Asia-Pacific Morning Press Highlights Friday, 04 September 2009 TOP STORIES China Official: 5 Killed During Urumqi Protests N. Korea Reports Advances In Enriching Uranium Taiwan Not Seeking UN Membership This Year Indonesian Rescuers Dig For Trapped Quake Victims, 63 Dead NORTHEAST ASIA Japan's New Leader Backs Fiscal Regulation SKorea Pledges Stern Response To NKorea's Nuclear Claims SOUTH ASIA China And India Dispute Enclave On Edge Of Tibet Army: 5 Militants Killed In Northwest Pakistan SOUTHEAST ASIA Burmese Court Agrees To Aung San Suu Kyi Appeal Navy Sends Marines To Guard Jemur Island TNI Tightens Protocol In Issuing Security Clearance For Weapon Sale Navy Prepares To Assist In Fight Against Terrorism Thai Protesters Delay Rally To Coup Anniversary OCEANIA Australia Open To Closer Military Ties With China Rio Tinto Suspends Iron Ore Talks With China Fiji's Church Conflicts Drawing International Concern Medical Supply Problems Hamper PNG Outbreak Tongans Give $US500,000 To Ferry Families H1N1/A (SWINE FLU) Switzerland, China Unveil New H1N1 Flu Vaccines [Japan] Govt. To Secure New Flu Vaccine For 60 Mil. India’s swine flu deaths jump to 116 (Lead)
TOP STORIES China Official: 5 Killed During Urumqi Protests URUMQI, China — A Chinese official says that five people have been killed and 14 wounded during protests over security in the restive western city of Urumqi. Deputy Mayor Zhang Hong reported the casualties at a news conference in the city, capital of the western region of Xinjiang. He said they died Thursday. Thousands of Han Chinese flooded the streets in angry protests for a second day Friday to demand increased security in the city after a string of bizarre attacks of needle stabbings that appear to be ethnically motivated. Police used tear gas and public appeals to break up crowds marching on government offices and called on authorities to punish those responsible for ethnic rioting in early July that left 197 people dead. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below. URUMQI, China (AP) — China's police chief accused ethnic Muslim separatists of staging a bizarre series of hypodermic needle stabbings that sent thousands of Chinese into the streets in angry protests for a second day Friday to demand increased security in this western city. Police used tear gas and public appeals to break up crowds of Chinese marching on government offices and calling on authorities to punish people awaiting trial for communal violence that left 197 people dead in early July in Urumqi. The police response was more forceful than on Thursday, the first day of protests by members of the Han Chinese majority unnerved by the recent spate of syringe stabbings on dozens of people. Public Security Minister Meng Jianzhu, who arrived in Urumqi to direct the police action, said the same ethnic separatists Beijing says were behind the rioting that started July 5 also orchestrated the needle attacks. "The needle stabbing incident is a continuation of the '7-5' incident, and it's plotted by unlawful elements and instigated by ethnic separatist forces," Meng said in comments broadcast on nationwide television. "Their purpose is to damage ethnic unity." (Cont) Source: AP http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j794twyjYyjeOIdsKWwzCUhsgvUAD9 AGISHG0 N. Korea Reports Advances In Enriching Uranium WASHINGTON — North Korea declared Friday that it was in the ―concluding stage‖ of tests to enrich uranium. Its statement would appear to end a decade-long debate within American intelligence agencies about whether the country was working on a second pathway to building nuclear weapons. The statement came in a brief announcement by the official North Korean news agency, quoting what it said was a letter from the North Korean government to the United Nations. No details were offered, and the use of the word ―tests‖ suggests that the country may only be experimenting and has not yet undertaken the huge expense required to install the thousands of centrifuges necessary to produce enough uranium for a nuclear weapon. For the North, the new nuclear program would amount to an insurance policy. For decades it pursued another pathway to a bomb, taking the spent fuel from one of its nuclear reactors and producing plutonium. To prove its capacity, the North has conducted two nuclear tests, one that fizzled in 2006 and a more successful detonation in May. In February 2007, the North agreed to dismantle its reactors and stop producing bomb fuel. But it reversed that commitment this year, and on Friday it said it had harvested the remaining spent fuel, which could provide it with enough plutonium for one or two additional weapons. North Korea was believed to already have enough
plutonium for about six to eight nuclear weapons. But the existence of a second program to build bomb fuel would give the country something else to negotiate over with the West, and it would create the possibility that the government of Kim Jong-il could try to sell the technology, just as it has sold some of its reactor technology. North Korean officials announced in April that they intended to start a uranium enrichment program. (cont) Source: The New York Times; DAVID E. SANGER http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/04/world/asia/04korea.html?ref=asia Taiwan Not Seeking UN Membership This Year TAIPEI - Taiwan won't attempt to seek UN membership this year, officials said Friday, in a move one observer said was aimed at patching up ties with Beijing after the Dalai Lama's visit. "Instead of asking our allies to submit a proposal to join the United Nations, we will seek other kinds of meaningful participation," said a foreign ministry official. "It is a change of method but we will not give up the Taiwan people's right to join the UN." The official was speaking as Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama wrapped up a five-day visit to the island that triggered protests and cancellations of activities by Beijing. "I think the government is making a concession in a bid to restore mutual trust with Beijing after the Dalai Lama's trip," said Hsu Yung-ming, a political scientist at Taipei's Soochow University. Last year, Taipei made an attempt to join the World Meteorological Organization and other specialised UN agencies rather than seeking full UN membership. The bid, which failed, signalled a strategic adjustment following the coming to power last year of Beijing-friendly President Ma Ying-jeou. Taiwan lost its UN seat to China in 1971 and Beijing has thwarted all the island's previous bids to return to the world body as a full member. The two sides split in 1949 after a civil war but China still claims the island as part of its territory and sees any move to seek UN membership as a step towards formal independence. Tensions have eased since Ma swept to power on a platform of boosting cross-strait ties and he has called for a truce to end the long-running diplomatic tug-ofwar between the rivals. China requires that all its diplomatic allies cut ties with Taiwan, meaning the self-ruled island is now left with official relations with just 23 nations, most of them small and developing. Source: AFP http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/1002966/1/.html Indonesian Rescuers Dig For Trapped Quake Victims, 63 Dead CIPANAS, Indonesia - Rescuers in Indonesia continued digging Friday to reach dozens buried by a major earthquake that killed at least 63 people as anger mounted at the slow response from authorities. Police and troops cleared boulders and mounds of earth in the village of Cikangkareng south of the capital Jakarta in a frantic bid to reach those trapped following Wednesday's 7.0-magnitude quake, officials said. "At least 63 people have been killed (throughout Java)... 33 are still trapped in Cikangkareng," disaster management agency spokesman Priyadi Kardono told AFP. The quake, which struck off the south coast of Java, triggered a landslide in the village 130 kilometres south of Jakarta that stripped hillsides bare and buried entire families. "We've been using heavy machinery for the rescue effort," Kardono said, after earlier attempts were hampered by poor access, forcing rescuers to pick through the rubble with bare hands, hoes and improvised tools. "They're buried under boulders so the chance of any of the trapped people surviving is very slim," he said. Damage from the quake, which caused a panicked rush from swaying buildings in Jakarta, was spread throughout Indonesia's main island
of Java. At least 30,000 homes had been damaged and 5,000 people displaced, officials said. In the village of Cipanas in West Java province, 120 kilometres from the capital, hundreds of residents whose homes were destroyed set up a makeshift camp in surrounding fields. Suryati, a 75-year-old villager, said locals had received little help from the government or aid organisations. The only assistance to have arrived came a day after the quake, she said. "The help should have come on the day of the disaster. Although we have received rice, we still need more medical supplies," she said. "I have lost my house. That's the only thing that I have," she said, in tears. (cont) Source: AFP http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/1002908/1/.html
NORTHEAST ASIA Japan's New Leader Backs Fiscal Regulation TOKYO – Japan's next prime minister said Friday the financial sector must be regulated to foster healthy growth and ensure no repeat of the global economic crisis, and vowed government handouts would not push the country toward socialism. Yukio Hatoyama's Democratic Party of Japan won a landslide victory in last week's elections making it the largest party in the lower house of parliament. He is expected to be formally voted in as prime minister on Sept. 16 and to name his Cabinet in the days that follow. Hatoyama told a World Economic Forum symposium that while financial regulation was necessary, it should not be excessive or hinder growth and healthy competition. "One of the reasons for last year's global financial crisis is that there was not enough regulation of derivative products," Hatoyama said. "We cannot just leave everything to the markets. We need to have a balance between government regulations and free market activities." His speech Friday was one of the first glimpses since polling day that Japan has had into the direction Hatoyama will take on the economy, which is in its worst slump since World War II and is facing the threats of rising unemployment and deflation. Hatoyama did not go into a detailed plan of what he intends to do, but his party has promised to expand the social safety net with handouts for farmers and families with children, do away with toll-free highways and raise the minimum wage. He insisted Friday that Japan was not becoming a socialist state because of promised lavish government handouts. Rather, Hatoyama said his reforms are aimed at directly and quickly improving nation's lives. "I am not turning to socialism," he said. "I just want to improve Japanese people's livelihood." Some free-market advocates are worried that the party may step away from deregulating the economy, a process that began during the 2001-2006 rule of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. Critics argue that deregulation is needed to foster economic growth and encourage foreign investment. The retail and auto export industries are heavily regulated. He will still need to disprove arguments that his party's economic programs were mainly designed to woo voters and fall short of mapping out a road to growth or tackling deeper issues such as Japan's aging, shrinking population and its ballooning national debt. (cont) Source: Associated Press; Shino Yuasa http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090904/ap_on_re_as/as_japan_politics SKorea Pledges Stern Response To NKorea's Nuclear Claims SEOUL: South Korea on Friday pledged a stern response to North Korean "threats and provocations", after the communist state said it was in the final stages of an enriched uranium
nuclear weapons programme. "We find it very regrettable that the North's attitude goes against the UN resolutions," the foreign ministry said in a statement. In a letter to the Security Council, the North said earlier Friday that an experiment to enrich uranium – a second route to a nuclear bomb – has entered its final phase. It also said it was building more atomic bombs from spent reactor fuel rods. "This is intolerable," the ministry said. "The government will take a stern and consistent response to North Korea's threats and provocations." Spokesman Moon Tae-Young said South Koreans will have "in-depth" talks with US special envoy on North Korea, Stephen Bosworth, who arrives here later Friday from Beijing. Bosworth is visiting the region for talks aimed at restarting six-party nuclear disarmament talks, which the North is boycotting. South Korea's nuclear envoy Wi Sung-Lac said the North's latest statement is "not helpful" and he would discuss it with Bosworth. Source: AFP http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/1002843/1/.html
SOUTH ASIA China And India Dispute Enclave On Edge Of Tibet TAWANG, India — This is perhaps the most militarized Buddhist enclave in the world. Perched above 10,000 feet in the icy reaches of the eastern Himalayas, the town of Tawang is not only home to one of Tibetan Buddhism’s most sacred monasteries, but is also the site of a huge Indian military buildup. Convoys of army trucks haul howitzers along rutted mountain roads. Soldiers drill in muddy fields. Military bases appear every half-mile in the countryside, with watchtowers rising behind concertina wire. A road sign on the northern edge of town helps explain the reason for all the fear and the fury: the border with China is just 23 miles away; Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, 316 miles; and Beijing, 2,676 miles. The Chinese Army has a big deployment at the border, at Bumla,‖ said Madan Singh, a junior commissioned officer who sat with a half-dozen soldiers one afternoon sipping tea beside a fog-cloaked road. ―That’s why we’re here.‖ Though little known to the outside world, Tawang is the biggest tinderbox in relations between the world’s two most populous nations. It is the focus of China’s most delicate land-border dispute, a conflict rooted in Chinese claims of sovereignty over all of historical Tibet. In recent months, both countries have stepped up efforts to secure their rights over this rugged patch of land. China tried to block a $2.9 billion loan to India from the Asian Development Bank on the grounds that part of the loan was destined for water projects in Arunachal Pradesh, the state that includes Tawang. It was the first time China had sought to influence the territorial dispute through a multilateral institution. Then the governor of Arunachal Pradesh announced that the Indian military was deploying extra troops and fighter jets in the area. The growing belligerence has soured relations between the two Asian giants and has prompted one Indian military leader to declare that China has replaced Pakistan as India’s biggest threat. Economic progress might be expected to bring the countries closer. China and India did $52 billion worth of trade last year, a 34 percent increase over 2007. But businesspeople say border tensions have infused business deals with official interference, damping the willingness of Chinese and Indian companies to invest in each other’s countries. ―Officials start taking more time, scrutinizing things more carefully, and all that means more delays and ultimately more denials, ― said Ravi Bhoothalingam, a former president of the Oberoi Group, the luxury hotel chain, and a member of the Institute of Chinese Studies in New Delhi. ―That’s not good for business.‖ The roots of the
conflict go back to China’s territorial claims to Tibet, an enduring source of friction between China and many foreign nations. China insists that this section of northeast India has historically been part of Tibet, and should be part of China. (cont) Source: The New York Times; Shiho Fukada http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/04/world/asia/04chinaindia.html?_r=1&ref=asia Army: 5 Militants Killed In Northwest Pakistan PESHAWAR, Pakistan – Pakistan says paramilitary troops have killed five suspected militants and arrested 24 in an ongoing operation in the northwestern Khyber tribal region. The paramilitary Frontier Corps announced the deaths in a statement Friday. The Khyber region is home to one of the main routes used to ferry supplies to NATO and U.S. forces in neighboring Afghanistan. Taliban militants frequently attack supply trucks using the famed Khyber Pass. Authorities say the latest operation has killed scores of militants. It began last week in response to a suicide bombing at a border checkpoint that killed 19 police. Source: AP http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090904/ap_on_re_as/as_pakistan
SOUTHEAST ASIA Burmese Court Agrees To Aung San Suu Kyi Appeal A Burmese court has agreed to hear an appeal from detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi against her criminal conviction last month for violating her house arrest. Her main lawyer, Kyi Win, says Rangoon's Division Court will hear the appeal on September 18. The Nobel Peace laureate was convicted August 11 of violating state security laws after giving shelter to American man who swam to her lakeside Rangoon home uninvited in May. She was sentenced to 18 months house detention. Kyi Win says the appeal will focus on the fact that her conviction is based on 1974 state constitution that is no longer in effect. The verdict was condemned by the international community. Burma's ruling military junta was accused of using the trial as an excuse to keep her out of next year's elections. John Yettaw says he swam to Aung San Suu Kyi's home to warn her about an attempt on her life. He was sentenced to seven years of hard labor, but was released by Burma's military junta last month after a visit from U.S. Senator Jim Webb. Aung San Suu Kyi has been in some form of detention for 14 of the past 20 years. Her National League for Democracy party won elections in 1990, but the results were not accepted by the military regime. Source: VOA http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-09-04-voa13.cfm Navy Sends Marines To Guard Jemur Island Following Malaysia’s claim over Jemur Island that is located in Riau Province, Navy Chief of Staff Admiral Tedjo Edhy Purdijatno said that the Navy has mobilized Marines to patrol and guard the areas along the Indonesian and Malaysian border. "We have mobilized the Marines to guard every outermost island that located on the border,‖ said Admrial Purdijatno after the change of command ceremony for the Commandant of the Marine Corps from Major General Djunaidi Djahri to Brigadier General M. Alfan Baharudin in Jakarta on Wednesday (9/2). Admiral Purdijatno said that the Navy will place 34 Marines on every island that border
Malaysia. "Currently, we focus on islands in Riau Province,‖ he said. As previously reported, several Malaysian travel agencies have claimed Jemur Island as one of travel destination of Selangor State. Source: Kompas, Translated by Virtual Information Center http://nasional.kompas.com/read/xml/2009/09/02/19313584/amankan.pulau.jemur.tni.al.kerahka n.pasukan.marinir TNI Tightens Protocol In Issuing Security Clearance For Weapon Sale TNI (Indonesia National Defense Forces) Commander Djoko Santoso said that TNI will tighten its protocol in issuing security clearance for weapon sale in order to avoid any misuse of the weapons by irresponsible parties. ―So far, TNI has been very selective and strict in issuing security clearance,‖ he said in Bekasi on Wednesday (9/2). General Santoso stressed that the weapon export to Philippines and Maldives have followed the correct procedure. General Santoso said that the clearance is issued based on request by the Department of Defense as the overseer of PT Pindad, the manufacturer. Security clearance is issued by TNI as foundation used by the Department of Defense to issue a export permit to PT Pindad. The permit for export of ten P2-V1 pistols for Philippines was issued in January 20th 2009. Whereas the permit for 100 SS1V1 rifles for Maldives was issued in January 12th 2009. Source: Jurnal Nasional, Translated by Virtual Information Center http://www.jurnalnasional.com/?med=Web&sec=Breaking%20News&rbrk=Ekonomi&id=2346 3&stat=all&page=0 Navy Prepares To Assist In Fight Against Terrorism Navy Chief of Staff Admiral Tedjo Edhy Purdijatno said that the Navy is prepared to assist in fight against terrorism if the government and the police department require the Navy assistance. "We are not only capable in fighting terrorism at sea, we are also ready to fight terrorism on land,‖ said Admiral Purdijatno after the change of command ceremony for the commandant of the Marine Corps from Major General Djunaidi Djahri to Brigadier General M. Alfan Baharudin in Jakarta on Wednesday (9/2). The Navy has the Marine Corps elite Jalamangkara anti-terror detachment. Source: Kompas, Translated by Virtual Information Center http://nasional.kompas.com/read/xml/2009/09/02/19000613/detasemen.jalamangkara.siap.bantu. densus.antiteror. Thai Protesters Delay Rally To Coup Anniversary BANGKOK - Thai anti-government protesters Friday again postponed plans for a mass rally, pushing the date back to the third anniversary of the coup that toppled former premier Thaksin Shinawatra. The so-called "Red Shirt" movement said it had decided to defer a protest planned for Saturday until September 19, due to the government's continued invocation of a harsh Internal Security Act. The protesters want current Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to dissolve parliament and call elections but they had already shelved plans to gather in the heart of Bangkok last Sunday. "We have decided to cancel this Saturday's rally but we will gather on September 19 to commemorate the third coup anniversary, despite the Internal Security Act," movement leader Veera Musikapong told reporters. "The coup damaged Thailand's reputation and dignity," he said. He said protesters would gather outside the house of Prem Tinsulanonda, the top adviser to Thailand's widely revered king, because Prem was believed to be the mastermind of the 2006
putsch. Veera did not say how many protesters were expected, but previous rallies, including one last month to hand in a petition seeking a royal pardon for Thaksin, have drawn tens of thousands. The army removed billionaire populist Thaksin from power after months of protests by the royalist "Yellow Shirt" movement. He is currently living abroad to avoid a two-year jail term for corruption. His ouster sparked another three years of of turmoil, with "Yellow Shirts" occupying Bangkok's airports last December to drive out the previous pro-Thaksin government and help bring Abhisit to power. The Red Shirts then went on the rampage in April this year, disrupting a major Asian summit and rampaging through Bangkok before they backed down amid threats of a military crackdown. Twice-elected Thaksin still enjoys huge support among Thailand's poor, particularly in rural northern parts of the country, but is hated by the Bangkokbased elite in the palace, military and establishment. Source: AFP http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/1002932/1/.html
OCEANIA Australia Open To Closer Military Ties With China Australia's government has confirmed it is willing to do more military exercises with China. The Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, says it is a good idea - and will help both countries prepare for dealing with natural disasters in the region. The Chinese ambassador to Australia, Zhang Junsai, says Australia, China and New Zealand practised joint exercises in humanitarian work two years ago. Ambassador Zhang says China's military build up is purely to for defensive purposes. Australian Foreign Minister, Stephen Smith, says Australia is open to more work together. "Australia has defence co-operation and contact with a range of countries, there's no reason why that can't be contemplated with China," he said. Source: Radio Australia; Louise Yaxley http://www.radioaustralianews.net.au/story.htm?id=21357 Rio Tinto Suspends Iron Ore Talks With China Stern Hu and three other Rio Tinto employees have been accused of spying in relation to iron ore agreements. Mining company Rio Tinto has suspended iron ore price negotiations with China over the detention of four company employees. The three Rio Tinto employees, including executive Stern Hu, an Australian citizen, have been detained since July. Mr Hu is head of Rio Tinto's iron ore operations in China. China has accused Rio Tinto of committing industrial espionage in China for six years. Speaking from Western Australia, the head of Rio Tinto's iron ore division, Sam Walsh, says talks have been suspended indefinitely because China has detained the company's negotiators. "Not at this point in time we're not negotiating, no," he said. Asked whether negotiations would resume, Mr Walsh said he expects they will, "but I don't know when." "I mean, remember that we have our negotiators detained," he said. Source: Radio Australia http://www.radioaustralianews.net.au/story.htm?id=21380 Fiji's Church Conflicts Drawing International Concern The tension between Fiji's biggest church and the coup-installed interim government is now getting attention outsider the Pacific. The World Council of Churches, has adopted a resolution
expressing concern at the Fijian government's actions against the Methodist Church there. The international Christian organisation's central committee passed the resolution at a meeting of its central committee in Switzerland. Besides expressing concern for the situation in Fiji and indicating their readiness to help Fijian Methodists, the Council has has also called on them to engage in talks with the interim government. Fiji's Methodist Church says it welcomes support from the World Council of Churches. In recent months, Methodist church leaders in Fiji have been rounded up by the military and questioned, a choir competition and a ceremony to induct new church ministers have been cancelled on Government orders. Reverend Tevita Banivanua, deputy general secretary of the Fiji Methodist Church, says the Council's resolution reminds them they are not alone. "One of the basic things that anyone in our position would feel is that of loneliness, like in the wilderness of some type," he said. "But when the World Council of Churches comes and shows its support for one, we are very grateful that there are people understanding our situation." Separately, a British Labour MP who recently made an official visit to Fiji is encouraging British Methodists to raise awareness about the church's situation. Meg Munn has encouraged British Methodists to consider raising the issue with their local parliamentarians and the media. Source: Radio Australia; Bruce Hill http://www.radioaustralianews.net.au/stories/200909/2677099.htm?desktop Medical Supply Problems Hamper PNG Outbreak Papua New Guinea health authorities fighting an outbreak of dysentery and cholera in a remote area of Morobe province say more people could die because of difficulties transporting medicine and health workers. Ninety people have reportedly died of dysentery and flu in the province since last month. Papua New Guinea Health Minister Sasa Zibe says the declaration of a state of emergency in a region of Morobe province is imminent. Officials say the situation is severe and it warrants a state of emergency. Mr Zibe says the government is considering a submission from the Health Ministry to take such a measure. PNG health workers say the lack of transportation and communication links into the Menyamya district are making it hard to deliver medicines. Morobe province's health adviser, Dr Theo Likei, says so far the dysentery outbreak has severely affected nearly 3,000 people. He says the situation is quite dire. ''Those who have been affected, some of them show very serious conditions and that is the concern," he said. "They have been asking for more medicines and we have been working around the clock to give them more supplies.'' Separately, nine people have died of cholera in Tewai-Siassi District of Morobe province, in what has been called PNG's first known outbreak of the illness in 50 years. Source: Radio Australia; Firmin Nanol http://www.radioaustralianews.net.au/story.htm?id=21348 Tongans Give $US500,000 To Ferry Families The wreck of the Princess Ashika lies on the ocean floor off the coast of Tonga, August 2009. Tongans have donated almost one million Tongan pa'anga - or $US500,000 - to a relief fund to help the families of victims of the recent ferry disaster. The Princess Ashika sank last month killing 74 people, including many women and children. A commission of inquiry will open soon to determine what caused the disaster. Source: Radio Australia http://www.radioaustralianews.net.au/stories/200909/2676657.htm?desktop
H1N1/A (SWINE FLU) Switzerland, China Unveil New H1N1 Flu Vaccines BASEL, Switzerland : Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis said on Thursday that it has tested a new H1N1 flu vaccine that may work after one dose while health chiefs hailed another one-dose drug developed in China. Novartis said it was ready to produce one million doses of the vaccine before the end of the year in a bid to blunt the spread of H1N1 flu which has already claimed at least 2,185 lives. The drug giant said it was in talks to supply 35 countries with the new vaccine and had signed deals worth 979 millions dollars (685.4 million euros) to supply the US government. China on Thursday granted approval to its first home-grown vaccine, which producer Sinovac says is effective after only one dose. "The Sinovac (A)H1N1 vaccine is officially approved," said the head of the State Food and Drug Administration's drug registration department, Zhang Wei. Nine other Chinese companies were developing H1N1 flu vaccines, he said. The World Health Organisation praised China's research and said it could become the first country to protect its population against the pandemic. Until now experts had maintained that two doses of vaccine would be necessary to protect against the A(H1N1) infection, straining limited vaccine supplies. But clinical trials of the Novartis drug and of the Chinese vaccine showed that single doses could work, easing fears raised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) of a dangerous shortage of flu vaccine in the coming months. "The pilot trial results are encouraging," said Andrin Oswald, chief executive of Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics, referring to a trial of the vaccine conducted by Leicester University in Britain on 100 healthy volunteers aged 18 to 50. While "two doses seem to provide better protection, one dose ... may be sufficient to protect adults against H1N1 flu," he said. More than two dozen pharmaceutical companies around the world are racing to test, produce and ship vaccines before the global H1N1 flu pandemic enters an expected second wave later this year. (cont) Source: AFP http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/1002747/1/.html [Japan] Govt. To Secure New Flu Vaccine For 60 Mil. Japan's health minister Yoichi Masuzoe says the government is working to secure supplies of the new influenza vaccine for 60 million people by next spring. The government calculates that domestic vaccine makers can produce enough doses for 17 million people by the end of the year, far less than the expected demand. On Friday, Masuzoe told reporters that the government is in the final stage of negotiations with foreign makers to make up the gap with imports. He said a special regulation would be needed for free vaccinations and the cost should be partly financed by the government under current law. Masuzoe indicated that the new Democrat-led government will take a similar stance because he will fully brief the new health minister on the matter. Source: NHK http://www.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/04_25.html India’s swine flu deaths jump to 116 (Lead) New Delhi/Bangalore, Sep 4 (IANS) Five people died of swine flu in India Friday, taking the toll due to influenza A (H1N1) virus to 116, health authorities said here. While four deaths were reported from Bangalore, Karnataka, one person died in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Also during the
day, 124 fresh cases were reported in the country, taking the total number of affected people to 4,488. According to health authorities in Karnataka, the four deaths have taken the toll due to the H1N1 virus to 35 in the state. A 38-year-old woman died at a government hospital Tuesday. Three men aged 27, 41 and 31 years died Wednesday, Sunday and Tuesday respectively. However, their test reports arrived only Thursday, a health official said in Bangalore. According to the health ministry, most fresh cases Friday were reported from Tamil Nadu where 33 people tested positive. Maharashtra, which tops the chart with the maximum swine flu deaths and cases in the country, reported 21 new cases, taking the total cases in the state so far to 1,759. In the national capital, 50 swine flu cases, including 24 children, were reported, taking its total number of Influenza A (H1N1) cases to 772. However, the health ministry said only 15 cases were reported from the national capital. One patient was serious and under ventilation at the Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital here, officials said. According to the state health ministry, of the fresh cases 15 have been admitted to various designated hospitals and the rest 35 are homequarantined. ―These 50 identified cases include 24 cases of children. One male patient is critical in the RML Hospital and is on dialysis and on the ventilator,‖ Delhi Health Minister Kiran Walia said. She said that till date 772 cases have been reported in the city, of which 681 cases have been treated and discharged. Walia also said that the situation is under control and the government is doing its best in providing treatment to swine flu patients in government hospitals. She advised people to visit the doctor at the earliest in case they exhibit any symptom of swine flu. Fresh cases were also reported from Uttar Pradesh (30), Kerala (2), Haryana (1), Goa (1), West Bengal (1), Uttarakhand (1) and Jammu and Kashmir (1). Source: IANS http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/health1/indias-swine-flu-deaths-jump-to-116lead_100242980.html