Although the researchers adjusted their analyses for factors that could affect results – such as physical activity, smoking, family history of cancer and alcohol intake – the adjustment for daily UV exposure was only based on the average UV index for the suburb they lived in.
This means there was no adjustment for UV exposure related to a person’s occupation. They also did not have information on the melanoma risk factors such as mole count, hair colour, history of severe sunburn or individual sun-related behaviours.
FISH COULD STILL CONTAIN CONTAMINANTS
This study does not prove eating fish causes melanoma. This is because it’s a “cohort study”, meaning people were observed over time to see whether they developed melanoma or not.
There was no intervention to feed them specific amounts of fish, which would not have been practical to do over 15 years anyway. Researchers did measure a range of behaviours at the beginning of the study (or “baseline”), such as dietary intake and physical activity levels. But these could have changed over time.
So the results are based on observation rather than cause and effect. This doesn’t mean observational results should be ignored, though.
Fish, especially fatty fish such as tuna, can contain contaminants such as mercury and PCBs. This could contribute to the findings that eating more fish is associated with a higher rate of both malignant melanoma and melanoma in-situ (skin cancer).
PCBs are readily absorbed into the body, accumulating in fat stores and staying there for years.
Travel-starved Singaporeans are bumping into friends overseas amid holiday rush South China Morning Post
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMid2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnNjbXAuY29tL3dlZWstYXNpYS9saWZlc3R5bGUtY3VsdHVyZS9hcnRpY2xlLzMxODQ2MDMvc28tbWFueS1zaW5nYXBvcmVhbnMtYXJlLW5vdy10cmF2ZWxsaW5nLXRoZXlyZS1idW1waW5n0gEA?oc=5
SEOUL - The unmistakable green bottles stand tall on the table, growing in numbers as South Koreans drink the night away, bonding with colleagues or unwinding with friends.
These are bottles of soju - a clear, rice-based liquor with an alcohol- content of 15 to 20 per cent - also known as "Korean vodka".
NARA, Japan, July 8 (Reuters) - Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Japan's longest-serving leader, died on Friday after being shot while campaigning for a parliamentary election, an official from his political party said.
A man opened fire on Abe, 67, from behind with an apparently homemade gun as he spoke at a drab traffic island in the western city of Nara, Japanese media showed earlier.
It was the first assassination of a sitting or former Japanese premier since the days of prewar militarism in the 1930s.
Speaking before Abe's death was announced, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida condemned the shooting in the "strongest terms" while Japanese people and world leaders expressed shock at the violence in a country in which political violence is rare and guns are tightly controlled.
"This attack is an act of brutality that happened during the elections - the very foundation of our democracy - and is absolutely unforgivable," said Kishida, struggling to keep his emotions in check.
A fire department official had said Abe appeared to be in a state of cardiac arrest when airlifted to hospital.
Police said a 41-year-old man suspected of carrying out the shooting had been arrested. NHK quoted the suspect, identified as Tetsuya Yamagami, as telling police he was dissatisfied with Abe and wanted to kill him.
Reuters Graphics
Abe was making a campaign speech outside a train station when two shots rang out at about 11:30 a.m. (0230 GMT). Security officials were then seen tackling a man in a grey T-shirt and beige trousers.
"There was a loud bang and then smoke," businessman Makoto Ichikawa, who was at the scene, told Reuters, adding that the gun was the size of a television camera.
"The first shot, no one knew what was going on, but after the second shot, what looked like special police tackled him."
TRANSFUSIONS
Earlier, Kyodo news service published a photograph of Abe lying face-up on the street by a guardrail, blood on his white shirt. People were crowded around him, one administering heart massage.
Nara emergency services said he had been wounded on the right side of his neck and left clavicle. His brother, Defence Minister Nobuo Kishi, had said Abe was getting blood transfusions.
NHK showed live footage of Abe's wife, Akie, on her way by train to the hospital where he was being treated.
Airo Hino, political science professor at Waseda University, said such a shooting was unprecedented in Japan. "There has never been anything like this," he said.
Senior Japanese politicians are accompanied by armed security agents but often get close to the public, especially during political campaigns when they make roadside speeches and shake hands with passersby.
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attends the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Danang, Vietnam November 11, 2017. REUTERS/Jorge Silva/File Photo
In 2007, the mayor of Nagasaki was shot and killed by a yakuza gangster. The head of the Japan Socialist Party was assassinated during a speech in 1960 by a right-wing youth with a samurai short sword. A few other prominent postwar politicians were attacked but not injured.
Police said the suspected shooter was a resident of Nara. Media said he had served in Japan's military for three years until 2005. Defence Minister Kishi declined to comment on that.
Abe served two terms as prime minister, stepping down in 2020 citing ill health. But he has remained a dominant presence over the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), controlling one of its major factions.
Kishida, Abe's protege, had been hoping to use the election to emerge from Abe's shadow and define his premiership, analysts have said. Kishida suspended his election campaign after the shooting. All main political parties condemned the attack.
'VERY, VERY SAD'
Speaking before Abe's death was announced, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed deep concern over his condition.
"Our thoughts, our prayers are with him, with his family, with the people of Japan," Blinken said on the sidelines of a G20 meeting on the Indonesian island of Bali.
The United States is Japan's most important ally.
The yen rose and Japan's Nikkei index (.N225) fell on news of the shooting, partially driven by a knee-jerk flight to safety.
Abe is best known for his “Abenomics” policy of aggressive monetary easing and fiscal spending. read more
He also bolstered defence spending after years of declines and expanded the military’s ability to project power abroad.
In a historic shift in 2014, his government reinterpreted the postwar, pacifist constitution to allow troops to fight overseas for the first time since World War Two.
The following year, legislation ended a ban on exercising the right of collective self-defence, or defending a friendly country under attack.
Abe, however, did not achieve his goal of revising the U.S.-drafted constitution by writing the Self-Defense Forces, as Japan’s military in known, into the pacifist Article 9.
Abe first took office in 2006 as Japan’s youngest prime minister since World War Two. After a year plagued by political scandals, voter outrage at lost pension records, and an election drubbing for his ruling party, Abe quit citing ill health.
He became prime minister again in 2012.
Abe hailed from a wealthy political family that included a foreign minister father and a grandfather who served as premier.
Reporting by Satoshi Sugiyama in Nara, Chang-Ran Kim in Tokyo; Additional reporting by Reuters staff; Writing by Robert Birsel; Editing by William Mallard
BEIJING: China's economy is recovering but the foundation of that recovery is not solid and more efforts are still needed, Premier Li Keqiang was quoted by state media as saying on Thursday (Jul 7).
The world's second-largest economy has started a slow recovery from the supply shocks caused by extensive lockdowns since the second quarter, although headwinds to growth persist.
"At present, the economy is recovering, but the foundation is unstable. Hard work is needed to stabilise the economy," Li was also quoted as saying during a meeting with senior officials from Shanghai, Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangsu and Zhejiang.
More efforts will be made to boost enthusiasm of officials at both central and local levels and keep the economy operating within a reasonable range, Li said.
Shanghai and the four provinces account for over a third of China's economy, and play a key role in the central government's transfer payments to poorer regions given their fiscal revenues account for nearly 40 per cent of the total, Li said.
The country's most affluent regions are also vital in absorbing migrant workers and underpinning their incomes, Li said.
China will continue to promote reforms and improve the business environment, and will keep opening up its economy to the outside world no matter how the international situation changes, Li added.
Short-term corrections in the Chinese stock markets can be a buying opportunity for investors, says a strategist from Bank of America Securities.
Winnie Wu, a China strategist at the investment bank, acknowledged that there's still a potential volatility from China's evolving Covid situation, and there could be more bad news ahead if Covid cases rebound or real estate companies default on their debt.
"But you know, generally speaking, looking at the bigger picture, the worst in terms of corporate earnings, the disruptions, Covid cases — those should be behind us in the second quarter already," she told CNBC's "Street Signs Asia" on Wednesday.
"China is sticking to the zero-Covid policy, but we've seen some changes," she said, adding that she hopes the authorities would try to minimize disruption to the daily lives of residents.
Shanghai is conducting Covid testing in several districts this week after detecting new Covid cases, a statement on the city's WeChat account said.
Wu also pointed to Bank of America Securities' so-called "wax-and-wane indicator" which measures sentiment based on factors such as investment flows to predict the outlook for China's markets.
We advise investors to ride on the rally and to take these short-term corrections as buying opportunities.
Winnie Wu
China strategist at Bank of America Securities
That indicator is currently in the very bullish zone. During backtesting, the very bullish zone signaled a 100% chance that the CSI 300 index will rise in the near term, with median returns in the following two to six months in the high teens, she said.
"So we stay positive. We advise investors to ride on the rally and to take these short-term corrections as buying opportunities," she said.
Mainland China markets have outperformed major global indexes in the past month, but traded lower on Wednesday.
The Shanghai Composite closed 1.43% lower on Wednesday, while the Shenzhen Component fell 1.25%. The CSI 300 index, which tracks the largest mainland-listed stocks, shed 1.46% that day.
