balestrero has been a key figure in Vatican efforts to overhaul its scandal-tainted bank to comply with international anti-money laundering laws.

La Repubblica said Balestrero's name was mentioned in the cardinals' report.

A Vatican expert at Italian daily La Stampa said the Pope would likely meet with the three retired cardinals who authored the report before resigning.

The report could also be discussed during a series of meetings for cardinals beginning next Friday, a day after the Pope steps down, where priorities for the Catholic Church will be debated and potential papal candidates sussed out.

The "Vatileaks" scandal first exploded in January last year when Italian media published a series of letters to the Pope in which Carlo Maria Vigano, the head of the Vatican City's government denounced corruption and waste.

The following leaks pointed to divisions in the Vatican hierarchy including efforts to unseat Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone, a divisive figure.

On May 23, Gabriele was arrested and his house inside the Vatican walls was raided by special gendarmes who found hundreds of sensitive documents.

A day later, the head of the Vatican bank, Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, was sacked, accused of mismanagement and indiscretions linked to the leaks.

Gabriele was convicted after a week-long trial in the Vatican in October.

The Pope asked cardinals to investigate last year, giving them free rein to interview anyone of the 2,843 people working in the Roman Curia and 2,001 people working for the governorate, the administration of the Vatican City.

The committee was also allowed to collect testimony from cardinals.

-AFP/fl



Read More..

Afzal's family hasn't approached us: Tihar DG

NEW DELHI: The family of Afzal Guru, who was hanged two weeks ago at Tihar jail, has not yet approached the prison authorities to pray at his grave though the government has made the offer for his close relatives.

"We have not received any letter from Guru's family in this regard," Director General of Tihar Prisons Vimla Mehra told reporters.

The government has already said it will allow Guru's close relatives to visit his grave, an offer rejected by the family which has been insisting on return of his body to them.

Asked whether jail authorities will allow family members to visit Guru's grave if they make a request, Mehra refrained from giving a direct reply, saying "the government is considering it."

On the criticism that the letter sent to Guru's family informing about his hanging reached two days after his execution, Mehra said, "It was a job (Afzal's hanging) assigned to us and we followed the official procedure to execute it."

Guru was hanged at Tihar jail on February 9 in a top secret operation after his final appeal for mercy was rejected by President Pranab Mukherjee. His body was buried inside the jail premises.

Addressing an annual press conference, the DG also listed various activities undertaken at the jail in the past one year.

She said a blanket making unit was established at jail number nine this year where 80 convicts are working currently. The unit supplies blankets to Delhi Police and Delhi Health Department.

Read More..

Flu shot doing poor job of protecting older people


ATLANTA (AP) — It turns out this year's flu shot is doing a startlingly dismal job of protecting older people, the most vulnerable age group.


The vaccine is proving only 9 percent effective in those 65 and older against the harsh strain of the flu that is predominant this season, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.


Health officials are baffled as to why this is so. But the findings help explain why so many older people have been hospitalized with the flu this year.


Despite the findings, the CDC stood by its recommendation that everyone over 6 months get flu shots, the elderly included, because some protection is better than none, and because those who are vaccinated and still get sick may suffer less severe symptoms.


"Year in and year out, the vaccine is the best protection we have," said CDC flu expert Dr. Joseph Bresee.


Overall, across the age groups studied, the vaccine's effectiveness was found to be a moderate 56 percent, which means those who got a shot have a 56 percent lower chance of winding up at the doctor with the flu. That is somewhat worse than what has been seen in other years.


For those 65 and older, the vaccine was only 27 percent effective against the three strains it is designed to protect against, the worst level in about a decade. It did a particularly poor job against the tough strain that is causing more than three-quarters of the illnesses this year.


It is well known that flu vaccine tends to protect younger people better than older ones. Elderly people have weaker immune systems that don't respond as well to flu shots, and they are more vulnerable to the illness and its complications, including pneumonia.


But health officials said they don't know why this year's vaccine did so poorly in that age group.


One theory, as yet unproven, is that older people's immune systems were accustomed to strains from the last two years and had more trouble switching gears to handle this year's different, harsh strain.


The preliminary data for senior citizens is less than definitive. It is based on fewer than 300 people scattered among five states.


But it will no doubt surprise many people that the effectiveness is that low, said Michael Osterholm, a University of Minnesota infectious-disease expert who has tried to draw attention to the need for a more effective flu vaccine.


Among infectious diseases, flu is considered one of the nation's leading killers. On average, about 24,000 Americans die each flu season, according to the CDC.


This flu season started in early December, a month earlier than usual, and peaked by the end of year. Hospitalization rates for people 65 and older have been some of the highest in a decade, at 146 per 100,000 people.


Flu viruses tend to mutate more quickly than others, so a new vaccine is formulated each year to target the strains expected to be the major threats. CDC officials have said that in formulating this year's vaccine, scientists accurately anticipated the strains that are circulating this season.


Because of the guesswork involved, scientists tend to set a lower bar for flu vaccine. While childhood vaccines against diseases like measles are expected to be 90 or 95 percent effective, a flu vaccine that's 60 to 70 percent effective in the U.S. is considered pretty good. By that standard, this year's vaccine is OK.


For senior citizens, a flu vaccine is considered pretty good if it's in the 30 to 40 percent range, said Dr. Arnold Monto, a University of Michigan flu expert.


A high-dose version of the flu shot was recently made available for those 65 and older, but the new study was too small to show whether that has made a difference.


The CDC estimates are based on about 2,700 people who got sick in December and January. The researchers traced back to see who had gotten shots and who hadn't. An earlier, smaller study put the vaccine's overall effectiveness at 62 percent, but other factors that might have influenced that figure weren't taken into account.


The CDC's Bresee said there is a danger in providing preliminary results because it may result in people doubting — or skipping — flu shots. But the figures were released to warn older people who got shots that they may still get sick and shouldn't ignore any serious flu-like symptoms, he said.


___


Online:


CDC report: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr


Read More..

Oscar Pistorius Sobs as Bail Ruling Is Expected












The fourth and likely final day of the bail hearing for Oscar Pistorius, the Olympian accused of murdering his girlfriend Feb. 14, opened with arguments from the prosecution that the runner's version of events is improbable and the defense countering that Pistorius had no intent to kill the woman.


Pistorius, who gained global acclaim for racing at the 2012 London Olympics, shot his model-girlfriend through a closed bathroom. He says he killed Reeva Steenkamp accidentally, but prosecutors allege that he took a moment to put on his prosthetic legs, indicating that he thought out and planned to kill Steenkamp when he shot her three times through the bathroom door.


Pistorius sobbed today in court. Barry Roux, his defense attorney, said the prosecution has misinterpreted the assigning of intent, meaning that the runner's intent to shoot at a supposed intruder in his home cannot be transferred to someone else who was shot -- in this case, Steenkamp.


"He did not want to kill Reeva," Roux told the court.


PHOTOS: Paralympics Champion Charged in Killing


When Magistrate Desmond Nair, who has been overhearing the bail hearing, asked Roux what the charges should be if Pistorius intended to kill an intruder, the defense attorney responded that he should be charged with culpable homicide.


Culpable homicide is defined in South Africa as "the unlawful negligent killing of a human being."








Oscar Pistorius: Detective Facing Attempted Murder Charges Watch Video









Oscar Pistorius: Investigator Faces Attempted Murder Charges Watch Video









Oscar Pistorius's Bail Hearing: Prosecutors Argue Premeditated Murder Watch Video





Roux also made light of the prosecution's argument that Pistorius is a flight risk, saying that every time the double-amputee goes through airport security, it causes a commotion. He said that Pistorius' legs need constant maintenance and he needs medical attention for his stumps.


The prosecution argued today that the onus is on Pistorius to provide his version of events, and his version is improbable.


Prosecutor Gerrie Nel also spoke of Pistorius' fame and his disability, even relating him to Wikipedia founder Julian Assange, who is now confined to Ecuador's London Embassy, where he has been granted political asylum.
"[Assange's] facial features are as well known as Mr. Pistorius' prostheses," Nel said.


Nel argued that Pistorius' prostheses do not set him apart, stating that it's no different to any other feature, and the court cannot be seen to treat people with disabilities accused of a crime, or famous people accused of crime, any differently.


Pistorius has said that in the early hours of Feb. 14 he was closing his balcony doors when he heard a noise from the bathroom. Fearing an intruder, and without his prosthetic legs on, he grabbed a gun from under his bed and fired through the closed bathroom door, he told the court.


But prosecutors say that's implausible, that the gun's holster was found under the side of the bed where Steenkamp slept, and that Pistorius would have seen she wasn't there. Prosecutors also say the angle at which the shots were fired shows Pistorius was already wearing his prosthetics when he fired.


Meanwhile, Lt. General Vinesh Moonoo was named Thursday the new chief investigator to the murder case after the surprise revelation that the former head detective and the prosecution's key witness, Hilton Botha, was charged with seven counts of attempted murder in connection to a 2011 shooting. The charges against Botha amount to an significant oversight by the state, which could sway the court's opinion.


Prosecutors maintain that Pistorius was out to kill on the night of Valentine's Day, prompting him to fire four shots into the locked bathroom door that Steenkamp was behind.


Friends of the couple say they were happy, and there is no reason why Pistorius would intentionally hurt Steenkamp.


"If Oscar was to ask her to get married, she would have said yes," friend Kevin Lerena said. "That's how happy and joyful their relationship was."


Ampie Louw, Pistorius' trainer, spoke with reporters outside the courthouse today, saying that he hopes Pistorius gets bail and can start training again, but that he won't push it.


"I'm not the legal side of it. But I'm ready," he said. "We can start training Monday if he's out."



Read More..

Genting Singapore's Q4 net profit drops 38%






SINGAPORE: Casino operator Genting Singapore's fourth quarter net profit fell 38 per cent to S$162.2 million, due mainly to one-time property write-offs.

Its adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization slipped 6 per cent to S$369.3 million.

The group reported a revenue of S$792 million in the October to December period, up from S$786 million from a year ago.

Gaming revenue from Resorts World Sentosa fell 3 per cent to S$627 million.

The casino operator is fighting a slowing market and tighter local regulations.

In a filing with the Singapore Exchange, Genting Singapore warned that margins will be under pressure for the first half of this year.

But the group said the global economic outlook appears more positive this year and it remains cautiously optimistic of its performance.

- CNA/al



Read More..

Trade unions warn of bigger agitation

NEW DELHI: Major trade unions on Thursday warned the central government of bigger agitation in the country, describing the two-day national strike as "the beginning of the chapter".

"The two-day countrywide agitation has been successful but we will launch a bigger agitation and this is only a beginning of the chapter," All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) general secretary Gurudas Dasgupta told reporters here.

"More and more factories and people joined the strike on the last day (Thursday). Those factories which were opened yesterday (Wednesday) joined the agitation today (Thursday)," he told reporters here.

He was accompanied by other leaders of several trade unions which included likes of Indian Trade Union Congress (INTUC), Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS), Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU).

Dasgupta also said that international trade unions of Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Japan and other countries expressed their solidarity with the strike.

"It is not us but the government which is responsible for the strike, which has reportedly caused a loss of Rs.26,000 crore. Had they paid heed to our demands, it would not have happened," Dasgupta said when asked about the strike's ramifications on the economy of the country.

Read More..

Adults get 11 percent of calories from fast food


ATLANTA (AP) — On an average day, U.S. adults get roughly 11 percent of their calories from fast food, a government study shows.


That's down slightly from the 13 percent reported the last time the government tried to pin down how much of the American diet is coming from fast food. Eating fast food too frequently has been seen as a driver of America's obesity problem.


For the research, about 11,000 adults were asked extensive questions about what they ate and drank over the previous 24 hours to come up with the results.


Among the findings:


Young adults eat more fast food than their elders; 15 percent of calories for ages 20 to 39 and dropping to 6 percent for those 60 and older.


— Blacks get more of their calories from fast-food, 15 percent compared to 11 percent for whites and Hispanics.


— Young black adults got a whopping 21 percent from the likes of Wendy's, Taco Bell and KFC.


The figures are averages. Included in the calculations are some people who almost never eat fast food, as well as others who eat a lot of it.


The survey covers the years 2007 through 2010 and was released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The authors couldn't explain why the proportion of calories from fast food dropped from the 13 percent found in a survey for 2003 through 2006.


One nutrition professor cast doubts on the latest results, saying 11 percent seemed implausibly low. New York University's Marion Nestle said it wouldn't be surprising if some people under-reported their hamburgers, fries and milkshakes since eating too much fast food is increasingly seen as something of a no-no.


"If I were a fast-food company, I'd say 'See, we have nothing to do with obesity! Americans are getting 90 percent of their calories somewhere else!'" she said.


The study didn't include the total number of fast-food calories, just the percentage. Previous government research suggests that the average U.S. adult each day consumes about 270 calories of fast food — the equivalent of a small McDonald's hamburger and a few fries.


The new CDC study found that obese people get about 13 percent of daily calories from fast food, compared with less than 10 percent for skinny and normal-weight people.


There was no difference seen by household income, except for young adults. The poorest — those with an annual household income of less than $30,000 — got 17 percent of their calories from fast food, while the figure was under 14 percent for the most affluent 20- and 30-somethings with a household income of more than $50,000.


That's not surprising since there are disproportionately higher numbers of fast-food restaurants in low-income neighborhoods, Nestle said.


Fast food is accessible and "it's cheap," she said.


Read More..

Lead Pistorius Cop Facing Attempted Murder Charge












Hilton Botha, the detective at the center of the Oscar Pistorius murder case, is facing his own attempted murder charges in connection with a 2011 shooting in which he and other police officers allegedly fired a gun at passengers in a vehicle.


Botha is scheduled to appear in court in May on seven counts of attempted murder in connection to the October 2011 incident in which he and two other officers allegedly fired shots at a minibus they were attempting to stop. It's unclear whether any of the passengers were injured.


Botha has been outlining details this week at the Olympic runner's bail hearing of his investigation into the Feb. 14 shooting death of Reeva Steenkamp at Pistorius' home in Pretoria, South Africa. Botha was one of the first officers to arrive at the scene, where Steenkamp, a 29-year-old model, was found fatally shot three times.


PHOTOS: Paralympic Champion Charged in Killing


Pistorius, a double-amputee who walks on carbon fiber blades, says he killed his girlfriend accidentally.


Prosecutors say they were unaware of the charges against the detective when he took the stand this week, according to The Associated Press.








Oscar Pistorius: Investigator Faces Attempted Murder Charges Watch Video









Oscar Pistorius's Bail Hearing: Prosecutors Argue Premeditated Murder Watch Video









Oscar Pistorius Bail Hearing: New Evidence Revealed Watch Video





"The prosecutors were not aware of those charges [against Botha]," Medupe Simasiku of the National Prosecution Agency said. "We are calling up the information so we can get the details of the case. From there, we can take action and see if we remove him from the investigation or if he stays."


FULL COVERAGE: Oscar Pistorius Case


Botha muddled testimony and eventually admitted Wednesday at Pistorius' bail hearing that the suspect's account of the Valentine's Day shooting did not contradict the police's version of events.


A spokesman for the NPA admitted today that charges pending against Botha were not helpful for the credibility of the prosecution's case, but that the case would hinge on forensic evidence, not the testimony of a police officer.


Pistorius has argued in court that he was closing his balcony doors when he heard a noise from the bathroom. Fearing an intruder, and without his prosthetic legs on, he grabbed a gun from under his bed and fired through the closed bathroom door, he told the court.


But prosecutors say that's implausible, that the gun's holster was found under the side of the bed where Steenkamp slept, and that Pistorius would have seen she wasn't there. Prosecutors also say the angle at which the shots were fired shows Pistorius was already wearing his prosthetics when he fired.


Defense attorneys representing Pistorius tore into investigators Wednesday, accusing them of sloppy police work and saying the substance that police identified as testosterone, which they found in his bathroom, was an herbal supplement.


In a statement overnight, Pistorius' family said the new testimony brought "more clarity" to the hearing.


Meanwhile, Steenkamp's cousin told CNN that she wants to believe Pistorius' story.


"That is what in my heart, I hope and wish is the truth, because I would not like to think my cousin suffered," Kim Martin, Steenkamp's cousin, told CNN's Piers Morgan. "I would not like to think that she was scared."


Steenkamp's brother Adam Steenkamp said the family is trying to focus on better days.


"We're remembering the positive," he said. "We're remembering the good."


Pistorius today was dropped by two of his sponsors, Nike and Thierry Mugler.



Read More..

Bulgarian government resigns amid growing protests


SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria's government resigned on Wednesday after violent nationwide protests against high power prices, joining a long list of European administrations felled by austerity during Europe's debt crisis.


Prime Minister Boiko Borisov, a former bodyguard who swept to power in 2009 on pledges to root out corruption and raise living standards in the European Union's poorest member, now faces a tough task to prop up eroding support ahead of a probable early election.


Wage and pension freezes and tax hikes have bitten deep in a country where living standards are less than half the EU average and tens of thousands of Bulgarians have rallied in protests that have turned violent, chanting "Mafia" and "Resign".


On Tuesday, 11 people were hospitalized - including one man bleeding heavily from the head - and 11 arrested after protesters threw flares at police, who fought demonstrators with shields and truncheons.


"I will not participate in a government under which police are beating people," Borisov, who began his career guarding the Black Sea state's communist dictator Todor Zhivkov, said as he announced his resignation on Wednesday.


Parliament is expected to accept the resignation later in the day.


The spark for the protests was high electricity bills, after the government raised prices by 13 percent last July. But it quickly spilled over into wider frustration with Borisov's domineering manner and unpredictable decision making.


The prime minister made sacrifices in an attempt to cling on, sacking his finance minister, cutting power prices and risking a diplomatic row with the Czech Republic by punishing foreign-owned companies, a move that conflicted with EU norms on protection of investors and due process.


Borisov's rightist GERB party is the dominant faction in parliament but will not take part in talks to form a new government, Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov said, indicating that an election planned for July will now be held early.


"He made my day," student Borislav Hadzhiev, 21, in central Sofia said, commenting on Borisov's resignation. "The truth is that we're living in an extremely poor country."


IRE


GERB's popularity has held up well and it still leads, just, in the polls, largely because budget cutbacks have been relatively mild compared with those in many other European countries. Salaries and pensions were frozen rather than cut.


But the last opinion poll, taken before protests grew last weekend already showed the opposition Socialists were nearly tied with the ruling party and analysts said the protests had boosted the Socialists' chances.


Unemployment in the country of 7.3 million is far from the highs hit in the decade after the end of communism but remains at 11.9 percent and average salaries are stuck at around 800 levs ($550) a month.


Millions have emigrated in search of a better life, leaving swathes of the country depopulated and little hope for those who remain.


The measures announced this week has also put the country on a collision course with the EU and financial investors without easing the tension at home.


Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas demanded an explanation from Bulgaria and accused it of "politicizing" the power sector by threatening to revoke the electricity distribution license of central Europe's largest listed company CEZ, 70 percent of which is owned by the Czech state.


There have also been fines for another Czech company, Energo-Pro and Austria's EVN.


The precedent is unlikely to encourage other foreign investors, who already have to navigate complicated bureaucracy and widespread corruption and organized crime if they want to take advantage of Bulgaria's 16-percent flat tax rate.


"The resignation is the only responsible move," said Kantcho Stoychev, an analyst with pollster Gallup International. "It also gives Borisov some legitimacy to stay in political life in the future, despite the violent police actions last night."


(Additional reporting by Angel Krasimirov; editing by Patrick Graham)



Read More..

China octogenarian on trial for four decade-old murder






BEIJING: A man in his eighties has gone on trial in a Chinese court for a murder he allegedly committed during the tumultuous Cultural Revolution over four decades ago, state media reported Wednesday.

A court in the eastern province of Zhejiang this week tried the man for the 1967 murder of a doctor suspected of being a spy, the state-run China News Service reported.

It said the defendant surnamed Qiu is accused of strangling his victim, surnamed Hong, with a rope before cutting off his legs and burying him.

Qiu was a member of a member of "an armed group" during the decade of upheaval known as the Cultural Revolution, the report said, adding that he was arrested last July.

The Cultural Revolution was launched in 1966 by then-leader Mao Zedong, who called on ordinary citizens to struggle against the privileged, resulting in attacks on government officials, intellectuals and other groups.

The period, which still stirs emotions in China, saw young people form "Red Guard" units which engaged in mass violence, destroyed cultural relics and sometimes obtained weapons.

China has never publicly estimated how many died during the period, which saw citizens turn on their neighbours. Half a million died in 1967 alone, according to British historian Roderick MacFarquhar.

The verdict in the trial is yet to be announced.

-AFP/fl



Read More..

Chopper scam: CBI engages two law firms in Italy

NEW DELHI: CBI has engaged two law firms in Italy for liaisoning with the authorities to get legal assistance in probing the role of Indians in connection with the alleged kickbacks in the Rs 3,600 crore VVIP helicopter deal.

Official sources said on Wednesday that Chiomenti law firm and Grippo law firm have been asked to help in coordinating with the Italian authorities for getting documents and other relevant material pertaining to the AgustaWestland deal for supplying 12 helicopters to India.

The two firms will represent India's case with the Italian government and the local courts for getting evidence regarding alleged kickbacks in the deal. Kickbacks to the tune of Rs 362 crore were allegedly paid to swing the deal in favour of AgustaWestland.

The sources said the joint team of the CBI and defence ministry in Italy was told that the probe in that country was also in its initial stage and that arrests made in that country so far were more of a preventive nature so that the evidence was not tampered with.

Italian authorities have arrested Giuseppe Orsi, the chairman of Italian Finmeccanica, and Bruno Spagnolini, chief executive officer of AgustaWestland.

The team, which comprises a legal officer from the CBI as well, is likely to soon meet the judge hearing the matter in connection with the alleged kickbacks.

The joint team comprising a CBI DIG, a law officer of the agency, a joint secretary level officer of the ministry and an official of the external affairs ministry has been camping in Milan to gather as much inputs as possible.

The two law firms have been appointed keeping in mind their work in international cases. Chiomenti law firm was established in 1948 and has 270 attorneys in six countries including in London. Grippo law firm with 360 attorneys has a presence in five countries including the UK.

The CBI's decision to send a team to Italy came after it virtually drew a blank from the defence ministry in getting some official inputs regarding alleged kickbacks.

The CBI was handed over a letter from the defence ministry seeking a probe by it in the case which has triggered a storm in the country. Attached with the letter were some Indian and Italian press clippings, which, the CBI said, could not form the basis for registering a case.

This was followed by CBI seeking help of Interpol which also expressed inability to provide any help in the absence of any regular case not having been registered by the agency, they said.

Read More..

Drug overdose deaths up for 11th consecutive year


CHICAGO (AP) — Drug overdose deaths rose for the 11th straight year, federal data show, and most of them were accidents involving addictive painkillers despite growing attention to risks from these medicines.


"The big picture is that this is a big problem that has gotten much worse quickly," said Dr. Thomas Frieden, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which gathered and analyzed the data.


In 2010, the CDC reported, there were 38,329 drug overdose deaths nationwide. Medicines, mostly prescription drugs, were involved in nearly 60 percent of overdose deaths that year, overshadowing deaths from illicit narcotics.


The report appears in Tuesday's Journal of the American Medical Association.


It details which drugs were at play in most of the fatalities. As in previous recent years, opioid drugs — which include OxyContin and Vicodin — were the biggest problem, contributing to 3 out of 4 medication overdose deaths.


Frieden said many doctors and patients don't realize how addictive these drugs can be, and that they're too often prescribed for pain that can be managed with less risky drugs.


They're useful for cancer, "but if you've got terrible back pain or terrible migraines," using these addictive drugs can be dangerous, he said.


Medication-related deaths accounted for 22,134 of the drug overdose deaths in 2010.


Anti-anxiety drugs including Valium were among common causes of medication-related deaths, involved in almost 30 percent of them. Among the medication-related deaths, 17 percent were suicides.


The report's data came from death certificates, which aren't always clear on whether a death was a suicide or a tragic attempt at getting high. But it does seem like most serious painkiller overdoses were accidental, said Dr. Rich Zane, chair of emergency medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.


The study's findings are no surprise, he added. "The results are consistent with what we experience" in ERs, he said, adding that the statistics no doubt have gotten worse since 2010.


Some experts believe these deaths will level off. "Right now, there's a general belief that because these are pharmaceutical drugs, they're safer than street drugs like heroin," said Don Des Jarlais, director of the chemical dependency institute at New York City's Beth Israel Medical Center.


"But at some point, people using these drugs are going to become more aware of the dangers," he said.


Frieden said the data show a need for more prescription drug monitoring programs at the state level, and more laws shutting down "pill mills" — doctor offices and pharmacies that over-prescribe addictive medicines.


Last month, a federal panel of drug safety specialists recommended that Vicodin and dozens of other medicines be subjected to the same restrictions as other narcotic drugs like oxycodone and morphine. Meanwhile, more and more hospitals have been establishing tougher restrictions on painkiller prescriptions and refills.


One example: The University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora is considering a rule that would ban emergency doctors from prescribing more medicine for patients who say they lost their pain meds, Zane said.


___


Stobbe reported from Atlanta.


___


Online:


JAMA: http://www.jama.ama-assn.org


CDC: http://www.cdc.gov


___


AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner can be reached at http://www.twitter.com


Read More..

Pistorius Shots Said to Come From High Angle












At the second day of a bail hearing for Olympian Oscar Pistorius, a South African investigator who arrived at the scene of the Feb. 14 fatal shooting said that Reeva Steenkamp was shot from a high angle, which prosecutors say contradicts the runner's account that he was not wearing his prosthetics when he shot his girlfriend to death.


Pistorius, a double-amputee who runs on carbon-fiber blades, appeared in court for the second day in a row after his arrest in the death of girlfriend Steenkamp at his gated home in Pretoria, South Africa.


Read Oscar Pistorius' Full Statement to the Court


PHOTOS: Paralympic Champion Charged in Killing


Arresting officer Hilton Botha told the court today that the 26-year-old was standing in the master bathroom when he shot the supermodel, who was crouched in a defensive position behind a locked door in a smaller powder room. He also said that the bullets that were fired had been fired from high up, and the bullets seemed to be coming in a downward direction.


"[The angle] seems to me down. Fired down," Botha told the court.


Pistorius said Tuesday that he went to the bathroom and fired through the door before putting on his prosthetic legs.








Oscar Pistorius: Defense Presents New Evidence Watch Video











'Blade Runner' Appears in Court to Hear Murder Charges Watch Video





He said he mistakenly shot his girlfriend, thinking she was an intruder.


Prosecutors also said that they found two boxes of testosterone in the bedroom, although the defense disputes that, saying it's just herbal supplements.


The court also heard that a witness, someone about 2,000 feet away from Pistorius' home, heard nonstop fighting the morning of the shooting.


"We have a witness who says she heard non-stop shouting and fighting between 2 and 3 a.m.," said prosecutor Gerrie Nel, who added that another witness saw lights on at the time of the gunshots.


Pistorius says he spent a quiet night with Steenkamp before the shooting.


Nel said that Pistorius' actions and phone calls on the night indicate pre-planning, and that there was a "deliberate aiming of shots at the toilet from about 1.5 meters [about 5 feet]."


He says Steenkamp was shot on the right side of her body.


Officer Botha also said Pistorius should be considered a flight risk because investigators discovered that he has offshore bank accounts and a house in Italy.


"I think it would be hard to get him back," Botha told the court. "This is a very serious crime, shooting an unarmed woman behind closed door."


Prosecutors also say they may file more charges for unlicensed ammunition, after a special-caliber .38 round was found in a safe in Pistorius' home.


Botha told the court today that he arrived at Pistorius' home at 4:15 a.m. Valentine's Day to find Steenkamp already dead, dressed in a white shorts and a black vest, and covered in towels. The only thing that Pistorius said was, 'I thought it was a burglar,'" according to Botha.


The 26-year-old sprinter Tuesday denied that he willfully killed Steenkamp, telling the court that he shot the woman through his bathroom door because he believed she was an intruder.


Botha said today that he attended Steenkamp's postmortem, and that she had three entrance wounds: one on the head, one in the elbow and one in the hip.


Describing the scene to the court, Botha said that the shots fired into the bathroom were aimed at the toilet bowl.


The shooter "would have to walk into the bathroom and turn directly at the door to shoot at the toilet the way the bullets went," he said.






Read More..

Venezuela's Maduro would win if Chavez goes: poll


CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan Vice President Nicolas Maduro would comfortably win a presidential election should his boss Hugo Chavez's cancer force him out of power, according to an opinion poll.


The first survey on such a scenario, by local pollster Hinterlaces, gave Maduro a potential 50 percent of votes, compared to 36 percent for opposition leader Henrique Capriles.


Chavez returned to Venezuela on Monday after a long stay in Cuba to continue treatment at home for the disease that is jeopardizing his 14-year socialist rule of the South American OPEC nation.


He has named 50-year-old former bus driver and union activist Maduro as his preferred successor. But Capriles, 40, a center-left state governor who lost to Chavez in a presidential vote last year, would likely run again.


Chavez still has not said a word in public since his December 11 operation in Cuba, and Venezuelans were debating on Tuesday the various possible scenarios after his homecoming - from full recovery, to resignation, or even death from the cancer.


Should Chavez be forced out, Venezuela's constitution stipulates an election must be held within 30 days.


Capriles, who crossed swords with Hinterlaces at various points during the presidential election, again mocked its director, Oscar Schemel, as being biased against him.


"That man is not a pollster, he's on the government's payroll," Capriles told local TV.


"He said in December I would lose the Miranda governorship," he added, referring to his defeat of government heavyweight Elias Jaua, now foreign minister, in that local race.


Opinion surveys are notoriously controversial and divergent in Venezuela, with both sides routinely accusing pollsters of being in the pocket of the other.


Hinterlaces surveyed 1,230 people between January 30-February 9.


(Editing by Bill Trott)



Read More..

Foul smelling tap water at Yishun HDB block






SINGAPORE: Residents at an HDB block in Yishun Avenue 11 reported that their tap water has been giving off a foul smell.

Water agency PUB said tests on water samples from the block show the water is safe for drinking.

It has since given the block's three water tanks a thorough cleaning.

Residents said the problem started on February 14.

One resident who stayed at the ninth floor said she developed rashes.

"On Friday, I found rashes on my body, and it got worse on Sunday. It was very itchy. On Monday, I went to see a doctor," said Lin Hui Min.

- CNA/fa



Read More..

Centre not releasing funds on time, alleges Akhilesh Yadav

LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday accused the Union government of not releasing funds of the centrally-aided projects and schemes in time, thus slackening the development process in the state.

Interacting with reporters after presenting the Budget for the financial year 2013-2014, Akhilesh Yadav said the Union government was delaying funds not only for Uttar Pradesh but for several other states too.

He cited the case of the irrigation sector in which the Union government had committed itself to give Rs 1,700 crore but had only released Rs 45 crores. Similarly, he claimed that funds had not been completely released for the rural job guarantee scheme.

Responding to charges leveled by the opposition that 45 per cent of the last Budget outlay was yet to be spent, the chief minister said this time he would physically verify for himself that schemes are on time and that the money allocated for them is properly utilized.

He also said that after the last budget, his government has only got some seven to eight months to work and hence there were some problems. "In this year's Budget, special focus has been given to social sector and poverty alleviation schemes," he added.

Read More..

Hip implants a bit more likely to fail in women


CHICAGO (AP) — Hip replacements are slightly more likely to fail in women than in men, according to one of the largest studies of its kind in U.S. patients. The risk of the implants failing is low, but women were 29 percent more likely than men to need a repeat surgery within the first three years.


The message for women considering hip replacement surgery remains unclear. It's not known which models of hip implants perform best in women, even though women make up the majority of the more than 400,000 Americans who have full or partial hip replacements each year to ease the pain and loss of mobility caused by arthritis or injuries.


"This is the first step in what has to be a much longer-term research strategy to figure out why women have worse experiences," said Diana Zuckerman, president of the nonprofit National Research Center for Women & Families. "Research in this area could save billions of dollars" and prevent patients from experiencing the pain and inconvenience of surgeries to fix hip implants that go wrong.


Researchers looked at more than 35,000 surgeries at 46 hospitals in the Kaiser Permanente health system. The research, published Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine, was funded by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.


After an average of three years, 2.3 percent of the women and 1.9 percent of the men had undergone revision surgery to fix a problem with the original hip replacement. Problems included instability, infection, broken bones and loosening.


"There is an increased risk of failure in women compared to men," said lead author Maria Inacio, an epidemiologist at Southern California Permanente Medical Group in San Diego. "This is still a very small number of failures."


Women tend to have smaller joints and bones than men, and so they tend to need smaller artificial hips. Devices with smaller femoral heads — the ball-shaped part of the ball-and-socket joint in an artificial hip — are more likely to dislocate and require a surgical repair.


That explained some, but not all, of the difference between women and men in the study. It's not clear what else may have contributed to the gap. Co-author Dr. Monti Khatod, an orthopedic surgeon in Los Angeles, speculated that one factor may be a greater loss of bone density in women.


The failure of metal-on-metal hips was almost twice as high for women than in men. The once-popular models were promoted by manufacturers as being more durable than standard plastic or ceramic joints, but several high-profile recalls have led to a decrease in their use in recent years.


"Don't be fooled by hype about a new hip product," said Zuckerman, who wrote an accompanying commentary in the medical journal. "I would not choose the latest, greatest hip implant if I were a woman patient. ... At least if it's been for sale for a few years, there's more evidence for how well it's working."


___


Online:


Journal: http://www.jamainternalmed.com


Read More..

Oscar Pistorius Charged With Premeditated Murder












A South Africa magistrate has charged Olympian Oscar Pistorius with a Schedule 6 offense, meaning that the alleged murder of his girlfriend was preplanned or premeditated.


Pistorius, a double-amputee who gained worldwide fame for running on carbon-fiber blades, allegedly shot his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, four times at his gated home in Pretoria, South Africa, Feb. 14. South African prosecutors laid out part of their case against the 26-year-old athlete at today's bail hearing.


"[Pistorius] shot and killed an innocent woman," Gerrie Nel, the senior state prosecutor, said in court, adding that there is "no possible explanation to support" the notion that Pistorius thought Steenkamp was an intruder.


PHOTOS: Paralympic Champion Charged in Killing


Pistorius denied in court today that he intentionally shot her.


Police responding to neighbors' calls about shouting and gunshots at Pistorius' home in the guarded and gated complex in the South African capital discovered Steenkamp's body. A 9-mm pistol was recovered at the home.


At the hearing, for which Pistorius arrived early at the courthouse this morning in a gray suit and tie,
the state made it clear it would be asking for the alleged crime to be categorized as preplanned or premeditated.








Oscar Pistorius: Was Shooting Premeditated? Watch Video









Conflicting Theories Muddle Oscar Pistorius Murder Case Watch Video









Oscar Pistorius Allegedly Fought the Night of Shooting Watch Video





Prosecutors said Steenkamp had arrived at the house with the expectation of spending the night with Pistorius. They said that Steenkamp was shot while in the bathroom, which is about 21 feet from the main bedroom, and that the two rooms are linked by a passage. The door to the toilet was broken down from the outside, prosecutors said, inferring that the bathroom door had been locked.


Prosecutors believe it's a case of premeditated murder because, they say, Pistorius had to stop, put on his prosthetic legs, grab a gun and then walk 21 feet to a bathroom.


The premeditated murder charge means that he would be sentenced to life in prison if convicted, and that he is likely to be denied bail, which is expected to be decided later today.


South Africa has moved away from the jury system, in light of its brutally racist past, so Pistorius' fate will rest in the hands of a judge and two magistrates.


The prosecution said that the defense will no doubt argue for the charge to be downgraded to a Schedule 5 murder, but that was clearly wrong, according to the prosecution.


In a Schedule 5 offense, the onus is on the prosecution to prove that it would be in the interest of justice to keep the accused behind bars and not release him on bail. A Schedule 6 offense is a more serious category, wherein the defense has to prove that it would be in the interest of justice to release the accused person on bail.


The defense made it clear today that it is going to argue that Pistorius thought a burglar was inside that bathroom. The defense said prosecutors have no way to prove that he knew who was in there, and that they are prepared to submit evidence of other men who have shot wives and children, mistaking them for burglars.


News reports in local papers have said that police are investigating whether Pistorius had an anger-management problem that led to the incident. They focused on a bloody cricket bat that might have been used when Steenkamp died.


Meanwhile, the Steenkamp family planned a private memorial service at Victoria Park crematorium in the south coast city of Port Elizabeth today. As Pistorius stood before the court, Steenkamp's body was being transported to Port Elizabeth.


The Associated Press contributed to this report.



Read More..

U.N. says has list of Syrian war crimes suspects


GENEVA (Reuters) - Syrians in "leadership positions" who may be responsible for war crimes have been identified, along with units accused of perpetrating them, United Nations investigators said on Monday.


Both government forces and armed rebels are committing war crimes, including killings and torture, spreading terror among civilians in a nearly two-year-old conflict, they said.


The investigators' latest report, covering the six months to mid-January, was based on 445 interviews conducted abroad with victims and witnesses, as they have not been allowed into Syria.


The independent team, led by Brazilian Paulo Pinheiro, called on the U.N. Security Council to "act urgently to ensure accountability" for grave violations, possibly by referring the violators to the International Criminal Court for prosecution.


"The ICC is the appropriate institution for the fight against impunity in Syria. As an established, broadly supported structure, it could immediately initiate investigations against authors of serious crimes in Syria," the 131-page report said.


It added: "Individuals may also bear criminal responsibility for perpetuating the crimes identified in the present report. Where possible, individuals in leadership positions who may be responsible were identified alongside those who physically carried out the acts."


Karen Konig AbuZayd, one of the four commissioners on the team of some two dozen experts, told Reuters: "We have information suggesting people who have given instructions and are responsible for government policy. People who are in the leadership of the military, for example."


"It is the first time we have mentioned the ICC directly. The Security Council needs to come together and decide whether or not to refer the case to the ICC. I am not optimistic."


But its third list of suspects, building on lists drawn up in the past year, remains secret. It will be entrusted to U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, upon expiry of its current mandate at the end of March, the report said.


Pillay, a former judge at the ICC, said on Saturday that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad should be probed for war crimes and called for immediate action by the international community, including possible military intervention.


"The evidence collected sits in the safe in the office of the High Commissioner against the day it might be referred to a court and evidence would be examined by a prosecutor," said a European diplomat.


The death toll in Syria is likely approaching 70,000 people, Pillay told the Security Council last week in a fresh appeal for it to refer Syria to the ICC, the Hague-based war crimes court.


Government forces have carried out shelling and aerial bombardment across Syria including Aleppo, Damascus, Deraa, Homs and Idlib, the independent U.N. investigators said, citing corroborating evidence gathered from satellite images.


"In some incidents, such as in the assault on Harak, indiscriminate shelling was followed by ground operations during which government forces perpetrated mass killing," it said, referring to a town in the southern province of Deraa where residents told them that 500 civilians were killed in August.


"SPREADING TERROR"


"Government forces and affiliated militias have committed extra-judicial executions, breaching international human rights law. This conduct also constitutes the war crime of murder. Where murder was committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack against a civilian population, with knowledge of that attack, it is a crime against humanity," the U.N. report said.


They have targeted queues at bakeries and funeral processions, in violence aimed at "spreading terror among the civilian population", it said.


"Syrian armed forces have implemented a strategy that uses shelling and sniper fire to kill, maim, wound and terrorize the civilian inhabitants of areas that have fallen under anti-government armed group control," the report said.


Government forces had used cluster bombs, it said, but it found no credible evidence of either side using chemical arms.


Rebel forces fighting to topple Assad in the protracted and increasingly sectarian conflict have committed war crimes include murder, torture, hostage-taking and using children under age 15 in hostilities, the U.N. report said.


"They continue to endanger the civilian population by positioning military objectives inside civilian areas," it said. Rebel snipers had caused "considerable civilian casualties".


"The violations and abuses committed by anti-government armed groups did not, however, reach the intensity and scale of those committed by government forces and affiliated militia."


Foreign fighters, many of them from Libya, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Iraq and Egypt, have radicalized the rebels and helped detonate deadly improvised explosive devices, it said.


The two other commissioners are former chief ICC prosecutor Carla del Ponte and Vitit Muntarbhorn of Thailand.


"It is an investigative mechanism and its evidence can be given to relevant judicial authorities when the time comes. In the interim, it is the one piece of U.N.-approved machinery shining a light on abuses," the European diplomat said.


Referring to del Ponte, who joined in September, the diplomat said: "She brings a harder-edged prosecutorial lens so when they are looking at the evidence she is very well placed to know what sort of evidence would assist a later judicial process."


(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Alistair Lyon)



Read More..

Iberia strikers clash with police at Madrid airport






MADRID: Strikers at Spanish airline Iberia clashed with police at Madrid-Barajas airport on Monday as they launched a five-day action against job cuts.

Thousands of strikers tried to force their way into one of the terminals at the airport before being pushed back by police, an AFP reporter at the scene said.

After several charges by police armed with batons, the Iberia staff finally entered the terminal where they carried on a protest during the strike action, which led to hundreds of flight cancellations.

Iberia's cabin crew, ground staff and maintenance workers were striking from Monday to Friday in the first of a series of three five-day strikes to protest plans to axe 3,800 jobs.

The flag carrier said it scrapped 415 flights across Spain and Europe for the week including 81 on Monday alone. The airline said it expected to operate 135 flights on Monday.

Iberia's offshoots were hard hit. Iberia Express chopped 20 flights on Monday alone and regional carrier Air Nostrum cut another 57.

Iberia ground crew service flights for budget carrier Vueling, forcing that airline, also, to curb operations.

Vueling said it had cut 354 flights for the five days - 39 percent of its usual service. A list posted on the airline's web site showed 78 cancellations for Monday alone.

Iberia workers also plan to strike from March 4-8 and again from March 18-22 to protest against the job cuts announced by International Airlines Group (IAG), which owns Iberia and British Airways.

IAG announced last week that it would axe 3,800 jobs at Iberia to save costs but said it was still open to talks with unions during a formal 30-day consultation process.

Iberia executives say the airline accumulated 850 million euros ($1.1 billion) in losses between 2008 and September 2012.

The airline aims to cut its capacity by 15 percent this year, eliminating some loss-making routes to Latin America and trimming its fleet by 25 aircraft, including five long-haul jets

Iberia said there were no significant incidents during the first day of the strike action, with 85 percent of passengers already put on other flights and the other 15 percent reimbursed.

- AFP/de



Read More..

Advani best PM for NDA, Modi could be home minister: Govindacharya

BHOPAL: Former BJP ideologue and RSS thinker KN Govindacharya said on Sunday night that veteran BJP leader LK Advani and the UPA government defence minister AK Antony would be the most suitable candidates to run for Prime Ministerial post. Amidst the clamour for Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi's prime ministerial candidature within the BJP and allied saffron organisations, Govindacharya thought differently.

Speaking to TOI, he argued: If the NDA has to come to power, then LK Advani should be leading the 2014 Lok Sabha as PM candidate while Narendra Modi should be assisting him.'' Reminded that LK Advani has already been the BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate in 2009, Govindacharya explained that in 1984, the party's tallest leader Atal Behari Vajpayee lost his seat from Gwalior. Vajpayee was defeated by Madhavrao Scindia. But Vajpayee became the Prime Minister of the country 13 years later,'' he reasoned.

The national scenario at the moment is such that we need more seasoned leaders to be at the helm of affairs. If the party wants to utilise the popularity of Narendra Modi, then he should be involved in the process of government functioning. Instead of trying yet another experiment, the party should put its trust in tried and proven leaders,'' Govindacharya said. Narendra Modi, he said, could be given the post of Home minister so he can learn the ropes of government functioning at the centre.

Talking about the Congress party, he argued that AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi has a lot more to learn'' and suggested the name of AK Antony. Had Pranab Mukherjee not been the President, he would have been the best option for the Congress. The culture of sycophancy has so gripped the Congress party that it should be abhorred. And someone has to call and spade a spade in that party,'' he said.

He said that if inexperienced leaders like Narendra Modi or Rahul Gandhi are made Prime Minister then it would be unfair for them, their parties and injustice to the nation.'' Talking on the 2014 General elections, he argued for a change: The stalemate and stagnancy has to be broken and this regime at the Centre should go. And we have to churn for a fresh start in politics.''

Read More..

Study: Better TV might improve kids' behavior


SEATTLE (AP) — Teaching parents to switch channels from violent shows to educational TV can improve preschoolers' behavior, even without getting them to watch less, a study found.


The results were modest and faded over time, but may hold promise for finding ways to help young children avoid aggressive, violent behavior, the study authors and other doctors said.


"It's not just about turning off the television. It's about changing the channel. What children watch is as important as how much they watch," said lead author Dr. Dimitri Christakis, a pediatrician and researcher at Seattle Children's Research Institute.


The research was to be published online Monday by the journal Pediatrics.


The study involved 565 Seattle parents, who periodically filled out TV-watching diaries and questionnaires measuring their child's behavior.


Half were coached for six months on getting their 3-to-5-year-old kids to watch shows like "Sesame Street" and "Dora the Explorer" rather than more violent programs like "Power Rangers." The results were compared with kids whose parents who got advice on healthy eating instead.


At six months, children in both groups showed improved behavior, but there was a little bit more improvement in the group that was coached on their TV watching.


By one year, there was no meaningful difference between the two groups overall. Low-income boys appeared to get the most short-term benefit.


"That's important because they are at the greatest risk, both for being perpetrators of aggression in real life, but also being victims of aggression," Christakis said.


The study has some flaws. The parents weren't told the purpose of the study, but the authors concede they probably figured it out and that might have affected the results.


Before the study, the children averaged about 1½ hours of TV, video and computer game watching a day, with violent content making up about a quarter of that time. By the end of the study, that increased by up to 10 minutes. Those in the TV coaching group increased their time with positive shows; the healthy eating group watched more violent TV.


Nancy Jensen, who took part with her now 6-year-old daughter, said the study was a wake-up call.


"I didn't realize how much Elizabeth was watching and how much she was watching on her own," she said.


Jensen said her daughter's behavior improved after making changes, and she continues to control what Elizabeth and her 2-year-old brother, Joe, watch. She also decided to replace most of Elizabeth's TV time with games, art and outdoor fun.


During a recent visit to their Seattle home, the children seemed more interested in playing with blocks and running around outside than watching TV.


Another researcher who was not involved in this study but also focuses his work on kids and television commended Christakis for taking a look at the influence of positive TV programs, instead of focusing on the impact of violent TV.


"I think it's fabulous that people are looking on the positive side. Because no one's going to stop watching TV, we have to have viable alternatives for kids," said Dr. Michael Rich, director of the Center on Media and Child Health at Children's Hospital Boston.


____


Online:


Pediatrics: http://www.pediatrics.org


___


Contact AP Writer Donna Blankinship through Twitter (at)dgblankinship


Read More..

Country Singer Mindy McCready Dead at 37












Mindy McCready, the country singer who soared to the top of the charts with her debut album, "Ten Thousand Angels," but struggled with substance abuse, served time in jail and fought a lengthy battle with her mother over custody of her son has died of what appears to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said. She was 37.


Deputies from the Cleburne County Sheriff's Office were dispatched to a report of gun shots fired at McCready's Heber Springs, Ark., home at around 3:30 p.m. today.


There they found McCready on the front porch. She was pronounced dead at the scene from what appeared to be a single self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to a statement from the sheriff's office.


PHOTOS: In Memoriam 2013


McCready's boyfriend, David Wilson, died in January of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. McCready was ordered to enter rehab shortly after Wilson's death, and her two children, Zander, 6, and 9-month-old Zayne were taken from her. She was released after one day to undergo outpatient care.


McCready scored a number-one Billboard country hit in 1996 with "Guys Do It All the Time," but in recent years, the country crooner has received more media attention for her troubled personal life than her music.


She has been arrested multiple times on drug charges and probation violations and has been hospitalized for overdoses several times, including in 2010, when she was found unconscious at her mother's home after taking a painkiller and muscle relaxant.






Angela Weiss/Getty Images











Country Singer Mindy McCready Dead at Age 37 Watch Video









Mindy McCready Details Moment Cops Found Her, Son Watch Video







RELATED: Mindy McCready: Police Take Son


Her mother, Gayle Inge, was appointed to be her son Zander's legal guardian in 2007 after McCready was arrested for violating probation on a drug-related charge. The boy's father is McCready's ex-boyfriend Billy McKnight.


Following a custody hearing in May 2011, McCready released a statement, saying, "We have progressed in a positive manner to reunite me and my son, Zander. I feel very optimistic this will happen in the near future."


But just six months later, in November 2011, was accused of violating a court order for failing to bring Zander back to her mother in Florida after a visit. The boy was placed in foster care while McCready and her mother worked out the custody dispute.


McCready's struggle with substance abuse was broadcast in 2010 on the third season of "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew."


McCready also claimed to have carried on a decade-long affair with baseball star Roger Clemens that began was she was 15 years old and he was 28. Clemens denied that the relationship was sexual in nature.


"You know what, I don't think I'm ever going to be one of those people that has a normal, quiet existence," McCready told ABC Radio in 2010. "I've been chosen for some reason to be bigger and larger than life in every way. Negative and positive."


McCready, who was born and raised in southern Florida, moved to Nashville when she was 18 to start her music career.


Within a few months, she was starting to work with producer David Malloy, who got her tapes to RLG Records. The company signed her to a contract after seeing her in concert, giving her a record deal less than a year after her arrival in Nashville.


Her debut album, "Ten Thousand Angels," went gold within six months of its release in April 1996, and eventually went multi-platinum. Two more followed: "If I Don't Stay the Night," in 1997; and "I'm Not So Tough" in 1999.


Her most recent album, "I'm Still Here," featuring new versions of her early hits "Ten Thousand Angels" and "Guys Do It All the Time," was released in March 2010.



Read More..

Pope, nearing retirement, says pray "for me and next pope"


VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict asked the faithful to pray for him and for the next pope, addressing a crowded St. Peter's Square in his penultimate Sunday address before becoming the first pontiff in centuries to resign.


The crowd chanted "Long live the pope!," waved banners and broke into sustained applause as he spoke from his window. The 85-year-old Benedict, who will resign on February 28, thanked them in several languages.


Speaking in Spanish, he told the crowd which the Vatican said numbered more than 50,000: "I beg you to continue praying for me and for the next pope".


It was not clear why the pope chose Spanish to make the only specific reference to his upcoming resignation in his Sunday address.


A number of cardinals have said they would be open to the possibility of a pope from the developing world, be it Latin America, Africa or Asia, as opposed to another from Europe, where the Church is crisis and polarized.


After his address, the pope retired into the Vatican's Apostolic Palace for a scheduled, week-long spiritual retreat and will not make any more public appearances until next Sunday.


Speaking in Italian in part of his address about Lent, the period when Christians reflect on their failings and seek guidance in prayer, the pope spoke of the difficulty of making important decisions.


"In decisive moments of life, or, on closer inspection, at every moment in life, we are at a crossroads: do we want to follow the ‘I' or God? The individual interest or the real good, that which is really good?" he said.


FOR THE GOOD OF THE CHURCH


Since his shock announcement last Monday, the pope has said several times that he made the difficult decision to become the first pope in more than six centuries to resign for the good of the Church.


"In a funny way he is even more peaceful now with this decision, unlike the rest of us, he is not somebody who gets choked up really easily," said Greg Burke, a senior media advisor to the Vatican.


"I think that has a lot to do with his spiritual life and who he is and the fact he is such a prayerful man," Burke told Reuters Television.


The pope has said his physical and spiritual forces are no longer strong enough to sustain him in the job of leading the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics at a time of difficulties for the Church in a fast-changing world.


Benedict's papacy was rocked by crises over the sex abuse of children by priests in Europe and the United States, most of which preceded his time in office but came to light during it.


His reign also saw Muslim anger after he compared Islam to violence. Jews were upset over his rehabilitation of a Holocaust denier. During a scandal over the Church's business dealings, his butler was convicted of leaking his private papers.


People in the crowd said the pope was a shadow of the man he was when elected on April 19, 2005.


"Like always, recently, he seemed tired, moved, perplexed, uncertain and insecure," said Stefan Malabar, an Italian in St. Peter's Square.


"It's something that really has an effect on you because the pope should be a strong and authoritative figure but instead he seems very weak, and that really struck me," he said.


The Vatican has said the conclave to choose his successor could start earlier than originally expected, giving the Roman Catholic Church a new leader by mid-March.


Some 117 cardinals under the age of 80 will be eligible to enter the secretive conclave to elect Benedict's successor. Church rules say the conclave has to start between 15 and 20 days after the papacy becomes vacant, which it will on February 28.


But since the Church is now dealing with an announced resignation and not a sudden death, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said the Vatican would be "interpreting" the law to see if it could start earlier.


CONSULTATIONS BEGUN


Cardinals around the world have already begun informal consultations by phone and email to construct a profile of the man they think would be best suited to lead the Church in a period of continuing crisis.


The Vatican appears to be aiming to have a new pope elected and then formally installed before Palm Sunday on March 24 so he can preside at Holy Week services leading to Easter.


New details emerged at the weekend about the state of Benedict's health in the months before his shock decision.


Peter Seewald, a German journalist who wrote a book with the pope in 2010 in which Benedict first floated the possibility of resigning, visited him again about 10 weeks ago and asked what else could be expected from his papacy.


According to excepts published in the German magazine Focus, the pope answered: "From me? Not much from me. I'm an old man and the strength is ebbing. I think what I've done is enough."


Asked if he was considering resigning, the pope said: "That depends on how much my physical strength will force me to that".


Seewald said he was alarmed about the pope's health.


"His hearing had deteriorated. He couldn't see with his left eye. His body had become so thin that the tailors had difficulty in keeping up with newly fitted clothes ... I'd never seen him so exhausted-looking, so worn down."


The pope will say one more Sunday noon prayer on February 24, hold a final general audience on February 27. The next day he will take a helicopter to the papal summer retreat at Castle Gandalf, south of Rome, flying into the history books.


Vatican officials said he would stay there for the two months or so needed to restore the convent inside the Vatican where he will live out his remaining years.


(Additional reporting by Hanna Rantala; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)



Read More..