WASHINGTON - THE new strain of H1N1 flu is causing 'something different' to happen in the United States this year - perhaps an extended year-round flu season that disproportionately hits young people, health officials said on Thursday.

An unusually cool late spring may be helping keep the infection going in the US Northeast, especially densely populated areas in New York and Massachusetts, the officials at the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said.

TEHERAN - IRAN'S supreme leader will address the nation on Friday for the first time since a disputed election result triggered the biggest protests the Islamic Republic has seen.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has urged Iranians to unite behind hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad but supporters of defeated candidate Mirhossein Mousavi have so far ignored the call, holding huge rallies in defiance of an official ban.

ROCKVILLE (Maryland) - A WOMAN in Maryland has been indicted on charges of killing two adopted daughters and storing their bodies in her freezer.

State's Attorney John McCarthy says 43-year-old Renee Bowman will face murder and child abuse charges in the deaths of the two girls and abuse of her surviving daughter.