A round-up of other stories in brief
Brown plans major health screening
LONDON -British prime minister Gordon Brown was accused of failing to consult doctors and his own health experts over plans announced yesterday to introduce a national screening programme for cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and kidney disease.
The prime minister set out his vision of a UK health service (NHS) based on prevention rather than cure in a speech rejecting calls for a moratorium on further reform. The British Medical Association complained the government had only a fortnight ago rejected a move for doctors to provide extra screening. - (Guardian service)
Decision on polar bears delayed
WASHINGTON -A US decision on whether global warming threatens polar bears will be delayed as much as a month, the federal fish and wildlife service said yesterday, prompting ire from environmental groups.
The deadline for deciding whether to list the bears as threatened is due tomorrow, but a government statement said analysis of scientific data and public comment would take more time.
A key piece of data under consideration is a September report from the US geological survey that predicted polar bears could disappear from places where Arctic sea ice is melting fastest, including the northern coast of Alaska. - (Reuters)
Man on death row for 21 years freed
OHIO -A Briton who spent 21 years on death row in the United States was freed by a US court today.
Kenny Richey pleaded no contest to attempted involuntary manslaughter in court in Ottawa, Ohio, and is set to head back to the UK tomorrow, his lawyer said.
Richey (43), from Edinburgh, was convicted in 1987 of an arson attack on an apartment block in an Ohio town in which a two-year-old girl died.
But in August last year the sentence was overturned and today he pleaded no contest to the lesser charges. He was sentenced to time already served. - (AP)
Seven die in goods warehouse fire
SEOUL -At least seven people were killed and 32 others reported missing yesterday after a fire ripped through a frozen goods warehouse under construction near Seoul, a fire official said. The blaze in Icheon, about 60km southeast of the capital, led to several explosions. Firefighters rescued 10 people, who were taken to hospital. - (Reuters)
One dead as boat hits electrical cable
MANILA -One person drowned and 40 others were injured, many of them sustaining electric shocks, after a boat participating in a local festival in the Philippines hit an overhead cable, police said yesterday.
One other person was still missing and feared dead, they said. The boat was one of several in a river parade to celebrate a feast in the province of Pampanga, north of Manila, on Sunday. - (Reuters)