Vietnam is stepping up border controls as a precaution against the potential spread of the latest bird flu strain, H7N9, that so far has claimed the lives of three people in neighboring China. Since the first case of human infection was revealed last week in China, it has raised public health concern as this virus has previously not found in the human population. The Vietnam Ministry of Health has dispatched health officials at the provincial level nation-wide and put them on high alert of any development of the disease and take ordered them to carry out prompt actions if neces

By Ed Stoddard JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela is comfortable and able to breathe without problems as he continues to respond to treatment in hospital for a recurrence of pneumonia, President Jacob Zuma's office said on Saturday. After the revered 94-year-old statesman and former South African president spent a third night in hospital, the presidency said doctors had drained excess fluid from his lungs to tackle the infection.

Nearly one in 10 Korean American voters said that they needed but did not find translated material when they took part in the last presidential election, a study by a rights group said Thursday. A survey by the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund found that 33 percent of Korean American voters said they spoke English "very well," lower than any other Asian American group. Filipino Americans were the most fluent.

Twelve people died when a mini-tornado caused an overloaded boat to capsize in remote southern Philippine marshes, a local official said on Wednesday. The small motorboat, designed for 10 passengers, was carrying 18 people from a small town through marshland on Mindanao island on Monday night when the accident happened, said the local mayor, Alan Aguas. "The winds were strong and there was a small tornado. It passed near the boat and some of the passengers panicked, causing the boat to capsize," he said, quoting survivors.