AIDS virus weakness detected

WASHINGTON (Reuters)

Scientists have captured an image of the AIDS virus in a biological handshake with the immune cells it attacks, and said on Wednesday they hope this can help lead to a better vaccine against the incurable disease.
They pinpointed a place on the outside of the human immunodeficiency virus that could be vulnerable to antibodies that could block it from infecting human cells.
U.S. National Institutes of Health researcher Peter Kwong said the study, published in the journal Nature, may reveal HIV's long-sought "site of vulnerability" that can be targeted with a vaccine aimed at preventing initial infection.

"Having that site and knowing that you can make antibodies against it means that a vaccine is possible," Kwong said in a telephone interview.
"It doesn't say we've gotten there. But it's taken it off the list from an impossible dream and converted it to something that is a (mere) technical barrier."
Experts agree that a vaccine is the only hope of stopping the pandemic of AIDS, which has killed more than 25 million people since it was first recognized in 1981. About 40 million people now live with HIV, with sub-Saharan Africa hardest hit.

But while dozens of potential vaccines are in development, only two AIDS vaccine candidates are in advanced human trials -- one made by Merck and Co. and another by Sanofi-Aventis SA.
Because the virus attacks immune system cells, it has been especially difficult to design a vaccine to fight it.
The team at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the NIH, made atomic-level images of the virus.

They revealed the structure of a protein on the surface of HIV as it looks while the protein is bound to an infection-fighting antibody. They said this protein, called gp120, seems susceptible to attack by this antibody, which is called b12 and is capable of broadly neutralizing the virus.
An antibody is an immune system protein that helps seek and destroy invaders like viruses and bacteria.
CAUTIOUS HANDSHAKE
The researchers detailed the precise interaction as the virus tries to grab and infect cells sent to protect the body.
"The first contact is like a cautious handshake, which then becomes a hearty bear hug," said Dr. Gary Nabel, an NIH vaccine expert and a co-author of the research.
The virus uses the protein gp120 to gain entry into the CD4 T-cells it infects. But the researchers also found that the antibody b12 can block this process.

The virus mutates quickly and continuously to beat the immune system's efforts to target it. It also is cloaked in such a way that it stops antibodies from blocking the proteins that HIV uses to bind to a cell and infect it.
So this is a critical area of vulnerability, Nabel said. "This is certainly one of the best leads to come along in recent years," he said.

NIAID Director Dr. Anthony Fauci said the findings are of great importance, but much more work in animal and human studies is needed, and any vaccine is years away.
"I don't think there's any one particular thing that, in and of itself, is the show-stopper. But I don't think we could really make substantial, fundamentally scientifically based progress until we got this very important information," he said.

Mahdi Army leadership lying low in Iran

LONDON (AFP)

Senior commanders in the Mahdi Army militia, led by radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, have moved to neighbouring Iran to avoid being targeted by the new American security sweep in Baghdad, The Guardian has reported.
Citing an unnamed high-level Iraqi government official, the newspaper said that the militia's leadership had crossed the border to regroup and retrain.
The report comes a day after US defence officials said Sadr had likely fled to Iran ahead of the planned
crackdown on sectarian violence, a claim the cleric's supporters dismissed.

"Over the last three weeks, they (Iran) have taken away from Baghdad the first- and second-tier military leaders of the Mahdi Army," the unidentified official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, was quoted as saying by the daily.
The Iranians' aim was to "prevent the dismantling of the infrastructure of the Shiite militias" in Baghdad.
"The strategy is to lie low until the storm passes, and then let them return and fill the vacuum," he said.
He added: "All indications are that Moqtada is in Iran, but that is not really the point.

"They (the Iranians) are calculating that the security operation will continue for a certain period of time, and that it will do serious damage to the Sunni jihadists and the insurgents," the official continued.
"While in Iran they will be able to get more training and then once the Sunnis have been pacified, they plan to return."

The Guardian also quoted Karim Al-Moussawi, who the paper identified as a senior figure in the Mahdi Army, as saying that most of the militia's leaders had gone to Iran, but of their own accord.
"Simply they were seeking sanctuary as individuals from expected targeting by the US occupying forces during the security drive in Baghdad," Moussawi told the newspaper.

Major General William Caldwell, spokesman for coalition forces in Iraq, meanwhile told media Wednesday in Baghdad: "Yes, our reporting does indicate that he (Sadr) has left Iraq and it appears he is in Iran."
"We obviously track Moqtada al-Sadr very closely but the reason why he is not in Iraq is not something I can discuss."
The US Pentagon says Sadr's Mahdi Army militia is the most dangerous single faction in the vicious sectarian war gripping Iraq, and accuses rogue elements of the force of killing hundreds of Sunni civilians.

The cleric has not been seen publicly in Iraq in recent weeks, but Nassar al-Rubaie, head of Sadr's parliamentary bloc, insisted he was "still inside Iraq and working normally" without fear of US forces.

Spain on edge as Madrid train bomb trial begins

MADRID (Reuters) -

Twenty-nine people go on trial in Spain on Thursday charged over the 2004 Madrid train bombings that killed 191 people, and triggered the fall of the government and the withdrawal of Spanish troops from Iraq.
Spain has raised its terror alert to medium from low as the trial opens just weeks before the third anniversary of the March 11 bombs, the deadliest al Qaeda-related attack in Europe.

Hundreds of police will protect the Madrid courtroom where the accused -- Arabs and Spaniards -- face charges ranging from membership of a terrorist group to stealing dynamite from mines in northern Spain to sell to the bombers, often in exchange for drugs.
Of these, three are alleged to have masterminded the attack. A fourth key organiser was one of seven suspects who blew themselves up in an apartment block weeks after the bombs.
"This is the beginning -- or rather the end of the long, hard road we've been on for the last three years," said Pilar Manjon, the head of a victims association.

The bomb exploded on four packed commuter trains and as well as killing 191, injured about 2,000 people.
They not only traumatised Spain but also led to the fall of the conservative government that initially blamed Basque separatists ETA for the attack, which hit three days before general elections.
When ever more evidence pointed to Islamist militants, Spaniards turned out in force to demonstrate against the government and voted them out of power. Soon afterwards, new Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero fulfilled an election pledge to pull Spanish troops out of Iraq.

The prosecuting judge who prepared the case linked the bombs to a call by Osama bin Laden to attack countries that backed the U.S.-led war in Iraq and to an Internet essay that urged attackers to hit Spain before the elections.
An almost 100,000 page report drawn up by the state prosecutor and seen by Reuters says four men heeded the al Qaeda call and started planning the attack in 2003. They recruited others at a Madrid mosque and from common criminal circles.

One of the alleged ideologues, Rabei Osman Sayed Ahmed, who is charged with inciting people to carry out the attack, will be the first to take the stand in Madrid.
Ahmed, known as "Mohamed the Egyptian", has already been convicted of belonging to a terrorist group and sentenced to 10 years in jail by an Italian court. He has been extradited to Spain for the Madrid hearings.
"It will be very difficult to prove that he had any responsibility for the attacks," said Luca D'Auria, who defended Ahmed in Italy and is part of his legal team in Madrid.

"The evidence against him was collected in Milan and there is no proof that he had any contact with the organisers, with the others accused of the attacks," D'Auria told Reuters, adding that Ahmed just knew other suspects from attending the mosque.
The hearings are expected to last until July when the three-judge panel will retire to consider the evidence. They are not expected to come out with their verdicts and sentences until October at the earliest.

U.S.: Helicopter was shot down in Iraq

KIM GAMEL,

Associated Press

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A Sea Knight helicopter that crashed last week northwest of Baghdad was shot down, the U.S. military said Wednesday, reversing earlier statements that it appeared to have been due to mechanical failure.
The Marine CH-46 troop transport went down northwest of Baghdad on Feb. 7, killing all seven people on board, and an al-Qaida-linked Sunni group claimed responsibility and aired a video.

Military officials initially said they believed the crash was due to mechanical failure, but the military announced Wednesday that an investigation showed the crash was "the result of anti-aircraft munitions."
"Initial evidence indicated that the CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter went down as a result of mechanical failure. After further investigation using all available means, the cause of the incident has been confirmed to be hostile fire," said Maj. Jeff Pool, a spokesman for the Multi National Force — West.

The statement said the pilots of an AH-1W Super Cobra helicopter escorting the Sea Knight did not witness the actual attack, but they saw the fire, descent and subsequent crash. The initial signs resembled fires that have occurred aboard CH-46s experiencing mechanical difficulties in the past, it added.
The military also said the crash site had been cleared with explosives after the remains and equipment were removed "to ensure the enemy could yield no gain from the debris."

At least seven U.S. helicopters have crashed or been forced down under hostile fire since Jan. 20. In the wake of the recent crashes, U.S. officials have said they were reviewing flight operations and tactics but maintain there is no evidence of sophisticated new weapons used in any of the latest attacks.
Wednesday's statement raised to five that were known to have been shot down. Two private security company helicopters also have crashed but the cause was unclear.
The military statement declined to comment on insurgents weapons' capabilities or tactics to counter them, citing security concerns.

"Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of these fallen service members," Pool said. "All available resources are dedicated to eliminating the threat to our aircraft so that we can continue to provide the support our ground forces."
The Islamic State in Iraq, an umbrella group of Iraqi insurgent groups that includes al-Qaida in Iraq, claimed responsibility for downing the helicopter and issued an Internet video on Feb. 9 it said was proof. The group also claimed the recent downings of two other U.S. helicopters.
The two-minute video showed a helicopter that appears to be a Sea Knight flying. An object trailing smoke is seen in the sky nearby, then the craft bursts into orange and red flames, with a spray of debris emerging from it.

Anti-American cleric flees Iraq for Iran

ANNE GEARAN,

AP Diplomatic

Anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr fled Iraq for Iran ahead of a security crackdown in Baghdad and the arrival of 21,500 U.S. troops sent by President Bush to quell sectarian violence, a senior U.S. official said Tuesday.
Al-Sadr left his Baghdad stronghold some weeks ago, the official said, and is believed to be in Tehran, where he has family. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss U.S. monitoring activities, said fractures in al-Sadr's political and militia operations may be part of the reason for his departure. The move is not believed to be permanent, the official said.

Word of al-Sadr's departure coincides with an announcement that Iraq will close its borders with Iran and Syria for 72 hours as part of the drive to end the violence that has threatened to divide the capital along sectarian lines.
The U.S. official said it is not clear how firmly the radical Shiite cleric is controlling his organization and the associated Mahdi Army militia from exile.

"The question for us is to what extent his organization is going to participate in the political process," the official said, referring to al-Sadr's on-again, off-again relationship with the fragile democratic government in Baghdad.
Al-Sadr's departure was reported by several television networks Tuesday.
Al-Sadr's militia is widely seen as the main threat to Iraq's unity and high on the list of targets for the Baghdad security operation.

A ragtag but highly motivated militia that fought U.S. forces twice in 2004, the Mahdi Army is blamed for much of the sectarian strife shaking Iraq since a Shiite shrine was bombed by Sunni militants a year ago. U.S. officials have for months pressed Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to move against the militia, but he has so far done little to comply, largely because he does not want to lose al-Sadr's support.
Al-Sadr rose from obscurity in the aftermath of the ouster of Saddam Hussein to lead a movement of young, underprivileged Iraqis united by opposition to U.S. military presence as well as hunger for Shiite domination.
The cleric, who is in his mid-30s, is a master of street politics, and his young lieutenants can rally tens of thousands of protesters at short notice. Once wanted in the 2003 killing of a key cleric, al-Sadr gained much influence when his parliamentary bloc of 30 of 275 deputies was instrumental in al-Maliki's election.
Dismissed by older Shiite politicians as a dangerous upstart, al-Sadr set up the Mahdi Army militia in 2003. It is suspected of being behind the abduction and murder of thousands of Sunnis in what are known as death squad killings.

Two key members of al-Sadr's political and military organization were gunned down last week, the latest of as many as seven key figures in the al-Sadr organization killed or captured in the past two months.
The deaths and captures came after al-Maliki, also a Shiite, dropped his protection for the organization.
Shiite leaders insist that the Shiite militias flourished because the U.S. and its allies could not protect civilians. They say if the Sunni insurgents were crushed, the threat from Shiite hard-liners would go away.
Shiite politicians have long maintained that Sunni militants pose a greater threat to Iraq's stability. Thousands of Shiite civilians have been killed in bombings and suicide attacks carried out by al-Qaida in Iraq and other Sunni groups.

Thousands regularly cross the porous Iraq-Iran border, and Iran has been a popular destination for elite Shiite Iraq exiles. In Saddam's time those exiles included al-Maliki, who like other educated and politically active Shiites feared for his safety in Iraq.

Explosions tear through 2 Lebanon buses

SAM F. GHATTAS

Asssociated Press

BEIRUT, Lebanon - Explosions tore through two buses traveling on a highway Tuesday near a mountain town northeast of Beirut, and dozens of people were either killed or wounded, the country's state-run news agency said.
The news agency gave no exact figure on the number of dead. Arab media quoted Lebanese civil defense sources as saying nine were killed and at least 20 injured.
The explosions come at a time of increased sectarian tensions in Lebanon, and one day before the second anniversary of the slaying of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. A mass rally had been planned for Wednesday in downtown Beirut to mark the second anniversary of the slaying.
Television footage showed at least one destroyed bus and ambulances carrying away people. Blood was pooled in several places near the bus wreckage. Troops in military uniforms and army buses also were at the scene.
The 9:15 a.m. blast occurred on a road in the village of Ein Alaq, just south of the town of Bikfaya in the province of northern Metn, some 12 miles northeast of the Lebanese capital.
The town of Ein Alaq is near Bikfaya, the ancestral home of the Gemayel family, a prominent political Christian family in Lebanon. Pierre Gemayel, a Cabinet member, was assassinated last November.
The Lebanese news agency said the explosions targeted the two buses as they traveled on a highway near the town. It had few immediate details.
Appeals for urgent blood donations were broadcast as ambulances rushed casualties to hospitals. The Voice Of Lebanon radio stations said the targeted buses were driving people to their work.

Gunman kills 5 in Utah shopping mall

JENNIFER DOBNER, Associated Press

SALT LAKE CITY

A man with a shotgun fired randomly in a historic shopping mall Monday night, killing five people and injuring several others before he was killed, police said.
Hours later, police still were searching stores for shocked shoppers and employees who were hunkered down awaiting a safe escort from the Trolley Square mall.
"We have six fatalities and multiple victims at hospitals," police Detective Robin Snyder said. "They were found throughout the mall. I don't know male or female or ages."
At least four people were hospitalized, three in critical condition and one in serious condition, hospital spokesmen said. Two of the critically injured were a 16-year-old man and a 50-year-old man, a spokesman said.
Authorities offered few details about the shootings but said the gunman entered the mall about 6:45 p.m. MST.
The two-story mall, southeast of downtown, is a refurbished trolley barn built in 1908, with a series of winding hallways, brick floors, wrought-iron balconies and about 80 stores, including high-end retailers such as Williams-Sonoma and restaurants such as the Hard Rock Cafe.
Matt Lund, whose wife manages a clothing store, said he saw a woman's body face-down at the entrance to Pottery Barn Kids. He locked himself and four others inside a storage room for about 40 minutes, isolated but still able to hear the violence.
"We heard them say, 'Police! Drop your weapon!' Then we heard shotgun fire. Then there was a barrage of gunfire," Lund, 44, said. "It was hard to believe."
Marie Smith, 23, had the day off from Bath & Body Works but stopped there during an errand and saw the gunman shoot a woman in front of the store.
"He was ahead of her, standing still. I don't think she saw that he had a gun," said Smith, who dashed to a bathroom and locked the door.
Outside the mall, streets were blocked as police swarmed the two-block scene. Dozens of people lingered on the sidewalk, many wrapped in blankets, as they talked about what they had seen inside.
Antique store owner Barrett Dodds, 29, said he saw a man in a trenchcoat exchanging gunfire with a police officer outside a card store. The gunman, he said, was backed into a children's clothing store.
"I saw the cops go in the store. I saw the shooter go down," said Dodds, who watched from the second floor.
Barb McKeown, 60, of Washington, D.C., was in another antique shop when two frantic women ran in and reported gunshots.
"Then we heard shot after shot after shot — loud, loud, loud," said McKeown, saying she heard about 20. She and three other people hid under a staircase until it was safe to leave.
Many employees and shoppers — "a lot of scared people" — were still inside the mall hours after the shootings, waiting to leave, Snyder said.
"This is a huge area to cover," she said.
An off-duty officer from Ogden was in the mall and involved in the shooting, said Ogden police Sgt. Blaine Clifford, who declined to release the officer's name. The officer was not injured, Clifford said.