FIRST SWINE FLU DEATH IN INDIA : PRAY & MAKE A DIFFERENCE

NEW DELHI: India on Monday reported its first death due to H1N1 flu infection, with a 14-year-old-girl from Pune succumbing to the deadly influenza India reported its first death due to H1N1 flu infection, with a 14-year-old-girl from Pune succumbing to the deadly influenza virus.
The girl, a student of class IX from St Anne’s High School first showed symptoms of H1N1 infection — sore throat, running nose and headache — on July 21.

But a critical delay in being tested for H1N1 infection and being administered Tamiflu, because she was admitted in a private hospital instead of the stipulated government isolation ward meant for both suspected and confirmed H1N1 patients, may have been the cause of her death.

Union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad told TOI, “Had Tamiflu been administered in the beginning, the girl could have been saved. I advise people to go to government hospitals and get checked for H1N1 even if they have mild symptoms.’’

What’s bothering the Union health ministry is that the girl had attended school till July 23, raising serious fears that the virus may have jumped to other students and teachers in the school besides everybody she came in contact with from July 20-23.

Shockingly, Lymette Wilson, the school’s physical education teacher said the state health department had not even informed the school that a student was found to be infected with H1N1.

This is why the school hasn’t even started looking for similar H1N1 symptoms in other students till now. Wilson said, “Till yesterday, we were told it’s a lung infection.”

The state health department on the other hand is upset with the National Institute of Virology for not informing them that a positive sample was sent to them by a private hospital.

M S Devnikar, head of Pune’s joint co-ordination committee for containment of H1NI, told TOI, ‘‘Till today, we were not aware that a patient with symptoms of swine flu was admitted to a private hospital.”

The school meanwhile will be shut on Tuesday as a mark of condolence on the girl’s death. However, it will open after that.

India recorded its first H1N1 case in Hyderabad on May 16 and since then the virus has spread to almost 22 cities and towns across the country.

Explaining the series of events that led to the death of the girl, Maharashtra’s health secretary Sharvari Gokhale told TOI, ‘‘On July 21, the girl first showed symptoms. She then consulted a general practitioner and kept attending school till July 23. Two days later, she reported high fever. She was then admitted to Jehangir hospital, a private nursing home on July 27. Her condition worsened following which she was shifted to the Intensive Care Unit and was put on a ventilator on July 29.’’

“On July 31, her throat and nose swab was sent to National Institute of Virology (Pune) which confirmed that she was infected with H1N1. The same day, almost 10 days after her symptoms first appeared, she was administered the first dose of Tamilfu, which obviously was too late,” Gokhale said.

‘‘Inspite of telling people day in and day out that in case they show symptoms of H1N1, they should immediately report only to stipulated government hospitals, the instructions are not followed. We are sending a team tomorrow to trace all contact cases in the school,’’ she added.

India’s announcement of the death came soon after the first fatality due to the virus was reported from sub-Saharan Africa, the only region in the world that had not reported any deaths till Sunday night.

The death in South Africa of a healthy student due to H1N1 infection on Monday means that the virus has now killed people in all regions of the world.

The World Health Organisation declared the present outbreak as a H1N1 influenza epidemic on June 11.
The virus has till now killed more than 800 people worldwide and is expected to hit 30% of the world population in its second wave, towards the end of the year when the cool climate would be perfect for the virus to propagate.

Meanwhile the Union health ministry will soon chair a meeting to discuss the death.

Union health secretary Naresh Dayal said that Tamiflu could be made available as an over-the-counter drug in select government hospitals and chemist shops only on prescription by a physician, soon.

“NIV and NICD will evaluate what caused this death. We will do a thorough medical examination to see whether the girl had any underlying condition or was it the delay that caused the death. The pneumonia she contracted in the end became too serious and ended her life. Last three days she was so critical that she couldn’t even be moved from the private nursing home to a government hospital,” officials said.

' ROCK THE RIVER TOUR ' ATTRACTS 65000 YOUTH'S OF ST:LOUIS

Around 65,000 youth and young adults flooded the Gateway Arch Grounds in St. Louis on Sunday to hear the sounds of Christian rock, hip-hop, and rap artists, as well as messages delivered by evangelist Franklin Graham.
“This has been a fantastic day. We’ve seen a lot of kids give their life to Christ. There’s been a sea out here of people,” reported Graham as counselors on the ground met with the several hundred people who expressed their decisions for Christ.
After kicking off the inaugural Rock the River Tour last month with nearly 11,000 young people in Baton Rouge, Graham and his team from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association made their way up the Mississippi River to their second of four stops to provide youth an opportunity to respond to the Gospel, be encouraged by trained peers and then related back to local caring churches.
The BGEA’s new, high-energy youth outreach was inspired by the vision that Graham shared last September after learning that more than two-thirds of those who made decisions for Christ in the last few years during the ministry’s large, evangelistic crusades have been youth.
So far, Graham says, Rock the River is “exactly what we prayed it would be – an exciting evangelistic event that would attract unchurched young people to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
“We just thank God for what He’s done,” Graham reported Sunday.

“We’ve come up the Mississippi River, right here behind me, fishing – fishing for the souls of America’s youth,” the evangelist added, “to bring these kids in, kids that maybe never go to church, kids that have never known that anyone loves them.
“This is what it’s all about – it’s about taking God’s love, His Son Jesus Christ, to another generation. Rock the River. That’s what we’re doing. We’re rocking the river.”
As the BGEA continues to make its way up the Mississippi River, with plans to stop by the Quad Cities on Aug. 8 and Minneapolis/St. Paul on Aug. 16, Graham is asking that people continue to pray for the effort.
“[W]e will be going against the currents of secularism, postmodernism, and the godless culture in which we live,” the evangelist reported.
“Please pray for us. Pray that the Holy Spirit will draw thousands of lost young people to each of these Rock the River Tour events,” he added.
While the festivals will appeal primarily to 12- to 25-year-olds, those under the age of 18 are the ones the ministry especially hopes to reach.
Christian music artists who are teaming up with the BGEA for the summer outreach range from Skillet and Hawk Nelson to Kirk Franklin and Flyleaf.

MEXICAN DRUG BOSS CAPTURED IN RAID ON CHURCH SERVICE

Mexico City - A top Mexican drug boss was captured in a church while celebrating mass with fellow members of drug cartel, security forces said Monday.
Miguel Angel Beraza Villa, one of the country's top dealers of synthetic drugs, was among the 32 people arrested in the raid. About 250 people were worshipping in the church at the time.
Security forces stormed the church in Apatzingan in the state of Michoacan after an anonymous tip said members of the cartel were in the building.
Beraza Villa is known as the top smuggler of methamphetamine into the United States, with estimates of up to a ton of the drug brought from Tijuana into San Diego.
Weapons, hand grenades, 11 luxury cars, 13,000 dollars and 30 mobile phones were also seized in the several-hour raid that involved 200 police officers and soldiers.
In a separate raid, security forces in Michoacan captured Rafael Hernandez Harrison, aka 'The Knife', a leading member of The Family cartel that is believed responsible for the killing of 17 police officers and two soldiers in attacks last month.

ASSEMBLIES OF GOD MEETING MAY BE HISTORIC : EXPECTED TO CHANGE POLICIES WHICH WILL ALLOW WOMEN TO HOLD LEADERSHIP POSTS

LAKELAND Amid continued growth of the Pentecostal movement in the United States and overseas, as many as 30,000 members of the Assemblies of God will arrive in Orlando this week for the biennial meeting of its General Council.
The meeting may be historic. In a sign that the Assemblies, the oldest predominantly white Pentecostal fellowship in the country, is changing attitudes about women in leadership, delegates are expected to approve a change in policy that would see a woman elected to the church's General Presbytery, its second-highest policy-making body, for the first time. A Florida-based missionary is considered a strong candidate for that post.

Following preliminary conferences today, the four-day General Council, at the Orange County Convention Center, will open Tuesday night with a worship service. The council is the business meeting that gathers clergy members and lay delegates from the Assemblies' 12,362 churches and more than 2.8 million adherents to review the church's ministries, to elect top officials and to vote on policies.

A GROWING FELLOWSHIP

The number of delegates expected to attend is unusually large, attributable in part to the attractions in Orlando, say Assemblies officials. But they note that it also reflects the growth of the fellowship, from a once-insular and oft-ridiculed Holiness movement to greater acceptance and visibility.

According to Assemblies' statistics, in 1975 it had about 1.2 million adherents - people of all ages who identify with Assemblies churches - meaning it has more than doubled in less than 35 years. By contrast, the United Methodist Church has declined from 9.8 million to 7.9 million members during that same time.

George O. Wood, general superintendent of the Assemblies of God, attributes the growth to the fellowship's conservative beliefs.

"The Assemblies of God stresses the fundamentals of the Christian faith. The goal of the church is to be as close as possible to the belief and behavior of the original church," he said, speaking by phone from the church's headquarters in Springfield, Mo.

Wood also attributed the Assemblies' growth to the expansion of ethnic minorities in its ranks, to as much as 40 percent of its adherents, a higher percentage than most other Protestant traditions.

RESOLUTION ON LEADERSHIP

From its inception in 1906, the modern Pentecostal movement generally has been less bound by conventions about the role of women than evangelical and liberal Protestant churches, although their numbers in the ministry are small. By one estimate, about 10 percent of Assemblies ministers are women. Until now, women have not been in the top echelons of the Assemblies' leadership. But on Wednesday, delegates will consider a resolution that would set aside a place in the General Presbytery, which functions as an advisory body to the General Council, for a woman and a pastor younger than 40.

If the resolution is approved as expected, four nominees, chosen by the General Presbytery from names submitted by the Assemblies' 61 districts, will be voted on by the delegates for the slot. Representatives from the Peninsular Florida District, which includes 350 churches east and south of Lake City, submitted the name of Beth Grant for consideration and are hoping she is among the four final nominees, said Terry Raburn, the district superintendent.

Grant and her husband, David, who are considered members of the Florida district, are directors of Assemblies mission work in India and run Operation Rescue, a ministry that recovers children and teenagers from prostitution, Raburn said.

"She is well-known as a force for women in the ministry, not just here but in Assemblies of God throughout the world," he said. "We're tremendously in favor of the resolution. The Peninsular Florida District is recognized as a leader in women in ministry. She has an excellent chance of being elected."

The Rev. Bertha Lynn, 82, pastor of Northside Assembly of God in Winter Haven, was honored last year by the district for serving 50 years in the ministry, 14 of them at Northside. She said there is no reason women cannot serve in the ministry and on General Presbytery.

"I'm in favor of it, if she's qualified. We've got some wonderful ladies in the movement," she said. "I think it's the highest calling any person could have. There's nothing like it. It's my life."

The policy change that would also ensure that a minister younger than 40 is elected to the General Presbytery is appropriate, because about 40 percent of the adherents in the Assemblies are 25 and younger, Wood said.

Raburn said he served on a committee a few years ago that recommended the creation of the under-40 spot on the General Presbytery.

"As the denomination has aged, our leadership has progressively moved up in age. It freezes out the rising generation. Without some action, it will probably get worse. The message the resolution sends to younger ministers is you don't have to sit still, keep your mouth shut and wait," he said.

SPEAKING IN TONGUES

Another resolution under consideration would reaffirm the Assemblies' belief in the doctrine that the "baptism in the Holy Spirit" should be evident by "speaking in tongues," the ecstatic and often unintelligible speech seen in Pentecostal prayer and worship services. The resolution reflects a growing sentiment that the practice, once commonplace in all Assemblies worship services, is no longer as prevalent.

Wood said there has been a "cultural shift" in the last 30 years that may have de-emphasized speaking in tongues.

"If there has been any diminution of the gift of tongues, it's due to a cultural shift in society," he said.

Raburn said he has not seen any evidence that there is less speaking in tongues in the churches he visits, but he conceded there is a difference in attitude than there used to be.

"Some feel we are drifting from that position. I don't feel we're drifting. It is our cardinal doctrine. But some of our more progressive congregations may have adapted the expression of the Spirit in a way that's more culturally acceptable," he said.

PAKISTANI CHRISTIANS SHUT SCHOOLS TO MOURN KILLINGS

ISLAMABAD — Pakistani Christians have closed their schools and colleges across the country for three days starting Monday to mourn and protest the killings of eight of their religious brethren, leaders of the minority community said.

Hundreds of Muslims, apparently spurred by a banned Islamist group, stormed a Christian neighborhood in the eastern city of Gojra on Saturday, burning dozens of houses after reports surfaced that some Christians had desecrated a Quran.

Six Christians died in flames, while two were killed by gunshots. Christian leaders and Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said an initial probe had debunked the Quran defilement rumor.

"We are closing the schools to show our anger and concern," Bishop Sadiq Daniel told The Associated Press, noting the move was a peaceful tactic. "We want the government to bring all perpetrators of the crime to justice."

Paramilitary troops and other security forces were patrolling the city Monday. Farhatullah Babar, a spokesman for Pakistan's president, said a judicial panel will probe the incident.

Christians and Muslims usually live together peacefully in Pakistan, which is overwhelmingly Muslim.

However, Christians and other minority religious groups are vulnerable to discriminatory laws, including an edict against blasphemy that carries the death penalty for derogatory remarks or any other action against Islam, the Quran or the Prophet Muhammad.

Anyone can make an accusation under the law, and it is often used to settle personal scores and rivalries.

The clashes between the Muslims and Christians began Thursday following reports that a copy of the Quran had been defiled. Hundreds of Muslim protesters set fire to several Christians' houses in the first two days, but the violence reached its peak Saturday.

Federal Minister for Minorities Shahbaz Bhatti said the attackers belonged to a banned Sunni Muslim extremist group, Sipah-e-Sahaba.

Officials have tried to calm the situation.

"This is not the work of Muslims. A group of extremists have exploited the situation," Sanaullah told a group of Christians after the funeral prayers for the deceased Sunday night. "I also want to appeal to both the communities to remain calm. Please do not become a tool in the hands of some miscreants."

Gojra is in Pakistan's Faisalabad region, which is dotted with hard-line Islamist schools.

Sipah-e-Sahaba also has an offshoot group, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, that is linked to the Taliban and al-Qaida.

Jhangvi is believed involved in the beheading of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl and two failed assassination attempts against former President Pervez Musharraf, as well as scores of other terrorist strikes.

Also Monday, Pakistan's Supreme Court adjourned a hearing on whether to detain a man suspected to have played a role in last year's attacks in the Indian city of Mumbai. The court did not set a date for another hearing, leaving Hafiz Saeed free.

Saeed helped set up Lashkar-e-Taiba, the banned extremist group India says plotted the attacks that killed 166 people. He was put under house arrest for a few months this year, but freed in June after a court decided there was not enough evidence against him.

The government appealed that ruling while pressing India for more evidence. Monday's adjournment came because the provincial government chief prosecutor has resigned and no one was there in his place, said Shah Khawar, a government lawyer.

DENVER'S TRINITY MARKS 15OTH ANNIVERSARY BY STEPPING BACK IN TIME

The calendar might say 2009, but the Model Ts, horse-drawn carriage, top hats and sweeping ankle-length skirts on display in front of Trinity United Methodist Church spoke of much earlier days.
Parishioners at the city's oldest church, which predates Colorado statehood by 17 years, gathered Sunday for a celebration of Trinity's 150th anniversary featuring period costumes and a special sermon.
When the congregates first gathered Aug. 2, 1859, it wasn't at a church. The service was held at the Pollack House Hotel.
The downtown landmark with its vaulted sanctuary and towering 4,000-pipe organ now serves about 3,500 people a week, including the homeless and others in need of assistance.
"We're here for good," said senior pastor Michael Dent. "We're here to be good. We're here to do good, and we're here to stay."
The church recently started a three-year, $1.8 million fundraising campaign to help recently released inmates, to build a school in Guatemala and start a health care initiative in Liberia.