Month: March 2014

Yoga can help ease pain, fatigue and depression, and might even boost survival.

(The identity of the correspondent has been withheld for security reasons) DAMASCUS (Reuters) – It was cold and dark in the psychiatrist's office in downtown Damascus. But Syria's civil war means many can no longer reach the capital across frontlines. When pro-democracy protests started three years ago, Syrians had access to government-subsidized health care. Like other Arab countries, Syria had a long tradition of community involvement in the individual's wellbeing.

By Caroline Copley BASEL (Reuters) – Outgoing Lufthansa boss Christoph Franz vowed to keep Roche on its current course after shareholders overwhelmingly elected him as chairman of the Swiss drugmaker. The 53-year-old is taking over as non-executive chairman of the world's largest drugmaker by market capitalization from Franz Humer who is stepping down after 16 years as CEO and chairman. This company is on track and therefore continuity (…) is the order of the day," Franz said on Tuesday, after 99.8 percent of shareholders approved his election. Franz, who implemented a tough cost-cutting programme at the German airline that was met with ire from trade unions, is inheriting a company at the top of its game.

By Scott Malone BOSTON (Reuters) – Five Vietnam War veterans sued the U.S. military on Monday, saying they were denied some veterans services after receiving other-than-honorable discharges for actions that resulted from post-traumatic stress disorder. The men, including one who was the victim of a poison gas attack on his first day in Vietnam and another whose duties included sorting through body parts of soldiers killed in combat, called on the military to upgrade the discharges of veterans of the conflict who suffer from PTSD. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Connecticut, seeks class action status for what it estimates are tens of thousands of veterans who can now be shown to suffer from PTSD, a condition not recognized by the military in the 1960s and early 1970s at the time of the U.S. war in Southeast Asia. "The military gave these service members other than honorable discharges based on poor conduct such as unauthorized absence without leave, shirking, using drugs, or lashing out at comrades or superior officers," the lawsuit said.

By Manoj Kumar and Rajesh Kumar Singh NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India's trade minister on Tuesday accused the United States of excessive trade protectionism, launching a broadside that coincided with the visit of a top U.S. official to patch up a stormy bilateral friendship. The ruling Congress party government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh does not want to be seen as bowing to U.S. pressure on trade issues ranging from the quality of Indian drug exports to software piracy. "There are issues which India has raised where we feel there is very high and unacceptable protectionism," Trade Minister Anand Sharma told reporters, adding that Washington made it too hard for Indian nationals to obtain U.S. visas. He also said that India's patent law was compliant with the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO), while India would not agree to tougher rules to protect intellectual property.