Coffee mooted as a breast cancer preventer

Women who drink lots of coffee may cut their risk of developing one type of breast cancer, according to a new study, but experts are urging caution.

The Karolinska Institute findings are based on nearly 6,000 women and suggest drinking more than five cups a day halves a woman's risk.

But cancer experts say the evidence is not proof enough and women should instead focus on leading a healthy lifestyle to cut their cancer odds.

They say the findings need confirming.

The Swedish researchers are now doing more studies to dig deeper into the coffee question.

Their initial findings suggest that coffee cuts the risk of an aggressive form of breast cancer called oestrogen-receptor negative breast cancer.

Aggressive cancer

Around one in four women diagnosed with breast cancer will have oestrogen-receptor negative breast cancer, which is often resilient to drug treatment and requires intensive chemotherapy. [Read More]

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Sex and coffee 'trigger stroke'

Coffee, sex and blowing your nose could increase the risk of a type of stroke, say researchers in the Netherlands.

The study on 250 patients identified eight risk factors linked to bleeding on the brain.

They all increase blood pressure which could result in blood vessels bursting, according to research published in the journal Stroke.

The Stroke Association said more research was needed to see if the triggers caused the rupture.

More than 150,000 people in the UK have a stroke each year with nearly 29,000 due to bleeding on the brain.

Bleeding can happen when a weakened blood vessel, known as a brain aneurysm, bursts. This can result in brain damage or death.

The researchers at the University Medical Center in Utrecht looked at 250 patients for three years to identify what triggers ruptures.

Caffeine danger

They found that coffee was responsible for more than one in 10 burst brain aneurysms. [Read More]

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Pfizer sets aside $772m for drug illness claims

The drugs giant Pfizer has put aside $772m (£476m) to resolve claims its hormone replacement drugs cause serious illness.

Pfizer, which is the world's largest drugmaker, said the money provides "the minimum expected costs to resolve all of the other outstanding" lawsuits over the drugs.

The company did not say how many cases would be settled.

Pfizer has already settled a third of claims relating to the drugs.

At the height of the litigation, the company faced more than 10,000 claims.

Much of the claims were inherited along with Pfizer's 2009 takeover of Wyeth, which makes the menopause treatment drug Prempro.

In 2002 a study linked the drug with breast cancer.

More than six million women took Prempro and related menopause drugs to treat symptoms including hot flushes and mood swings.

Wyeth has won dismissals of more than 3,000 cases before they came to be tried.

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US officials get access to Bin Laden wives in Pakistan

US officials have had access to three of Osama Bin Laden's widows in Pakistan, the White House has said.

Spokesman Jay Carney gave no further details, but the US wants to obtain information about the al-Qaeda leader's life since he disappeared in late 2001.

The women were taken into Pakistani custody after surviving the raid by US commandos on Bin Laden's compound in the city of Abbottabad on 2 May.

One official said interviews with them had not been particularly forthcoming.

Pakistan has said it will repatriate the widows and their children. One of the women is from Yemen; the other two are from Saudi Arabia.

Analysts say they could offer rare details about his life on the run.

One of the wives has told Pakistani investigators that he lived in Pakistan for more than seven years. Another has said she moved to Abbottabad in 2006, a year after their home was built, and had never left its upper floors.

Before the raid, Bin Laden's whereabouts had been unknown since he escaped from the mountains of Tora Bora in southern Afghanistan during an assault by US and Afghan forces in December 2001. [Read More]

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George Mitchell resigns as US envoy to Middle East

US envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell is resigning after two years in the role, the White House says.

Mr Mitchell, a former senator and broker of the peace deal in Northern Ireland, is stepping down for personal reasons, the Associated Press reported.

He has shuttled between the Israelis and Palestinians trying to bring the two sides together for peace talks.

US President Barack Obama said Mr Mitchell had "contributed immeasurably" to the peace process.

In a letter to the president announcing his resignation, Mr Mitchell said he had taken the job with the expectation of serving in the position for two years.

He also said in the letter: "I strongly support your vision of comprehensive peace in the Middle East and thank you for giving me the opportunity to be part of your administration."

Mr Obama said in a statement: "As he returns to his family, George leaves behind a proud legacy of dedicated public service and the country owes him a debt of gratitude for his extraordinary commitment."

He praised Mr Mitchell's "deep commitment to resolving conflict and advancing democracy".

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said: "As well as anyone in his generation, George understands the slow, hard work of diplomacy, the art of compromise and the indispensable role of American leadership in the world."

She appointed Deputy Middle East Envoy David Hale to serve as acting envoy. Mr Mitchell's resignation will be effective from 20 May.

September talks

Mr Mitchell, 77, was appointed Middle East envoy by President Barack Obama in early 2009. [Read More]

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