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World markets dive as Trump sparks trade, North Korea worries

Global stocks sank Wednesday after US President Donald Trump said he was not satisfied with talks that are aimed at averting a trade war with China. Equities were also dented by poor eurozone economic data, and as Trump cast doubt on a planned summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. “Trump (is) continuing to drive uncertainty over global trade,” said analyst Joshua Mahony at trading firm IG. “European markets are following their Asian counterparts lower, as a pessimistic tone from Trump is compounded by downbeat economic data,” he added. Markets had surged Monday after US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He said they had agreed to pull back from imposing threatened tariffs on billions of dollars of goods, and continue talks on a variety of trade issues. However, Trump has declared that he was “not satisfied” with the status of the talks, fuelling worries that the world’s top two economies could still slug out an economically pain
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Pogba on Mecca pilgrimage ahead of World Cup

French midfielder Paul Pogba has posted a video of himself at the holiest site of Islam in Saudi Arabia, as he prepares to join his French squad for the World Cup next month. “Only the person that comes here can understand the feeling,” the 25-year-old Manchester United star said in an Instagram video from the holy city of Mecca. “This a beautiful place — beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. And the feeling… I cannot even explain to you.” The Frenchman posted the video of himself standing in front of the Kaaba, a black cube towards which Muslims turn for their five daily prayers. Pogba, who will be a key member of France’s World Cup team in Moscow, made a similar pilgrimage last year during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. He told the BBC last week that he and his France team-mates must approach the World Cup finals with the right mindset, as that counts more than technical ability. The French — World Cup winners in 1998 and finalists in 2006 — are in Group C with

North Korea preps nuclear site demolition despite US summit doubts

Invited foreign journalists began a long journey up North Korea’s east coast Wednesday to witness the slated destruction of the reclusive regime’s nuclear test site, a high profile gesture on the road to a summit with the US that Donald Trump now says might not happen. In a surprise announcement Pyongyang said earlier this month that it planned to “completely” destroy the Punggye-ri facility in the country’s northeast, a move welcomed by Washington and Seoul. Punggye-ri has been the staging ground for all six of the North’s nuclear tests, including its latest and by far most powerful one in September last year, which Pyongyang said was an H-bomb. The demolition is due to take place sometime between Thursday and Friday, depending on the weather. The North has portrayed the move as a goodwill gesture ahead of a planned June 12 summit between Kim and Trump in Singapore. But doubts have since been cast by both sides on whether that historic meeting will take place.

Breast Cancer Patients May Shorten Herceptin Regimen: Study

 For years, the drug  Herceptin  has helped women with an aggressive form of  breast cancer  beat the disease. But there's one downside: In a minority of cases, the drug can trigger heart damage. Now, a new study finds that women who need the drug might get away with taking a shorter, less toxic course of Herceptin. "This new trial shows that a shorter length of treatment can benefit patients just as much as a longer treatment, with less risk of cardiac side effects," Dr. Bruce Johnson, president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), said in a news release from the organization. "This is a win-win for patients with  breast cancer  who are receiving this common treatment," said Johnson. Results from the study, called the Persephone trial, will be presented in June at the annual ASCO meeting, in Chicago. One  breast cancer  expert was similarly enthused about the findings. "This is fantastic news for patients and physicians,"

Men May Gain More From Cancer Immunotherapy

Male  cancer  patients seem to fare significantly better following immunotherapy treatment than female patients, new research indicates. "Both sex and gender can potentially affect the strength of the body's immune response," explained study author Dr. Fabio Conforti, from the European Institute of Oncology in Milan, Italy. For example, Conforti noted that women generally show stronger immune responses than men in reaction to medical treatment. That, he said, seems to explain why infections occur less frequently -- and are often less serious -- among women than men, and why women also typically respond better to  vaccines  than men. "On the other hand, women account for roughly 80 percent of all patients with systemic autoimmune diseases worldwide," Conforti said. "Therefore, it's possible that differences in the immune system of women and men could be relevant to the natural course of chronic inflammatory conditions such as  cancer , and potent

Dilemma for Cancer Patients as Life-Saving Meds Are Tied to Vision Loss

 A newer type of  cancer  treatment may offer the chance of longer survival, but the  drugs could also trigger new side effects, such as vision problems. New research reports on three cases of a potentially vision-threatening eye condition called uveal effusion that patients developed after taking  cancer  immunotherapy. Immunotherapy uses a person's own immune system to fight  cancer . Uveal effusion occurs when the eye becomes inflamed and fluid collects in the three layers that make up the wall of the eye, the researchers said. This can cause  blurred vision , and even  vision loss , according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology. But though this side effect sounds worrisome, the senior author of the new research said there's no need to panic. "No one should stop their medications," said Dr. Hakan Demirci, an associate professor of ophthalmology at the University of Michigan's Kellogg Eye Center. "First, this is a very rare complication. Th

Juventus in talks to sign €10m Perin amid Buffon exit

The 25-year-old is coming off the back of a strong season with Genoa and is open to joining a bigger club in the close-season Juventus are in talks to sign Mattia Perin from Genoa and are willing to pay around €10 million (£8.8m/$11.75m) to sign the goalkeeper. The Turin side are looking to sign another shot-stopper this summer after Gianluigi  Buffon confirmed he will leave  at the end of the season and is now expected  to sign for Paris Saint-Germain .  Perin, 25, has been linked to Juve recently after Genoa president Enrico Preziosi revealed the Serie A champions and Napoli had enquired about him. RELATED ALLEGRI AGREES JUVENTUS STAY AFTER POSITIVE BOARD MEETING NAPOLI SLAM 'SHAMEFUL AND OFFENSIVE' JUVENTUS CELEBRATIONS 'IT'S NOT IMPORTANT' - KLOPP DEFIANT OVER CAN TO JUVENTUS CLAIMS 'ANY CLUB WOULD WANT BUFFON' - PSG PRESIDENT HINTS AT DEAL FOR JUVENTUS LEGEND Juventus director Giuseppe Marotta insisted last week that his side ha