It’s been eight years since Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint first hopped on the Hogwarts Express, and the three have done little else since.

Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint have kept each other “level-headed,” said Radcliffe.

Now that the ride will soon come to an end, the cast is trying to fathom a life without the Harry Potter films — an understandable difficulty, considering that they’ve grown up along with their characters.

The other item showing its age is the storyline of the sixth installment, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.” Part humor and part horror with a healthy dose of hormones, “Half-Blood Prince” is clearly more attuned for an audience who, like the cast, are no longer in grade school.

“On the one hand, we have all this light romance and snogging, and on the other hand, people are getting killed, and bridges are being blown up,” director David Yates said.

Heavy stuff, certainly, but it’s a challenge on par with the stars’ blossoming careers.

One can only imagine that by now, the Potter series feels like home to Daniel Radcliffe, who landed the title role at 11 after playing supporting roles in the BBC’s “David Copperfield” and the 2001 film “The Tailor in Panama.”

“[Without it], to be honest, I don’t know what I would’ve done,” said Radcliffe, who turns 20 on July 23. “I had ‘Copperfield,’ but at that point I wasn’t even dreaming about [acting] being a career then.”

Since then, Radcliffe has grown into international stardom, reportedly earning $25 million per Potter film. Indeed, the actor has gotten raves away from the movie theater: In London and on Broadway, Radcliffe took on the role of Alan Strang, the mentally disturbed stable boy in Peter Shaffer’s “Equus,” which required him to strip naked in the play’s final scene.

Radcliffe has also taken on roles in “December Boys” and the TV movie “My Boy Jack,” and he is eager to keep at it long after the Potter series wraps.

So what about directing, then? Only time will tell, Radcliffe said.

“For now, I want to keep acting,” the actor said. “I don’t think I know enough about the technical sides yet to even consider directing. It would be something that I’m interested in, but it would be a long, long way off.”

As for Watson, when she’s not occupied with filming, she can be found in the pages of fashion magazines — including the advertisements.

Having landed covers for both Teen Vogue and the UK version of Elle within the past few months, it’s no wonder that the 19-year-old was chosen to be the face of Burberry’s autumn line. Going from tween wizard to fashion icon is quite a leap, but it’s one that appears to fit Watson well; how many other Hogwarts students can count Karl Lagerfeld among their friends?

Like her co-star Rupert Grint (Ron), Watson didn’t have any acting experience when she auditioned for “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” at age 9. She managed to beat out thousands of other girls for the role of Hermione, a part she’s said was “life or death” for her.

Now that the series is close to its end, the actress is eager to try new things.

“I would’ve told myself not to take it so seriously and to try to have as much fun as you can,” Watson said she would’ve advised her younger self.

But similar to her Potter character, Hermione, Watson is eager to hit the books after the series concludes. The actress confirmed that she plans to start college in the United States this fall.

For Grint, the future is a bit more unclear.

“I don’t know what I’m going to be doing, really,” the actor told the Los Angeles Times. “I’m going to miss it, I think, because I’ve been doing this my whole life.”

Despite his start as an unknown — Grint reportedly submitted hip-hop lyrics describing his character to snag the part of Ron Weasley — he’s arguably been the most adventurous of his co-stars, having played opposite Paul Giamatti in the 2002 family comedy “Thunderpants” and starring in 2009’s sexually charged thriller “Cherrybomb.”

His third film outside the Potter series will be the indie “Wild Target,” co-starring another British sensation, Emily Blunt.

Whatever their plans, all three have a few years to go before they hang up their magic wands; the last installment of “Harry Potter” is being filmed in two parts, and the final film won’t premiere until 2011.

And, Radcliffe said, they’ve helped each other cope with fame over the years.

He said that on the red carpet, “[the fans are] cheering for a kind of person they see in newspapers and in interviews and in films, and that’s a different person to you. You have to keep that — that persona — and the person you actually are as separate as you possibly can, and then you will avoid becoming arrogant.”

Which is why it helps to have two people who know you well, on set and off.

“I think we’ve all kept each other pretty level-headed over the years,” Radcliffe said.

A fourth suspect has been arrested in the shooting deaths of a Gulf Coast couple known for adopting special-needs children, authorities said late Monday.

Police say they have evidence that places Gary Lamont Sumner at the crime scene.

Gary Lamont Sumner faces a murder charge for his alleged role in the deaths of Byrd and Melanie Billings on Thursday, Escambia County, Florida, Sheriff David Morgan said.

Sumner was pulled over in a traffic stop in Okaloosa County Sunday and arrested after authorities found he matched a description put out by Escambia authorities.

Police believe six to eight people were involved in the homicides, which occurred in the couple’s home in Beulah, west of Pensacola, near the Alabama state line.

The crime was “a very well-planned and methodical operation,” Morgan said.

Wayne Coldiron, 41; Leonard Patrick Gonzalez Jr., 35, and Leonard Patrick Gonzalez Sr., 56, were arrested over the weekend. Coldiron and the younger Gonzalez face charges of murder, robbery and residential home invasion; the elder Gonzalez faces charges of evidence tampering for allegedly trying to disguise a vehicle spotted at the home.

Morgan said at least three others are persons of interests in the investigation.

“We expect more arrests to be imminent,” Morgan told reporters.

Both of the Billingses were shot multiple times, Morgan said, but he would not release further details on their deaths.

Authorities released two surveillance tapes taken from the front and rear of the Billingses’ home. Each shows a vehicle pulling up to the property, and five people dressed in black and wearing masks entering the home through two entrances — including through a utility door left unlocked, something Morgan said is not uncommon in the community. Authorities believe drivers remained in both of the cars.

Investigators believe one motive in the deaths was robbery, but “we believe there are other motives,” Morgan said. He would not say what, if anything, was taken from the home.

Melanie Billings’ biological daughter, Ashley Markham, told reporters the couple initially had 17 children — two biological children each for Byrd and Melanie Billings, with the rest adopted. Three have died over the years, she said. The couple had no biological children together.

Morgan, however, said the couple had a total of 16 children, with two that have died and others that have grown older and no longer live in the Billingses’ home.

Nine of the couple’s children were home at the time of the incident, Morgan said, and police believe three of them saw the intruders. One managed to flee the home and seek help at a neighbor’s house, the sheriff said.

Coldiron and the younger Gonzalez were being held on $1 million bond, according to records posted on the sheriff’s Web site. The senior Gonzalez was being held on $250,000 bond.

One of the first three arrested is believed to be the mastermind behind the crime, Morgan said, but would not say which one.

Police also released a surveillance photo taken at a Wal-Mart in nearby Gulf Breeze, Florida, recently. Two of the people in the photo are Sumner and the younger Gonzalez, but authorities want to know who the other man is, Morgan said.

The sheriff called the surveillance tapes “chilling.” He noted the vehicles were at the home less than 10 minutes, and the five people were in the house less than four minutes.

“It leads me to believe that this was a very well-planned and methodical operation,” Morgan said.

Although the Billingses were well known in the community, the sheriff said authorities are still trying to unravel why they were targeted. He compared their deaths to the slaying of the Clutter family of Kansas, inspiration for Truman Capote’s novel “In Cold Blood,” noting the Clutter murders were something the community struggled with for years.

“It will be a very long time, I believe, until we piece together the truth of why this family was selected,” Morgan said.

Police believe the suspects might have bought the clothes they wore to the home and were reviewing surveillance tapes and photos from several stores, he said.

Morgan said the crime’s complexity is frustrating for investigators, comparing it to a complicated mathematics or word problem that lacks complete information.

“It seems as though each phase we complete, while we answer a set of questions, it opens up an additional set of questions.”

Earlier, he said the complete story, when revealed, is “going to be a humdinger.”

Asked whether the suspects entered the home planning to kill the couple, Morgan said authorities do not know.

Markham said earlier the family does not know any of the three suspects. She said the children “are coping very well” and are being cared for.

“They haven’t asked too many questions,” she said, noting that several have disabilities. While the investigation continues, the family is keeping the children’s whereabouts a secret.

Big-spending English Premier League club Manchester City have completed the much-anticipated signing of Argentina international Carlos Tevez.

Argentina star Carlos Tevez is moving across Manchester to join United’s bitter rivals City.

The 25-year-old was presented to the media on Tuesday afternoon ahead of City’s departure the following day for a three-match pre-season tour of South Africa.

City revealed on Monday night that the striker has agreed a five-year contract and would complete his move from bitter rivals Manchester United after passing a medical.

A fee for the transfer has not yet been revealed, but it is reported that City have agreed to pay about $40 million to take over the player’s ownership rights from the sports agencies which previously held them.

“It is terrific news,” City manager Mark Hughes told the club’s official Web site. “Carlos is an international player of the highest class who possesses all the attributes that will help drive this club forward.

“He is not only outstanding technically but he is a reliable goal scorer and someone who will contribute fully to the team ethic. He gives us another exciting, attacking dimension.

“I cannot wait to welcome him to City. This is yet another deal that shows the commitment of the owner Sheikh Mansour to make this club the very best it can possibly be. I am sure our fans will give Carlos an exceptionally warm welcome.”

The capture of Tevez will be a big boost for the club and its billionaire Abu Dhabi-based owner, who was forced to end his long-running bid to sign Barcelona striker Samuel Eto’o.

The Cameroon international, who had been offered a reported $400,000 a week wages, stalled on the move after being offered a new deal by the European champions, with some papers claiming he wanted a big chunk of any transfer fee paid by City.

The Mancunians have also made a huge offer for Chelsea captain John Terry, but the London club have insisted that the England defender is not for sale.

Hughes is reportedly also hoping to sign Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor in another $40 million deal that would leave the Welshman with nine strikers at his disposal.

The former Manchester United forward already has new $30 million signing Roque Santa Cruz, January’s $23 million acquisition Craig Bellamy and Brazil star Robinho — who arrived a year ago in a British-record $58 million coup.

Felipe Caicedo, Valeri Bojinov, Benjani Mwaruwari and Ched Evans have also been given shirt numbers — Tevez will wear No. 32 — in a 57-strong squad named ahead of the new season.

Hughes has released former England international striker Darius Vassell, while England Under-20 forward Daniel Sturridge has joined Chelsea for a fee to be resolved by a tribunal.

Meanwhile, Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has revealed that he knew as long ago as January that Tevez would end his two-year stay at Old Trafford.

“I half-expected Carlos Tevez would be going a long time back,” the Scot said. “I think he maybe did a deal around January because I spoke to him and gave him an offer on the night we played Inter Milan (in March) and he never came back to me.

“I phoned him on holiday and he never got back to me and I texted him twice and he never got back to me then either, so obviously he had made his mind up a long time ago.

“He was a good player and did well for us. But he obviously assessed the situation and wanted to go somewhere else.”

Tevez scored 19 goals in 63 appearances for Premier League champions United after joining from West Ham, who he controversially saved from relegation despite a furor over his part-ownership with agent Kia Joorabchian’s MSI Group.

He has won 50 international caps, and has recently returned from holidays following Argentina’s latest World Cup qualifiers.

Tevez, who has won an Olympic gold medal, is the only man to be named South American Player of the Year in three successive seasons.

Hannah Clark is a 16-year-old with a shy laugh and a love of animals. She likes to go shopping with friends and dreams of a career working with children.

Teenager Hannah Clark’s heart has healed itself more than a decade after she received a donor heart.

But Hannah Clark is no ordinary teenager and her normal life today could not have been possible without a unique, life-changing heart surgery.

In 1994 when she was eight-months-old, Hannah was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy — an inflammation of the heart muscle that impairs the heart’s ability to work properly.

Hannah’s heart was failing and she needed a transplant. But instead of taking her own heart out, doctors added a new donated heart to her own when she was just two-years-old.

The so-called “piggyback” operation allowed the donor heart to do the work while Hannah’s heart rested.

But Hannah was not in the clear yet. As with any organ transplant, Hannah’s body was likely to reject her new heart and she had to take powerful immune suppression drugs.

Those drugs allowed her body to accept the donor heart but also led to lung cancer and yet another medical battle for Hannah that lasted for years.

Nearly 11 years after receiving the extra heart, there was more bad news: The immuno-suppression drugs were no longer working. Hannah’s body was rejecting the donor heart.

In February 2006, her doctors tried something that had never been done before: They took out the donor heart. Doctors theorized that the donor heart had allowed Hannah’s heart to rest, recover and grow back stronger.

Now for the first time Hannah’s father, Paul Clark, describes the agonizing decision the family had to make at the time: “If she’d never had it done, she wouldn’t be here.

“In the very beginning it was a 50/50 chance she wasn’t going to make the operation. But in the next one it was even greater because it had never been done before. But we had to take that risk,” he told CNN.

The doctors were right. Three years later, Hannah has no need for any drugs and has been given a clean bill of health. The operation was a success.

“It means everything to me,” Hannah told CNN after the pioneering operation. “I thought I’d still have problems when I had this operation done. I thought after the heart had been removed I thought I’d have to visit hospitals. But now I’m just free,” she said, smiling.

Dr. Magdi Yacoub performed Hannah’s original transplant and came out of retirement to perform the second.

“The possibility of recovery of the heart is just like magic.” Dr. Yacoub said at a media conference. “[We had] a heart which was not contracting at all at the time. We put the new heart to be pumping next to it and take its work, now [it] is functioning normally.”

Hannah’s amazing recovery would not have been possible without a donor. Both Hannah’s doctors and her family made an appeal for more people to consider organ donation.

“When it happens to someone close to you or yourself, you don’t realize until then how important it is to be a donor and not to be selfish like, I need that part. You don’t need that part. Give it to somebody else that needs it,” said Clark.

“It just proves that if you can, be a donor. This can happen.”

Dr. Yacoub now advocates “presumed consent” — a policy by which anyone can be considered an organ donor unless they specifically request to opt out.

“All you are asking is please make up your own mind. Do you or do you not want to be a donor? My own family, my kids, everybody wants to be a donor. But if you don’t, then say so,” he said.

Hannah has made a full recovery and looks forward to doing what many teenagers do during the summer holidays: Work at a summer job. Her family jokes that it’s difficult to keep her from racing out the door now that she has so much energy.

For Hannah, it took the strength of two to help heal a broken heart, something she could have never done alone.

Spinner Herath’s post-lunch spell proved the turning point

Sri Lanka needed only three days to beat Pakistan by seven wickets in the second Test and win the series.

The visitors lost nine wickets for 35 runs as they went from 285-1 to 320 all out in their second innings in Colombo.

Sri Lanka secured the 171 runs they needed in 32 overs to clinch the series with one Test remaining.

Fawad Alam hit 168 for Pakistan, while Younus Khan added 82, but the latter’s dismissal prompted a dramatic collapse, spinner Rangana Herath taking 5-99.

Seamer Nuwan Kulasekara grabbed 4-37 to finish with match figures of 8-58.

Opening for the hosts, Malinda Warnapura set up the win with a quickfire 54 off 56 balls for his seventh Test half-century.

Captain Kumar Sangakkara said: “It’s a very special win and something that all of us wanted, but we didn’t expect to win in this fashion.

“They have been two very absorbing Test matches with the balance swinging this way and that between the two sides.

The problem I think is the fact that we haven’t played much Test cricket in the last couple of years Younus Khan

“But I think the key for us was that whenever we needed someone to step up and take responsibility there was always someone to put his hand up.”

Younus put his side’s failure down to their recent lack of Test cricket because of safety issues in Pakistan.

“It wasn’t the first time we have collapsed,” he said. “The problem I think is the fact that we haven’t played much Test cricket in the last couple of years.

“Everyone knows Test cricket is a massive test of skill.”

Sri Lanka, celebrating their first home series win over Pakistan, will target a 3-0 whitewash when the third Test starts at the Sinhalese sports club on 20 July.

There was no sign of the drama to come when Pakistan reached 294-2 at lunch, as they looked to continue their recovery from their opening-day batting collapse to 90 all out.

Debutant opener Alam, who was unbeaten on 102 overnight, shared a second-wicket stand of 200 with skipper Younus, a record for Pakistan against Sri Lanka.

606: DEBATE No-one does collapses like Pakistan BrainlessPathan

Younus lost his wicket just before lunch, top-edging a reverse sweep off part-time spinner Tharanga Paranavitana to wicketkeeper Tillakaratne Dilshan.

But Sangakkara’s decision to hand Herath the second new ball after lunch proved decisive.

Herath trapped Mohammad Yousuf lbw with his second ball and then ended Alam’s long stay at the crease as the batsman edged an easy catch to short leg.

Kulasekara then won lbw decisions against Misbah-ul-Haq, Kamran Akmal and Abdur Rauf to end the innings.

Sri Lanka’s reply got off to a solid start as left-hander Warnapura reached his half-century from 44 deliveries.

Sangakkara (46) took up the chase until he fell with his team just 11 short of victory.

Mahela Jayawardene (37 not out) and Thilan Samaraweera (six not out) led the home side to victory.

There is still a heavy military presence on the streets of Urumqi

China has demanded that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan retract his accusation that Beijing practised genocide against ethnic Uighurs.

Mr Erdogan made the comments after riots in the Muslim Uighur heartland of Xinjiang in which 184 people died.

Xinjiang’s capital, Urumqi, is under heavy police and military control.

UK-based analysts say al-Qaeda-linked militants in Algeria have called for reprisals against Chinese workers in the wake of the violence.

China’s rejection of Mr Erdogan’s remarks came in an editorial headlined “Don’t twist facts” in the English-language newspaper China Daily.

It said the fact that 137 of the 184 victims of the 5 July unrest were Han Chinese “speaks volumes for the nature of the event”.

The newspaper urged Mr Erdogan to “take back his remarks… which constitute interference in China’s internal affairs”, describing his comments as “irresponsible and groundless”.

Mr Erdogan made the controversial comments last Friday, telling NTV television: “The incidents in China are, simply put, a genocide. There’s no point in interpreting this otherwise.”

He called on Chinese authorities to intervene to prevent more deaths.

Turkey is secular but the population is predominantly Muslim and it shares linguistic and religious links with the Uighurs.

Militant threat

In a report, a UK-based global security intelligence firm said that events in Xinjiang had triggered a call from an Algerian-based al-Qaeda affiliate for reprisals against Chinese workers.

XINJIANG: ETHNIC UNREST Main ethnic division: 45% Uighur, 40% Han Chinese 26 June: Mass factory brawl after dispute between Han Chinese and Uighurs in Guangdong, southern China, leaves two Uighurs dead 5 July: Uighur protest in Urumqi over the dispute turns violent, leaving 156 dead - most of them thought to be Han - and more than 1,000 hurt 7 July: Uighur women protest at arrests of menfolk. Han Chinese make armed counter-march 8 July: President Hu Jintao returns from G8 summit to tackle crisis Q&A: China and the Uighurs Views from China

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQM) had promised to target Chinese workers in Algeria and north-west Africa, Stirling Assynt said.

AQM appeared to be the first al-Qaeda affiliate to officially state that it would target Chinese interests, the group said, warning that others could follow suit.

A foreign ministry spokesman, Qin Gang, said China would work with relevant countries “to take all necessary measures to ensure the safety of overseas Chinese institutions and people”.

He appealed for understanding within the Muslim world.

“If they have a clear idea about true nature of the incident, they would understand China’s policies concerning religion and religious issues and understand the measures we have taken,” Mr Qin said.

Economist plea

Separately, more than 100 Chinese writers and intellectuals have signed a letter calling for the release of Ilham Tohti, an outspoken Uighur economist.

Mr Tohti disappeared from his Beijing home last week and has apparently been detained.

“Professor Ilham Tohti is a Uighur intellectual who devoted himself to friendship between ethnic groups and eradicating conflicts between them. He should not be taken as a criminal,” said the intellectuals’ letter.

It was posted online on Monday, and demands information about his case.

“If they’ve started legal proceedings toward Ilham Tohti, [the authorities] must gain trust from the people through transparency, and especially gain trust from the Uighur people,” the letter said.

It also said that Mr Tohti’s website, Uighurbiz.cn, was an important site for dialogue between Han Chinese and Uighurs.

In a televised speech on 6 July, Xinjiang governor Nur Bekri accused the site of helping “to orchestrate the incitement and spread propaganda”.

The letter also urged the Chinese government to reflect on whether its own mistakes caused the unrest in Xinjiang and the anti-government riots last year in and around Tibet.

The violence in Xinjiang began during a protest by Uighurs over an ethnic brawl in southern China in late June in which two people were killed.

Seacrest’s new salary is three times his old one, according to reports

American Idol host Ryan Seacrest has reportedly signed a three-year deal to present the top-rated US reality show, said to be worth $15m (£9.2m) a year.

The deal, believed to be the richest ever for a reality TV host, will see the 34-year-old front Idol until 2012.

“Ryan is one of American television’s most talented stars,” Simon Fuller of show producers 19 Entertainment told the Hollywood Reporter.

“I am so happy that we will continue our relationship into the future.”

The deal enables Seacrest and his self-titled production company to work with Fuller on other primetime entertainment projects.

The presenter has a separate deal with cable company Comcast and is lead anchor on the E! Entertainment channel.

American Idol remains the highest-rated series in the US, though ratings have fallen over the last few years.

Student Kris Allen was the surprise winner of the most recent season in a finale watched by an estimated 28.8 million viewers.

HIV is adept at evading attack by the immune system

Experts believe women are naturally programmed to be the weaker sex when it comes to fighting off HIV.

It is well known that HIV progresses faster in women than in men with similar levels of HIV in the blood.

Now a US research team has found that a receptor molecule involved in the first-line recognition of HIV responds differently in women.

The findings in Nature Medicine might provide new ways to treat HIV and slow or stop the progression to Aids.

The Massachusetts General Hospital team explored whether known gender differences in the immune system might explain why HIV progresses faster in women.

They focused on immune cells called plasmacytoid dendritic cells or pDCs which are among the first cells to recognise and fight HIV.

Lab studies showed that a higher percentage of these cells from healthy, uninfected women became activated when presented with HIV-1 as compared with pDCs from healthy men.

Next they studied whether a woman’s hormone levels might be involved.

Hormonal link

They found that pDCs from older women who had gone through the menopause had similar activity to that observed in men.

But premenopausal women with higher levels of the hormone progesterone had increased activation of pDCs in response to HIV-1.

Armed with this knowledge they then tested whether this increased activation of pDCs, in turn, led to activation of other immune cells called T cells.

Whilst there are some genetic differences based on sex, access to treatment remains the single most important factor in preventing HIV from progressing to Aids Jo Robinson from Terrence Higgins Trust

When they tested the blood of men and women with HIV-1 they found the women did have higher levels of activated CD8-positive T cells than men with identical blood levels of HIV-1.

Lead researcher Dr Marcus Altfeld said: “While stronger activation of the immune system might be beneficial in the early stages of infection, resulting in lower levels of HIV-1 replication, persistent viral replication and stronger chronic immune activation can lead to the faster progression of Aids that has been seen in women.”

Ultimately, drugs that work to modify this pathway might help patients with HIV, he said.

His team is beginning preliminary laboratory studies into this.

Jo Robinson from Terrence Higgins Trust said: “This is an interesting piece of research exploring whether HIV progresses faster in women than in men.

“Whilst there are some genetic differences based on sex, access to treatment remains the single most important factor in preventing HIV from progressing to Aids.

“Unfortunately women are most likely to be affected by the virus in places like sub-Saharan Africa, where they are also least likely to be able to access HIV treatment.”

Swine flu has killed at least 500 people

H1N1 swine flu attacks the respiratory system in a more sustained way than the standard seasonal virus, research in animals shows.

Tests showed swine flu multiplies in greater numbers across the respiratory system, and causes more damage.

And instead of staying in the head like seasonal flu, it penetrates deeper into the respiratory tissues - making it more likely to cause pneumonia.

The University of Wisconsin study appears in the journal Nature.

It also suggests that swine flu may mimic the flu virus which caused the great pandemic of 1918, in which millions died.

The 1918 virus also had a greater ability than standard flu to cause damage to the respiratory system.

The researchers carried out their work on ferrets, monkeys and mice.

They also analysed samples taken from people who survived the 1918 pandemic and found that they seem to have extra immune protection against the current virus - again suggesting similarities.

However, the Wisconsin team stressed that swine flu produced, in the vast majority of cases, only mild symptoms, and is still sensitive to anti-viral drugs.

Complete analysis

Professor Ian Jones, a flu expert at the University of Reading, said the latest study provided the complete analysis of the swine flu that researchers had been waiting for.

He said: “For a number of measures it shows that the new virus is more serious than seasonal H1N1 but that, nonetheless, the major outcome to infection is recovery.

“For the few cases of severe infection the data should help in the clinical management of hospitalised patients.

Professor Wendy Barclay, an expert in virology at Imperial College London, said: “It must be borne in mind that typical circulating human strains of H1N1 have been associated with rather mild illness in recent years, and that the swine origin H1N1 may be behaving in these animal models more alike the type of H3N2 viruses that caused a pandemic in 1968.”

Swine flu is estimated to have infected more than a million people worldwide, and to have killed at least 500.

Sentiment among German financial experts had been improving

Confidence among German analysts and investors has fallen in July for the first time since October 2008, an influential survey suggests.

The findings of the Zew economic sentiment index will temper hopes of recovery in Europe’s largest economy, observers say.

The index, which measures expectations of economic activity over the next six months, fell to 39.5 from 44.8 in June.

A Reuters poll had suggested analysts’ sentiment was improving.

But Zew said that respondents had expressed concern over whether lending to firms and households would work out - something that posed “considerable risk for the future development of the German economy”.

A separate measure of current conditions rose slightly, to -89.3 from -89.7.

Germany’s economy shrank by 3.8% in the first quarter of 2009 on the back of slumping demand for exports.

Late last month, a separate survey suggested that firms in Germany were more confident than they had been for seven months.

The Ifo index climbed for the third month in a row to 85.9 in June from 84.2 in May - better than many analysts had been expecting.