WHO nixes pandemic alert in Indonesia

World Health Organization (WHO) experts meeting in Indonesia said the recent cluster of bird flu cases that killed a whole family did not signal the start of a global pandemic.

The experts meeting to decide on whether the case merited issuing a pandemic alert said that although the avian flu virus H5N1 had mutated it still was not easily transmittable among humans.


Indonesian health officials and a chicken in south Jakarta, February 24, 2006. Crack Palinggi/Reuters via Yahoo News.

Indonesian and WHO officials closely monitored 50 people who had come in contact with the family but no new cases developed.

Family members though in the north Sumatra cluster did contract the virus from each other.

Seoul insists North Korean missile launch not imminent

South Korea's defense minister reiterated his country's position that North Korea was not ready to launch a ballistic missile test.

"It is our judgment that a launch is not imminent," Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung is quoted as saying.


Protesters in Seoul carry a model North Korean missile and shout slogans on June 22, 2006. AP/Lee Jin-man photo from Yahoo News.

Experts disagree on whether fueling of the missiles indicates that a missile test is imminent. Liquid rocket fuel tends to be highly corrosive and is not generally stored in the missile. However, it is possible that the country may be practicing fueling operations.

Japan has sent reconnaissance aircraft and naval ships to monitor the situation and is preparing for a "worse case scenario" including the possibility that missile parts might fall over the nation's territory.

China's Prime Minister seeks closer African ties

Premier Wen Jiabao landed in South Africa Wednesday in a campaign to strengthen ties within the African continent.

Wen will visit seven nations during his African tour in one of China's most energetic efforts to spur economic cooperation between the two regions.


Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao , center right, embraces a local chief during his visit in Accra, capital of Ghana, Monday, June 19, 2006 during his seven-nation African tour to boost economic and political bonds. AP/Xinhua, Li Xueren photo via Yahoo News.

Key areas of cooperation include expanding nuclear power generation and pushing the developing world's agenda in international forums.

China is also making cash contributions to the African Union and for humanitarian aid relief to show its goodwill.

For its part, China needs to keep Africa's rich resources flowing in to fuel its burgeoning economy.