Markets Are Sinking | ||
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Good morning. European markets opened down, after an Ebola-driven drop in US stock futures. Here's the scorecard, so far: France's CAC 40 is down 0.60% Spain's IBEX is down 0.41% Italy's FTSE MIB is down 0.51% Britain's FTSE 100 is down 0.57% Germany's DAX is down 0.58% In Asia, the Nikkei closed up 1.01% and the Hang Seng is currently down 0.33% S&P futures are down 0.24% and Dow futures are down 0.10%. In terms of economic data, we've already seen Chinese property prices, with the index falling in 69 of China's 70 major urban areas. Germany's GfK index of consumer confidence came in higher than expected, at 8.5, up from last month's 8.4. At 4.30 a.m. ET, UK GDP data will be released. Analysts are expecting a 0.7% increase in the third quarter, up from a 0.9% rise in the second, with the fast-growing economy moderating a little. From the US, September's new home sales will be announced at 10 a.m. ET. Economists are expecting about 470,000 sales of new homes this month. SEE ALSO: The 10 Most Important Things In The World Right Now Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Australian Doctors Transplant 'Dead' Hearts In Surgical Breakthrough | ||
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Sydney (AFP) - Australian surgeons said Friday they have used hearts that had stopped beating in successful transplants, in a world first that could change the way organs are donated. Until now, doctors have relied on using the still-beating hearts of donors who have been declared brain dead, often placing the recovered organs on ice and rushing them to their recipients. But Sydney's St Vincent's Hospital and the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute have developed a technique which means hearts which had been still for 20 minutes can be resuscitated and transplanted into a patient. So far three people have received hearts in this way, with two recovering well and the third and most recent recipient still requiring intensive care. "They are the only three in the world," surgeon Kumud Dhital, who is an associate professor at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, told AFP. "We know that within a certain period of time the heart, like other organs, can be reanimated, restarted, and only now have we been able to do it in a fashion whereby a heart that has stopped somewhere can be retrieved by the transplant team, put on the machine... and then (surgeons can) transplant it." The technique involves donor hearts being transferred to a portable machine known as a "heart in a box" in which they were placed in a preservation solution, resuscitated and kept warm. Professor Peter MacDonald, medical director of the St Vincent's Heart Transplant Unit, said the use of hearts "donated after circulatory death" would make far more available for transplant. "This breakthrough represents a major inroad to reducing the shortage of donor organs," he said. Michelle Gribilas, the first patient to receive one of the three hearts, said she was very sick before her operation. "Now I'm a different person altogether," the 57-year-old said. "I feel like I'm 40 years old. I'm very lucky." The second recipient, Jan Damen, who had the surgery about two weeks ago, said he felt "amazing". "I'm not religious or spiritual but it's a wild thing to get your head around," he said. Dhital said reanimating hearts using the machine could increase safety for patients because it gave surgeons confidence that the organ was functioning. "I would suggest that in the next five years or so we will be shifting more and more towards machine preservation of hearts," he said.
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Wanderers in fairytale run to AFC Champions League final | ||
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Sydney (AFP) - This year's AFC Champions League final has set up a contest between the competition's newest team and the continent's most decorated side for the title of Asia's best football club. Formed just two years ago, Australia's Western Sydney Wanderers are just a step away from lifting the continental title and earning a spot in the FIFA Club World Cup after a fairytale lead into Saturday's first leg at home. The Wanderers have knocked out several top sides, including defending champions Guangzhou Evergrande of China in the quarter-finals and 2013 runners-up FC Seoul of South Korea in the semi-finals. But coach Tony Popovic doesn't want to hear his team have done well just to qualify, saying the club has always had high ambitions. "We don't want to be a club where you look back and say, you made the final, well done, but you didn't produce when it mattered," he said at a press conference Friday. Western Sydney are looking to become the first Australian club to lift the title, but standing in their way in the final are Saudi Arabian giants Al Hilal. Al Hilal have amassed dozens of international and domestic titles during their 57-year history, including a pair of Asian Club Championships in 1991 and 2000. "I'll have no fear looking in their eyes," Popovic said. "While I'm extremely proud of the group, we're here to win the final. Our only focus is to be champions." The final will be decided over two games, with the first leg at Parramatta Stadium in Sydney's western suburbs on Saturday and the return match at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh on November 1. Much could hinge on the opening encounter at the Wanderers' compact 20,000-seat home ground, where the Australian club has proven formidable during its debut season in the AFC Champions League. The Wanderers lost 3-1 to 2012 champions Ulsan Hyundai of Korea in their opening game in February, but they have since won five consecutive matches there without conceding a goal. While Western Sydney could be without forward Brendon Santalab due to a hamstring strain, Popovic is confident that his side can rise to the occasion once again.
- Formidable opponents -
While Al Hilal have twice been crowned Asian champions, this is the first time that they have reached the final since the competition evolved into the AFC Champions League in 2003. They took only two points from their first three games this season, but then went on with striker Nassir Al Shamrani netting 10 goals and goalkeeper Abdullah Al Sdairy keeping eight consecutive clean sheets which culminated in a 3-0 victory over highly-fancied Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates in the first leg of the semi-finals. Despite losing 2-1 in the return match, they progressed 4-2 on aggregate and have left little to chance for the final, arriving Down Under a full week before the first leg to acclimatise. "We're a very big team -- one of the biggest in Asia -- but we respect our opponent and in a final it's 50-50," Al Hilal coach Laurentiu Reghecampf said Friday. "Tomorrow will be a very tough game for us but I hope for a good result." One player who is determined to taste glory with Al Hilal is Korean defender Kwak Tae-hwi, who captained Ulsan to victory two years ago before moving to Saudi Arabia. "A second victory in the AFC Champions League would rewrite history for myself and Al Hilal," said the South Korean international centre-back. "The AFC Champions League is very big and I hope to win it again." Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Sweden calls off hunt for suspected submarine | ||
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Stockholm (AFP) - Sweden called off early Friday the hunt for a suspected submarine that had involved the largest mobilisation of its naval forces since the end of the Cold War. "At 8:00 am (0600 GMT) Friday morning, the main part of the maritime intelligence operation which had been underway in the Stockholm archipelago since the previous Friday was concluded," the armed forces said in a statement. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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