World briefs 5/18/04

Companies to develop single-dose AIDS drug

GENEVA -- The Bush administration announced a new initiative to speed up the approval process for new combination AIDS drugs that will bring cheap, easy-to-use treatment to millions of people in Africa and the Caribbean. The announcement Sunday came as three major U.S. pharmaceutical companies said they'll work to develop an AIDS drug offering a single daily dose. In a joint statement, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., Gilead Sciences Inc. and Merck & Co. Inc., said they will pursue research to combine three of their HIV medicines into a single tablet.

U.N. food agency supports genetically modified crops

ROME -- Genetically modified crops are helping poor farmers and have posed no adverse health or environmental effects so far, the U.N. food agency said Monday in a report on how biotechnology can help feed the world's hungry. The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization called for greater government regulation and monitoring of genetically modified, or transgenic, products to ensure they are safely used and said more research is needed on their long-term health and environmental impacts. The agency said the biggest problem with GM technology is that it has not spread fast enough to small farmers and has focused on crops mostly of use to big commercial interests.

Israeli troops surround Gaza refugee camp

RAFAH, Gaza Strip -- Israeli tanks cut off the Rafah refugee camp from the rest of Gaza Monday, sending panicked residents fleeing. Palestinians said an Israeli helicopter fired missiles at the camp hours later that killed three people and wounding seven, one critically. The Israeli military said the target was a group of armed Palestinians approaching Israeli forces. Israel Radio has reported that troops were prepared to fight from house to house in the camp. Frantic residents on Monday loaded belongings onto trucks and donkey carts and headed to the neighboring town, also named Rafah.

Pope's new book recalls communist-era years

WARSAW, Poland -- Pope John Paul II recollects his years as a prelate in communist-era Poland in his new book, telling how he clashed with authorities. "Get Up, Let Us Go," published today on the pope's 84th birthday, is a sequel to "Gift and Mystery," an account of the pontiff's early priesthood that was released in 1996. The book draws on the pope's years in Krakow, where -- as Karol Wojtyla -- he served as bishop and then archbishop. The book spans a 20-year period from the late 1950s through his election as the first Polish pope in 1978.

-- From wire reports