Patient may have been exposed to SARS coronavirus: China and the

Patient may have been exposed to SARS coronavirus: China and the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday initial tests showed a man at the center of a SARS scare may indeed have been exposed to the coronavirus linked to the disease, although it would take days to tell for sure. WHO's statement issued in Beijing came on the same day that a ranking official in south China's Guangdong province, where the patient is being treated said initial tests had showed he might indeed have the coronavirus that causes SARS. -- AFP

36 journalists killed for their work last year: Thirty-six journalists were killed worldwide as a direct result of their work last year, a sharp increase from the 19 killed in 2002, according to figures released on Friday. The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said the war in Iraq was the main reason for the surge. Thirteen journalists were killed in hostile action while covering the war there. The death toll in Iraq was the highest annual total from a single country since 1995, when 24 journalists were killed in Algeria. -- DPA