ALERT|Hepatits C Scare Rocks Westchester Via Colorado

A major health scare in Colorado has created shockwaves here in New York. Surgical technician Kristen Parker was arrested for allegedly swapping needles tainted with hepatitis C for ones filled with a painkiller at two Colorado hospitals. She told police before moving to Colorado she worked at Northern Westchester Hospital in Mount Kisco between Oct. 8, 2007 and Feb. 28, 2008, and may have engaged in similar conduct while employed at Northern Westchester, although it is not known whether she was infected with hepatitis C at that time.

ALERT|Teen Arrested In May Starbucks Bombing

Police have arrested a teenager for the bombing of an Upper East Side Starbucks in May, a blast that shattered windows and left employees and residents shaken. The suspect's identity has not yet been released. The May 25 explosion, which shattered multiple windows at the coffee shop, was caused by a makeshift device constructed out of a small plastic bottle and low-explosive type of powder.

WHO warns of H1N1 vaccine delay

The WHO has said it could be the end of the year before a vaccine for the H1N1 influenza is properly licensed.

However, countries are being allowed to use emergency provisions to get the medication out faster if they decide the need is there.

Experts say the vaccine will be marketable in the next couple of months, but will need to undergo tests.

“The regulatory authority will certainly want to have a better handle on safety in the clinical trials, the dosing in clinical trials, and these clinical trials will take some time.” said aWHO vaccine expert in Geneva.

Meanwhile, more than 400 schools will be closed for five days in the Thai capital Bangkok, to allow for thorough disinfection.

There have been more than 4000 reported cases of H1N1 in the country, and 24 confirmed deaths.

The Thai government has also placed an order for two million doses of a vaccine, with delivery expected in December.

Israeli soldiers: ‘Shoot first, question later’

The Israeli military has rejected outright claims that the assault on Gaza last winter was conducted on a ‘shoot first, ask questions later’ basis.

Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and UN agencies said the destruction of Gaza and its human cost was unjustified. And some Israeli soldiers, from a group called Breaking the Silence, say they were told to shoot first and to worry about separating fighters and civilians afterwards.

“At any obstacle, any problem, we opened fire and didn’t ask questions, said a soldier known as Sergeant Amir. “Even if it was firing in the dark, firing at unknown targets, firing at things we couldn’t see, there was no problem.”

The Israeli military rejected the claims as unsubstantiated, and said they were based on hearsay.

“Yet another human rights organisation is presenting to Israel and the world a report based on anonymous and general testimony, without fully investigating the details or credibility,” said Israeli Defence Force spokesman Avital Leibovitch.

Israel’s armed forces are banned from speaking to the media. Even so, the report from Breaking the Silence includes testimony from 30 soldiers who fought in Gaza and who are said to be deeply distressed at the morality of the operation.

US Navy arrives in Georgia for exercises

The American guided missile destroyer USS Stout has dropped anchor off the Georgian Black Sea port of Batumi to take part naval training exercises with Georgian coastguards and Turkish ships.

It is being seen as a show of solidarity with the ex-Soviet state after its short war with Russia last year.

The exercises begin today, which is also when the final UN ceasefire observers leave the country.

For 16 years they have patrolled the border with Abkazia, a region that broke away from Georgia in 1993, and whose independence, along with South Ossetia’s Russia recognised after the 5-day war.

On Tuesday the Russian president visited South Ossetia for the first time since then. Dmitry Medvedev hinted that if Georgia tried to use force in the region again so would Moscow, adding “I hope this lesson will be deeply engrained in the memory of those trying to reshape the currrent order”.

Second night of clashes in N.Ireland

Northern Ireland has been hit by a second night of violence in Belfast and other towns. The first clashes, on Monday, were sparked by the annual Orange Order marches, which commemorate the 17th century victory of Protestant forces over Catholics. But police said the continuing unrest appeared to be stage-managed, with rioters bussed-in to attack officers.

Northern Ireland has been relatively peaceful since a deal in 1998 ended years of the IRA’s violent campaign against British rule. But Republican splinter groups are blamed for killing two British soldiers and a policeman in March and other isolated attacks. Sinn Fein said dissident Republican criminal gangs had orchestrated the latest trouble.

Swedish EU presidency targets finance and climate

The Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt has set out Sweden’s plans for the next six months as holder of the rotating presidency of the EU. Addressing the first session of the new Parliament in Strasbourg Reinfeldt put the financial crisis and climate change at the top the list of priorities. He said they can, and must, be tackled together.

“More than half of the measures which are needed to avoid exceeding the two-degree target can be achieved and adopted on the basis of technology we already have at our disposal,” Reinfeldt said. “Above and beyond that, we are seeing many positive spin-off effects when we combat climate-change which stimulate measures by themselves. When we consume less energy we save money and we improve public finances at the same time as making more resources available to households.”

Reinfeldt said Sweden’s presidency comes during ‘an era of change.’ He described the Stockholm Programme, intended to beef up justice and security in the EU, but at the same time protect the rights of individual citizens. And he stressed the need for the European Union to become a stronger voice on the global stage.