Blood sugar control might avert dementia

CONTROLLING blood sugar levels in people with Type 2 diabetes may help prevent dementia, experts say.

A STUDY of 350,000 people with Type 2 diabetes found poor blood sugar control was associated with hospital admissions for the condition.

Hostages race to freedom in Philippines

TWO Philippine coast guards held hostage by Al-Qaeda-linked militants sprinted through gunfire to freedom as government forces raided the extremists' hideout, killing 15 of them.
GRINGO Villaruz and Allan Pagaling slipped separately from the Abu Sayyaf camp on Wednesday night and raced through the jungle as their captors engaged in a gun battle with the army, Captain Antonio Bulao says.
The men, who were abducted in May along with another hostage who was later beheaded, sought refuge at a village about 1.5 kilometres away. They did not know of each other's escape until they saw each other Thursday at a local military hospital, where they were treated for bruises. The army this week launched a risky attempt to rescue 11 hostages - including Villaruz and Pagaling as well as two Malaysians, a Dutchman and a South Korean - after the militants beheaded a 12th captive last week. The military said 15 Abu Sayyaf gunmen were killed, but the remains of only five were recovered, while several soldiers sustained minor injuries. The fate and whereabouts of the remaining nine hostages were unknown, Captain Bulao said. "The operations will continue. There will be no let-up because we are gaining ground," he said. The kidnappers are believed to be led by Yasser Igasan, one of the group's most senior leaders, and who is believed to be among those who escaped after the firefight The two coast guards were in May abducted in the southern port city of Dapitan, some 250 kilometres from Jolo, along with a village official, Rodolfo Boligao. Boligao's decapitated remains were found on a dark Jolo highway last week after the government rejected the Abu Sayyaf's unspecified ransom demand. Separate fighting in neighbouring Basilan island on Wednesday left five Abu Sayyaf members and one soldier killed, the military said. Impoverished Jolo and Basilan are known strongholds of the Abu Sayyaf, a loose band of several hundred armed men set up in the 1990s with seed money from Al-Qaeda. The group engages in kidnappings to finance operations, often targeting foreigners, and sometimes beheading captives if ransom is not paid. It has been blamed for the worst bomb attacks in the country, including the firebombing of a ferry off Manila Bay in 2004 that killed more than 100 people.

Smokers more likely to develop pot bellies

HEAVY smoking may lead to a fatter stomach, new research suggests.
MANY smokers cite fear of weight gain as a reason for not giving up, but scientists have found they are more likely to develop pot bellies than non-smokers.
Scientists at the University of Glasgow found that while smoking might be associated with lower overall weight, it tends to push fat into central areas resulting in a bigger stomach - an unhealthy apple shape, rather than a healthy pear shape. In their study, the researchers analysed 29 studies involving almost 150,000 participants containing data on their smoking habits, weight and waist circumference. The analysis revealed a genetic variation in some smokers which was associated with an increase in the number of cigarettes consumed and a lower mean body mass index, suggesting that heavier smoking leads to lower BMI. However, the data, published in the BMJ Open journal, also showed that while overall BMI in heavy smokers was lower, waist circumference was higher than non-smokers once BMI was accounted for. Professor Naveed Sattar, of the Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences who co-led the study, said: "One barrier to smoking cessation is the fear of weight gain and whilst smoking lessens weight overall, it tends to push fat more into the central area so waist circumference is preferentially higher. "So, when smokers put on weight, they will show bigger tummies for same weight gain than non-smokers and this may also be linked to their greater risk for diabetes. "On the whole weight goes down in smokers. That's true at point of smoking, but it means smoking is lessening the chance of putting fat on in the 'safe bits'."

Winnie Mandela 'meddled in rape case'

A SPOKESMAN for the family of the teenager accusing Nelson Mandela's grandson of rape says Winnie Madikizela-Mandela tried to derail a complaint.
THE spokesman said on Wednesday that Madikizela-Mandela, the late Mandela's divorced wife, sent her bodyguard to the 15-year-old girl's home.
The spokesman said the bodyguard posed as a policeman but had no badge. The spokesman, who refused to allow his name to be used by any of the media, said the bodyguard then revealed that he was there on behalf of Madikizela-Mandela. The spokesman said Madikizela-Mandela promised to ask the provincial police commissioner to handle the case. The family reported the rape when they did not hear from Madikizela-Mandela again. Madikizela-Mandela's office has not responded to questions. Police say Mbuso Mandela, 24, is to appear in court Friday.

Aust, Indonesia unite on terror threat

INDONESIA'S vice president believes relations with Australia are now "much better," after counter-terrorism provided common ground for the first ministerial visit since the Bali Nine executions.
JUSTICE Minister Michael Keenan is on Thursday ending two days of talks with senior government and security figures in Jakarta.
On Wednesday he met Vice President Jusuf Kalla, discussing the shared problem of how to respond to ISIS, and how to better share intelligence on the terror group's activities and influence. He says relations are "getting normal" again after contact was frozen in response to Indonesia's executions of Sydney men Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan. The ambassador has returned to Jakarta, and Australian ministers are scheduled to visit every month, Mr Kalla says. "The relationship with between Indonesia and Australia now I think is okay, it is much better compared with a few months ago," he told reporters. President Joko Widodo denied Sukumaran and Chan clemency in January, straining ties for months until their April 29 executions, as Australia pleaded for the men to be spared. Foreign Ministers Julie Bishop and Retno Marsudi broke the ice earlier this month with "very candid" talks in Kuala Lumpur, and a large Australian trade delegation will visit Jakarta in November. Australia and Indonesia have also agreed to hold a counter-terror financing summit in Sydney. Indonesia's PPTAK, the Financial Transactions Reports and Analysis Centre, and its Australian counterpart AUSTRAC have already detected money flowing from Australia to Indonesian groups supporting Islamic State, according to media reports from March.