CHENNAI, Feb 2 (UNI) Surviving stumbling blocks over allocation of seats for the coming Lok Sabha elections, the DMK, leading the Democratic Progressive Alliance (DPA), today wrapped up the ticklish seat-sharing process with its allies, despite Pondicherry, the Congress citadel allotted to the PMK, still remaining a hitch.
Congress general secretary Kamal Nath and AICC observer for Tamil Nadu Daljit Singh, who air-dashed to Chennai this morning, finally clinched the deal after yet another round of talks with DMK chief M Karunanidhi.
Kamal Nath's meeting came after the DMK supremo announced seven of the ten constituencies allotted to the Congress on January 31, without any of that party's representatives being present.
He finalised the remaining three seats and told newspersons that his party was fully satisfied with the seats given to it.
Karunanidhi announced that his party would contest 15 seats vis-a-vis 18 during the 1999 Lok Sabha elections, followed by Congress ten, PMK six (including Pondicherry), MDMK four, CPI(M) two, CPI two and IUML one.
Only INL, a Muslim ally in the Front, had not been given any seat.
After signing the agreement with Kamal Nath, the DMK chief said Congress president Sonia Gandhi expressed happiness when he conveyed the details of allotment of seats over telephone.
TNCC president GK Vasan, former TNCC presidents EVKS Elangovan and S Balakrishnan, Congress legislature party leader SR Balasubramaniam and former union minister Jayanthi Natarajan assisted Kamal Nath in the talks.
The DMK would contest in South Chennai, Central Chennai, North Chennai, Sriperumbudur (R), Cuddalore, Tirupattur, Perambalur (R), Krishnagiri, Thanjavur, Nagapattinam (R), Pudukkottai, Karur, Thiruchengodu, Ramanathapuram and Thiruchendur.
The DMK had first allotted to the PMK Chidambaram, Chengalpattu, Dharmapuri, Tindivanam and Arakkonam seats in addition to Pondicherry, which triggered off the hitch in seat-sharing with the Congress.
However, while Kamal Nath observed that the imbroglio in the union territory would still be discussed and sorted out among the front partners, Karunanidhi just quipped 'some things were always open in Pondicherry'.
No vaccine for avian influenza or bird flu: WHO NEW DELHI, Feb 2 (UNI) Avian Influenza or Bird Flu, the epidemic that has spread across Asia and is responsible for at least 12 deaths, still remains an enigma for doctors and there is no vaccine currently available that can prevent its transmission to humans, according to the World Health Organisation.
A vaccine produced to counter the cases of bird flu which occurred in hong kong in 1997, cannot be used to control the present out break since the virus has undergone a mutation.
There is no vaccine for prevention of Bird Flu to counter the latest strand of virus, according to the WHO.
While technology for producing this vaccine exists, it will take about a year for the specific vaccine against Bird Flu to be available in the market.
However, Influenza vaccine for other common flu viruses is available and recommended for those at risk, but it may not prevent H5N1 Influenza occurring in most countries.
Since Influenza viruses tend to undergo frequent and permanent changes, the viruses are continuously monitored and the composition of the vaccine to protect against the circulating viruses is changed from year to year.
The Influenza vaccine, however, is believed to prevent re-assortment and mixing up of the genetic material between Influenza (flu) viruses and reduce the risk of human to human transmission.
