The report, released by the University of South Australia(UniSA) and a host of other institutions on Monday, found that 57percent of patients in three New South Wales (NSW) palliative carefacilities were either administered an incorrect dosage or missed adosage altogether.

The rate of errors involving opioids in those facilities wasthree times higher than in other healthcare settings, such ashospitals, researchers found.

Researchers spent two years examining dosing practise in thefacilities, finding that the majority of patients who received anincorrect dose or missed a dose were cancer patients aged in their70s.

Debra Rowett, a member of UniSA's School of Pharmacy and MedicalSciences, said that the study highlighted the importance ofunderstanding why the errors occurred.

She said that the practice of underdosing was particularlyalarming as it could contribute to a patient's pain.

"Palliative care clinicians have identified that safe use ofopioids is a patient safety priority and this study is an importantfirst step in quantifying and identifying opioid errors," Rowettsaid on Monday.

"The high rate of errors in palliative care environmentscompared to other healthcare services most likely reflects thehigher volume of opioids such as morphine being used for patientsto manage their pain in the last stages of their lives."

Of the opioid errors uncovered, 35 percent involved morphine andtwo thirds were attributed to administration errors.

A South Korean government official communicates with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) side via the communication channel in Panmunjom, South Korea, on Jan. 3, 2018. South Korea's unification ministry in charge of inter-Korean affairs said Wednesday that it reopened a communication channel with the DPRK in the truce village of Panmunjom amid rising expectations for the DPRK's participation in South Korea-hosted winter sports event. (XinhuaMinistry of Unification of the Republic of Korea)

PYONGYANG, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is quietly preparing for a globally watched meeting with South Korea scheduled for next Tuesday at the truce village of Panmunjom, which could mark a breakthrough of inter-Korean relations.

While Pyongyang has been silent on its decision to send a five-member delegation to the meeting, it is widely expected that the meeting will be held as scheduled if no incident takes place at the last moment.

South Korea said the DPRK on Sunday sent the list of its five-member delegation to Seoul through the restored hotline in Panmunjom for the high-level inter-Korean talks.

The DPRK delegation will be led by Ri Son-gwon, chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, according to South Korea's unification ministry.

South Korea had earlier sent the list of its five-member delegation to the DPRK to be led by South Korea's Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon.

The meeting will be held at the South Korean side's Peace House, according to Seoul.

The high-level meeting was agreed upon by the two sides after top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un said in his New Year's speech that Pyongyang would send athletes to join the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Kim also ordered the reopening of a hotline with South Korea last week.

The DPRK accepted South Korea's proposal to hold the ministerial-level meeting on Friday, according to Seoul. But Pyongyang did not officially announce the decision.

The hotline of direct dialogue between the two Koreas was reopened Wednesday after it was closed two years ago following the unilateral suspension of the Kaesong Industrial Complex in the DPRK by South Korea in February 2016, one month after DPRK tested a nuclear bomb.

The prospect of improving relations between the two Koreas has been welcomed by China but met with suspicion from the United States.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday he is open to future dialogue with the DPRK, with preconditions.

The DPRK has not yet responded to Trump's remarks and its official media continued to attack the United States over its military threats toward the DPRK over the weekend.

Relations between Pyongyang and Seoul remained tense throughout 2017 due to missile and nuclear tests conducted by the DPRK and constant joint military drills held by the United States and South Korea.

Coming on the heels of the re-opening of the communication channel between the two Koreas, Washington and Seoul on Thursday agreed not to conduct any joint military drill during the upcoming Pyeongchang Winter Olympics until March 2018.

"

BEIRUT, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon will file a complaint to the UN against Israel for violating the country's airspace and causing damage by breaking the sound barrier in the south of the country, Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil said on Monday.

Israeli jets flew low over the southern city of Saida, causing sonic booms that broke windows and shook buildings, Lebanese security sources and residents said.

Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri said Lebanon would issue its complaint ""against Israel for planting spy devices on Lebanese land and continously breaching"" its airspace, according to his office.

Israeli warplanes regularly enter Lebanon's airspace, the Lebanese army said.

Tensions have risen recently between Lebanon's Hezbollah and Israel, which fought a month-long war in 2006, having killed around 1,200 people in Lebanon, mostly civilians, and 160 Israelis, most of them troops.

Hurricane Irma makes landfall in Florida Keys

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