Prophecy, Drought, Earthquakes, Famine, Pestilence, War, and Strange Weather.

[Soldier4Christ]

Glaxo has bird flu 'breakthrough'

UK drugs firm GlaxoSmithKline believes it has developed a vaccine for the H5N1 deadly strain of bird flu that may be capable of being mass produced by 2007.

The vaccine has proved effective at two doses of 3.8 micrograms during clinical trials in Belgium, BBC business editor Robert Peston has learned.

It is the size of the dose that is highly significant, Glaxo explained.

Firms want the smallest effective dose so that they can get the maximum number of shots out of a quantity of vaccine.

"It is good news that this vaccine can produce a significant response from a relatively small dose," said Dr Donald Cutler, principal lecturer in infectious diseases at University of East London.

Glaxo has yet to publish the results of its tests.

The news of the work on a potential vaccine came as Glaxo reported its profits had risen 14% in the three months to June to £1.32bn (US$2.4bn).

Delivery

Glaxo said that governments could order the vaccine for delivery and stockpiling in early 2007.

One of Glaxo's main rivals, the French drug company Sanofi Aventis, has also been working on a vaccine.

Drug companies are looking to develop treatments because of concerns that the H5N1 virus will combine with a human flu virus and mutate into a form which can spread between humans.

But a number of firms, including Glaxo, are seeking to develop vaccines based on the existing H5N1 strains to give humans some form of protection.

Its vaccine is on a fast track for approval with the relevant licensing authorities - the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Evaluation Agency (EMEA).

"All being well, we expect to make regulatory filings for the vaccine in the coming months," said Glaxo chief executive Jean-Pierre Garnier.

Prime desire

The UK and US have both indicated a desire to "prime" their respective populations with an initial inoculation.

Mr Garnier said he recently met US President George W Bush to discuss the vaccination programme.

Following that meeting, Glaxo received $272m (£148m) of funding, earmarked in part to develop new technologies to produce vaccines.

If there was a pandemic outbreak in the early autumn, mass manufacture of Glaxo's vaccine could probably be started quickly by collaborating with rival pharmaceutical companies.

Glaxo said it was also talking to the Gates Foundation about how to provide the vaccine to poorer, developing countries.

Shotgun effect

Despite the company's optimism, a number of unanswered questions remain.

Firstly, there is uncertainty over how many doses can be manufactured quickly, and how easy it would be to switch from laboratory testing to mass production.

And secondly, it is not clear how effective the vaccination would be if H5N1 were to mutate significantly.

Glaxo says its vaccine is more akin to shotgun treatment than a "precision-rifle cure", which means that it appears to be effective against small mutations in the virus strain.

Glaxo said the cost of the vaccine is likely to be a little more than for conventional flu vaccines, which retail for about £4 per shot.

"The vaccine is an affordable option ahead of a pandemic emerging," said Ian Jones Virology professor at Reading University.

According to Glaxo, the side effects to its bird flu vaccine have been limited to a fever in a number of patients.

[Soldier4Christ]

Earthquake hits offshore Indonesia's Sumatra


An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.1 hit offshore the Indonesian island of Sumatra, the Indonesian Meteorology and Geophysics Agency said on Thursday.

The United States Geological Survey put the quake, which occurred at 1116 GMT, at a magnitude of 6.0.

Senior Indonesian seismologist Fauzi told Jakarta-based Radio Elshinta the earthquake appeared too small to trigger a tsunami.

"We don't need to be concerned about the possibility of a tsunami. The scale was too low for a tsunami. It could be felt though, so we hope there won't be any damage," Fauzi said.

A seismologist at the agency's branch in North Sumatra province told Reuters that no damage had been reported from the closest areas to the epicenter.

"It happened near Nias island but we have not received reports of any damage from there. It has been an hour so I think there has been no indication of a coming tsunami," said Buha Simanjuntak.

A government official on Nias also said there was no indication of damage or casualties, but people fled homes and buildings after feeling the tremor.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Honolulu, Hawaii, gave no immediate warning of a tsunami. The quake's magnitude was under its threshold of 6.5 for a specific tsunami warning.

In March 2005, a powerful earthquake devastated Nias island, off the west coast of northern Sumatra, killing hundreds of people and leaving tens of thousands homeless.

Earthquakes are frequent in Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous country. Its 17,000 islands sprawl along a belt of intense volcanic and seismic activity, part of what is called the "Pacific Ring of Fire."

[Soldier4Christ]

81 deaths attributed to California heat wave
‘Relief coming, if you can call 105 relief’ forecaster says

There have been so many deaths from California’s lingering heat wave that authorities in one county began stacking bodies two to a gurney.

Twenty people have died in Fresno County alone, about a quarter of the statewide toll of 81 deaths attributed to the heat. Coroner Loralee Cervantes said Wednesday that decomposition was making the causes of death difficult to determine and the office was running out of space.

Outside, the temperature on Wednesday approached 110 degrees.

Forecasters say a slow cooling trend is under way in the region, with highs expected to drop a few more degrees by the weekend.

“We’re seeing some relief coming, if you can call 105 relief,” said National Weather Service forecaster Jim Dudley. “We’re inching away from this superhot air mass we’ve had over us, though it’s tricky. ... It’s hard to get those things to move.”

But across the state, the damage has been done, from fruit and nuts scorched on the vine to a power grid battered by the constant demand for electricity.

Record electricity usage on Monday and Tuesday prompted officials to declare an emergency and warn of possible involuntary rolling blackouts. While the power supply remained adequate Wednesday, the hot weather, coupled with increased usage, has blown out transformers around the state.

St. Louis, Queens without power
The St. Louis area and the New York City borough of Queens, also troubled by long-running blackouts, were slowly returning to normal Thursday after more than a week after weather-related power outages.

About 46,000 homes and businesses in the St. Louis area remained without power Thursday morning, down from more than half a million after storms knocked out power last week, according to Ameren Corp.

Missouri officials said nine deaths had been blamed on the heat and storms. A utility worker was also killed after touching downed power lines, and a man died Wednesday from burns while he tried to fix a generator at home that lost power.

In Queens, the last the homes affected by a 10-day outage finally had power, but 60,000 residents in the borough of Staten Island were left in the dark for up to six hours Wednesday. Consolidated Edison blamed that problem on downed overhead cables.

Other states also attributed more deaths to heat. Oklahoma officials said two people whose homes lacked air conditioners were the latest victims there, bringing to 10 the number of heat-related deaths since July 13.

California’s inland valleys have registered some of the highest temperatures during the heat wave, with highs of around 115 and lows of about 90 degrees.

Actress Lindsay Lohan, 20, was overcome by the heat while filming a movie in 105-degree weather on Tuesday and treated at a hospital for overheating and dehydration, publicist Leslie Sloan Zelnick told “The Insider” entertainment show.

Cattle in danger
Farmers, meanwhile, have been rushing workers to their sun-baked crops well before dawn so they don’t have to work through afternoon heat.

Even with fans and misting to keep cattle cool, experts estimate as much as 2 percent of the state’s dairy herd may die. The surviving cattle are producing less — dairy production in the state — No. 1 in the nation — was down as much as 15 percent in the past few days, according to the California Farm Bureau.

It’s too early to say what percentage of California crops may be lost.

Tomatoes being grown for salsa, ketchup and pasta sauces were found split in the fields, which will make them hard to sell.

The heat might also mean a slightly smaller harvest of wine grapes, said Karen Ross, president of the California Association of Winegrape Growers. When temperatures rise, vines stop growing to conserve water.

“They’re just like people,” she said. “They kind of shut down when it gets this hot.”

[Soldier4Christ]

Strong earthquake hits Taiwan

A 6.1-magnitude earthquake hit Taiwan Friday, rocking buildings in the capital Taipei for almost a minute, but no damage or casualties were immediately reported, the Central Weather Bureau said.

 

The quake's epicenter was located 82 kilometers (51 miles) east of the Taiwanese port of Nanao, the bureau said. The harbor town lies 80 kilometers (50 miles) southeast of Taipei.

Quakes frequently rattle Taiwan, but most are minor and cause little or no damage. However, a 7.6-magnitude earthquake in central Taiwan in September 1999 killed more than 2,300 people.

 

[Soldier4Christ]

Heat-Related Deaths Climb in California

The heatwave that has been baking California since mid-July is being blamed for about 100 deaths across the state, the authorities have said.

Most of the deaths have been in the Central Valley, where temperatures have reached 46C (115F) in some areas.

Among the worst-hit areas is Fresno, where the local mortuary is struggling to deal with dozens of bodies.

The heat has also hit the agriculture sector, killing 25,000 cattle and 700,000 poultry, farmers say.

Fresno County coroner Loralee Cervantes said her staff were trying to investigate at least 22 possible heat-related deaths.

Bodies were piled up in the mortuary's freezers, some on top of one another, she said.

Map of recent average US temperatures

"It's never been like this in my years here. This is really tragic," said Ms Cervantes.

Many of the dead were elderly who often are too afraid to leave their windows open, she said.

On Thursday morning, the Fresno morgue which rarely has more than 25 bodies at a time was having to deal with 58, the New York Times reported.

Emergency

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has visited the Central Valley, which has suffered some of the highest temperatures.

"As the record heatwave continues, we must protect our outdoor workers in the sweltering summer heat," he said.

Employers must ensure workers have access to shade and water during their shifts, under emergency regulations which are now permanently in force.

His office also stressed the need for people to take steps to avoid heat exhaustion and to look out for others, especially older people.

"A mobilised force of local workers will continue to knock on doors and make phone calls to protect our vulnerable residents who may be exposed to the relentless heat," a statement from the governor's office said.

Carcasses

The high temperatures over the past fortnight have led to the deaths of some 25,000 cattle in central California, about 1% of the state's dairy herd.

"The timing is horrendous," Andy Zylstra, president of the California Dairy Campaign, told the French news agency, AFP.

"The price of milk is down 30% while feed, fuel, electricity prices are all up, and now we have these tremendous losses, It's just a kick in the head."

Several California counties have declared states of emergency because of the large number of carcasses that need to be disposed of.

Forecasters say the temperatures will drop slightly over the weekend in California.

[Soldier4Christ]

Death Toll From Calif. Heat Rises to 123

The death toll from California's record-breaking heat wave reached 132 Friday, the first day in nearly two weeks that temperatures were expected to be below 100 degrees across most of the state.

The big jump in the death count came primarily from Los Angeles, Merced, and Stanislaus counties, where coroners struggled to keep up.

"This is unprecedented for the county," said Stanislaus County Office of Emergency Services spokesman David Jones. The county typically sees one heat-related death a year, he said. On Friday, he reported 29.

The vast majority of the deaths believed linked to the heat deaths involved elderly people whose bodies don't cope as well in the heat.

But there have also been younger victims: A 38-year-old gardener collapsed on the job and died last week; on Wednesday, two brothers, ages 57 and 68, were found dead in a Bakersfield home without air conditioning.

Many of the victims likely underestimated the potential for harm, county coroners told The Associated Press.

"They've dealt with heat forever," said Sgt. Sue Norris, supervisor of the Merced County coroner's office. "They don't think that it could be a real danger."

The entire state has been sizzling in triple-digit temperatures since July 16. Only Friday were the heat advisories finally lifted and meteorologist said the heat wave appear to be nearing its end.

"By Monday, Tuesday we'll be even cooler than normal," said Mike Delman, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service. In the extended forecast, "It might warm up a bit, but nothing like what we had."

The Central Valley bore the brunt of the heat wave with temperatures reaching 115 degrees.

On Thursday, aid workers went door-to-door checking on the elderly as the number of suspected heat-related deaths climbed.

In Fresno County's morgue Thursday, the walk-in freezer was stuffed with bodies, with some piled on top of others, said Coroner Loralee Cervantes. With limited air conditioning, employees worked in sweltering heat as they investigated possible heat-related deaths.

Californians trying to keep cool amid the heat have set records for energy consumption, even catching the Department of Water and Power officials by surprise, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Before this week, the utility's highest peak energy use was recorded at 5,661 megawatts. The heat wave created a demand of 6,165 megawatts — shocking officials who predicted usage wouldn't top 6,100 megawatts for another four years.

"They didn't even believe our customers could ever put such a load on our system — that we could even have energy use from our customers up to that kind level," DWP board member David Nahai told the Times. The utility serves 1.4 million customers.

[Shammu]

Thousands flee fearing Indonesian volcano
AFP Friday July 28, 10:14 AM


JAKARTA (AFP) - Thousands of villagers have fled homes lying in the path of red-hot lava flows oozing from Indonesia's Mount Karangetang as the volcano has been put on top alert.

The top alert status means that scientists Friday believe an eruption of the volcano, one of the archipelago nation's most active, could be imminent.

More than 3,900 residents from five villages living around the slopes of the 1,784-meter (5,850 feet) volcano were evacuated Thursday and Friday, said Boy Rompas,
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a spokesman for the North Sulawesi provincial administration.

Many villagers returned to their homes Friday to tend their fields but were expected back at the shelters at night, Rompas said, adding that local officials would deliver food and medicines to the shelters on Saturday.

Saut Simatupang, a vulcanologist with the national vulcanology monitoring office in West Java, said the top alert status was put in place last Saturday due to increasing flows of lava and heat clouds.

As of Friday, the volcano's lava flows were stretching as far as 1.75 kilometres (one mile) down the volcano's slopes, he said.

"We are continuously monitoring the volcano's activity but fortunately residents there are well-adapted to its activities so they occasionally conduct self-evacuations," he told AFP.

About 16,000 people live in eastern Siau, the area deemed most likely to be affected by any eruption, local officials said.

The volcano is located on Siau Island, about 2,300 kilometres (1,400 miles) northeast of Jakarta and 160 kilometres north of Manado, the capital of North Sulawesi province.

Karangetang is one of Indonesia's most active volcanoes. Six people were killed by lava flow or heat in the volcano's last eruption in May 1992.

Vulcanologists had only earlier this month downgraded the top alert status of another Indonesian volcano.

Mount Merapi, located on the densely populated island of Java, killed two people sheltering in a bunker when it spewed searing clouds of hot gas and ash.

Thousands flee fearing Indonesian volcano

[Soldier4Christ]

With all the earthquakes there recently I figured this was next.

[Shammu]

With all the earthquakes there recently I figured this was next.

I'm waiting for some bigger earthquakes.

Matthew 24:7-8 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in place after place; 8 All this is but the beginning [the early pains] of the birth pangs [of the intolerable anguish]. 

[Soldier4Christ]

Pressure has been getting released on Asian side of the Pacific with a lot of shifting of the plates. There has also been shifting in the southern hemisphere of the Americas. This will cause more pressure to build on the rest of the ring of fire and their corresponding plates. Where is it in this series that is left that has not been having any major earthquakes recently? Be watching there.

[Shammu]

The New Madrid fault zone, has had several little quakes.  Only one bigger quake off of Texas. 

Juan de Fuca, off the coast of northern Calif., Oregon, Washington, up to B.C.. 

San Andreas Fault outside of Los Angeles, hasn't had a major quake in some time. Above that yes, and below, yes.

In the Caribbean, west coast of South America.....................

The list goes on, and on.............

[Soldier4Christ]

The San Andreas is the one I was referring to. It is the only major fault left that is directly affected by those that are in realtion to the pacific ring of fire.

[Shammu]

Brother if the Juan de Fuca pops, it would have the same effect as the earthquake in Indonesia, in 2004.

[Soldier4Christ]

Sweltering Heat Wave Moves Eastward
California Gets Break; Rest Of U.S. Bakes
As normal temperatures return to California, other parts of the country are baking.

Heat advisories are in effect for parts of the Plains and the Mississippi Valley, and similar advisories have been issued as far east as Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Much of eastern and central Oklahoma is under a heat advisory, with some places expected to hit 110 degrees. In fact, the triple digits there could continue there through the middle of next week, forecasters said.

Minnesota also has heat advisories in effect.

Minneapolis could hit the century mark tomorrow and Monday. Neighboring St. Paul is extending weekend hours for air-conditioned recreation centers and some beaches.

Northeastern Minnesota residents are being asked to conserve electricity.

In the Dakotas, weeks of hot, rainless days have dried up fields of wheat, durum and barley. Some ranchers have been forced to sell their entire herds.

As for California, which is just getting over a nearly two-week heat wave, the death toll stands at 141. The state's Farm Bureau said growers of peaches, plums, nectarines and walnuts took a big hit.

[Soldier4Christ]

Earthquake Kills 1, Injures 12 in Northern Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan — An earthquake hit northern Afghanistan early Saturday, killing one woman and injuring 12 other people, including children, a police officer said.

The quake happened around 3:30 a.m. in Imam Sahib district of the northern Kunduz province, said Gen. Noor Mohammed Omarkhail, deputy police chief of the province.

A medical team went to the scene and evacuated some of those badly injured to the main provincial hospital in the city of Kunduz, Omarkhail said.

State television reported that dozens of houses were damaged.

The quake appeared to one recorded early Saturday by Pakistan's Seismic Center as having 5.2 magnitude and centered about 290 miles north of the northwestern Pakistan city of Peshawar, inside Tajikistan, which borders Afghanistan's Kunduz province.