SWINE FLU FEARS PROMPT HAJJ CURBS

Arab health ministers have agreed to prevent vulnerable groups joining this year's Muslim Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, because of fears over swine flu. People aged over 65 and under 12, and those with chronic diseases, will be excluded from the event, according to the World Health Orgnization. In June, Saudi Arabia asked elderly and sick Muslims not to visit this year. At least two million people took part in the last Hajj, which falls this year in November. The decision to keep the vulnerable groups away from the pilgrimage must still be ratified by the health ministers' governments.