Russia rejects Assad exit as precondition for Syria deal

MOSCOW/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Russia voiced support on Saturday for international peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi but insisted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's exit cannot be a precondition for a deal to end the country's conflict.

Some 60,000 Syrians have been killed during the 21-month-old revolt and world powers are divided over how to stop the escalating bloodshed. Government aircraft bombed outer districts of Damascus on Saturday after being grounded for a week by stormy weather, opposition activists in the capital said.

A Russian Foreign Ministry statement following talks on Friday in Geneva with the United States and Brahimi reiterated calls for an end to violence in Syria, but there was no sign of a breakthrough.

Brahimi said the issue of Assad, who the United States, European powers and Gulf-led Arab states insist must step down to end the civil war, appeared to be a sticking point.

Russia's Foreign Ministry said: "As before, we firmly uphold the thesis that questions about Syria's future must be decided by the Syrians themselves, without interference from outside or the imposition of prepared recipes for development."

Russia has been Assad's most powerful international backer, joining with China to block three Western- and Arab-backed U.N. Security Council resolutions aimed to pressure him or push him from power. Assad can also rely on regional powerhouse Iran.

Russia called for "a political transition process" based on an agreement by foreign powers last June.

Brahimi, who is trying to build on that agreement, has met three times with senior Russian and U.S. diplomats since early December and met Assad in Damascus.

Russia and the United States disagreed over what the June agreement meant for Assad, with Washington saying it sent a clear signal he must go and Russia contending it did not.

Qatar on Saturday made a fresh call for an Arab force to end bloodshed in Syria if Brahimi's efforts fail, according to the Doha-based al Jazeera television.

"It is not a question of intervention in Syria in favor of one party against the other, but rather a force to preserve security," Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, said in an al Jazeera broadcast.

CONFLICT INTENSIFIES

Moscow has been reluctant to endorse the "Arab Spring" popular revolts of the last two years, saying they have increased instability in the Middle East and created a risk of radical Islamists seizing power.

Although Russia sells arms to Syria and rents one of its naval bases, the economic benefit of its support for Assad is minimal. Analysts say President Vladimir Putin wants to prevent the United States from using military force or support from the U.N. Security Council to bring down governments it opposes.

However, as rebels gain ground in the war, Russia has given indications it is preparing for Assad's possible exit, while continuing to insist he must not be forced out by foreign powers.

Opposition activists say a military escalation and the hardship of winter have accelerated the death toll.

Rebel forces have acquired more powerful anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons during attacks on Assad's military bases.

Assad's forces have employed increasing amounts of military hardware including Scud-type ballistic missiles in the past two months. New York-based Human Rights Watch said they had also used incendiary cluster bombs that are banned by most nations.

STALEMATE IN CITIES

The weeklong respite from aerial strikes has been marred by snow and thunderstorms that affected millions displaced by the conflict, which has now reached every region of Syria.

On Saturday, the skies were clear and jets and helicopters fired missiles and dropped bombs on a line of towns to the east of Damascus, where rebels have pushed out Assad's ground forces, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The British-based group, which is linked to the opposition, said it had no immediate information on casualties from the strikes on districts including Maleiha and farmland areas.

Rebels control large swathes of rural land around Syria but are stuck in a stalemate with Assad's forces in cities, where the army has reinforced positions.

State TV said government forces had repelled an attack by terrorists - a term it uses for the armed opposition - on Aleppo's international airport, now used as a helicopter base.

Reuters cannot independently confirm reports due to severe reporting restrictions imposed by the Syrian authorities and security constraints.

On Friday, rebels seized control of one of Syria's largest helicopter bases, Taftanaz in Idlib province, their first capture of a military airfield.

Eight-six people were killed on Friday, including 30 civilians, the Syrian Observatory said.

(Writing by Oliver Holmes; Editing by Tom Pfeiffer and Doina Chiacu)

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Vowing revenge, 15,000 rally in Paris over Kurd killings

PARIS: At least 15,000 Kurds from all over Europe vowed revenge as they rallied Saturday in Paris over the killing of three top Kurdish activists from a separatist group banned in Turkey.

The march, which began at the city's Gare de l'Est railway station, was emotionally charged, with demonstrators saying France would be an accomplice in the brazen murders if it did not identify and punish the killers.

Organisers disputed the police estimate saying more than 50,000 people joined the demonstration.

"This crime is a crime against the Kurdish people and against peace," said a woman demonstrator, calling for an end to the listing of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) as a terrorist organisation.

"The French state bears a responsibility. If the perpetrators of these crimes are not found, France will be indisputably considered as an accomplice," said a leaflet published and distributed by France's main Kurdish association, Feyka.

"It's the first time something like this has happened in Europe," said Celine Yildirim, a waitress in Paris who gained political asylum in France after being jailed in Turkey.

"We want to know who did this."

The demonstrators, marching under grey skies and an intermittent drizzle, held banners saying "Intikam! PKK," using the Turkish word for revenge, and "The Martyrs of the Revolution Are Eternal."

The three activists -- Sakine Cansiz, Fidan Dogan and Leyla Soylemez -- were found dead on Thursday at the Kurdistan Information Centre in the grimy 10th district of Paris, after last being seen alive at the centre at midday on Wednesday.

They were all shot in the head, at least three times each.

Cansiz was a founding member of the PKK, which took up arms in 1984 for Kurdish self-rule in southeastern Turkey and is branded a terrorist organisation by Ankara and much of the international community.

Police put the number of marchers at 15,000. They came from Belgium, the Netherlands, Britain, Switzerland and especially Germany, which is home to 800,000 Kurds, of whom 13,000 are believed to be PKK members.

Fikriye Cinar, who drove to Paris with eight members of her family from the German city of Dortmund, said she had "not really slept for three days as these murders have shaken me."

The killings came days after Turkish media reported that Turkey and the PKK leadership had agreed a roadmap to end the three-decade Kurdish insurgency, which has claimed more than 45,000 lives.

The deal was reportedly reached during a new round of talks between the Turkish government and jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan which the government acknowledges have been taking place with the aim of disarming the rebels.

"This attack comes at a time when talks are on to find a solution to the Kurdish problem in Turkey," said Kurdish association Feyka.

French President Francois Hollande had said the murder was "terrible", adding that he knew one of the Kurdish women and that she "regularly met us" -- a comment seized upon by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who on Saturday sought an explanation from Paris.

"How can he regularly meet with these people who are members of a group listed as a terrorist organisation by the European Union and who are wanted under red bulletin (issued by Interpol)?" Erdogan asked.

Erdogan said Hollande "must explain immediately to the French, Turkish and world public why... he is in communication with these terrorists."

The Turkish leader repeatedly accused some European states, including France and Germany, of obstructing Ankara's fight against the PKK, saying that they were letting PKK members freely circulate on their territory.

Experts have suggested a number of potential motives for the killings, including an attack by Turkish extremists and internal feuding within the PKK.

There are around 150,000 Kurds in France, the vast majority of them of Turkish origin.

-AFP/ac

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Reformed women alcoholics from Australia on taboo-breaking trip to India

NEW DELHI: She began drinking when she was 15 and couldn't stop thereafter. From then on, Janet, a 50-year-old Perth resident, would get drunk every time she touched any spirit. "It got so bad that I suffered three seizures. I was admitted to a detox unit and later taken to my first Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meeting. That changed my life." Not only has Janet now written a book about her recovery and learned to fly a plane, she has also built a successful business.

Like Janet, women in India, too, are increasingly taking to drinking. In fact, binge drinking is on the rise not only in metros but smaller towns with cases of women in Punjab, for instance, calling up AA for help. But there are hardly any de-addiction centres for them here. Also, it doesn't help that alcoholism in India is seen by society as a moral problem, unlike abroad where it's perceived as an affliction.

It is to break these taboos that 91 foreign women, all recovering alcoholics, will come to India in the first-ever such delegation to tour the country. Starting January 13, they will go to colleges, hospitals, rehab facilities - holding meetings all the while - in Delhi, Kolkata, Surat, Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore. Team members say they will "try to articulate" how societal acceptance can go a long way in recovery. Women form about 30% of AA abroad, in India it's barely 1%.

Brenda, 57, a resident of Auckland, began drinking at 13. To compound matters, she ended up marrying an alcoholic with violent moods. "I became emotionally and spiritually bankrupt, and divorced my husband," she says. Fortunately, her ex-husband joined AA and got her along too. Today, this grandmother has remarried the same man and hasn't touched a drink in 28 years. "This kind of support is lacking in India," she says. And she wants to talk about it.

"Husbands abroad even come with their alcoholic wives to AA meetings," says Rahul, a member. In India, most women are brought in by desperate families. He hopes this trip by the foreign women will recognize and address what many parents see in India as a growing and deeply troubling issue. A counselor at a girls' school in Chandigarh says many of the kids, most of them in their early teens, who come to her for help fear they might be getting addicted to alcohol. "Their weekends pass by in a blur," she says.

Aruna, who is in her 40s, says accepting alcoholism as a problem that's getting more acute by the day especially in India's burgeoning cities with their freedom and independence, is the first step. "There was a time I could finish a bottle of vodka," she says. "When I joined AA, I was the only woman member then. It wasn't easy and I used to be so embarrassed. But being accepted with love helped. Just like men can have a problem, women can too. We need to see that. And it's really important that society stops seeing women with a drinking problem as being easily available and morally ambiguous."

(AA's helpline for women is 9971255335)

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Q&A: Scramble for vaccine as flu season heats up

WASHINGTON (AP) — Missed flu-shot day at the office last fall? And all those "get vaccinated" ads? A scramble for shots is under way as late-comers seek protection from a miserable flu strain already spreading through much of the country.

Federal health officials said Friday that there is still some flu vaccine available and it's not too late to benefit from it. But people may have to call around to find a clinic with shots still on the shelf, or wait a few days for a new shipment.

"We're hearing of spot shortages," said Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Colorado offers an example. Kaiser Permanente, which has 535,000 members in the state, stopped giving flu shots this week. But it expected to resume vaccinations when new shipments arrive, expected this weekend.

Some questions and answers about flu vaccines:

Q: Are we running out of vaccine?

A: It's January — we shouldn't have a lot left. The traditional time to get vaccinated is in the fall, so that people are protected before influenza starts spreading.

Indeed, manufacturers already have shipped nearly 130 million doses to doctors' offices, drugstores and wholesalers, out of the 135 million doses they had planned to make for this year's flu season. At least 112 million have been used so far.

The nation's largest manufacturer, Sanofi Pasteur, said Friday that it still has supplies of two specialty vaccines, a high-dose shot for seniors, and an under-the-skin shot for certain adults, available for immediate shipment. But it also is working to eke out a limited supply of its traditional shots — some doses that it initially hadn't packaged into syringes, said spokesman Michael Szumera. They should be available late this month.

And MedImmune, the maker of the nasal spray vaccine FluMist, said it has 620,000 extra doses available.

Q: Can't they just make more?

A: No. Flu vaccine is complicated to brew, with supplies for each winter made months in advance and at the numbers expected to sell. Although health officials recommend a yearly flu vaccination for nearly everybody, last year 52 percent of children and just 39 percent of adults were immunized. Most years, leftover doses have to be thrown out.

Q: Should I still hunt for a vaccine?

A: It does take two weeks for full protection to kick in. Still, health officials say it's a good idea to be vaccinated even this late, especially for older people, young children and anyone with medical conditions such as heart or lung diseases that put them at high risk of dangerous flu complications. Flu season does tend to be worst in January and February, but it can run through March.

Q: I heard that a new flu strain is spreading. Does the vaccine really work?

A: Flu strains constantly evolve, the reason that people need an updated vaccine every year. But the CDC says this year's is a good match to the types that are circulating, including a new kind of the tough H3N2 strain. That family tends to be harsher than other flu types — and health officials warned last fall that it was coming, and meant this winter would likely be tougher than last year's flu season, the mildest on record.

Q: But don't some people get vaccinated and still get sick?

A: Flu vaccine never is 100 percent effective, and unfortunately it tends to protect younger people better than older ones. But the CDC released a study Friday showing that so far this year, the vaccine appears 62 percent effective, meaning it's working about as well as it has in past flu seasons.

While that may strike some people as low, Frieden said it's the best protection available. "It's a glass 62 percent full," he said. "It's well worth the effort."

Q: What else can I do?

A: Wash your hands often, and avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. Viruses can spread by hand, not just through the air. Also, cough in your elbow, not your hand. When you're sick, protect others by staying home.

And people who are in those high-risk groups should call a doctor if they develop symptoms, added CDC spokesman Tom Skinner. They might be prescribed antiviral medication, which works best if given within the first 48 hours of symptoms.

___

AP Medical Writers Lindsey Tanner and Mike Stobbe contributed to this report.

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James Holmes Told to 'Rot in Hell' By Victim's Dad

The father of a young woman allegedly slain by James Holmes in the Aurora movie theater massacre yelled "Rot in hell, Holmes" during a court hearing today.

The outburst by Steve Hernandez prompted judge William Sylvester to have an off-the-record conference with prosecutors and defense attorneys. Sylvester then reconvened court to address the issue while armed court deputies watched over Hernandez at the front of the gallery.

Hernandez's daughter, Rebecca Wingo, was one of Holmes' 12 murder victims when he opened fire in the crowded movie theater July 20 during the midnight showing of "Dark Knight Rises." Wingo, 32, was the mother of two young girls.

"I am terribly sorry for your loss," Sylvester told Hernandez. "I can only begin to imagine the emotions that this is raising."

He then lectured Hernandez about the decorum order in place to prevent outbursts in the courtroom.

"I meant no disrespect," Hernandez apologized, promising there would be no further trouble and he was let go.

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The judge decided on Thursday night that there is enough evidence against Holmes to proceed to trial and scheduled Holmes' arraignment for March 12. Holmes will enter a plea at the arraignment.

In an order posted late Thursday, the judge wrote that "the People have carried their burden of proof and have established that there is probable cause to believe that Defendant committed the crimes charged."

The ruling came after a three-day preliminary hearing this week that revealed new details about how Holmes allegedly planned and carried out the movie theater shooting, including how investigators say he amassed an arsenal of guns and ammunition, how he booby-trapped his apartment to explode, and his bizarre behavior after his arrest.

Holmes is charged with 166 counts, including murder, attempted murder and other charges. His shooting rampage left 12 people dead and 58 wounded by gunfire. An additional 12 people suffered non-gunshot injuries.

Sylvester also ordered that Holmes be held without bail.

Holmes' attorneys have said in court that the former University of Colorado neuroscience student is mentally ill. The district attorney overseeing the case has not yet announced whether Holmes, now 25, can face the death penalty.

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Obama, Karzai agree to speed up Afghan military transition

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai agreed on Friday to speed up the handover of combat operations in Afghanistan to Afghan forces this year, underscoring Obama's determination to move decisively to wind down the long, unpopular war.

Signaling a narrowing of differences, Karzai appeared to give ground in White House talks on U.S. demands for immunity from prosecution for any U.S. troops who stay in Afghanistan beyond 2014, a concession that could allow Obama to keep at least a small residual force there.

Both leaders also threw their support behind tentative Afghan reconciliation efforts with Taliban insurgents. They each voiced support for the establishment of a Taliban political office in the Gulf state of Qatar in hopes of bringing insurgents to inter-Afghan talks.

Karzai's visit, which follows a year of growing strains in U.S.-Afghan ties, comes amid stepped-up deliberations in Washington over the size and scope of the U.S. military role in Afghanistan once the NATO-led combat mission concludes at the end of next year.

The Obama administration has been considering a residual force of between 3,000 and 9,000 troops in Afghanistan to conduct counterterrorism operations while providing training and assistance for Afghan forces.

But a top Obama aide said this week that the administration does not rule out a complete withdrawal after 2014, a move that some experts say would be disastrous for the still-fragile Afghan government and its fledgling security apparatus.

Saying that Afghan forces were being trained and were "stepping up" faster than expected, Obama said Afghan troops would take over the lead in combat missions across the country this spring, rather than waiting until the summer, as was originally planned.

"Starting this spring, our troops will have a different mission: training, advising, assisting Afghan forces," Obama said. "It will be a historic moment and another step toward full Afghan sovereignty."

There are some 66,000 U.S. troops currently in Afghanistan. NATO allies have also been steadily reducing their troop numbers there with the aim of ending the foreign combat role in 2014, despite doubts about the ability of Afghan forces to shoulder full responsibility for security.

Obama said final decisions on this year's troop reductions and the post-2014 U.S. military role were still months away, but his comments raised the prospects of an accelerated withdrawal timetable as the security transition proceeds.

Precisely how much of an acceleration was unclear.

For his part, Karzai voiced satisfaction over Obama's agreement to turn over control of detention centers to Afghan authorities, a source of dispute between their countries.

The two leaders, who have had a tense relationship in the past, stood side by side in the White House East Room, nodding occasionally as the other spoke.

Obama once called Afghanistan a "war of necessity," but he is heading into a second term looking for an orderly way out of the conflict, which was sparked by the September 11, 2001 attacks by al Qaeda on the United States.

(Additional reporting by David Alexander; Editing by Warren Strobel and David Brunnstrom)

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China landslide kills 43, three missing

BEIJING: Three people remain missing after a landslide which killed 43, including seven from a single family, struck a remote village in southwestern China, state media said Saturday.

Another two victims were sent to hospital after being rescued from the debris from the landslip on Friday which engulfed 16 homes in the village of Gaopo, the official news agency Xinhua said.

It reported that 19 children were among those caught in the disaster.

Rescuers continued their search for the three missing people in the early hours of Saturday morning, with the help of lamps and life detectors in freezing conditions, Xinhua said.

It added that the landslide had been triggered by prolonged rain and snow, according to initial geologists' reports.

Photos posted on Yunnan Web, run by the Yunnan provincial government, showed rescuers in orange uniforms digging into wide swathes of mud against a backdrop of snow-covered, terraced hills.

A video posted on a Chinese social networking site appeared to show a group of villagers digging through thick mud and debris to uncover a body, which was carried away on a stretcher.

"The landslide, which brought about several hundred thousand cubic metres of watery mud to the village, buried all of the houses there," Xinhua quoted a local rescue team leader, Sun Anfa, as saying.

The conditions "created great difficulties for rescue efforts amid low temperatures", he added.

More than 1,000 rescuers were sent to the disaster site, which was estimated to be 300 metres (1,000 feet) long, 80 metres wide and 30 metres deep, according to authorities.

Snow was visible in images of the rescue, in an area that has experienced unusually low temperatures in recent weeks during what authorities have called China's coldest winter in 28 years.

The Communist Party's top leaders Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang, along with Premier Wen Jiabao, ordered "all-out efforts to rescue victims", Xinhua said

It reported that villagers had rushed to the scene with shovels and hoes to dig through the mud.

"We pulled out several people, one of whom was breathing weakly, but after a while he died," resident Li Yongju told Xinhua.

Another resident, Zhou Benju, said she had lost several relatives in the disaster, according to the agency.

"Several relatives of my parents, my grandma, brother, uncle and my aunt's family members died," she said.

Yunnan province, which borders Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, is a relatively poor part of China where rural houses are often cheaply constructed.

Gaopo is in Zhenxiong county, in the northeast of Yunnan, a temperate province known for its tobacco industry and for being the home of Pu'er tea.

But its mountainous areas are prone to landslides and earthquakes. Two in September -- one of magnitude 5.7 -- left 81 people dead and hundreds injured.

Wen made an overnight trip to the quake zone at the time to comfort survivors, many of whom had taken refuge in tents erected on a public square.

A county neighbouring Zhenxiong was hit by a landslide in October that killed 18 children, after one which killed 216 people in 1991, according to the United States Geological Survey.

An earthquake in neighbouring Sichuan province in 2008 claimed around 70,000 lives -- the worst natural disaster to hit China in three decades, with shoddy buildings blamed for the high toll.

-AFP/ac

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India Inc calls Narendra Modi leader with vision

GANDHINAGAR: There were no lofty investment promises but captains of the industry and a battery of foreign diplomats queued up to hail Gujarat's economic progress on Friday when the sixth edition of the two-day Vibrant Gujarat business summit started at Mahatma Mandir here on Friday.

Apart from tycoons, several foreign dignitaries, including Japanese ambassador to India Takashi Yagi, Canadian high commissioner Stuart Beck and UK high commissioner James Bevan were present. As were heads of US India Business Council, UK India Business Council and Japan External Trade Organisation.

While most industry captains praised Modi, the most lavish praise came from ADAG chairman Anil Ambani, who placed Modi on the same pedestal as Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel and Dhirubhai Ambani, as a visionary. He called Modi "king of kings"; at last year's Vibrant Gujarat, Anil Ambani had controversially said Modi should become a national leader.

Ratan Tata, the star attraction of the 2009 Vibrant Gujarat summit for bringing Nano factory to Gujarat from West Bengal, said Gujarat stands out, the credit for which goes to Narendra Modi. He has set "high standards" for investment, said Tata.

Adi Godrej, who came as Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) representative, spoke of Modi's "futuristic approach" in making Gujarat "one of the best investment destinations".

Shashi Ruia of Essar, whose company was forced to pay thousands of crores as sales tax dues to Gujarat government, also referred to "Modi's vision and unparalleled leadership" — which was in complete contrast to his reference to being treated as "ghar ki murgi" (taken for granted) at a previous summit.

Most tycoons confined their focus on what they called "the entrepreneurial spirit of Gujarat". In fact, speaking of the great strides made by Gujarat in the past, General Motors' Lowell C Paddock recalled how Halol, where the GM plant came up decades ago, was connected with a "high-speed highway" with Vadodara. "Earlier, it took four hours to reach Vadodara but after the highway it takes just half-an-hour," he said.

Modi, who concluded the inaugural ceremony, said this summit was about "finding solutions" to the impact of global slowdown. "Despite the slowdown, Gujarat did reasonably well," he claimed, adding, "We did well with 10% rate of growth in service, industry and agricultural sectors." Modi further claimed Gujarat accounts for 72% of nation's employment generation, and the growth rate of small and medium industries was 85% in a year.

UK treads cautiously

British high commissioner James Bevan, who met Narendra Modi in October after the British felt the need to "engage Modi", was cautious at the inaugural session of the Vibrant Gujarat meet. Bevan avoided any direct or indirect reference to Modi, even while speaking about "natural" and "traditional" partnership between Gujarat and Britain over several centuries. Recalling the huge Gujarati population at Leicester, he hoped for a "thriving and stronger relationship" with Gujarat.

Money flows

Mukesh Ambani of the Reliance Industries said his company will invest Rs 100,000 crore over the next five years and focus on expansion in Jamnagar, Hazira and Dahej, apart from setting up a higher education hub. Essar chairman Shashi Ruia said his company was proposing to invest Rs 14,000 crore — Rs 10,000 crore in ports sector at Hazira and Salaya, and Rs 4,000 crore in bulk water supply.

Modi for PM

Contrary to earlier summits when at least two leading industrialists said Modi was fit for prime minister's post, this time around only Gautam Adani wished that Modi, armed with his "able leadership", should go "up north". Interestingly, the only other person who expressed a similar wish was Konstantin Makarelov, vice-governor of the tiny Astrakhan province of the Russian Federation, saying — amidst a huge applause from Modi supporters — that he hoped Modi will win the "next general elections".

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Flu more widespread in US; eases off in some areas

NEW YORK (AP) — Flu is more widespread across the nation, but the number of hard-hit states has declined, health officials said Friday.

Flu season started early this winter, and includes a strain that tends to make people sicker. Health officials have forecast a potentially bad flu season, following last year's unusually mild one. The latest numbers, however, hint that the flu season may already have peaked in some spots.

Flu was widespread in 47 states last week, up from 41 the week before, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday. Many cases may be mild. The only states without widespread flu are California, Mississippi and Hawaii.

The hardest hit states fell to 24 from 29, with large numbers of people getting treated for flu-like illness. Dropped off that list were Florida, Arkansas and South Carolina in the South, the first region hit this flu season.

Recent flu reports have included the holidays when some doctor's offices were closed, so it will probably take a couple more weeks to know if the flu has peaked in some places or grown stronger in others, CDC officials said Friday.

"Only time will tell how moderate or severe this flu season will be," CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden said in a teleconference with reporters.

Nationally, 20 children have died from the flu. There is no running tally of adult deaths, but the CDC estimates that the flu kills about 24,000 people in an average year.

Flu vaccinations are recommended for everyone 6 months or older, and health officials say it is not too late to get vaccinated. flu reports.

Nearly 130 million doses of flu vaccine were distributed this year, and at least 112 million have been used. Vaccine is still available, but supplies may have run low in some locations, health officials say.

Hyrmete Sciuto, of Edgewater, N.J., got a flu shot Friday at a New York City drugstore. She hadn't got one in years, but news reports on the flu this week made her concerned.

As a commuter by ferry and bus, "I have people coughing in my face," she said. "I didn't want to risk it this year."

The flu vaccine isn't foolproof; people who get vaccinated can still get sick.

On Friday, CDC officials said a recent study of more than 1,100 people has concluded the current flu vaccine is 62 percent effective. That means the average vaccinated person is 62 percent less likely to get a case of flu that's bad enough to require a trip to the doctor, compared to people who don't get the vaccine.

That's in line with how effective the vaccine has been in other years.

The flu vaccine is reformulated annually, and officials say this year's version is a good match to the viruses going around.

Flu usually peaks in midwinter. Symptoms can include fever, cough, runny nose, head and body aches and fatigue. Some people also suffer vomiting and diarrhea, and some develop pneumonia or other severe complications.

Most people with flu have a mild illness. But people with severe symptoms should see a doctor. They may be given antiviral drugs or other medications to ease symptoms.

Some shortages have been reported for children's liquid Tamiflu, a prescription medicine used to treat flu. But health officials say adult Tamiflu pills are available, and pharmacists can convert those to doses for children.

___

AP Science Writer Malcolm Ritter in New York contributed to this report.

___

Online:

CDC flu: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/index.htm

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Biden Hints at Executive Order on Gun Control

Vice President Biden, meeting today with outside groups on gun safety, told reporters he has already started putting together a list of recommendations that he plans to issue next Tuesday.

He has suggested the administration would be ready to take executive action on the issue, which would not require votes from Congress. That prospect has raised alarm bells for gun rights advocates.

Biden told reporters Thursday, during a meeting a with sportsmen, women and wildlife groups, that he would deliver the list of recommendations to the president on Jan. 15, and that an improved system for background checks has emerged as a a priority for the stakeholders he's met so far. Guns have been at the top of the White House agenda since the December shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.

"I am putting together a series of recommendations for the president that will, that he will take a look at. There's a real, very tight window to do this," Biden said at the top of his meeting with advocates for sportsmen, sportswomen and wildlife interest groups. "I committed to him I'd have these recommendations to him by Tuesday. And it doesn't mean it's the end of the discussion, but the public wants us to act."

Biden said he has not reached any conclusions just yet but recounted the recommendations that have been made to him from the various stakeholders he's met with over the past month. The vice president emphasized the consensus emerging from the meetings on the need to strengthen the background check system.

"So far, a surprising recurrence of suggestions that we have universal background checks, not just close the gun show loophole, but total, universal background checks, even including private sales," Biden said.

Other suggestions offered at the meetings have centered on gun safety and the responsibility that goes along with gun ownership, dealing with high capacity magazines, and the ability of federal agencies to do research on gun violence.

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Biden sat down with representatives of the NRA and other supporters of gun rights on the second day of this week's meetings on gun violence.

He said at one meeting that he has "never quite heard so much talk about high-capacity magazines" as he has since the shootings in Newtown.

Biden met with gun-violence victims' groups and proponents of gun control on Wednesday. Thursday was his opportunity to get a different side of the story. Biden met with the National Rifle Association and Attorney General Eric Holder met with representatives from Wal-Mart, one of the largest sellers of firearms in the country.

"There are executive orders, executive action that can be taken. We haven't decided what that is yet, but we're compiling it all with the help the attorney general and all the rest of the cabinet members, as well as legislative action, we believe, is required," Biden said.

Spokesmen for the NRA and Wal-Mart confirmed representatives from their organizations would be included in the meetings Thursday. The NRA said it would be represented by James J. Baker, its top lobbyist. Advocates for sportsmen, women's groups, wildlife groups and gun owners were also invited. The vice president is slated to meet with members of the entertainment industry in the evening.

In December, the NRA called for armed officers to be placed in every school after the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary.

Wal-Mart initially turned down an invitation to participate in the talks but reversed its decision after it "underestimated the expectation to attend the meeting on Thursday in person," a spokesman said.

"We take this issue very seriously and are committed staying engaged in this discussion as the administration and Congress work toward a consensus on the right path forward," David Tovar, vice president of corporate communications for Wal-Mart, said.

The latest meetings come one day after Biden held a first round of talks this week with gun safety advocacy groups and victims of gun violence. Speaking to reporters before the meeting, the vice president expressed the administration's commitment to develop effective gun policy by considering all ideas.

Colin Goddard, a survivor of the shooting at Virginia Tech University in 2007, participated in the meeting at the White House Wednesday and said the talks gave the groups "encouragement from the highest office in the country."

"I was really encouraged by seeing how focused and determined the administration is in seeing comprehensive changes to the gun violence in America," Goddard, who is now the assistant director for federal legislation at the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, told ABC News. "It was really great to see even the Vice President of the United States of America supporting us. He wants to see this done to the end and bringing us all to the table to share our personal stories, share our ideas about what our proposals could be."

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