This Travel Warning is being updated to alert American citizens that, due to ongoing security concerns in Nepal, the U.S. Embassy has been granted ordered departure status.  Family members and non-emergency American employees have been ordered to depart Nepal.  American citizens are urged to evaluate their personal security posture and consider departing in light of the information noted below.  American citizens also are advised that His Majesty’s Government of Nepal continues to use curfews to control the growing number of large and widespread demonstrations.  The Department of State urges American citizens to defer travel to Nepal.  This supersedes the Travel Warning issued on April 12, 2006.

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A Texas jury found Merck liable in another death and orders the company to pay $32 million. The case was the sixth of 11,500 lawsuits to reach a verdict. It brings Merck's scorecard in the trials to three wins, three losses.

This Travel Warning is being re-issued to provide U.S. citizens with updated security information on the Central African Republic (CAR).  It supersedes the Travel Warning for the CAR issued April 19, 2005.  

The Department of State warns Americans to use extreme caution when traveling in the CAR, and to avoid travel outside the capital unless absolutely necessary.  U.S. citizens who remain in the CAR despite this Travel Warning are urged to exercise caution at all times, particularly at public gatherings.

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Owners of Teflon-coated pots and pans in 15 states are seeking to have their cases combined in a $5 billion class-action lawsuit claiming DuPont Co. failed to disclose possible health risks from using the nonstick cookware.

The lawsuits claim DuPont continued to tell the government and consumers for years that Teflon was safe even though its own studies showed the material could become toxic when heated "enough to fry an egg," according to Des Moines attorney Kim Baer, who represents six plaintiffs from Iowa.

Consent Order Protects Competition in Important Medical Device Product Markets

The Federal Trade Commission today announced a consent agreement that will protect competition and consumers in several significant medical device markets affected by Boston Scientific’s proposed $27 billion acquisition of the Guidant Corporation (Guidant). The agreement will allow the transaction to proceed, provided the parties comply fully with its terms.

Under the terms of the order conditionally approving the transaction, Boston Scientific and Guidant are required 1) to divest all assets – including intellectual property – related to Guidant’s vascular business to a third party, enabling that third party to sell drug eluting stents (DES) with the rapid exchange (RX) delivery system, percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) balloon catheters, and coronary guidewires; and 2) to reform certain contractual rights between Boston Scientific and Cameron Health, Inc. (Cameron) to limit Boston Scientific’s control over certain Cameron actions and the sharing of nonpublic information about Cameron’s Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) product.

“Absent the terms of this comprehensive consent order, Boston Scientific’s acquisition of Guidant would reduce competition in several significant medical device markets in the United States,” said Jeffrey Schmidt, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition. “The order protects competition and consumers whose very lives may depend on their ability to obtain treatment with these devices.”

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The FTC has joined its foreign partners in calling for stepped up cross-border law enforcement cooperation and increased public/private sector cooperation to combat spam. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) issued recommendations in this area today. The OECD is an international forum of 30 countries, including the United States, established to promote economic growth, trade, and development.

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Orders $26 Million in Redress For Consumers; Less Than One Percent of Customers Received Royalties From Their Patents That Exceeded the Amount They Paid to the ‘Promoters’

A U.S. district court judge has ordered an invention promotion operation to pay $26 million in consumer redress and has ordered a permanent halt to the bogus claims the company used to recruit customers. The court also ordered that in future dealings with consumers, the company make specific, detailed disclosures about their track record in helping inventors market their ideas. “This affirmative disclosure statement is needed due to defendants’ blatant, varied, and repeated misrepresentations . . . ” Judge Gary L. Lancaster of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania wrote in his decision.

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On certain passenger vehicles, if the front seat belt retractors (both driver and front passenger) become locked, they may not release due to a component of the emergency locking system. If the seat belt is locked in this condition, the occupant may not be able to properly fasten the seat belt. An occupant not properly wearing a seat belt may have an increase risk of injury during a crash.

Name of Product: HP and Compaq Notebook Computer Batteries

Units: About 4,100 (about 15,700 batteries worldwide)

Importer: Hewlett-Packard Company, of Palo Alto, Calif.

Hazard: An internal failure can cause the battery to overheat and melt or char the plastic case, posing a burn and fire hazard.

Incidents/Injuries: HP has received 20 reports of batteries overheating, including two in the United States. One minor burn injury has been reported. Eleven cases of minor property damage were reported, including one in the United States.

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Name of Product: EVAC-U8™ and EVAC+™ Emergency Escape Smoke Hoods

Units: About 290,000 units

Manufacturer: Brookdale International Systems Inc., of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Hazard: The emergency escape smoke hoods could fail to work properly, exposing the user to harmful carbon monoxide which could seriously compromise their ability to escape the fire threat.

Incidents/Injuries: None.

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