HEART OF REGIME IN SIGHTS TROOPS POWER PAST IRAQI ELITE U.S. JET, BLACK HAWK DOWNED.(MAIN)

Byline: DREW BROWN, ANDREA GERLIN and MARTIN MERZER Knight Ridder -

OUTSIDE BAGHDAD, Iraq -- U.S. troops closed to within 20 miles of Baghdad on Wednesday, punching through the remnants of Republican Guard divisions and rolling nearly within sight of Saddam Hussein's seat of power.

``The dagger is clearly pointed at the heart of the regime,'' said U.S. Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks. ``We have the regime on the run.''

Still ahead: the battle for the capital itself. Still unknown: the location of thousands of Republican Guard troops who seem to have vanished in the fields, marshes and hills.

The successes of the day were tempered overnight when seven American soldiers were killed and four injured after a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter was shot down near Karbala, south of Baghdad.

A senior defense official said the helicopter was brought down by small arms fire, possibly rifles and machine guns. The four injured were rescued; the attack brought the number of U.S. fatalities to 56.

Also near Karbala, Iraq shot down a U.S. Navy …

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Obama says in interview that the Quran-burning plan is 'a clear bonanza for al-Qaida'

WASHINGTON (AP) — Obama says in interview that the …

New visual effects director for Digital Pictures Sydney. (On the Move).(David Booth)(Brief Article)

Digital Pictures continues to expand its visual effects team with the addition of David Booth as visual effects …

Virginia Tech.(Sports)

Virginia Tech

Record: 21-11

Past 10: 5-5

Most recent appearance: 1996

RPI: 27

Tourney tidbit: Head coach Seth Greenberg is from Long Island and began his career as an assistant coach at Columbia University.

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Vibhavadi arm opens heart centre: Specialised clinics boost competition.

Byline: Charoen Kittikanya

Mar. 2--SET-listed Vibhavadi Medical Center Plc, operator of Vibhavadi General Hospital, yesterday opened a heart centre with an investment cost of over 200 million baht, according to Chaisith Viriyamettakul, the company's managing director.

The new specialist centre is part of the company's marketing strategy to upgrade Vibhavadi hospital to reach the forefront of Thailand's private healthcare.

As well as the new heart centre, the hospital now operates several specialised units including a digestive-disease centre, an advanced Lasik (eye surgery) centre, and an orthopaedics centre.

The hospital also plans to open …

Safety, risk, and biotechnology regulation

Concerns about product safety and stiffer FDA regulation of manufacturers may be drying up the biotech pipeline

Several recent events have focused attention on the safety and availability of new medical therapies. The debate involves FDA review procedures that-- depending on one's viewpoint - either rush unsafe products to market or harm patients by slowing the development and approval of new drugs, biologics, and other medical products. Agency officials stress the importance of a risk-based approach to regulating clinical research, manufacturing processes, and application approval procedures. They maintain that no drug or biologic is completely risk-free and emphasize the need …