SYDNEY, June 26 /PRNewswire/ --

- Rod Beckstrom is Global Entrepreneur, Analyst and Author

Internet founders and leaders are joining industry executives and government officials in praising the selection of Rod Beckstrom as the new Chief Executive Officer and President of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090626/DC38669 )

Yesterday, the Brazilian national team overcame a 2 goal deficit to defeat the USA squad 3-2 in the final of the Confederations Cup.   The unheralded USA team was a surprise but  teams always are until they achieve big wins over a period of time.    Then it becomes predictable and expected, like Brazil.

But what makes a great footballer?   Being in excellent physical condition undoubtedly helps but few people actually believe that intense physical training alone can turn an average player into Cristiano Ronaldo - who is Portuguese.   Instead, there is something else that must be added.   Scientists from the University of Queensland have decided to study what this "something else" might be.  

LONDON, June 26 /PRNewswire/ --

- Medical Experts Call for Greater Consideration of Gastric Banding for Obese People With Type 2 Diabetes

LONDON, June 26 /PRNewswire/ --

Allergan's LAP-BAND(TM) AP System for obesity intervention has become the first device to receive official European approval for weight loss that leads to improvement or remission of type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes has reached pandemic proportions[i] and the risk of developing the disease has increased up to 10 times in people who are obese. Obesity is defined as having a Body Mass Index of 30 or greater. Alarmingly, the United Kingdom has the fastest growing rate of obesity in the developed world.[ii]

CALGARY, Canada, June 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Addax Petroleum Corporation (Addax Petroleum or the Corporation) (TSX: AXC and LSE: AXC) announced today that the definitive agreement (the Acquisition Agreement) with Sinopec International Petroleum Exploration and Production Corporation (SIPC) pursuant to which SIPC has agreed, subject to the terms of the Acquisition Agreement, to make an offer to acquire all of the outstanding common shares of Addax Petroleum by way of a negotiated take-over bid for C$52.80 per common share has been filed with the Canadian and U.K. securities regulatory authorities. A copy of this document may be obtained via http://www.sedar.com and http://www.londonstockexchange.com.

About Addax Petroleum

MCKINNEY, Texas, June 25 /PRNewswire/ --

Torchmark Corporation (NYSE: TMK) announced today that it has priced an offering of US$300 million in aggregate principal amount of 9.25% Senior Notes that will mature in 2019. Torchmark expects the offering to close on June 30, 2009, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. The net proceeds of the offering will be used for the repayment of the US$99.45 million in aggregate principal amount of Torchmark's 8.25% Senior Debentures that mature on August 15, 2009, and general corporate purposes.

Wachovia Capital Markets, LLC and SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, Inc. are acting as joint book-running managers for the offering.

Q. Who said this? "I have only two passions - space exploration and hip-hop."

A. Buzz Aldrin, space exploration pioneer, on Apollo 11, second person to walk on the moon, 79-year-old white dude.

I thought this was a joke when I first saw the posting on Wired, but it's real - Buzz recorded a rap song, "The Rocket Experience," with help from Snoop Dogg, Quincy Jones, Soulja Boy and Talib Kweli (who I didn't know but according to Wikipedia is "one of the best-known and critically, if not commercially, successful rappers in alternative hip-hop).

DALLAS, June 25 /PRNewswire/ --

- Increase service levels, lower inventories, and connect International and Domestic Logistics Operations

One Network Enterprises, a pioneer in community-based on demand supply chain solutions, has introduced its new global container and shipment prioritization capabilities designed to increase service levels, lower inventories, reduce supply variability, and minimize detention costs and other port fees by providing multi-leg container visibility and prioritization. According to Gartner, One Network's Demand Driven Logistics solution is visionary and these capabilities further extend the networked global end-to-end transportation product footprint.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20071024/LAW154LOGO)

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts, June 25 /PRNewswire/ --

Soaring demand for mobile broadband services in Malaysia, driven in part by intense competition, will result in higher-than-expected growth rates for telecom operators in that nation through 2014, according to a new report from Pyramid Research (www.pyr.com), the telecom research arm of the Light Reading Communications Network (www.lightreading.com).

In an article published in the June 25th edition of the journal Neuron, researchers at the Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, have found that synaptic plasticity, long implicated as a device for ‘change’ in the brain, may also be essential for stability.



Homeostasis, the body’s own mechanism of regulating and maintaining internal balance in the body, is necessary for survival. Precisely how the brain pulls off this tricky balancing act has not been well appreciated.

PARIS and LONDON, June 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY) and AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN) today announced that their marketing authorisation application for ONGLYZA(TM) (saxagliptin) received a positive opinion from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) for the treatment of type 2 diabetes in adults as add-on therapy with metformin, a thiazolidinedione or a sulphonylurea.

The positive opinion was reached after the CHMP reviewed data from a comprehensive clinical development programme that included six core Phase III trials assessing the safety and efficacy of saxagliptin as a once-daily therapy. These involved 4,148 patients with type 2 diabetes, including 3,021 patients treated with saxagliptin.(1-5)