Alzheimer's may be detectable earlier than thought

Another article on Alzheimer's...
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Posted: 06 November 2012

PARIS: Researchers said Tuesday they had seen the earliest-ever warning signs of Alzheimer's Disease -- among a high-risk group of 20-somethings -- in the ongoing quest for early detection and prevention.

A major problem in the search for a cure for this debilitating form of dementia is that symptoms appear years after irreversible brain decay has already set in.

For the study, a team of scientists from the United States and Colombia tested 18- to 26-year-old members of an extended Colombian family that share a common ancestor and a genetic predisposition to develop an inherited form of Alzheimer's.

One in three members of the clan carry a gene mutation that will lead to a rare form of the disease which hits people in their 40s, unlike the common variant which presents much later.

A brain scan comparison found that individuals who carry the errant gene have less grey matter in certain areas of the brain than those who don't, scientists wrote in The Lancet medical journal.

They also found that those with the mutation had higher levels in their cerebrospinal fluid of a protein called amyloid beta, implicated in the plaque build-ups found on the brains of Alzheimer's sufferers.

The findings "suggest that neurodegenerative changes occur more than 20 years before symptom onset and somewhat earlier than was suggested by findings from previous MRI studies," Nick Fox of the University College London's Dementia Research Centre said in a comment on the study.

Alzheimer's disease causes two-thirds of dementia cases -- attacking one in 200 people -- the rate is increasing as the world's population ages.

Trial participants, 20 with the fateful gene mutation and 24 without, were not told whether they had it or not. All had normal cognitive abilities at the time of the study.

"The findings... could ultimately lead to improved early detection and better clinical trials of preventative treatments," The Lancet said in a statement.

But the outcome also raises questions about scientists' understanding of how Alzheimer's progresses.

"These findings... raise new questions about the earliest brain changes involved in the predisposition to Alzheimer's and the extent to which they could be targeted by future prevention therapies," research leader Eric Reiman from the Banner Alzheimer's Institute in Arizona said.

Scientists still do not know quite what to make of the plaques and tangles that German doctor Alois Alzheimer first spotted in the brain of a dementia patient who died in 1906.

They disagree on the respective roles of beta amyloid plaque build-ups and of a protein called tau which forms tangles inside the brain cells.

Most test therapies have targeted beta amyloids, but some now suggest it is actually tau killing the brain cells.

According to Fox, the new study questioned existing models of Alzheimer's Disease "on several fronts".

Among other things, "neurodegeneration would seem to be occurring in advance of evidence of plaque deposition", widely thought to cause the brain damage.

Fox said the results should be treated with caution as the trial sample was small and the outcome may not apply to the much more common sporadic, late-onset form of Alzheimer's.

Alzheimer's Disease International (ADI) projects the number of people with dementia will rise from 35.6 million in 2010 to 65.7 million by 2030 and 115.4 million by 2050.

-AFP/ac

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Taken from ChannelNewsAsia.com; source article is below:
Alzheimer's may be detectable earlier than thought

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Showing signs of stress

Image via WikipediaFor one, I myself will agree to some inconsistency in the MRT line: authorities do say that they have increased the frequency of trains, resulting in shorter waiting time: 5mins to  2/3mins. My experience indicates a repugnance: when the waiting time is short, say 2/3mins, train usually stop in the middle of the track from that station to the next. And even when the interval lengthens to 5/6mins, train still stops in the middle of the track.

Why?

1. Short interval means previous train haven't cleared out of the next station, so next train has to wait, unfortunately, in the middle of the track. In my experience, that will be at least 1 stop, to as many as 3 stops, resulting to about 3/4mins. Total: 3mins + 4mins = 7mins.

2. Long interval means a train has terminated at the next station, and is reverted to travel back. So to give time for the other train to make the switch, your train has to stop mid-track. give it 3mins, and your total time becomes 8mins (6mins + 3mins = 9mins).

Then you say, which one is the lesser evil?
-----

BUDGET TAI-TAI
Tabitha Wong

The public transport system needs to improve


Friends from Singapore always complain about how crowded Hong Kong is compared to back home. Put them in an MTR station during rush hour and they look like deer caught in the headlights as people jostle them left, right and centre.

Crowded? As I type now, I am looking over the sea to the mountains and there is no one in sight. In the town, only one stray dog has braved the afternoon heat to venture out.

Former Housing and Development Board and Urban Redevelopment Authority chief executive Liu Thai Ker recently said Singapore could easily support up to 7.5 million people.

He joked that, if needed, there were still the islands of Pulau Ubin and Pulau Tekong.

Well, he must certainly be joking.

Consider the figures: Hong Kong is already considered one of the most densely-populated areas in the world, with 7 million people squeezed into about 1,100 km of land. The population density as at the middle of last year was 6,480 persons per sq km.

Everyone talks about how crowded Hong Kong is but, believe it or not, there are more people fighting for elbow space in Singapore.

The Lion City, with a land area of 710.3 sq km, now has a population of 5.08 million. Last year's Government statistics show that Singapore has a population density of 7,022 people per sq km.

And already the transportation system is showing signs of strain.

The last time I was in Singapore, I noticed there were signs proudly displayed saying that the frequency of MRT trains during peak periods was 3.5 minutes.

Three-and-a-half minutes? That's three-and-a-half times less frequent than MTR trains in Hong Kong.

Here, trains arrive every minute during peak hour - you don't have to rush to squeeze into the doors because you know there's one coming soon. Sometimes, one train has to wait at one station because the one in front hasn't even had time to leave the other station.

The trains are longer too: Trains on the MTR Island Line all have eight compartments, compared to only six on MRT's East-West and North-South lines.

No wonder the MTR trains can move an average 3.7 million passengers daily.

Singapore's Land Transport Authority has stated that, by 2012, there will be 22 new trains plying the North-South and East-West line. So in two years' time, it announced, waiting time will be reduced to between 2 and 3 minutes, from the current 2.5 and 4.5 minutes.

Good news, but even so, that is still twice as slow as the MTR train system.

For Singapore to house up to 7.5 million comfortably, people must spread out - and maybe repopulate Pulau Ubin.
Not everyone can work from home. In order to get people to move out of the city centre, there has to be great public transport.

This is where Hong Kong is one up on Singapore. Not only does it have faster trains, it also has a wide-variety of public transport: Train, bus, taxi, tram, ferry, even helicopter.

My daily commute, for example, involves a bus, a ferry and a train. The greater variety of choices enables me to live far from the madding crowd but still get to work on time.

The ferries don't have to contend with rush-hour traffic so there's no need to make allowance for traffic jams or road repairs.

The MRT may be running to capacity but a lot more can be done to improve Singapore's transportation system.
River taxis may be a solution.

The Singapore River goes from the Central Business District up to River Valley, offering an alternative route for after-hours drinks.

The Kallang River has an even better course, from the CBD all the way to the heartlands of Toa Payoh, Bishan and Ang Mo Kio - almost duplicating the route of the frequently jammed CTE.

So if there were a river taxi service, people might be able to step off a pier at, say, Ang Mo Kio Ave 2, and get to their office in One Marina Boulevard without the stress of rush-hour traffic or overcrowded trains.

The boats will have to be fast and air-conditioned, of course. So those lovely designer suits do not get creased.


Tabitha Wang wonders if it will be possible to take a river taxi down Orchard Road during the monsoon season.



From TODAY, Voices - Friday, 17-Sep-2010:
Showing signs of stress
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Afraid of rats, or the rat race?

This is one column that I would always look forward to. Presents the other side of life, the other view, a different perception - and usually, the insight is quite different from the rest of us - a standout, for the uncommon truth and fact of life, in Singapore.

It could be true in other countries as well. So, read on...
-----

BUDGET TAI TAI

Encounters of the rodent kind

by Tabitha Wang

The emails from my Singaporean friends were incredulous: "Really ah? Hong Kong got rat in Central? As long as 30 centimetres?"

Apparently the story of a tourist being bitten by a rat in the middle of this modern metropolis had spread far and wide. For those wondering what I am talking about, a British tourist was bitten on her heel by a rat outside a shoe-repair shop in Pedder Street last week.

Pedder Street is right smack in the middle of Central, in the heart of Hong Kong's business district. Though nothing more than a small lane lined with shoe-repair and key-cutting stalls, it is surrounded by banks and high-fashion shops. The site of the grievous bodily harm offence, so to speak, is just outside the wrought-iron gates of high-end boutique Shanghai Tang.

It also happens to be the MTR exit that I take on my way to and from work. The day after the story came out, I was assailed by the smell of heavy-duty disinfectant and bleach the minute I turned into the lane. Usually, you can hardly see one road sweeper in the area but on that day, I counted five sanitary workers pushing out huge rubbish bins and scrubbing down the entire lane.

As the old joke goes, dog bites man is not news but man bites dog is. Besides, the Food and Hygiene Department says last year's rodent infestation rate in Central was a low 4.7 per cent compared to 12.3 per cent in districts such as Kwun Tong.

So why did the rat-bite story create such an uproar?

Mostly because it happened right smack in the most modern part of this modern city. But also because the rat picked the wrong person to test its incisors on - a tourist. If it had happened to a local, I doubt there would have been much hoo-ha. In a place where old tong laus (walk-ups) jostle for space with mirrored skyscrapers, you come to expect some close encounters of the rodent kind.

After all, look what happened to the rat in question. After the tourist cried and had to be taken to hospital in an ambulance, the shoe-repair stall owner simply stepped up to it and killed it with a broom. Without fuss.

At dai pai tongs (street stalls) in Central, I've seen locals lift their legs to let a rat scurry through without even pausing to lay their chopsticks down.

When my brother and sister-in-law were visiting, I took them to an upmarket burger joint in the area. As we were unwrapping our pork-chop burgers, a rat as big as a cat (no wonder the cats here don't dare to tackle them) scurried over our feet.

My sister-in-law screamed. The rest of the diners glanced down at the rat and then continued eating - and so did my sister-in-law after she calmed down.

Admittedly, coming from spanking clean Singapore where miniscule cockroaches cause major rubbish-chute fumigation, my equanimity has been hard-won. But I have learnt to take such unexpected meetings in my stride.

I've actually even come to accept that it is part of the charm of this city. In the same way that food eaten next to a drain always tastes better, cities that are a little grubby always seem to have more character.

That is why I can understand when some people tell me they think Singapore is soulless. It's because they, like me, secretly prefer a scruffy but enchanting ragamuffin who gets into scrapes over a well-behaved, over-polite child without a single spot on his outfit.

I like that the graffiti on walls are allowed to stay there for a bit instead of being whitewashed immediately. In fact, one graffiti artist, dubbed the King of Kowloon, has even had his manic scribblings dubbed works of art.

I like that I have to pick my way carefully through a wet market when I do visit one. It makes the whole experience more real.

Maybe it's just me. Maybe deep down inside, I think a lot of enjoyable things in life are a little messy. Trekking, paint-balling, going on a Jurassic Parks Rapid Adventure, eating chilli crabs ... and, of course, visiting Hong Kong.

But if you're still worried, then do what the locals do - wear boots.


Tabitha Wang is more afraid of the rat race than real rats.



From TODAY, Voices - Friday, 04-June-2010
Encounters of the rodent kind
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In a bad situation? Count your blessings!

Image via Wikipedia

I am in a hard situation now. I was, many years ago. As what the author says, "count your blessings."

This can be true any stage of your life. I am in a hard situation, but there are those who cannot even call the sad plight they are in a 'situation.' And there are those who couldn't do anything despite their 'better situation'.

It is always our outlook in life that will change the situations, and turn our 'luck' around. I mean, with perseverance and patience, and determination (now this is very important), there will always be some ways and means to pull things through and make ends meet.

While this article was written primarily for Singaporeans, it certainly applies to any other of different nationality. In this essence, we are all the same.

I am in a hard situation. And this, too, will pass.

Read on...

---

Count your blessings

Times are hard, but Singaporeans shouldn't grumble

by Tabitha Wang

A friend recently lost his job. He had been working with the same firm for 20-odd years and had anticipated retiring from that company in a few years' time.

Instead, the bosses called him into a room, told him his work was unsatisfactory and fired him on the spot. All he had to show for almost all his working life was two months' pay in lieu of notice.

As an American working for a British company in Singapore, he found he was not protected by any country's law. He tried to sue for compensation but all the lawyers he consulted, whether in his home country or host country, told him he had no case.

To make matters worse, he and his family had to leave Singapore almost immediately because his employment pass had been cancelled by his firm.

His kids, who had lived in Singapore all their lives, had to leave their school mid-term while he and his wife scrambled to look for somewhere suitable to live.

The whole thing was a mess.

When I met him in Hong Kong, he looked like he had aged 10 years in a couple of months.

He was bitter, angry with everything in general.

I could well understand this unfocused rage - because I have had lots of it myself.

As you know, my husband too lost his job in Hong Kong. Since then, he has been applying assiduously for one position after another.

It's been soul destroying to see all his applications come to nothing. He was over-qualified, said some, not experienced enough, said others.

Mindful of advice to "just accept anything", he tried for jobs as shop assistants, only to be passed over for someone with more experience. Even driving a taxi is out of the question.

Unlike in Singapore, licences in Hong Kong are controlled by individuals. It costs HK$4 million ($706,000) for a licence for a taxi and HK$6.5 million for one to drive a minibus.

As we are in a foreign country, we can't look to anyone for help. Yes, there are times when I feel like lashing out at someone - anyone.

But apart from my husband's unfeeling ex-employers, who can I blame?

Since my earlier column on hardship allowances, I've been accused of being anti-expat. How can I be, seeing as I'm one myself?

I may be anti-fat cat bonuses but I have a lot of sympathy for expats struggling to make a living on local terms.

Especially when you have no one to rely upon but yourself. There is no "gahmen" to blame or call upon to get you out of your mess.

Our Minister Mentor once called Singaporeans "champion grumblers".

Well, Hong Kongers are too.

Get into a Hong Kong taxi and the driver is full of opinions about what the government should do. My local friends are always railing against this policy or other.

I told a colleague about my American friend's dilemma and she immediately said: "The Government should do something about it." It is exactly the same when I read some Singapore blogs, which start with "the Government should ... " followed by "dampen rising house prices/create more jobs for Singaporeans/stop closing down wet markets ... "

Maybe the Government should. But maybe we should stop seeing the Government as our parents, expecting them to shelter us from all harm all the time.

Banks collapse, economies fail, property prices balloon ... these things happen.

We can wait for the Government to come up with policies to shield us from the fallout. Or we can just hunker down and try to work things out ourselves.

Can't find a job? It's painful, but shouldn't you be concentrating your efforts in looking for one rather than writing blogs against foreign workers?

Can't afford that penthouse unit in Bishan but have a point-block flat in Bedok?

You still have a roof over your head. At least you have an HDB flat rather than squatter homes or wire mesh cages - yes, they still exist in Hong Kong.

So, if you have a job, a roof over your head and a full tummy, what more could you ask for?

Unless it's for the Geylang Lorong 9 beef kway teow shop to start franchising. Now, that would be a cause worth fighting for.


Tabitha Wang wonders which Government department she should complain to if volcanoes spoil her holiday.

---

Lifted from TODAY, Voices - Friday, 23-April-2010
Count your blessings
-----

Breathless in Hong Kong

Budget Tai tai

---

Maybe Singapore has a part to play to improve air quality in this city

Every time I receive an email from Singaporeans saying they're coming to Hong Kong, it always ends with their top-most concern: "How is the air over there?"

I was tempted to say the air in Hong Kong is like the girl with the curl right in the middle of her forehead: When it is good, it is very, very good but when it is bad, it's horrid.

Trouble is, it's never very, very good or horrid. Just an in-the-middle mushy all-round blah.

People see photos of Central with smog wreathing the landmark IFC, Bank of China and HSBC buildings, and wonder how I can still survive here.

Singaporeans smugly point out that a recent survey conducted by consultancy firm ECA International named the island state the best expat capital of the world for its infrastructure, health care, air quality and low crime rates. The authors said deplorable air quality was a major problem in several cities, including Hong Kong.

Guess they hadn't taken the readings during the haze - because honestly, the air here doesn't smell as bad as the haze that hits Singapore. I remember having difficulties breathing and smelling smoke on my clothes during the haze.

The difference is, with the haze, the end is in sight. It clears when the winds change and everyone breathes freely again. Whereas the pollution in Hong Kong is pervasive and unrelenting. And toxic. When the winds stop blowing the smoke from the factories in the Pearl River Delta to the region, roadside pollution takes over.

A few weeks ago, the Air Pollution Index hit an all time high of 500 (healthy air should be below 50) because of a sandstorm in drought-stricken China.

People panicked and started talking about pollution warnings. The irony was that the sandstorm was nowhere as dangerous to our health as the everyday pollutants we were breathing in.

The Hedley Environmental Index compares real-time air quality data supplied by the Environmental Protection Department with the World Health Organisation's recommended limits on pollutants. According to the index, Hong Kong is affected mainly by local sources of pollution on 193.5 out of 365 days a year.

It estimates that last year, Hongkongers made 6.15 million trips to the doctor and paid HK$1.88 billion ($340 million) for pollutant-related health care while about 800 had been hospitalised for asthma.

When I first came to Hong Kong, I used to suffer from itchy eyes and a sore throat all the time. But what really worried me was the shortness of breath and the chest pains.

The doctor told me it was a mild case of asthma. As a regular jogger and swimmer in Singapore, I'd never had breathing problems before so I asked him: "Are you sure?"

"Yes, it's a common ailment in Hong Kong," was his answer.

Will it get better? Well, there are plenty of angry people here in Hong Kong. They're angry enough to set up websites and petitions to needle anyone they can and make their point.

Even hedge fund managers, who usually seem more interested in money than the environment, worry that pollution is frightening off the most talented traders and analysts.

Maybe a few more years of losing out to Singapore as the best expat city because of poor air quality will do the trick. After all, Hong Kong seems to think best when pockets and profits start hurting.

-----
Tabitha Wang hates the way her husband uses pollution as an excuse not to go jogging - 365 days a year.
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From TODAY, Voices - Friday, 09-April-2010; source article is here: Breathless in Hong Kong

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Acid Attacks Have Hong Kong on Edge

Veronica Zaragovia, TIME.com

Posted: 12 June 2009 1124 hrs

Police officers stand guard near a box covering a bottle of acid where two bottles of acid were thrown at Hong Kong's shopping district Mongkok

Something is amiss on the streets of Mongkok. Ordinarily, the bustling 4.4 square mile patch of shops and food stalls is packed with some of the highest rates of pedestrian traffic in the world. In Hong Kong, Mongkok has become synonymous with the city's best bargains and slowest-moving sidewalks, but its over-saturation has always been part of its charm. Until this week. "The atmosphere has changed — I'll tell you that," says Daniel Clermont, a tourist from Toronto who visits Hong Kong frequently. "Usually it's filled wall-to-wall with people here."

There's a good reason for the thin crowds. On the rainy night of June 8, an unidentified person hurled an acid-filled bottle from a Mongkok building onto pedestrians below. It was the third acid attack in the neighborhood in six months, and it left 24 passers-by — including a four-year-old girl — with skin burns to their faces, shoulders, limbs and feet. Sammy Chan, a salesman at a shoe store across the street from the crime scene, said one family from the Philippines ran into his shop to throw water on their wounds. Five of them went to the hospital.

It's a bizarre serial crime by any city's standards, but especially for one with a relatively low crime rate on paper. While drug offenses have been up this year, Hong Kong police say the majority of all other reported crimes dropped several percentage points. In last year's Global Peace Index, a yearly listing of nations' peacefulness by Vision of Humanity, Hong Kong ranked a serene 23 out of 140. Yet when violent crimes occur, they can be exceedingly gruesome. This month, for instance, a mentally ill man was convicted of randomly butchering a three-year-old boy to death. In March, a man beheaded his former girlfriend for ending their relationship. "Any person with a sane mind would not do things like that," says Regional Crime Prevention Officer Peggy Yip.

In a city where a lot of people share a very little space, violent crimes leave a lasting impression on the population — and the police. After Mongkok's last acid attack, which occurred May 16, police installed eight CCTV surveillance cameras on two buildings in the area to try to catch the culprit the next time he or she struck. But after spending about $220,000 on the equipment, none of the cameras' footage caught this week's attack. Senior Superintendent Edward Leung Ka-ming of the Kowloon West regional crime unit said the collected footage needed to be "enhanced" because of its poor resolution to prove useful. While the district council decides what step to take next with the cameras, the police hope pedestrians might have some tips of their own. A large police van parked near the latest crime scene has posters in Cantonese and English offering a reward of over $37,000 for information.

In the meantime, dozens of policemen now roam Mongkok's normally chaotic streets — ubiquitous reminders that the neighborhood remains on alert. Circle Lo, an employee at a clothing store next to the attack spot, says she has noticed the drop in foot traffic and hopes business will return to normal within a week. But not everybody seems concerned. A LensCrafters employee, identifying himself as "Jacky Chan," works a only a few feet from where the bottle fell. "Some of the people who got hurt sat down," he said, "but it was like nothing happened." Perhaps, but judging by the pedestrians still looking up for a lurking villain two days after the attack, the mood in Mongkok is definitely down.

This article originally appeared on TIME.com

From ChannelNewsAsia.com; see the source article here.

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'Pregnant Man' Gives Birth To Another Baby

Wednesday, June 10 01:25 pm

© Sky News 2009

A controversial transgender man has given birth to his second child, a year after his daughter was born.

'Pregnant Man' Gives Birth To Another Baby

Thomas Beatie delivered a healthy baby boy early on Tuesday morning, according to ABC News.

His wife Nancy will breast-feed their son, as she did with their daughter Susan Juliette, who was born in Oregon in June last year.

During his first pregnancy, Mr Beatie released a photograph of himself showing his pregnant belly and bearded face.

He became known around the world as the "pregnant man" and was sent death threats and hate messages by people who disagreed with what he was doing.

The 35-year-old said at the time: "I think that people will be shocked because no-one's ever heard of a man giving birth before.

"I guess it's a shocking concept, but in this day and age that's possible. And it's happening now."

Mr Beatie, who was born as Tracy Lagondino, underwent gender reassignment surgery and hormone treatment to become a man.

He chose to keep his female reproductive organs but is legally recognised as a male.

The couple decided he would bear their children because Mrs Beatie, 46, had already had a hysterectomy and was unable to conceive.

After stopping his male hormone treatment, he became pregnant with donor sperm bought on the internet.

From Yahoo! News; see the source article here.

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A serial thrower?

Third attack in six months, Hong Kong believes culprit could be the same person

05:55 AM Jun 10, 2009

Victims of the acid attack receiving treatment by the roadside. AP

HONG KONG - Residents ventured out unafraid yesterday as police searched for suspects behind a third acid attack that injured 24 people in one of the city's most densely-populated shopping districts.

The latest attack on Monday night dominated headlines in Hong Kong, with several newspapers showing photos of victims washing off the acid on the roadside.

Police said a bottle filled with a corrosive liquid was hurled into a crowd in the busy Mongkok district, injuring 24 people. None of the victims, aged four to 49, were seriously burned.

It is the third such attack in six months in the neighbourhood, and 100 people have since been hurt.

On the same street last month, 30 people suffered burns when two plastic bottles filled with acid were thrown down into a crowd. Another 46 were injured in a similar attack in the same neighbourhood in December.

There were no signs the attacks had sparked widespread panic in the city of 7 million, as locals mostly went about their business.

But in Mongkok - a shopping hotspot that attracts thousands of people daily - some shoppers were staying away.

Hong Kong leader Donald Tsang condemned the attack, saying it was "cold blooded and evil" and that the assailant was "scum of the society".

Police superintendent Edward Leung was quoted as saying in the South China Morning Post yesterday that it was possible the same person had carried out all three attacks.

He added in a radio interview that officers were reviewing surveillance footage taken by cameras recently installed to monitor the area of the attacks.

Investigators have also posted a HK$900,000 ($170,000) reward for information leading to an arrest. - AP

From TODAY, World – Wednesday, 10-Jun-2009

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• Acid Attack on Hong Kong Crowd Hurts 30 (abcnews.go.com)
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• Acid thrown into Hong Kong crowd injures 30: report (cbc.ca)
• You: Hong Kong 'acid attack' hurts 30 (news.bbc.co.uk)

Third acid attack on busy Hong Kong shopping street

Posted: 09 June 2009 1336 hrs

Shoppers walk in the busy district of Mongkok in Hong Kong.

HONG KONG: Hong Kong police were Tuesday scouring CCTV footage for clues as to who tossed a bottle of acid from a building onto one of the city's busiest shopping streets, the third such attack in six months.

The attack in the Mongkok district of the city on Monday evening injured 24 people, including a four-year-old girl, who all suffered from burns to their limbs and faces.

"We are still investigating the incident and do not rule out the possibility that the same person or people were behind the three attacks," a police spokesman told AFP.

In December, 46 people were injured when two bottles of corrosive liquid were tossed down from a building onto the street. Another similar attack occurred near the same spot in May, injuring 30 pedestrians.

No one has so far been arrested over the attacks.

The latest incident came just hours after a new surveillance system was installed in the district, one of the most densely-populated parts of the world. The system was brought in as a result of the previous attacks.

The police are offering a reward of 900,000 Hong Kong dollars (115,000 US) for information leading to the arrest of those involved.

Hong Kong's chief executive Donald Tsang on Tuesday condemned the attacks.

"This was a cold-blooded and evil act. These people are the dregs of society," Tsang said.

He pledged that the police would do all they could to catch the culprits as soon as possible.

- AFP/il

From ChannelNewsAsia.com; see the source article here.

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NY man arrested buying drugs with slaughtered pig

Anything for drugs? And crooks operating on crooks. In the noise and confusion of the ongoing arrest, someone stole the pig?

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06/06/2009 | 10:18 PM

 

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – It was a simpler sort of drug trade.

Syracuse police say a 45-year-old man offered a slaughtered pig as partial payment for a bag of crack cocaine.

They say two men were spotted making the deal on a street corner just before 8 p.m. Thursday.

Angelo Colon of Fulton was arrested on a misdemeanor drug possession charge and 42-year-old Omar Veliz faces a felony drug sale charge.

Police say Colon paid half a pig and $10 for a $50 bag of crack. Veliz told police the pig was for a celebration for a relative being released from jail.

While officers were arresting the suspects, someone took the pig.

Police don't know if the men have lawyers. - AP

From GMANews.tv; see the source article here.

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Lethal brew kills 25 in Bali: police

Time is GMT + 8 hours

Posted: 2-Jun-2009 14:09 hrs

A toddy tapper climbs a palm tree. Twenty five people including four foreigners have died from drinking methanol-laced palm wine on the Indonesian resort island of Bali, police said

Twenty five people including four foreigners have died from drinking methanol-laced palm wine on the Indonesian resort island of Bali, police said.

American Rose Johnson, 48, Briton Alan Cole, 57, and Irish and Dutch citizens whose families requested anonymity were among the people killed over the past two weeks, hospital staff said.

A local man has been arrested for allegedly making the lethal concoction with methanol -- a toxic chemical compound often used as an antifreeze or solvent -- instead of ethanol found in alcoholic drinks, police said.

"He is suspected of producing and selling alcohol containing methanol ... which can cause death. We are investigating whether he did it on purpose," police spokesman Gede Sugianyar said. — AFP

From TODAYOnline.com; see the source article here.

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Diabetes strikes the young

MEDICAL MATTERS

JAKARTA — Diabetes is spiralling in Asia but — unlike the West — those affected are relatively young and less likely to be struggling with obesity, a new study shows.

Research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association yesterday said the disease has turned into a global problem, with the number of victims expected to grow from 240 million in 2007 to 380 million in 2025.

More than 60 per cent of those will be in Asia, the world's fastest growing region, with low- and middle-income countries hardest hit.

India will see its numbers grow from 40 million to nearly 70 million; China 39 million to 59 million; and Bangladesh 3.8 million to 7.4 million. Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam and others will also see their figures skyrocket.

Mr Frank Hu, a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health, noted that Asia's escalating epidemic could "erase economic gains made in recent decades".

But the most startling findings related to body mass and age.

Obesity has long been seen as a major factor leading to Type 2 diabetes in Europe and North America.

But while Asians still weigh less than their Western counterparts, they have become fatter around the waist — seen as particularly detrimental with respect to diabetes.

The study also showed that while the disease most often affects people between the ages of 60 and 79 in North America and Europe, the age in Asia tends to be disproportionately lower, ranging between 20 years to 59.

This appears to be the result of both low birth weights, which are common in developing countries, and over-nutrition in later life.

Asian women are also two- to three-times as likely to have gestational diabetes as their Western counterparts. AP

From TODAYOnline.com, World News – Thursday, 28-May-2009; see the source article here.

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