Taipei - The World Health Organization (WHO) has allowed Taiwan to attend its annual assembly as an observer, marking another score in Taipei's fight to end its international isolation, a Taiwan of

Singapore - Singapore stepped up measures to guard against the swine flu outbread and elevated the flu alert level from green to yellow after the World Health Organization decided to raise pandemic alert levels from phase 3 to 4.

"This is to brace ourselves to handle situations where there may be isolated imported cases but no sustained local transmission," the Ministry of Health said in statement late Tuesday night.

So far there are no human cases of swine flu in Singapore.

Hong Kong - Wealthy Asian travellers are considering flying by private jet to avoid the risk of swine flu exposure on commercial flights, a news report said Wednesday.

Private jet service Asia Jet has seen a 40-per-cent rise in inquiries about its flights, at a cost of 5,900 US dollars an hour, since the swine flu scare spread Monday to Asia, the South China Morning Post reported.

Enquiries had come from across the region for the Hong Kong-based company's fleet of Gulfstream jets, said chief executive Justin Lee Firestone.

Sydney - Australians suspected of having swine flu could be forcibly detained under a new quarantine measure decreed by the government.

"It would also increase the powers of the chief health officer, who would have the ability to detain an infected person if they are putting others at risk," New South Wales Health Minister John Della Bosca said in a statement Wednesday explaining the new powers.

Wellington - The number of swine flu victims in New Zealand grew to 14 on Wednesday, but health authorities said all were recovering well and there was no need to panic.

Officials said there were 31 suspected cases in the country and another 179 people who may have been in contact with those affected were in voluntary isolation around the country and had been offered a course of Tamiflu antiviral medication.

Washington - Kathleen Sebelius was approved by the US Senate as health secretary Tuesday, completing President Barack Obama's cabinet just shy of 100 days into his administration.

Sebelius, currently the governor of Kansas, will take over the Health and Human Services Department amid a growing swine flu outbreak in neighbouring Mexico and in the United States.

There were 64 confirmed cases of swine flu Tuesday in five US states, with the largest outbreak in New York. California has declared a state of emergency.