Bird flu likely to appear in Europe, other places, expert says

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  A janitor sprays disinfectant at empty chicken cages in a traditional market in New Taipei city April 29, 2013.Reuters

Human cases of a deadly new strain of bird flu that has killed 27 people in China are likely to crop up in Europe and around the world but that should not cause undue alarm, Europe's leading flu expert said on Thursday.

In his first media interview since returning from an international scientific mission to China last week, Professor Angus Nicoll said the H7N9 flu outbreak in humans was one that should be taken extremely seriously and watched closely.

"We are at the start of a very long haul with H7N9," Nicoll told Reuters in a telephone interview from the Stockholm-based European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), where he is head of the influenza and respiratory viruses program.

He said there were many scientific questions to be answered about the new flu strain, which was first detected in patients in China in March having been previously unknown in humans.

The flu has so far infected at least 127 people in China and killed 27 of them, according to latest data from Chinese health authorities and the World Health Organization.

Scientific studies of the virus have established it is being transmitted from birds - probably mostly chickens - to people, making it a so-called zoonotic disease that humans catch from animals rather than from other humans.

Nicoll, who visited Beijing and Shanghai last week with a team of international scientific experts, confirmed what the WHO has repeatedly said - that there is no evidence yet of the virus efficiently passing from person to person - a factor that would make H7N9 a serious pandemic flu threat if it were to evolve.

Nicoll said the "most pressing public health question" for now was to identify the source of the circulating virus - the so-called "reservoir" - that is leading to chickens contracting it and sporadically passing it on to humans. This is likely to take time, with any results unlikely for several months.

"IMPORTED CASES"

In the meantime, Nicoll said the ECDC, which monitors disease in the European Union, and health authorities around the world should expect that "imported cases" of H7N9 flu may well begin to crop up elsewhere.

Just as Taiwan reported its first case on April 24, other countries should expect that business travelers and tourists may occasionally return from China having picked up the infection, he said.

"I'm not sure when that will happen. But the case in Taiwan shows that it can. If that person had got on a different flight and ended up in Paris, then we would have had a scenario that we would expect people to be alarmed at," he said.

"But again we should stress that this thing doesn't seem to be transmissible from human to human, so if we get some sporadic cases appearing in Europe, that doesn't change anything."

Nicoll noted that genetic analysis studies of H7N9 samples taken from patients in China showed the virus had already acquired two genetic mutations that made it more likely to be able to become transmissible between people.

Flu experts speaking at a briefing in London on Wednesday said those mutations, together with evidence that H7N9 is still mutating rapidly and probably spreading almost invisibly among birds because it does not make them obviously sick, meant this new flu was a "serious threat" to world health.

"You can never predict anything about flu, but it is concerning to see those mutations there, Nicoll said. "That's why it's important Europe should take this very seriously."

Nicoll added that he thought the Chinese were doing an "impressive job" handling, reporting, investigating and seeking to contain the outbreak.

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Presidents share stage at Bush library dedication- PHOTOS: Presidents appear at library dedication - VIDEO: Bush previews presidential center

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    George W. Bush: We stayed true to our convictions

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    President Obama: Special day for our democracy

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    George H.W. Bush: Very special for Barbara and me

All five living past and present U.S. presidents gathered in Dallas for the dedication of the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum Thursday, an event that saw the men share a rare bond that transcends partisan differences.

"There was a time in my life when I wasn't likely to be found at a library, much less found one," Bush quipped, before thanking his predecessors and successor for the "kind words" and the "examples you set."

Bush thanked his mother Barbara Bush for teaching him to live life to the fullest, and his father, the 41st president, for "teaching me how to be a president ... and how to be a man."

"To know the man is to like the man."

- President Obama on President Bush

"Forty-one, it is awesome that you are here today," he said, drawing a smile from his 88-year-old father, who has battled health problems in recent months.

Earlier, President Obama noted that the exclusive group of current and former presidents is often viewed as a club, but he said it is "more of a support group."

"No matter how much you think you're ready to assume the office of the president, it’s impossible to understand the nature of the job until it’s yours," Obama said. "The first thing I found in that desk was a letter from George. He knew that I would come to learn what he had learned. That being president is a humbling job."

“We know President Bush the man," Obama said. "To know the man is to like the man. Because he’s comfortable in his own skin. He knows who he is. He doesn’t put on any pretenses. He takes the job seriously but he doesn’t take himself too seriously. He’s a good man.”

Obama injected contemporary politics into the ceremony, when he claimed current efforts in Washington to pass immigration reform are a continuation of Bush policies.     

"And even though comprehensive immigration reform has taken a little longer than any of us expected, I am hopeful that this year, with the help of Speaker Boehner, and some of the senators and members of Congress who are here today, that we bring it home for our families, our economy, our security, and for this incredible country that we love," Obama said. "And if we do that it will be in large part thanks to the hard work of President George W. Bush."

Former President Jimmy Carter praised Bush for boosting humanitarian efforts in Africa, Bill Clinton recalled private conversations with his successor and expressed hope that the candid talks will never come to light and President George H.W. Bush spoke briefly to warm applause.

"Dear God, I hope those conversations never come to light," Clinton said of the private chats that took place during Bush's sometimes tumultuous second term.

"I like President Bush," Clinton added later, noting the two appear together often on the lecture circuit. "He's disarmingly direct."

Carter praised Bush for helping to fight AIDS in Africa and also bringing peace to troubled regions there,. He recalled talking to Bush shortly after his election and holding him to a promise to help him.

"In January of 2005, there was a peace treaty between North and South Sudan that ended a war," Carter said. "George W. Bush is responsible for that."

The ceremony, at Southern Methodist University, drew 10,000. The men spoke from a stage flanked by American flags in front of the entrance to the library. The center on the campus of Southern Methodist University includes the presidential library and museum along with the 43rd president's policy institute. The center opens to the public May 1.

Bush addressed his vice president, Dick Cheney, who was in attendance, saying he was "proud to call you friend." Bush said the guiding principle of his two terms in office was expanding freedom throughout the world.

When people come to the library and research Bush's administration, "They’re going to find out we stayed true to our convictions," he said. “That we expanded freedom at home by raising standards at school and lowering taxes for everybody, that we liberated nations from dictatorship and freed people from AIDS. And that when freedom came under attack, we made the tough decisions required to make the American people safe.”

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HOW'D THEY GET THAT? Syrian Rebels Appear to Have SEALs' Favorite Rifle

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  A British special forces member used the AS-50 to kill to Taliban fighters from more than a mile and a half away.

New YouTube video from the Syrian battlefield shows rebels firing what appears to be the same high-powered sniper rifle favored by U.S. Navy SEALs, leaving some experts wondering who the ragtag army of insurgents might train the guns on in the future.

The British-made AS-50, accurate from a distance of 20 football fields, is made for British Special Forces and has been used by Navy SEALs. The video shows Syrian rebels, who are aligned with Al Qaeda, firing guns that look like the AS-50 and shouting “Alahu akbar.” Even if the rifle is a cheap knock-off of the AS-50, it has raised questions about who is supplying such devastating hardware.

“The video, showing jihadist rebels of the 'Descendents of the Prophet Brigade' firing one of the world's most effective sniper rifles, should be cause for alarm," said David Reaboi, of the Washington-based Center for Security Policy. "We don't know who has been supplying this group (or the myriad others) with these weapons but, given the jihadist ideology of these groups, it's only a matter of time until they're turned on Americans or our allies and interests.”

The AS-50 set a reported world record when a member of the British Household Cavalry in Afghanistan’s Helmand province killed two members of the Taliban with successive bullets over a recorded distance of more than 1.5 miles, though the record is disputed.

The Free Syrian Army has been receiving weapons from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey - all close allies of the U.S. But the U.S. has repeatedly stated that it has sent no weapons to the opposition forces.

"... given the jihadist ideology of these groups, it's only a matter of time until they're turned on Americans or our allies and interests.”

- David Reaboi, Center for Security Policy

The U.S. State Department has acknowledged directly providing $385 million support to the Syrian people, including “emergency medical care and medical supplies, food aid, and winterization supplies like blankets and heaters for those affected by the crisis.” The site also reports that “over 4,000 major pieces of equipment have been provided, mostly to Damascus, Aleppo, and other areas with significant opposition presence, including communications and computer equipment, as well as generators.”

If the rebels were able to get AS-50s, experts say it could prove impossible to determine where and how many.

The sniper rifle, manufactured by Accuracy International – which sells arms to the Turkish and Saudi Arabian militaries - has a fearsome reputation. It has been used in various theaters of war in recent years by many elite forces, including both the SEALs and British Special Forces.

“I know from first-hand experience how revered the AI product is, even in the States, where traditionally U.S. producers are favored,” a British Army sniping instructor told Wired in 2011.

Call of Duty, a warfare game that in 2009 sold more than 7 million copies in just one day, seemingly endorsed the already lofty reputation of the AS-50 by featuring the weapon in one of its many urban combat simulations, giving the sniper rifle something of an iconic following amongst players of the record-breaking video feature.

The Free Syrian Army has recently made significant territorial gains against government forces in the two-year-old bloody civil war that in March saw its worst ever body count, with independent monitors determining at least 6,000 people were killed.

The AS-50 costs about $10,000, according to Reaboi. Even if the rebels are toting cheap knock-offs, the weapons could be around long after the war in Syria ends.

"We're unsure of how many they have," Reaboi said. "Equally troubling, of course, is the training ground of the Syrian civil war itself; like the conflict in the Balkans, Iraq, and Afghanistan, we will be facing tested veteran jihadist fighters who don't just leave the war when the one battle is over. I'm afraid we or our allies will have to face them shortly, and with exceedingly lethal weapons."

Especially concerned is Israel, which shares an increasingly uneasy border with Syria in the Golan Heights.

With the Free Syrian Army increasingly dominated by more radical Jihadist elements such as the Al Qaeda-associated Al Nusra Front (Jabhat al-Nusra), concern is growing that it won’t be too long before battle-hardened Islamist fighters as well as mercenaries from around the globe who have joined the fight against Assad, turn their attentions towards Israel. In their experienced hands even a far from easy-to-use weapon such as the AS-50 would be indeed be lethal.

Israel Defense Forces spokesman Capt. Eytan Buchman told FoxNews.com that the IDF is keeping a close eye on all forms of weaponry being used in the neighboring conflict.

“The Israeli security forces are very closely tracking developments inside of Syria in order to isolate and identify any potential threat to Israeli security” Buchman said.

Paul Alster is an Israel-based journalist who blogs at www.paulalster.com and can be followed on Twitter @paul_alster

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Taylor Swift to appear on 'New Girl' alongside Zooey Deschanel

Published March 28, 2013

Associated Press

A new girl is coming to Fox's "New Girl" and her name is Taylor Swift.

A representative for the Grammy-winning singer said Thursday that Swift will appear on the May 14 season finale of the hit show. No other details were provided.

"New Girl" stars actress-singer Zooey Deschanel as the awkward, but bubbly Jessica Day, who lives with three male roommates.

Swift appeared in the 2010 romantic comedy "Valentine's Day" and guest starred on "CSI" in 2009. The 23-year-old launched her "Red" world tour this month.

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George Lucas says Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamil to appear in new 'Star Wars'

“Star Wars” creator George Lucas let slip that Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill could be firing up their old lightsabers in “Star Wars: Episode VII.”

When asked by Bloomberg Businessweek if the original actors from the sci-fi phenomenon would return, Lucas revealed, “We had already signed Mark and Carrie and Harrison—or we were pretty much in final stages of negotiation. So I called them to say, ‘Look, this is what’s going on.’”

“Maybe I’m not supposed to say that,” he continued after a pause. “I think they want to announce that with some big whoop-de-do, but we were negotiating with them.”

He added, “I won’t say whether the negotiations were successful or not.”

Click here for more from The New York Post. 

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