Ghana building collapse traps dozens, kills 1

ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — A five-story shopping center built earlier this year in a bustling suburb of Ghana‘s capital collapsed Wednesday, killing at least one person and leaving several dozen people trapped in the rubble, authorities and eyewitnesses said.

Rescue crews used cranes to try and remove debris from the top of the building amid fears that machinery sifting through the wreckage could injure trapped survivors. Crowds of bystanders gathered as rescuers sifted through cement and glass.

The fatality at the Melcom Shopping Center at Achimota, a suburb of Accra, was confirmed by Public Affairs Officer of the Ghana Fire Service Billy Anaglate. “We are still working to find out the fate of others who may be trapped under,” he said.

Other officials told The Associated Press that the death toll was likely to rise.

An AP reporter at the scene saw at least one man pulled from the debris, covered in dust and who was then whisked into an ambulance.

A Greater Accra Regional Public Affairs officer, deputy superintendent Freeman Tettey, confirmed that one person died and told the AP that 51 have been rescued and sent to hospitals around the capital.

“I was on my way to the shop when l saw it crumpling down,” Kojo Boadi, an eyewitness, said.

President John Mahama declared the scene a disaster zone and cut short his election campaign in the north of the country to be able to visit the site. The presidential election is scheduled for December.

The five-story store opened in February is part of the Melcom chain owned by Indian immigrant magnate, Bhagwan Khubchandani. His late father arrived in Ghana in 1929 as a 14-year-old to work as a store boy in the-then Gold Coast.

The store sells a variety of cheap, imported household goods and appliances that are popular with working-class Ghanaians.

Africa News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Read More..

UK PM warns of witch-hunt against gays in pedophile scandal

LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister David Cameron warned on Thursday that speculation about the identity of an unidentified member of his ruling Conservative party accused of sexually abusing children could turn into a witch-hunt against gay people.

Cameron, who leads a troubled two-party coalition, ordered an investigation this week after a victim of child sexual abuse in Wales said a prominent Conservative political figure had abused him during the 1970s.

The claims, which follow the unmasking of late BBC star presenter Jimmy Savile as one of Britain’s most prolific sex offenders, have stoked concern that a powerful pedophile ring may have operated in Britain in the 1970s and 1980s.

“I have heard all sorts of names bandied around and what then tends to happen is of course that everyone then sits around and speculates about people, some of whom are alive, some of whom are dead,” Cameron said during an ITV television interview.

“It is very important that anyone who has got any information about any pedophile no matter how high up in the country go to the police,” he said.

Britain’s interior minister warned lawmakers this week that if they named suspected child abusers in parliament they risked jeopardizing future trials.

MPs benefit from “parliamentary privilege” – meaning they can speak inside parliament freely without fear of legal action on a host of legally sensitive issues that might otherwise attract lawsuits.

Reports of child abuse have provoked fevered speculation on the Internet about the identity of the Conservative figure from the era of Margaret Thatcher, prime minister from 1979 to 1990.

When the ITV interviewer passed Cameron a piece of paper with the names of people identified on the Internet as being alleged child abusers, Cameron said:

“There is a danger if we are not careful that this could turn into a sort of witch-hunt particularly against people who are gay.”

“I am worried about the sort of thing you are doing right now – giving me a list of names you have taken off the Internet,” Cameron said.

The BBC aired a program last week in which Steven Messham, one of hundreds of victims of sexual abuse at children’s care homes in Wales over two decades, said he had been sexually abused by a prominent Conservative political figure.

However, the BBC reporter said he could not name the figure because there was “simply not enough evidence to name names”.

(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Andrew Osborn)

Celebrity News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Read More..

FDA reviewing Merck’s experimental insomnia drug

WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J. (AP) — Drugmaker Merck & Co. says the Food and Drug Administration is reviewing its experimental insomnia medication, suvorexant (SOO’vor-eks-ant).

The drug minimizes the morning grogginess common with many sleep aids. It could become a big seller for the Whitehouse Station, N.J., company.

If approved, it would be the first in a new class of medicines for patients with trouble falling or staying asleep. It works by temporarily blocking chemical messengers that keep people awake.

The FDA is doing a standard review, which usually takes 10 months. If approved, suvorexant would be a controlled substance like all hypnotic sleep drugs. They require additional government reviews taking four months or longer.

In studies, suvorexant’s most common side effects were tiredness and headache.

Merck also plans to seek approval for suvorexant in other countries.

Health News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Read More..

Exclusive: Google Ventures beefs up fund size to $300 million a year

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google will increase the cash it allocates to its venture-capital arm to up to $300 million a year from $200 million, catapulting Google Ventures into the top echelon of corporate venture-capital funds.

Access to that sizeable checkbook means Google Ventures will be able to invest in more later-stage financing rounds, which tend to be in the tens of millions of dollars or more per investor.

It puts the firm on the same footing as more established corporate venture funds such as Intel's Intel Capital, which typically invests $300-$500 million a year.

"It puts a lot more wood behind the arrow if we need it," said Bill Maris, managing partner of Google Ventures.

Part of the rationale behind the increase is that Google Ventures is a relatively young firm, founded in 2009. Some of the companies it backed two or three years ago are now at later stages, potentially requiring larger cash infusions to grow further.

Google Ventures has taken an eclectic approach, investing in a broad spectrum of companies ranging from medicine to clean power to coupon companies.

Every year, it typically funds 40-50 "seed-stage" deals where it invests $250,000 or less in a company, and perhaps around 15 deals where it invests up to $10 million, Maris said. It aims to complete one or two deals annually in the $20-$50 million range, Maris said.

LACKING SUPERSTARS

Some of its investments include Nest, a smart-thermostat company; Foundation Medicine, which applies genomic analysis to cancer care; Relay Rides, a carsharing service; and smart-grid company Silver Spring Networks. Last year, its portfolio company HomeAway raised $216 million in an initial public offering.

Still, Google Ventures lacks superstar companies such as microblogging service Twitter or online bulletin-board company Pinterest. The firm's recent hiring of high-profile entrepreneur Kevin Rose as a partner could help attract higher-profile deals.

Soon it could have even more cash to play around with. "Larry has repeatedly asked me: 'What do you think you could do with a billion a year?'" said Maris, referring to Google chief executive Larry Page.

(Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)

Read More..

Merkel says Germany, Britain must work together on EU

LONDON (Reuters) – Germany and Britain must cooperate to work round their differences on the European Union‘s long-term spending plans, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday.

“Despite differences that we have it is very important for me that the UK and Germany work together,” Merkel said through a translator before a meeting in London with Prime Minister David Cameron to discuss the EU‘s 2014-2020 budget.

“We always have to do something that will stand up to public opinion back home. Not all of the expenditure that has been earmarked has been used with great efficiency … We need to address that,” she said.

EU leaders meet in Brussels on November 22-23 to try to secure a seven-year budget for the 27-nation bloc amid signs of differences of opinion over what action should be taken.

(Reporting by Peter Griffiths; Editing by Andrew Osborn)

Europe News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Read More..

Apple shares slide to five-month low, competition grows

'},"otherParams":{"t_e":1,".intl":"US"},"events":{"fetch":{lv:2,"sp":"97570179","ps":"LREC,MON","npv":true,"bg":"#FFFFFF","em":escape('{"site-attribute":"_id=\'6fc6e2e9-b163-3060-b8dd-69df1e64d440\' sensitivity=\'0\' rs=\'lmsid:a0770000002GZ5iAAG\' ctype=\'fn_news;News\' ctopid=\'1499989;1550500;2299500;1507989;1506989;1542500;1550000;1507489;1577000\' can_suppress_ugc=\'1\' content=\'no_expandable;ajax_cert_expandable;\' ADSSA"}'),"em_orig":escape('{"site-attribute":"_id=\'6fc6e2e9-b163-3060-b8dd-69df1e64d440\' sensitivity=\'0\' rs=\'lmsid:a0770000002GZ5iAAG\' ctype=\'fn_news;News\' ctopid=\'1499989;1550500;2299500;1507989;1506989;1542500;1550000;1507489;1577000\' can_suppress_ugc=\'1\' content=\'no_expandable;ajax_cert_expandable;\' ADSSA"}')}}};var _createNodes=function(){var nIds=_conf.nodeIds;for(var i in nIds){var nId=nIds[i];var dId=_conf.destinationMap[nIds[i].replace("yom-","")];n=Y.one("#"+nId);if(n)var center=n.one("center");var node=Y.one("#"+dId);var nodeHTML;if(center && !node){nodeHTML=_conf.nodes[nId];center.insert(nodeHTML);};};};var _prepareNodes=function(){var nIds=_conf.nodeIds;for(var i in nIds){var nId=nIds[i];var dId=_conf.destinationMap[nIds[i].replace("yom-ad-","")];n=Y.one("#"+nId);if(n)var center=n.one("center");var node=Y.one("#"+dId);if(center && node){center.set("innerHTML","");center.insert(node);node.setStyle("display","block");};};};var _darla;var _config=function(){if(YAHOO.ads.darla){_darla = YAHOO.ads.darla;_createNodes();};};var _fetch=function(spaceid,adssa,ps){
if (typeof(ps)!='undefined')
_conf.events.fetch.ps = ps;if(typeof spaceid != "undefined") _conf.events.fetch.sp=spaceid;adssa = (typeof adssa != "undefined" && adssa != null) ? escape(adssa.replace(/\"/g, "'")) : "";_conf.events.fetch.em=_conf.events.fetch.em_orig.replace("ADSSA", adssa);if(_darla){_prepareNodes();_darla.setConfig(_conf);_darla.event("fetch");};};Y.on("domready", function(){_config();});;var that={"fetch":_fetch,"getNodes":_conf.nodes,"getConf":_conf};return that;}();/* Backwards compatibility - Assigning the latest instance to the main fetch function */YUI.PhotoAdsDarla.fetch=YUI.PhotoAdsDarla.photoslightboxdarla.fetch;
});
Y.later(10, this, function() {YAHOO.namespace('Media.Social').Lightbox = {};
});
Y.later(10, this, function() {Y.Media.Article.init();
});
Y.later(10, this, function() {new Y.Media.AuthorBadge();
});
Y.later(10, this, function() {new Y.Media.Branding();
});
Y.later(10, this, function() {Y.on("load", function () {
YUI.namespace("Media.SocialButtons");

var instances = YUI.Media.SocialButtons.instances || [],
globalConf = YAHOO.Media.SocialButtons.conf || {},
vplContainers = [];

Y.all(".ymsb").each(function (node) {
var id = node.get("id"),
conf = YAHOO.Media.SocialButtons.configs[id],
instance;

if (conf) {
instance = new Y.SocialButtons({
srcNode: node,
config: Y.merge(globalConf, conf.config || {}),
contentMetadata: conf.content || {},
tracking: conf.tracking || {}
});
vplContainers.push(
{
selector: "#" + id,
callback: function(node) { instance.render(); instance = conf = id = null; }
});

if (conf.config && conf.config.dynamic) {
instances.push(instance);
}
}
});

Y.Global.Media.ViewportLoader.addContainers(vplContainers);
YUI.Media.SocialButtons.instances = instances;
});
});
Y.later(10, this, function() {if (!Y.Media) {

return;

}

Y.Media.boba_lightbox_module_targets = Y.Media.boba_lightbox_module_targets || {};

Y.Media.boba_lightbox_module_configs = Y.Media.boba_lightbox_module_configs || {};

Y.Media.boba_lightbox_module_dataset = Y.Media.boba_lightbox_module_dataset || {};

Y.Media.boba_lightbox_module_whitelist = Y.Media.boba_lightbox_module_whitelist || {};


Y.Media.boba_lightbox_module_targets['lightboxfb11463e5e719400ca18bc98b9778ce3'] = {"lightboxId":"cdb195a8f28db8cb968141f778323a6b","pivotId":"94bf589f-afdb-3d01-8984-fc68fffb427d"};


Y.Media.boba_lightbox_module_dataset['cdb195a8f28db8cb968141f778323a6b'] = {"spaceid":"97570179","total":1,"photoby":"Photo By","xhrtype":"slideshow","videoconf":{"autoplay":true,"continuousPlay":true,"mute":false,"volume":"1.00","lang":"en-US","site":"news","region":"US","jurisdiction":"US","YVAP":{"accountId":"145","playContext":"default"},"pageSpaceId":"97570179","comscoreC4":"US News","comscoreC6":"","showEmbedCode":true,"showShareUrl":true,"expName":"MediaArticleRelatedLightbox","expType":"inline","apiEnv":"prod"},"slideshow_id":null,"slideshow_title":null,"slideshow_title_baked_html":null,"slideshow_desc":null,"slideshow_rev":null,"slideshow_plink_vita":null,"photos":[{"type":"image","url":"http:\/\/l.yimg.com\/bt\/api\/res\/1.2\/0Uxj2joL6qp6q19d5DnzIA--\/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9aW5zZXQ7aD0zMTI7cT03OTt3PTQ1MA--\/http:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en_us\/News\/Reuters\/2012-11-07T195512Z_3_CBRE8A61BIA00_RTROPTP_2_CTECH-US-APPLE-SHARES.JPG","width":450,"height":312,"uuid":"94bf589f-afdb-3d01-8984-fc68fffb427d","caption":"The Apple logo hangs in a glass enclosure above the 5th Ave Apple Store in New York, September 20, 2012. Apple's iPhone 5 goes on sale tomorrow. REUTERS\/Lucas Jackson","captionBakedHtml":"

The Apple logo hangs in a glass enclosure above the 5th Ave Apple Store in New York, September 20, 2012. Apple's iPhone 5 goes on sale tomorrow. REUTERS\/Lucas Jackson","date":"Wed, Nov 7, 2012 3:02 PM EST","credit":"Reuters","byline":"LUCAS JACKSON","provider":"Reuters","photo_title":"The Apple logo hangs in a glass enclosure above the 5th Ave Apple Store in New York","pivot_alias_id":"apple-logo-hangs-glass-enclosure-above-5th-ave-photo-170604491","plink":"\/photos\/apple-logo-hangs-glass-enclosure-above-5th-ave-photo-170604491.html","plink_vita":"http:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/photos\/apple-logo-hangs-glass-enclosure-above-5th-ave-photo-170604491.html","srchtrm":"The Apple logo hangs in a glass enclosure above the 5th Ave Apple Store in New York","revsp":"","rev":"06bb1740-2916-11e2-a538-fdd62cfec5ba","surl":"http:\/\/l1.yimg.com\/bt\/api\/res\/1.2\/Z1ovHbTcLAxGeKKTypXUdw--\/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9aW5zZXQ7aD01NjtxPTc5O3c9ODE-\/http:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en_us\/News\/Reuters\/2012-11-07T195512Z_3_CBRE8A61BIA00_RTROPTP_2_CTECH-US-APPLE-SHARES.JPG","swidth":81,"sheight":56}]};

Y.Media.boba_lightbox_module_configs['cdb195a8f28db8cb968141f778323a6b'] = {"spaceid":"97570179","ult_pt":"story-lightbox","darla_id":"","images_total":0,"xhr_url":"\/_xhr\/related-article\/lightbox\/?id=6fc6e2e9-b163-3060-b8dd-69df1e64d440","xhr_count":20,"autoplay_if_first_item_is_video":true};
});
Y.later(10, this, function() {new Y.Media.RelatedArticle({count:"2",start:"1",
mod_total:"10", total:"0",
content_id:"6fc6e2e9-b163-3060-b8dd-69df1e64d440",
spaceid:"97570179",
related_count:"-1"
});
});
Y.later(10, this, function() {(function(d){
d.getElementsByTagName('head')[0].appendChild(d.createElement('script')).src='http://d.yimg.com/oq/js/csc_news-en-US-core.js';
})(document);
});
Y.later(10, this, function() {
if(!("Media" in YAHOO)){YAHOO.Media = {};}
if(!("ugcrate" in YAHOO.Media)){YAHOO.Media.ugcrate = {};}
if(!("Media" in Y)){Y.namespace("Media");}
YAHOO.Media.ugcrate.ratings_5edd788e9527897897ec94abed6516ae = new Y.Media.UgcRate({"context_id":"09a9faf4-1bcc-43ad-ac6a-bd9f23f9f173","sCrumb":"","containerId":"yom-sentimentrate-5edd788e9527897897ec94abed6516ae","rateDimensions":"d1","appLang":"en-US","sUltSId":"97570179","sUltProperty":"news-en-US","sUltCampaign":"","sUltPlatform":"ugcwidgets","sUltIntl":"US","sUltLang":"en-US","selfPageUrl":"http:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/apples-shares-slide-4-percent-five-month-low-170604771--sector.html?_esi=0","artContentId":"6fc6e2e9-b163-3060-b8dd-69df1e64d440","sUltQstnTxt":"How confident are you that your privacy is being protected when you browse the internet?","artContentTitle":"Apple shares slide to five-month low, competition grows","artContentDesc":"SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Shares of Apple Inc slid more than 4 percent on Wednesday to a five-month low as investors grew more uncertain about its ability to fend off unprecedented competition and untangle a snarled iPhone 5 supply chain. Apple\\'s slide was steeper than the S&P 500\\'s drop of about 2 percent the day after the U.S. election, putting the world\\'s most valuable technology company into bearish territory. Apple, long a mainstay of many fund portfolios, has lost 20 percent -- $130 billion of its market value -- since hitting a record high in September. ...","sUltBucketId":"test1","sUltSection":"sentirating","sUltBeaconUrl":"","sUltRecordPageviews":"1","sUltBeaconEnable":"1","serviceUrl":"\/_xhr","publisherContextId":"","propertyId":"2fcd79b5-b3a3-333e-b98e-722536a6698f","configurationId":"435db9ee-c55e-3766-b20d-c8ad3ff889d1","graphId":"","labelLeft":"Not at all confident","labelRight":"Completely confident","labelMiddle":"","itemimg":"http:\/\/l.yimg.com\/a\/i\/ww\/met\/yahoo_logo_us_061509.png","selfURI":"","aggregateRatingCount":"44615","aggregateReviewCount":"0","leftBlocksNum":"42276","rightBlocksNum":"2339","leftBlocksPerCent":"95","rightBlocksPerCent":"5","ugcrate_apihost":"api01-us.ugcl.yahoo.com:4080","publisher_id":"news-en-US","yca_cert":"yahoo.ugccloud.app.trusted_proxies","timeout_write":"5000","through_proxy":"false","optionStats":"{\"s1\":33740,\"s2\":3626,\"s3\":1658,\"s4\":1655,\"s5\":1597,\"s6\":2339,\"s7\":0,\"s8\":0,\"s9\":0,\"s10\":0}","l10N":"{\"FIRST_TO_READ\":\"You are first to read this. Share your feelings and start a conversation.\",\"SHARE_YOUR_FEELINGS\":\"You too can share your feelings and start a conversation!\",\"HOW_YOUR_FRIENDS_THINK\":\"Thank you for sharing your feeling on this article!\",\"PRE_SHARE_MSG\":\"Your Facebook friends on Yahoo! can see how you responded. To share your response on Facebook, click on the Facebook share option.\",\"START_THE_CONVERSATION\":\"Start the Conversation\",\"THANKS_FOR_SHARING\":\"Sure, that's how you feel... But what do your friends think?\",\"POLL_HEADER\":\"SOCIAL SENTIMENT\",\"SERVER_ERROR\":\"Oops there seems to be some error, please try again later\",\"LOADING\":\"Loading...\",\"SHARE_AFTER_COMMENT\":\"Your response has been shared on Facebook.\",\"UNDO\":\"Undo\",\"UNIT_PEOPLE\":\"People\",\"NUM_PEOPLE_DISAGREE\":\"disagree with your opinion.\",\"READ_MORE_TEXT\":\"Read what they have to say.\",\"SLIDER_THUMB_WORDING_BEFORE_VOTING\":\"WHAT DO YOU THINK?\",\"SLIDER_THUMB_WORDING_VERB_BEFORE_VOTING\":\"DRAG\",\"SLIDER_THUMB_WORDING_THANKS_VOTING\":\"Thanks for voting\",\"NUM_PEOPLE_ANSWERED\":\" 44,615 people have responded\",\"ONE_PERSON_ANSWERED\":\" 1 person has responded. Your response will be seen by your Facebook friends on Yahoo!\",\"TWO_PEOPLE_ANSWERED\":\" 2 people have responded. Your response will be seen by your Facebook friends on Yahoo!\",\"NUM_PEOPLE_ANSWERED_AND_SHARED\":\" 44,615 people have responded. Your response will be seen by your Facebook friends on Yahoo!\",\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s1\":33740,\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s2\":3626,\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s3\":1658,\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s4\":1655,\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s5\":1597,\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s6\":2339,\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s7\":0,\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s8\":0,\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s9\":0,\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s10\":0}","fbconfig":"{\"message\":\"undefined\",\"name\":\"undefined\",\"link\":\"\",\"source\":\"\",\"picture\":\"http:\\\/\\\/l.yimg.com\\\/a\\\/i\\\/ww\\\/news\\\/2011\\\/09\\\/27\\\/yahoo-tc.jpg\",\"description\":\"\",\"captionLeft\":\"undefined\",\"captionRight\":\"undefined\",\"app_id\":\"196660913708276\",\"redirect_uri\":\"\\\/_xhr\\\/ugcratefbredirect\\\/\"}","template_id":"LONG_SLIDER_SOUTH","obj_id":"ratings_5edd788e9527897897ec94abed6516ae","opt_count":"6","opt_color1":"","opt_color2":"","template_html":"

Read More..

A Minute With: Taylor Lautner finding new dawn after “Twilight”

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – As dusk sets on the “Twilight” saga with the final film, actor Taylor Lautner is looking at a new dawn for the next stage in his career.

Lautner, 20, shot to fame after being cast as werewolf Jacob Black in the “Twilight” films, entangled in a torrid love triangle with Kristen Stewart‘s Bella Swan and Robert Pattinson‘s vampire Edward Cullen. He became a household name and pin-up for his clean-cut good looks and shirtless scenes.

In “Breaking Dawn – Part 2,” out in U.S. theaters on November 16, Lautner’s character finds new love, albeit unusual, and indulges his comedic side as the story comes to an end.

Lautner spoke to Reuters about leaving Jacob and his cast mates behind, and why the final film may leave fans in tears.

Q: What’s different about Jacob in “Breaking Dawn – Part 2″?

A: “He’s always been so stressed and emotional and things aren’t going his way and there was a huge weight lifted off his shoulders in this one, huge. It was nice to play that side of Jacob where he could sit back and relax and have a smile on his face and crack a few funny jokes every now and then.”

Q: Jacob finds his soul mate in Bella and Edward’s daughter Renesmee from the moment she is born. Was it challenging to balance his affection for her without coming across creepy?

A: “It was a challenge, and it is so complicated, but really nobody understands it more than Stephenie Meyer who created it. I was picking her brain all day long about it. She basically told me over and over again, ‘Taylor, stop trying to overthink it, stop trying to take it different places … It’s a life-long bond between two people, that’s it.’ In the movie, (Renesmee) is 10 years old, it’s much more of a protector relationship right now, and of course the relationship will grow but we don’t explore that, but it was important for me to keep it simple.”

Q: What are you going to miss most about your character and the franchise?

A: “These characters have never stopped changing throughout the entire franchise, and that’s what I love about Jacob. Jacob himself has grown up so much and gone through so many hurdles and it was a fantastic character to play. For me, it’ll be tough to say goodbye to spending time with people that I love. We’ve grown so close over the past few years. Our relationships will go on past this but to not have that excuse to spend day after day together while filming or promoting will be different.”

Q: “Twilight” fans are not just interested in your characters, they’re also interested in your personal lives. The past summer has seen a lot of attention on Robert and Kristen’s relationship. How do you handle that level of scrutiny?

A: “It’s unlike anything else because when we do talk about the movies, 90 percent of the time people want to know more about ourselves than the characters and what’s going on. I guess that just comes with a fan base like this, it comes with the job and you try and not let it affect you too much, but I have no complaints … The scrutiny, is it unfortunate? Yeah, but you just got to make your way around it and think about things more.”

Q: Do you feel protective of your cast members?

A: “Yes, I definitely do, we’re so close by this point, I think that it’s hard not to.”

Q: What do you hope “Twilight” fans take away from “Breaking Dawn – Part 2″?

A: “I just hope they’re happy and they’re proud because we really do make these movies for them. They’re the reason we are able to make them, their support is unreal and we’re so proud of this last one. This last one specifically wraps it up so nicely, it’s an amazing movie. During the movie, it’ll keep you on the edge of your seat but by the end, I think more than a few of the fans will be in tears.”

Q: Post-Twilight, where do you want to take your career to, what roles would you like to explore? I hear you have a cameo in the comedy “Grown Ups 2″?

A: “It was great to do (comedy), just hop in and show a different side, do something fun and work with somebody like Adam (Sandler). But now I’m looking forward to doing something different from that. There are a few projects that I’m very excited about that are extremely challenging and dramatic and would be tough.”

(Reporting By Piya Sinha-Roy, editing by Jill Serjeant and Patricia Reaney)

Movies News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Read More..

Pediatric clinical trials not going overseas – study

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Despite some concerns that medical studies involving children could make an ethically dubious shift to developing nations, a new study suggests that’s not happening.

It’s really only in the last decade that clinical trials – even in the U.S. and Europe – have started to focus on children, said Dr. Dianne Murphy, director of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Office of Pediatric Therapeutics.

Since children cannot give informed consent to enter a study (their parents have to do it), kids have historically been left out of clinical trials testing vaccines, drugs and other therapies.

But that’s a problem, Murphy explained, because children are not small adults, and study results from adults cannot simply be extended to them.

“We don’t know if we’re giving them the right dose, or if it’s even going to be effective,” Murphy explained.

So pediatric clinical trials are necessary. But since most children are, fortunately, healthy, researchers have to cast a wider net for study participants.

“You do have to reach out to more countries and more locations,” Murphy said.

And that has led some to question whether there could be an inappropriate shift to countries where ethical guidelines – like making sure parents give truly informed consent – might not be closely monitored.

In the new study, however, Murphy and her colleagues found that the number of pediatric clinical trials in developing countries has actually declined in recent years. And the U.S. remains, by far, the most common trial location.

Of 346 pediatric trials the FDA reviewed, the U.S. participated in 86 percent, providing three-quarters of the patients. Less developed and transitional countries, like Mexico, Brazil and India, took part in 22 percent and accounted for 10 percent of all kids involved.

The figures come from trials submitted to the FDA in support of therapies approved between 2007 and 2010.

Developing nations, the agency found, played a smaller role in those trials than they had just a few years earlier.

In an earlier study of trials submitted between 2002 and 2007, the FDA found that developing countries took part in 38 percent of trials, and accounted for almost one-quarter of patients.

Those numbers will naturally shift depending on the diseases and treatments being studied in a given time period, Murphy noted.

If there are more trials testing vaccines or treatments for infectious disease, developing nations will tend to be more involved. And that’s appropriate, Murphy said, because those diseases are a far bigger problem in developing countries.

“Children shouldn’t be in a trial unless there’s an opportunity for them to benefit,” Murphy said.

The researchers didn’t find evidence that kids in developing countries were being recruited into trials for diseases that are irrelevant to them. Of children enrolled in Mexico, for example, 97 percent were involved in vaccine trials.

In addition, most trials being done in developing countries (75 percent) were also running in wealthy ones.

Murphy said the FDA is taking steps to ensure that pediatric trials are being done appropriately. “For one,” she noted, “everyone should be aware that we’re reviewing this. That alone is important.”

But she said the agency also offers training to regulators in other countries, and has regular conference calls with officials in developing nations to help them with “in-the-weeds kinds of questions.”

“These conversations, particularly for (trials with) children, are very important,” Murphy said.

Continuing to do trials involving kids is also vital, according to Murphy.

“If we don’t, then your child becomes an experiment of one,” she said, noting that research suggests that products that work for adults’ ills do not work for children about one-fifth of the time.

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/UwOXbC Pediatrics, online November 5, 2012.

Medications/Drugs News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Read More..

Boehner, Reid in talks to avert 'fiscal cliff'

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Fresh off the election, the two top leaders of Congress began tentative discussions on Wednesday aimed at heading off potential economic disaster at year's end, when simultaneous tax increases and spending cuts threaten to throw the United States into a recession.

The leader of the Senate's Democratic majority, Harry Reid, said he had conferred Wednesday morning with his Republican counterpart in the U.S. House of Representatives, Speaker John Boehner, and both had agreed not to "draw any lines in the sand" for the time being.

At the same time, Reid stressed that Democrats were not likely to budge from their standard negotiating position, that tax increases should apply to the wealthy, not those in the middle class or below.

The re-election of President Barack Obama and Democratic gains in the U.S. Senate, Reid said, had validated the party's position on taxes.

"I'm willing to negotiate at any time on any issue ... I want to work together but I want everyone to understand you can't push us around," Reid said

Reid said it was his preference they reach agreement in the post-election session of Congress that begins next week on ways to avoid the so-called "fiscal cliff" - the combination of expiring tax cuts and automatic across-the-board reductions in federal spending due at year's end.

He said would prefer a solution in this year's so-called lame duck session rather than enact a temporary fix for the fiscal cliff and would push the issue into the newly elected Congress, which starts in January.

"I'm not for kicking the can down the road," he told reporters. "We need to solve it."

Boehner, will deliver a statement at 3:30 p.m. EST on Wednesday on the need for a bipartisan deal.

Boehner will make his case a day after American voters gave Obama a second term, but maintained a divided government, with Republicans still in control of the House and Democrats still holding the Senate.

Boehner will argue that Republicans and Democrats must "take steps together," a spokesman said in a press release.

(Reporting By Thomas Ferraro; Editing by Fred Barbash and Jackie Frank)

Read More..

Boehner, Reid began talks to avert 'fiscal cliff'

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Fresh off the election, the two top leaders of Congress began tentative discussions on Wednesday aimed at heading off potential economic disaster at year's end, when simultaneous tax increases and spending cuts threaten to throw the United States into a recession.

The leader of the Senate's Democratic majority, Harry Reid, said he had conferred Wednesday morning with his Republican counterpart in the U.S. House of Representatives, Speaker John Boehner, and both had agreed not to "draw any lines in the sand" for the time being.

At the same time, Reid stressed that Democrats were not likely to budge from their standard negotiating position, that tax increases should apply to the wealthy, not those in the middle class or below.

The re-election of President Barack Obama and Democratic gains in the U.S. Senate, Reid said, had validated the party's position on taxes.

"I'm willing to negotiate at any time on any issue ... I want to work together but I want everyone to understand you can't push us around," Reid said

Reid said it was his preference they reach agreement in the post-election session of Congress that begins next week on ways to avoid the so-called "fiscal cliff" - the combination of expiring tax cuts and automatic across-the-board reductions in federal spending due at year's end.

He said would prefer a solution in this year's so-called lame duck session rather than enact a temporary fix for the fiscal cliff and would push the issue into the newly elected Congress, which starts in January.

"I'm not for kicking the can down the road," he told reporters. "We need to solve it."

Boehner, will deliver a statement at 3:30 p.m. EST on Wednesday on the need for a bipartisan deal.

Boehner will make his case a day after American voters gave Obama a second term, but maintained a divided government, with Republicans still in control of the House and Democrats still holding the Senate.

Boehner will argue that Republicans and Democrats must "take steps together," a spokesman said in a press release.

(Reporting By Thomas Ferraro; Editing by Fred Barbash and Jackie Frank)

Read More..