An avian influenza virus in the wild may be just a small step away from spreading effectively between mammals, a controversial U.S study report warns.The study by Yoshihiro Kawaoka at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has been published online by the journal Nature after months of debate, spurred by fears the findings could be used in bio-terrorism, over whether to release the findings publicly.

Ten countries in the world ruled by dictators have imposed the most drastic censorship by shutting out international media and cracking down on journalists at home, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said in a report released on Wednesday.Of the 10, Syria, Iran and North Korea stand out for their vast restrictions on the flow of information and thus create "enormous implications for geopol

Talk about a dogged presidential campaign: First pooch Bo has the starring role in an Internet ad for U.S. President Obama's re-election bid.The Internet ad opens with a two-toned blue background, similar to other pro-Obama spots, then Bo appears on screen, tongue out and roaring to play, The Washington Post reported Monday."Join Pet Lovers for Obama," the ad implores.Political pets have long attr

Members of a Russian Orthodox organization used holy water to disperse dozens of protesters supporting jailed punk band Pussy Riot in downtown Moscow.Members of the Union of Orthodox Banner Bearers dumped holy water on the protesters Sunday at the Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow while chanting "no Sodom," RIA Novosti reported Monday.The unsanctioned demonstration was in support of members of

An overcrowded river ferry broke in two and sank in northeast India during a severe storm on Monday, leaving at least 105 people dead and almost as many missing, police said.As rescuers struggled in heavy rain to find survivors weeping relatives lined the shores of the fast-flowing Brahmaputra river in Assam state, desperate for news of family members on board the vessel.It was carrying around 350

More than half of doctors think that the National Health Service has the right to deny the obese or smokers non-emergency treatment, a recent study showed.The survey conducted by Doctors.net.uk, a professional networking site, found that 593 (54 percent) of the 1,096 doctors who responded answered “yes” to the question, “Should the NHS be allowed to refuse non-emergency treatment to patients unles

A former chief of staff to President Lee Myung-bak announced Monday his intention to run for the top office and demanded a change in how the ruling Saenuri Party selects its candidate for December's presidential election.Yim Tae-hee, a former three-term lawmaker who worked as chief secretary to Lee in 2010-2011, is the latest ruling party member to reveal presidential ambitions. Three others decla

German lawmaker Dorothee Baer plans to go back to work eight weeks after the birth of her third child at the end of the minimum maternity leave, as she did for her first two children.But that has not stopped the 34-year-old conservative vociferously speaking out in favor of a proposed new benefit system which, she says, would help parents raise their children according to their own values and circ

One of Australia's richest men, Clive Palmer, has unveiled plans for a 21st century version of the Titanic to be built in China, with its first voyage from England to New York set for 2016.Palmer, a self-made mining billionaire, said he has commissioned state-owned Chinese company CSC Jinling Shipyard to construct Titanic II with exactly the same dimensions as its predecessor."It will be every bit

Four South Korean civil servants were injured in an attack by Chinese fishermen illegally operating off the coast of South Jeolla Province on Monday.According to the local authorities, four civil servants tasked with controlling illegal fishing activities were attacked while attempting to board a Chinese fishing boat 45 miles west of the sland of Hong-do in Heuksan County at about 2:15 a.m.The inj