Obama: US taking ‘all necessary precautions’ on swine flu in case it becomes ’something worse’

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama said Saturday that the U.S. is taking “all necessary precautions” to be prepared if the swine flu develops into “something worse” and spoke to Mexico’s president about how to keep the flu strain from spreading.

Swine flu scrambles Hollywood studios’ summer releases in Mexico

LOS ANGELES — With movie theaters in Mexico shut down to contain the spread of swine flu, Hollywood studios have delayed plans to kick off the summer movie season there. The country is regularly among the top 12 foreign markets for U.S. movies.

Mexico shuts down for five days, more swine flu cases reported

MEXICO CITY/TORONTO - Mexico Friday ordered a five-day shutdown as it struggled to contain swine flu that seems to be spreading rapidly with over 450 confirmed cases being reported world over. Passengers disembarking at international airports were checked for fever - a sign indicating it could be swine flu.

AP Enterprise: Most states have fewer flu drugs on hand than feds recommend

BALTIMORE — With a swine flu outbreak spreading across the nation, more than half the states have yet to stockpile the number of flu-treatment doses recommended by the federal government, an Associated Press survey found.

Obama pledges to ‘do whatever it takes’ to fight new flu now scattered across the US

WASHINGTON — The new swine flu is rattling Americans from coast to coast and President Barack Obama pledged “to do whatever it takes” to battle an emergency that world health authorities warned is inching closer to a full-fledged pandemic.

World Health Organization to hold ’scientific review’ of swine flu outbreak

GENEVA — The World Health Organization was holding an emergency “scientific review” Wednesday of the swine flu outbreak to determine exactly what is known about how the disease spreads, how it affects human health and how it can be treated.

Swine flu epidemic jumps to more countries, Mexico closes pyramids and travel bans spread, too

MEXICO CITY — Mexico eliminated more reasons to visit the country on Tuesday, putting its pyramids and all other archaeological sites off limits nationwide and closing restaurants in the capital for all but take-out food in an aggressive bid to stop groups from gathering and spreading swine flu.

Health experts race against time to tackle new `Swine Flu’ pandemic

MEXICO CITY - The World Health Organization has raised the alert level in relation to the `Swine Flu’ epidemic to Phase 4, meaning there is sustained human-to-human transmission of the virus causing outbreaks in at least one country.

Amsterdam is no longer a bargain, but city of canals and bicycles can be had for a discount

AMSTERDAM — Amsterdam is defined by its canals.

Swine flu raises travel concerns in Europe; Spain confirms 1st case outside North America

MADRID — The top EU health official urged Europeans on Monday to postpone nonessential travel to the United States and Mexico because of the swine flu virus, and Spanish health officials confirmed the first case outside North America.

Muslim calligrapher writes Gospel of Luke as a gift for the pope on upcoming Holy Land tour

BETHLEHEM, West Bank — Muslim calligrapher Yasser Abu Saymeh has dedicated the past two months to Christian art, writing the Gospel of Luke in ornate Arabic script to be presented to Pope Benedict XVI when the Roman Catholic leader visits the Holy Land next month.

Millions return to work in Mexico as suspected swine flu deaths top 100

MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s government tried Monday to stem the spread of a deadly strain of swine flu as the work week began by urging people to stay home if they have any symptoms of the virus believed to have killed more than 100 people.

Global economy likely to shrink 1.3 percent this year, IMF says; first drop in 60 years

WASHINGTON — The world economy is likely to shrink this year for the first time in six decades.

Complex life existed on Earth more than 400 mln yrs earlier than believed

SYDNEY - In an analysis of fossil deposits in central India, an international team of geologists has found that complex life, in the form of multicellular organisms, existed on earth more than 400 million years earlier than previously thought.

Canada lowers overnight rate to historic low of 0.25 percent

TORONTO - Warning that the current recession could be worse than expected,the Bank of Canada Tuesday cut its overnight rate to the historic low of 0.25 percent.

A dust storm brews on the Red Planet

WASHINGTON - Scientists at Arizona State University’s Mars Space Flight Facility are using the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) on NASA’s Mars Odyssey orbiter to monitor a new dust storm that has erupted on the Red Planet.

About 5,000 Kutch fishermen to protest against Adani project

BHUJ - About 5,000 fishermen from the Kutch region will gather near the Adani group’s special economic zone (SEZ) at Mundhra port Saturday to oppose the company’s proposed waterfront development project.

India watches fearfully as jihadist insurgency spreads to Pakistani Punjab: Stratfor

WASHINGTON - As India goes to the polls, it is ‘watching fearfully as the jihadist insurgency in neighbouring Pakistan has spread to India’s doorstep in Pakistan’s Punjab province,’ says a leading intelligence group that warns of another terror attack in India soon.

Northeast India’s biggest steel plant begins production

AGARTALA - The biggest gas-based steel plant in northeast India started commercial production in Tripura Friday.

CBI clean chit to Tytler timed with polls in mind, say angry Sikhs

NEW DELHI - Deeply upset over the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) giving a clean chit to Jagdish Tytler in a case related to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, many Sikhs here said it was timed to help Tytler, the Congress candidate from Delhi Northeast, with the Lok Sabha elections in mind.

Lancet: Pope is ‘distorting condom science’

LONDON - The prestigious medical journal, the Lancet, has blamed Pope Benedict XVI for distorting science by saying that condoms are not the answer to HIV/Aids.he journal claimed that the Pope’s recent comments that condoms exacerbated the problem of HIV/Aids were inaccurate and could lead to devastating consequences.

Designers feel ‘lost’ in new WIFW set-up

NEW DELHI - With single rooms for each designer, an exhibition area spread over four floors and packed elevators - several designers at the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week (WIFW) that kicked off here Wednesday said they felt ‘lost’ in the new avtar of the five-day event.

Armed forces out in Bihar town after clash

PATNA - Bihar’s Sasaram town was tense Friday with the armed forces marching through troubled areas following a communal clash that injured more than 13 people and resulted in the arrest of an activist of the radical Hindu Bajrang Dal group.

Canadian chopper crashes into Atlantic, 16 missing

TORONTO - A Canadian helicopter with 18 people on board plunged into icy Atlantic waters Thursday morning off its Newfoundland coast.

One killed, 16 missing in Canada chopper crash

OTTAWA - One person was kiled and 16 others were missing Thursday when the helicopter in which they were travelling crashed into the North Atlantic off the coast of Canada’s Newfoundland province, officials said.

West’s Shangri-la fantasy creates China’s `Virtual Tibet’

BEIJING - When Herge’s ‘Adventures of Tintin’ spread from Belgium across Europe in the 1960s, Tintin’s fictional travels in Tibet featured in one of the most popular strip-cartoon stories.

Bhopal gas tragedy survivors ask Unesco to preserve ‘killer’ factory

BHOPAL - Survivors of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy Wednesday said they have appealed to Unesco to preserve the Union Carbide factory, which was the site of the infamous industrial disaster, as part of a memorial.

Do not force me to take action: Hasina warns mutineers

DHAKA - Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in an address to the nation Thursday afternoon, asked the mutinous Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) troopers to lay down their arms and warned that she would take ’strong action if compelled to do so’.

Now Bollywood voices to become ‘Kathmandu’ voices too

KATHMANDU - While Bollywood’s kung fu comedy ‘Chandni Chowk to China’ was given the thumbs-down in Nepal, it has now embraced the voices of India’s Hindi film industry as the voices of ‘Kathmandu’.

Downturn takes sheen off Indian art at Spanish fair

MADRID - Special invitee India’s show at global art fair ARCO-Madrid 2009 was robbed of some of its lustre due to a wary market and a panorama section that had a narrow focuss on post-contemporary movements.