Study: People worldwide living longer, but sicker

LONDON (AP) — Nearly everywhere around the world, people are living longer and fewer children are dying. But increasingly, people are grappling with the diseases and disabilities of modern life, according to the most expansive global look so far at life expectancy and the biggest health threats.

The last comprehensive study was in 1990 and the top health problem then was the death of children under 5 — more than 10 million each year. Since then, campaigns to vaccinate kids against diseases like polio and measles have reduced the number of children dying to about 7 million.

Malnutrition was once the main health threat for children. Now, everywhere except Africa, they are much more likely to overeat than to starve.

With more children surviving, chronic illnesses and disabilities that strike later in life are taking a bigger toll, the research said. High blood pressure has become the leading health risk worldwide, followed by smoking and alcohol.

"The biggest contributor to the global health burden isn't premature (deaths), but chronic diseases, injuries, mental health conditions and all the bone and joint diseases," said one of the study leaders, Christopher Murray, director of the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.

In developed countries, such conditions now account for more than half of the health problems, fueled by an aging population. While life expectancy is climbing nearly everywhere, so too are the number of years people will live with things like vision or hearing loss and mental health issues like depression.

The research appears in seven papers published online Thursday by the journal Lancet. More than 480 researchers in 50 countries gathered data up to 2010 from surveys, censuses and past studies. They used statistical modeling to fill in the gaps for countries with little information. The series was mainly paid for by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

As in 1990, Japan topped the life expectancy list in 2010, with 79 for men and 86 for women. In the U.S. that year, life expectancy for men was 76 and for women, 81.

The research found wide variations in what's killing people around the world. Some of the most striking findings highlighted by the researchers: — Homicide is the No. 3 killer of men in Latin America; it ranks 20th worldwide. In the U.S., it is the 21st cause of death in men, and in Western Europe, 57th.

— While suicide ranks globally as the 21st leading killer, it is as high as the ninth top cause of death in women across Asia's "suicide belt," from India to China. Suicide ranks 14th in North America and 15th in Western Europe.

— In people aged 15-49, diabetes is a bigger killer in Africa than in Western Europe (8.8 deaths versus 1 death per 100,000).

— Central and Southeast Asia have the highest rates of fatal stroke in young adults at about 15 cases per 100,000 deaths. In North America, the rate is about 3 per 100,000.

Globally, heart disease and stroke remain the top killers. Reflecting an older population, lung cancer moved to the 5th cause of death globally, while other cancers including those of the liver, stomach and colon are also in the top 20. AIDS jumped from the 35th cause of death in 1990 to the sixth leading cause two decades later.

While chronic diseases are killing more people nearly everywhere, the overall trend is the opposite in Africa, where illnesses like AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis are still major threats. And experts warn again shifting too much of the focus away from those ailments.

"It's the nature of infectious disease epidemics that if you turn away from them, they will crop right back up," said Jennifer Cohn, a medical coordinator at Doctors Without Borders.

Still, she acknowledged the need to address the surge of other health problems across Africa. Cohn said the agency was considering ways to treat things like heart disease and diabetes. "The way we treat HIV could be a good model for chronic care," she said.

Others said more concrete information is needed before making any big changes to public health policies.

"We have to take this data with some grains of salt," said Sandy Cairncross, an epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

He said the information in some of the Lancet research was too thin and didn't fully consider all the relevant health risk factors.

"We're getting a better picture, but it's still incomplete," he said.

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Online:

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Stocks hit session highs after Fed announcement

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks rose to seven-week highs on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve announced a new stimulus plan, its latest attempt to boost the country's struggling economy.

The new plan will replace a more modest program due to expire with a fresh round of Treasury purchases that will increase its balance sheet, as was widely expected.

The S&P 500 ticked up as high as 1438.59, its highest intraday level since October 22, with all 10 industry sectors in positive territory. Financials led the advance, with the S&P financial sector index <.gspf> up 1.1 percent.

"It is good for stocks and risk more generally. And they came out with an economic data point as a guideline. That's very important, because it helps the market anticipate an exit strategy," said Quincy Krosby, market strategist at Prudential Financial, in Newark, New Jersey.

The central bank conmitted to monthly purchases of $45 billion in Treasuries on top of the $40 billion per month in mortgage-backed bonds it started buying in September. It also said it will keep its near-zero interest-rate program in place until the U.S. unemployment rate falls to 6.5 percent from its current 7.7 percent.

Negotiations over plans to avoid the "fiscal cliff" intensified in Washington, but U.S. House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said on Wednesday "serious differences" remain with President Barack Obama in their talks. If no agreement is reached, steep tax hikes and budget cuts will fall into place next year.

The S&P 500 was up for a sixth straight day, its longest winning streak since August, although gains have been less than 0.5 percent per day, on average, in part due to uncertainty over the cliff negotiations.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> climbed 65.18 points, or 0.49 percent, to 13,313.62. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> rose 8.83 points, or 0.62 percent, at 1,436.67. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> gained 7.70 points, or 0.25 percent, at 3,030.00.

Shares of Aetna , the third-largest U.S. health insurer, jumped 4.5 percent to $46.52 a day after the company gave a higher forecast for profit and revenue growth in 2013.

But Wal-Mart Stores Inc fell 2.3 percent to $69.24 as the largest drag on the Dow following the Indian government's announcement of an inquiry into the company's lobbying practices.

Shares of Berkshire Hathaway rose 2.8 percent to $134,500 after the company announced a $1.2 billion stock repurchase and raised the price at which it is willing to buy back shares.

(Reporting by Gabriel Debenedetti; Additional reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Jan Paschal)

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North Korea's new leader burnishes credentials with rocket

SEOUL/TOKYO (Reuters) - North Korea successfully launched a rocket on Wednesday, boosting the credentials of its new leader and stepping up the threat the isolated and impoverished state poses to opponents.

The rocket, which North Korea says put a weather satellite into orbit, has been labeled by the United States, South Korea and Japan as a test of technology that could one day deliver a nuclear warhead capable of hitting targets as far away as the continental United States.

"The satellite has entered the planned orbit," a North Korean television news reader clad in traditional Korean garb announced, after which the station played patriotic songs with the lyrics "Chosun (Korea) does what it says".

The rocket was launched just before 10 a.m. (0100 GMT), according to defense officials in South Korea and Japan, and was more successful than a rocket launched in April that flew for less than two minutes.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), a joint U.S.-Canadian military organization, said that the missile had "deployed an object that appeared to achieve orbit".

North Korea followed what it said was a similar successful launch in 2009 with a nuclear test that prompted the U.N. Security Council to stiffen sanctions that it originally imposed in 2006 after the North's first nuclear test.

North Korea is banned from developing nuclear and missile-related technology under U.N. resolutions, although Kim Jong-un, the youthful head of state who took power a year ago, is believed to have continued the state's "military first" programs put in place by his late father, Kim Jong-il.

North Korea hailed the launch as celebrating the prowess of all three members of the Kim family to rule since it was founded in 1948.

"At a time when great yearnings and reverence for Kim Jong-il pervade the whole country, its scientists and technicians brilliantly carried out his behests to launch a scientific and technological satellite in 2012, the year marking the 100th birth anniversary of President Kim Il Sung," its KCNA news agency said. Kim Il Sung, the current leader's grandfather, was North Korea's first leader.

The United States condemned the launch as "provocative" and a breach of U.N. rules, while Japan's U.N. envoy called for a Security Council meeting. However, diplomats say further tough sanctions are unlikely from the Security Council as China, the North's only major ally, will oppose them.

"The international community must work in a concerted fashion to send North Korea a clear message that its violations of United Nations Security Council resolutions have consequences," the White House said in a statement.

U.S. intelligence has linked North Korea with missile shipments to Iran. Newspapers in Japan and South Korea have reported that Iranian observers were in the North for the launch, something Iran has denied.

Japan's likely next prime minister, Shinzo Abe, who is leading in opinion polls ahead of an election on Sunday and who is known as a hawk on North Korea, called on the United Nations to adopt a resolution "strongly criticizing" Pyongyang.

A North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman reiterated that the rocket was a "peaceful project".

"The attempt to see our satellite launch as a long-range missile launch for military purposes comes from hostile perception that tries to designate us a cause for security tension," KCNA cited the spokesman as saying.

"STUMBLING BLOCK"

China had expressed "deep concern" prior to the launch which was announced a day after a top politburo member, representing new Chinese leader Xi Jinping, met Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang.

On Wednesday, its tone was measured, regretting the launch but calling for restraint on any counter-measures, in line with a policy of effectively vetoing tougher sanctions.

"China believes the Security Council's response should be cautious and moderate, protect the overall peaceful and stable situation on the Korean peninsula, and avoid an escalation," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told journalists.

Bruce Klingner, a Korea expert at the Heritage Foundation, said: "China has been the stumbling block to firmer U.N. action and we'll have to see if the new leadership is any different than its predecessors."

A senior adviser to South Korea's president said last week it was unlikely there would be action from the United Nations and Seoul would expect its allies to tighten sanctions unilaterally.

Kim Jong-un, believed to be 29 years old, took power when his father died on December 17 last year and experts believe the launch was intended to commemorate the first anniversary of his death. The April launch was timed for the centennial of the birth of Kim Il Sung.

Wednesday's success puts the North ahead of the South which has not managed to get a rocket off the ground.

"This is a considerable boost in establishing the rule of Kim Jong-un," said Cho Min, an expert at the Korea Institute of National Unification.

There have been few indications the secretive and impoverished state, where the United Nations estimates a third of people are malnourished, has made any advances in opening up economically over the past year.

North Korea remains reliant on minerals exports to China and remittances from tens of thousands of its workers overseas.

Many of its 22 million people need handouts from defectors, who have escaped to South Korea, for basic medicines.

Given the puny size of its economy - per capita income is less than $2,000 a year - one of the few ways the North can attract world attention is by emphasizing its military threat.

It wants the United States to resume aid and to recognize it diplomatically, although the April launch scuppered a planned food deal.

The North is believed to be some years away from developing a functioning nuclear warhead although it may have enough plutonium for about half a dozen nuclear bombs, according to nuclear experts.

It has also been enriching uranium, which would give it a second path to nuclear weapons as it sits on big natural uranium reserves.

"A successful launch puts North Korea closer to the capability to deploy a weaponized missile," said Denny Roy, a senior fellow at the East-West Center in Hawaii.

"But this would still require fitting a weapon to the missile and ensuring a reasonable degree of accuracy. The North Koreans probably do not yet have a nuclear weapon small enough for a missile to carry."

The North says its work is part of a civil nuclear program although it has also boasted of it being a "nuclear weapons power".

(This story has been refiled to clarify reference to NORAD in paragraph five)

(Additional reporting by Jumin Park and Yoo Choonsik in SEOUL; David Alexander, Matt Spetalnick and Paul Eckert in WASHINGTON; Linda Sieg in TOKYO, Sui-Lee Wee and michael Martina in BEIJING,; Rosmarie Francisco in MANILA; Writing by David Chance; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Robert Birsel)

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Facebook revises privacy controls in effort to make them more accessible, comprehensible

SAN FRANCISCO – Facebook is trying to make its privacy controls easier to find and understand in an effort to turn the world’s largest social network into a more discreet place.

The fine-tuning announced Wednesday will include several revisions that will start rolling out to Facebook Inc.‘s more than 1 billion users in the next few weeks.

The biggest change will be a new “privacy shortcuts” section that will appear as a tiny lock on the right-hand side at the top of people’s news feeds. This feature offers a drop-down box where users will be able to get answers to common questions such as “Who can see my stuff?”

Other updates will include a tool that will enable individuals to review all the publicly available pictures identifying them on Facebook.

Social Media News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Emilia Clarke as Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffanys

Emilia Clarke, who plays the fierce Daenerys Targaryen (a.k.a Khaleesi) on HBO's Game of Thrones will showcase a much softer, yet no less intense, side when she hits Broadway as Holly Golightly next March in a production of Truman Capote's classic novel, Breakfast at Tiffany's.

VIDEO - First Look at Thrones' Third Season

Rocking her natural brunette hair, Clarke will be draped in three-time Academy Award-winner Colleen Atwood's chicest costumes and directed by Sean Mathias when she assumes the iconic role on next year.

For more information on this incarnation of Breakfast at Tiffany's, click here!

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Congress examines science behind HGH test for NFL

WASHINGTON (AP) — A congressional committee has opened a hearing to examine the science behind a human growth hormone test the NFL wants to start using on its players.

Nearly two full seasons have passed since the league and the players' union signed a labor deal that set the stage for HGH testing.

The NFL Players Association won't concede the validity of a test that's used by Olympic sports and Major League Baseball, and the sides haven't been able to agree on a scientist to help resolve that impasse.

Among the witnesses before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Wednesday is Pro Football Hall of Fame member Dick Butkus. In his prepared statement, Butkus writes: "Now, let's get on with it. The HGH testing process is proven to be reliable."

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Tech titans, "cliff" hopes push indexes up

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Rising shares in technology companies helped push major stock indexes up around 1 percent on Tuesday, as the S&P 500 reached its best levels since mid-October, recouping its post-election selloff.

A 3.1 percent gain in Apple Inc's stock lifted the Nasdaq, as the largest U.S. company by market value rebounded from a week in which investors took profits before a possible tax rise next year. Prior to Tuesday's trading, Apple shares had lost 25 percent from an all-time intraday high hit in September.

Other major tech stocks also rose. Texas Instruments gained 3.8 percent to $30.97 after bumping up its profit target late Monday. That helped other chipmakers rally, with the PHLX Semiconductor index <.sox> up 2 percent. Microsoft rose 1.8 percent to $27.44.

"I see a lot of buying in tech, and that's taking the whole market up with it," said Tom Donino, co-head of trading at First New York Securities in New York.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> gained 112.57 points, or 0.85 percent, at 13,282.45. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> was up 13.23 points, or 0.93 percent, at 1,431.78. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> rose 40.95 points, or 1.37 percent, at 3,027.91.

Retailers like luggage maker Tumi Holding Inc and Michael Kors Holding gained on Tuesday after a positive report from Goldman Sachs Equity Research. Tumi was up 4.1 percent to $21.80, and Michael Kors gained 2.6 percent, reaching $51.08.

Traders voiced cautious optimism as the pace of negotiations over the "fiscal cliff" quickened. However, representatives from both parties cautioned that an agreement remains uncertain.

Republican House Speaker John Boehner called on President Barack Obama to propose a counter-offer on Tuesday.

"I guess in our own dysfunctional way, there is progress," said Frank Davis, director of sales and trading at LEK Securities in New York.

"Since conversations are occurring, it clarifies at least they are taking some action. My personal gut is they'll jostle this into the holiday week and try to do a last minute push."

Lawmakers worked toward a deal to avoid a series of automatic tax hikes and spending cuts that would hurt U.S. economic growth next year.

The lack of demonstrable progress has kept investors from making aggressive bets in recent weeks.

Still, stocks have steadily marched higher on thin volume. The S&P 500 hovered around 1433.38 on Tuesday, retracing losses incurred in the first seven sessions after Obama's re-election. Gains were broad, with more than two shares rising for every one falling on the New York Stock Exchange and winners outpacing losers on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange by nearly three-to-one.

The U.S. Treasury is selling its remaining stake in insurer American International Group Inc . AIG's shares were up 4.7 percent at $34.94.

The Fed began a two-day policy-setting meeting on Tuesday. The central bank is expected to announce a new round of Treasury bond purchases when the meeting ends on Wednesday to replace its "Operation Twist" stimulus which expires at the end of the year.

(Editing by Kenneth Barry and Nick Zieminski)

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Egypt army seeks national unity as crisis mounts

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's army chief called for talks on national unity to end the country's mounting political crisis after a vital loan from the IMF was delayed and thousands of pro- and anti-government demonstrators took to the streets.

The meeting scheduled for Wednesday afternoon was called in response to an increasingly destabilizing series of protests that has unfolded since President Mohamed Mursi awarded himself sweeping powers on November 22 to push through a new constitution shaped by his Islamist allies in a referendum on Saturday.

Armed forces chief and Defense Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called for a meeting of "national unity for the love of Egypt to bring together partners of the country in the presence of the president of the republic", the army spokesman said.

An aide said Mursi had supported the call for talks. The Muslim Brotherhood said it would be there, while the main opposition coalition said it would decide on Wednesday morning whether to attend.

Earlier, the finance minister disclosed that a $4.8 billion International Monetary Fund loan, a cornerstone of Egypt's economic recovery hopes, would be delayed until next month.

Mumtaz al-Said said the delay was intended to allow time to explain a widely criticized package of economic austerity measures to the Egyptian people.

The announcement came after Mursi on Monday backed down on planned tax rises, seen as essential for the loan to go ahead, but which the opposition had fiercely criticized.

"Of course the delay will have some economic impact, but we are discussing necessary measures (to address that) during the coming period," Said told Reuters, adding: "I am optimistic ... everything will be well, God willing."

Prime Minister Hisham Kandil said the measures would not hurt the poor. Bread, sugar and rice would not be touched, but cigarettes and cooking oil would go up and fines would be imposed for public littering. In a bid to rebuild consensus, he said there would be a public consultation about the program next week.

In Washington, the IMF said Egypt had asked for the loan to be postponed "in light of the unfolding developments on the ground". The Fund stood ready to consult with Egypt on resuming discussions on the stand-by loan, a spokeswoman said.

GUNMEN OPEN FIRE

On the streets of the capital, tensions ran high after nine people were hurt when gunmen fired at protesters camping in Tahrir Square, according to witnesses and Egyptian media.

The opposition has called for major protests it hopes will force Mursi to postpone the referendum. Thousands gathered outside the presidential palace, whose walls are scrawled with anti-Mursi graffiti.

A bigger crowd of flag-waving Islamist Mursi backers, who want the vote to go ahead as planned on Saturday, assembled at a nearby mosque, setting the stage for further street confrontations in a crisis that has divided the nation of 83 million.

In Egypt's second city of Alexandria, thousands of rival demonstrators gathered at separate venues. Mursi's backers chanted: "The people want implementation of Islamic law," while his opponents shouted: "The people want to bring down the regime." Others cities also witnessed protests.

The upheaval following the fall of Hosni Mubarak last year is causing concern in the West, in particular the United States, which has given Cairo billions of dollars in military and other aid since Egypt, the Arab world's most populous nation, made peace with Israel in 1979.

The turmoil has also placed a big strain on the economy, sending foreign currency reserves down to about $15 billion, less than half what they were before the revolt two years ago as the government has sought to defend the pound.

"Given the current policy environment, it's hardly a surprise that there's been a delay, but it is imperative that the delay is brief," said Simon Williams, HSBC economist in Dubai. "Egypt urgently needs that IMF accord, both for the funding it brings and the policy anchor it affords."

The IMF deal had been seen as giving a seal of approval to investors and donors about the government's economic plans, vital for drawing more cash into the economy to ease a crushing budget deficit and stave off a balance of payments crisis.

MASKED ATTACKERS

In central Cairo, police cars surrounded Tahrir Square in central Cairo, the first time they had appeared in the area since shortly after Mursi awarded himself sweeping temporary powers in a move that touched off widespread protests.

The attackers, some masked, also threw petrol bombs that started a small fire, witnesses said.

"The masked men came suddenly and attacked the protesters in Tahrir. The attack was meant to deter us and prevent us from protesting today," said John Gerges, a Christian Egyptian who described himself as a socialist.

The latest bout of unrest has so far claimed seven lives in clashes between the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood and opponents who gathered outside Mursi's presidential palace.

The Republican Guard, which protects the palace, has yet to use force to keep protesters away from the building, now ringed with tanks, barbed wire and concrete barricades.

The army has told all sides to resolve their differences through dialogue, saying it would not allow Egypt to enter a "dark tunnel". For the period of the referendum, the army has been granted powers by Mursi allowing it to arrest civilians.

In statement issued after rights groups criticized the army's new police powers, the presidency said anyone arrested by the military during the referendum would face civil rather than military courts. It said the army's new role would only last until results are declared after Saturday's referendum.

The army has portrayed itself as the guarantor of the nation's security, but so far it has shown no appetite for a return to the bruising front-line political role it played after the fall of Mubarak, which severely damaged its standing.

OPPOSITION MARCHES

Leftists, liberals and other opposition groups say the hastily arranged constitutional referendum is polarizing the country and could put it in a religious straitjacket.

Opposition leaders want the referendum to be delayed and hope they can get sufficiently large numbers of protesters on the streets to change Mursi's mind.

The main association of Egypt's judiciary, the Judges' Club, voted against supervising the referendum, but the Islamists are confident they can muster enough judges to make sure the vote goes ahead with the necessary judicial supervision.

Islamists have urged their followers to show support for Mursi and for a referendum they feel sure of winning.

The opposition says the draft constitution fails to embrace the diversity of the population, a tenth of which is Christian, and invites Muslim clerics to influence lawmaking.

(Additional reporting by Tamim Elyan; Writing by Giles Elgood; Editing by Peter Graff and Will Waterman)

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Notorious patent troll hits RIM with new lawsuit, seeks BlackBerry sales ban

Well-known patent troll Wi-LAN has filed a new lawsuit against BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIMM) in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Wi-LAN, which describes itself as “a leading intellectual property licensing company,” claims RIM’s BlackBerry smartphones infringe U.S. Patent No. 6,260,168, owned by Wi-LAN, which relates to Bluetooth implementation. The lawsuit covers multiple BlackBerry handsets including Bold, Torch, Pearl and Storm models, Reuters reports. Wi-LAN is reportedly seeking unspecified damages and is looking to ban sales of RIM’s infringing BlackBerry phones in the United States.

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Gadgets News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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The Secret to Kyra Sedgwick and Kevin Bacon's Marriage

Award-winning actress Kyra Sedgwick has been married to Kevin Bacon for 24 years in what's shaping up to be of the most enduring and beloved relationships in Hollywood, and in the latest issue of Good Housekeeping, The Closer star dishes on what keeps the two so committed to one another.

"I don't know how he does it, but he always makes me feel like I'm the most beautiful woman in the room – the only girl in the room," she says about Bacon. "He says 'Honey, you look beautiful. You are sexy!' Always, always, always!"

Video: Pop Culture Rewind -- On the Set of 1983's 'Footloose'

The pair married in 1988, and are clearly still smitten with one another.

"He is so honorable. He is so ethically true. He has high moral standards, and he doesn't lie and he doesn't cheat – and I find that sexy!," Kyra says. "I am constantly in awe of Kevin's levelheadedness and his lack of 'crazy.' "

Video: Kyra Sedgwick Puts a Close on 'The Closer'

The longtime pair, who met on the set of PBS' American Playhouse series, have two children together -- Travis, 23, and Sosie, 20.

About having a "second honeymoon" now that their kids have left the nest, Kyra jokes, "There's a lot more walking around the house naked."

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