World News & Politics

"In a worrying development, the World Health Organization is reporting that a new strain of bird flu has infected people who have reportedly never come in contact with poultry. The H7N9 strain, first discovered in humans last month, has so far been blamed for 16 deaths. Typically bird flu spreads only to those who've handled sick birds or come in close proximity to them. But a WHO spokesperson told Reuters that 40 percent of individuals with the flu don't fit that criteria, an alarming situation that heightens potential for a pandemic outbreak. Worse yet, a four-year-old has tested positive for the flu while exhibiting no ill symptoms, a situation that could make tracking H7N9 extremely difficult. Hartl made clear that the WHO has seen no evidence that "sustained" human-to-human transmission is occurring, but he didn't dismiss the possibility. In fact, two suspected cases of inter-human transmission are currently under investigation. "It might be because of dust at the wet markets, it... more... - Bluesun 2600 from Bookmarklet

#Virus #Flu #Epidemic #Health - Bluesun 2600

Verry Good morning - Devraj Chouhan

"The draft treaty, which was put before the UN member states for a vote, prohibited the sale or transfer of arms that could lead to acts of genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes. Supporters of the treaty admitted the final draft was not perfect and included several loopholes, but it was still regarded as an important first step in dealing with the unregulated and illicit global trade in conventional weapons. But after two weeks of negotiations the treaty failed to pass the vote. "This is not a failure, today is success deferred and deferred by not very long," Britain's chief negotiator, Jo Adamson, said. The British Government has been a major supporter of the Arms Trade Treaty, arguing in part that the playing field needs to be levelled between the rigorous standards of UK exporters and less scrupulous states. The British arms industry has supported the treaty." - Bluesun 2600 from Bookmarklet

Like Northern Cyprus and Lebanon, Turkey has viewed the Israeli-Cypriot gas bonanza with apprehension. Ankara does not recognize Cyprus’ border agreements with its neighbors and fears that Turkish Cypriots will be excluded from Nicosia’s future gas profits. Turkey also sees a possible gas export route through Cyprus and Greece as a threat to its own ambitions as a transit country feeding Caspian and Central Asian gas to the European market. Ankara has thus protested cooperation between Israel and Cyprus and supported Lebanon’s position in boundary disputes with Israel. Upping the ante, Turkey has scheduled major naval exercises to coincide with drilling by Greek Cypriot contractors and has sent its own exploration vessels to disputed waters, threatening to drill on behalf of Turkish Cypriots in the Aphrodite field -- which lies partly within Israel's economic zone. - Halil from Bookmarklet

very interesting in-depth analysis of the situation - Halil

"Nearly 3,000 dead pigs have been fished out of the Huangpu River in China – a source of drinking water for millions of Shanghai residents. The number is likely to increase as the operation progresses. It is remains unknown who dumped the carcasses into the Huangpu River or what the cause of their death may have been. One possibility is that the pigs were discarded into the waters by some farmer from the neighboring province of Zhejiang. Locals have complained of the terrible smell from the river and are highly concerned with the quality of drinking water, but officials said no health risks have been registered. According to authorities, tests of the Huangpu's waters found no traces of foot-and-mouth disease, blue-ear pig disease or swine fever." - Bluesun 2600 from Bookmarklet

Parliament passed three separate resolutions on Thursday, expressing alarm at the recent violent clashes in Bangladesh; drawing attention to the plight of Iraqi Turkmen and other minority groups in Iraq; and demanding the trial or prompt release of Palestinians held in Israel without charge. - Halil from Bookmarklet