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.

New York - Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Tuesday that 44 swine flu cases have been confirmed in New York City, making it the largest cluster of flu cases in the United States, even though all cases are mild and everyone is recovering. Bloomberg said he expects new cases to be confirmed in the coming days as tests continue on students with severe symptoms at Saint Francis High School in Queens, where all the cases originated. The school remained closed Wednesday.

Dubai - The United Arab Emirates is free from Swine Flu cases such as those recently announced in Mexico and other countries, UAE Health Minister said on Tuesday. "We are taking preventive precautionary measures to prevent the entry of the disease into the UAE," Humaid al-Qatami told a press conference.

One of these measures includes full coordination with the World Health Organisation (WHO) through a hotline that enables the ministry to follow all reports and recommendations made by the WHO throughout the day.