SINGAPORE : Singapore Airlines (SIA) has firmed up an order for 25 more widebody aircraft from Airbus.
Five of the aircraft are the A380.
SIA has placed three consecutive orders for the A380, making it the second largest customer of the A380, and now has 19 such aircraft in service.
The remaining 20 aircraft are in the mid-size category - the A350-900s, which will be used on medium- and long-haul routes.
- CNA/ms
On Thursday, the Osmania Univesity (OU) police issued notices to four local TV channels for airing the Nizamabad and Nirmal speeches of Akbaruddin.
On the directions of a local court, the OU police had earlier this week booked a case against Akbaruddin under section 153-A (Promoting enmity between different groups) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for his hate speeches delivered in Nirmal and Nizamabad in December, 2012.
As part of the investigation, the OU police on Thursday issued notices to managing directors of 4TV, Ruby TV, Urdu TV and MQ TV under section 91/160 of the CrPC asking them to produce material evidence in relation to the speeches delivered by the MIM MLA and also ensure camera persons and reporters, who had covered the event, to appear before the investigating officer to record their statement.
The OU police have specifically asked managements of these TV channels to get a copy of licence issued to them by the competent authority. They have also asked the TV channels to produce unedited video footage of Akbaruddin's speeches aired live by them.
According to sources, police would first verify licence of the TV channels and then record statements of the reporters and camera crew who had covered public meetings in Nirmal and Nizamabad.
"The reporters and cameramen can be made witnesses," an OU police officer said. The statements of these persons along with their cell phone location on the day of the event plus video footage could be used as solid evidence to prove that Akbaruddin had indeed delivered those 'hate speeches', the source said.
According to a senior police officer, cases could also be booked against the TV channels for airing such inflammatory speeches under section 505 (False statement, rumour, etc, circulated with intent to cause mutiny or offence against public peace or ill will between difference classes) of the IPC and The Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act.
Subsequently, police are also planning to record the statements of gunmen and driver of the bullet-proof vehicle provided to Akbaruddin to substantiate evidence against him.
After recording the statements of these TV channel employees and obtaining unedited footage, the OU police are planning to file a Prisoner Transit (PT) warrant in court to arrest Akbaruddin.
NEW YORK (AP) — From the Rocky Mountains to New England, hospitals are swamped with people with flu symptoms. Some medical centers are turning away visitors or making them wear face masks, and one Pennsylvania hospital set up a tent outside its ER to deal with the feverish patients.
Flu season in the U.S. has struck early and, in many places, hard.
While flu normally doesn't blanket the country until late January or February, it is already widespread in more than 40 states, with about 30 of them reporting some major hot spots. On Thursday, health officials blamed the flu for the deaths of 20 children so far.
Whether this will be considered a bad season by the time it has run its course in the spring remains to be seen.
"Those of us with gray hair have seen worse," said Dr. William Schaffner, a flu expert at Vanderbilt University in Nashville.
The evidence so far points to a moderate season, Schaffner and others say. It looks bad in part because last year was unusually mild and because the main strain of influenza circulating this year tends to make people sicker and really lay them low.
David Smythe of New York City saw it happen to his 50-year-old girlfriend, who has been knocked out for about two weeks. "She's been in bed. She can't even get up," he said.
Also, the flu's early arrival coincided with spikes in a variety of other viruses, including a childhood malady that mimics flu and a new norovirus that causes vomiting and diarrhea, or what is commonly known as "stomach flu." So what people are calling the flu may, in fact, be something else.
"There may be more of an overlap than we normally see," said Dr. Joseph Bresee, who tracks the flu for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Most people don't undergo lab tests to confirm flu, and the symptoms are so similar that it can be hard to distinguish flu from other viruses, or even a cold. Over the holidays, 250 people were sickened at a Mormon missionary training center in Utah, but the culprit turned out to be a norovirus, not the flu.
Flu is a major contributor, though, to what's going on.
"I'd say 75 percent," said Dr. Dan Surdam, head of the emergency department at Cheyenne Regional Medical Center, Wyoming's largest hospital. The 17-bed emergency room saw its busiest day ever last week, with 166 visitors.
The early onslaught has resulted in a spike in hospitalizations. To deal with the influx and protect other patients from getting sick, hospitals are restricting visits from children, requiring family members to wear masks and banning anyone with flu symptoms from maternity wards.
One hospital in Allentown, Pa., set up a tent this week for a steady stream of patients with flu symptoms. But so far "what we're seeing is a typical flu season," said Terry Burger, director of infection control and prevention for the hospital, Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest.
On Wednesday, Boston declared a public health emergency, with the city's hospitals counting about 1,500 emergency room visits since December by people with flu-like symptoms.
All the flu activity has led some to question whether this year's flu shot is working. While health officials are still analyzing the vaccine, early indications are that it's about 60 percent effective, which is in line with what's been seen in other years.
The vaccine is reformulated each year, based on experts' best guess of which strains of the virus will predominate. This year's vaccine is well-matched to what's going around. The government estimates that between a third and half of Americans have gotten the vaccine.
In New York City, 57-year-old Judith Quinones skipped getting a flu shot this season and suffered her worst case of flu-like illness in years. She was laid up for nearly a month with fever and body aches. "I just couldn't function," she said.
But her daughter got the vaccine. "And she got sick twice," Quinones said.
Europe is also suffering an early flu season, though a milder strain predominates there. Flu reports are up, too, in China, Japan, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, Algeria and the Republic of Congo. Britain has seen a surge in cases of norovirus.
On average, about 24,000 Americans die each flu season, according to the CDC. That's an estimate — the agency does not keep a running tally of adult flu deaths each year, only for children. Some state health departments do keep count, and they've reported dozens of flu deaths so far.
Flu usually peaks in midwinter. Symptoms can include fever, cough, runny nose, head and body aches and fatigue. Some people also suffer vomiting and diarrhea, and some develop pneumonia or other severe complications.
Most people with flu have a mild illness and can help themselves and protect others by staying home and resting. But people with severe symptoms should see a doctor. They may be given antiviral drugs or other medications to ease symptoms.
Flu vaccinations are recommended for everyone 6 months or older. Of the 20 children killed by the flu this season, only two were fully vaccinated.
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AP Medical Writer Maria Cheng in London contributed to this report.
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Online:
CDC flu: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/index.htm
Jan 10, 2013 8:45pm
(Arapahoe County Sheriff/AP Photo)
In a ruling that comes as little surprise, the judge overseeing the Aurora, Colo., theater massacre has ordered that there is enough evidence against James Holmes to proceed to a trial.
In an order posted late Thursday, Judge William Sylvester wrote that “the People have carried their burden of proof and have established that there is probable cause to believe that Defendant committed the crimes charged.”
The ruling came after a three-day preliminary hearing this week that revealed new details about how Holmes allegedly planned for and carried out the movie theater shooting, including how investigators say he amassed an arsenal of guns and ammunition, how he booby-trapped his apartment to explode, and his bizarre behavior after his arrest.
PHOTOS: Colorado ‘Dark Knight Rises’ Theater Shooting
Holmes is charged with 166 counts, including murder, attempted murder and other charges related to the July 20 shooting that left 12 people dead and 58 wounded by gunfire. An additional 12 people suffered non-gunshot injuries.
One of the next legal steps is an arraignment, at which Holmes will enter a plea. The arraignment was originally expected to take place Friday morning.
Judge Sylvester indicated through a court spokesman that he would allow television and still cameras into the courtroom, providing the outside world the first images of Holmes since a July 23 hearing. Plans for cameras in court, however, were put on hold Thursday afternoon.
“The defense has notified the district attorney that it is not prepared to proceed to arraignment in this case by Friday,” wrote public defenders Daniel King, Tamara Brady and Kristen Nelson Thursday afternoon in a document objecting to cameras in court.
A hearing in the case will still take place Friday morning. In his order, Judge Sylvester said it should technically be considered an arraignment, but noted the defense has requested a continuance. Legal experts expect the judge will grant the continuance, delaying the arraignment and keeping cameras out of court for now.
Sylvester also ordered that Holmes be held without bail.
Holmes’ attorneys have said in court that the former University of Colorado neuroscience student is mentally ill. The district attorney overseeing the case has not yet announced whether Holmes, now 25, can face the death penalty.
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - A short-range ballistic missile was fired inside Syria on Wednesday, following similar launches last week, a NATO official said on Thursday.
The official condemned as "reckless" the missile launches, which U.S. officials called an escalation of the 21-month-old Syrian civil war when their use was first spotted last month.
"The use of such indiscriminate weapons shows utter disregard for the lives of the Syrian people," he said.
The official said NATO had detected the launch of an unguided, short-range ballistic missile inside Syria on Wednesday, following similar launches on January 2 and 3. All the missiles were fired from inside Syria and landed in northern Syria, he said.
The description of the missiles fits the Scuds that are in the Syrian military's armory, but the official said NATO could not confirm the type of missile used.
The NATO official was responding to a report from a Syrian opposition activist living near the Qaldoun army base, 50 km (30 miles) north of Damascus, who said four large rockets, apparently Scuds, were fired from the base overnight.
NATO has agreed to send Patriot anti-missile batteries to protect its member Turkey from possible missile attack from Syria.
(Reporting by Adrian Croft; editing by Rex Merrifield and Sebastian Moffett)
SINGAPORE: Some 58,000 commuters were affected on Thursday when train services between HarbourFront and Dhoby Ghaut stations on the North East Line (NEL) were disrupted for six-and-a-half hours.
Rail operator SBS Transit said the disruption was traced to three broken U-shaped bolts between the HarbourFront and Outram Park stations, resulting in a power trip.
The fault is similar to one that had occurred in last August in the same tunnel section.
The stainless steel U-bolts in question were checked following the August incident and found to be in good working condition.
SBS Transit has decided to replace all U-bolts in the tunnel, starting with the section between HarbourFront and Outram Park stations.
This initial section contains about 1,900 U-bolts and is expected to take about three months for the replacement to be completed.
SBS Transit said it is working with the Land Transport Authority to review and examine all possible causes and contributory factors to the recent incidents.
Commuters were first alerted to the train disruption at about 10am on Thursday.
In addition to signboards, SBS staff wearing "Goodwill Ambassador" were also on the ground to advise and direct commuters on where to go.
Shuttle services were activated at designated bus stops at around 10.30am to provide free bus rides.
Commuters were informed at around 12.30pm that train services would resume in the late afternoon.
And shortly after 4.30pm, the full NEL service was up and running.
This is not the first time the NEL has been disrupted.
On December 20 last year, some 26,000 commuters were affected by a train fault.
- CNA/fa
"There has been an increase in ceasefire violations by Pakistan and in infiltration attempts in 2012 over 2011," Menon said at a media briefing, adding that they have taken it up with Pakistani authorities.
Two Indian soldiers were killed and beheaded by Pakistani soldiers on Tuesday in Poonch district — in the worst violation of the ceasefire that is in place since 2003 on the Line of Control (LoC) that divides Jammu and Kashmir between India and Pakistan.
Pakistan high commissioner Salman Bashir was summoned by foreign secretary Ranjan Mathai on Wednesday and a strong protest lodged.
WASHINGTON (AP) — For years, doctors have lamented that there's no Pap test for deadly ovarian cancer. Wednesday, scientists reported encouraging signs that one day, there might be.
Researchers are trying to retool the Pap, a test for cervical cancer that millions of women get, so that it could spot early signs of other gynecologic cancers, too.
How? It turns out that cells can flake off of tumors in the ovaries or the lining of the uterus, and float down to rest in the cervix, where Pap tests are performed. These cells are too rare to recognize under the microscope. But researchers from Johns Hopkins University used some sophisticated DNA testing on the Pap samples to uncover the evidence — gene mutations that show cancer is present.
In a pilot study, they analyzed Pap smears from 46 women who already were diagnosed with either ovarian or endometrial cancer. The new technique found all the endometrial cancers and 41 percent of the ovarian tumors, the team reported Wednesday in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
This is very early-stage research, and women shouldn't expect any change in their routine Paps. It will take years of additional testing to prove if the so-called PapGene technique really could work as a screening tool, used to spot cancer in women who thought they were healthy.
"Now the hard work begins," said Hopkins oncologist Dr. Luis Diaz, whose team is collecting hundreds of additional Pap samples for more study and is exploring ways to enhance the detection of ovarian cancer.
But if it ultimately pans out, "the neat part about this is, the patient won't feel anything different," and the Pap wouldn't be performed differently, Diaz added. The extra work would come in a lab.
The gene-based technique marks a new approach toward cancer screening, and specialists are watching closely.
"This is very encouraging, and it shows great potential," said American Cancer Society genetics expert Michael Melner.
"We are a long way from being able to see any impact on our patients," cautioned Dr. Shannon Westin of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. She reviewed the research in an accompanying editorial, and said the ovarian cancer detection would need improvement if the test is to work.
But she noted that ovarian cancer has poor survival rates because it's rarely caught early. "If this screening test could identify ovarian cancer at an early stage, there would be a profound impact on patient outcomes and mortality," Westin said.
More than 22,000 U.S. women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer each year, and more than 15,000 die. Symptoms such as pain and bloating seldom are obvious until the cancer is more advanced, and numerous attempts at screening tests have failed.
Endometrial cancer affects about 47,000 women a year, and kills about 8,000. There is no screening test for it either, but most women are diagnosed early because of postmenopausal bleeding.
The Hopkins research piggybacks on one of the most successful cancer screening tools, the Pap, and a newer technology used along with it. With a standard Pap, a little brush scrapes off cells from the cervix, which are stored in a vial to examine for signs of cervical cancer. Today, many women's Paps undergo an additional DNA-based test to see if they harbor the HPV virus, which can spur cervical cancer.
So the Hopkins team, funded largely by cancer advocacy groups, decided to look for DNA evidence of other gynecologic tumors. It developed a method to rapidly screen the Pap samples for those mutations using standard genetics equipment that Diaz said wouldn't add much to the cost of a Pap-plus-HPV test. He said the technique could detect both early-stage and more advanced tumors. Importantly, tests of Paps from 14 healthy women turned up no false alarms.
The endometrial cancers may have been easier to find because cells from those tumors don't have as far to travel as ovarian cancer cells, Diaz said. Researchers will study whether inserting the Pap brush deeper, testing during different times of the menstrual cycle, or other factors might improve detection of ovarian cancer.
A team of scientists who analyzed the brain tissue of renowned NFL linebacker Junior Seau after his suicide last year have concluded the football player suffered a debilitating brain disease likely caused by two decades worth of hits to the head, researchers and his family exclusively told ABC News and ESPN.
In May, Seau, 43 -- football's monster in the middle, a perennial all-star and defensive icon in the 1990s whose passionate hits made him a dominant figure in the NFL -- shot himself in the chest at his home in Oceanside, Calif., leaving behind four children and many unanswered questions.
Seau's family donated his brain to neuroscientists at the National Institutes for Health who are conducting ongoing research on traumatic brain injury and football players.
Click Here to Read ESPN's Coverage on Junior Seau
A team of independent researchers who did not know they were studying Seau's brain all concluded he suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative disease typically caused by multiple hits to the head.
"What was found in Junior Seau's brain was cellular changes consistent with CTE," said Dr. Russell Lonser, chairman of the Department of Neurological Surgery at Ohio State University, who led the study of Seau's brain while he was at NIH.
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Patients with CTE, which can only be diagnosed after death, display symptoms "such as impulsivity, forgetfulness, depression, [and] sometimes suicidal ideation," Lonser said.
Seau's family described to ABC News and ESPN a long descent into depression in the years prior to his death.
Gina Seau, his ex-wife with whom he remained close following their divorce, said the linebacker had difficulty sleeping and became withdrawn and "detached emotionally" from his children. In one exchange, he described his mood as "low" and "dark."
"A lot of things, towards the end of his life, patterns that we saw and things that worried us, it makes sense now," she said of the diagnosis.
The night before his death, Seau sent a text message to his ex-wife and children in which he simply wrote, "I love you." They were the last words anyone would hear from him.
More than 30 NFL players have in recent years been diagnosed with CTE, a condition once known as "punch drunk" because it affected boxers who had taken multiple blows to the head. Last year, 4,000 retired players joined a class-action lawsuit against the league over its alleged failure to protect players from brain injuries.
The NFL has said it did not intentionally hide the dangers of concussions from players and is doing everything it can now to protect them.
Gina Seau said she and her ex-husband expected physical injuries from playing professional football but never thought "you're putting your brain and your mental health at a greater risk."
Junior Seau, she said, was never formally diagnosed with a concussion but routinely complained of symptoms associated with concussions after receiving hits to the head during games and in practices in 20 seasons in the NFL.
"The head-to-head contact, the collisions are just, they're out of control," Gina Seau said.
"He was a warrior and he loved the game," she added. "But ... I know that he didn't love the end of his life."
For the Seaus, football gave them everything and, they believe, has now taken it all away. They understand its attraction and, all too well, its routine danger.
"I think it's a gamble," Gina Seau said. "Just be extremely aware of what could potentially happen to your life."
None of the Seau children play football anymore and their mother is glad of that.
"It's not worth it for me to not have a dad," said one of the Seaus' sons, Tyler Seau, 23. "So, to me, it's not worth it."
SINGAPORE: Singapore retail investors are optimistic about their investment outlook for the next six months, according to a survey released on Wednesday by J P Morgan Asset Management.
According to the report, the J P Morgan Investor Confidence Index increased by 5 points to 106 in the latest survey, conducted between November 21 to December 7 2012.
This is a marked increase from one year ago, where the index was 86.
The increased confidence was boosted by expectations of an improved global economic environment, with 42 per cent of respondents indicating that they are likely to increase their investments in the next six months.
"The latest results demonstrate that Singapore investor confidence continues to improve," said Mr Andrew Creber, Head of Singapore Business, J P Morgan Asset Management.
"This is no doubt influenced by the progress we have seen over the past six months, where the risk of a financial meltdown in Europe was largely reduced. The Chinese economy is steadily recovering. In the US, despite the ongoing political tug-of-war over public finance, the restoration of household balance sheets and an improvement in the housing market is taking place," he added.
Confidence is also returning to affluent investors.
Investors with investable assets of S$500,000 and above were markedly more optimistic than investors with less investable assets, hitting a confidence level of 119, an increase of 17 points from June 2012.
Meanwhile, mutual fund investors have shown an increasing preference for multi asset/balanced funds, with those surveyed increasing their weighted allocation up by 7 per cent to 47 per cent for their mutual fund portfolio.
"It is important for investors to remain diversified to maintain stability in their portfolios," said Mr Creber.
The J P Morgan Investor Confidence Index is derived from a scoring of investor responses to a series of questions on their outlook for the Straits Times Index (STI), local and global economic and investment environments, and appreciation in their investment portfolio.
An index level of 100 is neutral, while 200 is extremely optimistic while zero is extremely pessimistic.
- CNA/xq
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