Syria blast near UN convoy going to Deraa

 abercrombie outlet An explosion has hit a Syrian military truck escorting a convoy of UN observers near the city of Deraa, just seconds after UN staff had passed by. The head of the UN team, Maj Gen Robert Mood, was in the convoy, but neither he nor any of the other monitors was hurt.Eyewitnesses said at least three Syrian soldiers were wounded. The windows of the truck were shattered. The observers are in Syria as part of the joint UN-Arab League peace plan and began deploying last month.There are now about 70 monitors in Syria but their presence has had no effect in quelling the violence. Deraa was where the uprising against the government of President Bashar al-Assad began in March 2011. 'Dance of death' An Associated Press reporter travelling in the UN convoy said the explosion blew out the military truck's windows and caused a plume of thick black smoke. It is not clear who was behind the blast. However, the opposition Syrian National Council is blaming the government, saying the explosion is part of a campaign to drive the UN monitors out of the country.Maj Gen Mood condemned the blast, saying the observers would remain focused on their mission. "This is a graphic example of violence that Syrians do not need. It is essential to halt the violence in all its forms," his spokesman told a news conference in Deraa, according to the AFP news agency. Meanwhile, the BBC's Lyse Doucet, who has been to the Syrian city of Homs, says there is constant shooting there, despite a ceasefire between government and opposition forces. Our correspondent, who spent the night in Homs, also heard heavier weapons being fired. She saw UN observers patrolling the city but said entire neighbourhoods were deserted.

 abercrombie and fitch outletIn other developments, UN Middle East envoy Terje Roed-Larsen told the Security Council that arms were being smuggled in both directions between Lebanon and Syria."What we see across the region is a dance of death at the brink of the abyss of war," he told reporters later, AFP reported. Syrian troops fired across the border into Lebanon, killing an elderly woman and wounding her daughter, Lebanese officials said. The report, quoting residents and a doctor in the town of al-Qaa, says the two women were sitting on the steps of a mosque when they were hit by gunfire on Wednesday morning. about 26,000 Syrians have fled across the border to Lebanon, most of them in the north. On Tuesday, UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan told the Security Council that his peace plan could be the "last chance to avoid civil war" in Syria.He told a closed session that the plan was "not an open-ended commitment" and highlighted continuing violations.Mr Annan said he was particularly concerned that torture, mass arrests and other human rights violations were "intensifying".He also told the council that President Assad bore "primary responsibility" for ending the military campaign.The UN says at least 9,000 people have died since pro-democracy protests began in March 2011. In February, Syria's government put the death toll at 3,838 - 2,493 civilians and 1,345 security forces personnel.Syria heavily restricts access to foreign journalists and the reports cannot be independently verified.patients in England who have experienced a stroke face a postcode lottery over the rehabilitation and aftercare they are offered.The regulator has called for immediate improvements to be made after reviewing the performance of the country's 151 primary care trusts.

 abercrombie and fitch ukIts researchers found that patients often faced delays in being seen while some areas failed to provide services at all.BBC News website readers have had a variety of experiences around their aftercare.I had a full stroke three years ago which weakened my entire right side of my body I spent a week in an acute ward at Wansbeck Hospital and then six weeks at a stroke recovery unit in Morpeth. While I was an inpatient, they arranged for certain modifications to my house, but it was after I left hospital that I found everything changed. Initially I had to have physiotherapy twice a week for three months, while I had just one visit from my local GP.I got called in for stroke reviews - where they reviewed my condition twice a year and then once more a year after that but I have always thought that these were a bit of a "box-ticking exercise". I want to stress that I had no problems with the individuals as they were fantastic, but the system wasn't.I also think part of the problem is that you are bombarded with too much information too early on in the treatment. Being told about benefits when you're in hospital isn't useful but would have been better when I was discharged.I think there is also a problem with the rhetoric used for people like me. I don't like the term stroke survivor. I think once the word patient is removed from you, you become lost from the system. Luckily I'm computer literate and so could still use my other arm to log on and see what resources were available to me. I was also a civil servant and had family and friends to help me, but I don't know how people who are alone cope.Afterwards I volunteered to join a stroke panel - which is how I became involved in the Care Quality Commission survey. I wanted to give something back. I am now the Mayor of Blyth - it's a role I took on after having my stroke - so it shows there is life afterwards.I was 48 when I had a stroke in November 2006. I woke up in the middle of the night and was walking to the toilet when I fell over suddenly

. abercrombie uk outletMy wife Diane realised it was a stroke as half my face had fallen, and so she called the ambulance.I was in hospital for about seven weeks. First I was treated in hospital in Shrewsbury before I was moved to a community hospital closer to my home. My treatment was quite good there as it was local people treating local people. It felt very personal and they helped me walk again.When I was discharged I had a physiotherapist and occupation health worker come and check how I was but in hindsight I realised my aftercare wasn't as intensive as perhaps it should have been. At the time I didn't know any better, so thought it was fine. My employer kept me on for two years after my stroke and so, as part of my contract, I had access to private physiotherapy. I would use that to supplement the NHS care I was getting and it had a real benefit. I would get a set amount of physio sessions on the NHS but the private care meant I could top up, which obviously helped.When I left my job and lost the private health care, I found it frustrating as I knew I could be doing a lot more but just didn't have access to the resources.I do worry about the effect this has had on my wife - a stroke changes your life. One of the main problems we've found afterwards is that it's not just income you lose after having a stroke but your independence - so it's essential to have a strong support network in place.My wife and I didn't get offered counselling for three years and that's something that needs to be considered more - it's a lot of stress for carers as well as those who have had the stroke.I had a stroke two years ago which affected my right hand side of my body. My upper right arm is still very weak.

cheap abercrombie outlet ukI was in hospital for five days and then, when I was discharged I stayed in bed at home for a further four weeks. I just couldn't do anything. The care I had was quite good. It was professional and I had access to a lot of services. A specialist came and assessed my home and made sure it was suitable for me. I also had speech and language therapy. I also had to go to a specialist day unit where I was encouraged to talk and socialise.But I have a real problem now with short-term memory loss. I can remember what happened two years ago but anything more recent is more difficult.My primary care trust - Sutton and Merton - has been good at giving me the aftercare that I need. I've had reviews and help. But I know there is a battle here for people who have had strokes. There needs to be consistency all over the country. The standard of care I have received needs to be rolled out elsewhere.I'm lucky as my wife is a community nurse and she has moved heaven and earth to support me.I had a minor stroke to the rear of my brain in June last year and spent four days in hospital. At the time I was also in remission from cancer I had at the base of my tongue but I found that the way I was treated as stroke patient differed to the way I was treated as a cancer patient.When I was discharged from the hospital, there was no proper aftercare support for me. I kept having to call the hospital and after a few months - in October - I got a phone call one evening from a consultant. But the attitude was 'What do you expect us to do about it?'. I went to my GP as well, but it was no use.My wife collected some pamphlets and we were given a package when I was discharged but no explanation about what to do with it. I was even given drugs but didn't know what they were for.I just think I was passed through a system which involved boxes being ticked off.After my cancer, the hospitals wrote to me but with my stroke there was nothing.I am a supporter of the NHS but there was no backup in my case - no cohesive plans in place to help the patient.