Washington, Sept 19: A new study by researchers at Oxford University, UK, has suggested that adding a new component to vaccines for influenza might provide better protection against a broad range of avian and seasonal influenza A viruses.

Current vaccines for influenza provide protection against specific seasonal influenza A strains and their close relatives, but not against more distant seasonal influenza A viruses and new avian influenza A viruses, such as H5N1, which still poses a real global health concern.

Now, a team of researchers, led by Tao Dong and Andrew McMichael, has generated data that may help in providing broad protection against the virus.

Washington  - The United States and Colombia on Thursday signed an agreement to cooperate and share technology on the development of alternative and renewable energy.

The two governments agreed to promote exchanges and work together on research and development, including on using sustainable biofuels, generating more private sector investment in the technology and increasing the role of business.

Washington  - The US government was weighing its options for a more permanent fix to the ongoing credit crisis on Thursday as regulators and authorities cracked down on stock-selling techniques that have helped fuel a sell-off on Wall Street.

President George W Bush defended the "extraordinary measures" already taken by the government to shore up a wealth of shaky financial firms and sought to reassure investors fearful that more bank failures could be on the horizon.

Washington  - US President George W Bush will meet Pakistani Prime Minister Asif Ali Zardari in New York on Tuesday as the two countries try to defuse tension over US military strikes in Pakistan.

The United States has reportedly launched airstrikes in Pakistani territory against Taliban and al-Qaeda militants who seek refuge in the country to launch attacks against US and NATO forces in Afghanistan.

Washington  - The International Monetary Fund on Thursday sought to put a positive spin on the current financial turmoil in the United States, predicting the world's advanced economies will stage a slow recovery by 2009 even as financial firms face potential bankruptcy.

"While the events of the past week underscore the seriousness of the situation, my message today is straightforward: this storm can be weathered without a damaging global recession," IMF Deputy Managing Director John Lipsky said in Washington.

Washington  - More than a year after its collapse crushed 13 people, a new Minnesota bridge across the Mississippi reopened Thursday.

First across the new span were the first responders to the August 2007 disaster, The New York Times reported.

The collapse of the bridge on a major highway through the city of Minneapolis shocked the country and awakened lawmakers to the country's ageing infrastructure and need for new investments.