Startling

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By STUART CONDIE

updated 3:23 p.m. ET Nov. 28, 2011

LONDON - Gary Speed was smiling and relaxed, talking on national television about the day's upcoming soccer matches. A few hours later, the Wales manager and former English Premier League star was found dead at his home at 42, an apparent suicide.

Speed was the first man to play 500 games in the Premier League and the youngest member of the midfield that carried Leeds to its most recent league title in 1992. He overhauled Wales' ailing national team and coached a young squad to four wins in its last five matches.

"Twenty minutes before we went on air on Saturday, he was the normal Gary Speed to me," said Gary McAllister, a former teammate who also appeared on the BBC program "Football Focus." "He was very excited about the prospects of the Welsh national team and was upbeat, looking class, immaculately presented. He was a movie star in my eyes.

"There were no signs, nothing to suggest he was troubled. He looked well and things are going well for him at the moment. I could never have thought that 10-12 hours after I saw him I'd be getting that news. It's a nightmare."

Citing unidentified police sources, British media widely reported that Speed was found hanged Sunday morning in the garage of his home in Huntington, England, where he lived with wife Louise and two sons.

While officials scheduled an inquest into Speed's death Tuesday, police said there were no suspicious circumstances ? a statement commonly made in instances of suicide.

There was online speculation that Speed was the subject of an upcoming newspaper story. The British tabloids The Sun and The Daily Star denied on their official Twitter accounts that they had been preparing to publish revelations about Speed's private life.

Speed's agent, Hayden Evans, issued a statement outside the family house Monday. He asked that the family be "given the respect of some privacy to just grieve on their own."

Fans left shirts and homemade banners adorned with Speed's name outside the stadiums of each of his five former clubs. British Prime Minister David Cameron said he watched highlights of those same matches Speed had talked about on TV.

"I think it has been incredibly moving," Cameron said. "I was watching Match Of The Day last night and watching people, crowds, absolutely silent and footballers revering his memory. I know he meant an enormous amount to people and people feel very, very sad on his behalf and on his family's behalf."

Former teammates, coaches and colleagues spoke at length about a man they knew as a dedicated player, considerate friend and an immensely promising coach.

"He was an amazing, talented player, a player that had such a glittering career and just began a great career in management as well," former England captain David Beckham said. "It is a sad time to lose a man like this."

FIFA President Sepp Blatter wrote the Wales soccer federation, calling Speed a "hugely talented player and a great servant for both club and country."

"He will always be remembered as a model professional and a fantastic ambassador for the game," Blatter said. "It was clear to all there that he was a man who exuded enthusiasm and passion for the game."

Added fellow Leeds midfielder Gordon Strachan: "People have problems in football and you have an indication that you need to keep an eye on someone, but this was right out of the blue. It's hard for us as friends to understand."

Football Association of Wales chief executive Jonathan Ford said he had no idea why this happened.

"I don't know if we ever will know," he said. "I am no further forward in my thoughts, when you hear the news you ask yourself why?"

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Startling

Gary Speed, the Wales manager and former English Premier League star was found dead at his home at 42, an apparent suicide.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/45466557/ns/sports-soccer/

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Gov't: US not responsible for Europe's debt woes (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Wary of Europe's deepening debt crisis, President Barack Obama said Monday the United States stands ready to do its part to help the continent, even as the White House ruled out any financial contributions from U.S. taxpayers.

Meantime, a top European official offered his assurances to Obama and the American people that Europe's leaders fully understood the magnitude of the crisis. But European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso warned that decisions on how to solve the economic woes could take time.

The annual meeting between U.S. and European Union officials came amid growing fears over the future of the euro. Experts say that without drastic action, the euro could be days away from collapsing, a scenario that could cause more financial damage to the already shaky American economy.

While Obama offered no specifics on how the U.S. may be willing to assist Europe, he said failing to resolve the continent's debt crisis could damage a U.S. economy saddled with slow growth and 9 percent unemployment.

"If Europe is contracting, or if Europe is having difficulties, then it's much more difficult for us to create good here jobs at home," Obama said at the conclusion of the day-long summit.

While Obama has offered support to his European peers, the U.S. believes the Europeans have the financial capacity to solve the debt crisis on their own.

But some U.S. allies, including Finland and the Netherlands, have called for the International Monetary Fund to be bolstered with more capital so that it could in turn help stem Europe's debt crisis from deepening and spreading.

The U.S. is the single-biggest stakeholder in the IMF. And earlier Monday, White House spokesman Jay Carney said the IMF has substantial resources already.

"We do not in any way believe that additional resources are required from the United States and from American taxpayers," Carney said.

European leaders are set to meet Dec. 9 to discuss next steps in tackling the financial crisis. New ideas were circulating Monday for how to finally cap the debt woes that began in Greece two years ago and have spread to other larger economies, most notably Italy.

One idea gaining momentum, was a radical proposal in which countries that use the common currency would cede control of a big chunk of their budgets to a central authority. Some say the proposal would be a big leap toward a United States of Europe, a move that could greatly enhance European stability, but at the cost, critics say, of national sovereignty and democratic accountability.

Another plan being aired in the face of fierce German resistance is for the eurozone's six triple A rated nations to pool their resources through a joint bond to prop up some of the single currency bloc's most indebted members. Germany, the EU's richest member, rejects the idea because it fears it would be tapped for the lion's share of the bailout

Back in Washington, Barroso said Europe's leaders are taking strong steps to solve what he called an unprecedented situation.

"We are absolutely serious about the magnitude of the challenges," he said. "You have to understand that sometimes some decisions take time."

Carney said that Obama, along with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, would continue to stay in close contact with European leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Vice President Joe Biden will travel to Greece later this week to meet with new Prime Minister Lucas Papademos, who took office earlier this month.

While Monday's meeting between Obama and European Union leaders centered on the global economy, there were also discussions on supporting democracy in the Middle East and North Africa, cooperation on counterterrorism and transatlantic law enforcement, and Iran.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111128/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_obama_european_union

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China prepares for big entry into vaccine market (AP)

BEIJING ? The world should get ready for a new Made in China product ? vaccines.

China's vaccine makers are gearing up over the next few years to push exports in a move that should lower costs of lifesaving immunizations for the world's poor and provide major new competition for the big Western pharmaceutical companies.

However, it may take some time before some parts of the world are ready to embrace Chinese products when safety is as sensitive an issue as it is with vaccines ? especially given the food, drug and other scandals the country has seen.

Still, China's entry into this market will be a "game changer," said Nina Schwalbe, head of policy at the GAVI Alliance, which buys vaccines for 50 million children a year worldwide.

"We are really enthusiastic about the potential entry of Chinese vaccine manufacturers," she said.

China's vaccine-making prowess captured world attention in 2009 when one of its companies developed the first effective vaccine against swine flu ? in just 87 days ? as the new virus swept the globe. In the past, new vaccine developments had usually been won by the U.S. and Europe.

Then, this past March the World Health Organization announced that China's drug safety authority meets international standards for vaccine regulation. It opened the doors for Chinese vaccines to be submitted for WHO approval so they can be bought by U.N. agencies and the GAVI Alliance.

"China is a vaccine-producing power" with more than 30 companies that have an annual production capacity of nearly 1 billion doses ? the largest in the world, the country's State Food and Drug Administration told The Associated Press.

But more needs to be done to build confidence in Chinese vaccines overseas, said Helen Yang of Sinovac, the NASDAQ-listed Chinese biotech firm that rapidly developed the H1N1 swine flu vaccine. "We think the main obstacle is that we have the name of 'made in China' still. That is an issue."

China's food and drug safety record in recent years hardly inspires confidence: in 2007, Chinese cough syrup killed 93 people in Central America; one year later, contaminated blood thinner led to dozens of deaths in the United States while tainted milk powder poisoned hundreds of thousands of Chinese babies and killed six.

The government has since imposed more regulations, stricter inspections and heavier punishments for violators. Perhaps because of that, regulators routinely crack down on counterfeit and substandard drugmaking.

While welcoming WHO's approval of China's drug safety authority, one expert said it takes more than a regulatory agency to keep drugmakers from cutting corners or producing fakes.

"In the U.S., we have supporting institutions such as the market economy, democracy, media monitoring, civil society, as well as a well-developed business ethics code, but these are all still pretty much absent in China," said Yanzhong Huang, a China health expert at the Council on Foreign Relations. "For China, the challenge is much greater in building a strong, robust regulative capacity."

Last year, a Chinese newspaper report linked improperly stored vaccines to four children's deaths in northern Shanxi province, raising nationwide concern. The Health Ministry said the vaccines did not cause the deaths, but some remained skeptical.

Meanwhile, Chinese researchers reported in the New England Journal of Medicine earlier this year that a pandemic flu vaccine given to 90 million people in 2009 was safe.

WHO's medical officer for immunization, Dr. Yvan Hutin, said WHO's approval of the Chinese drug regulatory agency is not "a blank check." Each vaccine will be evaluated rigorously, with WHO and Chinese inspectors given access to vaccine plants on top of other safety checks, he said.

Vaccines have historically been a touchy subject in the Western world, rife with safety concerns and conspiracy theories. Worries about vaccine safety resurfaced in the late 1990s triggered by debate over a claimed association between the vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella and autism. The claim was later discredited.

For China, the next few years will be crucial, as biotech companies upgrade their facilities and improve procedures to meet the safety and quality standards ? a process that is expected to be costly and challenging. Then they will submit vaccines to the U.N. health agency for approval, which could take a couple of years.

First up is likely to be a homegrown vaccine for Japanese encephalitis, a mosquito-borne disease that can cause seizures, paralysis and death. The vaccine has been used for two decades in China with fewer side effects than other versions. Its manufacturer expects WHO approval for it in about a year. Also in the works are vaccines for polio and diseases that are the top two killers of children ? pneumonia and rotavirus, which causes diarrhea.

Vaccines also are a significant part of a $300 million partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for the development of new health and farming products for poor countries.

China's entry into this field is important because one child dies every 20 seconds from vaccine-preventable diseases each year. UNICEF, the children's agency and the world's biggest buyer of vaccines, has been in talks with Chinese companies, said its supply director Shanelle Hall. The fund provides vaccines to nearly 60 percent of the world's children, and last year spent about $757 million.

Worldwide, vaccine sales last year grew 14 percent to $25.3 billion, according to healthcare market research firm Kalorama Information, as drugmakers which face intensifying competition from generic drugs now see vaccines as key areas of growth, particularly in Latin America, China and India.

China's vaccine makers, some of whom already export in small amounts, are confident they will soon become big players in the field.

"I personally predict that in the next five to 10 years, China will become a very important vaccine manufacture base in the world," said Wu Yonglin, vice president of the state-owned China National Biotec Group, the country's largest biological products maker that has been producing China's encephalitis vaccine since 1989.

CNBG will invest more than 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) between now and 2015 to improve its facilities and systems to meet WHO requirements, Wu said. The company also intends to submit vaccines to fight rotavirus, which kills half a million kids annually, and polio for WHO approval.

Smaller, private companies are also positioning themselves for the global market.

Sinovac is now testing a new vaccine for enterovirus 71, which causes severe hand, foot and mouth disease among children in China and other Asian countries. It is also preparing for clinical trials on a pneumococcal vaccine Yang says could rival Pfizer's Prevnar, which was the top-selling vaccine worldwide last year with sales of about $3.7 billion.

Pneumococcal disease causes meningitis, pneumonia and ear infection.

"In the short term, everyone sees the exporting opportunities, because outside of China the entire vaccine market still seems to be monopolized by a few Big Pharma (companies)," Yang said.

The entry of Chinese companies is expected to further pressure Western pharmaceutical companies to lower prices. Earlier this year, UNICEF's move to publicize what drugmakers charge it for vaccines showed that Western drugmakers often charged the agency double what companies in India and Indonesia do.

The aid group Doctors Without Borders criticized the vaccine body GAVI for spending hundreds of millions of dollars on anti-pneumonia vaccines from Western companies, saying it could put its buying power to even better use by fostering competition from emerging manufacturers like those in China.

GAVI's Schwalbe said the vaccine body has to buy what is available and negotiates hard for steep discounts. "We need to buy vaccines now to save children's lives now. We can't wait."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111129/ap_on_he_me/as_china_cheap_vaccines

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China's premier vows improved school safety (AP)

BEIJING ? Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has pledged more support for school safety following the crash of a bus earlier this month that killed 19 children.

Wen told a conference in Beijing on Sunday that all types of harm to children must be avoided. He said a special emphasis should be placed on boosting school security, eliminating fire hazards, and improving school bus safety. Wen's comments were posted on the official government website.

Earlier this month, a nine-seat private school van packed with 62 children and two adults crashed head-on with a truck in northwest Gansu province. Their teacher and the driver died along with 19 children, who were between 3 and 5 years old. All 43 surviving children were injured.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/china/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111127/ap_on_re_as/as_china_school_safety

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2 of 3 arrested US students leave Egypt (AP)

CAIRO ? Two of three American students arrested during a protest in Cairo caught flights out of Egypt early Saturday, and the third was scheduled to leave later in the morning, according to an airport official and an attorney for one of the trio.

The three Americans were arrested on the roof of a university building near Cairo's iconic Tahrir Square last Sunday. Officials accused them of throwing firebombs at security forces fighting with protesters.

Luke Gates, 21, left Cairo early Saturday morning on a flight to Frankfurt, Germany, an airport official said in Cairo. Gregory Porter, 19, also left the country, his attorney said.

All three were expected to have departed on separate flights by later Saturday morning, the airport official said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief reporters.

An Egyptian court ordered the release of Gates, Porter and 19-year-old Derrik Sweeney on Thursday. All were studying at the American University in Cairo.

Attorney Theodore Simon, who represents Porter, a student at Drexel University in Philadelphia, said police escorted the three students to the Cairo airport Friday. Simon later said his client was on a flight.

"I am pleased and thankful to report that Gregory Porter is in the air. He has departed Egyptian airspace and is on his way home," Simon said, though he declined to say when Porter was expected back in the U.S.

Simon said he and Porter's mother both spoke by phone with the student, who is from the Philadelphia suburb of Glenside.

"He clearly conveyed to me ... that he was OK," Simon told the AP.

Gates is a student at Indiana University. It wasn't clear when he was expected back in the U.S.

Joy Sweeney told the AP her son, a 19-year-old Georgetown University student from Jefferson City, Missouri, would fly from Frankfurt to Washington, then on to St. Louis. She said family will meet him when he arrives late Saturday.

"I am ecstatic," Sweeney said Friday. "I can't wait for him to get home tomorrow night. I can't believe he's actually going to get on a plane. It is so wonderful."

Sweeney said she had talked with her son Friday afternoon and "he seemed jubilant."

"He thought he was going to be able to go back to his dorm room and get his stuff," she said. "We said, `No, no, don't get your stuff, we just want you here.'"

She said American University will ship his belongings home.

Sweeney had earlier said she did not prepare a Thanksgiving celebration this week because the idea seemed "absolutely irrelevant" while her son still was being held.

"I'm getting ready to head out and buy turkey and stuffing and all the good fixings so that we can make a good Thanksgiving dinner," she said Friday.

___

Associated Press writers Sandy Kozel in Washington; Kathy Matheson and Maryclaire Dale in Philadelphia; and Dana Fields in Kansas City, Mo., contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111126/ap_on_re_us/us_egypt_american_students

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