2005

China to double spending on AIDS/HIV prevention: Reuters NewMedia - December 28, 2005; BEIJING (Reuters) - China will double its spending on AIDS/HIV prevention to some $370 million over the next two years as the country tries to keep the number of HIV-positive people below 1.5 million by 2010, state media said on Wednesday. The government will spend 800 million yuan ($99.10 million) on prevention work t
Bulgaria, Libya delay talks on HIV children fund: Reuters NewMedia - December 27, 2005; TRIPOLI - Bulgaria and Libya have delayed talks on a fund for Libyan children with HIV to help families overcome anger over a decision to scrap death sentences against six medics accused of infecting the youngsters, Libyan officials said on Tuesday. A Bulgarian official in Sofia, however, said the meeting in Tripol
Libyan court scraps nurses' HIV death sentences: Reuters NewMedia - December 25, 2005; Salah Sarrar; TRIPOLI - Libya s Supreme Court on Sunday scrapped death sentences against five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor and ordered a retrial of the cases which have harmed Tripoli s efforts to build ties with the West. The five nurses and the doctor, jailed since 1999 and convicted of infecting children with the HIV
Libyan Supreme Court sends HIV trial to lower court: Reuters NewMedia - Sunday, December 25, 2005; SOFIA (Reuters) - Libya s Supreme Court sent back the case of five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor sentenced to death for infecting children with HIV to a lower court due to procedural lapses, Bulgarian state radio said on Sunday. The six, in jail since 1999, were condemned to death by firing squad in May 200
Nigeria says to provide free AIDS drugs from 2006: Reuters NewMedia - December 24, 2005; Estelle Shirbon; LAGOS - Nigeria will start providing AIDS drugs for free next year, the government agency in charge of fighting AIDS said on Saturday, scrapping fees aid workers say deny access to treatment for poor patients. Nigeria has 3.5 million people living with HIV/AIDS, the third-highest number in the world after
Official: Libya may rule on HIV nurses by year-end: Reuters NewMedia - Saturday, December 24, 2005; Tsvetelia Ilieva; SOFIA (Reuters) - Libya s Supreme Court could rule by the end of the year on the fate of five Bulgarian nurses sentenced to death for deliberately infecting children with the HIV virus, a Bulgarian Foreign Ministry official said. The case has stalled Libya s attempts to improve ties with the West. The nurses, and a Pal
Bulgaria, Libya agree fund for Libyan HIV children: Reuters NewMedia - December 23, 2005; SOFIA - Bulgaria , Libya , the United States , Great Britain and the European Commission have agreed to set up a fund to support the families of Libyan children infected with the HIV virus, officials said on Friday. Libya has sentenced to death by firing squad five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor f
India's Aurobindo Pharma Gets FDA Nod for AIDS Drug: Reuters NewMedia - December 23, 2005; NEW DELHI - India s Aurobindo Pharma Ltd. has got tentative approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the oral form of Stavudine , an anti-AIDS drug meant for children, the U.S. Embassy said in a statement on Friday.
Condom - Covered Madonna Embarrasses Catholic Weekly: Reuters NewMedia - December 22, 2005; WASHINGTON - An advertisement for a statue of the Virgin Mary veiled in a condom has embarrassed the publishers of the U.S. Catholic magazine America, and prompted some heated comment on Catholic Web sites. America, a weekly run by the Jesuit order of priests, said in a statement it was embarrassed and offended by the
Make Poverty History campaign closes amid warnings: Reuters NewMedia - December 22, 2005; Jeremy Lovell; LONDON - Make Poverty History, the campaign that galvanized the political agenda in 2005, comes to an end next week hailing its own success, despite warnings that world leaders are backsliding on their pledges. When Nelson Mandela challenged the Group of Eight rich nations in London s Trafalgar Square in February to er
China police pick up AIDS needle rumour-mongers: Reuters NewMedia - December 21, 2005; BEIJING - Chinese police have arrested two Shanghai men on suspicion of spreading rumours that muggers were threatening people with syringes full of HIV-infected blood, Xinhua news agency said on Wednesday. Stories of needle attacks in Shanghai, which the two suspects spread through an Internet chatroom and cell phone
OraSure says to study problems with HIV test: Reuters NewMedia - December 20, 2005; CHICAGO - OraSure Technologies Inc. said on Tuesday it is working with government agencies and has started a scientific review of its rapid oral HIV test because of concerns about its reliability, lifting OraSure s shares. OraSure, whose share rose 7 percent, said it has begun working with affected customers, health of
Libya court to rule on Bulgaria nurses Jan 31-lawyer: Reuters NewMedia - December 19, 2005; TRIPOLI, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Libya s Supreme Court has brought forward to Dec. 25 its hearing on the appeal of five Bulgarian nurses sentenced to death for infecting Libyan children with HIV and will issue its ruling on Jan. 31, their defence lawyer said on Monday. The appeal hearing for the five nurses and a Palestinia
Glaxo HIV Protease Drug to Enter Final Trials: Reuters NewMedia - December 19, 2005; LONDON (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline Plc expects to start final-stage Phase III trials on a new HIV/AIDS drug next year, following encouraging results presented at a U.S. medical conference on Friday. The world s biggest supplier of AIDS medicines said brecanavir, formerly known as GW640385, had shown potent antiviral ac
Clinic halts use of OraSure HIV test, stock falls: Reuters NewMedia - December 16, 2005; CHICAGO - A California clinic halted use of OraSure Technologies Inc. s oral HIV test because of growing concerns about its reliability, sending the company s shares down more than 22 percent on Friday. The Gay and Lesbian Center in Los Angeles, in a statement on its Web site, said that 13 people who took the OraQuick
Merck Cites New Cholesterol Drugs, Boosts Cost Cuts: Reuters NewMedia - December 15, 2005; NEW YORK/WHITEHOUSE STATION, New Jersey - Merck & Co. , facing falling sales and thousands of Vioxx lawsuits, on Thursday unveiled two new cholesterol drugs and an austerity program that will increase cost savings by another $1 billion through 2010, sending shares higher. The company provided the details at its ann
Serono pleads guilty to settle AIDS drug investigation: Reuters NewMedia - December 15, 2005; LOS ANGELES - Serono SA said on Thursday that it has entered a guilty plea and formally concluded the previously announced settlement of a U.S. investigation into the marketing of its AIDS drug Serostim. Under the settlement, first announced in October, the Swiss company agreed to pay $704 million to resolve charges th
Remote African island receives first AIDS tests: Reuters NewMedia - December 15, 2005; Zoe Eisenstein; SANTO ANTONIO, Sao Tome and Principe - The 5,000 inhabitants of the remote West African island of Principe were given their first opportunity to take HIV tests on Thursday. A team from the international medical group Medicos do Mundo offered tests for the virus which causes AIDS at a hospital on the tiny isle, which li
Hu handshakes mean mockery for China AIDS victims: Reuters NewMedia - December 14, 2005; BEIJING - Images of China s top leader shaking hands with two AIDS patients, meant to dispel widespread discrimination, have brought mockery instead for their now-shunned families, a state newspaper said on Wednesday. Chinese President Hu Jintao made an unprecedented visit to AIDS patients in a Beijing hospital in Nove
WHO adds more Aurobindo, Aspen drugs to AIDS list: Reuters NewMedia - December 14, 2005; ZURICH - The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Wednesday added seven more antiretroviral drugs made by India s Aurobindo and South Africa s Aspen Pharmacare to its list of approved anti-AIDS drugs. The additions follow an agreement signed earlier this year between the two organisations to facilitate the exchange of qu
Millions of Children "Invisible": UNICEF: Reuters NewMedia - December 14, 2005; LONDON - Millions of the world s neediest children are not even a blip on the radar of their own governments because there is no record of their birth, the United Nation s Children s Fund UNICEF said on Wednesday. In its annual State of the World s Children report Excluded and Invisible, UNICEF said one-third of the es
Anger, Misery Greet World Trade Leaders in Hong Kong: Reuters NewMedia - December 14, 2005; HONG KONG - The World Trade Organizationmeeting in Hong Kong may hold promises of more free trade and better livelihoods for millions, but for some the outcome is a matter of life and death. Cambodian sex worker Chuon Neth, 28, was diagnosed with HIV two years ago but has been unable to get access to life-prolonging an
Indian Muslims say no to condom machines: Reuters NewMedia - December 12, 2005; R. Bhagwan Singh; Plans to install 500 condom vending machines in the capital of one of India s worst HIV/AIDS-affected states have angered Muslim groups so much they have taken to the streets to protest a condom culture. Critics of the plan by the Tamil Nadu government and India s National Aids Control Organization to put 500 machines
Former Kolkata prostitute vows to fight HIV/AIDS: Reuters NewMedia - December 9, 2005; Krittivas Mukherjee; KOLKATA (Reuters) - A former prostitute has taken over as head of a global HIV/AIDS project in eastern India , promising to completely wipe out new infections in one of Asia s biggest red light districts. Bharati Dey, 40, took over as director of the World Health Organisation-funded HIV/AIDS project for some 6,000 pros
Singapore jails five HIV blood donors for lying: Reuters NewMedia - December 8, 2005; SINGAPORE, Dec 8 (Reuters) - A Singapore court sentenced five HIV-positive blood donors to prison for lying about their sexual history, a court official said on Thursday. The men, aged between 21 and 37, admitted to making false declarations when they donated blood in 2004, an offence under Singapore law, the court off
U.N. Envoy Says Zimbabwe's Crisis Is Deepening: Reuters NewMedia - December 7, 2005; HARARE - U.N. humanitarian envoy Jan Egeland left Zimbabwe on Wednesday after a four-day tour and said its humanitarian crisis was deepening, with millions in need of aid. The humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe is very serious. The need for international aid is big and growing, Egeland, the U.N. humanitarian affairs a
MSF appeals for free AIDS treatment in Africa: Reuters NewMedia - December 6, 2005; ABUJA - Life-saving AIDS drugs do not work as well for patients who have previously taken them but not in the right doses, as often happens when patients cannot afford the full treatment, Medecins Sans Frontieres said on Tuesday. The relief organisation said its research at an HIV/AIDS clinic it runs in Lagos showed th
China bans blood sales in bid to halt HIV spread: Reuters NewMedia - Tuesday, December 6, 2005; BEIJING (Reuters) - China will make collection centres responsible for the safety of blood and ban sales of donated blood to contain the spread of HIV and other diseases amid a series of reported HIV infections from sold plasma. The new Health Ministry rules vow to severely punish those responsible in the blood stands
Singapore Informs Spouses of HIV-Positive Partners: Reuters NewMedia - December 6, 2005; SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore s Health Ministry has started informing spouses of HIV-positive patients directly about their partners disease in order to curb the spread of AIDS, the ministry said. Letters had been hand-delivered to 41 women since July informing them that their husbands were HIV-positive, the ministry
Africans meet in Nigeria to share news on HIV/AIDS: Reuters NewMedia - December 4, 2005; ABUJA - African scientists and others involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS in the worst-hit continent opened a conference on Sunday in the Nigerian capital to pool the latest information and ideas. Organizers said that, while previous big international HIV/AIDS conferences aimed at raising awareness of the epidemic,
Chinese blood donor with HIV infects 23 people: Reuters NewMedia - December 3, 2005; SHANGHAI - A blood donor with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, infected at least 23 people in northeast China s Jilin province before being diagnosed with the disease, state media reported on Saturday. The infected donor, identified only by the surname Song and living in the city of Dehui, was confirmed to have HIV on
Giant condom overlooks city on AIDS Day: Reuters NewMedia - December 2, 2005; BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - Sightseers in Buenos Aires got a shock on Thursday when the city s most famous landmark, the obelisk, was covered with a giant pink condom on World AIDS Day. City officials used cranes to unfurl shiny pink cloth over the monolith in a campaign promoting condom use to prevent infection with the
Vatican defends banning singer who supports condoms: Reuters NewMedia - December 2, 2005; Philip Pullella; VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Vatican on Friday defended its decision to exclude Brazilian singer Daniela Mercury from its Christmas concert, saying she had threatened to promote the use of condoms to fight AIDS during the show. The Vatican decided to exclude Daniela Mercury from the cast not because of her convictions
'We must do far, far more' against AIDS: Reuters NewMedia - December 2, 2005; Ellen Wulfhorst; NEW YORK - Around the globe, leaders, activists and victims used World AIDS Day on Thursday to send the message that far stronger action is needed in the battle against the disease that kills millions of people every year. The United Nation s special envoy for AIDS in Africa proposed big business dedicate a portion of
Haiti says cuts HIV cases by half in 10 years: Reuters NewMedia - December 2, 2005; Joseph Guyler Delva; PORT-AU-PRINCE - Haiti has cut the prevalence of HIV infection by half in the past decade, largely through education programs, a leading health official in the western hemisphere s poorest nation said on Thursday. Haiti General Hospital Director Dr. Albert Camille Archange said 3.1 percent of the population carried the
UN urges "exceptional response" to AIDS crisis: Reuters NewMedia - December 1, 2005; Andrew Quinn; JOHANNESBURG - The United Nations used World AIDS Day on Thursday to call for an exceptional response to the global crisis as African patients criticized politicians for failing to tackle a disease that kills millions each year. The United Nations said that while adult infection rates had dropped in some countries due
Bush claims progress against AIDS in Africa: Reuters NewMedia - December 1, 2005; WASHINGTON - President George W. Bush claimed progress on Thursday in the battle against AIDS in Africa, saying U.S. efforts were helping 400,000 people in sub-Saharan Africa get treatment. Bush said the U.S.-backed Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief was helping provide medical treatment in Uganda ,
MTV makes AIDS film and offers it for free: Reuters NewMedia - December 1, 2005; LONDON - The MTV music channel, whose inception in 1981 coincided with the first reported case of AIDS, has made a film and released it to broadcasters for free on Thursday to educate young people about the epidemic. The feature-length Transit tells the story of eight young people whose lives are intertwined, and throu
Condoms and rallies promote World AIDS Day: Reuters NewMedia - December 1, 2005; Rahul Sharma; SINGAPORE - Asia marked World AIDS Day on Thursday with free condoms, mobile phone games and flag-festooned rallies aimed at promoting awareness of a disease that kills millions in rich and poor countries each year. The United Nations launched the annual event on Thursday by calling for an exceptional response to the t
Rage, remorse, but some hope in Africa on AIDS Day: Reuters NewMedia - December 1, 2005; Andrew Quinn; JOHANNESBURG - Rage and remorse marked World AIDS Day in Africa on Thursday as the continent worst hit by the global crisis remembered millions of deaths in a pandemic that even new drug treatments are doing little to slow. In Nigeria , Africa s most populous country, President Olusegun Obasanjo went for a morning jog
Rockeby Launches 20-Minute HIV Test in Singapore: Reuters NewMedia - December 1, 2005; SINGAPORE - Singapore Biotech company Rockeby released a test kit that can detect HIV in saliva on Thursday, making Singapore the first country outside the United States and Mexico to have the commercial kit. While HIV blood tests can take hours, the test kit that Rockeby will distribute can detect the
South African plays online cupid for HIV patients: Reuters NewMedia - December 1, 2005; Rebecca Harrison; CAPE TOWN - Curvy, HIV-positive female, 33, seeks muscular male with good sense of humour for friendship and maybe more. www.thepositiveconnection.co.za is an online dating service like any other, with one exception: all its members are infected with HIV. Started by a South African and one of the first of its kind worl
Brazil bucks AIDS trend, but blacks are hard-hit: Reuters NewMedia - November 30, 2005; Andrew Hay; BRASILIA, Brazil - Bucking a global rise in HIV infection, Brazil reported a slight fall on Wednesday in the spread of the virus last year but blamed racism for a marked increase in the proportion of AIDS cases among blacks. The federal government s AIDS program, which distributes condoms and anti-retroviral drugs, hel
Cameroon truckers to get free condoms for 5 years: Reuters NewMedia - November 30, 2005; Tansa Musa; YAOUNDE - Some 28,000 long-distance truck drivers in Cameroon will receive free condoms during the next five years in a bid to curb high AIDS rates in the West African country, a minister said on Wednesday. Public Health Minister Urbain Olanguena Awono said the Canadian-funded project aimed to reduce drastically the HI
Russia's Miss Positive wants HIV honesty not shame: Reuters NewMedia - November 30, 2005; Meg Clothier; MOSCOW - When Svetlana Izambayeva started to speak candidly about being HIV positive, people froze and backed away if she went to shake hands. Some were scared to drink from the same glass as her, others worried what would happen if she scratched them. Everyone wanted to know why she wasn t keeping something so dreadfu
Indian minister says concerned about AIDS awareness: Reuters NewMedia - November 30, 2005; Kamil Zaheer; NEW DELHI - India s health minister expressed concern on Wednesday about AIDS awareness, monitoring and treatment, saying the latest official count in India could have fallen short of the real number of infections. Officially, there are 5.1 million people with HIV/AIDS in India -- second only to South Af
HIV takes toll on profits at S.African mines-report: Reuters NewMedia - November 30, 2005; Lucia Mutikani; JOHANNESBURG - More than half of South Africa s labour-intensive mining sector is suffering a drop in profitability due to the impact of HIV-AIDS on its workforce, a business group warned on Wednesday on the eve of World AIDS Day. The South African Business Coalition on HIV and AIDS (Sabcoha) said a survey conducted on
Cuba fights AIDS with free drugs: Reuters NewMedia - November 30, 2005; Anthony Boadle; HAVANA - When Cuba discovered its first AIDS case in 1986 among soldiers returning from Angola and Mozambique , alarm bells went off in the island s Communist leadership. The virus was largely unknown and 300,000 Cuban soldiers who fought in Africa over a decade could have been exposed.
"AIDS tax" mooted for S.Africa as epidemic bites: Reuters NewMedia - November 30, 2005; Andrew Quinn; JOHANNESBURG - South Africa should consider imposing an AIDS tax as new data shows the epidemic hitting a grim plateau in the world s worst affected country, researchers said on Wednesday. South Africa s second national HIV/AIDS study confirmed that roughly 11 percent of South Africa s 45 million people are infected wi
Pope avoids condom issue in AIDS message: Reuters NewMedia - November 30, 2005; Philip Pullella; VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict said on Wednesday he felt close to victims of AIDS and encouraged efforts to find a cure for the killer disease but avoided the thorny issue of the Roman Catholic Church s ban on condoms. I feel close to those sick with AIDS and their families and I invoke for them the help and comfort of t
China demands stepped-up AIDS prevention drive: Reuters NewMedia - November 30, 2005; Benjamin Kang Lim; BEIJING - The spread of AIDS could damage China s economic development and affect the nation s rise or decline, the health minister said on Wednesday, stressing the need to take strong preventive measures. On the eve of World AIDS Day, Minister Gao Qiang said China aimed to keep the total of people infected by the HIV
AIDS expert reports progress toward HIV vaccine: Reuters NewMedia - November 30, 2005; Allyn Fisher-Ilan; JERUSALEM - A scientist who helped to discover the HIV virus said he has made progress toward producing an AIDS vaccine and hopes to launch a clinical trial in about a year. Dr. Robert Gallo, the director of the University of Maryland s Institute for Human Virology, said results from animal studies were encouraging.
Zimbabwe govt seeks to increase HIV/AIDS treatment: Reuters NewMedia - November 30, 2005; HARARE - Zimbabwe is hopeful that international donors will provide cash to increase the number of HIV/AIDS patients on life prolonging anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs, Health Minister David Parirenyatwa said on Wednesday. Health officials, speaking on the eve of World AIDS Day, said an estimated 21,000 people were on ARVs
Activists, doctors sue S.Africa govt on AIDS: Reuters NewMedia - November 29, 2005; CAPE TOWN - South African activists and doctors have sued the government for not taking action against a prominent AIDS dissident doctor who promotes untested vitamins to fight the epidemic, officials said on Tuesday. The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) and the South African Medical Association (SAMA) said Health Minis
Unspent Tsunami Donations May Go to Africa: Clinton: Reuters NewMedia - November 29, 2005; KINNIYA, Sri Lanka - Unspent donations given to help victims of the Asian tsunami could be redirected to crises in Africa after rebuilding is complete, former U.S. President Bill Clinton, now a U.N. enoy, said on Tuesday. But visiting communities living amid the ruins of Sri Lanka s east coast ahead of tsunami s one ye
WHO says AIDS may infect 10 million in China by 2010: Reuters NewMedia - Tuesday, November 29, 2005; Manny Mogato; MANILA (Reuters) - Some 10 million people in China may be infected with the AIDS virus by 2010, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday, as it called for stronger political will by Asian governments to stop the spread of the disease. About 5 million people worldwide were infected last year, bringing to 45 m
Activists say bureaucracy blocks AIDS drug goal: Reuters NewsMedia - November 28, 2005; Andrew Quinn; JOHANNESBURG, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Bureaucracy, poor management and inadequate funding have scuppered a global drive to put 3 million poor people on life-saving AIDS drugs by the end of 2005, activists said on Monday. At least 4 million people still desperately need anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs, the International Treatmen
WHO apologizes for missing AIDS treatment target: Reuters NewMedia - November 28, 2005; LONDON (Reuters) - The World Health Organization apologized on Monday for missing its target to get 3 million people in poor countries on life-saving AIDS drugs by the end of 2005. Dr. Jim Yong Kim, the director of the WHO s HIV/AIDS department, admitted that the WHO had not moved quickly enough to meet its ambitious
AIDS pandemic could escalate in Africa: UN: Reuters NewMedia - November 28, 2005; Arthur Asiimwe; KIGALI - The HIV/AIDS scourge on the African continent could worsen in 2006 if developed nations do not deliver on their financial pledges, the U.N. s top AIDS official in Africa said on Monday. Stephen Lewis, U.N. special envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, said treatment, prevention and care programs on the continent will
South African clinic hailed in AIDS battle: Reuters NewMedia - November 28, 2005; Gershwin Wanneburg; LUSIKISIKI, South Africa - A young woman leans on a cane, breathing heavily as she struggles to walk across the tiny, packed waiting room at a clinic in one of South Africa s poorest provinces. Another man -- frail, his hearing destroyed by tuberculosis and AIDS -- is carried in on a wheelbarrow lined with a blanket by
China official HIV count rises 50 pct in past year: Reuters NewMedia - November 28, 2005; BEIJING - The number of confirmed HIV cases in China rose by more than half in the past year but poor monitoring and official obstruction still obscure the real scale of the AIDS epidemic, China s top AIDS official said on Monday. The number of Chinese medically diagnosed with the HIV virus, which leads to AIDS, had gr
Glaxo hopes to adapt measles shot for HIV: Reuters NewMedia - November 28, 2005; Ben Hirschler, European Pharmaceuticals Correspondent; LONDON - GlaxoSmithKline plans to develop an experimental AIDS vaccine by piggy-backing on a shot against measles. Europe s biggest drug maker and France s Institut Pasteur intend to make the vaccine by fusing genes from the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) onto an existing vaccine for the childhood disease, the two
HIV children benefit from zinc: study: Reuters NewMedia - November 25, 2005; LONDON - Zinc supplements could be a simple and safe way to reduce illnesses such as diarrhoea in children infected with HIV, researchers said on Friday. Zinc is an essential mineral for development and a healthy immune system but there has been concern about the safety of supplements for HIV patients because the virus
Galapagos, Idenix in Hepatitis, HIV Deal: Reuters NewMedia - November 25, 2005; BRUSSELS - Belgian-Dutch biotechnology firm Galapagos said on Thursday it was collaborating with U.S.-based Idenix Pharmaceuticals on drug development programs to fight hepatitis and HIV. The entire discovery contract collaboration is worth up to $2.5 million over two years, Galapagos said in a statement.
FDA Asks for More Data on Needle-Free AIDS Drug: Reuters NewMedia - November 24, 2005; LOS ANGELES - Roche Holding AG and Trimeris said on Wednesday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has asked for additional trial data before allowing them to market a needle-free injection device for use with their AIDS drug Fuzeon. The companies said the FDA issued an approvable letter, requesting additional i
S.Africa labor movement adds muscle to AIDS fight: Reuters NewMedia - November 23, 2005; JOHANNESBURG - South Africa s powerful labor movement vowed to add its muscle to the fight against AIDS on Wednesday, heaping pressure on the government amid an epidemic killing some 900 South Africans each day. The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), which claims a million members and has organized huge p
Personal computers enlisted in AIDS research: Reuters NewMedia - November 23, 2005; LOS ANGELES - A new project in the fight against AIDS will tap into the unused power of individual and business computers to help research and identify drugs used to combat the HIV virus. An Internet-based initiative, called FightAIDSatHome, aims to enlist about 100,000 computer users to donate the use of their machine
Record new HIV cases in '05: UN: Reuters NewMedia - November 21, 2005; Kamil Zaheer; NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Almost 5 million people were infected by HIV globally in 2005, the highest jump since the first reported case in 1981 and taking the number living with the virus to a record 40.3 million, the United Nations said on Monday. The 4.9 million new infections were fueled by the epidemic s continuing ram
India's HIV cases far higher than official numbers: Reuters NewMedia - November 20, 2005; Kamil Zaheer; GUWAHATI, India (Reuters) - The number of new HIV cases in India, home to the second highest infections in the world, is far more than what official data shows and epidemics in some pockets were alarming, the U.N. AIDS chief said. India, which has 5.1 million people living with HIV/AIDS -- second only to
India seeks novel ways to tackle AIDS: Reuters NewMedia - November 18, 2005; Kamil Zaheer; BIJAN, India - Lounging in a food shack next to a dusty highway, truck driver Manoj grins as he talks about having sex with prostitutes. It depends on my mood whether I put on a condom or not, says Manoj, as a monkey scampers around the tin-roofed building, some 60 km (35 miles) from New Delhi. Sometimes I am not
Gilead Says Truvada Better Than Combivir for HIV: Reuters NewMedia - November 18, 2005; LOS ANGELES - Gilead Sciences Inc. said on Thursday that early trial results show Truvada , its once-daily HIV pill, is better at suppressing the virus that causes AIDS than a twice-daily regimen of Combivir , a drug sold by
Malaria may boost mother-child HIV infection -study: Reuters NewMedia - November 18, 2005; Tansa Musa; YAOUNDE - Women who are HIV positive may be more likely to pass the virus to their children during pregnancy if they are also infected with malaria, scientists in Cameroon said on Friday. Tests carried out in Yaounde showed that malaria, which kills a child in Africa every 30 seconds, boosts production of a substance t
Transgene Wins AIDS Vaccine Development Contract: Reuters NewMedia - November 17, 2005; PARIS - Transgene has won a contract to develop and make an AIDS vaccine candidate to be used in clinical trials, contributing to its revenues in the next two years, the French biotechnology company said on Thursday. Transgene won the 18-month contract, of which financial details would remain confidential, from the New
British HIV patients show increasing drug resistance: Reuters NewMedia - November 17, 2005; LONDON - People infected with the HIV virus in Britain have one of the highest levels of drug resistance in the world, and the rate is increasing, researchers said on Friday. The trend suggests a wave of infections from a drug resistant strain of the virus may be on the way, they said in a study published in the Britis
HIV diagnoses fall among blacks: CDC: Reuters NewMedia - November 17, 2005; Paul Simao; ATLANTA - The rate of HIV diagnoses in the United States was stable between 2001 and 2004 but fell 5 percent per year among blacks, one of the groups hardest hit by the AIDS epidemic, federal health officials said on Thursday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which released the data, said the drop in new
China denies plans to build AIDS-only prisons: Reuters NewMedia - November 17, 2005; BEIJING (Reuters) - China on Thursday denied planning to build special prisons for HIV/AIDS-infected convicts to try to halt the disease s spread. The official China Daily said on Monday the booming southern province of Guangdong was to build at least two prisons exclusively for HIV/AIDS prisoners. China has no plans
Prostitutes, Vendors Scrounge on Zimbabwe Roads: Reuters NewMedia - November 17, 2005; CHIVHU, Zimbabwe - The highway girls wave at truckers while teenage boys in tattered clothes hold up fuel cans to passing motorists. Zimbabwe s major roads these days are littered with people trying to eke out a living any way they can. Rising poverty in the southern African state has forced thousands of young people i
Nigerian AIDS funds at risk over poor accounting: Reuters NewMedia - Wednesday, November 16, 2005; Estelle Shirbon; ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria risks losing millions of dollars in funding to help fight HIV/AIDS, which has infected more than 3.5 million Nigerians, because of authorities failure to meet targets and lack of transparency, a major donor said. A panel at the Global Fund to fight AIDS said in a letter obtained by Reuters on
Can Technology Ease Africa's Woes?: Reuters NewMedia - November 15, 2005; DIPICHI, South Africa (Reuters) - It is hard to believe that 19 shiny flat screen computers can cure the ills of this tiny community in South Africa s arid north where people battle every day against poverty, AIDS, illiteracy and hunger. Yet U.S. computer giant Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ.N) and South African President Th
S.Africa to host phase 2 AIDS vaccine trials: Reuters NewMedia - November 14, 2005; CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - South Africa s first Phase II HIV vaccine trials intended to help battle an AIDS epidemic were launched by charitable group the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) and U.S.-based Targeted Genetics Corporation. The trials will test the safety of tgAAC09, a vaccine candidate that is based o
Briton Claims to Have Beaten HIV Virus: Reuters NewMedia - November 14, 2005; LONDON (Reuters) - A British man claimed on Sunday to be the first person to become clear of the HIV virus, which can lead to AIDS, after earlier testing positive for it. If true, the case of 25-year-old Andrew Stimpson -- reported in two British newspapers -- could reveal more about the virus and possibly even provide
US FDA, Biogen say skin drug not for HIV patients: Reuters NewMedia - November 10, 2005; WASHINGTON, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Biogen Idec Inc. s (BIIB.O: Quote, Profile, Research) skin drug Amevive should not be used in patients who have HIV because it may speed up progression of the virus or cause more complications, the biotechnology company and U.S. health regulators said on Thursday. Amevive, which is approv
Bulgarian Nurses Face Last Appeal in Libya: Reuters NewMedia - November 10, 2005; SOFIA - Zorka Anachkova still recoils with horror when she recalls the indictment. Issued by a Libyan court in 2000, it charged her daughter Kristiana and four other Bulgarian nurses with intentionally infecting 426 children with the HIV virus. It said they were murderers, said Anachkova, a retired cook. I cried all ni
Fund lifts suspension of Uganda AIDS cash: Reuters NewMedia - November 10, 2005; NAIROBI - A global agency that suspended millions of dollars in AIDS assistance to Uganda said on Thursday it would resume funding after agreeing with Kampala on ways to overhaul the management of the money. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria suspended five grants worth $367 million in August sayin
Gaddafi's son doesn't believe Bulgaria medics guilty: Reuters NewMedia - November 10, 2005; Mark Trevelyan; BERLIN (Reuters) - The influential son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi said on Thursday he did not personally believe in the guilt of five Bulgarian nurses sentenced to death for infecting hundreds of Libyan children with the HIV virus. Asked if he thought the five were guilty, Saif al-Islam told Reuters: Personally I
Sorcery, shame hinder PNG fight against AIDS: Reuters NewMedia - November 10, 2005; PORT MORESBY (Reuters) - Sorcery and fear of AIDS in the jungle villages of Papua New Guinea has seen infected people thrown into rivers to drown, dumped in graves to die or abandoned to starve to death, according to those fighting the disease. To have HIV-AIDS in P
Syphilis rises in US but gonorrhea at new low - study: Reuters NewMedia - November 9, 2005; ATLANTA (Reuters) - The number of U.S. syphilis cases rose for the fourth straight year in 2004, fueled by increases among men, while the gonorrhea disease rate reached a historic low, federal health researchers said on Tuesday. The annual report on sexually transmitted diseases (STD) by the U.S. Centers for Disease Co
Nigerian children risk AIDS surge, drugs needed-UN: Reuters NewMedia - November 8, 2005; ABUJA - Nigerian children are increasingly at risk of contracting HIV/AIDS, U.N. agencies warned on Tuesday as they called for anti-retroviral drugs to be given to more pregnant women to avoid a catastrophic rise in infections. With more than 3.5 million people living with HIV/AIDS, Nigeria ranks third in the world aft
Cellegy to stop HIV transmission study in Ghana: Reuters NewMedia - November 8, 2005; NEW YORK - Cellegy Pharmaceuticals Inc. on Tuesday said it will stop a late-stage study of its vaginal gel on preventing HIV infection in Ghana because of a lower-than-expected rate of transmission of the virus. Cellegy said the lower rate was possibly due in part to counseling on HIV prevention and the distribution of
US OKs generic AIDS drug for children's use abroad: Reuters NewMedia - November 4, 2005; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. health regulators approved a generic liquid version of GlaxoSmithKline s AIDS drug Epivir for use under the nation s program to help fight the disease in other countries, officials said on Friday. The Food and Drug Administration said the generic drug called lamivudine, made by India s Aurob
Home HIV test could spur early treatment: panel: Reuters NewMedia - November 4, 2005; Susan Heavey; GAITHERSBURG, Maryland - An HIV test that can be used at home and promises results in 20 minutes could help more people get treated sooner, but raises concerns about how well patients could cope with the test findings on their own, a U.S. advisory panel heard on Thursday. Testing kits that allow consumers to mail a blo
Libya denies legal deal over Bulgarian nurses: Reuters NewMedia - November 2, 2005; Salah Sarrar; TRIPOLI - Libya denied a report it would scrap capital punishment to pave the way for the release of five Bulgarian nurses sentenced to death for infecting children with HIV. There is no legislation or draft legislation to scrap the death penalty and there is no plan to do that any time soon, a senior government offic
Lawmakers agree to $20.9 bln in foreign aid: Reuters NewMedia - November 1, 2005; Vicki Allen; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate and House of Representatives negotiators on Tuesday agreed to a $20.9 billion foreign aid bill, with less than President George W. Bush wanted for reform-minded nations, and nearly $3 billion to fight AIDS. The bill, which still faces final votes in both chambers, is about $2 billion
Abbott receives new FDA approval for Kaletra: Reuters NewMedia - October 31, 2005; Abbott Laboratories Inc. said on Monday that U.S. regulators approved a new formulation of its HIV drug Kaletra that will allow patients to take fewer pills and will not need to be refrigerated. Kaletra is the biggest-selling of a class of HIV drugs known as
Companies to develop AIDS defense for women: Reuters NewMedia - October 31, 2005; Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two big American drug companies have signed agreements to develop a treatment called a microbicide -- a gel or a cream that a woman could use to protect herself from AIDS, advocates said on Monday. Merck & Co. , Inc. and Bristol-Myers Squibb have signed separate license agreements with th
Sex, Ultraviolence Shake Up S. African Theater: Reuters NewMedia - October 28, 2005; JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Rape, murder, pedophilia and rare male nudity on the conservative African stage -- no wonder South Africa s hottest playwright is credited with revolutionizing theater in his homeland. Mpumelelo Paul Grootboom is part of a growing cadre of young black South African artists smashing through Afri
S African firms expand HIV tests, treatment: Reuters NewMedia - October 28, 2005; JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - An initiative to expand testing and treatment of HIV-infected workers in mid-sized companies in South Africa was launched on Friday, to help fight a disease affecting one in nine people in the country. Big companies, which run successful in-house HIV/AIDS testing and treatment facilities and pa
Boerhinger gets EU nod for AIDS drug: Reuters NewMedia - October 26, 2005; FRANKFURT - Boehringer Ingelheim , Germany s top drugmaker by sales, has won European approval for its Aptivus anti-AIDS drug, the unlisted firm said on Wednesday. Aptivus, also called tipranavir, has been approved in combination with a low dose of Abbott Laboratories
GSK cancels Phase III testing of AIDS drug - Ono: Reuters NewMedia - October 25, 2005; TOKYO - Japan s Ono Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. said GlaxoSmithKline Plc had ended all Phase III studies of experimental AIDS drug aplaviroc, which was licensed from Ono, after a patient developed side-effects. GSK, the world s largest maker of HIV/AIDS drugs, terminated its Phase IIb tests of the product on treatment-na
Children are "invisible face" of AIDS: UNICEF: Reuters NewMedia - October 25, 2005; Evelyn Leopold; UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Every minute of every day a child dies of AIDS but only 5 percent of those infected have access to life-preserving drugs, UNICEF, the U.N. Children s Fund, said on Tuesday in launching a new campaign. Appealing for more funds for children with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, Ann Veneman, exe
Children ask society to help ease AIDS burden: Reuters NewMedia - October 24, 2005; Jeremy Lovell; LONDON (Reuters) - Every Tuesday on her way to school in Lesotho , Reitumetse Phooko passes a boy pushing his father to the AIDS clinic in a wheelbarrow because he is too ill to walk. The boy is just 7 years old and he has already lost his mother to the disease that has deprived 15 million children of one or both paren
High fertility hampers African anti-poverty drive: Reuters NewMedia - October 24, 2005; LONDON (Reuters) - Africa s growing population could pose more of a threat to reducing poverty on the continent than HIV/AIDS, researchers said on Tuesday. In some African countries such as Botswana , Lesotho , South Africa , Swaziland and
Staff crunch hurts Mozambique's AIDS battle: Reuters NewMedia - October 24, 2005; Mateus Chale; MAPUTO (Reuters) - Only a tiny fraction of children in Mozambique eligible for AIDS drugs have access to the medicines due to a severe shortage of staff who themselves are dying of the disease, the country s health minister said. AIDS is a major development challenge for Mozambique, hailed by international lenders as a
Stigma, ignorance risks spread of AIDS in Sudan: Reuters NewMedia - October 24, 2005; Opheera McDoom; KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Almost three-quarters of Sudanese youth are sexually active, but fewer than a tenth know how to use condoms, posing a serious threat that HIV and AIDS will spread in the country, a U.N. official said on Monday. Sudan has a relatively low incidence of HIV/AIDS -- 1.6 percent of adults are infected w
China warns HIV cases could exceed 10 mln by 2010: Reuters NewMedia - October 24, 2005; BEIJING, Oct 24 (Reuters) - China , once accused of being slow to acknowledge the threat of AIDS, could have as many as 10 million HIV carriers in five years if no effective preventive measures are taken, state media said on Monday, echoing a grim UN warning. China says it has 840,000 HIV-AIDS cases among its 1.3 billi
AIDS activists call for generic Tamiflu in Africa: Reuters NewMedia - October 21, 2005; ZURICH - Activists who put pressure on drugs companies to make AIDS treatments accessible in Africa called on Friday on the maker of antiviral Tamiflu to renounce its rights on the drug in the developing world. As concerns mount over how countries would deal with a potential flu pandemic stemming from bird flu virus H5
Young Botswana blood donors spread hope, not AIDS: Reuters NewMedia - October 21, 2005; Tizoh Mosenyi; GABORONE (Reuters) - Neo Modibedi says she owes her life to an emergency blood transfusion after childbirth. I nearly died. I felt dizzy, was disorientated and when I got to the hospital they told me my life was in danger and I had lost a lot of blood. I only felt better after I was given a blood transfusion, said Modi
Zambia starts clinical trials of herbal AIDS drugs: Reuters NewMedia - October 19, 2005; Shapi Shacinda; LUSAKA - Zambia has launched clinical trials of herbal medicines for AIDS, and early signs are hopeful they could help boost the body s defences, a government health official said on Wednesday. Dr Patrick Chikusu, principal investigator of clinical trials of traditional herbal remedies, said three herbal drugs had been
HIV drug sales lift Gilead quarterly profit 58 pct: Reuters NewMedia - October 18, 2005; Deena Beasley; LOS ANGELES - Gilead Sciences Inc. on Tuesday said its third-quarter profit rose 58 percent, driven by strong demand for its two-drug combination pill to treat HIV -- the virus that causes AIDS. The world s third-largest biotechnology company reported a net profit of $179.2 million, or 38 cents per share, compared with
Serono to Admit Guilt in AIDS Drug Case: The company will pay $704 million to settle charges it improperly marketed Serostim.: Reuters NewMedia - October 18, 2005; WASHINGTON - Swiss biotech company Serono has agreed to plead guilty and pay $704 million to resolve criminal and civil charges that it illegally promoted its AIDS drug, the Justice Department said Monday. Serono will plead guilty to two criminal charges and pay a $137-million fine, resolving an investigation into how
Uganda faces HIV treatment challenge-Pfizer chief: Reuters NewMedia - October 14,2005; Daniel Wallis; MBARARA, Uganda - Successful testing for HIV in Uganda has created a new problem -- there are more patients than the country can handle, the head of Pfizer , the world s biggest drug company, said on Friday. Uganda was once seen as the epicentre of the AIDS pandemic in Africa in the 1980s.
FEATURE - Elusive trail of AIDS funds to NGOs in Africa: Reuters NewMedia - October 14, 2005; James Macharia; JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Where have the billions of dollars poured into Africa to fight AIDS gone? A lot of this money is channelled through non-governmental organisations (NGOs) mainly to pay for life-prolonging drugs and education campaigns on a continent where many national healthcare systems are broke and in tatter
Discrimination hinders development aims: UN: Reuters NewMedia - October 12, 2005; Patricia Reaney; LONDON (Reuters) - Discrimination against women and young people is hampering international efforts to eliminate poverty, a U.N. report said on Wednesday. Each year more than 500,000 women die of pregnancy-related causes that are largely preventable while the poorest, least developed countries have the largest share of
Brazil and Abbott Reach Price Deal On AIDS Drug: Reuters NewMedia - October 12, 2005; SAO PAULO, Brazil -- Brazil reached a deal with Abbott Laboratories that almost halves the price it pays for an important AIDS drug, meaning it won t follow through on its threat to break the U.S. company s patent. Brazil s Health Ministry said Abbott agreed to lower the price of a widely used antiretroviral called
Vical Says HIV Vaccine Advances to Midstage Trial: Reuters NewMedia - October 11, 2005; CHICAGO (Reuters) - Biotechnology company Vical Inc. said on Tuesday the National Institutes of Health has started a midstage trial of an experimental vaccine for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, sending shares up 21 percent. The vaccine was developed by government scientists and made by Vical, using the company s DNA
Rights group-Africa governments fuel school drop-outs: Reuters NewMedia - October 10, 2005; JOHANNESBURG - Government neglect leads to millions of children affected by AIDS dropping out of school in in southern and East Africa, Human Rights Watch said on Monday. The New York-based group said in a report released in Johannesburg that research in Kenya , Uganda and
Crucell Leaps After Merck Deal on Hepatitis Vaccine: Reuters NewMedia - October 10, 2005; Karl Emerick Hanuska and Lucas van Grinsven; AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Shares in Crucell hit a high for the year on Monday after news that pharmaceuticals giant Merck & Co. will use the Dutch biotech firm s technology to develop a vaccine against hepatitis C. Traders and analysts said the announcement by Crucell -- whose PER.C6 gene technology aims at using human
Jailed Uzbek imam killed by authorities -family: Reuters NewMedia - October 7, 2005; Shamil Baigin; TOYTEPA, Uzbekistan - A jailed Muslim cleric has died in custody in Uzbekistan and his father said he believed a series of mysterious injections given to him by prison officials were to blame. Uzbek police and prison authorities could not be reached for comment on the allegations. Officials in the authoritarian Central
S.African university slams "AIDS vitamins" doctor: Reuters NewMedia - October 7, 2005; Gordon Bell; CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - A leading South African university has joined opposition to a German doctor s use of vitamins to fight HIV/AIDS, accusing him of endangering lives by promoting an untested alternative to life-prolonging drugs. Johannesburg s University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) has demanded Dr Matthias Rath stop
Singapore says will not allow gay parades: Reuters NewMedia - October 6, 2005; SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore will not allow gay parades to be held in the city-state because it clashes with the views of many conservative Singaporeans, the prime minister said on Thursday. Homosexuality is illegal in Singapore and the government has outlawed some gay events in the past, prompting activists to accu
UN puts AIDS in spotlight in conservative Saudi: Reuters NewMedia - October 5, 2005; Dominic Evans; RIYADH - The United Nations has launched an HIV/AIDS awareness campaign in strict Muslim Saudi Arabia , where homosexuality and adultery are criminal offences and discussions about sex are taboo, a U.N. official said on Wednesday. Mayssam Tamim, programme coordinator for the United Nations Development Programme, said l
Germany reports sharp rise in HIV infections: Reuters NewMedia - October 5, 2005; Louis Charbonneau; BERLIN - The number of confirmed HIV infections in Germany rose sharply in the first half of this year, which the government said was a worrying trend that indicated the deadly virus was not being taken seriously enough. The number of HIV infections jumped to 1,164 in the first half of 2005, a 20 percent rise over the
Ghana cocoa harvest customs cause AIDS worries: Reuters NewMedia - October 4, 2005; Orla Ryan; KUMASI, Ghana (Reuters) - When Ghana s cocoa farmers find themselves flush with cash from the new harvest, many celebrate by taking new wives or spending their wealth on prostitutes. It s a chance to show off rare riches or enjoy life for a while in one of the world s poorest countries. But some health officials an
UnumProvident to pay $8 mln fine to settle probe: Reuters NewMedia - October 3, 2005; NEW YORK - Disability insurer UnumProvident Corp. on Monday said it would pay a fine of $8 million to settle an investigation by the state of California into practice by three of its subsidiaries. As part of the settlement, which ends two years of negotiations, UnumProvident agreed to change certain practices and polic
Thailand rolls out national AIDS drug plan: Reuters NewMedia - October 1, 2005; Darren Schuettler; BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand rolled out a national plan on Saturday to give life-saving drugs to people living with HIV-AIDS, one of the few Asian nations to offer universal treatment in a region where the virus threatens to run rampant. Thailand, long a model for prevention against a virus that infects some 540,000 Th
Parties for HIV-positive men may pose health risks: Reuters NewMedia - September 29, 2005; LONDON (Reuters) - Parties for HIV positive gay men to meet others infected with the virus may help to prevent its spread but scientists said on Thursday the events may also raise the risk of exposure to superinfections. So-called POZ Parties began in New York in the 1990s as informal gatherings for HIV positive gay me
Australia's Citrofresh quashes HIV orange cure talk: Reuters NewMedia - September 28, 2005; MELBOURNE (Reuters) - A tiny Australian disinfectant maker that caused a stock frenzy with news of a cure-all ingredient found in oranges dashed investors hopes it had a vaccine against HIV, SARS, flu and the common cold. Shares in Citrofresh International Ltd. had more than tripled to A$0.70 on Tuesday after it releas
U.S. Won't OK Late-Stage Trials of Incyte HIV Drug: Reuters NewMedia - September 28, 2005; CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. regulators have said they will not approve Incyte Corp. s plans for late-stage trials of its experimental HIV drug, sending its shares down 45 percent. Instead, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has asked Incyte to conduct another mid-stage, or Phase II, trial to provide additional data sup
US experts weigh guidelines for impotence drug use: Reuters NewMedia - September 27, 2005; Susan Heavey; POTOMAC, Md., Sept 27 (Reuters) - Doctors, drugmakers and health officials should take steps to curb abuse of erectile dysfunction drugs while research continues on whether use of the medicines increase the rate of HIV infections, especially among gay men, experts said in draft guidelines on Tuesday. Research may sugge
Orange chemical hailed as a treatment for AIDS, flu: Reuters NewMedia - September 27, 2005; SYDNEY (Reuters) - An Australian pharmaceutical company said on Tuesday a naturally occurring chemical extracted from oranges can be used to treat HIV/AIDS, influenza, SARS and the common cold. Citrofresh International Ltd. said Europe s Retroscreen Virology Laboratory had found its Citrofresh bioflavanoid compound to
King chooses 13th bride in AIDS-stricken Swaziland: Reuters NewMedia - September 26, 2005; MBABANE (Reuters) - The king of Swaziland has picked a teenage student to be his 13th bride less than a month after more than 50,000 bare-breasted virgins vied to catch his eye at the annual Reed Dance ceremony. King Mswati III, who is 37, presented 17-year-old Phindile Nkambule as his new wife-to-be at a traditional c
South Africa labour boss slams Mbeki on AIDS: Reuters NewMedia - September 26, 2005; Ed Stoddard; JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa s top trade unionist has attacked President Thabo Mbeki in the latest sign of discord between the ruling party and its labour allies, accusing him of failing to stem a raging AIDS pandemic. This lack of government leadership on HIV is a betrayal of our people and our struggle, Zwe
India to start HIV testing military recruits: Reuters NewMedia - September 24, 2005; SHILLONG, India (Reuters) - India s president said all new recruits to the country s armed forces would be tested for the HIV virus after the deaths of some 200 soldiers due to AIDS in the past two years. India has an estimated 5.134 million people infected with the HIV virus in 2004, second to
India's Matrix, S Africa's Aspen plan JVs for AIDS: Reuters NewMedia - September 23, 2005; MUMBAI - India s Matrix Laboratories Ltd. and South Africa s Aspen Pharmacare said on Friday they had finalised terms for two joint ventures to cater to the large demand for AIDS medicines. Hyderabad-based Matrix said it would transfer one of its U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved facility that makes active pha
Asian nations face deadly TB-HIV threat-WHO: Reuters NewMedia - September 23, 2005; Michael Perry; Drug resistance combined with a deadly double infection of tuberculosis and HIV is posing a serious threat in Cambodia , Vietnam , China and the Philippines , said the World Health Organization .
Serono Nears U.S. Legal Settlement Over AIDS Drug: Reuters NewMedia - September 22, 2005; ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss biotech company Serono is close to settling charges of fraud with U.S. legal authorities over the sale of its AIDs drug Serostim, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. The newspaper, citing people familiar with the agreement, said the Geneva-based company would pay fines of $700 million
Personalized medicines over-hyped, report says: Reuters NewMedia - September 21, 2005; Patricia Reaney; LONDON (Reuters) - Personalized medicines targeted according to a patient s genetic profile have been over-hyped and their widespread use is still 15 to 20 years away, leading scientists said on Wednesday. The field, known as pharmacogenetics, has made strides in the battle against certain cancers and shows great promi
Lesotho will miss AIDS drug treatment target -- UN: Reuters NewMedia - September 21, 2005; MASERU (Reuters) - Lesotho will likely fail to meet its target of providing 28,000 HIV patients with life-prolonging drugs by the end of the year as part of a global attempt to boost AIDS treatment, the United Nations said on Wednesday. Lesotho s target was part of a global programme to provide three million people wit
Swedish Tripep surges on HIV drug trial approval: Reuters NewMedia - September 21, 2005; STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Shares in small Swedish biotech group Tripep surged 25 percent on Wednesday after it said it had won permission to start testing a planned new drug against HIV. The company said in a statement that it would start placebo-controlled phase I/II studies of its alfaHGA compound in HIV-positive patient
Glaxo stumbles in race for new kind of AIDS drug: Reuters NewMedia - September 19, 2005; Ben Hirschler; GlaxoSmithKline Plc has suffered a setback in the race to develop a new kind of AIDS pill, following two cases of serious liver problems in patients taking its experimental drug aplaviroc. As a result, the world s largest maker of HIV/AIDS drugs has terminated Phase IIb tests of the product on so-called treatment-na
$200 million pledged to Clinton's initiative: Reuters NewMedia - September 16, 2005; Larry Fine; NEW YORK - Former U.S. President Bill Clinton received pledges of more than $200 million for economic development in Africa and to fight HIV/AIDS on Thursday at a private summit on some of the world s most pressing woes. Bringing together world leaders, business figures, academics and political activists, the Clinton G
World risks duplication in AIDS vaccine push -expert: Reuters NewMedia - September 13, 2005; MUMBAI - Attempts to develop an AIDS vaccine need greater coordination to avoid duplication and increase the chances of success, a senior official of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) said on Tuesday. There is that danger we see right now in AIDS vaccines, a lot of so-called me-too or similar vaccines be
Main divisive issues before world U.N. summit: Reuters NewMedia - September 13, 2005; Evelyn Leopold, United Nations; The largest gathering of world leaders in history begins on Wednesday with last-ditch negotiations on the following key issues. The United Nations summit is to map out new approaches to poverty, global security and human rights in the 21st century. -- DEVELOPMENT - The draft document sets timetables to halve poverty fo
Half Angola's children are malnourished - UN: Reuters NewMedia - September 13, 2005; Peter Apps; HUAMBO, Angola - Three years after the end of one of Africa s longest wars, the United Nations says half of Angola s children are malnourished and in some areas the growth of over 50 percent is seriously stunted. In the hospital in Huambo, one of the areas most affected by two and a half decades of fighting, children l
AIDS creeps up on unsuspecting Philippines: Reuters NewMedia - September 12, 2005; Ambika Bhushan; MANILA (Reuters) - For Carlos, working in a Saudi Arabian hypermarket was his chance to escape a life of poverty in the Philippines . But while working there, one simple act ruined his life. Several years after having unprotected sex with a female co-worker, Carlos began to suffer chronic fever and a cough. He wait
Vical grants Merck vaccine options, stock up: Reuters NewMedia - September 12, 2005; CHICAGO (Reuters) - Biotechnology company Vical Inc. said on Monday it agreed to grant renewable options to Merck & Co. for rights to use Vical s gene delivery technology for more cancer vaccines, sending Vical s stock sharply higher. Vical said it received, in exchange, nonexclusive rights to use the technology fo
Zimbabwe eviction drive seen worsening AIDS crisis: Reuters NewMedia - September 11, 2005; JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Zimbabwe s urban evictions violated the rights of hundreds of thousands of people and disrupted AIDS treatment across the country, threatening a new stage in the epidemic, a rights group said on Sunday. Human Rights Watch called on U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan to investigate the campaign a
Asia firms must gird now for spread of AIDS -study: Reuters NewMedia - September 9, 2005; BEIJING - Companies in Asia need to prepare now while AIDS infection rates are low for the spread of the disease or risk growing disruption to their businesses, a survey released on Friday showed. Thirty-seven percent of 1,300 firms in 15 countries polled by the World Economic Forum said they expected AIDS to have some
Progenics says HIV drug 1st-stage trial positive: Reuters NewMedia - September 9, 2005; Ajaya Kumar in Bangalor; Progenics Pharmaceuticals Inc. on Friday announced positive findings from the Phase 1 trial of its investigational drug, PRO 140, which aims to block the entry of the AIDS-causing human immunodeficiency virus. Coating of CCR5 cells with PRO 140 has been shown in prior laboratory studies to block HIV infection, and the
South Africa says AIDS drugs on track despite critics: Reuters NewMedia - September 8, 2005; South Africa s anti-AIDS drugs program is on track but the government does not have the resources to adequately monitor and evaluate the campaign, a top official said on Thursday. South Africa is the country hardest hit by the AIDS pandemic with more than 5 million of its 45 million population believed to be infected w
US clears oral AIDS drug for use overseas: Reuters NewMedia - September 8, 2005; WASHINGTON - U.S. health officials on Thursday granted tentative approval for a generic liquid version of the AIDS drug AZT , allowing it to be used overseas under a U.S. program to fight the deadly virus. The generic oral version of GlaxoSmithKline Plc s drug zidovudine, made by India-based drugmaker
Cultivated land disappears in AIDS-ravaged Africa: Reuters NewMedia - September 8, 2005; Patricia Reaney; DUBLIN - HIV/AIDS has decimated Africa s farming communities so badly that the amount of cultivated land in some countries has declined by nearly 70 percent, researchers said on Thursday. About 80 percent of Africans derive their living from agriculture but the illness, which has infected more than 25 million people in
Donors pledge $3.7 bln to AIDS/TB/malaria fund: Reuters NewMedia - September 6, 2005; Madeline Chambers; LONDON - International donors pledged $3.7 billion on Tuesday to a fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, only half the amount the body says it needs to meet its goals for the next two years. The pledges, made just a week before a U.N. summit which will try to reduce world poverty, disappointed aid groups. W
S.Africa denies stretched military falling apart: Reuters NewMedia - September 5, 2005; Andrew Quinn; PRETORIA - South Africa s military is able to defend the country and carry out African peacekeeping, Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota said on Monday, denying news reports that said the military was falling apart. There is no possible threat to this country that we cannot respond to, Lekota told a news briefing, blasting
INTERVIEW-Thailand seeks protection for rice, silk in U.S. talks: Reuters NewMedia - September 5, 2005; Apornrath Phoonphongphiphat; BANGKOK - Thailand will ask the United States for tighter intellectual property (IP) protection for Thai products in the fifth round of bilateral free trade talks due to start in late September, a Thai negotiator said on Monday. The measures are meant to stop rice growers or silk makers outside Thailand from claiming t
South Sudan in HIV/AIDS epidemic - UNDP says: Reuters NewMedia - September 4, 2005; Amil KhanSun; Southern Sudan is in the midst of an HIV/AIDS epidemic and most of its people are without clean water, sanitation or education services, a United Nations body said in a report released on Sunday. The report published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) said health and education in north Sudan improved sl
Malawi mother hacks HIV+ son to death with axe: Reuters NewMedia - September 2, 2005; BLANTYRE - A Malawian woman hacked her 9-year-old son to death with an axe on Friday after discovering they both had HIV, police said. Mother and son both tested positive for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, at a hospital in the northern district of Karonga after suffering prolonged bouts of malaria, police spokesman E
PNG police beat, rape children, says rights report: Reuters NewMedia - September 1, 2005; Michael Perry; SYDNEY - Papua New Guinea police are engaging in brutal beatings, rape and torture of children and risk spreading HIV/AIDS in the South Pacific island nation, New York-based Human Rights Watch said in a report on Thursday. The 124-page report details an epidemic of police brutality against children who are arrested or
South Africa anti-rape condom aims to stop attacks: Reuters NewMedia - August 31, 2005; A South African inventor unveiled a new anti-rape female condom on Wednesday that hooks onto an attacker s penis and aims to cut one of the highest rates of sexual assault in the world. Nothing has ever been done to help a woman so that she does not get raped and I thought it was high time, Sonette Ehlers, 57, said of
Fund looks to lift suspension of Uganda AIDS cash: Reuters NewMedia - August 31, 2005; Frank Nyakairu; KAMPALA - A global agency that suspended millions of dollars in AIDS assistance for Uganda said on Wednesday it would resume funding in October if the government recovers money that may have been misappropriated. We have asked the ministry of finance to recover any funds that could have been misappropriated and we hope
Outside auditor to manage Uganda HIV/AIDS funds: Reuters NewMedia - August 30, 2005; Frank Nyakairu; KAMPALA - An international firm of auditors will temporarily take over management of AIDS funding in Uganda from a local firm accused of mismanaging aid money, a senior Ugandan official said on Tuesday. The decision was reached after a two-hour meeting between Health Minister Jim Muhwezi and three officials from the Gl
Volkswagen uses game to fight AIDS in South Africa: Reuters NewMedia - August 30, 2005; Lucia Mutikani; The game the school children are playing in this South African town looks like Trivial Pursuit. But the subject is anything but trivial. The boardgame was created by Volkswagen South Africa (VWSA) -- a subsidiary of German car maker Volkswagen -- to teach children about HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and pregnancy. With the ro
Uganda says no condom crisis but abstinence is best: Reuters - August 30, 2005; Frank Nyakairu; KAMPALA - Uganda on Tuesday dismissed U.N. claims that an emphasis on U.S.-promoted abstinence-only programs to fight HIV/AIDS had created a condom crisis . Stephen Lewis, the U.N. secretary-general s special envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, said on Monday that Christian ideology was driving Washington s AIDS assistance p
Gilead Cuts HIV Drug Prices in Developing World: Reuters - August 30, 2005; LOS ANGELES - Gilead Sciences Inc. on Monday announced price cuts for its HIV drugs, Viread and Truvada , made available through the company s access program in the developing world. Gilead said both once-a-day antiretroviral medications for H
South Africans beef up at gym to battle AIDS, crime: Reuters NewMedia - August 29, 2005; Rebecca Harrison and Gordon Bell; ALEXANDRA/KAYAMANDI, South Africa - With bulging biceps and abs like steel, South Africa s jobless youngsters are turning to bodybuilding to help them fight AIDS and resist a life of crime. Makeshift gyms are springing up across the country s poorest and toughest townships, aimed at helping members develop discipline o
Topless virgins vie for king in AIDS-hit Swaziland: Reuters NewMedia - August 29, 2005; Rebecca Harrison; LUDZIDZINI ROYAL VILLAGE, Swaziland - More than 50,000 bare-breasted virgins, many hoping to be the Swazi king s 13th bride, gathered on Monday for an ancient rite critics say ill befits a country with the world s highest HIV/AIDS rate. King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa s last absolute monarch, is due to attend the a
US abstinence drive hurts AIDS fight - UN official: Reuters NewMedia - August 29, 2005; Andrew Quinn; JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - The U.S. government s emphasis on abstinence-only programs to prevent AIDS is hobbling Africa s battle against the pandemic by downplaying the role of condoms, a senior U.N. official said on Monday. Stephen Lewis, the U.N. secretary general s special envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, said fundament
Eritrea asks USAID to cease operations: Reuters NewMedia - August 25, 2005; Ed Harris; ASMARA - Eritrea has asked the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to stop work in the Horn of Africa state where it donates millions of dollars annually, the U.S. ambassador said on Thursday. Yes, they have asked us to cease operations, U.S. Ambassador Scott DeLisi told about 100 Eritreans at an open mee
Museveni to probe Ugandan AIDS fund suspension: Reuters NewMedia - August 25, 2005; Daniel Wallis; KAMPALA (Reuters) - Uganda s President Yoweri Museveni vowed on Thursday personally to investigate why the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis suspended grants to the east African country worth millions of dollars. The fund said on Wednesday it was after serious financial mismanagement was uncovered in
Taiwan drops anti-AIDS ad featuring nun holding condom: Reuters NewMedia - August 24, 2005; TAIPEI - Taiwan has withdrawn an anti-AIDS campaign ad featuring a smiling nun holding a condom after it sparked an outcry from Roman Catholics, local media said on Wednesday. The poster, which shows the nun holding the condom with both hands and saying Although I don t need one, even I know , had been removed from al
US urges quick negotiations, changes on UN reform: Reuters NewMedia - August 24, 2005; Evelyn Leopold; UNITED NATIONS - U.S. Ambassador John Bolton urged U.N. member nations on Wednesday in a letter to accelerate negotiations on development, security and human rights proposals less than a month before 175 world leaders are to approve reform proposals at a summit. Bolton s letter, circulated to the other 190 ambassadors,
AIDS Fund to Uganda Halted Over 'Mismanagement': Reuters NewMedia - August 24, 2005; GENEVA - An international agency helping spearhead the war against AIDS said on Wednesday it had halted help to Uganda , often praised for its determined stance on the disease, because of evidence of financial mismanagement. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria said its auditors had serious concerns
Africans to declare tuberculosis emergency - WHO: Reuters NewMedia - August 23, 2005; Marta Odallah; MAPUTO - African health ministers will declare tuberculosis an emergency at a meeting this week and call for greater access to life-prolonging drugs to fight AIDS, Mozambican and WHO officials said on Tuesday. Ministers and WHO executives are holding four days of talks in Mozambique on how to halt the spread of Afr
R U OK? South Africans tackle AIDS with texts: Reuters NewMedia - August 22, 2005; Rebecca Harrison; GUGULETU, South Africa (Reuters) - When AIDS counselor Nobafunti Dondolo s mobile phone started beeping one Sunday afternoon, she knew someone was in trouble. It was a message from one of my clients who was very sick, said Dondolo. She was vomiting blood -- the family didn t know what to do. With a flick of her th
Panacos Shares Soar on HIV Drug Results: Reuters NewMedia - August 22, 2005; Martinne Geller; NEW YORK (Reuters) - Panacos Pharmaceuticals Inc. on Monday said its experimental drug to combat HIV reduced the level of the virus in the blood by as much as 90 percent in a small midstage study, sending the company s shares surging 56 percent. The biotechnology company said patients who took the drug, known as PA-457
Brain drain hurts Lesotho AIDS fight-U.N. official: Reuters NewMedia - August 19, 2005; Ntsau Lekhetho; MASERU - The brain drain drawing Africa s nurses to the West has hobbled the fight against HIV/AIDS in Lesotho , a tiny kingdom where up to 30 percent of adults already have the virus, a U.N. official said on Friday. Stephen Lewis, the U.N. special envoy for AIDS in Africa, said Lesotho s battle against AIDS highlighte
WHO Reinstates 7 Anti-AIDS Drugs by Ranbaxy to List: Reuters NewMedia - August 19, 2005; GENEVA - The World Health Organization on Friday reinstated seven anti-AIDS generic drugs made by India s Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd to its prequalification list for use in poor countries. In a statement, the United Nations agency said that three anti-AIDS drugs by Aurobindo Pharma, of India, were also being added.
Global AIDS fund quits Myanmar, cites restrictions: Reuters NewMedia - August 19, 2005; Darren Schuettler; BANGKOK - The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has pulled its funding for programmes in army-ruled Myanmar , blaming travel and other restrictions imposed by the junta, the Fund said on Friday. The Fund, which agreed in August 2004 to spend nearly $100 million over 5 years fighting all three diseases
R U OK? South Africans tackle AIDS with texts: Reuters NewMedia - August 18, 2005; Rebecca Harrison; GUGULETU, South Africa - When AIDS counsellor Nobafunti Dondolo s mobile phone started beeping one Sunday afternoon, she knew someone was in trouble. It was a message from one of my clients who was very sick, said Dondolo. She was vomiting blood -- the family didn t know what to do. With a flick of her thumb, Dond
Libya seeks Bulgarian "blood money" to save nurses: Reuters NewMedia - August 18, 2005; Salah Sarrar; TRIPOLI - Tripoli is urging Bulgaria to offer blood money to families of hundreds of Libyan children infected with HIV, to save five Bulgarian nurses sentenced to death for causing the infections, a senior diplomat said. But Bulgaria again refused a deal, saying the nurses were innocent and should be released. Moha
Nun or prostitute? Tibet's women face few choices: Reuters NewMedia - 17 August 2005; Lindsay Beck; SHIGATSE, China (Reuters) - It s evening in Shigatse and the lights are coming on. In the Chinese district of the Tibetan mountain town, strings of fairy lights flicker around rows of shopfronts where women perch waiting for customers and men stumble out from backroom corridors. There are a lot of prostitutes here
U.N. says Africa aid far short of the need: Reuters NewMedia - August 16, 2005; JOHANNESBURG, South Africa - The United States has given the U.N. World Food Program $52 million for Southern Africa, the United Nations said on Monday, but more is needed to help more than 10 million people facing possible shortages. Many families in the region have exhausted meager food stocks and have almost nothing
Botswana tackles hunger, urges region to do same: Reuters NewMedia - August 16, 2005; Alistair Thomson; GABORONE - Botswana has set aside 200 million Botswana pula to stave off food shortages due to drought, President Festus Mogae said on Tuesday, warning southern Africa must act fast to prevent malnutrition setting in. Mogae hosts the Southern African Development Community (SADC) annual summit this week, where food inse
Crocodile blood may yield powerful new drugs: Reuters NewMedia - August 16, 2005; Michael Perry; SYDNEY - Scientists in Australia s tropical north are collecting blood from crocodiles in the hope of developing a powerful antimicrobial drugs for humans, after tests showed that the reptile s immune system kills HIV. The crocodile s immune system is much more powerful than that of humans, preventing life-threatening
Nigeria says 50,000 AIDS patients now on ARV therapy: Reuters NewMedia - August 16, 2005; Tume Ahemba; LAGOS - The number of Nigerians living with HIV/AIDS who are receiving subsidised life-saving drugs has risen five-fold to about 50,000 in three years, a government anti-AIDS body said on Tuesday. A treatment programme launched by the government in 2002 was nearly crippled by funding problems last year, but it was revi
ANALYSIS-Economic success, human disaster in southern Africa: Reuters NewMedia - August 16, 2005; Peter Apps; MAPUTO - Mozambique stock and bond exchange chief Jussub Nurmamad has seen the value of his fledgling market increase 50 times since 1999 -- the result, he says, of southern Africa s stability and economic growth. For people to invest their money, you have to have stability, he says. Political stability is here. With
South Africa sees shortages of Nestle baby AIDS formula: Reuters NewMedia - August 15, 2005; JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Swiss food maker Nestle on Monday warned South Africa of possible shortages of a special infant formula which the government has selected to help fight mother-to-child transmission of the AIDS virus. Nestle is South Africa s sole provider of the Pelargon formula, which it says can help reduce
Ranbaxy says WHO puts 7 AIDS drugs back on list: Reuters NewMedia - August 12, 2005; BOMBAY - India s Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. said the World Health Organisation (WHO) had re-included seven of its anti-AIDS generic drugs in its pre-qualification list after the drugs were taken off last year due to discrepancies in tests. The WHO dropped three of Ranbaxy s generics last August, saying they had not been
Poor AIDS treatment fails S Africa rape victims -study: Reuters NewMedia - August 12, 2005; Gershwin Wanneburg; JOHANNESBURG - Poor health services and training are failing many rape victims in South Africa , meaning many do not complete treatment designed to prevent them contracting HIV, a new study says. South Africa has the world s highest HIV/AIDS caseload with one in nine people infected, adding the fear of infection to the
Mozambique raises HIV infection rate: Reuters NewMedia - August 10, 2005; Peter Apps and Mateus Chale; MAPUTO - Mozambique revised up its official HIV infection rate to 16.2 percent of the adult population from about 14 percent, the health minister said on Wednesday. Mozambique has been less affected by the killer disease than many of its southern African neighbours, in part because it was isolated by a 16-year civil wa
Concern as Namibia cuts HIV disability grants: Reuters NewMedia - August 10, 2005; Desiewaar Heita; WINDHOEK - AIDS campaigners in Namibia said on Wednesday a government decision to withdraw disability grants from people with HIV who were still capable of working could accelerate the onset of full-blown AIDS. Until now anybody with HIV has been able to claim a monthly disability grant of 300 Namibian dollars but from
Southern Africa fears famine, U.N. lacks funds: Reuters NewMedia - August 10, 2005; Peter Apps; SONGUENE, Mozambique - For villagers in drought-stricken southern Mozambique, this year s food shortages are the worst many can remember, but aid workers fear the world may not respond until it is too late. Across southern Africa, the United Nations says some 10 million people -- many of them already battling HIV and c
Gilead says combo HIV drug fails to work as hoped: Reuters NewMedia - August 9, 2005; Deena Beasley; LOS ANGELES - Gilead Sciences Inc. on Tuesday said the active ingredients of an experimental pill that combined its popular Truvada treatment for HIV with Bristol-Myers Squibb s drug Sustiva were not absorbed in the same way as the ingredients gi
After the Bell - AIG climbs after rise in profits: Reuters NewMedia - August 9, 2005; NEW YORK, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Shares of Dow component American International Group Inc. climbed 2.6 percent in after-hours trading on Tuesday after the insurer reported higher second-quarter net income. AIG was up $1.58 to $63 on the Inet electronic brokerage system. Shares of Cisco Systems Inc. fell nearly 4 percent to
Jefferies downgrades OraSure, SciClone: Reuters NewMedia - August 9, 2005; BANGALORE - Jefferies & Co on Tuesday downgraded healthcare companies OraSure Technologies Inc. and SciClone Pharmaceuticals Inc.to hold from buy. The brokerage firm, in a reserach note said, Inverness Medical Innovations Inc. acquisition of Abbott Laboratories Inc. s HIV business raises likelihood of lawsuit again
S African business slowly wakes up to AIDS challenge: Reuters NewMedia - August 9, 2005; James Macharia; JOHANNESBURG - When Martin Vosloo told his work colleagues that he was infected with the virus that causes AIDS, some spat in his face and threatened to kill him. That was about six years ago, soon after Vosloo, 48, joined South Africa s power utility Eskom. They spat in my face. I was called names and on two occasions
Britain closes Lesotho embassy: Reuters NewMedia - August 5, 2005; Ntsau Lekhetho; MASERU (Reuters) - Britain has closed its embassy in Lesotho but will still aid the southern African kingdom as it battles HIV, rising poverty, unemployment and food shortages, the High Commissioner said before leaving the country. The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office is closing nine embassies and 10 consulates as it
AIDS, Urbanisation Overcrowd S.African Graveyards: Reuters NewMedia - August 3, 2005; JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - AIDS and a growing urban population are forcing South African officials to find new cemeteries and encourage families to bury several members in the same grave, Johannesburg city authorities said Wednesday. Johannesburg s Alexandra township has no spare grave spaces while Soweto s Avalon cemete
Criminals make killing from fake drugs: Reuters NewMedia - August 1, 2005; Ben Hirschler; LONDON - First it was fake CDs, jeans and Rolex watches. Now organised criminals are turning to counterfeit medicines as the latest money-spinner, with potentially lethal results. Around the world, health authorities are battling a growing trade in fake medicines, which the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates is
Russian drugs abuse "catastrophic" -- police: Reuters NewMedia - July 29, 2005; MOSCOW - Drug abuse in Russia has reached catastrophic proportions, posing a threat to national security, a top anti-narcotics police officer was quoted as saying on Friday. Viktor Khvorostyan, head of the Moscow section of the Federal Narcotics Service, said some four percent of the population, or about six million pe
Study confirms drug cocktails reduce rates of AIDS: Reuters NewMedia - July 29, 2005; LONDON (Reuters) - Cocktails of anti-AIDS drugs cut the rate of progression from infection with HIV to full-blown AIDS by 86 percent compared to patients not receiving any treatment, British researchers said on Friday. They found that the effectiveness of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), a combination of a
UN pins hope on microbe buster in AIDS fight: Reuters NewMedia - July 27, 2005; Andrei Khalip and Maria Pia Palermo; RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil - Microbe-killing antiseptics hold some of the best promise for giving women a way to fight AIDS, but a shortage of funds is hindering their development, the world s top authority on the pandemic said. While an AIDS vaccine remains largely a dream, microbicides could be available in a few years,
UN Council hears Zimbabwe slum report amid protests: Reuters NewMedia - July 27, 2005; Evelyn Leopold; UNITED NATIONS - The author of a sharply critical U.N. report on slum demolitions in Zimbabwe that have thrown 700,000 people out of their homes or jobs briefed a divided Security Council on Wednesday after Britain forced the 15-member body to hold the hearing. Britain, backed by the United
INTERVIEW - WHO will fail to meet AIDS drugs goal: Reuters NewMedia - July 27, 2005; RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil - The World Health Organization will fail to meet its target of having three million people on free HIV/AIDS treatment by the end of this year but will still push ahead for universal access to drugs, the agency said on Tuesday. Dr. Jim Yong Kim, director of the WHO s HIV/AIDS department, said
Methadone urged for AIDS fight in ex-Soviet states: Reuters NewMedia - July 26, 2005; Andrei Khalip; Russia and its neighbors should lift their ban on using opiates such as methadone to treat addicts who inject drugs, scientists at an international AIDS conference said on Monday. Methadone is essentially an AIDS prevention tool, said professor Chris Beyrer, founding director of the Center for Public Health and Human
Study Shows Circumcision May Reduce AIDS Risk: Reuters NewMedia - July 26, 2005; RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil - Circumcising men can help protect them from the AIDS virus, researchers said on Tuesday after finishing the first study that tried using the procedure specifically to prevent infection. But United Nations health officials cautioned that more trials were necessary before they would recommend thi
Brazil Says Still No Deal with Abbott on AIDS Drug: Reuters NewMedia - July 25, 2005; Andrei Khalip and Maria Pia Palermo; RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (Reuters) - Brazil has not abandoned its threat to break AIDS drug patents and has yet to strike a deal with U.S. firm Abbott Laboratories to get hold of its technology or buy it at a discount, a government official said on Monday. Earlier this month, just as one Brazilian health minister ste
Glaxo speeds up testing in race for new AIDS drug: Reuters NewMedia - July 25, 2005; TOKYO/LONDON, July 25 (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline Plc said on Monday it had begun final Phase III trials in June of a new kind of pill that can block the AIDS virus before it enters human cells. The experimental medicine, known as a CCR5 inhibitor and called aplaviroc or GSK 873140, was licensed from Japan s Ono Pharma
Abbott says FDA clears blood instrument system: Reuters NewMedia - July 25, 2005; CHICAGO, July 25 (Reuters) - Abbott Laboratories Inc. said on Monday it received U.S. regulatory approval for an instrument system used to analyze blood for a number of disorders. Abbott said the CELL-DYN Sapphire is a high-volume blood testing instrument that can screen for diseases such as anemia and infection. The i
Incyte shares fall after HIV drug data presented: Reuters NewMedia - July 25, 2005; NEW YORK, July 25 (Reuters) - Shares of Incyte Corp. fell 15 percent on Monday after the company released long-awaited data from a mid-stage trial of its once-a-day experimental pill for treating HIV. Despite apparent disappointment from investors, the company said it was pleased with the results and planned to move ah
L.A. doctor indicted for 'subdosing' AIDS patients: Reuters NewMedia - July 21, 2005; LOS ANGELES - A well-known California AIDS doctor accused of subdosing his patients -- giving them less than the prescribed amount of medication to boost his profits -- has been indicted on federal charges. Dr. George Kooshian, who has twice been sued over subdosing claims and settled both cases out of court, was indic
Two big Indian states could undermine AIDS fight: Reuters NewMedia - July 21, 2005; Kamil Zaheer; NEW DELHI - India needs to dramatically scale up the battle against AIDS in its impoverished and densely populated north if it is to avoid a disastrous spike in HIV infections, the country s AIDS control chief said on Thursday. S.Y. Quraishi, head of the state-run National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO), said the eco
Lesotho textile workers threaten strike over pay: Reuters NewMedia - July 21, 2005; Ntsau Lekhetho; MASERU - Lesotho s textile unions threatened to strike on Wednesday after wage talks with the industry hit hard by Chinese competition deadlocked. Lesotho s textile industry has been hammered after the elimination of a global quota system at the end of 2004 left it unable to compete with Chinese products. Unions say wo
A good reason to be a virgin...: Reuters NewMedia - July 20, 2005; KAMPALA - A Ugandan member of parliament has pledged to reward girls for their chastity by paying their university fees if they are virgins when they leave school, a local newspaper said Wednesday. Bbaale County MP Sulaiman Madada said any girl in his district who wanted to take part in the scheme aimed at promoting gi
Africa faces shortage of AIDS medics-Clinton: Reuters NewMedia - July 20, 2005; Helen Nyambura; DAR ES SALAAM - Africans infected by HIV/AIDS are receiving cheaper life-prolonging drugs but lack the medical personnel to administer them and manage their treatment, former U.S. President Bill Clinton said on Wednesday. Clinton spoke in Tanzania during a six-nation tour of Africa to see how the AIDS pandemic is affec
Gilead quarterly profit up 76 pct on HIV drug sales: Reuters NewMedia - July 19, 2005; Deena Beasley; LOS ANGELES - Gilead Sciences Inc. on Tuesday said its second-quarter profit rose 76 percent, driven by strong demand for its two-drug combination pill for HIV -- the virus that causes AIDS. The Foster City, California-based biotechnology company posted a net profit of $196 million, or 41 cents per share, compared with
African strife, rivals, HIV may hit S Africa Telkom: Reuters NewMedia - July 19, 2005; Rebecca Harrison; JOHANNESBURG - Tougher competition at home, strife in Africa, a new boss and soaring HIV/AIDS rates could weigh on profits at South African fixed-line phone company Telkom, the company said. Telkom also said in a regulatory filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission made public late on Monday that tougher pr
Rwandan genocide widows find new market for crafts: Reuters NewMedia - July 19, 2005; Arthur Asiimwe; KIGALI - A leading U.S. department store chain has agreed to sell baskets hand-woven by Rwandan genocide widows in a deal that could generate millions of dollars for survivors of the 1994 massacre, an official said on Tuesday. The women will sell their so-called peace baskets and other crafts to Federated Department St
Vertex says FDA grants HIV drug fast-track status: Reuters NewMedia - July 19, 2005; CHICAGO - U.S. regulators have granted fast-track approval status to an experimental drug being developed by GlaxoSmithKline and Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. for drug-resistant HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, Vertex said on Tuesday. Vertex said Glaxo plans to start a Phase IIb study of the compound, dubbed 640385, in t
S Africa's Aspen gets Merck & Co. AIDS drug licence: Reuters NewMedia - July 19, 2005; JOHANNESBURG - Africa s biggest generic drugs maker, Aspen Pharmacare said on Tuesday a Merck & Co. subsidiary had given it a licence to produce and supply the HIV/AIDS treatment drug efavirenz . Shares in Aspen rose by as much as 1.1 percent to 27.55 rand after the announcement, but pared the gains to trade 0
Myanmar Spreads AIDS in Asia, Study Says: Reuters NewMedia - July 18, 2005; UNITED NATIONS - Heroin users and prostitutes in Myanmar have spread HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, through large parts of Asia, according to a Council on Foreign Relations study released on Monday. Skip to next paragraph Reuters The use of so-called genetic fingerprinting now allows scientists to identify changes in
AIDS strikes at some countries' ability to govern: Reuters NewMedia - July 18, 2005; Irwin Arieff; UNITED NATIONS - Poor nations devastated by AIDS are coming under pressure to funnel what few drugs they can afford solely to their political and military elites, a move likely to stir unrest among the rest of the population, a Council on Foreign Relations study said on Monday. There are countries right now where membe
US warns Roche: HIV drug salesperson misleading: Reuters NewMedia - July 18, 2005; The FDA says a salesperson for the Swiss drug company made false claims about anti-HIV drug Fuzeon. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Roche Holding AG salesperson made false claims about how well the drugmaker s anti-HIV drug Fuzeon works, the Food and Drug Administration said Monday. At a November 2004 meeting on infections di
Clinton opens Lesotho clinic, says must stop AIDS: Reuters NewMedia - July 18, 2005; Ntsau Lekhetho; MASERU, July 18 (Reuters) - Lesotho will cease to exist unless it can tackle an HIV rate of around 30 percent, former U.S. President Bill Clinton said on Monday as he opened a clinic in the impoverished mountain kingdom s capital. Clinton is on a six-nation tour of Africa seeing how the AIDS pandemic is affecting child
AIDS Torch Celebrates Mandela's 87th Birthday: Reuters NewMedia - July 18, 2005; JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa celebrated Nelson Mandela s 87th birthday on Monday, lighting a special torch in his apartheid prison cell as part of a new nationwide drive to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS. The torch was lit just after midnight on Robben Island, the former apartheid prison off Cape Town where Ma
Clinton Takes Cheap AIDS Drugs to African Children: Reuters NewMedia - July 17, 2005; MAPUTO (Reuters) - Former U.S. President Bill Clinton hopes his foundation will help treat more than 60,000 children suffering from HIV/AIDS as part of a plan to fight the disease in poor countries, he said on Sunday. Clinton was speaking at a children s hospital in the Mozambique capital of Maputo on the first leg
Singapore to inform spouses of HIV patients: Reuters NewMedia - July 15, 2005; SINGAPORE - Singapore , facing a rise in AIDS cases, will make it mandatory for spouses of HIV patients to be informed of their partner s illness. The health ministry said it was the first time official sanction was being given to breach patient confidentiality, but the measure was necessary to protect the health of th
India clears human trials for second AIDS vaccine: Reuters NewMedia - July 14, 2005; Krittivas Mukherjee; NEW DELHI - India has approved human volunteer trials for the country s second preventive vaccine against HIV, the virus that leads to AIDS, health officials said on Thursday. Home to the second-largest number of people living with the killer virus after South Africa , India started
Zimbabwe turns to retired nurses to ease brain drain: Reuters NewMedia - July 15, 2005; HARARE - Zimbabwe will rehire retired nurses to help ease a critical staff shortage in public hospitals caused in part by the exodus of health care workers to Europe and Australia , the health minister said on Thursday. Zimbabwe s public hospitals have a shortage of about 3,000 nurses. With an estimated unemployment ra
U.S. FDA OKs Generic AIDS Drug for Overseas Use: Reuters NewMedia - July 14, 2005; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday tentatively approved a generic version of GlaxoSmithKline Plc s AIDS drug Retrovir, or AZT , allowing it to be used overseas as part of a U.S. plan to fight global AIDS. The generic form of the anti-retroviral drug, made by Indian drugmaker
Rise in US drugs needle exchanges, study shows: Reuters NewMedia - July 14, 2005; Paul Simao; ATLANTA (Reuters) - The number of syringes traded at needle exchange sites grew in the United States despite efforts by political conservatives to stop the programs, which they say promote drug use under the cover of HIV prevention. About 24.9 million syringes were exchanged at clinics, mobile vans and other sites in 2
Mrs Bush, Cherie Blair in Rwanda remember victims: Reuters NewMedia - July 14, 2005; Tabassum Zakaria; KIGALI - U.S. first lady Laura Bush and Cherie Blair, wife of the British prime minister, paid tribute on Thursday to thousands who died in Rwanda s genocide and observed a moment of silence for London s bomb victims. I very much wanted to come here to see the reality of what happened during the genocide. I am very mov
S Africa police slammed for firing on AIDS activists: Reuters NewMedia - July 14, 2005; JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Activists condemned South African police on Thursday for firing rubber bullets and smoke grenades at AIDS protesters marching on a hospital to demand the government improve access to life-prolonging drugs. Forty people were injured and 10 treated for gunshot wounds after police fired on protest
India asks people to save "wickets" in AIDS fight: Reuters NewMedia - July 13, 2005; Kamil Zaheer; Cricket-mad India is mixing cricket and humour to promote safe sex and fight AIDS in a bold pilot campaign warning people to save their wickets from unwanted googlies and protect their stumps . India has more than five million HIV/AIDS cases, about the same as the AIDS capital, South A
Los Angeles blacks still fare poorly, study shows: Reuters NewMedia - July 13, 2005; Alexandria Sage; LOS ANGELES - Blacks in America s second-largest city fare the worst among all major races in education, health, economics, housing and criminal justice, according to a study released on Wednesday. The State of Black Los Angeles, prepared by the United Way and the Urban League of Los Angeles, said the promise of the Am
World Bank approves $240 mln in loans to Madagascar: Reuters NewMedia - July 13, 2005; WASHINGTON - The World Bank approved loans totaling nearly $240 million for Madagascar on Tuesday for infrastructure development, HIV/AIDS prevention and economic reforms. The development lender granted $129.8 million to help the government of the Indian Ocean island build and rehabilitate infrastructure that will spur
For less than a coffee a day, many Indians die early: Reuters NewMedia - July 13, 2005; Terry Friel; SILIGURI, India - Niram Sharma is 28, jobless and dying. He says he is lucky. For, unlike Niram, most of the new friends he has made at HIV/AIDS support groups in this bustling Indian trading town can t afford the medicine that could give them 10 to 15 more years of life. The cost? Just 1,300 rupees ($29.
R&D to build value for Numico shareholders: Reuters NewMedia - July 13, 2005; Karl Emerick Hanuska; AMSTERDAM, July 13 (Reuters) - Research and development are a key to building value for shareholders in Dutch food group Numico and are driving both its core businesses, the executive board member responsible said on Wednesday. Ajay Puri, a former executive of Coca Cola s Minute Maid company, said that as Europe s larg
U.S. FDA OKs generic AIDS combo drug for overseas: Reuters NewMedia - July 13, 2005; WASHINGTON - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday tentatively approved a generic version of GlaxoSmithKline Plc s AIDS drug Retrovir, or AZT , allowing it to be used overseas as part of a U.S. plan to fight global AIDS. The generic form of the anti-retroviral drug, made by Indian drugmaker
S.Africa health dept sharply hikes AIDS estimate: Reuters NewMedia - July 11, 2005; Andrew Quinn; JOHANNESBURG - New South African figures say more than 6.5 million of the country s 47 million people may now be HIV-positive, a sharp jump on previous estimates likely to fuel debate on the extent of the country s HIV/AIDS pandemic. The Department of Health, releasing a 2004 study of women at antenatal clinics, said r
India says over 7,200 died of AIDS in two decades: Reuters NewMedia - July 10, 2005; Krittivas Mukherjee; CALCUTTA, India - At least 7,200 people have died of AIDS in India, the world s second worst affected nation, since an official count began two decades ago, a top health official said on Sunday. The figure was a cumulative estimate which most likely suffered from under-reporting, said S.Y. Qureshi, director of the stat
Calif. puts medical marijuana program on hold: Reuters NewMedia - July 8, 2005; SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Following a Supreme Court ruling that said the U.S. government could prosecute medical marijuana use, California officials said Friday they would stop issuing identification cards to state residents who smoke marijuana to treat medical conditions. The state program has been suspended pending a
African business key to AIDS fight - Holbrooke: Reuters NewMedia - July 7, 2005; James Macharia; CULLINAN MINE, South Africa , July 7 (Reuters) - Africa s businesses are a key weapon in the war against HIV/AIDS but thus far have not done enough to combat the epidemic, Richard Holbrooke said on Thursday. The former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations who now heads the New York-based Global Business Coalition (GBC
Glenmark to develop Napo Pharma's diarrhea drug: Reuters NewMedia - July 7, 2005; BOMBAY - Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd. said on Thursday Napo Pharmaceuticals Inc. had licensed its anti-diarrheal drug crofelemer to the Indian drug maker for further development and sale in India and some other markets. Crofelemer targets gastrointestinal ailments and is in advanced clinical development to treat AIDS-
War, prostitution fuel AIDS epidemic in Ivory Coast: Reuters NewMedia - July 6, 2005; James Knight and Katrina Manson; FERKESSEDOUGOU, Ivory Coast - Love me , says the slogan above a red heart emblazoned on Kati Soro s T-shirt, with a condom . A foot soldier in a second battle raging alongside Ivory Coast s civil war, she is on the front line fighting AIDS. Soro, 20, became a member of her local AIDS awareness association in the northe
Par Pharmaceutical gets FDA approval on Megace ES: Reuters NewMedia - July 6, 2005; NEW YORK (Reuters) - Drugmaker Par Pharmaceutical Cos. on Wednesday said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved its Megace ES oral suspension for the treatment of anorexia, cachexia and weight loss in AIDS patients. The company said Megace ES was developed with nanocrystal technology of Elan Pharma Internat
Drugs body says Brazil to lose from AIDS patent move: Reuters NewMedia - July 6, 2005; GENEVA, July 6 (Reuters) - The global pharmaceutical industry body IFPMA warned on Wednesday that Brazil s decision to break a U.S.-held AIDS drug patent would turn foreign firms against cooperating with the country s health programmes. In a statement on the long-mooted Brazilian move, expected to go into force later o
Angelina Jolie adopts Ethiopian AIDS orphan: Reuters NewMedia - July 5, 2005; LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actress Angelina Jolie is adopting a newborn Ethiopian girl orphaned by AIDS, People magazine reported on Tuesday. Jolie, who has toured the world as goodwill ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees, said the baby would be named Zahara Marley Jolie but would not reveal th
Japan's AIDS stigma strong, HIV-positive woman says: Reuters NewMedia - July 5, 2005; Elaine Lies; KOBE, Japan (Reuters) - The young Japanese woman had just given birth to her first baby when her husband fell ill with a fever that would not go down. Soon after, he was diagnosed with AIDS -- and she found out she was HIV-positive. Eleven years later, the stigma against people like her in Japan is still so strong that
Chance to Reverse Asia AIDS Epidemic Could Be Lost: Reuters NewMedia - July 5, 2005; KOBE, Japan (Reuters) - An international AIDS conference ended here on Tuesday with warnings that a window of opportunity to reverse the epidemic in Asia, where an explosion of the disease may loom, is closing rapidly and urgent action is needed. One in four new infections occurs in Asia, home to more than half the wor
Miss Universe Takes HIV Test to Boost Awareness: Reuters NewMedia - July 5, 2005; JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - A perfectly groomed Miss Universe took an AIDS test in a Johannesburg hospital on Tuesday and said she hoped her fame would persuade others to do the same. Immaculate in a white suit, heels, low-cut top and a glittering smile, Russian-born Canadian Natalie Glebova said she wanted to use her tim
Italy moving ahead in human trials of AIDS vaccine: Reuters NewMedia - July 5, 2005; Shasta Darlington; ROME (Reuters) - Encouraged by an initial trial, Italy wants to launch a larger-scale human test of its AIDS vaccine in Africa in the hope of having it ready for the market by 2011, the project s chief researcher said on Tuesday. Barbara Ensoli of Italy s National Health Institute began the small-scale trial involving
US Clears Generic AIDS Drug for Global Relief Plan: Reuters NewMedia - July 4, 2005; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. regulators on Friday gave tentative approval to Aurobindo Pharma s generic AIDS drug stavudine, a step that makes the medicine available for purchase under President George W. Bush s global AIDS relief plan. Stavudine is a generic version of the Bristol-Myers Squ
Better trade terms key to growth-African official: Reuters NewMedia - July 4, 2005; Manoah Esipisu; SIRTE, Libya (Reuters) - Debt relief and increased aid will inspire investment in Africa but the key to growth is better trade terms, a senior African Union official said on Monday. Elisabeth Tankeu, the AU s Commissioner for Trade and Industry, doubted Western countries were ready to cut subsidies and allow Africa to
Agenda for Gleneagles G8 summit: Reuters NewMedia - July 4, 2005; LONDON (Reuters) - Details of agenda to be discussed by leaders of the Group of Eight nations when they gather in Scotland from July 6-8. Declarations are expected on Africa, climate change, tsunami aid, economics/oil prices and world trade talks, Middle East peaace, counter-terrorism, non-proliferation and HIV/AIDS.
As Live 8 echoes fade, Africa shapes message for G8: Reuters NewMedia - July 3, 2005; Opheera McDoom; SIRTE, Libya (Reuters) - Exploiting the momentum of a star-studded global anti-poverty campaign, African countries called on Sunday for stepped up pressure on rich nations to help them fight hunger, disease and war on the continent. Leaders of many of the 53 member nations of the African Union (AU) were arriving for a
Canada Red Cross tries to put blood scandal to rest: Reuters NewMedia - July 1, 2005; Victims of Canada s tainted blood scandal had a chance to air their stories in an Ontario court on Thursday as the Canadian Red Cross was formally sentenced for distributing blood products contaminated by donors who suffered from HIV and hepatitis C. A court in Hamilton, Ontario, handed the agency the maximum fine of C
Aurobindo Pharma gets US nod for generic AIDS drug: Reuters NewMedia - July 1, 2005; BOMBAY - Indian drug maker Aurobindo Pharma Ltd. has received tentative approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the oral formulation of generic AIDS drug efavirenz. Efavirenz is an antiviral that is used with other AIDS medications. It is part of the nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor class, whi
Pfizer Drops Development of Two Drugs: Reuters NewMedia - July 1, 2005; NEW YORK - Pfizer Inc. said on Friday it is dropping development of two drugs, one to treat HIV and one to treat smoker s lung and asthma, after they failed to show any substantial benefit to patients. The world s largest drug company said it is dropping the HIV treatment, capravirine, based on the results of two mid-s
Asia in Danger of AIDS Explosion, U.N. Warns: Reuters NewMedia - July 1, 2005; KOBE, Japan - The risk of AIDS spreading in Asia is higher than ever and there is a danger of an explosion of the deadly disease if prevention efforts are not intensified now, the top United Nations AIDS official said on Friday. One in four new infections occurs in Asia, with the disease having spread to all provinces
African poverty in a league all its own: Reuters NewMedia - June 30, 2005; Ed Stoddard; JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (Reuters) - Crosby is a rich man by Africa s standards. He makes around $9 a day guarding cars by a Johannesburg park, where well-heeled suburbanites walk their dogs and give him loose change for minding their vehicles. It s enough for living, I can eat and get taxis to this place. Some peopl
U.S. House restores $165 million in HUD spending: Reuters NewMedia - June 30, 2005; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives voted to add $165 million to planned federal housing spending late Wednesday, keeping alive a program to rebuild severely distressed public housing. In amendments to a transportation, housing, treasury and judiciary appropriations bill, the House voted to increas
Laura Bush to visit Africa, focus on women, AIDS: Reuters NewMedia - June 30, 2005; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - First lady Laura Bush, continuing a string of high-profile solo international