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Israel rejects Jerusalem settlement halt on eve of Quartet
03/17 | 20:11 GMT
JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israel on Wednesday dismissed mounting pressure to stop building homes for Jewish settlers in annexed east Jerusalem, with Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman saying the demands were "unreasonable."
JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israel on Wednesday dismissed mounting pressure to stop building homes for Jewish settlers in annexed east Jerusalem, with Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman saying the demands were "unreasonable."
His comments came at a time when Israel and Washington seek to tone down a diplomatic row which erupted over new settlement plans announced last week while US Vice President Joe Biden was in the region to renew peace efforts.
"This demand to forbid Jews from building in east Jerusalem is totally unreasonable," Lieberman said at a joint news conference with visiting EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.
Related article: Abbas asks EU to press Israel
"I think that this demand, it comes, in many ways, as an opportunity for the international community to jump on Israel and apply pressure to Israel and to demand things that are unreasonable," the right-wing minister said.
On the eve of Middle East Quartet talks in Moscow, Israel and the Palestinians, meanwhile, continued to accuse each other of hampering the already hobbled peace process.
But Tensions eased in Jerusalem as Israel reopened the flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound one day after the Holy City saw the heaviest Palestinian rioting in years with dozens of police and protesters injured.
Israeli police, however, remained on high alert in and around the Old City where the mosque compound, the holiest site for Jews and the third holiest for Muslims, is located.
A few dozen Palestinian youths hurled rocks at security forces who responded by firing rubber-coated bullets in the Qalandia refugee camp in east Jerusalem, but the rest of the city was generally calm.
Later on Wednesday, violence flared up again at nearby Shuafat, where Palestinian youngsters stoned police who responded with "riot dispersal equipment," police spokesman Shmuel Ben-Ruby said, without elaborating.
He said there were no injuries or arrests.
Facts on the ground: Israel's Jewish settlements
In the coastal town of Jaffa, adjacent to Tel Aviv, Israeli Arabs protested in solidarity with their Jerusalem brethren, carrying signs reading "Free Palestine."
Local media reported that some of the demonstrators threw stones at city buses, but again without reports of injuries or arrests.
In the West Bank, medics said three people were wounded when Israeli troops fired rubber bullets at Palestinians hurling stones near Nablus, while the army sealed off several roads in and around Hebron after brief clashes in that city.
But Israel lifted the complete lockdown on the occupied West Bank it had imposed almost one week earlier.
In southern Israel, a rocket fired from the nearby Gaza Strip crashed into open ground, causing no casualties or property damage, the Israeli military said.
Tensions have also soared over the opening of a rebuilt 17th century synagogue in the Jewish quarter of the Old City, a few hundred metres (yards) from the mosque compound.
Israel's announcement of plans to build 1,600 new homes for Jewish settlers in mainly Arab east Jerusalem had already fuelled tension and sparked a row with the United States.
Washington, frustrated over a lack of progress in its peace brokering, reacted angrily to the announcement although senior US officials have since appeared eager to patch up relations.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke on Tuesday night with Biden, sources in his office said.
But Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was still waiting on Wednesday for a response from Netanyahu about the US complaints over settlements, the US State Department said after her departure from Washington headed for Russia.
Focus: 'New intifada unlikely'
With nightfall in Jerusalem and Clinton flying to a Middle East diplomatic Quartet meeting in Moscow on her US Air Force plane, which has nonetheless good phone connections, it was unclear if the call when the call would go ahead.
Israel and the Palestinians, meanwhile, did not appear to make any progress towards a resumption of peace negotiations that were halted at the outset of the December 2008-January 2009 Gaza war.
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Govt promises action over legal drug after teenager deaths
03/17 | 15:17 GMT
LONDON (AFP) - Senior minister Peter Mandelson said Wednesday that the government would examine the legality of the drug mephedrone "very speedily, very carefully," following the death of two teenagers who it is believed had taken the substance.
LONDON (AFP) - Senior minister Peter Mandelson said Wednesday that the government would examine the legality of the drug mephedrone "very speedily, very carefully," following the death of two teenagers who it is believed had taken the substance.
Louis Wainwright, 18, and Nicholas Smith, 19, both from Scunthorpe, were found dead at different addresses on Monday following a night out. Post-mortems are being carried out to discover the exact causes of death.
Business Secretary Mandelson said the government would "take any action that is needed to avert such tragic consequences occurring in the future."
Home Office minister Alan Campbell repeated the government's commitment.
"The ACMD (Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs) is considering mephedrone, and similar compounds, as a priority and is concerned about its potential harms," he said.
"The Home Secretary has discussed this in person with the chair and will be raising it again today.
"We are determined to act swiftly but it is important we consider independent expert advice to stop organised criminals exploiting loop holes by simply switching to a different but similar compound," he added.
Six other people needed hospital check-ups after taking the drug which is sold online as plant food and also goes by the names meow meow, mcat and bubble.
The deaths come a week after a secondary school in Leicestershire reported that 180 pupils had missed school after taking the drug, which can be bought for less than £10 a gram.
Dr David Wood, consultant clinical toxicologist at London's Guys and St Thomas's hospital, warned of the drug's effects.
"We know that it's a stimulant drug similar to cocaine, amphetamine or MDMA," he told BBC radio.
"We're already seeing patients coming in with significant acute effects like agitation, anxiety, fast heart rates and high blood pressure. There have been reports of patients having seizures and fits like epileptic fits."
Mr Smith's father, Tony, paid tribute to his son before issuing a warning to youngsters thinking of taking the drug.
"He was just on a night out with friends enjoying himself, a normal, caring, hard-working lad," he said.
"I just don't want any other family to go through this or any other kids to die because of this. He was 19, for God's sake."
UK News
Govt promises action over legal drug after teenager ...US launches new breast cancer treatment study
03/17 | 20:12 GMT
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Researchers launched a clinical study Wednesday to test new treatments for aggressive breast cancer in a rare alliance between the US government and five major drug companies.
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Researchers launched a clinical study Wednesday to test new treatments for aggressive breast cancer in a rare alliance between the US government and five major drug companies.
The new drugs may help boost survival rates for women diagnosed with this type of breast cancer which does not respond to the standard treatments, the Biomarkers Consortium said in a statement.
The trial, dubbed the I-SPY 2, will use genetic markers from the tumors of individual patients in a bid to screen the results to find the most promising treatments and determine which are the most effective.
"I-SPY 2 promises to leverage convergence of progress on a number of research fronts to speed the evaluation of promising new breast cancer drugs using molecular cancer biomarkers to identify those agents that are effective in specific subpopulations of breast cancer patients," said Anna Barker, deputy director of the National Cancer Institute.
"This will allow us to finally design advanced, smaller and less expensive Phase III trials that test the right drugs in the right patients," she added.
Phase III is the last testing stage before drugs are given final approval to be put on the market.
The consortium, which includes the US Food and Drug Administration as well as nearly 20 cancer research centers across the country, hopes to cut both the costs and time it takes to develop new drugs for the public.
At the moment it takes more than one billion dollars, 12 to 15 years of research and thousands of patient volunteers to get a single drug to market, the group said in its statement.
Five new experimental anti-cancer treatments which are being developed by three major pharmaceutical companies will be tested as part of the study, which is expected to cost 26 million dollars over five years.
The I-SPY 2 trial will focus on treatments in which patients receive chemotherapy to reduce tumor size before surgery.
"I-SPY 2 will provide a path to personalized medicine," said Laura Esserman, a breast cancer surgeon and researcher at the University of California, San Francisco.
"The collaborative power behind this trial is truly transformational for breast cancer patients and for cancer research as a whole," she added.
"We have set up a system where everyone can learn faster and, together, we can dramatically reduce the amount of time and the cost to bring those drugs to market that can make a difference in whether women live or die."
Among the treatments being studied are drugs developed by Abbott Laboratories, Amgen and Pfizer.
Health/Medicine
US launches new breast cancer treatment ...England rugby boss Johnson relishing France clash
03/17 | 16:22 GMT
BAGSHOT, England (AFP) - England manager Martin Johnson said playing at the Stade de France was "what it's all about" after naming the side he hopes will spoil France's Six Nations Grand Slam hopes on Wednesday.
BAGSHOT, England (AFP) - England manager Martin Johnson said playing at the Stade de France was "what it's all about" after naming the side he hopes will spoil France's Six Nations Grand Slam hopes on Wednesday.
France, the team of the tournament, come into Saturday's Paris finale on the back of a six-try thrashing of Italy with coach Marc Lievremont making just one, unforced, change in recalling giant centre Mathieu Bastareaud.
England's last match, by contrast, saw them fail to score a try in a dour 15-15 draw away to Scotland.
And Johnson, who has made six changes in all including dropping fly-half Jonny Wilkinson, now with French side Toulon, to the bench was still unsure Wednesday if captain Steve Borthwick would overcome a knee injury that threatens the lock's participation against 'Les Bleus'.
On current form, few would back against a French clean sweep on Saturday but England's last two matches against France in Paris, the 2007 World Cup semi-final and a 2008 24-13 Six Nations win, have ended in victory.
"It's a huge challenge to play in Paris but it's one we are all looking forward to," Johnson told reporters at England's training base here on Wednesday.
"France will be under pressure to win the Grand Slam. For us, it's time to front up.
"They've played very well and been the form team of the tournament.
"But this is not a nothing game for England. I said to the guys who haven't been there before this is big-time rugby.
"Under lights at the Stade is what it's all about."
Johnson, explaining his decision to drop Wilkinson - who went off four minutes into the second half of the Scotland draw because of a head knock - with Toby Flood, the fly-half's replacement at Murrayfield, said: "Jonny took a number of bangs and heavy blows.
"We need at least two players in every position and we would have been happy to pick Toby in every game so far.
"Toby's been an on-field general for us in the past two years. Ahead of a World Cup, he needs to play in that position over the next 18 months as well as Jonny.
"But Jonny is still a world-class player. If I thought Jonny was on the decline, I wouldn't have picked him for the last seven matches."
"The guys on the bench will be playing in the last quarter and that's the most important quarter of the game. I'm sure Jonny will be disappointed he's not starting but he's a team player."
England recalled Mike Tindall - who played in the 2003 World Cup-winning team captained by Johnson - and dropped less imposing centre Mathew Tait in what appeared an attempt to counter the power of Bastareaud.
However, England defence coach Mike Ford insisted: "It's not just Mike's job to stop Bastareaud.
"They (France) have put Bastareaud in to bolster their backline but he's got two good half-backs in front of him in Morgan Parra and Francois Trinh-Duc.
"But we are confident we can stand up to them. They are not doing anything special but they are doing the basics well."
Johnson, turning to Borthwick, said: "There was something showing on the scan. We've put him in a brace and he'll be re-assessed on Thursday.
"I don't think it will unsettle the guys," insisted Johnson, who added he had a stand-in skipper in mind without naming the new potential captain."
After seeing two specialists, Borthwick said: "One was more positive than the other. We want to deal in a black and white world.
"But in medicine things aren't black and white."
As for France, Johnson said: "If you let then offload the ball to deep runners, that's the traditional nightmare. They do it better than anyone when they are on-song."
Asked how England might surprise France, Johnson replied: "We need to execute better. Maybe that will surprise them."
