■ United Kingdom
Le Carre picks up `dagger'
Britain's crime writers' club on Tuesday awarded its "Dagger of Daggers" to John Le Carre, picking The Spy Who Came In From The Cold as their top book of the last 50 years. "I was most touched by this unexpected award," Le Carre said after his 1963 novel fought off tough competition from such classics as Martin Cruz Smith's Gorky Park. But Le Carre, 74, did not attend the Golden Jubilee awards ceremony, explaining "I am sorry that my new novel prevents me from being present." Le Carre's latest novel The Mission Song, is to be published next September.
■ United States
Gonorrhea infections decline
Gonorrhea rates in the country have fallen to their lowest level on record, but rates of two other sexually transmitted diseases, syphilis and chlamydia, are rising, officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Tuesday. The rates, though of concern, are low compared with years ago. Still, an estimated 19 million new infections of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) occurred last year at estimated health care costs of US$19 billion, the officials said. Many cases of the three bacterial diseases go undetected, while many diagnosed cases are not reported. STDs can cause serious, painful and sometimes life-threatening complications like pelvic inflammatory disease and infertility among women and difficulty urinating among men.
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