Syria 'chemical attack': Russia warns US against military action

Russia has urged the US to avoid taking military action in response to an alleged chemical attack in Syria.

"I would once again beseech you to refrain from the plans that you're currently developing," Moscow's UN envoy Vasily Nebenzia said on Tuesday.
He warned Washington that it will "bear responsibility" for any "illegal military adventure" it carries out.
But Western leaders say they have agreed to work together to target those responsible for the attack in Douma.
French President Emmanuel Macron said any strikes would target Syrian government chemical facilities.
US President Donald Trump has promised a "forceful" response, and he and his Defence Secretary, James Mattis, have cancelled travel plans this week.

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Syrian opposition activists, rescue workers and medics say dozens of people died in a suspected chemical attack on the rebel-held town of Douma, in the Eastern Ghouta region.
President Bashar al-Assad's government - which receives military backing from Russia - denies being behind any chemical attack.

What is the UN doing?

The warning from Moscow came during a divided meeting of the UN Security Council which failed to pass any measures to set up an inquiry into the alleged attack.
As permanent members of the council, Russia and the US both have the power to veto. They both blocked each other's proposals to set up independent investigations.
The US-drafted resolution would have allowed investigators to apportion blame for the suspected attack, while Russia's version would have left that to the Security Council.
A team from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is due to deploy to Syria "shortly" to determine whether banned weapons were used in Douma.
But the OPCW will not seek to establish who was responsible for the attack.

The UN session was the latest in a series of showdowns between Russia and the US and saw harsh words exchanged between the countries.
Mr Nebenzia accused the US of "planting this resolution" as a "pretext" to justify military action.
"We could find ourselves on the threshold of some very sad and serious events," he said.
US envoy Nikki Haley responded by calling the vote a "travesty".
"Russia has trashed the credibility of the council," she said.
"Whenever we propose anything meaningful on Syria, Russia vetoes it."

Will there be a military strike?

Media captionThe US president has said "nothing's off the table" - so what options are on the table?

It seems the US and its allies may be preparing for one.
Mr Trump cancelled his first official trip to Latin America so he could focus on Syria.
That decision suggests the US response may involve a larger military operation than a limited strike, says the BBC's Barbara Plett Usher in Washington.
Washington has also been in discussion with France and the UK, raising the prospect of co-ordinated Western military action. The Times reports that the UK's Prime Minister Theresa May has urged Mr Trump to provide more evidence of the suspected chemical attack.
A US Navy guided-missile destroyer, the USS Donald Cook, is in the Mediterranean, and the European air traffic control agency, Eurocontrol, has warned airlines to take "due consideration" while in the eastern Mediterranean over the next few days, because of the possible launch of missiles into Syria.
Several senior Russian figures have warned of a Russian response to a US attack. Alexander Zasypkin, Moscow's ambassador to Lebanon, is the latest, repeating a warning by the head of the military that missiles would be shot down and their launch sites targeted.

What happened in the suspected attack?

Syrian opposition activists, rescue workers and medics allege that the attack on Douma was done by government forces using bombs filled with toxic chemicals.
The Syrian-American Medical Society said more than 500 people were brought to medical centres with symptoms "indicative of exposure to a chemical agent".

It said this included breathing difficulties, bluish skin, mouth foaming, corneal burns and "the emission of chlorine-like odour".

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The estimates of how many people died in the suspected chemical attack range from 42 to more than 60 people, but medical groups say numbers could rise as rescue workers gain access to basements where hundreds of families had sought refuge from bombing.
The French representative at the UN Security Council said poison gas had deliberately been used as it could seep down to the basements.
Following the alleged attack, Syria and Russia reached an evacuation deal with the Jaish al-Islam rebels, who up until now have been holding Douma.

Originally published on ...http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-43721057

Private hospitals warned over surgeons

Some of the failings that allowed rogue surgeon Ian Paterson to harm patients have been found to be widespread across private hospitals, inspectors say.

The Care Quality Commission said it was concerned about the "old-fashioned" approach to consultants which led to a lack of monitoring and checks.
The regulator said it meant there was a "real danger" poor practices were not being picked up or challenged.
Private hospitals said they were responding quickly to the findings.
The CQC looked at 206 private hospitals in what was the first comprehensive review of the sector.
These sites treat both private patients and those given NHS funding to be seen privately.
The CQC rated 70% as good or excellent.

'Exaggerated symptoms'

But it said there was a "significant concern" relating to governance and safety.
In particular, it highlighted the lack of proper checks and monitoring of senior doctors, mainly surgeons, to ensure they were only undertaking treatments they were qualified to do or carrying them out in a safe way.
It likened the failures to those found in the Paterson case, the breast surgeon who was found guilty of 17 counts of wounding with intent last year and sentenced to 20 years in jail.
He carried out botched operations on patients at private hospitals in the West Midlands.
The surgeon's trial heard he had wildly exaggerated his patients' cancer symptoms, leading them to have several needless operations which left them scarred for life physically and emotionally.

Chief inspector of hospitals Prof Ted Baker described the approach to consultants as "old-fashioned" as it relied on informal systems and people knowing each other.
"Too often, safety was viewed as the responsibility of individual clinicians, rather than a corporate responsibility supported by formal governance processes.
"Where we found failings, we have been clear that improvements must be made, using our enforcement powers where needed to protect people."
Dr Howard Freeman, of the NHS Partners Network, which represents private providers, said providing safe and high-quality care was a "top priority".
He said where inspectors had highlighted problems hospitals were being "quick to respond".
The Royal College of Surgeons said there was "no room for complacency".

 Originally published on ... http://www.bbc.com/news/health-43673897

Man in hospital after eating world's hottest chilli

A man who ate the world's hottest chilli pepper in a chilli-eating contest ended up in hospital after experiencing "thunderclap" headaches.

The 34-year-old man had eaten one Carolina Reaper chilli in the contest in New York State.
The "crushingly painful" headaches came on in the next few days.
His experience has been published in the BMJ Case Reports as it is the first case to be associated with eating chilli peppers.
The doctor who reviewed his case has warned anyone eating hot chilli peppers to seek medical attention immediately if they experience sudden onset headaches.

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"Thunderclap" headaches are caused by the sudden tightening of the vessels that supply blood to the brain, a condition known as reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome (RCSV).

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Immediately after eating at the contest, the man experienced dry heaves.
Severe neck pain developed over the next few days along with debilitating severe headaches, lasting just a few seconds at a time.
The pain was so bad he went to the emergency room and was tested for various neurological conditions, but the results were negative.
A CT scan showed that several arteries in his brain had constricted, leading doctors to diagnose him with RCVS.

World's hottest chilli

• The Carolina Reaper delivers an average of 1,569,300 Scoville Heat Units (SHU)
• As a comparison jalapeno peppers score between 2,500 to 8,000 SHU
• It was named the world's hottest chilli pepper by the Guinness World Records in 2013
• It was created by Ed Currie from the Pucker Butt Pepper Company in South Carolina over ten years
• He started growing chillies after learning that capsaicin found in chillies had potential as a cancer-fighting drug and he donates half of his harvest to cancer research

RCVS does not always have an obvious cause, but can occur as a reaction to some prescription medication, or after taking illegal drugs.
This is the first case to be associated with eating chilli peppers. Previously eating cayenne pepper has been linked to sudden constriction of the coronary artery and heart attacks.
The man's symptoms cleared up by themselves. And a CT scan five weeks later showed that his arteries had returned to their normal size.
Generally RCVS resolves within days to weeks and often has a favourable long-term prognosis, but in some cases severe vasoconstriction resulting in a stroke have been reported - but they are very rare.
Dr Kulothungan Gunasekaran, at the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, who wrote the report, said people need to be aware of these risks, if eating the chilli.
"We would not advise against eating Carolina Reaper at this time, but we would recommend the general public be cautious about these adverse effects and we advise that they should seek medical attention immediately if they develop sudden onset headache after eating hot peppers."

 Originally published on ...http://www.bbc.com/news/health-43699484

Syria 'chemical attack': Trump pledges 'forceful' US response

 

US President Donald Trump has promised a "forceful" response to the alleged chemical attack in Syria, as Western leaders consider what action to take.

"We have a lot of options militarily," he told reporters. He added that a response would be decided "shortly".
Mr Trump said the US was getting some "good clarity" on who was responsible for the incident in Douma on Saturday.
Medical sources say dozens were killed in the alleged attack but exact numbers are impossible to verify.
Mr Trump also discussed the incident with French President Emmanuel Macron late on Monday, and both leaders expressed a desire for a "firm response", the Elysee Palace said.
The AFP news agency quoted French government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux as saying on Tuesday that "if a red line had been crossed, there will be a response", adding that intelligence shared by the two leaders "in theory confirms the use of chemical weapons".
In February Mr Macron threatened to strike Syria if proof emerged of the use of chemical weapons.
UK Prime Minister Theresa May said she had spoken to Mr Macron on Tuesday morning and would be speaking to Mr Trump later in the day. Mrs May did not answer directly when asked if Britain would join the US if it decided to take a military response, saying instead: "We believe that those responsible should be held to account."

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The condemnation from Western leaders follows a tense meeting at the UN Security Council in which the US and Russia traded harsh words over the incident.
US envoy Nikki Haley has called for a vote on Tuesday on a draft resolution to set up a new inquiry into the use of chemical weapons in Syria.
But Russia says it cannot support the proposal because it contains "unacceptable elements".
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow would submit its own draft resolution proposing that inspectors from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) visit Douma.
Russia wanted independent experts to be convinced that nothing had happened and would do everything to allow such a visit to take place, he added.
Russian officials said on Monday that Russian military specialists and staff from Syria's Red Crescent had found no evidence of an attack.

What happened on Saturday?

Syrian opposition activists, rescue workers and medics allege that bombs filled with toxic chemicals were dropped on Douma, in the Eastern Ghouta region, near the capital Damascus, by Syrian government forces.
The Syrian-American Medical Society said more than 500 people were brought to medical centres with symptoms "indicative of exposure to a chemical agent".
It said this included breathing difficulties, bluish skin, mouth foaming, corneal burns and "the emission of chlorine-like odour".
Neither the death toll nor what exactly occurred can be verified as the area is blocked off with access denied.

Media captionUnverified video shows children being treated after the alleged gas attack

The estimates of how many people died in the suspected chemical attack range from 42 to more than 60 people, but medical groups say numbers could rise as rescue workers gain access to basements where hundreds of families had sought refuge from bombing.

• UK PM condemns 'barbaric attack' in Syria

The French representative at the UN Security Council said poison gas had deliberately been used as it could seep down to the basements.
The US, France and UK have led international condemnation of the alleged attack, with the Syrian government and its Russian backers denying any responsibility.

What happened at the UN?

Ms Haley said Russia - a Syrian military backer - had the "blood of Syrian children" on its hands and branded President Assad a "monster".
But Russia's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia, presenting Russia's case that rebels in Douma had staged the event for their own ends, painted the incident and its fallout as part of a US-led effort to hurt Russia with a "broad arsenal of methods", including slander, insults and "hawkish rhetoric".
In an angry statement, he invited the OPCW to fly to Syria as soon as Tuesday, saying that Russian troops would escort them to the site of the alleged attack.

What is the wider context?

Tensions between Russia and the West have plunged to their worst level in decades, following the poisoning in March of an ex-spy in England that the UK blamed on Moscow, and alleged Russian interference in the 2016 US election.

• Russia v the West: Is this a new Cold War?
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• Viewpoint: Chemical weapons ‘threat to West’

The poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia with what the British government says was a military-grade Novichok nerve agent of a type developed by Russia led to the mass expulsion of Russian diplomats by Western allies, to which Moscow responded in kind.


Originally published on ... http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-43707023