Indonesian officials "covered up and then neglected" an epidemic

Indonesian officials "covered up and then neglected" an epidemic
of avian influenza in poultry for two years, allowing it to
spread among flocks and then to people, the Washington Post
reported on Thursday. The newspaper quoted an Indonesian
microbiologist as saying authorities argued about whether the
virus killing chickens was in fact H5N1, and then tried to deal
with it quietly. As a result, the virus spread for two years,
with little public word until it began infecting people. H5N1
bird flu has killed four people in Indonesia. "If the government
had acted sooner to stamp it out, there would be no outbreak.
They have wasted so much time," the newspaper quoted Indonesian
microbiologist Chairul Nidom as saying. The newspaper also quoted
Indonesia's former national director of animal health, Tri Satya
Putri Naipospos, as saying chickens began dying from H5N1 in
Indonesia in 2003 but the government covered it up because of
lobbying from the poultry industry. Naipospos was fired from her
job in September. The officials quoted by the Post said Indonesia
did precisely what public health experts had feared. In January
2004, Nidom publicly announced his findings about H5NI and
Indonesia's Agriculture Ministry did as well. Agriculture
Minister Anton Apriyantono said the Indonesian government
considered bird flu a matter of great concern. -- Reuters

Bush urges Abbas
to fight terror

President George W. Bush said on Thursday the Palestinian
Authority must reject and fight terrorism for the Middle East
peace process to be able to move forward. Speaking at a joint
news conference after talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud
Abbas at the White House, Bush said the Israeli withdrawal from
Gaza and parts of the West Bank had created new opportunities and
responsibilities for the Palestinians. "The way forward must
begin by confronting the threat that armed gangs pose to a
genuinely democratic Palestine," Bush said. "In the short term
the Palestinian Authority must ... earn the confidence of its
neighbors by rejecting and fighting terrorism," he said. --
Reuters

Four terror suspects
get bail in UK

Four international terrorism suspects facing deportation from
Britain were granted bail on Thursday, a Home Office spokesman
said. Those freed did not include cleric Abu Qatada, the
spokesman added. Abu Qatada, who British authorities say inspired
Islamic militants including the Sept. 11 bombers who attacked the
United States in 2001, is the highest profile member of the group
threatened with deportation. Britain has announced plans to
deport foreign Islamic militant suspects in a new policy imposed
after suicide bombers killed 52 passengers and themselves in
attacks on London transportation facilities in July. -- Reuters