tagged w/ kammerman
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TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) -- Iran's newly appointed -- and controversial -- first vice president has resigned, the semi-official Fars News Agency reported Friday.
Esfandyar Rahim Mashaie "has declared that according to the order [from the nation's supreme leader] from this moment on I do not consider myself to be the 1st VP. I am prepared to serve the Revolution in any place that I can," Fars reported, quoting Mojtaba Hashemi Samareh, senior adviser to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Earlier, the supreme leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, sent a letter to Ahmadinejad saying "it is necessary" to declare Mashaie's appointment "null and void," Fars reported.
Such a choice is "against your interests and the interests of the government and has caused disappointment among your friends," Khamenei said, according to Fars.
Mashaie has been controversial because of comments he reportedly made last year that the Iranian people are friends with all people, including Israelis. Critics also found fault with Mashaie for reportedly not leaving an area in Turkey where female dancers were performing.
Mashaie's daughter is married to Ahmadinejad's son. Ahmadinejad has defended Mashaie despite the criticism surrounding the appointment. He is among the Iranian president's closest confidants, and he was previously the head of the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, Fars reported.
And the appointment to the position reflected that closeness. Although there are 12 vice presidents in Iran, the first vice president is the only one who can lead a Cabinet meeting if Ahmadinejad is unable to do so.
Other news reports said that that other Iranian voices had come out against Mashaie, including rightist lawmakers, the Council of Experts and clerics. Ayatollah Seyed Ahmad Khatami said in a sermon during Friday prayers that Ahmadinejad should rethink Mashaie's appointment, Fars said.
The ayatollah said he regarded the present government to be legal, a reflection of his support for Ahmadinejad, whose controversial victory in last month's presidential elections stoked widespread unrest in Iran.
But he urged Ahmadinejad "to heed the advice of his friends."
"We consider this government to be legal and support it, but based on our fondness for the president we ask that he reconsiders his appointment of the first vice president," the ayatollah said.
At Friday prayers, Khatami reportedly said "we would like" Ahmadinejad "to remain a powerful and popular president."
"We wish that there would have been no need for the supreme leader to express an opinion in this regard. But now that he has, his opinion must be heeded immediately because the legality of all things in the Islamic System [of government] comes from the supreme leader."TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) -- Iran's newly appointed -- and controversial -- first vice... more
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LONDON, England (CNN) -- There were 100,000 new cases of swine flu in England last week, nearly double the number from the previous seven days, authorities announced Friday.
Children 14 or younger were those predominantly affected, with those older than 65 showing much lower rates, the Department of Health said in its weekly swine flu update.
Most cases continue to be mild, the department said, but a small minority are severe.
The last weekly update showed 55,000 new cases. There is no figure for the week before that, but for the week ended July 3, there were 2,798 new cases. There were 1,442 new cases the week before that, according to department figures.
The Department of Health obtained the data from doctor's offices that report their consultations for flu-like or other acute respiratory illnesses. It said consultation rates at doctor's offices had risen sharply in the past week.
There are 840 patients hospitalized with swine flu in England, the department said.
he number of deaths related to swine flu is 26. That figure is the same as the week before, because some unrelated deaths were removed from the tally and others were added, the department said.
The death toll accounts for the number of people with swine flu who died, rather than the number of deaths solely attributable to swine flu, the department said.
Britain launched a service Thursday to give people advice about swine flu over the Internet and over the phone, and allow them to get antiviral medication if they show symptoms.
In its first day of operation, the Web site experienced unprecedented demand, the department said, with 2,600 hits per second, or 9.3 million hits per hour.
The site did not crash, the department said, but it had to ask Internet service provider BT to quadruple capacity.
Workers at the call centers are not medical professionals, but are trained to ask callers a series of questions about their symptoms.
If a caller has symptoms, he gets a unique access number and is told where the nearest antiviral collection point is. He is then advised to ask a friend or relative -- a "flu friend" -- to pick up the medication for him.
The government advises people who suspect they have swine flu not to go to their doctor or an emergency room unless their condition worsens or lasts a long time, or if they are pregnant, have a child younger than 1, or have a serious underlying illness.
"The National Pandemic Flu Service will give patients access to information and antivirals as quickly as possible," Health Secretary Andy Burnham said. "It will free up (doctors) so they can focus their efforts on helping those in at risk groups and patients with other illnesses."LONDON, England (CNN) -- There were 100,000 new cases of swine flu in England last... more
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