Huge gap in world cancer survival

There is a huge variation in cancer survival rates across the world, a global study shows.
The US, Australia, Canada, France and Japan had the highest five-year survival rates, while Algeria had the worst, Lancet Oncology reported. The UK faired pretty poorly, trailing most of its western European neighbours - although the data is from the 1990s since when survival rates have risen. Spending on health care was a major factor, the study of 31 countries said.
Researchers said higher spending often meant quicker access to tests and tThe research was carried out by more than 100 scientists across the world led by Professor Michel Coleman, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

It involved analysing data on more than two million cancer patients who were diagnosed and treated during the 1990s. The study showed the US had the highest five-year survival rates for breast cancer at 83.9% and prostate cancer at 91.9%. Japan came out best for male colon and rectal cancers, at 63% and 58.2% respectively, while France faired best for women with those cancers at 60.1% and 63.9%.

The UK had 69.7% survival for breast cancer, just above 40% for colon and rectal cancer for both men and women and 51.1% for prostate cancer. There were also large regional variations within the UK, which were linked to differences in access to care and ability of patients to navigate the local health services. Both are directly linked to deprivation. Algeria, the only African country involved, came bottom in all types of cancer.

Bush 'concern' at N Korea issues

US President George W Bush has said he remains concerned about North Korea's alleged enrichment of uranium and other security issues.

But, speaking after talks with Japanese PM Yasuo Fukuda ahead of Monday's G8 summit in Japan, he acknowledged North Korea had addressed some concerns. Mr Fukuda said he would attend the Beijing Olympics opening, which other leaders will miss over rights concerns. The G8 summit is being held at a resort on the northern island of Hokkaido.

North Korea handed over a long-delayed list of its nuclear activities to Washington on 26 June, but it is not thought to have given details of uranium enrichment, which the North denies."North Korea did provide a declaration of its plutonium-related activities and did blow up the cooling tower of its nuclear reactor at Yongbyon," Mr Bush said at the summit venue in Tokayo. "That's been verified and is a positive step, but there are more steps to be taken. "We are concerned about enriched uranium and proliferation, human rights abuses and ballistic missile programmes."

Mr Bush also promised Mr Fukuda that he would "not abandon" the question of Japanese citizens allegedly abducted by North Korea to help train North Korean spies.Asked by reporters about the ailing US economy, the American leader said he was committed to a strong dollar.
"Our economy is not growing as robustly as we'd like..." he said. "The United States believes in a strong dollar policy and believes the strength of our economy will be reflected in the dollar."
The Group of Eight (G8) consists of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States. Leaders began arriving on Sunday. Mr Bush arrived in time to celebrate his 62nd birthday in Japan.

Warning as France takes EU helm

$85M Sought for Defective Lottery Tickets

ROANOKE, Va. — In the latest challenge to a state lottery's deceptive practices, a business professor's lawsuit seeks to hold the Virginia Lottery accountable for selling about $85 million in defective scratch-off tickets.
A lawsuit by Washington and Lee University professor Scott Hoover seeks reimbursement for purchasers of an estimated 26.5 million tickets over the past five years. He asserted that the tickets had no chance of winning the top prize promised on them.
John Fishwick, a Roanoke attorney for Hoover, on Monday released copies of a lawsuit filed in Richmond Circuit Court. It seeks an $85 million judgment and an injunction preventing the Lottery from selling the outdated tickets.
The practice among state lotteries is widespread, said Rob Carey, an attorney who has filed similar challenges in Arizona, California, Colorado and Washington state.
"It's flat-out false. It's deceptive," he said. "They all play for the grand prize."
In New Jersey, for instance, no top prizes remain for an 8-month-old game, $1 million Explosion, but Lottery spokesman Dominick DeMarco said he was unaware of any similar lawsuits in that state.

Army criticizes itself in Iraq invasion report

The U.S. Army's official history of the Iraq war shows military chiefs made mistake after mistake in the early months of the conflict.

Failures to recognize the chaos engulfing the country and to send in enough troops to restore order after the 2003 invasion have long been highlighted by critics, but a new report shows the Army assessing itself.
Frank opinions from officers serving in the 18 months from the start of war to Iraqi elections in January 2005 reveal there were concerns at the time, not just about assumptions made by planners but at decisions taken once U.S.-led coalition forces had control of Iraq.
"I flipped," Gen. Jack Keane, then the Army's deputy chief of staff, told the historians of his reaction to a June 2003 decision to transfer control of all coalition troops away from the land forces command that had been preparing for the mission.
He recounted a conversation with Gen. John Abizaid, who succeeded the invasion's architect, Gen. Tommy Franks. "I said, 'Jesus Christ, John, this is a recipe for disaster. We invested in that headquarters. We have the experience and judgment in that headquarters."
Keane said it took the U.S. command between six and eight months to get the new headquarters up and running. During that time, troops in the field saw the mood of ordinary Iraqis turn against Americans and watched the insurgency take root.
"By the time we got a plan together to resource everything, the insurgents had closed that window of opportunity quickly," Col. David Perkins, a brigade commander in the Army's 3rd Infantry Division, told the historians. "What we started doing in September was probably a good idea to have done in April 2003."
Franks, who would soon retire and be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, said he ordered the transition to force the Pentagon to get leaders into the field to work with civilian occupation officials.
"That is a task that John Abizaid and I very simply laid on Washington and said, 'Figure it out. Do it fast. Get me a joint headquarters in here. We have a lot of work to do and [civilian administrator of Iraq] Jerry Bremer has a lot of responsibility and he needs help,' " he recalled.

Students Flay Flat Public Transport Fare in Valley

The eight student unions have expressed their dissatisfaction over the flat fare of Rs 12 for 0-6 km distance in public vehicles in Kathmandu valley and have demanded a new fare system.The students have demanded different fares of Rs 5 for 0-2km, Rs 8 for 0-4 km and Rs 10 for 0-6 km distances in public transport vehicles within the Kathmandu valley."The government has maintained the flag down rate for meter taxi at Rs 10 but one has to pay Rs 12 once a passenger steps into a public bus or minibus. This is not fare," said Himal Sharma, general secretary of ANNISU-R.The students have also demanded an end to the syndicate system in the transportation sector, which is virtually still existing.The unions have warned to continue protest programmes if the government remained indifferent to their demands until July 2, 2008.Meanwhile, Sharma said the minister and secretary of Ministry for Labour and Transport Management today met with the students to discuss on their demands."We agreed to form a task force under the leadership of Director General of Department of Transport Management to discuss over the demands of the students," Sharma said. The task force would include the representatives of both student unions and the transport entrepreneurs.According to Sharma a meeting would be called by DoTM after two days to discuss on the issues.

नेपालमा प्रधानमन्त्री कोइरालाद्वारा राजीनामा घोषणा

26 जुन, 2008 - नेपालको इतिहासकै निकै महत्वपूर्ण दुईवर्ष लामो कालखण्डमा सरकार र राष्ट्रको समेत नेतृत्व गरेका प्रधानमन्त्री गिरिजाप्रसाद कोइरालाले बिहीबार पदत्याग गरेको घोषणा गरेका छन्। गठबन्धन भित्रैबाट चर्को दवाव परेपछि उनले व्यवस्थापिका संसदको हैसियतमा बिहिवार बसेको संविधानसभाको बैठकमा त्यस्तो घोषणा गरेका हुन्। धेरै कुराबाट मुक्त भई आफू उपस्थित भएको बताउँदै कोइरालाले भने, "म यहींबाट प्रधानमन्त्रीको पदत्याग गरेको घोषणा गर्दछु।"प्रधानमन्त्रीले राष्ट्रपति समक्ष राजीनामा दिनुपर्ने संवैधानिक व्यवस्था छ। नेकपा माओवादीले नयाँ सरकार गठनको बाटो खोल्न कोइरालाको राजीनामा माग गर्दै आएको थियो। प्रधानमन्त्रीमाथि थप दवाव सृजना गर्न सत्तालिप्साको आरोप लगाउँदै केही दिन अघि माओवादीले सरकार समेत त्यागेको थियो। सहकार्य र सहमतिराजीनामा घोषणा गर्दै कोइरालाले माओवादीलाई सरकार गठनको पहल गर्न पुन: आग्रह गरेका थिए। नेपाली कांग्रस बाहेकलाई राष्ट्रपतिमा समर्थन गरिने नेकपा माओवादीको भनाईपछि दलहरू विभाजनकै संघारमा पुगेका छन्। माओवादीको त्यस्तो धारणापछि कांग्रेस प्रतिपक्षमा बस्ने खबरहरू आइरहेका बेला कोइरालाले भने आफूलाई सहमति सहकार्य र एकताको पक्षमै उभ्याए। अन्यथा देशको अस्तित्व नै संकटमा पर्ने उनको भनाई थियो।संविधानसभालाई सम्बोधन गर्दै उनले भने, "रक्तपात विहिन रुपमा संविधानसभाको चुनाव र राजतन्त्र अन्त्य गर्न सफल भयौं। आपसी एकताले गर्दा त्यो सम्भव भएको हो। देशको अस्तित्व जोगाउन पनि त्यो जरूरी छ।"

Woman killed by landmine near NA premises

ROLPA, June 24 - A woman was killed in an explosion in the landmine area surrounding the premises of the Nepal Army's Gorakh Battalion at Khumel VDC ward-5 in Rolpa district Tuesday morning.

Bhunti Gharti Magar of ward-5 had gone inside the mine area to cut grass when the fatal incident occurred at 8:45 am, police said. Police inspector Pawan Kumar Bhattarai said that the body was blasted away below the knees. She died on the spot.

The incident site is about an hour's walk from district headquarters Liwang.

Deaths climb in Mexico's drug war

MEXICO CITY, Mexico (CNN) -- The fight against narcotraffickers is showing good results, Mexican President Felipe Calderon said, a day after authorities linked 38 deaths nationwide to the drug war."We are truly hitting crime's operative structure," he said on Tuesday. "This is making it so that the gangs are fighting among themselves and that is causing the deaths that are occurring in the country. For example, of all the violent deaths that we have seen, 65 percent have been in two states -- in Chihuahua and Sinaloa."

On Monday, 21 people were killed in Chihuahua, apparently by drug traffickers. The dead included 18 found in the frontier town of Juarez alone. There is plenty at stake. Mexico has sized more cocaine and money from drug cartels than anywhere else in the world. In addition, authorities have recently seized some 16,000 arms, including more than 1,000 grenades.

Transport operators, govt reach agreement

KATHMANDU, June 24 - After 14 hours of marathon dialogue, the government and transporters agreed on Tuesday to increase transportation fares by 28 percent for long haul routes.A source present at the discussion said agitating transporters are all set to call off the indefinite nationwide transport strike following fresh understanding with the government.
According to the source, both sides agreed to set the fare at Rs 12 for up to 5 km for short haul buses and microbuses to be increased by Rs 1 for every additional kilometer."We have tentatively agreed to increase fares by 7.5 percent for Kathmandu Valley over the rate set by the government, while 3.5 percent will be raised for long and medium route fares set by the government previously," the source added.

However, the source said the government and transporters are yet to reach understanding on how to implement the student concession provided by the government.
They have also agreed to increase current taxi fare to Rs 23 to Rs 24. At present, the fare is Rs 20 per kilometer with the flag down rate.Both sides also agreed to create an effective mechanism to set new fare rates through scientific system within two months. They also have reached understanding on taking measures to discourage misuse of student concession.Transporters have been staging strike from Sunday demanding a 35 percent rise in transport fares, 10 percent more than the rate set by the government. The Ministry of Labor and Transport Management (MoLTM) last week decided to increase the fares on public transport by flat 25 percent, taking the two-year-old rate as the base.

Parties strike deal

The leaders of the ruling Seven-Party Alliance (SPA) on Tuesday agreed to elect the prime minister, the president and vice-president through a simple majority of the Constituent Assembly. They agreed to enforce all past agreements and pacts on peace within 15 days and manage the Maoist weapons and combatants within six months but decided to leave the task of new power-sharing in the hands of the newly elected CA.

$6 billion in aid to Pakistan poorly tracked

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The United States has not accurately tracked about $6 billion it gave to help the Pakistani government fight terrorism since 2001, according to a report released Tuesday.

Pakistan is the largest recipient of payments from the Coalition Support Funds, which gives money to 27 partner countries to help combat terrorism. The country, which the Department of Defense considers a key ally in the war on terrorism because of its proximity to large swaths of ungoverned tribal land, has received $5.56 billion of $6.88 billion given out since September 11, 2001.

But a report released Tuesday by the Government Accountability Office and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs said the Coalition Support Funds cannot prove that the money went to projects or operations specifically fighting terrorists.While calling the program critical to the war on terrorism, the GAO found numerous concerns about the accuracy of the Pakistani accounting. "As a result, we conclude that Defense cannot accurately determine how much of the $5.56 billion in costs reimbursed to Pakistan since 2001 were actually incurred," the report said.
The report drew ire from Congress, as some members said Pakistan is bilking the United States to "boost its conventional warfare capability," committee Chairman Howard L. Berman said.
The Department of Defense responded to the report by saying Pakistan has contributed significantly to the war on terrorism but acknowledged some problems tracking the money.

Oil gains nearly $2 on output fears

SINGAPORE (AP) -- Oil prices rose Tuesday, supported by concerns over supply disruptions out of Nigeria and new European Union sanctions against Iran.Investors are closely watching developments in Nigeria, but are not convinced that lost oil production in Africa's largest oil producer will resume anytime soon, analysts say.Royal Dutch Shell PLC said Thursday it cannot meet contractual obligations to export oil from a Nigerian oil field following a militant attack, and news reports say Chevron Corp. (CVX, Fortune 500) has been forced to shut down a Nigerian oil facility, also after a militant attack. Chevron's workers in Nigeria also reportedly walked off the job Monday after talks broke down.

"Markets are still concerned about oil supply, particularly after disruptions last week in Nigeria," said David Moore, a commodity strategist at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney.
U.S. crude for August delivery rose $1.48 to $138.22 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.38 to settle at $136.74 a barrel Monday.
The production outages in Nigeria appeared to overshadow Sunday's ceasefire declaration by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, or MEND, the largest militant group in Nigeria. Attacks by MEND have sliced about one quarter from Nigeria's normal oil daily oil output, helping buoy crude prices in international markets.

EU nations approved new sanctions Monday against Iran, imposing additional financial and travel restrictions on a list of Iranian companies and experts - including the country's largest bank. The 27-nation bloc stopped short of banning oil and gas exports from Iran, OPEC's second-largest producer, in response to its nuclear program plans.The crude futures market was also showing disappointment over Saudi Arabia's modest production increase announced Sunday at a meeting of oil producing and consuming nations. The kingdom said it would pump more crude oil this year if the market needs it, but its pledge fell far short of U.S. hopes for a larger increase.
"The Saudi hike in output that they announced on Sunday is not enough to cause prices to come down," said Victor Shum, an energy analyst with Purvin & Gertz in Singapore.
Saudi Arabia said it would add 200,000 barrels per day in July to a 300,000 barrel per day production increase it first announced in May, raising total daily output to 9.7 million barrels.
"There's a broader review, in the market, of whether the increase in Saudi output will be sufficient to meet the ongoing demand for oil, particularly from developing economies," Moore said.

In the U.S., Democratic members of Congress said Monday they intend to tighten investment restrictions on pension funds, investment banks and other large investors that they blame for driving up fuel prices. Investors have increasingly pumped money into contracts for oil and other commodities as a hedge against inflation when the dollar falls.Analysts said the oil market was also supported by tight fundamentals."It's not just speculators or just fundamentals," Shum said. "Global oil markets are at this time structurally tight, meaning demand keeps growing and supply is playing catch-up with demand. That has attracted speculators into oil," Shum said.
In other Nymex trading, heating oil futures added 1.36 cents to $3.81 a gallon while gasoline prices rose 0.36 cent to $3.4587 a gallon. Natural gas futures added 0.8 cent to $13.211 per 1,000 cubic feet.

MEN DIED IN AN EXPLOSION

Israel's army said it had killed a senior member of the Islamic Jihad militant group in the strike but could not confirm the second reported death. The militant, Tarek Jumea Abu Ali, 24, was wanted by Israel for instigating attacks, Israel's army said. Islamic Jihad had warned attacks on its militants in the West Bank could jeopardise a truce in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli army said the militant died in an exchange of fire, and that explosive devices and weapons were found in his flat. but neighbours say the two men died in an explosion

GJM PRESIDENT BIMAL GURUNG GOES ONLINE

Darjeeling Feb. 14: [Barun Roy] “I would like to request Gorkhas scattered all over the nation and abroad to come together and speak for Gorkhaland. This is not just a struggle of the people of Darjeeling Hills but a struggle of the entire Gorkha people world over. Please come forward in whatever way you can and support the Gorkhaland Movement. You can use mediums like online websites and internet, discuss and interact and create a unified voice for Gorkhaland,” speaking exclusive with this reporter, Bimal Gurung, President, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha said.
Going through the comments made on the website he said that it was good that people were interacting and voicing their opinions. “I am not angry with people who speak against me, tomorrow they will understand where the truth lies and then they will automatically support our struggle for Gorkhaland. I offer my best wishes to the readers and our friends and families all over the world,” GJM President said referring to the HB.

Bodies found in Philippine ferry

Rescue divers found bodies but no survivors as they began searching a capsized ferry in the Philippines, navy personnel say. The ferry, carrying more than 800 people, overturned on Saturday in high seas caused by Typhoon Fengshen. Fewer than 40 passengers and crew have been found alive, and officials fear most were trapped inside the vessel. Teams of divers who made their way inside the ship saw no signs of life, officials said. The ship is resting on the sea floor with the tip of its bow above water, just off Sibuyan Island. Divers said it was too dark inside to make out many details, navy spokesman Lt-Col Edgard Arevalo reported.

Maoist, UML agree on Security Council plan Kathmandu, June 23 - Following a walkout of the CPN-Maoist from the seven-party meeting on Sunday, the CPN-Maoist and CPN-UML on Monday reached an agreement not to have opposition party leader as a member in the Security Council. After the Nepali Congress stuck to its proposal of keeping opposition party leader as member of the Council, the CPN-Maoist had walked out of the seven-party meeting. Maoist party leaders had said that they would not go to Prime Minister’s residence for talks again and would opt for the constitutional process to find out a solution through the Constituent Assembly (CA). Senior leaders of both the parties including chairman Prachanda, leaders Dr. Baburam Bhattarai and Krishna Bahadur Mahara from the Maoist party and general secretary Jhalanath Khanal and leaders Madav Kumar Nepal and Amrit Bohara attended the meeting held at the parliamentary party office of the CPN-Maoist.Maoist leader Dr. Bhattarai said, "The seven-party consensus has been broken from Sunday because of NC’s greed for power. We will try to end the political stalemate through the CA."He accused Nepali Congress of sticking to power ignoring the nation’s serious situation. "We should expose the irresponsibility of NC," he added.
UML general secretary Khanal said, "We decided not to include opposition party in the Security Council since there is no practice of including opposition in the Council in a democratic country." There are other ways to include an opposition party in a democratic party.The two-party leaders had discussed contentious issues including future political course, operation of CA and legislature parliament and power sharing.As the major political parties are unable to reach a consensus on present political issues, the CA has no business except declaring the nation a republican.Meanwhile, NC vice president and Minister for Peace and Reconstruction Ram Chandra Paudel on Monday said, "The opposition party needs to be represented in the Council because the work of integrating Maoist combatants cannot be left only to the Maoist party as it still has rebel army."Addressing the 11th convention of National Teachers’ Union in Lalitpur, he accused the Maoists of trying to politicise the national army in the name of integration of Maoist combatants.