December 31, 2009
The most-read stories of 2009
From the king of pop to the queen of reality TV, from swine flu to MPs' expenses, these are among the year's most-read stories. There are goodbyes and near-misses, extremes…
 From the king of pop to the queen of reality TV, from swine flu to MPs' expenses, these are among the year's most-read stories. There are goodbyes and near-misses, extremes in the weather, and a few light-hearted moments alongside more serious tales. JANUARY Two near misses and a certain Time Lord grabbed the headlines in January. It was new year, new Doctor, as Matt Smith was named as the actor to take over from David Tennant in Doctor Who. At 27, he will be the youngest to take on the role when he appears on TV in 2010.
Attention turned to Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo, who wrote off his Ferrari in a crash near Manchester Airport but walked away unscathed. Another lucky escape attracted plenty of attention when a pilot crash-landed an airliner in New York's Hudson River after birds disabled its engines. All 155 passengers and crew were rescued. Two technology stories also made headlines this month. The first told how a Windows "worm" infected millions of computers, and the second revealed plans for broadband to be in every UK home by 2012. And the Bank of England cut interest rates to 1.5% - the lowest level in its 315-year history. |
celebrities
computers
death
September 16, 2009
The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved vaccines designed to protect against the H1N1 influenza virus, a key step before starting a vaccination campaign.
The approval was announced by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius at a hearing that was held by the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
An FDA spokeswoman said the agency approved vaccines made by a unit of Sanofi-Aventis SA, Novartis AG, CSL Ltd. and AstraZeneca PLC's MedImmune unit.
MedImmune makes a vaccine in the form of mist delivered through the nose rather than a shot.
Ms. Sebelius said a large-scale vaccination program will begin in mid-October.
The U.S. has spent more than $1 billion to purchase and administer a total of 195 million H1N1 vaccine doses being made by five companies, including GlaxoSmithKline PLC. Ms. Sebelius said that the agency's officials are still working on that application.
About 40 million to 50 million vaccine doses will be available by the middle of next month and will be distributed to each state's health department officials.
Shipments of vaccines are expected to last for several weeks as additional vaccines are produced.
Initially, the H1N1 vaccine will be reserved for health-care workers, pregnant women, children and young adults, who have been disproportionately affected by the new virus.
So far, the new flu strain hasn't sickened very many Americans age 60 and older—possibly because they have immunity from similar viruses that caused past influenza pandemics.
The U.S. has seen additional cases of H1N1 influenza as schools resumed classes in recent weeks.
Ms. Sebelius also said it is likely that just one dose of the vaccine will be needed to protect adults against the virus, based on preliminary study results of some of the vaccines released last week.
Data on children won't be available until next week at the earliest.
Health officials had expected two doses might be needed for H1N1 vaccines, as is the case for young children who receive a seasonal influenza shot for the first time.
The first vaccine dose is intended to "prime" a person's immune system so that it can recognize a new type of virus, while the second dose helps the immune system produce enough antibodies to fight against the virus.
The FDA said that people who have allergies to chicken eggs shouldn't receive the H1N1 vaccine, as is the case with seasonal influenza vaccines, because chicken eggs are used during the vaccine-production process.
FDA Approves H1N1 Flu Vaccines
The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved vaccines designed to protect against the H1N1 influenza virus, a key step before starting a vaccination campaign. The approval…
 |
| H1N1 Flu Virus under an electron microscope |
The approval was announced by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius at a hearing that was held by the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
An FDA spokeswoman said the agency approved vaccines made by a unit of Sanofi-Aventis SA, Novartis AG, CSL Ltd. and AstraZeneca PLC's MedImmune unit.
MedImmune makes a vaccine in the form of mist delivered through the nose rather than a shot.
Ms. Sebelius said a large-scale vaccination program will begin in mid-October.
The U.S. has spent more than $1 billion to purchase and administer a total of 195 million H1N1 vaccine doses being made by five companies, including GlaxoSmithKline PLC. Ms. Sebelius said that the agency's officials are still working on that application.
About 40 million to 50 million vaccine doses will be available by the middle of next month and will be distributed to each state's health department officials.
Shipments of vaccines are expected to last for several weeks as additional vaccines are produced.
Initially, the H1N1 vaccine will be reserved for health-care workers, pregnant women, children and young adults, who have been disproportionately affected by the new virus.
So far, the new flu strain hasn't sickened very many Americans age 60 and older—possibly because they have immunity from similar viruses that caused past influenza pandemics.
The U.S. has seen additional cases of H1N1 influenza as schools resumed classes in recent weeks.
Ms. Sebelius also said it is likely that just one dose of the vaccine will be needed to protect adults against the virus, based on preliminary study results of some of the vaccines released last week.
Data on children won't be available until next week at the earliest.
Health officials had expected two doses might be needed for H1N1 vaccines, as is the case for young children who receive a seasonal influenza shot for the first time.
The first vaccine dose is intended to "prime" a person's immune system so that it can recognize a new type of virus, while the second dose helps the immune system produce enough antibodies to fight against the virus.
The FDA said that people who have allergies to chicken eggs shouldn't receive the H1N1 vaccine, as is the case with seasonal influenza vaccines, because chicken eggs are used during the vaccine-production process.
allergy
chicken
children
April 29, 2009
CAIRO – Egypt began slaughtering the roughly 300,000 pigs in the country Wednesday as a precautionary measure against the spread of swine flu even though no cases have been reported here yet, the Health Ministry said.
The move immediately provoked resistance from pig farmers. At one large pig farming center just north of Cairo, farmers refused to cooperate with Health Ministry workers who came to slaughter the animals and the workers left without carrying out the government order.
"It has been decided to immediately start slaughtering all the pigs in Egypt using the full capacity of the country's slaughterhouses," Health Minister Hatem el-Gabaly told reporters after a Cabinet meeting with President Hosni Mubarak.
Egypt's overwhelmingly Muslim population does not eat pork due to religious restrictions. But the animals are raised and consumed by the Christian minority, which some estimates put at 10 percent of the population.
Health Ministry spokesman Abdel Rahman estimated there were between 300,000-350,000 pigs in Egypt.
Agriculture Minister Amin Abaza told reporters that farmers would be allowed to sell the pork meat so there would be no need for compensation.
In 2008, following fears over diseases spread by animals, Mubarak ordered all pig and chicken farms moved out of population areas. But the order was never implemented.
Pigs can be found in many places around Muslim world, often raised by religious minorities who can eat pork. But they are banned entirely in some Muslim countries including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Libya.
In Jordan, the government decided Wednesday to shut down the country's five pig farms, involving 800 animals, for violating public health safety regulations.
Egypt orders slaughter of all pigs over swine flu
CAIRO – Egypt began slaughtering the roughly 300,000 pigs in the country Wednesday as a precautionary measure against the spread of swine flu even though no cases have been report…
The move immediately provoked resistance from pig farmers. At one large pig farming center just north of Cairo, farmers refused to cooperate with Health Ministry workers who came to slaughter the animals and the workers left without carrying out the government order.
"It has been decided to immediately start slaughtering all the pigs in Egypt using the full capacity of the country's slaughterhouses," Health Minister Hatem el-Gabaly told reporters after a Cabinet meeting with President Hosni Mubarak.
Egypt's overwhelmingly Muslim population does not eat pork due to religious restrictions. But the animals are raised and consumed by the Christian minority, which some estimates put at 10 percent of the population.
Health Ministry spokesman Abdel Rahman estimated there were between 300,000-350,000 pigs in Egypt.
Agriculture Minister Amin Abaza told reporters that farmers would be allowed to sell the pork meat so there would be no need for compensation.
In 2008, following fears over diseases spread by animals, Mubarak ordered all pig and chicken farms moved out of population areas. But the order was never implemented.
Pigs can be found in many places around Muslim world, often raised by religious minorities who can eat pork. But they are banned entirely in some Muslim countries including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Libya.
In Jordan, the government decided Wednesday to shut down the country's five pig farms, involving 800 animals, for violating public health safety regulations.
Arabic
Cairo
farmers