| Horsemeat has been found in France in a shipment of 320 tonnes of meat labeled "pure beef" that was imported from eastern Europe via the Netherlands, a local prosecutor said on Friday. The horsemeat, found during tests in the southeastern city of Cavaillon in meat intended for use in ready-made meals, was the latest in a scandal that has spread across Europe since equine DNA was found in beef products in Ireland in January. "The tests, carried out three weeks ago, have shown the presence of horsemeat in most batches," Vaucluse prosecutor Yannick Blanc told Reuters. The meat came from various eastern European countries and transited through the warehouses of Dutch companies Draap Trading and Windmeijer Meat Trading, the prosecutor said. The firms could not immediately be reached for comment. Last month, after a senior Romanian food safety official identified Draap Trading as a buyer of horsemeat from Romania, a lawyer for Draap official Jan Fasen denied all allegations, including of being a major player in a fraud network. No horsemeat was found in one batch that came directly from Romania without going through the Netherlands, Blanc said. A spokesman from the Dutch food safety authority declined to comment about the specific case but said there was a continuing investigation to trace the supply chain for beef potentially containing horsemeat, imported to the Netherlands and then re-exported to France. French President Francois Hollande called last month for compulsory labeling and traceability of meat used in processed foods in Europe to prevent a repeat of the horsemeat scandal. |
France finds horsemeat in beef imported via Netherlands
Device keeps liver "alive" outside body in medical first
| A donated human liver has been kept alive, warm and functioning outside a human being on a newly-developed machine and then successfully transplanted into patients in a medical world first. A British team of doctors, engineers and surgeons announcing the achievement on Friday said it could be common practice in hospitals across the developed world within a few years, up to doubling the number of livers available for transplant. So far the procedure has been performed on two patients on Britain's liver transplant waiting list and both are making excellent recoveries, the medical team told a news conference. "It was astounding to see an initially cold, grey liver flushing with color once hooked up to our machine and performing as it would within the body," said Constantin Coussios, a professor of biomedical engineering at Oxford University and one of the machine's co-inventors. "What was even more amazing was to see the same liver transplanted into a patient who is now walking around." Currently livers destined for transplant are kept "on ice" in a process which cools them to slow down their metabolism and does not keep them functioning as they would inside a body. This system has worked for several decades, but can also often lead to livers becoming damaged and rendered unfit for use in patients who need them. Surgeons say keeping livers "on ice" beyond 14 hours starts becoming risky, although they can last up to 20 hours. Hepatitis infection, alcohol abuse and drug-induced cholestasis - a blockage in the flow of bile from the liver - can all cause liver failure. Some patients with liver cancer can also benefit from a transplant. Around 13,000 liver transplants are carried out each year in Europe and the United States, but there is a combined waiting list of around 30,000 patients who need a new liver. Experts say up to a quarter of these patients die while they are waiting. At the same time, more than 2,000 livers are discarded every year because they are either damaged by oxygen deprivation or do not survive the cold preservation process. The new technology, developed by Coussios together with Peter Friend, director of the Oxford Transplant Centre, preserves the liver at body temperature and "perfuses" it - supplying it with oxygenated red blood cells to keep it alive. "This device is the very first completely automated liver perfusion device of its kind," Coussios said. "These first clinical cases confirm that we can support human livers outside the body, keep them alive and functioning on our machine and then, hours later, successfully transplant them into a patient." "I FEEL SO ALIVE" The device can keep a liver functioning normally - just as if in a person, with blood circulating through its capillaries and bile being produced - outside the body for 24 hours or more. The results from the first two transplants using the new technology, carried out at King's College Hospital (KCH) in London last month, suggest the device could be useful for all patients needing liver transplants, Field told reporters. The new device could also mean livers which would otherwise be discarded as unfit for transplantation could be preserved and made viable - potentially as much as doubling the number of organs available for transplant, he said. "If we can introduce technology like this into everyday practice, it could be a real, bona fide game changer for transplantation as we know it," said Nigel Heaton, director of transplant surgery at KCH and part of the team that carried out the first two transplants using the device. Coussios and Friend have been researching the technology for the device since 1994 and are developing it through an Oxford University spin-off company called OrganOx. The first person to receive a transplanted liver kept alive on the OrganOx system was 62-year-old Briton Ian Christie. He is still recovering from the surgery but said in a statement he was getting better day by day. "I just feel so alive," he said. Christie was told last year he had cirrhosis of the liver and had only 12 to 18 months to live unless he got a transplant. "I was placed on the waiting list but...I was very worried." Having been through the surgery, he said: "I feel better than I've felt for 10 to 15 years, even allowing for the pain and wound that's got to heal." The team now plans to run a pilot trial with 20 more liver transplant patients at KCH. Coussios said successful results of that trial would allow OrganOx to apply for marketing authority, meaning the device could be on the market by as early as 2014. |
ICRC asks world to press Syrian combatants to halt abuses
| The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) appealed to foreign powers on Friday to press combatants in Syria to halt attacks on civilians and aid workers, saying all sides were violating the Geneva Conventions. "Many atrocities against civilians have been reported or witnessed over the past two years and we have also seen indiscriminate attacks against civilians and the targeting of health-care personnel and aid workers," said Robert Mardini, head of ICRC operations for the Near and Middle East. States should "play a positive role by exerting stronger influence on those involved to secure greater respect for international humanitarian law", Mardini said. "These ongoing violations of international humanitarian law and of basic humanitarian principles by all sides must stop," he declared, saying no end to civilian suffering was in sight. The ICRC's appeal on the second anniversary of the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad was the first time the independent agency had asked outside powers to help create conditions in which aid could reach needy civilians promptly. Mardini said that hundreds of people were dying every day in Syria and tens of thousands were missing or detained. He again appealed for access to government-held prisoners. An ICRC program to visit such detainees to monitor their conditions and prevent mistreatment, has stalled since May after just two visits to central prisons in Damascus and Aleppo. The Geneva Conventions lay down the rules of armed conflict, including treatment of civilians and prisoners of war. ICRC aid workers, working across the front-lines since the conflict erupted, have delivered aid to some of the hardest-hit areas controlled by both sides, the agency said. The ICRC issued its message hours before France and Britain were expected to urge European Union governments to lift an embargo on supplying weapons to Syrian rebels. Assad's forces still control central Damascus and large parts of the cities of Homs, Hama and Aleppo to the north. But they have lost swathes of territory in the rural north and most of the eastern towns and cities along the Euphrates River. United Nations investigators said on Monday that the Syrian government has stepped up indiscriminate, heavy bombardments of cities while rebels are executing prisoners condemned in their own makeshift courts without due process. Some 4 million people in Syria need assistance, including an estimated 2.5 million displaced from their homes and staying mainly in squalid public shelters, the United Nations says. The World Food Programme said on Friday it faced "severe challenges" in expanding its emergency operation, which distributed rations to 1.7 million people in Syria in February. The U.N. agency aims to reach 2.5 million in Syria by April as well as one million refugees in neighboring countries. |
Iran, Russia, Vatican threaten to derail U.N. women's rights appeal
| An "unholy alliance" of Iran, Russia, the Vatican and others is threatening to derail a U.N. declaration urging an end to violence against women and girls by objecting to language on sexual, reproductive and gay rights, some U.N. diplomats said Wednesday. Delegates to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women are racing to reach a consensus deal on a final document by Friday and some diplomats say the future of the commission - a global policy-making body created in 1946 for the advancement of women - is at risk if they fail to broker a compromise. "There's this sort of unholy alliance ... coming together to oppose language on sexual health, reproductive rights and LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) rights," one senior U.N. diplomat said. "It's tough going, but progress is being made." "People recognize that if there's a failure again this year to get an outcome document, then the whole future of the status of women commission is at risk," he said on condition of anonymity because negotiations are still underway. Russia, the Vatican, Iran and other conservative Muslim states including Egypt, object to references to access to emergency contraception, abortion and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, women's rights activists said. Last year, disagreements over similar issues prevented the commission from agreeing on a declaration of a theme of empowering rural women. Michelle Bachelet, a former president of Chile and head of U.N. Women, which supports the commission, described last year's impasse as "deeply regrettable" and disappointing. Diplomats say key sticking points in this year's draft text again revolve around sexual and reproductive rights, the inclusion of gay rights and an amendment proposed by Egypt that would allow countries to avoid implementing recommendations if they clashed with national laws, religious or cultural values. "It's still a big fight," said one U.N. diplomat involved in negotiations and speaking on the condition of anonymity, adding that language on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights of women was unlikely to be included in a final document. CULTURAL TRADITION Egypt's amendment to recognize states' sovereign rights in implementing the commission's recommendations was made on behalf of the African group of nations, although diplomats say several African countries distanced themselves from the proposal. Some diplomats and rights activists said the Egypt amendment undermines the entire declaration by allowing states to ignore calls to end cultural and religious practices, such as female genital mutilation. Western human rights advocates say the idea of cultural tradition is often used to justify abuse of women. "There's also an amendment that Russia has put forward about how unilateral sanctions are promoting violence against women, which strikes us as a bit of a stretch and it's slightly out of place," the senior U.N. diplomat said. The reference to unilateral sanctions appeared to be in relation to U.S. and EU sanctions against Iran and Syria. Russia's difficulties with language on sexual, reproductive and gay rights appears to be driven by what critics have described as a bid by President Vladimir Putin to shore up support in his country's largely conservative society. Putin has criticized gays for failing to help reverse a population decline. Putin has also drawn closer to the Russian Orthodox Church, one of the most influential institutions in Russia. Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University and a special adviser to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, also recently cited low birth rates in Russia and Iran as one possible reason for their stance on reproductive rights. Another senior U.N. diplomat predicted that a watered down document would likely be agreed by Friday to "save face." Shannon Kowalski, director of advocacy and policy at the International Women's Health Coalition, said prominent cases of violence against women, such as the shooting of a Pakistani schoolgirl and education advocate and the gang rape of a young woman in India, has mobilized women around the world. "Countries can't go back home and look women in the eye and tell them they could not reach agreement on ending violence against women," said Kowalski, who has been following the negotiations. "There's a lot of pressure here to have a strong agreement." |
Quality of Ovarian Cancer Treatment Varies Widely
| The city of Los Angeles hosted the annual meeting of the Society of Gynecologic Oncology , held Saturday through Tuesday. A variety of topics was presented by clinicians and researchers in the field of gynecologic cancers, with one resonating not only among the conference's attendees, but also with the general public -- that of the varying degrees of the quality of treatment provided for ovarian cancer. Study Results Presented on Quality, Outcome of Ovarian Cancer Treatment Robert Bristow, M.B.A., M.D. , of the University of California, Irvine, presented the results of his research team's findings on Monday , explaining that of the more than 13,000 women with epithelial ovarian cancer listed on the California Cancer Registry from 1999 to 2006, only 37 percent received treatment that adhered to the guidelines of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network , NCCN, the gold standard for best treatment. Responding to the study's findings, Deborah Armstrong, M.D. , of Johns Hopkins University and an oncology specialist, told the New York Times that if most women weren't receiving best care for survival in breast cancer treatment, there would be much public backlash. Ovarian cancer, Armstrong explained, has a smaller advocacy community, likely because many women diagnosed with ovarian cancer are a little older, a little sicker, and less likely to advocate for themselves and others. What Affected the Treatment Quality for Ovarian Cancer Patients? Bristow's study pointed to two major factors that determined whether patients with ovarian cancer received treatment according to NCCN protocols or something less: Surgeons who operated on 10 or more women a year for ovarian cancer, and hospitals that treated 20 or more women with ovarian cancer each year were more likely to adhere to the NCCN guidelines -- and more likely to live longer. Why Are the NCCN Guidelines so Important in Ovarian Cancer Treatment? Ovarian cancer is the fifth-leading cause of cancer deaths among women, and the most deadly of all the gynecologic cancers, according to the National Cancer Institute . Fortunately, the incidence of the disease is low, with a lifetime risk factor of 1.38 percent. Unfortunately, for the majority of women diagnosed with ovarian cancer -- approximately 85 percent -- the disease has already spread beyond the ovaries. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 90 percent of women diagnosed with ovarian cancer are over the age of 40, with most women first diagnosed at age 55 or older. Combine the fact that by age 40 and over, some women also have other chronic conditions with the fact that ovarian cancer has such a high mortality rate and it becomes easy to see why prompt and correct treatment of the diagnosed disease is vital. The NCCN guidelines are evidence-based guidelines developed by an alliance of 21 major cancer centers with an expert panel that comb through research and recommend treatments. In the case of ovarian cancer, the surgical procedures and chemotherapy regimen are given, based on the stage of the disease. Bottom Line Who you choose to provide treatment, both surgical and in chemotherapy, makes a big difference in the success of your ovarian cancer treatment. Ask prospective doctors and surgeons if they follow NCCN guidelines. If circumstances permit, choose a gynecologic oncologist and a hospital or treatment center that has regular experience with treating this disease. As Bristow's study results show, the quality of your life and its longevity depend on your wise choices. |
BHP Billiton faces corruption probe over Beijing Olympics
| The U.S. government is investigating top global miner BHP Billiton Ltd for possible corrupt practices, the company confirmed, after media reports said it was being probed for its sponsorship of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Australia's Fairfax Media reported that the U.S. Department of Justice and the Australian Federal Police (AFP) were investigating allegations that BHP provided inducements, hospitality and gifts to Chinese and other foreign officials. The U.S. Justice Department told Fairfax, in response to a freedom of information request, it was conducting "law enforcement proceedings" involving BHP, which supplied the materials for gold, silver and bronze medals used in Beijing. The Department of Justice declined to comment after U.S. office hours on Tuesday. Australian police confirmed they had been working with foreign counterparts and local regulators on Australian aspects of the U.S. investigation, without providing further details. BHP said it had been cooperating with "relevant authorities", and in response to media queries said it believed it had complied with all applicable laws in regards to its Olympics sponsorship. "BHP Billiton is fully committed to operating with integrity and the Group's policies specifically prohibit engaging in bribery in all its forms," BHP said in an emailed statement. The world's biggest mining company has been under investigation for possible corrupt practices since at least 2009, disclosing in 2010 that it had uncovered possible violations of some anti-corruption laws. BHP said on Wednesday it could not comment on whether that investigation had been expanded or whether the probe referred to on Wednesday was separate. Fairfax reported that between 2000 and 2008, BHP spent millions of dollars on a major Olympics sponsorship deal and hospitality package which according to a former China staffer involved more than 170 VIPs, including senior government officials and Chinese steel and mineral company CEOs. Unlike most major consumer-focused sponsors, BHP's involvement at the 2008 Beijing Olympics was targeted mostly at its close circle of Chinese buyers and employees. "Most sponsorships focus on media buys and advertising. We've done almost none," Maria McCarthy, the head of BHP's Olympic sponsorship team, told Reuters in March 2008. "Instead, we are focusing on community leveraging, stakeholder leveraging that involves governments and customers, and our staff," she said. A former BHP employee involved in the Olympics arrangements told Reuters the company had gone out of its way to comply with Australian rules and should have extensive documentation to share with investigators, if needed. Fairfax Media said the officials BHP entertained included junior executives from China's biggest listed steelmaker, Baosteel . However the former BHP employee said Baosteel had specifically refused invitations from BHP during the Olympics, as the steel maker was the lead negotiator on iron ore contract talks and wanted to make a point that it was arms-length from the big iron ore miners. At the time, BHP was championing market pricing for iron ore from annual contracts, a move that drew an angry response from Chinese steel mills forced to pay much more for raw materials as demand soared. BHP was not one of the 12 sponsors in the International Olympic Committee's elite "TOP" program - companies such as Coca Cola, Adidas, McDonalds and Johnson & Johnson who paid for the right to market themselves worldwide as partners. The miner was instead a local sponsor, as it had been for the 2000 Games in Sydney, paying Beijing organizers an undisclosed amount of money and providing materials for the 6,000 or so medals required for the Olympics and Paralympics. In 2010, after receiving questions from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, BHP said it had discovered possible violations of anti-corruption laws mainly related to some exploration projects that it had already terminated at the time. It said then that the SEC's requests for information did not relate to any activity in China or any of BHP's sales and marketing activities. |
Financial info on celebs, officials leaked online
| Authorities and celebrities were grappling Monday with how to respond to a website that posted what appears to be private financial information about top government officials and stars such as Jay-Z and Mel Gibson. Los Angeles police said they were investigating how the Social Security number, address and a credit report of the police chief ended up on the site. The site also posted the same information about FBI Director Robert Mueller; the bureau said it was aware of the site but declined to say whether it was investigating. The site also targeted stars such as Beyonce, Ashton Kutcher, Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton. Info posted about Vice President Joe Biden and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton did not include credit reports but included addresses and other sensitive information. Social Security numbers posted on Gibson, Jay-Z and others matched records in public databases. The site, which bears an Internet suffix originally assigned to the Soviet Union, expanded throughout the day Monday to add entries on Britney Spears, former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and others. It did not state how the information was obtained or why the 11 people targeted on the site were selected, describing the records only as "secret files." A Twitter profile linked to the site and created after its existence was first reported by celebrity website TMZ included an anti-police message in Russian. Several of the purported credit reports appear to have been generated last week. Representatives for each person targeted either declined to comment on the accuracy of the information that was posted, or they did not return messages seeking comment. Los Angeles police Cmdr. Andrew Smith said the LAPD was investigating the posting of Beck's information and would also investigate the posting of info on any celebrities who live in the city. He said confidential information on top police officials has been posted online at least twice before. "People get mad at us, go on the Internet and try to find information about us, and post it all on one site," Smith said. "The best word I can use to describe it is creepy," he said about the practice known as doxxing. "It's a creepy thing to do." Frank Preciado, assistant officer in charge at the LAPD online section, said the postings are also illegal. He said the information was likely taken from what is supposed to be a secure database of city employees. Several of the pages featured unflattering pictures of the celebrities or government officials whose information was posted. The site's page on Beck includes a taunting reference to former officer Christopher Dorner, who apparently committed suicide after he killed four people during a multi-day rampage. Beck's page included the message "(hash)YouCantCornerTheDorner" and an image of a woman protesting police corruption. While government officials often have to disclose details on their finances — and celebrity divorces sometimes feature public financial data — the information posted online exceeds those disclosures. Social Security numbers are rarely included in public records anymore because they can be used for identity theft. |
