Other News

No US passengers evacuated from China show symptoms of virus: officials

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — None of the 195 US citizens evacuated on a chartered flight from the Chinese city at the epicenter of a deadly virus outbreak have shown symptoms of infection, a senior US health official said Wednesday. They have been assigned quarters at a military base in California where they will remain in isolation on a voluntary basis for 72 hours, said Nancy Messonnier of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention […]

The global spread of the coronavirus: Where is it?

BEIJING, China (AFP) — A virus similar to the SARS pathogen has killed 132 people and spread around the world since emerging in a market in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. Here are the countries that have confirmed cases of the 2019 novel coronavirus: CHINA  As of Wednesday, nearly 6,000 people have been infected across China, the majority in and around Wuhan. Most of the 132 who have died were in that region, but […]

Two defunct satellites speed toward possible collision

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Two decommissioned satellites sped towards each other Wednesday at a combined speed of almost 33,000 miles (53,000 kilometers) an hour, raising the risk of a collision that would send thousands of pieces of debris hurtling through space. The satellites — a pioneering international space telescope and an experimental US craft traveling in opposing orbits — are expected to pass within 100 meters (yards) of each other at 2339 GMT, according […]

StubHub to donate fees from Lakers game to Bryant family foundation

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — As prices soared for the Los Angeles Lakers’ first NBA game since the death of team icon Kobe Bryant, StubHub said it would donate all fees from sales on the ticket marketplace site to the Kobe & Vanessa Bryant Family Foundation. The Lakers host the Portland Trail Blazers at the Staples Center on Friday night. Their scheduled Tuesday game against the Los Angeles Clippers had been canceled in the […]

LA residents flee ‘suspicious’ high-rise blaze

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — A fire suspected to have been started deliberately Wednesday in a high-rise residential block in Los Angeles injured eight people, including a baby, and prompted a massive response by firefighters. Earlier reports had said several people had jumped from the 25-story Barrington Plaza in the west of the city but authorities later clarified that was not the case. “No one jumped, there are no fatalities,” deputy fire chief Armando […]

Turn back time: how quitting smoking reverses lung cell damage

by Sara HUSSEIN TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Smokers can effectively turn back time in their lungs by kicking the habit, with healthy cells emerging to replace some of their tobacco-damaged and cancer-prone ones, a new study shows. Smokers have long been told their risk of developing diseases like lung cancer will fall if they can quit, and stopping smoking prevents new damage to the body. But a study published Thursday in the journal Nature found […]

Canada to bring home up to 160 from China over coronavirus

OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — Canada has chartered a plane to bring home as many as 160 of its nationals from China because of the coronavirus epidemic, officials said Wednesday. Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne told reporters it could take several days to obtain permission to land in or near Wuhan, the epicenter of the epidemic. “There are 160 Canadians (in China) who have asked for consular assistance,” Champagne said. “We have secured a plane to repatriate […]

Americans evacuated from Wuhan land in US

  RIVERSIDE, United States (AFP) — Some 200 US citizens evacuated from the Chinese city at the heart of a growing outbreak of a deadly virus landed at a military base in California on Wednesday, where they will be monitored for symptoms. They were met on the tarmac at the March Air Reserve Base in Riverside by emergency vehicles and three buses, as personnel in biological hazard suits stood by. The Department of Defense said […]

Five people in France confirmed to have coronavirus

PARIS, France (AFP) — The daughter of a Chinese tourist who is seriously ill in a Paris hospital has become the fifth person in France to be confirmed with the coronavirus, officials said Wednesday. Her 80-year-old father was the fourth confirmed case in France of the new coronavirus that has killed more than 100 people since it emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December. “A fifth case has been detected,” Health Minister Agnes […]

Wuhan football team land in Spain despite virus fears

  MADRID, Spain (AFP) — Chinese football team Wuhan Zall were allowed to enter Spain on Wednesday for a training camp near Malaga, despite fears of spreading the coronavirus. The virus broke out in December in Wuhan in central China and has already killed 132 people and infected 5,974 in the country’s mainland. Yet Wuhan Zall, who play in the Chinese Super League, have been given permission to land in southern Spain, where they have […]

BBC to axe 450 newsroom jobs

  by James PHEBY Agence France Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — The British Broadcasting Corporation on Wednesday said it will axe 450 newsroom jobs as part of plans to adapt “to changing audience needs” and meet its savings target. The job cuts come just a week after BBC boss Tony Hall said he would step down, and as the corporation grapples with a equal-pay demands and questions about its future funding model. “The BBC […]

CDC faces challenge of Coronavirus outbreak in US

  By Arlene Ocampo and Jessieca Bautista EBC Washington D.C.Bureau WASHINGTON, DC (Eagle News) – The latest and primary concern in the international and domestic medical world today is the rapid outbreak of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus. From its origin in Wuhan, China, the virus, scientifically named 2019-nCoV, has spread to about 18 locations around the world including Europe and the United States. Most of those who have been infected were associated with travel from […]