Europe

In rejecting PSA screening for prostate cancer, an influential federal panel has chipped a cornerstone of preventive medicine, declaring that it's not always best to catch cancer as early as possible. "At best, PSA screening may help only 1 man in 1,000 avoid death from prostate cancer," the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force said Monday. "Most prostate cancers found by PSA screening are slow growing, not life threatening, and will not cause a man any harm during his lifetime.

NEW YORK - Worries about Europe's economic and debt problems yesterday sent stocks to their first loss in four days. The major indexes bounced up and down in another volatile day. The Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 120 points in the first half-hour of trading after a report showed that Germany's economy stalled last quarter and dragged down growth for Europe. The Dow recovered and had a slight advance at midday, but resumed its drop after the leaders of France and Germany tried to calm worries about Europe's debt problems by pushing for long-term political solutions.

In Everything I Like, a restless and pictorially ravishing feature by Martin Sulik, our Slovakian hero, Thomas, has recently separated from his wife much in the way his country has separated from the Czech Republic. His first instinct is to flirt with the West - in the form of his English teacher. A parable of man and nation struggling for identity, Everything I Like follows Thomas through tense encounters with his ex-wife, guilt-ridden episodes with his son, and sexual adventures with his mistress, finally revealing how his odd odyssey adds up to a world view.

US Airways is adding flights to Europe from Philadelphia for the busy summer travel season, the airline said Wednesday. Seasonal flights will operate to Barcelona, Frankfurt, Venice, Lisbon, Athens, Glasgow and, for two weeks in July, to Dublin. Additional seasonal flights are also being added from Charlotte, the airline said. — Paul Nussbaum

Villanova's basketball team will play five exhibition games in Europe in August. The Wildcats will play in France, Luxembourg and the Netherlands from Aug. 7 to 16. Villanova last traveled to Europe in August 2001 when they played in Italy. "We're very excited to have this opportunity to travel to Europe as a basketball family," coach Jay Wright said in a statement. "This trip will give us a chance to grow together as a team and experience the culture of some amazing cities.

A deal to forge stronger ties among most of Europe's economies sent stocks sharply higher Friday as hopes grew that the region was close to resolving its debt crisis. The Dow closed up 186.56 points, or 1.6 percent, at 12,184.26. It is up 1.4 percent for the week. Bank stocks led the market higher, reflecting traders' optimism about Europe's progress toward solving its crisis. Citigroup Inc. rose 3.7 percent, Morgan Stanley 3.2 percent and JPMorgan Chase & Co. 3 percent. Banks have been weighed down for months by fears about their exposure to Europe.

Players from the United States and Canada took a 3-1 lead against Europe in the seventh Senior Women's Invitation Match yesterday on the East Course of Merion Golf Club. The competition was four match-play foursomes (alternate drive and alternate stroke), and the North America team won three of the four matches. The event concludes today with eight match-play singles. The North America team has been victorious in all six previous meetings. Yesterday, Dottie Porter, of Riverton Country Club and U.S. Amateur champion in 1949, teamed with Marlene Streit of Canada, former Canadian Open and British Ladies Amateur champion, for a 2 and 1 victory in the No. 2 match against Belle Robertson of Scotland and Claudine Rubin-Chatrier of France.

Rick Steves and Gene Openshaw studied art and history in college and then, between them, spent 70 months wandering around Europe peering at it. A result of all that studying and staring is a delightful primer for the reasonably cerebral tourist called Europe 101: History and Art for the Traveler (John Muir Publications, paperback, $11.95). The authors' intent is to provide travelers with a broad but painless background for the artworks and historical structures they will see on the Continent.

In the Oct. 12 article on the subject of foul scents in Philadelphia you mention that the number of public restrooms in the city has declined markedly over the last several decades. Perhaps consideration should be given to reversing this trend. During the more than two years I spent traveling all over England during World War II and in many visits back there since, I was relieved to find that almost every town provides well-marked free public conveniences that were, almost without exception, well-equipped and kept clean.

When it comes to rendering decisions with long-range implications, NHL officials often send mixed signals. For instance, the league isn't thrilled about going to the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver in 2010 or committing to future Olympics. And yet, the NHL covets Europe. It sees Europe as a vast untapped market of unlimited potential. It would like to see U.S. and Canadian clubs competing there in both regular season games and tournaments. Contrasting views, indeed.

Europe's a puzzle. People over there stopped having babies — but they don't like immigrants, either. Who do they think will staff their nursing homes? Or pay for them? Seventeen European countries swore to stay on a budget if the rich Germans agreed to back a powerful united currency, the euro, so even Irish and Portuguese could afford German-built Mercedes sedans and Siemens gadgets and SAP software. But some of those countries lied! Now they can't agree to spend more, or less, to get things moving again.

WASHINGTON — Researchers say the U.S. approved more new medicines in less time than Europe and Canada in the last decade, challenging long-standing criticisms that the Food and Drug Administration lags behind its peers in clearing important new drugs. Between 2001 and 2010, the FDA's typical review of a new drug was about 15 percent faster than those by the European Medicines Agency and Health Canada, its foreign counterparts, according to a study published Wednesday by the New England Journal of Medicine.

I REMEMBER WHEN President Obama went on what some conservatives (including this one) called the "apology tour. "It was shortly after he took office three years ago, and provided his critics with a lot of snarky material. Karl Rove wrote in the Wall Street Journal that "A superstar, not a statesman, today leads our country. " He was referring to the fact that foreign audiences loved the image of an American president distributing mea culpas for what the vast majority of his compatriots viewed as making the world a safer and more-prosperous place.

In Europe, where more than 200,000 people thronged a Berlin rally in 2008 to hear Barack Obama speak, there's disappointment that he hasn't kept his promise to close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, and perceptions that he's shunting blame for the financial crisis across the Atlantic. In Mogadishu, a former teacher wishes the president had sent more economic assistance and fewer armed drones to fix Somalia's problems. And many in the Middle East wonder what became of Obama's vow, in a landmark 2009 speech at the University of Cairo, to forge a closer relationship with the Muslim world.

In this week's Greek elections, the far-right, ultranationalist Golden Dawn party, whose members perform Nazi salutes at rallies, got 7 percent of the vote and entered Parliament for the first time. Its leader told journalists to stand upon his arrival at a news conference and ejected those who did not. A sick joke, you say. What's 7 percent? But Golden Dawn's gains are a symbol of a protest vote that fed extremes in Greece and decimated centrist parties, making it impossible to form a government in a country on the edge of economic collapse.

Just because the Union host a Mother's Day showdown against Major League Soccer rival New York Red Bulls on Sunday doesn't mean they are overlooking Wednesday's friendly against Schalke 04. They can't afford to. This isn't a preseason match for the German visitors, but rather a U.S. visit three days removed from a successful campaign in the top-flight Bundesliga. Schalke's third-place finish secured a Champions League spot next season as one of the best in Europe. Although not a household name in the States, Schalke is no joke, and the Union know it. The club features some of the world's premier talent, including Dutch midfielder Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and veteran Spanish forward Raúl Gonzalez Blanco (known worldwide by just his first name)

US Airways is adding flights to Europe from Philadelphia for the busy summer travel season, the airline said Wednesday. Seasonal flights will operate to Barcelona, Frankfurt, Venice, Lisbon, Athens, Glasgow and, for two weeks in July, to Dublin. Additional seasonal flights are also being added from Charlotte, the airline said. — Paul Nussbaum

Political uncertainty in debt-hobbled Europe spread to financial markets Tuesday and pushed stocks lower in Europe and the United States. The Dow Jones industrial average was down almost 200 points at its low point for the day before recovering most of its loss to finish down 76. It was the average's fifth straight decline. European indexes closed near their lowest levels in months, and the euro neared a five-month low against the dollar. Prices plummeted for commodities like oil and copper that depend on the health of the world economy.

WASHINGTON - An infusion of hundreds of billions of dollars will give the International Monetary Fund a badly needed boost to tackle Europe's prolonged debt crisis. But global finance officials sent a strong message Saturday that struggling governments must speed reforms or risk spooking jittery markets and raising the economic danger. The lending agency said in a statement after its weekend meetings that financially strapped European countries must put in place bold changes to resolve their debt problems.

WASHINGTON - Major delays, cost overruns, and critical technological problems are plaguing a missile-defense system designed to protect the United States and Europe from an Iranian attack, Pentagon advisers and government investigators say about one of President Obama's top military programs. The reports cast doubt on the shield, a politically sensitive issue at home and in relations with Russia. They say missile interceptors are running into production glitches, radars are underpowered, and sensors cannot distinguish between warheads and other objects.