World's experts to hold emergency summit on fears over man-made lethal mutant bird flu

* H5N1 bird flu virus kills half of humans that contract it
* Experts say to find treatments research must continue

By Damien Gayle

Bird flu experts meet at the World Health Organisation this week to decide how to continue with genetic research that risks creating a catastrophic pandemic.

The urgent summit is an attempt to settle a row over the censoring of two studies which show how make a highly contagious mutant H5N1 bird flu virus.

Far deadlier than normal flu, H5N1 kills roughly half of humans that contract it, but so far the virus has been mainly restricted to poultry

Experts warn that whatever the outcome of the meeting, censorship will not stop scientists getting the tools to create and release a pandemic H5N1 virus if they were intent on doing so.

'It doesn't matter how much you restrict scientists from doing good, bad people can still do bad things,' said Wendy Barclay, an expert in flu virology at Imperial College London.

The WHO called the 'closed door' meeting, set to begin Friday in Geneva, to break a deadlock between scientists and U.S. biosecurity chiefs.

American officials want to censor the work of two research teams, one in the Netherlands and one in the U.S., who have found that just a small number of mutations would allow deadly H5N1 to spread between mammals like ordinary flu.

The United Nations health body has said it is 'deeply concerned about the potential negative consequences' if the findings were to make their way into the public domain.

On January 20, flu scientists from around the world declared a 60-day moratorium on any research involving H5N1 that could produce more contagious forms of the virus.

At this week's meeting, the researchers who made the findings and the editors of Science and Nature, the two journals asked to withhold publication, will meet officials from the U.S. National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) which asked for the papers to be censored.

Keiji Fukuda, the WHO's Assistant Director-General for Health Security and Environment, who will chair the meeting, says he would like to secure agreement on whether the studies should be published, in full or part, and who should have access to them.

The findings are seen as vital for scientists to be able to develop vaccines, diagnostic tests and anti-viral drugs that could be deployed in the event of an H5N1 pandemic.

'It is important that research on these viruses should continue,' Mr Fukuda told Reuters. 'They do pose a risk. There's a lot of things we don't know about them.

'The question is not really should we continue to do research ... but under what conditions can we do it so we don't unnecessarily create fears and risks.'

First detected in Hong Kong in 1997, the H5N1 virus remains entrenched among poultry in many countries, mainly in Asia, but so far remains hard for humans to catch.

It is known to have infected nearly 700 people worldwide since 2003, killing half of them, making it far more deadly than the H1N1 swine flu which caused a pandemic in 2009/2010.

Ron Fouchier, the scientist leading the Dutch team that gave H5N1 various genetic mutations and made it transmissible in mammals, argues the research must be published.

He says it could help public health officials better prepare for a scenario where the virus mutates and becomes more deadly, spreading from person to person via coughs and sneezes.

He has also said other research teams around the world are close to the same findings, some of them inadvertently, and should be warned in advance how the virus could become airborne.

In the short term, most scientists agree the moratorium is 'a good gesture,' as flu expert and former WHO health security adviser David Heymann describes it, one that offers the research community space to think.

Still, Mr Heymann, Ms Barclay and many other scientists argue that stopping this type of research into flu viruses and other potentially lethal pathogens would set a dangerous precedent.

Although adding and deleting genes can create super-strains that put the entire world at risk, Heymann said, the work is vital to developing effective vaccines and diagnostic tests which will be needed quickly if a pandemic hits.

Stopping the research would prevent researchers from using all possible scientific options to prepare for naturally occurring, or deliberately caused, outbreaks.

John Edmunds, head of infectious disease epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, says studies on mutations of H5N1 are 'important work' that must go on.

'This flu strain has the potential to cause such enormous damage, and it's important to know how far away we are from a horrible event like that,' he said.

Moody's warns may downgrade 17 global banks, securities firms

By Ian Chua and Soyoung Kim

(Reuters) - Moody's warned on Thursday it may cut the credit ratings of 17 global and 114 European financial institutions in another sign the impact of the euro zone government debt crisis is spreading throughout the global financial system.

It was reviewing the long-term ratings and standalone credit assessments of a range of banks, Moody's added. Markets were unaffected by the Moody's announcement.

"Capital markets firms are confronting evolving challenges, such as more fragile funding conditions, wider credit spreads, increased regulatory burdens and more difficult operating conditions," the ratings agency said in a statement.

It said among 17 banks and securities firms with global capital markets operations, it might cut the long-term credit rating of UBS (UBSN.VX) (UBS.N), Credit Suisse (CSGN.VX) and Morgan Stanley (MS.N) by as much as three notches following the review. It said the guidance was indicative.

Among the banks that might be downgraded by two notches are Barclays (BARC.L), BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA), Credit Agricole (CAGR.PA), Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE), HSBC Holdings (HSBA.L), and Goldman Sachs (GS.N).

Bank of America (BAC.N) and Nomura (8604.T) were included in those that might be downgraded by one notch.

The U.S. rating agency said in a separate statement its action on 114 financial institutions from 16 European nations reflected the impact of the debt crisis and deteriorating creditworthiness of its governments.

It cited more fragile funding conditions, increased regulatory burdens and a tougher economic environment for its review of banks and securities firms with global reach.

Moody's salvo follows rounds of downgrades in European sovereign ratings as the euro zone's struggle to keep its weakest link Greece afloat has been driving up borrowing costs and straining finances of other nations.

Last Monday, Moody's cut the ratings of six European nations including Italy, Spain and Portugal and warned it could strip France, Britain and Austria of their top-level AAA grade.

Standard & Poor's cut France's and Austria's top ratings and downgraded seven other euro zone nations last month. It also cut the euro zone's bailout fund by one notch.

Moody's on Thursday also downgraded the insurance financial strength ratings (IFSR) by one or two notches of several insurance companies, which it said related to their investment and operating exposures to Spain and Italy.

These included Unipol Assicurazioni SpA (UNPI.MI), Mapfre Global Risks, Assicurazioni Generali SpA (GASI.MI) and Allianz SpA. It affirmed the IFSR of Allianz SE (ALVG.DE), AXA SA (AXAF.PA), Aviva Plc (AV.L) and their subsidiaries, but cut the outlook on the rating to negative from stable.

VICIOUS CIRCLE

Asian shares and the euro were weaker on Thursday on concerns about another delay in cementing a bailout for Greece. Traders said markets didn't not show any specific reaction to the Moody's announcement.

In its review of European financial institutions, Moody's said that once completed, the ratings would "fully reflect the currently foreseen adverse credit drivers."

European banks' bond holdings of struggling euro zone nations Greece, Portugal, Ireland, Spain and Italy have trapped Europe in a vicious circle.

The falling value of the debt puts pressure on banks, which in turn weighs on lending and economic activity, making it tougher to sustain the growth that governments badly need to shore up their finances.

The biggest single group among the 114 institutions under review were headquartered in Italy, followed by Spain, with more than 20 each. Nine were headquartered in Britain, 10 in France and seven in Germany.

Moody's said nine of the 17 banks with global reach are included in the list of 114 financial institutions in Europe.

European Union leaders have been trying to put a financial "firewall" around the nations most afflicted by the euro zone debt crisis.

But jittery market sentiment suffered a fresh setback on Wednesday when several EU sources told Reuters that the euro zone was considering a delay in parts of a second bailout plan for Greece.

Moody's said that for 99 European financial institutions, the standalone credit assessments have been placed on review for downgrade. For 109 institutions, the long-term debt and deposit ratings have been placed on review for downgrade.

For 66 institutions, the short-term ratings have been placed on review for downgrade.

7 Things Your Hands Say About Your Health

By Melanie Haiken, Caring.com senior editor

They're one of the most important parts of our body when it comes to day-to-day activities; without them we couldn't cut vegetables, grip pliers, or text our friends. They're revealing, too: Not only do scars and age spots recount our personal history but mystics all the way back to prehistory have "read" our futures in their lines and whorls.

But what if your hands could say more about you than that? What if, looking down at your palms and the five digits attached to them, you could discover early signs of dangerous diseases you didn't yet know you had? "It used to be common for doctors to look at the hands for important clues to overall health," says endocrinologist Kenneth Blanchard of Newton, Massachusetts. "We need to get back to that, because hands can tell you a great deal about circulation, hormones, and thyroid function."
Here are seven important clues your hands can reveal about your overall health.

1. Blotchy red palms

In the short term, red palms might mean you gripped the shovel too hard when you planted tomatoes, hand-washed a few too many delicates, or grabbed the teakettle a few moments too soon. But if your palms remain reddened over a long period of time, this may be a condition called palmar erythema, which is a sign of liver disease, particularly of cirrhosis and nonalcoholic fatty liver. (One exception: If you're pregnant, red palms are normal, because increased blood flow causes redness in more than half of expecting women.)

Why? Inflammation of the liver gradually begins to impair its function, so it's no longer able to flush waste products out of the body as efficiently, Blanchard says. The result is an excess of circulating hormones, which in turn cause the blood vessels in the hands and feet to dilate, making them visible through the skin.

What to do: Get evaluated for other symptoms of liver disease, which include swollen legs and abdomen, prominent veins on the upper torso and abdomen, and fatigue. Show your doctor your hands and feet and ask for liver function tests. The most common tests for liver function are a bilirubin count and a liver enzyme count.

Read more here

The Bloomberg administration says churches must leave school buildings now

Refuses judge's request for delay
By Glenn Blain / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

ALBANY — The Bloomberg administration Tuesday rejected a federal judge’s request to delay the eviction of religious groups from city schools.

“This case has been litigated for 16 years,” said the city’s Law Department.

“It’s now time for it to come to an end.”

Federal Judge Loretta Preska asked the city to hold off on its ban of churches in public schools while she considers a last-ditch lawsuit by the Bronx Household of Faith.

More than 60 churches are getting the boot starting Sunday.

Alliance Defense Fund lawyer Jordan Lorence, who represents the Bronx Household of Faith, said he was still optimistic Preska would grant an injunction.

Greece on the brink of eurozone exit

by Tim Shufelt

The relationship between Greece and the eurozone has hit a new low.

Greece is in turmoil — its people irate and its economy buckling under austerity. Eurozone powers, meanwhile, have lost patience with its failed economic reforms.

Severing monetary ties between the two was once written off as mutually disastrous and highly unlikely. Consensus held that indefinitely bailing out Greece would be preferable to an eviction.

It’s time to revisit that assumption, some influential politicians are now saying, adding to a growing refrain.

“There is a distinct chance that Greece is ultimately going to have to leave the eurozone,” said Craig Alexander, chief economist at Toronto-Dominion Bank. “The global financial system should be able to cope with that.”

The campaign to improve Greece’s fiscal situation and reduce its debt has had little success.

Its economy shrank by an annualized rate of 7% in the fourth quarter of 2011, the country’s statistics service said on Tuesday.

The day before, the Greek parliament approved another round of austerity to secure another bailout from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.

The forces of austerity and recession have become locked in a perpetuating cycle, Mr. Alexander said.

Greece is a prime example of a country forced to “pursue austerity too quickly,” he said.

This week’s €3.3-billion in wage, pension and job cuts, however, failed to satisfy eurozone leaders, who insist the Greeks identify another €325-million in budget cuts to close the 2012 fiscal gap.

“Furthermore, I did not yet receive the required political assurances from the leaders of the Greek coalition parties on the implementation of the program,” said Eurogroup President Jean-Claude Juncker Tuesday after cancelling a meeting of the region’s finance ministers.

The IMF and EU want Greece to provide a full accounting of its budget reforms before approving a second bailout of €130-billion, as well as a €100-billion writedown of Greek debt.

The latest austerity vote, however, was more than enough to set off the Greek people.

“The social explosion will come one way or another, there is nothing they can do about it any more,” said trade union leader Ilias Iliopoulos after violence spread across Athens.
Now in its fifth year of recession, Greece’s unemployment rate hit 21% in November, while half of young Greeks are jobless.

Businesses close down daily across the country, some drugs are in short supply and some civil servants have seen their salaries halved.

The country’s recession could become one of the most severe of modern times, said Uri Dadush, an economist with the Carnegie Endowment in Washington.

“On the current path – which is not sustainable in my view – we may very well see Greek GDP go down 25-30%, which would be historically unprecedented. It’s a disastrous crisis for them,” said Mr. Dadush, a former senior World Bank official.

All to little effect. Greece has irritated its financiers by delaying implementation of austerity commitments. Meanwhile, they have to relieve their fiscal pressures.

“It’s a fine line to walk between a survivable economic environment and the austerity that’s so desperately needed to pull Greece back onside,” said Eric Lascelles, chief economist at RBC Global Asset Management. “But tragically, I don’t think there’s much option here. You could completely wipe out Greek debt and the government would still be spending way more than it’s taking in.”

That intractable fiscal problem has some questioning whether Greece is destined for bankruptcy and an exit from the euro.

“It might be something which would allow Greece also to get a new start … to create an economy that can create jobs,” Luxembourg Finance Minister Luc Frieden said on Monday in Washington.

While not the preferred scenario, the impact on the eurozone would be “less important than a year ago,” he said.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble shared that sentiment, telling Germany’s public broadcaster on Monday: “We are better prepared than we were two years ago.”

And while there may ultimately be some benefit to Greece of defaulting, leaving the currency bloc and devaluing its currency, the upfront cost would be very steep — one that Greek politicians have refused to contemplate.

“A disorderly default would set the country on a disastrous adventure,” Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos told parliament this week. “It would create conditions of uncontrolled economic chaos and social explosion.”