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By Gideon Long LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Tony Blair faced further pressure on Friday to quit sooner rather than later after he confirmed he would stand down within 12 months but refused to set a precise date for his departure. Blair, who has ruled for nearly a decade and steered his Labour Party to an unprecedented three consecutive election victories, said on Thursday he would resign within a year. But his failure to either go now or at least name a leaving date is unlikely to satisf ...

LONDON (Reuters) - A drug designed to treat premature ejaculation works well and is safe, researchers said on Friday. Dapoxetine, an antidepressant known as a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), is the first treatment specifically for premature ejaculation. Premature ejaculation affects between 27 and 34 percent of all men, according the American Urological Association. In two trials ...

LONDON (Reuters) - Motorists who unwittingly buy poorly maintained second-hand cars are paying out 238 million pounds a year to have their new purchases fixed, according to a survey from the RAC on Friday. The motoring organisation said almost one in three (29 percent) of buyers fail to spot faults before handing over their cash. The research by the RAC Vehicle Examinations also found that in mo ...

LONDON (Reuters) - More than one in four primary schools in England and Wales that advertised for a new head teacher last year failed to appoint one, with fewer applying for the posts than the year before, a survey reported on Friday. Among secondary schools looking for new heads more than one in five were unsuccessful, while the proportion was higher -- at almost one in three -- at special schoo ...

By Matt Falloon LONDON (Reuters) - The Labour Party risks losing the next election unless Prime Minister Tony Blair stands down immediately to give a new leader time to revive support and reshape policy, union chiefs say. Several unions help bankroll Labour, which is their traditional political ally and primary lever on public policy. If the more business-friendly Conservatives win power, unions ...

By Kate Holton - ANALYSIS LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Tony Blair may have bought himself time by saying he will quit within a year but the row over his leadership continues to fester and there is no guarantee he will last that long. Analysts said Blair had taken the sting out of a growing rebellion in his party by announcing his plans, but warned the prime minister's authority could still collapse quickly if enough Labour MPs reject his proposal. "They've finally recognised that they've ...

By Daniel Trotta and Joan Gralla NEW YORK (Reuters) - Three renowned architects on Thursday unveiled designs for skyscrapers at the site of the September 11 attacks, giving the public its first comprehensive look at how lower Manhattan's skyline will be transformed. Britain's Norman Foster and Richard Rogers and Japan's Fumihiko Maki each designed one of the three buildings that will swirl aroun ...

By Mark John MONS, Belgium (Reuters) - NATO's top commander of operations, Gen. James Jones, acknowledged on Thursday the alliance had underestimated the level of violence in southern Afghanistan and he urged allies to provide reinforcements. Jones, NATO supreme allied commander for Europe and a U.S. Marine Corps general, said he wanted about 2,000 to 2,500 more alliance troops to augment the roughly 18,500 in Afghanistan, as well as attack helicopters and transport aircraft. Briefing reporte ...

By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A woman in a vegetative state for five months appeared in brain scans to imagine playing tennis and to respond to commands, researchers reported on Thursday. They said their study showed the woman was conscious despite her coma-like state, although several experts disagreed. The researchers stressed that the study was unlike ...

DUBAI (Reuters) - Al Jazeera aired on Thursday a video tape that showed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden meeting what it said were perpetrators of the September 11 attacks on U.S. cities, days ahead of the fifth anniversary of the strikes. The television said the tape documented the "daily life" of al Qaeda operatives as they trained and prepared for the attacks in the mountains of Afghanistan. The video, which shows Bin Laden in one scene greeting a fighter against the backdrop of a mountain,  ...