FILE - In this April 27, 2004 file photo, author E.L. Doctorow smiles during an interview in his office at New York University. The Prague Writers' Festival opens in Pittsburgh on Friday, Oct. 18, 2013, the first time the event is being held in the United States. E.L. Doctorow, known for works including "Ragtime" and "Billy Bathgate, is slated to read excerpts of his new novel, "Andrew's Brain," at the festival. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)
FILE - In this April 27, 2004 file photo, author E.L. Doctorow smiles during an interview in his office at New York University. The Prague Writers' Festival opens in Pittsburgh on Friday, Oct. 18, 2013, the first time the event is being held in the United States. E.L. Doctorow, known for works including "Ragtime" and "Billy Bathgate, is slated to read excerpts of his new novel, "Andrew's Brain," at the festival. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The decision to hold the world-renowned Prague Writers' Festival in western Pennsylvania isn't as unlikely as it seems, considering the festival's home base was once the capital of a nation born 95 years ago in a Loyal Order of Moose lodge in Pittsburgh.
The festival has given writers a platform to promote their works but, more importantly, to freely express the thoughts behind them. Friday and Saturday mark the first time the festival will be held in the United States — or anywhere outside Europe, for that matter — at Point Park University downtown.
"It's a festival of ideas," said Michael March, the festival's founder — and often a platform for contentious or unpopular ones. Lawrence Ferlinghetti, a San Francisco writer who won a U.S. Supreme Court appeal of his arrest on obscenity charges in the 1950s, and Salman Rushdie, whose novel "The Satanic Verses" led to death threats from some who felt it attacked Islam, are past participants.
"Writers' festivals are celebratory expressions of intellectual and artistic freedom," said E.L. Doctorow, who will read excerpts of his new novel, "Andrew's Brain," at the festival.
Doctorow, known for works including "Ragtime" and "Billy Bathgate," said festivals are important because in many countries, writers are "censored, jailed, exiled, attacked, murdered, because they know what governments know: that reality is amenable to any construction placed upon it."
That the festival coincides with the anniversary of the birth of what was originally known as Czecho-Slovakia (the country later dropped the hyphen) only adds to that importance, said professor Channa Newman, director of global cultural studies at Point Park. She's also the international program director for the festival and helped bring it to Pittsburgh.
The Czech Senate is sending a delegation, as is the Czech Chamber of Commerce, while the honorary consul representing Slovakia will also attend, Newman said.
"So there's the historical ties, the cultural ties and the business ties, which is now apparently of interest," Newman said.
March agreed that holding the festival in Pittsburgh underscores its international significance.
March, a poet, was raised in New York City. He moved to Europe after the Helsinki Accords attempted to thaw relations between then-Communist bloc nations and the West, and formed a smaller writers' festival in late-1970s London.
March eventually established the Prague Writers' Festival in May 1991, less than two years before Czechoslovakia peacefully split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The festival was first held in Wallenstein Palace, now home to the Czech Senate.
Celebrating Czecho-Slovakia's birth brings the festival full circle.
The Pittsburgh Agreement, which announced the intention to form Czecho-Slovakia, grew out of a meeting in May 1918 of the Czecho-Slovak National Committee at the Moose lodge in downtown Pittsburgh, said University of Pittsburgh professor Martin Votruba. He leads what is believed to be the nation's only university program offering a minor in Slovak Studies.
Czechs, Slovaks and some smaller ethnic groups foresaw the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and hoped to determine their own future as a nation, instead of having it thrust upon them by the international community, Votruba said.
The resulting Pittsburgh Agreement was essentially a Czecho-Slovak declaration of independence, said Andrew Masich, director of Pittsburgh's Senator John Heinz History Center. The museum, which is affiliated with the Smithsonian, has had a copy of the document since 2007.
The document's author, T. G. Masaryk, declared the nation's independence on Oct. 18, 1918, and became the new nation's first president a month later, after the war.
"People forget, the first Czecho-Slovak flag either flew in Washington, D.C., or in Pittsburgh," March said.
The Pittsburgh Agreement "wasn't a perfect creation, it was an artificial creation during a terrible time of the first World War, a time of absolute devastation for people," March said. But, he said, reflecting on that might help people "appreciate their own environment even more."
Fans call him The Velvet Teddy Bear, thanks to his smooth vocal stylings, but Ruben Studdard isn't totally smooth. That's what trainer Jillian Michaels learned on the season premiere of "The Biggest Loser."
Ruben, who landed a spot on Dolvett Quince's team after the trio of "Loser" trainers made their casting picks, needed to cool down following his first intense day in the gym. To do so, he stripped off his shirt and got comfortable in an ice bath.
"The ice baths are Jesus in a steel container!" he smiled.
But Jillian looked on, and she didn't find the sight so heavenly.
"We're going to have to wax that back of yours, I'm telling you right now," she said, clearly put off by the amount of hair on display.
But The Hirsute Teddy Bear wasn't having it.
"Let me tell you something, baby. That's the real man in me," Ruben said. "You understand me?"
She did not. Instead, she deemed it "totally unacceptable.
"Jillian is a hater," the man who won the second season of "American Idol" told the camera. "I don't appreciate that. You know, I think everything about Ruben Studdard is sexy."
He then went on to caution Jillian and some of his female fellow contestants that they've "womanized men" by bullying them into going bare.
But Ruben wasn't really all that worried about it. He was laughing at the ladies while focusing on what he really wanted to lose — pounds.
At 35, he started the competition at 462 pounds, the heaviest person on the ranch by over 50 pounds. But that might not be a distinction he holds for long.
When Ruben stepped on the scale for the red team, he bid farewell to 21 of those pounds. In fact, all of his teammates boasted big losses, like Rachel, who matched Ruben's number, and David, who blew it away with his own almost-unbelievable loss of 38 pounds.
Those numbers made Dolvett's reds unbeatable. But Bob Harper's blues were able to take a comfortable spot in second place, thanks to early standouts such as Matt, who shed 23 pounds in week one.
Jillian's white team wasn't so lucky. And if there's one thing the trainer dislikes more than back hair, it's losing — especially when the player that she'd have to let go happened to be one of her favorites.
When Jillian first worked with Craig, whose week-one total loss was 12 pounds, she said there was just something about his "sad, sweet little eyes" she couldn't get over. So she found a way to get over his ouster all together.
This season, each of the trainers have one save they can use to keep a player in the game — only one each for the whole season. Jillian used hers at the very first weigh-in.
See if Craig proves she made the right call (and if she can convince Ruben to give waxing a chance) when "The Biggest Loser" returns next Tuesday at 8 p.m. on NBC.
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (AP) — Your turn, Josh Freeman.
Freeman was named the latest starting quarterback for the scuffling Minnesota Vikings on Wednesday. Freeman's second week with the team will culminate on Monday night with him leading the offense against the New York Giants.
"It really hasn't been that difficult. Any time you step into a situation where you're the new guy, there's always kind of an awkward getting-to-know-you phase," Freeman said. "But I think that goes back to the character of this organization just from top to bottom: a lot of quality people that are dedicated to winning first and foremost but also being quality human beings off the field. So it's been a smooth adjustment."
Coach Leslie Frazier also said that Christian Ponder will be the backup, not Matt Cassel, assuming Freeman makes it through the week without problems.
"I like the things he's done in his career, along with what he's done since he arrived here with our football team, the time he put in, how well he's adapted to our system," Frazier said. "He's done enough for us to say we want to give him this opportunity, which is something we had in mind when we acquired him. I think now is the time."
Freeman will be the third starter in the last four games for the Vikings (1-4) and the 11th since Daunte Culpepper's season-ending knee injury in 2005. Freeman was cut by Tampa Bay on Oct. 3 and signed by Minnesota to a one-year contract five days later.
"We're just going to make plays for whoever's in there and just make it as easy as possible," wide receiver Jerome Simpson said.
Freeman started 59 games over four-plus seasons with the Buccaneers. The 25-year-old former first-round draft pick threw for 25 touchdowns and just six interceptions in 2010, his first full season as a starter, but has been up and down since. The Vikings were on the wrong end of one of his best games last year, a 36-17 victory at Minnesota when he passed for 262 yards and three touchdowns without an interception.
"The underlying questions I've been getting from a lot of people: 'Do I have a chip on my shoulder?' I'm sure I do," Freeman said. "But I think it's more deeply rooted than just the past six months, 12 months."
Frazier said he was impressed by Freeman's first practice with the team.
"From the moment he stepped in the building, he wanted to learn. And the way he handled himself in that practice, it changed my mindset about the possibilities," Frazier said. "We had a timeframe in mind originally but watching what he did from the day he arrived, that cemented it for me that sooner was a possibility."
Frazier said he hasn't considered a scenario in which Ponder wouldn't still be on the roster for the rest of the season. Ponder said he wasn't sure about his future here. The trade deadline is Oct. 29. He's under contract with the Vikings through at least 2014.
"I have to figure out what's best for me and everything and for this team. I don't know if that's staying here and going somewhere else," Ponder said.
Ponder started the first three games until he broke a rib. Cassel took over and led the Vikings to their only victory. Frazier said he preferred to keep the factors in his decision to put Ponder ahead of Cassel on the depth chart private.
The coach also said he had full authority to make Freeman the starter. He acknowledged, though, that owners Zygi Wilf and Mark Wilf and general manager Rick Spielman were consulted.
"When you're talking about the quarterback position, which affects your entire franchise, this is not a decision you make alone," Frazier said.
Running back Adrian Peterson was missing from practice because of a personal matter. Frazier said he expected him back on Thursday. The coach declined to specify whether his absence was related to the situation in South Dakota regarding his 2-year-old son, who died last week by alleged abuse. A man is in custody in South Dakota.
Safety Harrison Smith was also not present for the beginning of practice reporters were allowed to watch. With the game on Monday this week, the Vikings aren't required to produce an injury report until Thursday. Smith suffered a turf toe injury to his left foot on Sunday. Frazier said he'd provide an update on Thursday.
___
Online:
AP NFL website: http://www.pro32.ap.org
___
Dave Campbell on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/DaveCampbellAP
Participation in cardiac rehab program can result in gains for recovery in stroke patients
Public release date: 16-Oct-2013 [
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Contact: Jane Diane Fraser jfraser@hsf.ca 613-569-4361 x273 Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada
Open cardiac outpatient rehabilitation programs for stroke patients across Canada, researchers urge
Montreal Stroke patients who participate in a cardiac rehabilitation program for six months make rapid gains in how far and fast they can walk, the use of weakened limbs and their ability to sit and stand, according to a study presented today at the Canadian Stroke Congress.
On average, participants saw a 21-per-cent improvement in the strength and range of motion of weakened limbs; a 19-per-cent improvement in walking speed; and a 16-per-cent improvement in the distance they could walk.
"There should be a seamless referral of patients with mild to moderate effects of stroke to the network of established outpatient cardiac rehab programs in Canada," says lead researcher Dr. Susan Marzolini of Toronto Rehabilitation Institute/University Health Network. "Early referral is also important. In our study, those who started the cardiac rehab program earlier had the strongest results."
Cardiac rehabilitation incorporates exercise training (aerobic and resistance/strength training), nutrition counseling, risk factor counseling and management (lipids, blood pressure, diabetes, weight management, smoking cessation and psychosocial management,) delivered by an interprofessional health care team.
All of the 120 patients who participated in the study saw improved recovery.
The largest gains in walking function were among those who were referred to the program the earliest. Participants were, on average, two years post-stroke but the study included people who had experienced a stroke from three months to five years previously.
In most cases, rehabilitation ends at three months post-stroke, when it has been assumed that spontaneous recovery is over and people reach a plateau, Dr. Marzolini says.
For those who entered the six-month cardiac rehab program after standard care, "we didn't see a plateau, we saw a huge improvement in the group. We're finding even more benefits from exercise alone than we ever thought."
"We have manufactured these three-month plateaus with our biases about how the brain works," says Dr. Dale Corbett, Scientific Director of the Canadian Partnership for Stroke Recovery (CPSR), a joint initiative of the Heart and Stroke Foundation and Canada's leading stroke research centres, which funded the study. "Recovery continues for months and years after stroke."
A 2011 audit of stroke services in Canada found that only 37 per cent of stroke patients with moderate to severe impairments receive standard rehabilitation in the weeks after stroke, despite overwhelming evidence of its benefits.
"The results of this study are exciting because this exercise program is a very cost-effective intervention for improving the quality of life for those living with the effects of stroke," says Canadian Stroke Congress Co-Chair Dr. Mark Bayley, noting that there are 50,000 strokes in Canada every year.
Although standardized outpatient rehabilitation programs have been in place for cardiac patients across Canada for more than 40 years and are usually associated with a hospital or community facility structured programs are not widely available or accessible for stroke patients.
Participants in the study attended one 90-minute session a week and received an "exercise prescription" for personalized walking and strength training exercises to complete four times a week at home.
Besides physical improvements, the study found stroke patients reported big social gains and began to attend more activities in their communities, partly because they could walk better and get in and out of cars more easily. An earlier study by the research team found increased fitness led to improvements in cognition and mental health.
"The key message here is to open up existing outpatient cardiac rehab programs, which are already in place, to stroke patients," says Ian Joiner, director of stroke for the Heart and Stroke Foundation. "Stroke recovery is a journey that continues throughout life. And programs such as this can be an integral part of that journey."
The next phase of the study will identify the barriers to referral for stroke patients. Other CPSR researchers involved in the study include Dr. Ada Tang of McMaster University, Dr. William McIlroy of the University of Waterloo, Dr. Paul Oh of Toronto Rehab/UHN and senior author Dr. Dina Brooks of the University of Toronto.
The value of exercise on the brain is a key research focus of the Canadian Partnership for Stroke Recovery. An award-winning CPSR study presented at the Canadian Stroke Congress by Dr. Walter Swardfager of Sunnybrook Research Institute uses new imaging technology to measure the impact of exercise on blood flow to the brain following stroke. Preliminary results indicate that fitness has a protective effect and primes the brain for recovery.
###
The Canadian Stroke Congress is a joint initiative of the Canadian Stroke Network, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada and Canadian Stroke Consortium.
Statements and conclusions of study authors are solely those of the study authors and do not necessarily reflect Vascular 2013 host organizations' policy or position. They make no representation or warranty as to their accuracy or reliability.
The Canadian Stroke Network, canadianstrokenetwork.ca, is a national research network headquartered at the University of Ottawa. It includes scientists, clinicians and health-policy experts committed to reducing the impact of stroke.
The Heart and Stroke Foundation's mission is to prevent disease, save lives and promote recovery. A volunteer-based health charity, we strive to tangibly improve the health of every Canadian family, every day. 'Healthy lives free of heart disease and stroke. Together we will make it happen.' Heartandstroke.ca
Vascular 2013 is a unique, one-time Canadian event bringing four separate scientific meetings together under one roof: the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress, the Canadian Diabetes Association/Canadian Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism Professional Conference, the Canadian Stroke Congress and the Canadian Hypertension Congress. vascular2013.ca
It is a joint initiative of the Canadian Cardiovascular Society, Canadian Diabetes Association/Canadian Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism, the Canadian Stroke Network, the Heart and Stroke Foundation, and Hypertension Canada.
For more information and/or interviews, contact the
VASCULAR 2013 MEDIA OFFICE AT 514-789-3402 (Oct 17-20)
OR
Massy Forget Langlois Public Relations
Christian Ahuet, Consultant
514-842-2455, ext. 29 / Cell. 514-994-7496
Congress information and media registration is at http://www.vascular2013.ca
After October 20, 2013 contact:
Jane-Diane Fraser
Heart and Stroke Foundation
jfraser@hsf.ca
613-569-4361x273
[
| E-mail
| Share
]
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Participation in cardiac rehab program can result in gains for recovery in stroke patients
Public release date: 16-Oct-2013 [
| E-mail
| Share
]
Contact: Jane Diane Fraser jfraser@hsf.ca 613-569-4361 x273 Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada
Open cardiac outpatient rehabilitation programs for stroke patients across Canada, researchers urge
Montreal Stroke patients who participate in a cardiac rehabilitation program for six months make rapid gains in how far and fast they can walk, the use of weakened limbs and their ability to sit and stand, according to a study presented today at the Canadian Stroke Congress.
On average, participants saw a 21-per-cent improvement in the strength and range of motion of weakened limbs; a 19-per-cent improvement in walking speed; and a 16-per-cent improvement in the distance they could walk.
"There should be a seamless referral of patients with mild to moderate effects of stroke to the network of established outpatient cardiac rehab programs in Canada," says lead researcher Dr. Susan Marzolini of Toronto Rehabilitation Institute/University Health Network. "Early referral is also important. In our study, those who started the cardiac rehab program earlier had the strongest results."
Cardiac rehabilitation incorporates exercise training (aerobic and resistance/strength training), nutrition counseling, risk factor counseling and management (lipids, blood pressure, diabetes, weight management, smoking cessation and psychosocial management,) delivered by an interprofessional health care team.
All of the 120 patients who participated in the study saw improved recovery.
The largest gains in walking function were among those who were referred to the program the earliest. Participants were, on average, two years post-stroke but the study included people who had experienced a stroke from three months to five years previously.
In most cases, rehabilitation ends at three months post-stroke, when it has been assumed that spontaneous recovery is over and people reach a plateau, Dr. Marzolini says.
For those who entered the six-month cardiac rehab program after standard care, "we didn't see a plateau, we saw a huge improvement in the group. We're finding even more benefits from exercise alone than we ever thought."
"We have manufactured these three-month plateaus with our biases about how the brain works," says Dr. Dale Corbett, Scientific Director of the Canadian Partnership for Stroke Recovery (CPSR), a joint initiative of the Heart and Stroke Foundation and Canada's leading stroke research centres, which funded the study. "Recovery continues for months and years after stroke."
A 2011 audit of stroke services in Canada found that only 37 per cent of stroke patients with moderate to severe impairments receive standard rehabilitation in the weeks after stroke, despite overwhelming evidence of its benefits.
"The results of this study are exciting because this exercise program is a very cost-effective intervention for improving the quality of life for those living with the effects of stroke," says Canadian Stroke Congress Co-Chair Dr. Mark Bayley, noting that there are 50,000 strokes in Canada every year.
Although standardized outpatient rehabilitation programs have been in place for cardiac patients across Canada for more than 40 years and are usually associated with a hospital or community facility structured programs are not widely available or accessible for stroke patients.
Participants in the study attended one 90-minute session a week and received an "exercise prescription" for personalized walking and strength training exercises to complete four times a week at home.
Besides physical improvements, the study found stroke patients reported big social gains and began to attend more activities in their communities, partly because they could walk better and get in and out of cars more easily. An earlier study by the research team found increased fitness led to improvements in cognition and mental health.
"The key message here is to open up existing outpatient cardiac rehab programs, which are already in place, to stroke patients," says Ian Joiner, director of stroke for the Heart and Stroke Foundation. "Stroke recovery is a journey that continues throughout life. And programs such as this can be an integral part of that journey."
The next phase of the study will identify the barriers to referral for stroke patients. Other CPSR researchers involved in the study include Dr. Ada Tang of McMaster University, Dr. William McIlroy of the University of Waterloo, Dr. Paul Oh of Toronto Rehab/UHN and senior author Dr. Dina Brooks of the University of Toronto.
The value of exercise on the brain is a key research focus of the Canadian Partnership for Stroke Recovery. An award-winning CPSR study presented at the Canadian Stroke Congress by Dr. Walter Swardfager of Sunnybrook Research Institute uses new imaging technology to measure the impact of exercise on blood flow to the brain following stroke. Preliminary results indicate that fitness has a protective effect and primes the brain for recovery.
###
The Canadian Stroke Congress is a joint initiative of the Canadian Stroke Network, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada and Canadian Stroke Consortium.
Statements and conclusions of study authors are solely those of the study authors and do not necessarily reflect Vascular 2013 host organizations' policy or position. They make no representation or warranty as to their accuracy or reliability.
The Canadian Stroke Network, canadianstrokenetwork.ca, is a national research network headquartered at the University of Ottawa. It includes scientists, clinicians and health-policy experts committed to reducing the impact of stroke.
The Heart and Stroke Foundation's mission is to prevent disease, save lives and promote recovery. A volunteer-based health charity, we strive to tangibly improve the health of every Canadian family, every day. 'Healthy lives free of heart disease and stroke. Together we will make it happen.' Heartandstroke.ca
Vascular 2013 is a unique, one-time Canadian event bringing four separate scientific meetings together under one roof: the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress, the Canadian Diabetes Association/Canadian Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism Professional Conference, the Canadian Stroke Congress and the Canadian Hypertension Congress. vascular2013.ca
It is a joint initiative of the Canadian Cardiovascular Society, Canadian Diabetes Association/Canadian Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism, the Canadian Stroke Network, the Heart and Stroke Foundation, and Hypertension Canada.
For more information and/or interviews, contact the
VASCULAR 2013 MEDIA OFFICE AT 514-789-3402 (Oct 17-20)
OR
Massy Forget Langlois Public Relations
Christian Ahuet, Consultant
514-842-2455, ext. 29 / Cell. 514-994-7496
Congress information and media registration is at http://www.vascular2013.ca
After October 20, 2013 contact:
Jane-Diane Fraser
Heart and Stroke Foundation
jfraser@hsf.ca
613-569-4361x273
[
| E-mail
| Share
]
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
SINGAPORE, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Singapore produced a huge surprise by upsetting Syria 2-1 for their first victory in 2015 Asian Cup qualifying on Wednesday while Malaysia and Indonesia grabbed unlikely draws on a good night for Southeast Asia.
World Cup qualifiersIran overcame a stubborn defensive effort by Thailand to claim a 2-1 win in Tehran but Jordan, hoping to join them in Brazil next year, played out a drab goalless draw at home to Oman.
Elsewhere, Ali Mabkhout scored a hat-trick as United Arab Emirates routed Hong Kong 4-0 to maintain their 100 percent record in Group E and Uzbekistan overcame Vietnam 3-1 in Tashkent.
Wednesday marked the halfway stage of the five qualifying groups with 11 places still up for grabs after a number of draws left the identity of the finalists in Australia still undecided.
In Group A, Singapore were expected to offer little resistance to 2011 Asian Cup competitors Syria but Khairul Amri and substitute Gabriel Quak scored second half goals as the hosts grabbed all three points on their plastic pitch.
A brilliant solo effort by forward Reja Rafe proved too little too late for Syria as the home side deservedly held on to move up to third and one place off the qualifying positions for Australia.
"It is not a good result to beat Syria 2-1, it is a very good result. It was a hard fight," Singapore's German coach Bernd Stange told reporters.
However, the much-travelled coach held little hope of overtaking Jordan or Oman to claim one of the two berths from the pool or the best third place position across the five groups.
"We don't care for the next matches we have in this qualification, we have to be realistic. Today we are very proud that we could achieve such a performance and of course the result was very good."
Oman lead the group on seven points after their goalless draw against Jordan, who moved on to five with Singapore on three and Syria last on one.
China have enjoyed a resurgence under caretaker boss Fu Bo following the dismissal of former Spain and Real Madrid coach Jose Antonio Camacho but he could not prevent them throwing away the lead to draw 1-1 in Indonesia.
Wu Xi gave the visitors a deserved lead in the 36th minute of a first half they dominated but in the muggy temperatures the Chinese tired and the hosts made them pay with captain Boaz Solossa smashing home a brilliant volley in the 68th minute.
"I made a game plan for each half. I knew that China would suffer with the hot weather and it worked," Indonesia coach Jacksen Tiago said.
China now have four points in Group C with leaders Saudi Arabia taking on Iraq later on Tuesday.
In Group B, Iran went top after they overcame the Thais, while Lebanon (four points) and Kuwait (five) played out a 1-1 draw in Beirut.
Two goals in three minutes from defender Jalal Hosseini and forward Reza Ghoochannejhad put hosts Iran clear with 20 minutes left only for Teerasil Dangda to pull one back in the 80th minute.
There were no such narrow margins in Group E where the UAE made it three wins from three thanks to Mabkhout's hat-trick with Walid Abbas completing the rout in the final moments.
Uzbekistan moved second in the group on four points, level with Hong Kong, after their 3-1 win over Vietnam.
In Group D, Bahrain lead the way on seven points after they failed to win for the first time following a 1-1 draw in Kuala Lumpur against Malaysia.
Abdullah Ahmed Saleh put the visitors ahead in the first half before Norshahrul Idlan Talaha deservedly equalised 20 minutes before the end as the Malaysians came close to snatching an upset win.
World Cup 2022 hosts Qatar are second in the group on six points after they thrashed bottom side Yemen 6-0 on Sunday. Malaysia have four points.
Defending champions Japan have already qualified for the tournament along with hosts Australia and South Korea courtesy of their top three finishes four years ago in Qatar. North Korea have also booked a spot after winning the 2012 Challenge Cup, a tournament for developing Asian nations. (Editing by Justin Palmer)
An Iraqi man pushes a woman in a wheelchair past piles of trash in Baghdad in May, 2003.
By Bill Briggs, NBC News contributor
About a half million Iraqi people died during the eight-year war in that country, and among those casualties roughly four in 10 perished due to Iraq's decimated infrastructure — from crippled health-care and power systems to interruptions in water and food supplies, according to a study released Tuesday.
U.S. researchers hired Iraqi physicians to go door-to-door at randomly selected homes in 100 Iraqi neighborhoods to ask families what members died between 2003 and 2011 and how they lost their lives, the report states. Among non-violent deaths tied to the war, the most common cause was heart attacks or cardiovascular conditions, followed by infant or childhood deaths other than injuries, chronic illnesses and cancer.
"In a war situation, people can’t leave their homes to get medical care. When they do leave their homes to get medical care, they arrive at institutions overwhelmed with violent injuries. The water is compromised. Stress is elevated. The power is out. The distribution networks for medical supplies are compromised," said Amy Hagopian, associate professor of Global Health at the University of Washington and lead author of the paper.
Conducted by the University of Washington, Johns Hopkins University and two other colleges, the unfunded study is the first population-based analysis of deaths that covers the full span of the Iraq War. It was published in the open access journal PLOS Medicine. The estimated count is in addition to the death rate Iraq would have experienced if not for the war.
Mohammed Hato / AP file
An Iraqi boy studies under an oil lamp, in Baghdad, March 2, 2006 during an electricity outage.
The authors urge that public-health practitioners around the world begin to treat war as a major public-health threat, beyond the obvious concerns over bombs and bullets.
"Everybody’s against polio and car crashes and tobacco smoke. But it’s time we got serious about the direct and indirect threats to public health from war, for both the invaded as well as the invader," Hagopian said.
"We (the U.S. government) should have to file health impact assessments before we decide to invade countries. In the whole discussion of what to do about Iran, have you heard any discussion about what the health effects would be on the whole? Not one," she added. "You look around the United States and you see plenty of health effects from the Iraq War. So this is a public health problem of serious magnitude. But there is not a single National Institutes of Health grant to look into this for researchers. Our entire study was done by academic volunteers."
The researchers believe their calculations carry a 95 percent certainty because they applied a meshed grid system to Google Earth software to ensure a fully random sampling of Iraqi households.
Philippe Desmazes / AFP file
An Iraqi man fills a plastic bottle with drinking water from a leaking pipe as his son drinks in Basra, May 8, 2003.
"We're saying a half million dead, and we think that’s a really conservative number," Hagopian said. "We’re pretty sure that we missed a lot (of other deaths) because of the migration effect out of Iraq, and because some people weren’t really willing to talk with us."
Among U.S. troops that served in Iraq, 4,476 service members died in that conflict, including more than 3,500 killed in action, according to the Department of Defense.
When it comes to tracking civilian casualties, however, some experts warn the past attempts to assess non-combatant fatalities in Iraq produced estimates that critics called wildly inflated — five times higher than more commonly accepted death tolls. A paper by U.S. academics published in 2006 estimated that about 600,000 people had, at that point, been killed in the war's violence.
But the new study and its figures seem rooted in reality, said Michael O'Hanlon, senior fellow with the 21st Century Defense Initiative and director of research for the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution.
"There’s no doubt that infrastructure did decline and that were — like there would be in any war setting — a lot of additional quote-unquote excess deaths from inadequate nutrition or healthcare of stress or what have you," O'Hanlon said. "That point is fair and important and I’m glad they’re making it. The numbers sound more credible" than earlier surveys had claimed.
Muddying the somber tally, however, is the fact that Iraq already was in decline before U.S. forces invaded in 2003. International economic sanctions placed against the country as well as attacks unleashed by Iraq's later-executed leader Saddam Hussein against some of his own people all contributed to a failing state, O'Hanlon said.
Amy Hagopian
Researchers (not named by the study) tally up death-survey counts while in Iraq.
"Some of these declines definitely did get worse during the violence that resulted from the invasion. But other trends in Iraqi excess deaths began sooner, first because of Saddam’s brutality and his mismanagement of the country and then because of the sanctions" O'Hanlon said. "All of these things had a human toll. So disentangling all these pieces is a complicated thing."
Even worse, sectarian violence has continued in Iraq since U.S. forces pulled out. More than 1,000 people there were killed in July, the highest monthly death toll in five years, the United Nations reported in August.
Violence has been on the rise in Iraq throughout 2013. The increased attacks have fueled fears that Iraq is again bound for the widespread chaos that nearly ripped the nation apart in the aftermath of the U.S.-led invasion that ousted its ruler in 2003.
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