Global Briefs
October 28, 2005
Bird Flu Vaccine Effective on People & Poultry
Hungarian health minister Jenoe Racz last week reported that his country has developed a vaccine that could protect both humans and animals from the virus causing bird flu.
“The results are preliminary but I can say with 99.9 percent certainty that the vaccine works” against protecting living organisms from the H5N1 virus, Racz said.
However, the World Health Organization said it was unaware of the details of the Hungarian tests, and was unable to comment on their validity.
The United States has already reported positive results from their own H5N1 vaccine, but so far they have not been able to make the vaccine a practical option.
India Will Bring Generic Bird Flu Drug to Market
BOMBAY, India –– A major Indian pharmaceutical company said it will bring a generic version of the anti-influenza drug Tamiflu into the market early next year, filling any potential shortages in event of a bird flu epidemic.
The Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche Holding AG has refused to license generic versions of Tamiflu, despite pressure from United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan.
Dr. Yusuf K. Hamied, chairman of Cipla Ltd., said that his company has already developed the generic version, Oseltamivir, which would be much cheaper than Tamiflu –– the only available effective treatment against the bird flu.
“We have been able to synthesize it. Once the lab work is done things don’t take too long,” Hamied said. “We are in the process of scaling up and commercialization. That should be completed next month.”
Australia, ASEAN Troops in Philippines
The Philippines said it planned to enter into bilateral accords with Australia and several Southeast Asian nations that would allow their troops to enter the country and train Filipinos in fighting terrorism.
Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz said talks included Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and other countries –– in effect, forming a web of agreements that would usher in a new security arrangement in the region.
The Philippines has such a status-of-forces agreement –– or SOFA –– only with the United States.
“Only through cooperation of all these countries can we have an effective plan against terrorism,” Cruz said at a press conference.
Global Drug Racket Syndicate
NEW DELHI, India –– After six months of investigations into the sensational Internet drug syndicate case, the Narcotics Control Bureau has filed charges against Brij Bhushan Bansal, a doctor in Agra who used to ship psychotropic drugs to his son in America, who then allegedly sold them to clients across the globe via the Internet.
The Narcotics Bureau filed the charges in cooperation with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which busted the syndicate in April.
DEA seized $8 million in cash from the bank accounts of Brij Bhushan’s son Akhil and others accused. The U.S. authorities and NCB sealed over 40 bank accounts in the U.S., India, Cyprus, Singapore, the Channel Islands, West Indies, Antigua and Ireland.
Brij Bhushan was arrested in Agra while his son was being held in the U.S.
Japan Caves in to U.S. on Bases
TOKYO — Japan will abandon a proposal on the relocation of an American military base in its southern territory after U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld snubbed Japan in an upcoming Asian tour.
Japan and the United States agreed to move the Marine Corps Air Station, Futenma — currently in the city of Ginowan on the southern island of Okinawa — to a less congested location following massive protests over the 1995 rape of an Okinawan schoolgirl by three U.S. servicemen.
Washington wants a new air station built on reclaimed land, while Tokyo has pressed for it to be combined within an existing U.S. base on Okinawa.
The U.S. objected to Japan’s proposal, saying it would affect the Marines’ training and draw opposition from local residents.
Japan opposed the U.S. plan over environmental concerns, as a heliport would be constructed on top of one of the area’s last healthy coral reefs.
Cambodian Leader to Sign Border Treaty in Vietnam
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen is on an official visit to Vietnam to sign a new border treaty with the communist leaders in Hanoi, despite protests from critics at home.
Hun Sen is holding talks with Vietnam’s communist party chief Nong Duc Manh and Prime Minister Phan Van Khai.
Vietnamese troops invaded Cambodia and occupied it for a decade after they toppled the Khmer Rouge regime in 1979. Hun Sen served as foreign minister of the Vietnam-installed Cambodian government before becoming prime minister in 1985.
Hun Sen has dismissed criticism of relinquishing Cambodian territory to Vietnam, saying he is safeguarding land that rightfully belongs to Cambodia.
Border issues are a passionate subject for many Cambodians, who have seen the vast territory once ruled by the Angkor Empire swallowed up over the centuries by their larger neighbors, Vietnam and Thailand.
China Hopes for Spacewalk in ‘07, Might Recruit Female Astronauts
BEIJING –– China hopes to conduct a spacewalk in 2007 and might recruit women into its next group of astronaut candidates, a senior space program official said following the safe completion of the nation’s second manned mission.
The Shenzhou 6 flight ended the first stage of China’s plan, which focused on development of space vehicles, according to the China Space Engineering Office. The next stage focuses on developing ways for astronauts to walk in space and the ability to rendezvous and dock with other spacecraft.
“Our estimate is that around 2007 we will be able to achieve extravehicular activity by our astronauts and they will walk in space,” said director Tang Xianming.
Tang said he also expected to see female Chinese astronauts “in the not-too-distant future.”
Chinese Man Seeks to Renege on Apt. after Learning of Murder Scene
SHANGHAI, China –– A Shanghai court has turned down a man’s attempt to cancel his apartment purchase after learning of a grisly murder committed there by a past resident.
Liu Hezhi said he was cheated into buying the apartment by original owner Yang Haixiang, claiming Yang lied when he said he wanted to sell quickly in order to buy a new property.
Many Chinese believe homes where such inauspicious acts have occurred retain bad luck. Public knowledge of such incidents can make properties virtually impossible to sell.
Shanghai’s No. 2 district co urt ruled that Liu had signed the final contract for the property, even after learning that a former resident had killed his lover and dismembered her body inside the apartment.
China Considers Building New Rocket Base
BEIJING –– China is considering building a new rocket-launching base on its tropical island of Hainan in the South China Sea.
In addition to the heavily guarded Gobi Desert base used to launch China’s recent space mission, China has satellite launching sites in Xichang in the mountainous southwest and the central city of Taiyuan.
Bases in the tropics are considered the most efficient places to launch communications satellites that need to circle the equator.
Hainan, southwest of Hong Kong, is the southernmost spot in China.
China Gives Life Sentences to U.S.-based Dissident
BEIJING –– A U.S.-based Chinese dissident has been sentenced to life in prison on terrorism and kidnapping charges by a court in central China, the government said.
Peng Ming, who lives in San Francisco, was convicted of setting up a terrorist training base in Myanmar and directing others to murder and kidnap people.
Peng was arrested in Myanmar in May 2004 on charges of possessing fake Chinese money. Peng’s supporters in the U.S. say he went to Myanmar to set up a haven for fleeing Chinese dissidents.
Peng is the leader of the China Federation Foundation. He said at the time that its goal was to replace communist rule with democracy –– by violence if necessary. “We would rather avoid force if we can,” he said.
Justice Minister Orders to Not Arrest Pro-North Korea Professor
SEOUL, South Korea –– Prosecutors said they will abide by a Justice Ministry order not to arrest a leftist college professor for his pro-North Korean remarks, but complained it was an unwelcome exercise of the government’s authority.
The 60-year-old sociology professor, Kang Jeong-koo, wrote an article for an Internet news site that said “the Korean War was an attempt by North Korea to reunify” the peninsula and that “the United States is [the] archenemy, not a benefactor.”
Police investigated Kang’s actions as a crime under the South’s anti-communist National Security Law, but Justice Minister Chun Jung-bae ordered that Kang not be arrested.
The opposition Grand National Party called for Chun’s ouster over the dispute, exposing the rift in South Korean society over how to view the North. The ruling Uri Party rejected the demand.
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