A drug discovered in the soil of a South Pacific island may help to fight the ageing process, research suggests.

When US scientists treated old mice with rapamycin it extended their expected lifespan by up to 38%.

The findings, published in the journal Nature, raise the prospect of being able to slow down the ageing process in older people.

However, a UK expert warned against using the drug to try to extend lifespan, as it can suppress immunity.

We believe this is the first convincing evidence that the ageing process can be slowed and lifespan can be extended by a drug therapy starting at an advanced age.
Professor Randy Strong
University of Texas

Rapamycin was first discovered on Easter Island in the 1970s.

It is already used to prevent organ rejection in transplant patients, and in stents implanted into patients to keep their coronary arteries open. It is also being tested as a possible treatment for cancer.

Researchers at three centres in Texas, Michigan and Maine gave the drug to mice at an age equivalent to 60 in humans.

The mice were bred to mimic the genetic diversity and susceptibility to disease of humans as closely as possible.

Rapamycin extended the animals’ expected lifespan by between 28% and 38%.

The researchers estimated that in human terms this would be greater than the predicted increase in extra years of life, if both cancer and heart disease were prevented and cured.

Researcher Dr Arlan Richardson, of the Barshop Institute, said: “I’ve been in ageing research for 35 years and there have been many so-called ‘anti-ageing’ interventions over those years that were never successful.

“I never thought we would find an anti-ageing pill for people in my lifetime; however, rapamycin shows a great deal of promise to do just that.”

Professor Randy Strong, of the University of Texas Health Science Center, said: “We believe this is the first convincing evidence that the ageing process can be slowed and lifespan can be extended by a drug therapy starting at an advanced age.”

Calorie restriction

Rapamycin appears to have a similar effect to restricting food intake, which has also been shown to boost longevity.

In no way should anyone consider using this particular drug to try to extend their own lifespan, as rapamycin suppresses immunity
Dr Lynne Cox
University of Oxford

It targets a protein in cells called mTOR, which controls many processes involved in metabolism and response to stress.

The researchers had to find a way to re-formulate the drug so that it was stable enough to make it to the mice’s intestines before beginning to break down.

The original aim was to begin feeding the mice at four months of age, but the delay caused by developing the new formulation meant that feeding did not start until the animals were 20 months old.

The researchers thought the animals would be too old for the drug to have any effect - and were surprised when it did.

Professor Strong said: “This study has clearly identified a potential therapeutic target for the development of drugs aimed at preventing age-related diseases and extending healthy lifespan.

“If rapamycin, or drugs like rapamycin, works as envisioned, the potential reduction in health cost will be enormous.”

‘Don’t try it now’

Dr Lynne Cox, an expert in ageing at the University of Oxford, described the study as “exciting”.

She said: “It is especially interesting that the drug was effective even when given to older mice, as it would be much better to treat ageing in older people rather than using drugs long-term through life.”

However, she added: “In no way should anyone consider using this particular drug to try to extend their own lifespan, as rapamycin suppresses immunity.

“While the lab mice were protected from infection, that’s simply impossible in the human population.

“What the study does is to highlight an important molecular pathway that new, more specific drugs might be designed to work on.

“Whether it’s a sensible thing to try to increase lifespan this way is another matter; perhaps increasing health span rather than overall lifespan might be a better goal.”

At least 34 people have been killed in a double suicide bomb attack in northern Iraq, police and medics say.

They say about 60 people were injured when two bombers detonated their explosive vests in the town of Talafar, near Mosul.

The attacks are the deadliest since the withdrawal last week of US combat troops from Iraqi towns and cities.

In Baghdad, at least seven people were killed and nearly 20 injured in two bomb explosions in Sadr City.

‘Judge targeted’

The attacks in Talafar, which is populated mainly by members of the Turkmen ethnic minority, happened early in the morning and in quick succession.

First, a suicide bomber detonated his explosives vest. The second blast followed as people gathered at the scene of the first explosion.

An Iraqi policeman at the scene of the blast in Sadr City, Baghdad
In Sadr City, the bombs went off in a popular market place

There are fears that the death toll will rise further, police say.

The target appears to have been the home of a local judge, the BBC’s Gabriel Gatehouse in Baghdad says.

This area of northern Iraq is rapidly becoming Iraq’s most dangerous region, our correspondent says.

On Wednesday, two explosions near Shia mosques in Mosul killed at least nine people and wounded many more.

In Baghdad’s Sadr City, a Shia area of the Iraqi capital, two roadside bombs exploded in a market, killing at least seven people.

The bombs were reportedly placed in rubbish piles in the area.

US combat troops pulled out from Iraqi towns and cities last week.

US President Barack Obama has described the handover to Iraqis as a milestone, warning that the country’s leaders would face “hard choices” on security and politics.

The withdrawal came ahead of the full departure of US forces by 2012.

Holidaymakers avoided a long delay to their flight home when a passenger fixed a mechanical problem with their plane.

Passengers on Thomas Cook flight TCX9641 from Menorca were told to expect an eight-hour wait while an engineer was flown out from the UK.

One passenger then identified himself as a qualified aircraft engineer and offered to try to remedy the fault.

He was successful, and the plane landed in Glasgow only 35 minutes late.

A spokeswoman for Thomas Cook said the company followed strict procedures to ensure the man was qualified to work on the aircraft, a Boeing 757-200, during the incident on Saturday.

The passenger worked for another airline, Thomsonfly, which has a reciprocal maintenance agreement with Thomas Cook.

It was reassuring to know the person who had fixed it was still on the aeroplane
Keith Lomax

“When they announced there was a technical problem he came forward and said who he was, ” she said.

“We checked his licence and verified he was who he said he was, and he was able to fix the problem to avoid the delay.

“We are very grateful that he was on the flight that day.”

Holidaymaker Keith Lomax, from Stirling, was travelling home from a week’s break with his wife when the plane’s captain announced the expected delay.

“We were in the plane, ready for take-off, when he announced there was a technical problem and that an engineer might have to be flown out from Manchester to fix it,” he said.

“Then a stewardess told us there was an engineer on board and they were checking out to see if he could work on it. He was obviously successful. When he came back onto the plane there was a round of applause from the back of the aircraft.

“It was reassuring to know the person who had fixed it was still on the aeroplane. What are the odds of something like that happening?”

A £1m permanent memorial to the victims of the 7 July 2005 London bombings is to be unveiled in the city’s Hyde Park.

Fifty-two people were killed and hundreds more injured when suicide bombers detonated backpacks on board three Underground trains and a bus.

Families of those killed will gather later to see it publicly revealed.

Relatives who have seen the 52, 3.5m (11.5ft) tall stainless steel pillars - grouped to represent the attack sites - say they form a “fitting tribute”.

Architects Carmody Groarke wanted to convey the random nature of the loss of life - how it could have been anyone travelling in London that day.

Director Kevin Carmody said the firm worked closely with the families through monthly liaison meetings to ensure the finished product was what they required.

“It took a long time to get to the strong ideas like symbolising the single and collective loss of life,” he said.

Saba Mozakka examines the memorial
It’s an amazing tribute to my mum and the 51 others who were so viciously and brutally taken from us
Saba Mozakka

Families key to memorial design

He said 26 of the columns - known as stelae - were grouped to represent those killed on the Underground near King’s Cross.

Other clusters represented Tube bombing victims at Aldgate and Edgware Road, with the remainder symbolic of those who died on the number 30 bus in Tavistock Square.

“Hopefully people will have an almost magnetic propulsion towards it,” said Mr Carmody.

He said it could be viewed from afar as a single entity but that as they moved closed, people would discover the significance of the four groupings and individual columns.

Though the stelae are anonymous, they are inscribed with the date, time and location of the bombings they represent.

“We’re very happy that the families are pleased with the result,” Mr Carmody added.

A representative of the bereaved families group said: “The memorial is a fitting tribute, honouring the 52 lives lost on 7 July 2005, ensuring that the world will never forget them.

“It represents the enormity of our loss, both on a personal and public level.

‘Horrific events’

“We hope this memorial will speak to visitors so they can understand the impact of these horrific events.”

It is located between the park’s Lover’s Walk and Park Lane.

Thanks to the open casting process used to make the columns, with molten stainless-steel being poured into sand moulds, each one has a unique finish.

Saba Mozakka, 28, from Finchley, north London, was one of six family members to sit on a liaison board during the memorial’s design.

Her mother, Behnaz Mozakka, 47, a biomedical officer, was killed on a Piccadilly line train near King’s Cross station while commuting to work.

Ms Mozakka described the memorial as “truly incredible”.

“I’m very happy. It’s very poignant,” she said.

“It’s an amazing tribute to my mum and the 51 others who were so viciously and brutally taken from us.”

Prince Charles and the Minister for London, Tessa Jowell, will address the unveiling ceremony on Tuesday, before the names of the victims are read out and a minute’s silence is observed.

The prince will then lay a wreath on behalf of the nation while the Duchess of Cornwall will leave a floral tribute for the families.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Conservative leader David Cameron, Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg, London Mayor Boris Johnson, former mayor Ken Livingstone and senior figures from the emergency services will also attend the event.

A British soldier has been killed in a helicopter accident in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence has said.

The soldier, from 22 Engineer Regiment, Royal Engineers, died alongside two Canadian troops when their aircraft crashed in Zabul province on Monday.

A safety investigation had already “determined that the crash did not occur as a result of enemy fire,” a Nato spokesman said.

The British soldier’s next of kin had been informed, the MoD said.

The soldier’s name has yet to be released. The Canadians who died have been named by Canadian media as Master Cpl Pat Audet and Cpl Martin Joannette.

A British military spokesman, Lt Col Nick Richardson, said: “Today has been a sad day in the history of Task Force Helmand and this death has deeply moved us.

“The loss of a soldier, friend and colleague is tragic and our thoughts are with his family and friends at this sad time,” he added.

The soldier’s death takes the number of UK service personnel killed in Afghanistan since October 2001 to 175.

Earlier, the US military announced that seven soldiers had been killed in separate attacks across Afghanistan on Monday as they, along with Nato-led and Afghan forces, continued an operation to regain control of southern Helmand province from the Taliban.

Police think it started with a dispute over an ex-girlfriend. Threats were made on social networking sites and via text messages.

The suspects, clockwise from top left are: Lernio Colin, Angel Cruz, Peter MacDonald and Christopher Harter.

A murder plot was hatched and, police say, in the early hours of last Saturday morning, a Florida man was gunned down in his car. But the suspects apparently killed the wrong man.

Now four men are in custody, and will face charges of first degree premeditated murder and two counts of attempted murder. The four are Angel Cruz, 23; his brother from Oregon, Christopher Harter, 29; Peter MacDonald, 18; and Lernio Colin, 20. They have all appeared before a judge in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

They have not entered pleas and are being held without bond, according to state prosecutors.
Detectives are executing search warrants today, and much about the case is still not known.
“The victim was with two other males, in the vehicle,” said Mike Jachles of the Broward Sheriff’s Office.

“One of those men was the intended target,” Jachles told CNN.
Witnesses said multiple shots were fired, according to police. Henry Mancilla, 24 was sitting in the driver’s seat of a gold Mitsubishi Galant at an intersection in Lauderdale Lakes, Florida, near Fort Lauderdale.

“They were exiting the vehicle when shots were fired, striking Mancilla,” said Jachles. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Mancilla was with two other men in their early 20s, Tony Santana and Nick Pappas. One of them was the intended victim, but police are not saying who.

“The four men acted in unison in planning and executing this murder. Mancilla was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and he ended up the victim,” said Mike Jachles.
The three victims said they had been “jumped” earlier in the evening by the same four men and fled the scene in a red Chevy Impala, according to a sheriff’s detective affidavit released Monday afternoon.

Later, a blue Chevy Silverado pickup truck belonging to the defendant Cruz drove up to the three men, according to the affidavit. The victims say they armed themselves with a baseball bat and a walking cane, when the truck turned around and drove towards them. That’s when the shots were fired.

Christopher Harter told police he was in the vehicle at the scene, but said he left the vehicle and then heard four or five gunshots, according to the affidavit. Harter also told police he saw his brother, Angel Cruz, in possession of a semi-automatic pistol three weeks prior to the incident.

“It could have been a case of mistaken identity, but our investigation will determine that,” Jachles told CNN.

Threats were posted on social networking sites and sent via cellular text messages by the suspects to the intended victim, said police. Police said they have not subpoenaed those records and are not releasing the names of those Internet sites.

Colombian police found and arrested Columbia’s most wanted drug lord yesterday, ex right-wing paramilitary Daniel Herrera who offered to pay his henchmen $1,000 for each policeman they murdered.

Daniel Rendon Herrera, 43, known as “Don Mario,” was discovered hiding under a tree in the jungle eating rice out of his hands, defence Minster Juan Manuel Santos said.

300 police officers were involved in his capture, it is difficult to believe he has made millions of dollars from drugs and lived a life of luxury, he was living like an animal when the police surrounded and arrested him.

He has been accused of shipping more than 100 tonnes of cocaine from Colombia to the United States of America. He is responsible for more than 3,000 murders.

When he was taken from the plane in Bogota he was not how you would expect one of the most powerful and important drug lords the world has ever seen to appear, he was looking tired, untidy and very humble but certainly not under weight.

He was taken from the plane with his hands tied together in front of him, bundled in to an armoured car and taken to jail.

Informants have played a major part in aiding the authorities to locate Herrera, with a $2,000,000 reward for information leading to his capture it would appear there were no shortage of old friends willing to cash in he is also wanted in the United States although at the moment it is not known if they will ask for his extradition.

The operation to locate Herrera began nine months ago, as he began to feel the net closing in he offered his soldiers $1,000 reward for each policeman they could kill.

Rendon Herrera has followed in the footsteps of Pablo Escobar who started out as a car thief in Medellin and became Columbia’s most notorious drug baron killing anyone who got in his way, his life ended when he was shot by the security forces in a rooftop shootout in 1993.

It is unlikely to disrupt the running of their drug business he has created for very long, someone will merely move up from the ranks as he did when his brother was jailed for running their drugs empire and it will soon be business as usual.

“Don Mario was the most important drug trafficker out there, but someone will take his place very quickly and it will be business as usual,” said security analyst Pablo Casas

The US envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell, has said Washington is committed to “actively and aggressively” seeking lasting peace.

He announced that President Barack Obama had directed him to spend $20.3m (£14.1m) on food and medical aid to the wounded and displaced in Gaza.

Mr Mitchell is on a regional tour aimed at consolidating ceasefires declared by Israel and Palestinian groups in Gaza.

Earlier, Mr Mitchell met Israeli politicians and intelligence officials.

These included Isaac Herzog, Israel’s current welfare minister, and the leader of the opposition Likud party, Binyamin Netanyahu.

Mr Netanyahu is the leading candidate to be Israel’s next prime minister.

Mr Mitchell has held previous talks with Egyptian, Israeli and Palestinian leaders. Later on Friday he is due to travel to the Jordanian capital, Amman.

‘Difficulties ahead’

Mr Mitchell spoke at an United Nations Relief and Works Agency (Unrwa) warehouse in front of pallets loaded with aid bound for Gaza.

He announced that Mr Obama had earmarked the $20.3m for aid to Gaza on top of $40m allocated to humanitarian programmes there since hostilities broke out in late December.

“The United States remains committed to actively and aggressively seeking a lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians as well as between Israel and its Arab neighbours,” he said.

“The tragic violence in Gaza and in south Israel offers a sobering reminder of the very serious and difficult challenges and, unfortunately, the setbacks that will come.

“It is important to consolidate a sustainable and durable ceasefire while addressing immediately humanitarian needs,” he said.

On Thursday Mr Mitchell met Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Following the meeting he called for Israel to open the crossing points into Gaza and for the Palestinian Authority to participate in a border regime in Gaza that prevents, Hamas, the militant group that controls the territory, from rearming.

Many see Mr Mitchell’s presence as a sign that the US is re-engaging - but few expect to see much progress soon, as Israel is in an election campaign with the right-wing Likud ahead in the polls, BBC Jerusalem correspondent Bethany Bell says.

On Thursday the United Nations launched an appeal for $613m to help people affected by Israel’s three-week military offensive in the Gaza Strip.

The offensive, which ended on 18 January, killed about 1,300 Palestinians, of whom 412 were children; 21,000 homes were destroyed or badly damaged.

Thirteen Israelis were killed during the three weeks of violence.

A rocket fired from the Gaza Strip has hit southern Israel, exploding near the city of Ashkelon, the Israeli military has said.

No casualties were reported from the rocket, which landed in a field.

It is one of several rocket attacks from the territory since Israel and Hamas, which controls Gaza, declared ceasefires on 18 January.

The ceasefires ended Israel’s three-week offensive in Gaza, which was aimed at stopping rocket attacks on Israel.

The ceasefires, independently declared by each side, have been violated several times.

An Israeli soldier was killed in a bomb attack on the Gaza border on Tuesday. Israel responded with air raids and a brief ground incursion by soldiers and tanks.

US envoy

About 1,300 Palestinians and 10 Israeli soldiers were killed in the three weeks of Gaza fighting. Three Israeli citizens died in rocket attacks.

Israel wants the rocket attacks to end and wants to prevent militants in Gaza from being able to rearm.

Hamas wants the border crossings into Gaza to be fully opened to end a 18-month blockade of Gaza which has wrecked its economy.

US President Barack Obama has sent his Middle East envoy George Mitchell to the region to “vigorously” pursue Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

He has arrived in Jordan after talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. He has no plans to meet leaders of Hamas, which Israel, the US and the European Union consider a terrorist group.

The Egyptians have been leading efforts to broker a permanent ceasefire by holding separate talks with officials from Israel and Hamas.

Iraqis are electing new provincial councils in the first nationwide vote in four years, with the Sunni minority expected to turn out in strength.

After a slow start, correspondents said voting was brisk, including among Sunni Muslims, who largely boycotted the last elections.

The vote is seen as a test of Iraq’s stability ahead of a general election due later this year.

Security is tight and thousands of observers are monitoring the polls.

Up to 15 million Iraqis are eligible to cast votes.

“This is a great chance for us, a great day, to be able to vote freely without any pressure or interference,” a Baghdad voter identified as Hamid told Reuters news agency.

Security tight

The BBC’s Jim Muir in Baghdad said voters had to pass through stringent security checks to reach the polling stations, which were mostly set up in schools.

As voting got underway, several mortar rounds landed near polling stations in Tikrit, hometown of late ruler Saddam Hussein, but no casualties were reported.

Hundreds of international observers are monitoring the vote, as well as thousands of local observers from the various political parties.

At least eight of the 14,000 candidates have been killed in the run up to the election.

Three of the candidates - all Sunni Muslims - were killed on Thursday, in Baghdad, Mosul and Diyala province.

While the recent level of violence around Iraq is significantly lower than in past years, Iraq’s international borders have been shut, traffic bans are in place across Baghdad and major cities, and curfews have been introduced.

Hundreds of women, including teachers and civic workers, have also been recruited to help search women voters after a rise in female suicide bombers last year, according to the Associated Press.

Iraqi and US military commanders have in recent days warned that al-Qaeda poses a threat to the elections.

After a slow start to voting, the pace picked up and there was a holiday atmosphere among voters walking to the polling stations, our correspondent says.

Setting the stage

The turnout is expected to be strong even in Sunni areas.

The head of the Iraqi electoral commission in Anbar province - a centre of the Sunni resistance to the US occupation - said he was expecting a 60% turnout.

Fewer than 2% voted in the 2005 election, with the result that Shia and Kurdish parties took control of parliament.

Some Sunnis, like Khaled al-Azemi, said the boycott last time had been a mistake.

“We lost a lot because we didn’t vote and we saw the result - sectarian violence” he told the BBC.

“That’s why we want to vote now to avoid the mistakes of the past.”

The drawing of alienated Sunnis back into the political arena is one of the big changes these elections will crystallise, the BBC’s Jim Muir reports from Baghdad.

On the Shia side, the results will also be closely watched amid signs that many voters intend to turn away from the big religious factions and towards nationalist or secular ones.

If they pass off relatively peacefully, these elections will set the stage for general polls at the end of the year and for further coalition troop withdrawals, our correspondent says.

The election is also being seen as a quasi-referendum on the leadership of Prime Minister Nouri Maliki.

“This is a victory for all the Iraqis,” he said after casting his vote in Baghdad’s highly-protected Green Zone. “I call on all my Iraqi brothers and sisters to vote.”

Saturday’s elections are being held in 14 of the country’s 18 provinces, with more than 14,000 candidates competing for just 440 seats.

There is no vote in the three provinces of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of the north and the ballot has been postponed in oil-rich Kirkuk province.

Iraq’s provincial councils are responsible for nominating the governors who lead the administration and oversee finance and reconstruction projects.