WASHINGTON: APCO Worldwide is providing media relations support for a coalition of drug companies hoping to persuade the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to permit distribution of peer-reviewed articles on "off-label" use of drugs to doctors.

The campaign aims to collect 1 million volunteers to pledge their time or money in support of bringing freedom to Burma and releasing political activist Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest.

The immediate effect of yesterday's primaries on the race was predicted to be murky, given expectations that Clinton would win Indiana and Obama would win North Carolina. Today, after Obama won North Carolina handily and Clinton barely squeaked by in Indiana, many headlines are portraying Clinton as essentially down for the count.

WASHINGTON: The Poker Players Alliance (PPA) is launching a voter registration effort during the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas, which begins May 31 and runs through November, with the aim of rallying support for reversing or blocking federal and state laws that prohibit gambling on online poker.

WASHINGTON: The US Department of Health and Human Services' Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) awarded a $1.4-million contract to Ogilvy PR for a new campaign to promote awareness of information and services available to adults caring for the elderly.

WASHINGTON: The Defense Department indefinitely suspended its practice of holding private briefings for retired military analysts, following a recent New York Times report.

Although various sectors of the US economy - most notably the housing market - face grave difficulties at the moment, agency executives say that the tough times also present great opportunities for their corporate and financial practices.

Freedom of the press continued to decline around the world for the sixth year in a row, according to the latest report from Freedom House.

Bottled water will always have its various uses, but when the average consumer typically is not far away from a source of clean, free tap water, the production and disposal of it can become wasteful.

PARIS: Publicis Groupe reported first quarter revenue for 2008 of $1.59 billion, up 8.2% compared with the year-earlier period and excluding currency rate changes.