Drug-Resistant stomach bug Spreads in the US

According to health officals, a drug-resistant strain of a nasty stomach infection that caused over 200 illnesses since last May is spreading in the United States.

The experts said various cases were traced to people who had lately traveled to the Dominican Republic, India or other countries. Outbreaks of the shigella bacteria are not strange and this strain is resistant to the antibiotic most normally prescribed for adults.

“This is the first time we've documented this large an outbreak of antibiotic-resistant (shigella) linked to international travel”, said Dr. Anna Bowen of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

GPM provides One Global Picture of Rain and Snow

Aerospace company Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. built Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission Core Satellite's Microwave Imager (GMI) under a deal for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). According to reports, the mission has performed well in its first year on orbit.

Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) is an international satellite mission by United States space agency that collects data from 12 weather satellites orbiting earth. The mission combines data into one global picture of rain and snow. It is the first time when scientists have ever had map of where and when rain will fall. The mission makes map every half an hour with a resolution of about 10km by 10km.

Protestors Blocking Workers from going to Mauna Kea summit arrested

On Thursday, some people were trying to stop workers from going to a telescope construction site on a mountain, which is considered as sacred to Native Hawaiians. Police on the Big Island arrested 12 people in the case.

Hawaii County police said that they took the step as people were carrying out protest on the road leading to Mauna Kea summit. Similar incident happened on Monday and people were warned not to repeat it and those who would block the road would be arrested.

Construction is taking place on the Thirty Meter Telescope, which will be one of the biggest in the world. Native Hawaiians said that they are not against the telescope, but they have objection on the location where it is being built.

Target Canada to close all retail stores

On Wednesday, Target Canada announced that it will shut down the last of its retail stores to the public on April 12. The company said in a statement that it has closed its three distribution centres and Mississauga headquarters.

According to Aaron Alt, Target Canada CEO, "We are pleased with the results of the liquidation sales to date and the speed at which we have moved through the wind-down process. We want to once again thank all Target Canada team members for their hard work and great adaptability through this process". He added that a real estate sale process has been approved by the court is in progress and it is believed to be completed by the end of June 2015.

Pfizer to Cease its Vaccines Sales Operations in China

U. S. pharmaceutical corporation Pfizer said that it is planning to cease its vaccines sales operations in China. According to the company, the Chinese government was not keen on renewal of an import license for one of its products.

Pfizer said that this move will cause a shortage of the treatment in China. The company notified that the license for Prevenar has expired. Prevenar is a vaccine that protects children against pneumococcal disease that can lead to pneumonia.

"Based on a careful assessment of this situation, we have decided to cease our vaccines commercial operations in China at this time, effective immediately", Pfizer spokeswoman Trupti Wagh said in comments emailed to Reuters.

Obama launches sanctions program to Deal with Cyber Attack Threat

A sanctions program has been launched by President Barack Obama on Wednesday with an aim to target individuals and groups outside the US that make use of cyber attacks to threaten US foreign policy, national security or economic stability.

Such activities have been declared as 'national emergency' by Obama in an executive order. The US Treasury Department has been permitted to freeze assets and bar other financial transactions of entities involved in destructive cyber attacks.

"The Obama administration is really getting serious now. This order brings to bear the economic might of the United States against people who are robbing us blind and putting us in danger", said Joel Brenner, who headed U. S. counterintelligence during President George W. Bush's second term.

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