Asia Pacific nations practice bird flu response

Nation members of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) conducted an avian flu response exercise on Tuesday.

Coordinated by Australia, the exercise tested communications, decision-making and response times across the Pacific Ocean.


Health officials vaccinate poultry in Medan, Indonesia. AFP photo from Yahoo News.

Scientists fear that once the bird flu mutates to allow human-to-human transmission, it poses the threat of a massive pandemic similar to the Spanish Flu that struck during World War I.

Most people that have been infected with the H5N1 strain of bird flu were citizens of APEC countries. Indonesia and Vietnam have the highest number of cases so far.


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Police drive out Phnom Penh squatters

Cambodian police evicted more than 1,000 families from their shantytown homes to make way for a commercial development project in Phnom Penh.

About 1,000 police descended on the slum before dawn in the operation to move residents to a new location 22 km from the city. Many refused to live at the new site claiming that it was too far from work or shopping areas, and that living conditions were intolerable.

"The relocation site is a plain rice field with a pond of water. Each family was given a few square meters of land," said a statement by the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR).

"No development of the area was made so far, no electricity and clean water are available," it said.

Many residents were using simple plastic sheeting to shield themselves from the daily downpours of rain at the new location.



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East Timor parliament meets as violence continues

The East Timor parliament on Monday met for the first time since foreign troops arrived, as gang violence continued to plague the small nation.

Clashes were reported around the Comoro Bridge in the capital Dili, where houses were set on fire with petrol bombs.

Only 50 of East Timor's 87 Ministers of Parliament attended the meeting as many were unable to arrange secure transportation.

Parliament approved President Xanana Gusmao's declaration of emergency powers last week granting him full authority over the armed forces.

About 100,000 people have fled to makeshift refugee camps to escape violence that started after the sacking of army soldiers in a growing regional conflict between eastern and western parts of the country.


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