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Officials have said that a woman wearing a burqa was stopped by Italian police under a recent ordinance that bans any clothing preventing identification of the wearer.

ANSA reported on Monday that although the foreign-born woman was identified by police after a series of spot checks, she is still liable for a $660 fine under the controversial decree which took effect in January.

Novara Police Chief Paolo Cortese said, "The ordinance is being applied in the instant case because the woman was inside the post office at the time, which is a public building."

Navy and Marine leaders need to take a fresh look at the branches' future roles and resource requirements, U. S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Monday.

For example, while the Defense Department currently plans to maintain 11 carrier strike groups through 2040, Navy leaders should question whether that strength level will be warranted in coming years, Gates said. Likewise, Marine Corps leaders should think about whether Marines will ever launch another major amphibious landing, he further added.

A senior defense official said on Monday that the United States has reduced its nuclear weapons stockpile by 84 percent from 1967 levels.

The Armed Forces Press Service has reported that the unnamed official, speaking to reporters on background, said the nation's nuclear arsenal stood at 5,113 warheads as of Sept. 30, down from a peak of 31,255 in fiscal 1967.

According to the reports, Israeli researchers are conducting basic research into alleviating chronic pain.

It has been reported that researchers at Tel Aviv University in Israel, led by Dr. Joel Hirsch, seek to learn how the body's calcium channels that enable pain signals to travel from the body to the brain work. They are also looking for why calcium channel blocker drugs now in use don't always succeed in dulling the pain lingering after accidents or due to prolonged illnesses like arthritis.

U. S. researchers have said that a "stealth" strategy motivates students to change eating habits for environmental and social reasons, not personal health.

Published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, the study found students taking a course on the ethical, environmental and social ramifications of food consumption made healthier eating choices than students taking one of three courses dealing with the health aspects of food such as obesity.

Eating a couple of tablespoons of olive oil daily may help prevent ulcerative colitis, British researchers have suggested.

According to the media reports, study leader Dr. Andrew Hart of the University of East Anglia and colleagues compared the diets of those who developed ulcerative colitis, an intestinal disease characterized by pain, diarrhea and weight loss, with those who did not develop the disease and found those with the highest intake of a substance found in olive oil -- oleic acid -- had a 90 percent lower risk of developing the disease.