Dead swan in Scotland is U.K.’s first bird-flu case
London – Tests have confirmed that a dead swan found in Scotland had the fatal H5N1 strain of bird flu, Great Britain’s first case of the virus, a government official said Thursday.
The wild swan was discovered last week at a harbor in Cellardyke, more than 450 miles north of London. British officials have restricted the movement of poultry and are considering whether to expand a 2-mile protection zone around the harbor.
The National Farmers’ Union was concerned over the disease’s arrival in Britain but cautioned the public to stay calm.
“There are no implications for public health or consumers,” said union president Peter Kendall.
The dead swan makes Britain the 13th European Union country to report cases of the strain in wild birds, the European Commission said.
At least 109 people have died worldwide from bird flu since a wave of outbreaks of the H5N1 strain swept through Asian poultry populations in late 2003, according to the World Health Organization.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds said it would carry out daily checks on nature reserves in Scotland to determine whether the disease has infected other birds.
BRIDGEVILLE, Calif.
California hamlet back on eBay block
The tiny town of Bridgeville is up for sale again on eBay, complete with its dozen houses, cafe and post office.
Two years after Bill Krall bought the northern California town for $700,000 on the Internet auction site, he’s flipping it. Minimum bid: $1.75 million.
Krall, a Southern California financial adviser, said family commitments prevented him from moving to the town about 30 miles from the Pacific Ocean, according to his eBay listing. He said he “spent a lot of money and a lot of effort” cleaning up the 82 acres among the redwoods northwest of San Francisco.
The town was once a hub for a local stagecoach route and a stop on the Pony Express.
AMARILLO, Texas
Panhandle fires claim 9 homes, 27,000 acres
Numerous wildfires erupted in the parched, windy Texas Panhandle on Thursday, prompting a mandatory evacuation of two small towns and threatening homes in another.
A fire south of Pampa in Gray County consumed 5,000 acres and forced the evacuation of at least 600 residents from Lefors and Bowers City, the Texas Forest Service said.
Residents were taken to a shelter in Pampa, about 54 miles northeast of Amarillo, Texas Department of Public Safety spokesman Wayne Beighle said.
By late Thursday, firefighters had gained control over some of the wildfires and residents were allowed to return. No injuries were reported.
More than a dozen fires burned at least 27,000 acres in the Panhandle, destroying at least nine homes north of Amarillo, officials said.
UNITED NATIONS
U.S. won’t seek seat on human-rights panel
The U.S. will not seek a seat on the new U.N. Human Rights Council but will probably run next year and pledges to work with the new body, the State Department said Thursday.
Observers said the U.S. refrained from running because it wants to see how the new body takes shape and amid concerns it would not get the necessary 96 votes to be elected to the council.
