Washington - An illness that has affected abut 75 students at a private school in New York City is "likely" swine flu, said Thomas Frieden, the New York City health commissioner. The conclusion was reached after swabs were taken from nine students at St Francis Preparatory School in Queens on Friday.
The specimens were examined by the health department, which concluded they exhibited in Influenza A strain that was "likely" swine flu, Frieden said.
A confirmatory result was expected Sunday from the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia.
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Washington/Geneva - The Geneva-based World Health Organization Saturday declared the outbreak of swine flu in Mexico and the United States a "public health emergency of international concern."At least 20 deaths in Mexico have been confirmed as swine flu, among a total of 60 deaths that have occurred there. Hundreds of more non-fatal cases have been reported, and schools, museums and other public places have been closed to prevent the spread.
Baghdad - US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton assured Iraqis on Saturday that both their countries were partners and that the US would continue to support them even as it withdrew combat troops. "Our strategy working with you may be a new phase, but I pledge our full and continuing commitment to Iraq and the Iraqi people," Clinton said in a press conference with her Iraqi counterpart Hoshyar Zebari, at the end of her one-day unannounced visit.
Washington - The World Bank Saturday said it would pump up to 55 billion dollars into infrastructure projects for poorer countries struck by a severe global recession that was not of their making. The development bank's three-year investment is intended to counterbalance a dramatic plunge in help from the private sector. Many investors have pulled out of developing countries amid a devastating financial crisis that began in the US and Europe and quickly took hold of the world economy in the past six months.
