STMicroelectronics is planning to market a disposable laboratory microchip that can confirm within about an hour a human case of bird flu at a limited cost, the European chip maker said on Wednesday. The Franco-Italian group is developing a test that could be available to healthcare providers this autumn with Singapore-based medical diagnostics company Veredus Laboratories Pte Ltd. "To be available in time for the next flu season, the single-test application will be a substantial breakthrough in enabling rapid identification of the infectious agent to limit the spread of the disease and speed patients' treatment," STMicro said in a statement. ... http://abcnews.go.com censor News |
Editor - 09:21:00 01-18-06 |
High Court Ducks Major Abortion Ruling |
The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Wednesday that a lower court was wrong to strike down New Hampshire abortion restrictions, steering clear of a major ruling on whether such laws place an undue burden on women. The opinion (.pdf) was written by retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, a key swing voter at the court on abortion rights. Justices said a lower court went too far by permanently blocking the law that requires a parent to be told before a daughter ends her pregnancy. An appeals court must now reconsider the law, which requires that a parent be informed 48 hours before a minor child has an abortion but makes no exception for a medical emergency that threatens the youth's health. ... http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/01/18/supremecourt/main1217567.shtml?CMP=OTC-RSSFeed&source=RSS&attr=U.S._1217567
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Editor - 09:18:00 01-18-06 |
Tech Stocks, Japan Worry U.S. Market |
Disappointing tech sector earnings set off a second day of selling on Wall Street Wednesday as investors also worried about a massive tumble in Japan's market and rising oil prices. Earnings from Intel and Yahoo raised investors' anxiety about other companies' results during the first big week of quarterly reports. Meanwhile, crude oil futures remained well above $66 per barrel, an unusually high price for this time of year. Tokyo's stock markets closed early due to heavy trading volume, an unprecedented move, as the Nikkei 225 lost 2.94 percent for the session. The selloff moved to Europe, where the major indexes also dropped significantly. Japan's main stock market nose-dived for a second day Wednesday on investor jitters from "Livedoor shock," the widening criminal investigation at an Internet startup that has sparked a sell-off, especially in technology shares. ... http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/01/18/business/main1216999.shtml?CMP=OTC-RSSFeed&source=RSS&attr=World_1216999
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Editor - 09:14:00 01-18-06 |
EU under fire over human rights |
The EU is neglecting human rights in favour of securing trade deals or co-operation on anti-terror measures, a human rights group has said. In its annual report, Human Rights Watch said the UK in particular was ignoring abuses in Russia and Saudi Arabia to secure business contracts. And it accused the US of having a deliberate strategy of abusing terror suspects during interrogation. White House reassurances that it does not torture are deceptive, it said. President George W Bush "continues to offer deceptive reassurances that the United States does not 'torture' suspects, but that reassurance rang hollow", the report said. The country's resulting lack of credibility on human rights issues left "a global leadership void when it came to defending human rights". The 544-page annual report said 2005 was marked by a "continuing tendency to subordinate human rights to various economic and political interests". ... http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4624578.stm
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Editor - 09:10:00 01-18-06 |
Bolivian army chief fired over missile flap Chinese-made, shoulder-fired weapons were sent to U.S. for destruction |
Outgoing President Eduardo Rodriguez fired Bolivia’s army chief on Tuesday over his decision to have 28 Chinese shoulder-launched missiles destroyed in the United States.Gen. Marcelo Antezana later appeared on Bolivian television to say Rodriguez had made a “bad interpretation” of his role in the October destruction of the missiles, which led to accusations of treason by Evo Morales, then a presidential candidate.Morales — who later won elections in December — revealed the destruction of the missiles by the United States and said it had left Bolivia with almost no air defense.... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10774121/from/RSS/
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Editor - 09:07:00 01-18-06 |
U.S. announces $163M for Nigeria AIDS fight |
First lady Laura Bush announced Wednesday that Nigeria will receive $163 million in U.S. assistance to fight AIDS as she heard a young woman at a small AIDS clinic tell how medications helped her avoid death from the disease.Mrs. Bush, standing next to four cartons of anti-retroviral drugs, visited with health workers and AIDS patients at St. Mary’s Hospital on the dusty outskirts of the capital. The four boxes — enough to treat 500 people — is the first U.S.-backed shipment of the drugs St. Mary’s has received through President Bush’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.Mrs. Bush sat under shade tree to hear the stories of clinic workers and patients, including Toyin Yomi, 26, whose frail body was clad in a colorful navy dress and shawl. She tested positive for HIV in 1999 and started her first round of drug treatment in 2003.... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10891034/from/RSS/
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Editor - 09:05:00 01-18-06 |
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