shameen Washington, August 22: Early indications are a new swine flu vaccine is safe and is on track to be made available to the public by mid-October, US health officials said.
“There are no red flags regarding safety,” said Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, yesterday noting that a series of clinical trials were being conducted on the vaccine with results due out between mid September and late October.
Geneva, August 22: Issuing a new set of guidelines for the use of drugs against swine flu, the World Health Organisation has said patients with uncomplicated illnesses do not need to take antiviral drugs.
Worldwide, most infected patients continue to display typical influenza symptoms and fully recover within a week without any form of medical treatment, the WHO said.
According to the new guidelines, formed by consensus by a global group of experts, patients with uncomplicated illnesses do not need to be treated with antiviral medicines.
New Delhi, August 22: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is not intervening or mediating in the Ambani brothers’ gas dispute, though he believes that the two top industrialists should patch up in national interest, an official in Prime Minister’s Office said.
The official, who did not want to be named, said that the reports in a section of media were not true that Singh has suggested the two brothers to follow a middle-path to resolve their ongoing dispute over natural gas from Krishna-Godavari basin.
Melbourne, August 22: Lamenting that Hindustani classical music was losing sheen due to an onslaught of television culture, Sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan has said the government should do more to preserve and promote it.
Khan, who is in Australia on a `Freedom Tour,` said there was a need to strike a balance between classical music and the latest trends and as done by the west.
Mumbai, August 22: Commercial success has at last come the way of multifaceted director Vishal Bharadwaj thanks to the dark thriller “Kaminey”. Its music too is a hit, especially “Dhan te nan”, and he doesn`t want to share the song`s success with anyone, not even actor Shahid Kapur.
“The song has its own value. In fact, the character takes over the screen and the audience is no longer looking at Shahid. He`s a brilliant actor and he has completely disappeared into the character,” Bharadwaj told reporters.
Kolkata, August 22: There was a dearth of good music directors and films lacked good themes, music legend Asha Bhonsle said on Friday.
“I am sorry to say that there is a dearth of good music directors which we had in our times … More so, where are good themes for films?” Asha, who turns 75 next month, told a function organised to release her puja album here.
Stating that certain films were not perfectly named, she said “names of films should be selected to be acceptable to viewers”.
Mumbai, August 22: Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy have done it again. The trio, known for their hit and melodious soundtracks in films like “Kal Ho Naa Ho” and “Taare Zameen Par”, have composed another interesting music album in “Wake Up Sid”, a Karan Johar film that stars Ranbir Kapoor and Konkona Sen Sharma.
It has five original numbers and one remix.
“Aaj kal zindagi” is a soft, soothing and inspirational song. It is fantastically crooned by Shankar Mahadevan. The increase in tempo towards the end adds zing to the track.
Mumbai, August 22: Apart from casting him as Ringmaster, a blend of rogue and angel with a touch of the supernatural, director Sujoy Ghosh has managed to make Sanjay Dutt sing a song for his film, but is now in a dilemma about where in the film he should place the item number.
Mumbai, August 22: Shahid Kapoor these days. His portrayal of the morally-incompatible twins the ruffian with the endearing lisp and the simpleton who stammers in “Kaminey” has catapulted the chocolate hero into an A-lister and audiences can`t stop raving.
And just so we don`t forget the romantic hero, promos of his forthcoming `Dil Bole Hadippa` are all over the place.
Six years after his debut in `Ishq Vishk`, Shahid has finally got his due.
Dubai, August 22: Saudi and Indian nationals in the UAE and in the Middle East will benefit from the extension of the visa fee waiver by Thailand. The visa fee waiver deadline has been extended to March 4, 2010.
Pramoth Supyen, Director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), Dubai and Middle East Office, told Khaleej Times that Saudi nationals and Indian nationals, who need visa to travel to Thailand, can benefit most from the visa fee waiving grant.
Abu Dhabi, August 22: The Philippine Embassy and the Philippine Overseas Labour Office will be open from 9am to 3pm from Sunday to Thursday during Ramadan.
The timing for registration of Overseas Absentee Voting (OAV) will remain the same during the weekdays. However, registration on Friday and Saturday will be from 9am to noon and 1pm to 5pm throughout August.
Meanwhile, 3,947 Filipinos had registered for OAV until Friday since the start of registration in February1 this year, putting the total of registered voters to 20,804 in Abu Dhabi.
Abu Dhabi, August 22: Thirty-five thousand iftar meals will be distributed on the highways and roads of Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and the Western Region (Gharbia) during Ramadan, a senior officer said.
Anybody who reports to any of the police stations before Maghreb (sunset prayer) will be given an iftar meal to end their fast, according to Major-General Mohammed Al Awadhi Al Menhali, acting head of operations, Abu Dhabi Police.
Sharjah, August 22: Power supply was restored on Friday to all areas in Sharjah, except some parts in industrial areas No 1 and 13.
On Thursday night, Residents of various areas said power supply stabilised around 2am and in some areas around 3.30am.
The areas most affected were Al Mussala, Rolla, Al Tawoun, Al Majaz, Abu Shagara, King Faisal Street, Jamal Abdul Nasser Road, Al Qasimiam Al Yarmouk, Al Khizamia, and industrial areas No 1, 2, 3, 6, and 13.
Baghdad, August 22: Some worshippers stayed away from mosques Friday, offering their traditional prayers at home. Markets had fewer-than-usual shoppers. Parks were strangely uncrowded — unusual for a hot August day.
The normally bustling streets of Baghdad were subdued, in sharp contrast to the lively atmosphere that had been creeping back as major violence ebbed the past two years.
Somalia, August 22: An insurgent attack on a peacekeeping base sparked gunbattles that killed at least 24 people Friday, as the undermanned African peacekeeping force tried to maintain the government’s tenuous hold on Somalia’s battered capital.
Mogadishu residents cowered in their homes before dawn as mortars slammed into the seaside capital and splintered the sprawling Bakara Market, where traders were setting up their goods for the day.
Kabul, August 22: Both main candidates for Afghan president claimed to be ahead Friday after an election marred by violence, spotty turnout and fraud allegations — threatening U.S. hopes for Afghans to come together to combat the challenges of Taliban insurgency, corruption and poverty.
President Hamid Karzai’s campaign insisted he would have enough votes to avoid a runoff with his chief challenger, Abdullah Abdullah, a former foreign minister. Abdullah countered that he was leading but suspected there would be a runoff.
Mexico City, August 22: Hurricane Bill, the first major Atlantic storm of the season, was downgraded to a category two Friday and was expected to spare the United States and Bermuda its worst effects, the US Hurricane Centre said.
A tropical storm warning was still in effect for Bermuda, but the Miami-based centre stepped back from an earlier prediction of “significant costal flooding” on the island.
Bill was maintaining winds as high as 175 kilometres per hour, making it a category two storm on the five-point Saffir-Simpson scale.
San Juan, August 22: A Guantanamo prisoner who has been cleared for release by a U.S. judge was fighting Friday against what his lawyers said was an apparent plan to send him to Bosnia, where he would likely be deported to his native Algeria and imprisoned.
Washington, August 22: Pakistan’s fight with extremism would have been in better shape had the United States invested more in the nation’s schools and girls and not just its military, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said.
The United States has pumped more than seven billion dollars into Pakistan’s military since the September 11, 2001 attacks, which transformed the nation from Taliban backers into frontline US ally.
London, August 22: Britain’s Foreign Office denied Friday allegations that the release of Libyan Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi was linked to trade deals with Tripoli.
Seif al-Islam, the son of Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi, said in an interview that Megrahi’s release was linked to Britain’s interest in Libya’s oil and gas reserves.
But a spokesman for the Foreign Office denied the claims.
“There is no deal,” the spokesman told AFP.
Los Angeles, August 22: Michael Jackson’s family on Friday delayed his burial by five days as a judge ruled that a touring show of his memorabilia could go on and police raided another pharmacy in their ongoing probe of his sudden death.
The “Thriller” singer’s burial will now take place on Sept. 3 and not Aug. 29, which would have been Jackson’s 51st birthday, because some family members did not want the pop star to be buried on that day, said Londell McMillan, attorney for the singer’s mother, Katherine Jackson.
Amriyadh, August 22: Saudi Arabia said on Friday it has stopped recognising UAE identity cards because it dislikes a map on the cards and is requiring Emiratis to travel with a passport instead.
Islamabad, August 21: Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has insisted that the Kashmir issue is the “cornerstone” of the country’s foreign policy and the government is vigorously pursuing it.
“Kashmir is the issue of the whole country and our total moral support is with the Kashmiri brothers,” Gilani told the National Assembly or Lower House of Parliament.
The government fully supported the Kashmiri people, he said adding the Kashmir issue is the cornerstone of Pakistan’s foreign policy.
Moscow, August 21: Russia believes a dialogue with moderate Taliban is possible in Afghanistan on certain terms to promote peace in the war ravaged country.
“We are convinced that national reconciliation in Afghanistan is possible only in case of a dialogue with the moderate wing of the Taliban on condition it recognises the national constitution, disarms and disrupts ties with al Qaeda,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Borodavkin has said.
However, there can be no talk with radicals.
Seoul, August 21: A high-level delegation of North Korean officials paid their respects on Friday to late former South Korean president Kim Dae-jung, shaking his sons’ hands and leaving a wreath at the National Assembly mourning site.
The visit is the first to Seoul by North Korean officials in nearly two years, and only the second time the regime has sent a delegation to South Korea for mourning rites. Dressed in black, they laid a wreath emblazoned with the name of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il at the altar for the former president.