Hackers hit Twitter and Facebook

Micro-blogging service Twitter and social networking site Facebook have been severely disrupted by hackers.

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Twitter was taken offline for more than two hours whilst Facebook's service was "degraded", according to the firms.
The popular sites were subject to so-called denial-of-service attacks on Thursday, the companies believe.
Denial-of-service (DOS) attacks take various forms but often involve a company's servers being flooded with data in an effort to disable them.
"Attacks such as this are malicious efforts orchestrated to disrupt and make unavailable services such as online banks, credit card payment gateways, and in this case, Twitter for intended customers or users," said Twitter co-founder Biz Stone on the company's blog.
The service was restored shortly after the blog post, but the companies have had to continue to fend off the attack.
Facebook said its service was reduced but not taken offline.
"No user data was at risk and we have restored full access to the site for most users," spokeswoman Brandee Barker told the AFP news agency.
"We're continuing to monitor the situation to ensure that users have the fast and reliable experience they've come to expect from Facebook."

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Iran bans Mecca visits over flu

Iran has banned all pilgrimages to Saudi Arabia during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in an attempt to contain the spread of swine flu.

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Health officials said no Iranians would remain in Saudi Arabia after 22 August.
Mecca is a popular destination for Muslims undergoing the spiritual experience of fasting during Ramadan.
Arab health ministers have already agreed to prevent vulnerable groups of people from joining the larger Hajj pilgrimage, taking place in November.
"We will have no pilgrims in Saudi Arabia during the month of Ramadan," Health Minister Mohammad Bagher Lankarani was quoted as saying by the Isna news agency.
He said the high numbers of people travelling to the holy places during the holy month, beginning on about 22 August, increased the risk of the virus spreading and being brought back to Iran.

Iranian state media said health officials were also setting up a system of checks for pilgrims returning from Saudi Arabia.
In July, Arab health ministers said people aged over 65 and under 12, and those with chronic diseases, would be excluded from the main Hajj pilgrimage this year.
Saudi Arabia has itself also asked elderly and sick Muslims not to participate.
The World Health Organization says Iran has so far reported 144 cases of swine flu but no fatalities. Iran says 50% of cases were in people who had recently returned from Saudi Arabian pilgrimages.

BBC O B NEWS

Swine flu vaccine 'by September'

The first swine flu vaccines are likely to be licensed for use in the general population in September, the World Health Organization has announced.

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Several manufacturers have produced initial batches of a H1N1 vaccine and some clinical trials are already underway.
WHO director of vaccine research Dr Dr Marie-Paule Kieny also sought to calm fears about safety of new vaccines.
She said the vaccines were based on "old and proven technology".
Figures show continuing rises in cases in the southern hemisphere in the past seven days.
Argentina has particularly seen a large increase and deaths now stand at 337.
And there has been a rise in cases of 25% in Australia.

Although it has not yet been clarified who would be first in line for a vaccine, it is likely to be those who are most vulnerable, such as pregnant women and young children.
Some experts have raised concerns about the lack of safety data on flu vaccines in these groups.
In particular a very rare neurological condition called Guillame Barre syndrome, which affected 500 people during a US vaccine programme against swine flu in 1976.
Dr Kieny said much was known about flu vaccines in these groups from seasonal vaccines given every winter and added that regulatory agencies would be monitoring for any signs of adverse reaction.
"The quality controls on today's vaccine are much better than they were 30 years ago," she added.

Fast track
Regulators in the US and Europe have special plans in place to fast-track swine flu vaccines, some of which are based on conventional seasonal flu vaccines and some which use newer technology.
Clinical trials are already underway in China, Australia, USA, UK, and Germany.
It comes as drug company, Baxter, has announced the production of the first commercial batches of its swine flu vaccine Celvapan.

The vaccine has been grown using cell culture, a much faster method than the traditional way of growing it in eggs.
Baxter is one of two companies contracted to provide pandemic flu vaccine to the UK, the other being GlaxoSmithKline, and both plan to start clinical trials this month.
One key part of the trials is to work out whether people need one or two doses of the vaccine.
Ministers have repeatedly said they expect to have enough doses for half the UK population by the end of the year.

BBC NEWS

Balochistan Excise Minister gunned down in Karachi

KARACHI: Provincial Minister of Balochistan Sardar Rustam Jamali has been killed in firing incident in Karachi.According to police sources, the unknown assailants got the Minister of Excise and Taxation out of his vehicle and shot three fires at him and fled from the scene here near Rado Apartments in Gulistan-e-Jauhar. Born on January 9, 1963, Sardar Rustam Jamali, son of Sardar Yar Muhammad Jamali, was elected Balochistan MPA as independent candidate in the last general elections. He hailed from village Sardar Rustam Khan Jamali in Osta Muhammad, Jafarabad.His body was taken to Agha Khan Hospital, where a large number of his supporters gathered outside the hospitals.

Afghanistan Bomb Kills 21 People Traveling to Wedding, AP Says

KABUL: A roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan killed 21 civilians, including women and children, riding a tractor to a wedding, the Associated Press reported.
The incident took place in the Garmsir district of Helmand province yesterday, AP reported, citing provincial police chief Assadullah Sherzad. Five people were wounded, according to the report.
The Afghan Ministry of Defense confirmed the attack and said at least 20 people were killed, the news agency reported from Kabul.

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