No epidemics after China earthquake
BEIJING, May 17 (UPI) -- Despite the large-scale devastation from last week's China earthquake, disease epidemics have so far been prevented, government officials said Saturday.
Officials of China's Ministry of Health told the state-run Xinhua news agency that the country had 34,000 medical workers and disease control staff working in the worst hit areas in Sichuan province. The health ministry also said that hospitals in the province had received 116,460 patients, including 15,858 severely wounded victims.
China's vice minister of health, Gao Qiang, told Xinhua that he has promised to prevent any epidemic outbreak, adding that all the local governments in Sichuan have disease prevention programs in place.
Meanwhile in Beichuan, China, thousands of rescuers and earthquake victims fled in panic Saturday because they feared a dam had burst and a wall of water was approaching, CNN reported. However, no water was seen despite warnings from military personnel to evacuate a low-lying area near a river.
Kidnapped Pakistani envoy released
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, May 17 (UPI) -- Pakistan's ambassador to Afghanistan, Tariq Azizudin, was freed Saturday three months after he was kidnapped in Pakistan's lawless tribal region.
Azizuddin "is recovered and is with us safe," Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Sadiq told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, which reported that the ambassador's driver and bodyguard were also released and are safe.
A video of the ambassador was released in April that showed him pleading with the Pakistan government to arrange a release for him. He had been abducted while traveling by car on the Kabul-Turkham highway, which links Kabul and Peshawar, Pakistan, CNN reported.
Officials believed that Azizudin's kidnapping may have been a reprisal for the capture earlier that day of Mansoor Dadullah, the brother of slain Taliban leader Mullah Dadullah.
Razor wire added to U.S. border fence
SAN DIEGO, May 17 (UPI) -- The U.S. Border Patrol said it has become necessary to top a five-mile section of border fence with Mexico with triple-strand razor wire to battle smugglers.
The Los Angeles Times says the "concertina" wire has been added to the existing fence separating San Diego from Tijuana, Mexico. The move marks a major shift for the Border Patrol, which in the past has shied away from using such fencing because of the negative connotations its appearance creates.
Border officials told the newspaper that escalating violence from human smugglers has created the need for the new fortifications, specifically from Colonia Libertad, a notorious Tijuana smuggling enclave. U.S. officials contend the razor wire has proven to be effective in controlling the smugglers.
However, critics say the wire is inhumane and could severely injure illegal immigrants attempting to enter the United States.
The southern California area has frequently seen violence between rock-throwing Mexican youths and Border Patrol officers, who respond by firing tear gas and pepper spray to disperse the attackers. Despite attempts to cooperate with Mexican authorities, the attacks are continuing, the Times reported.
McCain builds ties to liberal bloggers
WASHINGTON, May 17 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is reaching out to liberal and non-partisan bloggers in an effort to bring new voters to his presidential campaign.
McCain invited them to join his regular conference call Thursday, the Washington Times reported. The call took place after McCain gave a major speech outlining his plans for the next four years if he is elected president.
"The plan is to take the work we've already built on with conservative bloggers and to open up a dialogue with non-conservative bloggers and even non-political bloggers," said Patrick Hynes, in charge of the campaign's blog outreach.
McCain, before he became the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, used conference calls with right-wing bloggers to build ties to the party's conservative wing. While McCain shares most of their views, the party's right wing objects to some of his positions, notably immigration and campaign finance.
