Syria vows to 'crush' rebels, launches new attacks

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian President Bashar Assad greets military officers in a ceremony marking the anniversary of the 1973 Arab-Israeli war in Damascus, Syria, Saturday, October 6, 2012. (AP Photo/SANA)

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian President Bashar Assad greets military officers in a ceremony marking the anniversary of the 1973 Arab-Israeli war in Damascus, Syria, Saturday, October 6, 2012. (AP Photo/SANA)

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, a Russian plane carrying medical aid supplies is unloaded at the international airport in the Syrian capital Damascus on Saturday, October 6, 2012. The Russian government said the medicines and equipment had been approved by the Syrian Health Ministry. (AP Photo/SANA)

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, a Russian plane carrying medical aid supplies is unloaded at the international airport in the Syrian capital Damascus on Saturday, October 6, 2012. The Russian government said the medicines and equipment had been approved by the Syrian Health Ministry. (AP Photo/SANA)

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian President Bashar Assad lays a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier marking the anniversary of the 1973 Arab-Israeli war in Damascus, Syria, Saturday, October, 6, 2012. (AP Photo/SANA)

BEIRUT (AP) ? Syria's military will "crush" armed rebels, President Bashar Assad's defense minister warned Saturday, as the regime shelled rebel positions in two cities and near the Lebanese border in a widening offensive.

Neighboring Turkey, meanwhile, set new rules of engagement after three shells from Syria hit Turkish territory Saturday. Turkey retaliated with artillery, as it has for the past four days, and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said this would now be the standard response.

Davutoglu insisted that "we haven't taken a step toward war," but Turkey's threat to fire back for each errant Syrian shell was bound to keep border tensions high. Turkey is one of Assad's harshest critics and a key supporter of Syria's opposition.

The latest Syria-Turkey crisis erupted earlier this week, after a Syrian shell killed five civilians in a Turkish border town.

The Syrian regime has apologized and tried to defuse tensions by pulling some tanks back from the border, according to a Turkish Foreign Ministry official who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with government regulations.

Still, the week's daily cross-border exchanges have heightened fears of a regional conflagration.

Syrian mortar rounds are likely to hit Turkey again as regime forces try to retake rebel-controlled areas near the border. Two of the shells that fell in Turkey on Saturday were fired in clashes between government troops and opposition fighters in a Syrian border village.

Syria's civil war has been stalemated for months, but Syrian Defense Minister Gen. Fahd Jassem al-Freij insisted Saturday that the regime is gaining the upper hand.

The government denies it is facing a home-grown rebellion, saying it is being targeted by a foreign conspiracy against the regime's support for anti-Israeli groups.

"The most dangerous parts of the conspiracy have ... passed and the killing is on its way to decline," said al-Freij, who was named to the job after his predecessor was assassinated in July. He offered amnesty to rebels who repent but said those who don't "will be crushed under the feet of our soldiers."

The Syrian president, meanwhile, made a rare public appearance Saturday to commemorate the anniversary of the outbreak of the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, also known as the October War.

Assad laid a wreath at the country's statue of the Unknown Soldier in Damascus, then passed along a line of saluting army commanders in dress uniform, shaking hands with each. The ceremony, broadcast live on Syrian TV, seemed designed to show Assad remains in control.

Syria's state-run news agency SANA linked Saturday's anniversary to the current conflict, saying that in both cases "Syria is facing an enemy armed with Western and Israeli weapons."

Along with regime's new warnings to the rebels, Syrian troops backed by warplanes and combat helicopters launched attacks on rebel-held areas near the Syrian town of Quseir, close to Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, on Saturday, Lebanese security officials said.

Opposition activists also reported intense government shelling in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria's largest and a commercial hub, and in the central city of Homs.

The battlefield stalemate is most apparent in those two cities.

Syrian forces have been bombing and shelling from a distance but have been unable to dislodge opposition fighters holed up in devastated neighborhoods. Retaking Aleppo and Homs could give the regime some breathing room.

In Aleppo, government forces gained some ground in recent house-to-house combat, according to an Associated Press journalist in the city.

On Saturday, government troops captured the city's Sakhour roundabout after days of heavy fighting, a Syrian official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Heavy shelling also was reported in Taibeh, a town near Homs, an early center of the uprising. Opposition activists said at least 10 people were killed and dozens wounded.

Amateur video from Taibeh, posted Saturday, showed several badly disfigured bodies being pulled from the back of a pickup truck by distraught bystanders. One body was carried away on a red stretcher.

In another video, masked rebel fighters posed with assault rifles in what they said is an air defense base east of Damascus they captured earlier in the week.

The video showed captured weapons, including anti-aircraft missiles, heavy machine guns and large-caliber ammunition. The rebels surrounded a group of captured regime soldiers. The captives, some with bandages on their heads, each stood up and gave their rank and name.

The authenticity of such videos cannot be confirmed independently because Syria imposes tight restrictions on foreign journalists.

In a success for the opposition activists said, rebel fighters took control of the village of Khirbet el-Jouz in Syria's northwestern Idlib province, about 16 kilometers (10 miles) from the Turkish town of Guvecci.

Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency said that rebels planted their flag on the roof of a building that had been used as a base by regime troops in the village. The takeover came after intense clashes, with mortar shells exploding at a relentless pace, some near the Turkish border, Anadolu said.

Two of the mortars from that battle landed in Turkey, and a third shell hit later in another village in Turkey's Hatay province. No casualties were reported, but Turkish forces returned fire each time, according to Anadolu and the Hatay governor's office.

Earlier this week, Turkey's parliament approved such retaliation, expanding Turkey's response options. Turkey's leaders have reiterated that they don't want war with Syria, but another dramatic or deadly border incident could force unwanted escalation.

In another international entanglement, Assad ally Iran appealed to rebel backers Turkey and Qatar to help release 48 Iranians purportedly being held by Syrian rebels since August.

In amateur video posted late Thursday, rebels threatened to kill the captives by the end of the weekend unless the regime halts military operations against the opposition.

Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi spoke by phone Saturday with the Qatari prime minister and the Turkish foreign minister and received assurances they would try to help, Iran's state news agency IRNA reported.

Iran says those abducted were pilgrims visiting a Shiite shrine in Damascus. The Syrian opposition claims they are members of the elite Revolutionary Guard helping the Syrian regime.

___

Associated Press writer Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, Ali Akbar Dareini in Tehran, Iran, and Bassem Mroue in Beirut contributed reporting.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-10-06-Syria/id-e5d6268724734ee49e19c2f0d9b9038d

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Alzheimer drug shows some promise in mild disease

FILE-In this Monday, Feb. 6, 2012, file photo, Alexis McKenzie, right, executive director of The Methodist Home of the District of Columbia Forest Side, an Alzheimer's assisted-living facility, puts her hand on the arm of resident Catherine Peake, in Washington. Combined results released, Monday, Oct. 8, 2012, from two studies of an experimental Alzheimer's drug under development by Eli Lilly & Co. called solanezumab, suggest that it might modestly slow mental decline, especially in patients with mild disease. Taken separately, the studies missed their main goals to significantly slow the mind-robbing disease. But pooled results found 34 percent less decline in mild Alzheimer's patients compared to those on a dummy treatment for 18 months. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

FILE-In this Monday, Feb. 6, 2012, file photo, Alexis McKenzie, right, executive director of The Methodist Home of the District of Columbia Forest Side, an Alzheimer's assisted-living facility, puts her hand on the arm of resident Catherine Peake, in Washington. Combined results released, Monday, Oct. 8, 2012, from two studies of an experimental Alzheimer's drug under development by Eli Lilly & Co. called solanezumab, suggest that it might modestly slow mental decline, especially in patients with mild disease. Taken separately, the studies missed their main goals to significantly slow the mind-robbing disease. But pooled results found 34 percent less decline in mild Alzheimer's patients compared to those on a dummy treatment for 18 months. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

FILE-In this Monday, Feb. 6, 2012, file photo, Alexis McKenzie, right, executive director of The Methodist Home of the District of Columbia Forest Side, an Alzheimer's assisted-living facility, laughs with resident Catherine Peake, in Washington. Combined results released, Monday, Oct. 8, 2012, from two studies of an experimental Alzheimer's drug under development by Eli Lilly & Co. called solanezumab, suggest that it might modestly slow mental decline, especially in patients with mild disease. Taken separately, the studies missed their main goals to significantly slow the mind-robbing disease. But pooled results found 34 percent less decline in mild Alzheimer's patients compared to those on a dummy treatment for 18 months. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

BOSTON (AP) ? Combined results from two studies of an experimental Alzheimer's drug suggest it might modestly slow mental decline, especially in patients with mild disease.

Taken separately, the studies on the drug ? Eli Lilly & Co.'s solanezumab ? missed their main goals of significantly slowing the mind-robbing disease or improving activities of daily living. But pooled results found 34 percent less mental decline in mild Alzheimer's patients compared to those on a fake treatment for 18 months.

Doctors called the results encouraging although probably not good enough to win approval of the drug now, without another study to confirm there is a benefit. Investors were more enthused, driving Lilly's stock up about 5 percent on Monday and about 19 percent since August, when the company described the results in general terms.

Detailed results were revealed for the first time Monday at an American Neurological Association conference in Boston.

"It's certainly not the home run we all wanted, but we're very encouraged by these results," said Maria Carillo, chief science officer for the Alzheimer's Association, which had no role in the research.

Dr. Stephen Salloway, an Alzheimer's expert at Brown University, agreed.

"It's exciting to see that there may be clinical benefit," he said, but it is modest and may not make a difference in how well patients live ? what matters most to them and their families, he said.

About 35 million people worldwide have dementia, and Alzheimer's is the most common type. In the U.S., about 5 million have Alzheimer's. Current medicines such as Aricept and Namenda just temporarily ease symptoms. There is no known cure.

Solanezumab (sol-ah-NAYZ-uh-mab) is one of three drugs in late-stage testing that seek to alter the course of the disease. Results on one drug were disappointing, and results of the other won't be ready until early next year.

Solanezumab aims to bind to and help clear the sticky deposits that clog patients' brains. The two studies each had about 1,000 patients, about two-thirds with mild disease and one-third with moderately severe Alzheimer's, in 16 countries. Their average age was 75.

The main measures were two tests ? one reflecting language, memory and thinking and the other, ability to perform daily activities such as eating and grooming. The combined results on the mild disease patients showed a nearly 2-point difference in the roughly 90-point score on thinking abilities. Previous studies suggest that a change of 3 to 4 on the score is needed to show a clinical benefit, like an improvement in how well patients can take care of themselves.

"It's a small difference," Dr. Rachelle Doody of Baylor College of Medicine said of the drug's effect. She heads a nationwide research network funded by the National Institute on Aging that did an independent analysis of Lilly's results on the studies and presented them Monday at the conference.

Still, "you slow the decline" with the drug, she said.

Independent experts cautioned that the improvement was small, and needs to be verified in another study.

"I hate to get too enthusiastic ... there's a flicker of a signal" of benefit, but less than what some other once-promising treatments showed, said Dr. Sam Gandy, head of Alzheimer's disease research at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York.

Dr. Ronald Petersen, director of Alzheimer's research at the Mayo Clinic, called the drug's effect "subtle" and said it may mean just that "somebody remembers one extra word out of a 15-word list" without any real improvement in how well they live.

The drug, if ever approved, is likely to be expensive, and that means "we need more evidence" of its benefit to justify its use, Petersen said.

Encouragingly, solanezumab had few side effects. About 1 percent of people on the drug had some chest pain from reduced blood flow to the heart. There were few cases of worrisome brain swelling and small bleeding in the brain, an effect that caused concern with another experimental Alzheimer's drug, bapineuzumab by Pfizer Inc. and Johnson & Johnson's Janssen Alzheimer Immunotherapy unit.

That drug failed to help patients in two late-stage studies announced last month, but did show signs of hitting its target and clearing deposits from the brain.

The Lilly drug seems to be safer, and that is an advantage, said Dr. Norman Relkin, head of a memory disorders program at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center.

"There is some cause for encouragement here. It's not the magnitude we'd like to see" but certainly warrants further studies on the drug, he said.

Relkin heads testing of the third drug in late-stage development ? Gammagard, by Baxter International Inc. Results are expected early next year.

Meanwhile, Dr. Eric Siemers, senior medical director for Lilly, said the company will discuss its results and next steps with the Food and Drug Administration.

Lilly shares closed up $2.55, or 5.3 percent, to $50.78. During the day they peaked at $50.94, their highest price since April 2008. (This is also their highest closing price since that month.) The shares are up 19.8 percent since August 24.

___

Online:

Alzheimer's info: http://www.alzheimers.gov

Alzheimer's Association: http://www.alz.org

___

Marilynn Marchione can be followed at http://twitter.com/MMarchioneAP

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/bbd825583c8542898e6fa7d440b9febc/Article_2012-10-08-Alzheimer's%20Drug/id-dd73ff860d7b437e97b9b8fee1433319

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Ruthless Man hot favourite for Tommy Barry Happy 80th Birthday ...

Ruthless Man hot favourite for Tommy Barry Happy 80th Birthday Open 525 Final at Shelbourne Park

Barefoot Allstar is enjoying a good draw, but will find it very difficult to challenge Ruthless Man in the grand finale of Happy 80th Birthday Open 525, to be hosted by Shelbourne Park on Saturday, October 06, 2012.

Ruthless Man is unlikely to face any trouble in continuing his ruthless march after a splendid victory here last time. The black and white dog started his run from the third trap ? the box that usually does not guarantee a clean run.

As expected, he baulked at the second bend. His fans had hearts in their mouth, but the dashing quickly brought things under control. He showed furious pace afterwards, and eventually clinched the first rank by staggering seven lengths.

Ruthless Man?s finishing time of 28.16 seconds was pretty impressive. After such a forceful win, the son of Top Honcho is in great shape, and can take the big prize today.

Barefoot Allstar also has similar plans. The black dog showed a lot of progress last time, when taking an easy 3-length win over Morell Knave. Despite getting bumped at the second bend, the P. Hennessy-trained stayed in the front row, and seized the first place with ease.

Besides the aforementioned pair, there are four talented hounds in the pack. Their names are: Swift Marathon, Morell Knave, Harbour Watch and Swords Star. The 525 yards flat race is scheduled to get underway at 20:32 GMT. A huge prize of ?1000 is reserved for the victor.

No one looks in a good position to trouble Ruthless Man and Barefoot Allstar. Swift Marathon has the draw in favour, but his recent form does not suggest anything good. Swords Star is going through an unlucky spell these days. The black dog was third on his previous two trips.

Morell Knave was second to Barefoot Allstar. We don?t expect him to do good from the third trap. Harbour Watch is likely to show some resistance, but it is hard to recommend him.

The real clash is between Ruthless Man and Barefoot Allstar. If we look at the fresh stats, the former holds the edge. His latest effort was a lot better than Barefoot Allstar?s 28.52 seconds.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and do not reflect Bettor.com?s editorial policy.

Source: http://blogs.bettor.com/Ruthless-Man-hot-favourite-for-Tommy-Barry-Happy-80th-Birthday-Open-525-Final-at-Shelbourne-Park-a192884

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Benefits outweigh risks in Philippines peace deal

Philippine government negotiator Marvic Leonen gestures as he answers questions from reporters after meeting with Philippine President Benigno Aquino III at the Malacanang presidential palace in Manila, Philippines on Monday, Oct. 8, 2012. The Philippine government and the country's largest Muslim rebel group reached a preliminary peace deal that is a major breakthrough toward ending a decades-long insurgency that killed tens of thousands and held back development in the south. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Philippine government negotiator Marvic Leonen gestures as he answers questions from reporters after meeting with Philippine President Benigno Aquino III at the Malacanang presidential palace in Manila, Philippines on Monday, Oct. 8, 2012. The Philippine government and the country's largest Muslim rebel group reached a preliminary peace deal that is a major breakthrough toward ending a decades-long insurgency that killed tens of thousands and held back development in the south. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Philippine President Benigno Aquino III, right, receives documents from Philippine government negotiator Marvic Leonen during their meeting at the Malacanang presidential palace in Manila, Philippines on Monday, Oct. 8, 2012. The Philippine government and the country's largest Muslim rebel group reached a preliminary peace deal that is a major breakthrough toward ending a decades-long insurgency that killed tens of thousands and held back development in the south. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

MANILA, Philippines (AP) ? A tentative roadmap to peace in the southern Philippines announced this week is the first major step in the latest attempt to end a long and bloody insurgency waged by minority Muslims in the predominantly Christian nation. It carries the risk of failure that has been the fate of similar peace agreements, but strong domestic and international backing could boost its chances of success. Here's a look at the background and the future of the deal:

SEEDS OF THE FIGHTING:

Muslims in Mindanao first took up arms decades ago to defend what they see as their traditional homeland under threat by Christians. Tens of thousands have died in ethnic clashes and massacres that sowed bad blood for generations.

Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the U.S., Australia and other governments have looked at the southern third of the Philippines ? Mindanao Island and neighboring provinces ? as a second Afghanistan, a place where militants from Indonesia, Malaysia and Southeast Asia fled in order to escape crackdowns at home. They sought refuge with Muslim rebels and set up training grounds in their strongholds.

For the rest of the Philippines, Mindanao conjures a place where warlords rule, ransom kidnappings are common and terrorists bomb churches and ambush travelers.

RECOVERING FROM A FAILED DEAL:

A deal granting autonomy to five Muslim provinces was signed in 1996 and implemented on paper years later, but it changed little in the poverty- and violence-stricken region. Elections were rigged, corruption rife, and political bosses with private armies ruled the day. Disgruntled guerrillas carried on with bombings and attacks under the banner of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

A fresh autonomy proposal from then-President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo flopped in 2008. It was criticized for promising too much too soon and without public scrutiny.

When President Benigno Aquino III was elected in 2010, he agreed to meet with the Moro rebel chief, Al Haj Murad ? something Arroyo did not do. The men met at the Tokyo airport, concluded that they could work together and set in motion a series of meetings in neighboring Malaysia, which has been facilitating the talks since 1997.

The talks this time involved the so-called International Contact Group of representatives from the U.S., Europe and Muslim nations who acted as witnesses, observers and advisers. Negotiations under Aquino were initially kept under wraps but now are open to public input.

High public trust in Aquino gave him the backing he needed to carry on with the peace talks, which he hopes to conclude by 2016, when his single six-year term ends.

GIVE-AND-TAKE:

After 32 rounds of calibrated negotiations, the outline of a deal came clear: a new autonomous region will take shape in the south, with Moro rebels giving up their quest for independence in exchange for broad powers to govern themselves. The central government will maintain control over defense and foreign affairs, while the Moros ? their aging leaders worn down by decades of fighting ? will exercise substantial powers locally, including the justice system and tax collection. Sharia law will be enforced but will apply only to Muslims.

Unlike the previous peace deal, this one calls for rebels to disarm.

THE PITFALLS:

Many tricky details remain to be worked out. That includes the exact extent of the Moro territory. Although broadly based on an existing autonomous region, the rebels want it expanded. Other potential stumbling blocks are how much tax revenue the locals will have to give the central government, and how and when the 11,000-strong rebel force will be disbanded.

THE ABU SAYYAF:

Al-Qaida-linked militants from the brutal Abu Sayyaf group, which gained notoriety with kidnappings and beheadings of foreign tourists, including Americans, are not part of any peace deal. Abu Sayyaf and the Moro rebels cross paths in several parts of the Philippines. The hope is that a broader peace agreement with the Moro rebels will isolate the extremists and deprive them of sanctuaries and logistical support.

U.S. TROOPS:

About 600 U.S. troops will continue to be based in the southern Philippines, training Filipino forces, exchanging intelligence and providing equipment. Mostly aimed at the Abu Sayyaf and their allies from the Indonesian-based Jemaah Islamiyah network, the U.S. forces are trying to ensure that the fragile region does not become a magnet for militants, which it may if peace deal falters.

___

Associated Press writer Jim Gomez contributed to this report.

___

Follow Hrvoje Hranjski on Twitter: http://twitter.com/hmanila

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-10-08-AS-Philippines-Why-It-Matters/id-e18d98779912470094c94ff1106d72ae

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Video: Talking Numbers: Own Gold or Stocks?

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Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/49246366/

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PFT: Bengals cruise past Jags, improve to 3-1

Reuters

Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers were both outstanding on Sunday at Lambeau Field, but in a back-and-forth game with plenty of twists and turns, it was Rodgers? Packers who ended up on top of Brees? Saints, 28-27.

Brees completed 35 of 54 passes for 446 yards, with three touchdowns and no interceptions, but that wasn?t enough. Although he maneuvered them into range for an apparent go-ahead field goal late in the fourth quarter, the Saints? successful kick was called back on a holding penalty, and when they were backed up the Saints missed.

Rodgers completed 31 of 41 passes for 319 yards, with four touchdowns and one interception, and a short completion on a third down just after the two-minute warning iced the game and gave the Packers the win.

For the second consecutive week, the Packers suffered at the hands of bad officiating. Last week it was the infamous Hail Mary in Seattle that wrongly gave the Seahawks a touchdown and likely led to the end of the NFL?s lockout of its referees. This week there are no replacements to blame, just longtime ref Jeff Triplette and his crew, who botched several calls, including a fumble by Saints kickoff returner Darren Sproles that they wrongly ruled down by contact, and a push-off in the end zone by Saints receiver Marques Colston on a touchdown catch that should have been called back for offensive pass interference.

But this time the bad officiating didn?t cost the Packers the game, and they improved to 2-2. The Saints fought hard, but in the end they lost once again, falling to 0-4.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/09/30/bengals-cruise-to-easy-win-over-jags-improve-to-3-1/related/

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At least 14 killed in suicide attack on NATO patrol in Afghanistan

KABUL (Reuters) - A suicide bomber killed 14 people, including three NATO soldiers and four police, and wounded 37 in Afghanistan's volatile eastern Khost province on Monday, a NATO spokeswoman and local officials said.

A U.S. official in Washington confirmed the three soldiers killed were Americans serving in the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force. Six civilians and an Afghan interpreter also died in the attack.

A witness told Reuters a suicide bomber wearing a police uniform struck as U.S. soldiers patrolled the city of Khost. A NATO spokeswoman confirmed only that the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber.

Provincial Governor Abdul Jabar Nahimi said the bomber had been riding a motorcycle packed with explosives and 37 civilians were wounded in the blast.

The Afghan Taliban claimed responsibility, although Afghan insurgents are quick to claim any successful attack on foreign troops as their own.

The bombing followed the killing of two Americans on Sunday in an exchange of fire with Afghan forces that took the death toll of U.S. military and civilian personnel to over 2,000 in the 11-year war.

Insider attacks by members of the Afghan security forces against NATO allies have resulted in 52 deaths this year among foreign forces and this month prompted a tightening of rules for joint patrols between coalition and Afghan forces.

A U.S. official in Washington confirmed the deaths of the three American soldiers.

(Reporting by Elyas Wahdat; Additional reporting by David Alexander in Washington; Writing by Rob Taylor; Editing by Nick Macfie and Jackie Frank)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/least-13-dead-suicide-attack-nato-patrol-afghanistan-073654799.html

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