Donation-based hospital rescues Afghanistan's wounded

(CBS News) KABUL - In Afghanistan, an American soldier and two Afghans were killed by a car bomb Thursday.

It happened near the U.S. airbase in Kandahar, a few hours after Defense Secretary Leon Panetta left there to meet with Afghan President Karzai.

Taliban attacks have grown more frequent, causing a sharp rise in civilian casualties. There's one place where many of those lives are saved or lost.

The non-profit trauma hospital goes by one name: Emergency. It offers free treatment to the bruised and bloodied victims of this conflict. Every patient who arrives there is a casualty of war.

Dr. Gino Strada

/

CBS News

Dr. Gino Strada is the chain-smoking Italian cardiologist who founded emergency in 1999. He told CBS News that he'll take in patients, regardless of whether they're Taliban or whatever their political affiliations may be.

"Otherwise, you're not a doctor anymore," he said, "then you're a judge."

Visit to military hospital shows extent of Syrian conflict
U.S. serviceman killed in Afghanistan just after Panetta visit
Children give graphic account of Afghan murders

Strada said he's seen a dramatic shift in the types of injuries he treats: Fewer bullet wounds and more from roadside bombs and heavy weapons.

"The weapons which are now used are much more powerful and destructive than those that were available ten or fifteen years ago," Strada said.

This year, the hospital has treated nearly two thousand patients -- an all time high. The vast majority are civilians.

Five-year-old Shayr Mohammed's wrist was fractured and his arm burned when he was hit by shrapnel.

His injuries have healed well. But not all children are so lucky.

Another young boy had picked up what he thought was a toy and it exploded in his pocket. By the time he arrived at Emergency, there was nothing the doctors could do.

"We live in a place where insurgents and police are shooting at each other all the time," his uncle said.

Strada said the fighting is coming closer to the capital and the fighting is becoming more intense.

"This is very worrying because it's very difficult to predict what's going to happen in the near future," he said.

As NATO troops prepare to pull out in 2014, there are fears that the security situation could deteriorate further and that Afghanistan's healthcare system will be overwhelmed.

A patient at the Emergency hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan.

/

CBS News

The U.S. has spent nearly a billion dollars on health care in Afghanistan the last ten years. But Strada said there is little to show for it.

"What worries me is particularly is corruption in the health sector. When you look at the amount of international aid that has come to Afghanistan for health, you would expect to find fantastic hospitals everywhere. And you don't see one," Strada said.

But there's no shortage of patients, and the war outside Emergency's walls rages on.

Donations to Emergency are accepted at the links below:

www.emergencyusa.org
www.emergency.it/en-index.html

Read More..

Health-Exchange Deadline Looms

All of the Affordable Care Act, also known as "Obamacare," doesn't go into effect until 2014, but states are required to set up their own health care exchanges or leave it to the federal government to step in by next year. The deadline for the governors' decisions is Friday.

The health insurance exchanges are one of the key stipulations of the new health care law. They will offer consumers an Internet-based marketplace for purchasing private health insurance plans.

But the president's signature health care plan has become so fraught with politics that whether governors agreed to set up the exchanges has fallen mostly along party lines.

Such partisanship is largely symbolic because if a state opts not to set up the exchange, the Department of Health and Human Services will do it for them as part of the federal program. That would not likely be well-received by Republican governors, either, but the law forces each state's chief executive to make a decision one way or the other.

Here's what it looks like in all 50 states and the District of Columbia:

20 states that have opted out -- N.J., S.C., La., Wis., Ohio, Maine, Ala., Alaska, Ariz., Ga., Pa., Kan., Neb., N.H., N.D., Okla., S.D., Tenn., Texas and Wyo.

Charles Dharapak/AP Photo

Obama Denounces Right-to-Work Laws at Visit to Auto Plant Watch Video

Washington, D.C., Gridlocked as Fiscal Cliff Approaches Watch Video

Several Republican governors have said they will not set up the exchanges, including Chris Christie (N.J.), Nikki Haley (S.C.), Bobby Jindal (La.), Scott Walker (Wis.), John Kasich (Ohio), Paul LePage (Maine), Robert Bentley (Ala.), Sean Parnell (Ark.), Jan Brewer (Ariz.), Nathan Deal (Ga.), Tom Corbett (Pa.), Sam Brownback (Kan.), Dave Heineman (Neb.), John Lynch (N.H.), Jack Dalrymple (N.D.), Mary Fallin (Okla.), Dennis Daugaard (S.D.), Bill Haslam (Tenn.), Rick Perry (Texas), and Matt Mead (Wyo.).

3 States Out, but a Little More Complicated -- Mont., Ind. and Mo.

The Montana outgoing and incoming governors are both Democrats, but the Republican state legislature rejected the Democratic state auditor's request to start setting up a state exchange. So a federal exchange will be set up in Montana as well.

The Indiana outgoing and incoming governors are both Republicans and outgoing Gov. Mitch Daniels deferred the decision to governor-elect and U.S. Rep. Mike Pence, who said his preference is not to set up a state health care exchange, paving the way for the feds to come in too.

In Missouri, Gov. Jay Nixon is a Democrat, but Prop E passed on Nov. 6, which barred his administration from creating a state-based exchange without a public vote or the approval of the state legislature. After the election, he sent a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services saying he would be unable to set up a state-based exchange, meaning the federal government would have to set up its own.

1 State Waiting for the White House -- Utah

Utah already has a state exchange set up, a Web-based tool where small-business employees can shop and compare health insurance with contributions from their employee. In a letter Republican Gov. Gary Herbert sent to the White House Tuesday, he asked for its exchange, called Avenue H, to be approved as a state-based exchange under the Affordable Care Act as long as state officials can open it to individuals and larger businesses.

Norm Thurston, the state's health reform implementation coordinator, says authorities there "haven't received an official response" from the White House, but "we anticipate getting one soon."

There are some sticking points that don't comply with the exchanges envisioned by the Affordable Care Act and Utah would like to keep it that way.

Read More..

UK government urged to consider relaxing drug rules

JUST say yes to considering relaxed drug controls, urged a panel of UK parliamentarians this week - but Prime Minister David Cameron has rejected the calls.

Many countries have loosened their penalties for drug use, including the Czech Republic and Portugal, which introduced a "de-penalisation" strategy in 2000. Citizens caught in possession avoid criminal records but must attend drug advice sessions. Last month, the US states of Colorado and Washington voted to legalise the recreational use of cannabis.

The UK report calls for the effects of these legal moves to be monitored. "Drugs policy ought to be evidence-based as much as possible," it concludes. "We recommend that the government fund a detailed research project to monitor the effects of each legalisation system."

The report notes that 21 countries have now introduced some form of decriminalisation. But the government's response has been lukewarm. "I don't support decriminalisation," said Cameron. "We have a policy which actually is working in Britain. Drugs use is coming down."

If you would like to reuse any content from New Scientist, either in print or online, please contact the syndication department first for permission. New Scientist does not own rights to photos, but there are a variety of licensing options available for use of articles and graphics we own the copyright to.

All comments should respect the New Scientist House Rules. If you think a particular comment breaks these rules then please use the "Report" link in that comment to report it to us.

If you are having a technical problem posting a comment, please contact technical support.

Read More..

China 'lacks leverage' over N. Korea: state media

BEIJING: Beijing lacks leverage over North Korea and will block moves for strong new sanctions for fear of weakening its position further, Chinese state media said Thursday following Pyongyang's rocket launch.

China is the North's sole major ally, considered the nation with the most influence over Pyongyang, and after Wednesday's rocket flight US officials urged it to intervene.

But in an editorial Thursday the state-run Global Times said: "China's ability to influence countries in the region is limited... The real problem is China's strength is not sufficient to influence its neighbour's situation."

"NK move shows China's lack of leverage" read its headline.

China voiced "regret" over the launch but state press said it could not support strong further measures against Pyongyang for fear of weakening its relationship.

A bellicose Western reaction risked driving North Korea into a corner with potentially devastating results, editorials said.

"That is why China should not take a cooperative stance with the US, Japan and South Korea in imposing sanctions on North Korea," the Global Times said.

"China will veto radical resolutions made by the three countries. At the same time North Korea should pay for its actions."

It acknowledged fears in the region should North Korea eventually be able to arm a ballistic missile with a nuclear weapon.

The reaction to the launch "is almost the same as that of North Korea's nuclear test", the paper said, and "a vicious circle" of escalation could lead to Japan abandoning its pacifist constitution and threaten peace in Northeast Asia.

The situation was "subtle, complex and dangerous", said the People's Daily, the official mouthpiece of the Communist Party, urging calm and a return to the six-party talks on North Korea hosted by China and including Russia, the United States, South Korea and Japan.

"The reaction by the Security Council should be prudent and measured," the paper added.

One columnist in Global Times, which often takes a nationalist stance, suggested that China should seize the opportunity to establish a regional security framework.

The country is embroiled in territorial disputes with Japan over islands in the East China Sea, and several littoral states over the South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost in its entirety.

"Now it's high time to establish a political and security mechanism," wrote Ding Gang. "China is a big power in the region.

"China itself will certainly be confined by the mechanism, but the credibility it acquires will be more important. "The mechanism will not only regulate North Korea, but also the Philippines and Vietnam."

- AFP/ck

Read More..

Singer's plane plunged from 28,000 feet, official says

By CNN Staff

updated 11:04 PM EST, Wed December 12, 2012

Singer Jenni Rivera dies in plane crash

Singer Jenni Rivera dies in plane crash

Singer Jenni Rivera dies in plane crash

Singer Jenni Rivera dies in plane crash

Singer Jenni Rivera dies in plane crash

Singer Jenni Rivera dies in plane crash

Singer Jenni Rivera dies in plane crash

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Singer's plane was flying at 28,000 feet when it began to plummet, official says


• It could have plunged at more than 600 mph, the transportation secretary says


• Determining what caused the crash in northern Mexico could take up to a year


• Some of Rivera's family members believe she could be alive

Monterrey, Mexico (CNN) -- Even as Mexico's top transportation official said the plane carrying Jenni Rivera spiraled to the ground in a tailspin that may have surpassed 600 mph, some of the singer's family members were holding out hope on Wednesday.

The plane was flying at 28,000 feet when it began to plummet, Gerardo Ruiz, Mexico's transportation secretary, told reporters. It crashed in a mountainous area 9,000 feet above sea level, he said.

Determining what caused Sunday's crash could take up to a year, officials said.

Authorities were still working Wednesday to identify remains found at the crash site in a remote area of northern Mexico.

Rivera and six others were thought to be on board the plane, which lost contact with air traffic controllers soon after takeoff.

In California, the Mexican-American singer's mother said her grandchildren still think Rivera is alive.

"They continue thinking that their mother is OK, that God could perform a miracle," said Rosa Saavedra, noting she was trying to stay strong to support them.

Pedro Rivera Jr., one of the singer's brothers, said the family was waiting to read a document detailing her wishes that she had left with a sister about a month ago.

"She cannot read it yet, she can't say anything to us yet, until we are 100% sure that Jenni is no longer with us," he said.

Known to fans as "La Diva de la Banda" or The Diva of Banda Music, Rivera was well-established as a musical powerhouse with her Spanish-language performances of regional Mexican corridos, or ballads. For fans, the nickname captured her powerful voice and the personal strength many admired.

In recent years, she had been working to crack the English-language U.S. market and was reportedly on the verge of a crossover with a sitcom inspired by the success of "I Love Jenni," a Spanish-language reality TV show on Telemundo's mun2 network.

Rivera sold 15 million records, according to Billboard, and recently won two Billboard Music Awards, including favorite Mexican music female artist.

In October, People en Español added her to its list of the 25 most powerful women.

She performed at a concert in Monterrey on Saturday night before boarding the Learjet, which took off early Sunday and lost contact with air traffic controllers about 60 miles into the trip.

Plane's owners tied to troubled businessman

Just hours before she died, Rivera opened up to reporters about her divorce and the inner strength she found, thanks to her family.

"I'm so happy. So many strong things have happened in my life," she said. "I can't get up in the negative, which destroys you."

CNN en Español's Krupskaia Alis and Jaqueline Hurtado contributed to this report.

Read More..

In cautionary move, Europe centralizes bank oversight

BRUSSELSEuropean Union finance ministers reached an agreement early Thursday to create a single supervisor for their banks - one of the most significant transfers of authority from national governments to regional authorities since the creation of the euro currency.

Under the deal, banks with more than $39 billion in assets supervised or those that represent a significant proportion of their national economies will be placed under the oversight of the European Central Bank.

The deal gives the ECB broad powers, including the ability to grant and withdraw banking licenses, investigate institutions, and financially sanction banks that don't follow the rules.

But perhaps most important is that it paves the way for Europe's rescue fund to directly rescue the continent's troubled banks.

"It's real progress that opens up interesting possibilities," said French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici, without giving a specific date for when the first banks could seek direct aid.

That step is crucial because weak banks remain at the core of Europe's financial problems. Many are teetering on the brink of bankruptcy after the investments they made up in boom times plummeted in value. Some governments have stepped in to save their banks, only to worsen their own finances in the process.

European leaders want to shield troubled governments from the burden of supporting their banks. That would be a huge relief to countries like Spain, which are facing the prospect of taking on enormous debts - and worrying markets - in order to bail out their banks.

The magnitude of the deal was reflected in the in size of the fight: Concerns ranged from which banks would be covered to how the ECB would manage to insulate its monetary responsibilities from the new powers to how the deal would affect EU countries that chose not to submit their banks to the ECB's oversight.

This last point was a major contention: Countries that don't use the euro worried their voices in the body that creates banking regulation - the European Banking Authority - would be drowned out by the new euro-machine, particularly since countries with other currencies can opt into the supervision.

The EBA sets all of the rules that govern EU banking, and Britain, in particular - a non-euro country with Europe's largest banking sector - was nervous that the new supervision would mean all the banks under the ECB would vote together at the EBA, effectively steamrolling everyone else.

Ministers reached a compromise that ensures that measures can't pass in the EBA without at least some support from countries outside of the ECB's supervision.

Read More..

McAfee Lands in Miami: I'm Free

Software mogul John McAfee has been released from detention in Guatemala City and has landed in Miami.

Immediately upon landing, according to passengers on the plane, McAfee's name was called and he was whisked off the aircraft. Federal officials escorted the 67-year-old Internet antivirus pioneer through customs spirit him out a side door, out of the view of reporters, according to Miami International Airport's communication director, Greg Chin.

It was not clear whether officials intended to help McAfee avoid the inevitable media circus or wanted to question him. However, he has not been charged with committing a crime in Guatemala or Belize, where the authorities have sought to question him about the murder of his neighbor.

McAfee's departure from Guatemala came earlier today.

"They took me out of my cell and put me on a freaking airplane," he told ABC News. "I had no choice in the matter."

McAfee said, however, that Guatemalan authorities had been "nice" and that his exit from the Central American country was "not at all" unpleasant.

"It was the most gracious expulsion I've ever experienced," he said. "Compared to my past two wives that expelled me this isn't a terrible trip."

McAfee said he would not be accompanied by his 20-year-old Belizean girlfriend, but is seeking a visa for her. He also said he had retained a lawyer in the U.S.

Guatemala's National Police/AP Photo

John McAfee Arrested in Guatemala Overnight Watch Video

Software Founder Breaks Silence: McAfee Speaks on Murder Allegations Watch Video

When he was released earlier today, McAfee told the Associated Press, "I'm free. ... I'm going to America."

McAfee, who had been living in a beachfront house in Belize, went on the run after the Nov. 10 murder of his neighbor, fellow American expatriate Greg Faull. Belize police said they wanted to question McAfee about the murder, but McAfee said he feared for his life in Belizean custody.

He entered Guatemala last week seeking asylum, but was arrested and taken to an immigration detention center. He was taken to the hospital after suffering a nervous collapse and then returned to the detention center. The U.S. State Department has visited McAfee, who is a dual U.S.-British citizen, several times during his stay in Guatemala.

During his three-week journey, said McAfee, he disguised himself as handicapped, dyed his hair seven times and hid in many different places during his three-week journey.

He dismissed accounts of erratic behavior and reports that he had been using the synthetic drug bath salts. He said he had never used the drug, and said statements that he had were part of an elaborate prank.

Investigators in Belize said that McAfee was not a suspect in the death of Faull, a former developer who was found shot in the head in his house.

McAfee told ABC News that the poisoning death of his dogs and the murder just hours later of Faull, who had complained about his dogs, was a coincidence.

Click Here for the Blotter Homepage.

Read More..

Today on New Scientist: 11 December 2012

Out-of-season's greetings from the Arctic frost flowers

Season's regards from an icy meadow in the Arctic, but it's no winter wonderland and please don't dash out into it

How hacking a mosquito's heart could eradicate malaria

Watch how a double-pronged trick helps mosquitoes remain healthy while carrying disease, a process that could be exploited to eliminate malaria

New drug lifts hard-to-treat depression in hours

A new class of drugs that changes the way neurons interact in the brain can rapidly lift people out of depression

E. O. Wilson and poet laureate on altruism and mystery

Leading evolutionary biologist E. O. Wilson and former US poet laureate Robert Hass discuss free will, wilderness and the mysterious origin of the arts

Souped-up immune cells force leukaemia into remission

Genetically engineered white blood cells have been shown to have a strong impact on leukaemia after just three months

War of words: The language paradox explained

If language evolved for communication, how come most people can't understand what most other people are saying?

AC/DC's Highway to Hell sent via a drone's laser beam

A dose of rock music proves that a drone's reconnaisance data can be sent via reflected laser beam instead of radio

'Biology is a manufacturing capability'

Soon we'll be able to engineer living things with mechanical precision, says Tom Knight, father of synthetic biology

Read More..

China raps N. Korea over rocket launch

BEIJING: China on Wednesday rapped North Korea over its long-range rocket launch, demanding North Korea comply with UN resolutions against using ballistic missiles, the official news agency Xinhua said.

"Pyongyang should... abide by relevant UN Security Council resolutions... which demands the DPRK not to conduct 'any launch using ballistic missile technology' and urges it to 'suspend all activities related to its ballistic missile programme'," Xinhua said in a commentary.

China, North Korea's sole major ally and its biggest trading partner and aid provider, is seen as one of the few nations with any influence over the regime in Pyongyang and had previously expressed concerns over the launch.

Over the past decade, Beijing has repeatedly called for calm as North Korea tested nuclear weapons and carried out ballistic missile tests, despite wide condemnation from the international community, including the United States.

Following Wednesday's launch, Xinhua again urged all sides to exercise restraint.

"All parties concerned should stay cool-headed and refrain from stoking the flames so as to prevent the situation from spiralling out of control," Xinhua said.

"In place of bellicose rhetoric and gestures, they need to take concrete actions to foster a conducive milieu for dialogue and return to the negotiating table as soon as possible."

Xinhua also called for the resumption of long-stalled six-party talks over the North's nuclear programme, which are chaired by China and take in both Koreas, the United States, Japan and Russia.

"For years, the situation on the peninsula seems to have entered a reinforcing loop of misunderstanding, mistrust and animosity. The only viable way begins with trust-building," the agency added.

However, it said that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea -- the North's official name -- had "the right to conduct peaceful exploration of the outer space".

North Korea insisted the mission was not a banned intercontinental missile test but was designed to place a scientific satellite in orbit, and said it had achieved all its objectives.

"In international relations, as in life, the best way to make an enemy of a country is to treat it like one," Xinhua said. "This rule of thumb is also true with making friends."

- AFP/ck

Read More..

Sudan: Israeli 'spy vulture' nabbed

By Nick Thompson and Nima Elbagir, CNN

updated 2:13 PM EST, Tue December 11, 2012

Sudan: Israel using 'spy vultures'

Sudan: Israel using 'spy vultures'

Sudan: Israel using 'spy vultures'

Sudan: Israel using 'spy vultures'

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Sudan: Israeli vulture with GPS-equipped camera caught by officials in western Sudan


• Israeli scientists say a number of vultures tagged with GPS to study migration routes


• Expert: GPS tracking of this sort used in hundreds of studies around the world


• Griffon vultures are an endangered species in the Middle East, Hatzofe says

(CNN) -- A vulture captured by Sudanese authorities is actually an Israeli spy on a secret reconnaissance mission, a pro-government newspaper in the east African nation has claimed.

Government sources say the vulture, found in western Sudan, was tagged with a GPS-equipped camera to take and send pictures back to Israel, according to a December 8 story in the Alintibaha newspaper.

The bird also wore an ankle label reading "Hebrew University Jerusalem," "Israel Nature Service" and the contact details of an Israeli avian ecologist.

The ecologist, Ohad Hatzofe of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, has rejected the Sudanese government claims -- saying the vulture, which can fly up to 600 kilometers in a single day, was tagged with GPS equipment to study its migration pattern.

"The Sudanese accusations are untrue," Hatzofe told CNN. "The GPS gear on these vultures can only tell us where the birds are, nothing else."

He said: "This is ordinary equipment that is used around the world to detect movement of wildlife. There are hundreds of studies using this technology on everything from butterflies and sea turtles to sharks and whales."

Hatzofe also cast doubt on the practicality of using vultures as secret agents: "I'm not an intelligence expert, but what would be learned from putting a camera onto a vulture? You cannot control it. It's not a drone that you can send where you want. What would be the benefit of watching a vulture eat the insides of a dead camel?"

The Griffon vulture is an endangered species in the Middle East, according to Hebrew University Jerusalem professor Ran Nathan. His students, Roi Harel and Orr Spiegel, tagged more than 100 vultures -- 25 of them with GPS trackers -- as part of a project to observe the behavior and movement of younger vultures.

Hatzofe says the data from the tagged GPS vultures isn't transmitted solely back to Israel, but to the animal-tracking website Movebank, where other scientists can analyze the data.

The Israeli scientists first knew something was amiss in early December, when the GPS system (pictured above) indicated the vulture was on the ground and was moving along a road in western Sudan.

The Griffon vulture is not a migratory bird, but it isn't uncommon for them to make their way into northern Africa, according to Hatzofe, who says the vulture's wing tag included a message asking anyone who found the bird to contact him or the university.

"My email address is on the vulture," he told CNN, "but I never got a message."

The Israeli government declined to comment on this story, and repeated calls to Sudanese officials went unanswered.

Hatzofe says that the real danger of claiming that GPS-tagged birds are spies is that it could prompt government officials to kill animals they capture.

"There is nothing new about birds tagged for studies, and if governments will not reject these types of rumors, then others will grab their weapons and hunt down wildlife -- the exact opposite of what conservationists want."

CNN's Dominique van Heerden contributed to this report.

Part of complete coverage on

updated 9:22 AM EST, Tue December 11, 2012

Tibetans set themselves on fire because China has stripped them of other legal and political recourse, writes Stephanie Brigden of Free Tibet.

updated 7:46 PM EST, Mon December 10, 2012

Radio pranks are here to stay, but DJs can soften the humiliation. The principle of "Do No Harm" should guide them, Bruce Wienstein writes.

updated 5:54 PM EST, Mon December 10, 2012

CNN's Arwa Damon has an exclusive look at one man repurposing unexploded rockets for the rebels using everyday supplies.

updated 6:48 AM EST, Mon December 10, 2012

Homs has borne the brunt of the Syrian military's wrath since violence broke out nearly two years ago. There, marriage is an act of revolution.

updated 1:18 PM EST, Mon December 10, 2012

CNN's Diana Magnay profiles one of Greece's best and brightest who will leave her country rather than struggle to get by.

updated 7:44 AM EST, Tue December 11, 2012

She grew up in one of the poorest spots on earth. She couldn't read, but still became the first titled female Ugandan chess player star.

updated 6:24 AM EST, Tue December 11, 2012

HSBC is to pay out a record $1.92 billion fine to U.S. authorities, but will need just 41 days to earn the cash back. Is this the new normal?

updated 2:07 AM EST, Tue December 11, 2012

The U.S. National Intelligence Council predicts China's ascent as the world's top. That is, unless several "Black Swan" events skew their predictions.

updated 6:07 AM EST, Tue December 11, 2012

Fancy yourself as a bit of a news nerd: Do you know who parachuted from a helicopter into the Olympic stadium? Test yourself!

updated 7:33 PM EST, Tue December 11, 2012

As 2012 marches toward a close, we look back at the icons we've lost this year. Look through the photos to remind yourself of the legends.

For many people, Christmas is the most exciting time of the year. We want to see your best, most spectacular images of Christmas where you live.

Read More..