Obama accused the media of focusing on healthcare forums only when 'tempers flare'. US President Barack Obama has accused the health insurance companies of holding the country 'hostage' by denying coverage to sick people. Obama, pushing for healthcare reforms during a trip to the West, also criticized the media for focusing on the issue only when 'tempers flare'. The US president has described as his top priority the expansion of coverage to the 46 million Americans without health insurance. However, the plan has faced delay over its $1 trillion price tag. "We are held hostage at any given moment by health insurance companies that deny coverage or drop coverage or charge fees that people can't afford," Obama said at a town-hall meeting in Montana. ...When challenged by a man in the meeting on how he would financially support the reform, Obama repeated his promise not to raise taxes on people earning less than $250,000 a year, but added, "We're going to have to find money from somewhere." Both the House of Representatives and the Senate need to agree on the bill before it can become law.

A state appeals court judge has thrown out a lawsuit claiming that Los Angeles County judges are unconstitutionally receiving both county and state benefits.Justice James Richman of the 1st District Court of Appeal says the benefits are permitted under a state law passed in February.A taxpayer represented by the nonprofit group Judicial Watch sued in 2006, asking a court to bar the county from paying judges health and other benefits that now total more than $46,000 annually each.The lawsuit argued that the state constitution barred the payments.

Compared to physicians, trained blind women are better capable of detecting breast cancer earlier and more precisely, a German physician reports. Frank Hoffmann, a German gynecologist, created Braille strips to help the blind carry out breast examinations some two years ago. A study at the Essen University's women's clinic, showed that with the help of these strips, blind women were able to locate cancerous lumps particularly smaller ones more accurately than sighted physicians. In a program named "Discovering Hands", some 10 blind women were trained to use their sensitive touch to detect breast cancer. ...These women known as Medical Tactile Examiners (MTUs) were reported to be capable of finding the precise location of the lumps, informing the doctor, allowing earlier diagnosis and more effective treatment of the condition.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new opioid drug to help relieve severe flare-ups of pain in cancer patients. The drug, called Onsolis (fentanyl buccal soluble film), can alleviate the breakthrough pain -- severe flares of pain despite the daily use of pain medication -- in cancer patients. The potent opioid medication that adheres to the inside of the user's cheek can effectively alleviate pain by releasing fentanyl. FDA officials reported on Thursday that the drug can only be prescribed by registered pharmacies for registered users with the aim of preventing misuse. FDA has labeled the drug with the agency's most serious "black-box" warning, indicating that the medication is not meant to remedy pain from migraines, dental problems or procedures, and post-operative pain. Officials warned that the use of the drug in individuals who are not opioid tolerant may lead to overdose, sudden serious breathing difficulties and death.

Health officials are to discuss placing restrictions on sending Iranians on pilgrimage after the number of confirmed swine flu cases in the country reached 85. ....The majority of the infected cases are reported to be among pilgrimages returning from Saudi Arabia. Travelers returning from Karbala, Syria, Turkey, Thailand, Singapore and England comprise the rest of the cases. The Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education reported the country's first domestic cases, saying that some family members have contracted the disease from the infected cases who have recently returned to the country. Officials, therefore, urge individuals to follow precautionary measures in order to tackle the spread of the virus in the country. They also recommend individuals to cancel unnecessary trips particularly those to the hot zones of the disease. Considering the growing number of infected cases in Saudi Arabia, certain clerics have warned individuals against this year's Hajj, saying those at high-risk of the disease can cancel their trip to Saudi Arabia.

Girls who undergo radiation therapy for childhood cancer are placed at an increased risk of developing breast cancer in the long run. According to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, childhood radiation for treating cancers such as Hodgkin's lymphoma is linked to a higher risk of breast cancer in later life. The more radiation a girl receives, the higher her risk of developing tumors will become.

Motola, a female elephant who stepped on a land mine 10 years ago and endured painful operations, was fitted Saturday in Thailand for a permanent artificial leg...Motola was injured in 1999 while working at a logging camp along the Myanmar-Thailand border, a region peppered with land mines after half a century of insurgency. Her mangled foot was amputated, and she hobbled on three feet until fitted with a temporary, canvas shoe-like device two years later....A number of elephants have had land mine injuries. But that is only one of many problems facing the domesticated giant, whose numbers have dropped from 13,400 in 1950 to today's estimated 2,500. The number of wild elephants has also dropped dramatically.

The Indian superstar and producer Shahrukh Khan says he was arrested at the US Newark Airport in New Jersey for having a Muslim name. The 'King of Bollywood' told the CNN-IBN television station that he was questioned for two hours and finally freed after the Indian Embassy in the US intervened. "I was waiting for my bags... I thought it was nice of them to take me to another room... but that was apparently a second check," the 43-year-old Khan said. "I did not want to say anything just in case they took everything wrong because I am little worried about Americans because they do have this issue when your name is Muslim," Khan said. The actor, who was going to take part in celebrations marking India's Independence Day in Chicago, referred to the incident as a "little embarrassing" for an entertainer of his stature. The Indian government also reacted sharply, saying that many such incidents have taken place in the US. The US Ambassador to New Delhi, Timothy Roemer replied by describing Khan as a "global icon" and a welcome guest in his country. This is not the first time that Indian citizens have been frisked in the US. Former Indian president Abdul Kalam, a Muslim, was searched despite protocol rules by US carrier Continental Airlines before boarding a US-bound flight in New Delhi.

Pakistan is objecting to expanded U.S. combat operations in neighboring Afghanistan, creating new fissures in the alliance as thousands of American forces are arriving in the region. Pakistani officials have told the Obama administration that the Marines fighting the Taliban in southern Afghanistan will force militants across the border into Pakistan, with the potential to inflame the troubled province of Baluchistan, according to Pakistani intelligence officials. Pakistan does not have enough troops to deploy to Baluchistan to take on the Taliban without affecting its border with archenemy India, the officials said. Dialogue with the Taliban is in Pakistan's national interest, they said. The Pakistani account made clear that even as the United States recommits troops and resources to take on a growing Taliban threat, Pakistani officials still consider India their top priority and the Taliban militants a problem that can be negotiated.

Pakistan has temporarily shelved its plans to push into militant havens in Waziristan amid reports of secret talks between Taliban warlord Baitullah Mehsud and the Pakistani army.....Tribal leaders have told the Taliban chief that the fight against the Pakistani army is "spoiling their plan" and that the only beneficiaries from the violence are the US-led troops stationed in neighboring Afghanistan. ...US officials in the past have said that any possible compromise between the Pakistani army and the Taliban would increase attacks on US-led forces in neighboring Afghanistan. More than seventy foreign troops have so far been killed in insurgent attacks across Afghanistan this month, particularly in the troubled southern and eastern provinces. More than two hundred foreign soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan this year.

Cuban President Raul Castro has said he is willing to enter into dialogue with the United States but would not change the island nation's communist system to make peace with America. In a speech to the Cuban National Assembly, Castro criticised US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for saying repeatedly that Washington expected Havana to make changes in exchange for better relations, although he acknowledged that Barack Obama's administration was less "aggressive" toward Cuba than those of Mr Obama's predecessors. "I have to say, with all due respect to Mrs Clinton ... they didn't elect me president to restore capitalism in Cuba, nor to hand over the revolution," said Castro, who succeeded his brother Fidel Castro as president last year. "It's true there has been a diminution of the aggression and anti-Cuban rhetoric on the part of the administration," Castro said. But he noted the embargo remained in effect and the ending of restrictions on Cuban-Americans had not yet been implemented.

Jordan's King Abdullah II has sent a congratulatory message to Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on being sworn in to a second presidential term. Western leaders, already upset by Ahmadinejad's anti-Israel rhetoric, Holocaust denial and unwavering stance on Iran's nuclear program, refused to congratulate the president on his inauguration, although their counterparts in Japan and Turkey did. Among those prominent leaders who withheld their congratulations to Ahmadinejad were US President Barack Obama, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. In a strong message to the Western leaders, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he was not awaiting their messages of recognition or congratulation. "We heard that some of the Western leaders had decided to recognize but not congratulate the new government ... Well, no one in Iran is waiting for your messages," he said. "Iranians will neither value your scowling and bullying nor will they pay attention to your smiles and greetings."

Japan's prime minister expressed deep regret over the suffering his country inflicted on Asian countries during World War II in a solemn ceremony Saturday that marked the 64th anniversary of Tokyo's surrender. Prime Minister Taro Aso joined some 4,800 bereaved families to pay respect to 3.1 million Japanese war dead - 2.3 million soldiers and 800,000 civilians - at the Nihon Budokan hall in Tokyo. Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko also attended the ceremony, leading a one-minute silence at noon. "Our country inflicted tremendous damage and suffering on many countries, particularly people in Asia. As a representative of the Japanese people, I humbly express my remorse for the victims, along with deep regret," Aso said in a speech at the nationally televised ceremony. The prime minister vowed that Japan would never repeat the tragedy.