Deaths from asthma, a common chronic disease among children, could increase by nearly 20 per cent by 2016 unless urgent action is taken to reduce emissions from vehicles and factories, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said Wednesday.

Citing data from the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF said the three biggest killers of children under five - respiratory infections, diarrhea diseases and malaria - are closely linked to environmental factors

The First Asia-Pacific Water Summit closed Wednesday with participants from 36 nations targeting to ensure access for everyone in the region to safe drinking water by 2025. Provision of clean water and sanitation will take precedence over other water-related problems in the economic and development agenda of the region.

The ambitious goal, aimed at 700 million Asian-Pacific islanders without access to safe drinking water and 1.9 billion more lacking hygienic toilets, is broader than the Millennium Development Goals set by the United Nations in 2000. The UN-set goal was to reduce by half the number of Asians and Pacific residents without clean water and basic sanitation by 2015

A top World Bank Official on Tuesday said the possible bird flu pandemic could cost countries around the world some $2 trillion.

Peter Harrold, acting Vice President of the World Bank, said, "The global economic costs could be between 1.5 to two trillion dollars

Polish Agriculture Minister Marek Sawicki said Monday the bird flu virus detected last week on a turkey farm near Plock is under control. The H5N1 virus was traced to two villages, Uniejewo and Mysliborzyce, near central Poland.

A leading meat company said it received a delivery of 5,500 birds under consignment. Eight percent were dead or in bad condition, while three were found to have the bird flu virus. But at least 661 pounds (300 kilograms) of infected meat, possibly contaminated with the virus, may already be in retail outlets

HIV/AIDS is causing problems for young people in China.

China is reportedly struggling to increase awareness in HIV/AIDS knowledge among children, according to a report in the state-run Xinhua News Agency on Saturday